The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 159

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 159
By the time the interviews concluded, the sun had fully set, and the police officers departed from the residence, leaving only a handful to guard the perimeter.
All the household staff who had been questioned first finally received permission to re-enter the residence, and they returned to the Lunos Residence at once.
Unlike the factory, which remained in chaos, the residence seemed untouched by any disaster. Though many feet had tracked mud across the floors, it was confined to the first level, and nothing was visibly broken.
Bauman rolled up his sleeves and spoke as he prepared to clean.
“Fred, help me with the tidying. And Hannah, stay with the young lady.”
Both children nodded vigorously in unison. Fred headed off to fetch cleaning supplies as Bauman instructed, while Hannah climbed the stairs.
Upon discovering April standing quietly by the bedroom window, Hannah’s eyes widened as she rushed inside.
“Why did you let the fireplace go out!”
Only then did April, who had been gazing out the window, turn to face Hannah.
“I was busy today.”
“Even so, it’s freezing. Sebio, come keep her company.”
At Hannah’s gesture, Sebio darted over and nestled against April on the seat.
After lighting the fireplace, Hannah asked a question.
“When will the inspector return?”
At that question, April, who had been absently stroking Sebio, lifted her head. Then, in a voice that sounded unusually quiet, she answered.
“He’s gone to the Empire. He won’t be back for a while, I think.”
“Already? You said he wasn’t leaving until late December.”
“He was injured. He left early for hospital treatment.”
“Injured? Badly?”
“It shouldn’t be that severe.”
Hannah had spent the entire day being questioned and hadn’t heard the full account of Pejin’s condition. The girl seemed worried about him, but she was more concerned with April’s visible state.
“Please bathe first. Change your clothes too.”
Pressed by Hannah’s insistence, April headed to the bathroom.
The bathwater that had been heated was already cool enough to enter comfortably. As April removed her wedding dress, she muttered to herself.
“What a shame. It was so beautiful.”
She tried to speak as though nothing had happened.
But alone in the warmth of the water, Pejin’s image returned to her mind.
It seemed he had coughed up every drop of blood within him.
Could a person lose that much blood and survive?
April forced herself to erase that memory, hung up her clothes, and washed herself with the warm water as Hannah had instructed.
When she emerged, Hannah was still waiting.
Studying the girl’s expression, Hannah asked.
“Would you like me to read to you?”
At Hannah’s words, April shook her head.
“It’s all right. I can be alone. I’ll rest a bit.”
“Yes, but call me if you get bored!”
“I will. And take Sebio with you when you go.”
After Hannah left with Sebio, April sat on the bed for a long time without moving. The world seemed to have paused.
* * *
“Head of House, are you awake?”
Though she had no memory of falling asleep, when she opened her eyes, she found herself curled up on the bed.
A doctor, familiar from his frequent visits to the Lunos Family, was rousing her.
Fred, his eyes glistening with tears, spoke to April.
“No matter how much we tried to wake you…….”
That was why they had summoned the doctor.
After examining April’s condition for some time, the doctor sighed and spoke.
“Your fever is severe. You must rest. This is not a suggestion but a necessary course of treatment.”
“…….”
April tried to respond, but her voice barely came—the result of inhaling too much toxic gas.
Seeing April clutch her throat with both hands, the doctor continued.
“Most of those who were at the explosion site have lost their voices to some degree. Those with milder symptoms are already recovering, but if the Head of House does not follow medical orders, recovery will be considerably delayed.”
April nodded to show she understood.
After the doctor left, having prescribed medication, Bauman entered the room carefully, carrying a newspaper.
“Young lady, Inspector Logan brought you this newspaper from the Empire.”
April accepted the newspaper from Bauman.
Two papers—one from Logan and one from the Dieusz Grand Duchy—were placed on the bedside table.
After Bauman left, April unfolded the newspapers.
Both carried reports of the explosion in the Lunos Fiefdom on the front page. Both articles ended with the lament that “nothing has yet been conclusively determined.”
The Dieusz paper featured April’s interview, fashioned into a tragic, sensational story.
April turned the pages.
There was no article about Pejin yet. The police seemed to have requested confidentiality regarding him.
Still, checking further just in case, she found a note slipped between the pages in Logan’s handwriting.
[The surgery is complete, but it is unclear when consciousness will return.]
April clenched her teeth, then briefly closed her eyes.
The news that he still hadn’t regained consciousness made her heart sink.
Though her mind could not rest, her body grew more comfortable, and her voice gradually began to return.
And as evening fell, Hannah quietly entered the room, holding a letter.
“Did you take your medicine?”
“No, I need to take it now.”
The moment April glanced at the medication on the nightstand, Hannah let out a heavy sigh. Then, waving the letter, she spoke.
“This is from the inspector. He asked me to give it to you after he left for the Empire.”
“From Pejin?”
“Yes. He said I had to wait until after he left, which seemed odd to me.”
As Hannah spoke, she showed April the letter, then tucked it back into her pocket and said.
“I’ll give it to you once you take your medicine.”
At Hannah’s words, April felt, for the first time since the explosion, an emotion other than sorrow, and glanced sideways.
“So he’s trying to make a deal with the Lunos Family? Bold of him.”
“Hurry up. You’re really unwell.”
“When did that little one grow up? I never noticed.”
“I think it started around the time she entered school.”
Hannah answered and helped April sit up.
It was bittersweet seeing how much the girl had matured, yet admirable at the same time. After April took her medicine, Hannah hesitated before handing her the letter and leaving the room with Sebio.
April held the envelope in both hands, breathing in the faint fragrance that seemed carefully chosen. It carried the scent of roses.
Removing the letter from the envelope, she murmured.
“Plain. Just like him.”
After teasing him as though he were present, she felt a slight laugh escape her.
And with that laugh came the strange certainty that nothing terrible had befallen him.
Only after that feeling settled did she finally open the letter she’d been holding.
[My dearest April.
I promise you, I knew you’d say “plain. Just like him.” That’s why I chose this.]
At that first line, April laughed aloud. Then she turned her eyes to the next.
[Until now, I have always chosen the easy path. I have never known difficulty.
But you—you alone were a difficult choice for me. And strangely, I did not resent it; I was only overwhelmed by it.
In this way, you became my sole source of worry. I, who always took the simple road, finally learned what it was to have a real dilemma. Isn’t that remarkable?
I did not care for myself, but you became the only good thing that emerged in me. Because of you, I have come to like myself, if only a little.
Only the things I could offer you held any meaning for me.
Perhaps father was right. Perhaps I loved you when I was very small. I hate to admit it.
Or perhaps it was admiration, I wonder.
In truth, you were my pride long before you were my love.
You are my light.
My only guide through the fog.
You will continue to shine your radiance from Lunos Hill. And I will long for that bright light, for a very long time.]
It was part farewell letter, part love letter.
Even without a single word about death, it served the purpose of a farewell.
He had intended this from the beginning.
He must have lied with this intention in mind.
April sat motionless, the letter still in her hands, for a long while.
“Damn bastard.”
It was all she could manage to say.
She pressed her hand to her chest, aching as though she had swallowed the sea itself.
He said he had come to like himself, even a little. That was laughable.
All those years of carrying himself as though he were so magnificent, and beneath it all lay not a shred of truth.
From the day they reunited after seven years of separation until now, he had told so many lies.
She could not even decide what she was supposed to feel about him.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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