The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 18

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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 18
The old gentleman was dressed in the finest clothes he could manage, so April surmised he hadn’t simply wandered here by accident.
April regarded the elderly man, who had steeled himself under such a grave misunderstanding, with a long, measured gaze.
The feeling was complicated. Being blamed for something she hadn’t done made her furious enough to seize him by the collar, yet at the same time, she pitied this old man who had come prepared to sacrifice his life.
Setting aside all these thoughts, April opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not a witch—actually, there’s nothing to apologize for. I’m not a witch, and that fog is certainly not my doing.”
At her reply, Bauman’s eyes went wide.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, how terribly rude of me! I’m so very sorry.”
Bauman turned to leave, offering repeated apologies as he moved toward the fog again, but stumbled and collapsed to the ground. The strain of pushing through the fog seemed to have ravaged his health in mere moments.
April walked over and helped the old man up, speaking gently.
“We’ll leave once the fog clears. There are plenty of empty rooms.”
“No, I made a mistake. I couldn’t possibly impose further—”
As he spoke, the old man began coughing again.
His hand came away from his mouth stained with dark blood. Pejin, who had emerged behind her, gestured to the officers to support the old man instead. Then he approached April and spoke to her.
“You’re unharmed.”
All the officers wore Masks that covered their entire faces as they exited.
They were tools used during epidemics, and they seemed to function reasonably well even within the fog.
The two of them returned to the mansion, and within moments Pejin’s head throbbed and he coughed, his expression growing weary.
He turned to look at April.
She was pale, but that was simply her natural state—no effect of the fog.
Exhausted by the endless stream of unexpected visitors, April returned to her chair and rested her forehead in her hand.
In the meantime, Paul approached Pejin and spoke.
“The officers from the Grand Duchy all say it’s far worse than last time.”
“Worse?”
“Yes. This is the first time symptoms have appeared so quickly after stepping outside, they say.”
That more deaths would follow was hardly difficult to foresee.
Pejin gazed at the unlikely assembly gathered in the drawing room of Lunos Mansion—one child, one noblewoman, an old man of unknown origin, a cluster of officers, a dog, and a chick—and muttered.
“I can’t make sense of this combination.”
“I know. It feels ominous.”
Paul agreed, unconsciously rubbing his arms as a chill ran through him.
All the officers, unable to leave easily from this grand mansion where guests kept arriving, felt an eerie unease settle over them.
Paul glanced toward Hanna and spoke to Pejin.
“That child is no ordinary little one.”
“What’s special about her?”
“When she pets them, even the chick and the hunting dog become calm, they say.”
Pejin’s observation was proving correct.
Hanna displayed a remarkable gift for handling animals.
Logan’s worries about the hunting dog attacking the chick proved needless; Hanna simply stepped in decisively to mediate, and it worked.
Sitting between the dog and the chick, Hanna pointed at each with a finger and spoke.
“Understand? You mustn’t fight. Why mustn’t you fight?”
Hanna posed the question to herself, then glanced toward April, who answered.
“If you want to fight, go outside and fight.”
Hanna relayed this to the animals. “Miss says if you want to fight, go outside and fight.”
Both animals seemed to accept the mediation.
The hunting dog dropped its chin to the ground and lay down, while the chick simply wandered about at a distance, neither cowering from the dog nor approaching it.
Bauman, worn and frightened, his body tense with cold, fussed with his hat and spoke with pleasure.
“She’s from Cosky.”
“What? How did you know?”
“People from Cosky have always had a way with animals.”
“Grandfather, do you have a way with animals too?”
“Well, I’m an architect. I’m not much good with animals, but I do know how to build a fine house.”
“Like Lunos Mansion?”
“Exactly! I can’t imagine building another mansion as splendid as this one, so I’ve rather run out of work, I’m afraid.”
At that, April looked toward Bauman.
“An architect?”
“Yes, miss. That is correct.”
Bauman answered, concealing his exhaustion. April spoke.
“When I emerged after seven years, the new buildings I saw no longer followed the style of the Grand Duchy.”
“That’s right. They’re all simply copying the form of the Empire. Of course, I could copy as well—better than anyone, in fact.”
“But you didn’t want to.”
“No. And so no more work has come my way.”
April nodded and shifted her gaze toward the door leading to the porch, speaking.
“Do you see that door?”
“Yes, of course, miss.”
“Come look at it.”
April rose as she spoke. As she reached for the chair to move it herself, Pejin walked over.
He lifted the chair with one hand and carried it to the door on his own.
He said nothing aloud, but Pejin was keenly interested in the conversation between April and Bauman.
April stepped onto the chair and ran her hand along the top of the door. Dust accumulated over the years came away on her palm, which she didn’t particularly mind. Pejin, by contrast, took a step back.
“There’s a carving here. Silver Osmanthus petals, sculpted in.”
“Ah…”
Bauman marveled, then noticed Pejin’s peculiar expression—he clearly had no idea what this meant—and explained in a gentle voice.
“In the Grand Duchy, Silver Osmanthus is the flower of welcome for guests.”
“Why would you hide it there?”
“It must be a gift from the architect to the Lunos family—a carving left to greet all the guests who would come to this mansion in future. A flower that will never wilt, as long as the house stands.”
As Bauman explained, he flicked his eyes toward April.
Pejin understood the signal to help her down from the chair and immediately turned to offer his hand.
April spoke.
“My hands are dirty.”
“It doesn’t matter. They’re your hands, aren’t they?”
At Pejin’s careless remark, April stiffened slightly, unseen, but she placed her hand in his almost at once.
Once April had stepped down, Pejin, curious as well, stood on the chair.
What April had to reach for by standing on her toes and stretching hard, Pejin could see with ease, looking down.
“So that’s what it looks like.”
It was a charming carving.
Delicate Silver Osmanthus flowers were carved from wood, each one different—some in full bloom, some as tight buds, some large and some small.
Even in this hidden place, the architect’s love for the house was evident.
All the officers understood why April had shown them this carving.
Bauman’s face flooded with emotion as he spoke.
“It was always my dream to see the inside of Lunos Mansion, and now that I’m here, I can see it truly is magnificent. What extraordinary fortune it was to have been able to build such a house as an architect.”
In response to the architect’s wonder at the mansion, April offered a silent smile.
Just then, Paul checked the time and rose to his feet, speaking.
“Captain, it’s eight o’clock.”
“We’re leaving.”
As Pejin also stood, April asked.
“You’re leaving?”
“We have to rotate shifts. We can’t leave people standing guard outside all night.”
“Do you have to go too? Aren’t you in command?”
“We’re short on officers. It can’t be helped.”
Pejin grumbled as he donned a Mask like the others. Opening the door, he noticed an officer running toward the mansion and his brow furrowed.
The officer burst into the mansion, removed his Mask, and reported to Pejin with a ashen face.
“There’s been an accident!”
At the report, the officers who had begun to leave froze in alarm.

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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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