The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 171

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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 171
The church door suddenly swung open.
Thick with insulation against the cold wind, the door’s slow swing tested the patience of the Grand Duchy Police officers waiting outside, who fidgeted with barely contained urgency.
One officer rushed toward Miller with desperate haste.
He stopped short upon noticing April’s presence, then approached Miller again and whispered something in his ear.
From the darkening of Miller’s expression and the sharp intensity of his gaze toward her, April confirmed one unmistakable fact and opened her mouth.
“Good news for me, then?”
“…Go.”
Miller said nothing more and left the church.
April burned with curiosity about what news he’d received, yet she possessed no means of extracting that information.
The Emperor had taken certain precautions, which meant April had no opportunity to encounter the police directly. What troubled her most was the constraint placed on Logan’s movements—he had helped her greatly in his comings and goings to the Lunos Grand Residence, and now that assistance was severely limited.
Of course, there remained one option: leveraging Shaper Meyer, the son of Police Chief Devin Meyer, who would surely hear news first. The Chief was far less vigilant about operational security with his own son.
Yet even that avenue could not be overused.
April decided to wait a while longer.
Just as word of Pejin’s awakening had reached her through the newspapers, any news she needed to know would find its way to her through some channel.
April recalled the expression Miller had worn when she asked whether Pejin had regained consciousness. That look was far more conclusive than any words.
He had certainly awakened.
April stood in the center of the church garden, pressed her hands together, and offered a brief prayer of gratitude. Then she turned to leave—taking the first steps toward her next objective.
To utterly ruin all that Miller Dieusz loved.
* * *
The news had begun at a harbor in the Rasa Empire.
A police officer stationed near the docks overheard a foreign merchant chattering in his own tongue and requested a conversation.
This exchange traveled swiftly up the chain of command, reaching the ears of Security Inspector Pejin Dieusz before they reached the Emperor himself.
His recovery had been remarkable. A mere week after regaining consciousness, he was already leaving his bed.
The toxic substance he had ingested had ravaged organs throughout his body, yet outwardly no great damage was apparent.
His most pressing problem at present was the Emperor’s decree forbidding him to leave the Hospital Room. Pejin cursed aloud.
“Damn it, I need to get out.”
Though the Hospital Room was vast enough, the inability to venture beyond its walls gnawed at him. They had even drawn the curtains so that his movements would not be visible to other patients.
He was both dreading and desperately curious to know precisely how dramatically the Emperor intended to showcase his recovery.
Meanwhile, from the reports reaching him, it seemed April continued to meet with Shaper.
Word also came that Police Chief Devin Meyer was growing concerned—worried that his son might harbor romantic feelings for April.
Pejin muttered to himself.
“Let him worry. What’s there to be concerned about? He should check whether the boy is even worth climbing toward. That reckless fool probably does harbor feelings for her, of course.”
He pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples.
Whenever he thought of the possibility that April might come to love someone, a headache bloomed behind his eyes. Followed swiftly by the realization that he would have no say in it whatsoever.
A hollow expression crossed his face. He felt pathetic—spending the entire day dwelling on a single person.
Afterward, he continued to fight the urge to venture outside by pacing the Hospital Room like a man taking a stroll. It was then that Poll entered.
“Sir, the physicians said you mustn’t wander about just yet!”
“What else am I supposed to do? I’ll lose my mind if I lie in bed any longer.”
“Please, sir—think of your future health and rest.”
Poll pleaded, but Pejin seemed determined to ignore him.
Poll eventually abandoned all hope of breaking the man’s stubbornness. Yet as he prepared to deliver his report, a smile spread across his face unbidden.
Pejin’s eyes narrowed at that expression.
“Have you got good news for me?”
“Yes, sir. Very good news indeed.”
“Out with it.”
Poll hesitated, drawing out the moment, and Pejin saw through the delay. He clicked his tongue and settled onto the bed.
“There. I’m sitting. Happy?”
The moment he complied, Poll’s face brightened and he spoke.
“A ship has arrived at a harbor in the Rasa Empire, sir. A Trade Ship from overseas. It came from Polana.”
Though Poll left his words unfinished, Pejin’s lips curled upward of their own accord. The shift in his expression emboldened Poll’s voice.
“The sailors aboard have reported seeing a captain named Irsa Joyce.”
“April’s first Trade Ship has arrived.”
“Yes, sir.”
Poll nodded vigorously, his eyes glistening as though tears might spill at any moment. He clenched his jaw briefly before continuing, unable to contain himself.
“The ship from Right Island has touched foreign shores after so very long. Sir, the Lunos Family Trade Ship has….”
Polana was a peninsular nation located relatively close to Right Island. It possessed extraordinary Granary Districts.
Irsa Joyce had arrived at a nation perfectly aligned with April’s objectives.
Pejin reflected anew on how truly formidable a captain April had found. That left-handed captain was repaying April’s trust by giving everything she had.
But Pejin soon tempered his joy with rational thought.
“It’s premature to celebrate, isn’t it? When she returns, the ship will be laden with an enormous quantity of provisions, making her far heavier than at departure. Success means that ship must return safely.”
“Can’t you simply enjoy good news for a moment when you hear it?”
“I’m not sure I was received with quite as much joy when I regained consciousness.”
“It was not news quite so momentous as this.”
Though Poll replied as such, Pejin—who remembered the moment he had opened his eyes—knew exactly what Poll’s expression had been then. Yet seeing the man grow embarrassed, he chose not to press the point.
Pejin braced himself against the bed with one hand and reclined at an angle.
“Still, this is not a matter for unalloyed celebration.”
At his grave tone, Poll nodded in agreement.
“Yes, sir. The Emperor will have heard of this as well.”
The Emperor would certainly wish to know precisely what April was purchasing.
Once the people of Polana began crossing to and from Left Island, it would not be long before the Emperor discerned that she was acquiring provisions.
Once he understood what it meant for Right Island—which relied absolutely on Left Island for grain imports—to be purchasing food from Polana, the Emperor would begin to see the larger picture.
That Right Island sought economic independence, and that the one driving that independence was April Lunos.
The Emperor would learn of it.
And he would act.
Therefore, Pejin knew he had much work to do here on Left Island.
Pejin spoke.
“I must inform April of this.”
Fortunately, an opportunity had just presented itself—a brief chance to leave her a message.
Thanks to that con man of a gas operator.
* * *
April sought out the Dieusz Central Bank.
No matter what Jonah Tabishi might say, the fact that an outsider had arrived at the scene of the incident remained unchanged.
During the course of the trial, one matter had already been resolved: since the origin of the Lunos Family’s gas had been determined, the man was forced to repay the enormous gas charges Pejin had extracted from the Lunos Grand Residence.
Mille Virta spoke with a cheerful expression.
“Including interest and penalties, quite an astronomical sum was collected.”
“I see.”
The amount Jonah Tabishi owed to Pejin reached 1.5 times the original gas charges he had paid. It was a considerable sum.
Mille continued.
“Inspector Dieusz would normally determine how these funds should be used, but as he is currently bedridden, he cannot make that decision. Therefore, Leonard, the Dieusz Family’s estate manager, made the decision in his stead.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Here is what the estate manager wished to convey.”
Mille Virta withdrew a sealed envelope from the bank vault.
The security of the Dieusz Capital City Bank regarding monetary matters was absolute, and no one else could have opened this envelope.
April accepted the envelope. Upon opening it, she found two short letters inside. The first bore a signature and read as follows:
[You may use these funds as you, Lady April Lunos, wife, see fit.
—Leonard K.]
April let out a small laugh and passed the letter to Mille Virta.
Mille said.
“Yes, as it is notarized here, you are free to use those funds as you wish.”
“And the other letter?”
“I have only seen the one.”
With those words, Mille took the first letter and departed.
April slowly examined the remaining letter.
[Your Trade Ship has reached Polana.
—Pejin Dieusz]
April let out a soft laugh.

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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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