The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 170

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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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Episode 170
When April returned home and woke from her sleep, she recalled hearing that Pejin had already taught Fred how to shave.
Sitting on the bed and surveying her own bedroom, she could certainly see the traces Pejin had left behind.
Throughout the house there were signs of his presence—things he had purchased despite doing them so haphazardly that she’d sighed at his carelessness, yet they filled every corner she glanced at.
Just as he had taught Hannah and Fred various things, he had made the same consistent observation to April.
It was that she ought to take care of herself.
“Your body is yours. Not the family’s property.”
“He lectures so much.”
April muttered this aloud as she pulled herself up.
His words had little effect on her. She had always been stubborn since childhood, something Pejin knew full well.
If he truly worried, he would come himself and stop her.
Until then, she intended to do as she pleased.
Besides, she didn’t have the luxury of time to care for herself now. So long as Pejin lay unconscious, Miller posed a threat to her life. If Pejin truly had awakened, Miller’s desperation would only grow sharper.
They had made their plans for what would happen after Pejin departed for the Empire.
Miller was a more fragile person than one might expect. It had always been Heidi’s role to console him.
Even before April became engaged to Miller, Heidi’s place in his life had been firmly established.
April had understood that even had she married Miller, Heidi would remain at his side.
She might have hidden her resentment, but she would have muddled through the marriage well enough. She would have complained to her parents, and she too would have found new love.
Telling herself that love alone had never been the foundation of marriage anyway.
In any scenario, Miller needed Heidi. Therefore, to shake Miller, it would be necessary to separate him from her.
April now intended to make Heidi desire the role of Grand Duchess.
With a scheduled plan ahead, she began preparing to leave with Eve the moment she woke. Just as she was about to step out of the Residence, Pani, a servant of the Lunos Family, spoke with wide eyes.
“Where are you going again?”
“I have a plan.”
“What sort of plan?”
“I don’t see why I need to explain everything to you.”
As April narrowed her eyes in reply, Pani—noting that the weather forecast had just gone online showing heat—rolled up her sleeves and spoke.
“You haven’t even been back at the Residence for a full day and now you’re planning something else? I knew this would happen. The Commander told me beforehand—I’m to tell you to rest a bit instead of wandering about as you please.”
When even the newly hired servant spoke this way, April let out a deep sigh.
“……Even when he’s not here, he makes sure I hear his nagging.”
“How worried must he have been to do such a thing? Now that I’ve seen you with my own eyes, at least one worry is gone.”
“Understood. I’ll rest when I return. Will that suffice?”
“Don’t just say such things!”
At Pani’s words, April gave a suitably agreeable answer, set her mind at ease, and boarded the carriage.
A bouquet arrived, worry followed, and the boy learned to shave.
Before losing consciousness, he had made truly extensive preparations for his departure from this island.
Making so many preparations—how could he not have uttered that simple, easy phrase: that I might be in danger?
Inside the moving carriage, April rested her head against the window and breathed out a low sigh.
Now she noticed a small bag hanging from the carriage was bulging. Upon opening it, she found a glass jar of candy. Inside were various types of candy, including some he had once given her from the Lunos Family—sweets to eat when angry.
The marriage was a lie, and he had no intention of earning her forgiveness.
The bouquet, the worry, even the shaving—all of it was for her. He had left all his love for her throughout the entire Residence.
Every trace the man left behind, the one who had spoken lies about forgetting her, bore so much lingering attachment.
“Liar.”
That was all the appraisal she could offer him.
* * *
Events unfolded differently than Miller had anticipated.
He had thought that once it was revealed April owned the Factory, the angry citizens who had surrounded the Grand Duke’s Residence would disappear.
But now they no longer trusted the newspapers; they trusted their own judgment.
Among the unexpected developments, what pressured Miller most was the Church.
When Miller had first broken his engagement with April, the Church had maintained neutrality.
It took neither the Dieusz Family’s side nor the Lunos Family’s side.
The Church’s public stance was that marriage was a matter for families to resolve between themselves.
When April sparked ominous fires that no one could explain, when the Grand Duchy became shrouded in fog, the Church had not favored either family. Insisting that she stand trial because the phenomenon could be most easily explained by the word “Witch” was merely their policy toward her as an individual.
Once April was confirmed as the Factory’s owner and the real cause of the Mysterious Phenomena around her had emerged, the Church halted its criticism of her for now.
Miller could not easily eliminate April Lunos.
Released from confinement and now wielding influence across the island in the blink of an eye, there was no longer a way to kill her in secret.
Still, Miller wanted to hear the Church’s opinion in detail. If the Church offered no possibility, then ultimately he would need to pursue other methods—just as he had when toppling the Lunos Family before, seeking the Emperor’s aid. That was something Miller himself found distasteful.
He arranged a meeting with the Priest and entered the Church. Yet he soon realized his desired outcome would not come to pass so easily.
Someone had arrived at the Church before him. It was April Lunos.
Miller furrowed his brow upon discovering April sitting in an empty Church pew.
“April.”
She did not turn around, so Miller approached closer. Only then did she turn to face him.
“You’re late. I waited since you were supposed to come.”
Miller sat down at a distance from her. Then, gazing toward the altar ahead, he spoke.
“Why did you wait for me?”
“If you have something to say, tell me. Don’t tell the Priest.”
“There’s nothing for us to discuss.”
“I’m not particularly curious either.”
She continued in a calm voice.
“Pejin has awakened, hasn’t he?”
At her words, Miller unconsciously furrowed his brow and turned his head toward April.
Miller spoke.
“No.”
“Isn’t your answer too slow?”
……
“Well, you were never good at lying anyway.”
Having said this, April met Miller’s gaze.
Miller could see that April was in an exhausted state.
No matter how hard Eve tried, the parched condition of her lips did not easily recover. It was the result of lacking both basic nourishment and rest.
Miller, his eyes on her lips, spoke.
“Your lips are chapped.”
“Is that important in this conversation of ours?”
“If this were an important conversation, you should have made sure such things didn’t distract you.”
“The way you keep deflecting like that—it confirms Pejin has awakened.”
Having said this, April also turned her gaze toward the altar.
A short day’s light entered the Church through the glass windows.
In places of deep shadow, the sunlight exerted all the more influence. The architect of this Church had wrestled greatly with how to draw daylight deeper into the interior, to make it stretch as long as possible. And the result was magnificent.
April spoke.
“The Priest won’t converse with you. Since what you have to say is predictable, I came first and spoke with him.”
“What did you tell him?”
“About the cause of the fog. And about the light of the Lunos Family. That the light of the Lunos Family originated from that Factory.”
Then one of the candles that burned constantly extinguished.
April rose and moved toward where the candles were kept.
April dropped a coin into the offering box and withdrew a new candle from the storage. She then slightly melted the base of the new candle over another flame and placed it where the extinguished one had been.
When lighting a new candle this way, the people of Right Island made a wish.
April took out the matches beside her and lit the new candle as she spoke.
“What do you think about love?”
“Wouldn’t I understand it better than you?”
“That’s true enough.”
April nodded, keeping her gaze on the candle.
“But I know better than anyone what it’s like for love to slip from my grasp.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Your love was the most precious thing to you. And so you destroyed all of mine.”
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
“So may all of your love be destroyed as well.”
……
“I will pray for this.”
Miller felt a sudden chill run across his skin, and he touched the nape of his neck. It felt as though he’d been pricked by something eerie.

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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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