The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 169

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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 169
* * *
April dressed and made her way to the Brewery.
She’d thought she was leaving early, but Shaper Meyer, who’d agreed to go with her, was already waiting outside.
To look at how he usually carried himself, you’d think him utterly dissolute, yet he never broke a promise or arrived late.
The two of them made the journey in tense silence, exchanging little conversation.
Bauman had arrived long before and was lingering with the architect, who was finishing up construction work, trading stories as they shared crabs April had thoughtfully brought—steamed for the workers to enjoy together.
April accepted their gratitude and stepped inside the Brewery.
Shaper Meyer escorted her through the construction site, where building materials lay scattered everywhere, and spoke.
“You haven’t even gotten results yet, and you’re building this massive? Are you planning to make that much liquor?”
“Yes. It’s good enough to warrant it.”
“But how good could this spirit possibly be? Empire citizens were smuggling it and drinking it despite falling ill over it?”
“Want to try some? It’s quite decent.”
“Are you insane?”
Shaper Meyer, who was fastidious about his own health, sobered immediately, then something seemed to dawn on him, and he turned to April with a question.
“What do you mean by ‘quite decent’? Surely you haven’t already tasted it?”
“Of course I have. It’s genuinely delicious. The kind that stays with you.”
“Good grief, people died in the Empire because of this spirit, and you went and drank it!”
“Then how could I have bought the technique without tasting it? Who does business that way? I need to know what I’m selling.”
“You’re… truly mad.”
As Shaper Meyer struggled to express his bewilderment in any other way, Kritz entered the Brewery.
April turned to her and smiled.
“Your expression tells me you have results.”
“Yes, it’s decreased. Definitely.”
Despite her exhaustion, Kritz held out the Report with a look of satisfaction.
At first, Kritz had been taken aback by April’s complete lack of scientific knowledge. Yet April had consistently conversed with her, learned from her, and asked questions.
In the end, Kritz had come to trust that April would understand every word of the reports she wrote perfectly.
Shaper Meyer, glancing at the Report Kritz had prepared, asked a question.
“What does this mean?”
“The Groundwater contamination level has decreased.”
“You could just write that in one line. Why does one line need this many pages? And if you’re going to stretch it out like that, why are you abbreviating the words?”
At Shaper Meyer’s words, Kritz’s expression darkened as if to say he knew nothing, her eyes clearly hoping April would provide a perfect explanation.
Finding that gaze burdensome, April whispered to Shaper Meyer.
“What do we know? Let the scholars do what they want.”
“You don’t know why either, do you?”
“Just assume it’s necessary. Haven’t you seen Kritz’s eyes?”
Only then, having caught sight of Kritz’s expectant gaze, did Shaper Meyer react with exaggerated intensity.
“Ah, now I understand completely!”
“Well done.”
After speaking thus, April turned to Kritz.
“According to the Report, we should be able to produce spirit at perfectly safe concentrations in three months.”
“Correct. However, for greater safety, five months would be preferable.”
“Late July, then?”
“Yes, we should be able to begin sales in July. Rather—we will be.”
July.
April turned the number over in her mind.
By then, Irsa’s voyage should be well along toward completion.
With the trade route established like that, she’d be able to export this spirit to distant lands.
The taste of the spirit April had sampled before buying the village rose to her mind, and without thinking, she licked her lips. Then she turned to Kritz, who appreciated good spirits.
“But we could start drinking it ourselves in three months, couldn’t we?”
“Indeed. There would be absolutely no safety concerns. Besides, we’d have flavor research to conduct as well, wouldn’t we?”
“An equally important matter.”
At the exchange between the two of them, Shaper Meyer clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“You two are perfectly matched. A very fitting pair.”
“Yes, thank you. I think so too.”
April answered the jab with perfect composure, then, seeing her laugh with genuine pleasure, Shaper Meyer spoke.
“Did something good happen today? You’ve been in a good mood the whole time.”
“The experiment results are promising.”
“You looked happy before that.”
“No particular reason. Some days are just like that.”
After saying so, April’s expression proved Shaper Meyer’s point, pleasant and bright.
The three of them opened a fine bottle April had brought to commemorate the successful experiment. They poured half as an offering for the venture’s smooth sailing and shared the rest among themselves.
* * *
Hearing that April had returned from the Brewery, Fred stood before the mirror to tackle a task he’d been postponing. He gazed at the Razor in his hand.
“Right then, let’s do this properly.”
Fred patted his chest several times and drew a deep breath.
There wasn’t much time left before School opening in March. He’d thought to get comfortable with Shaving before then.
It was Pejin, not Bauman or Fred’s grandfather, who first noticed that it was time for Fred to Shave. He was naturally observant and anticipated needs before they arose. This Razor itself had been a gift from Pejin last year.
Shortly before the wedding, Pejin had stayed at the Residence for quite some time, and it was around then that he’d taught Fred how to Shave.
Back then, Fred hadn’t realized that Pejin was settling in so brazenly that he wouldn’t be able to visit the Residence for some time afterward.
Thinking back on it now, Pejin had been examining the Residence’s needs in meticulous detail.
April had a good eye for the broad strokes but was weaker when it came to observing fine details.
Even in Residence life, she’d grown accustomed to minor discomforts until Bauman told her something needed repair, at which point she’d simply hand it over and be done with it.
Pejin, by contrast, was someone who noticed subtle matters—such as the approaching time when Fred would need to Shave.
Fred began Shaving as Pejin had taught him.
Having been scolded so thoroughly about the danger of cuts that practice proved easier than expected, Pejin had taught him meticulously—from how to properly hone the Razor on the Whetstone to every detail.
There was a certain hesitance among Right Island nobility to entrust Shaving to a barber. After all, they lacked sufficient Trust in one another to hand a servant a blade so well-suited to drawing across the neck.
The fact that his beard hadn’t grown so thick that he wouldn’t need to Shave again for quite some time was also rather reassuring.
By the time Fred had finished his first Shave, having taken considerable time over it, April happened to return to the Residence.
Fred rushed to the Porch and greeted her alongside the other servants.
“Welcome home!”
As Fred offered this greeting, April stepped into the Residence, observed the boy’s face, and asked.
“Did you Shave?”
“Pardon? How did you know?”
“It shows.”
Indeed, the dark shadow that had been growing before had vanished, so her question was almost amusing.
Fred laughed, embarrassed.
“Captain taught me. He even gave me a really fine Razor as a gift.”
“That’s fortunate.”
April said as much, then touched Fred’s head gently and spoke.
“Shaving is a very important custom for Right Island people. Before setting out on long voyages, we always Shaved.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You could ask Bauman the same thing and he’d give you the same answer.”
Fred felt as though he’d been acknowledged as a grown man, and his chest swelled with pride. Yet that swell quickly deflated into worry about the man who’d taught him to Shave.
April observed the shift in Fred’s expression quietly.
Pejin knew how much April cared for Lunos’s two children, and that she regarded those children as the future of Right Island itself.
So he, too, had come to love them. Whenever April spoke with him, the conversation would inevitably turn to the children.
In Pejin’s view, Hannah had a good nature, but there were moments when her eyes would suddenly flip, and one had to navigate those moments carefully.
He said that Fred was mild-mannered but had a voice that couldn’t be heard, and one had to listen closely.
April didn’t know whether Pejin would make a good father, but she was certain he would at least be an attentive one. That was something he shared with his own father, the Grand Duke of House of Dieusz.
April spoke to Fred.
“Pejin will come back.”
“…Do you think so?”
“Yes. Too many people are waiting for him to die.”
The certainty embedded in April’s words sank in, and Fred’s darkened expression grew a little brighter.

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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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