The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 200

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

Chapter 200
As April emerged from the hospital room, she caught sight of Heidi standing frozen in the hallway, listening to a doctor explain the decree that would reduce Dieusz Grand Duchy citizens to second-class status throughout the Rasa Empire.
Heidi’s face had gone pale. Even after the doctor entered the hospital room where Miller lay, she remained rooted to the spot, unable to follow.
April passed her by and opened the hospital room door behind Heidi. Only then did Heidi turn and glimpse who lay inside. Following her gaze backward, April closed the door.
Inside the room, Shaper Meyer lay face-down—unable to rest his back due to severe burns—reading a newspaper. At the sound of April entering, he whirled around to face her.
“Don’t laugh at me. Don’t blame me for the warehouse fire!”
“I won’t laugh. And I won’t blame you.”
April spoke plainly and moved closer to Shaper. Then she bent her knees slightly in a respectful bow.
“Thank you.”
“What’s this? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden? Did you eat something that disagreed with you?”
“Everyone keeps asking that. I’m injured too, and I’ve taken painkillers.”
“That doesn’t sound like you at all.”
At Shaper’s grumbling, April smiled faintly.
“But I mean it. Thank you—for protecting the harbor, for protecting the food supply of the people on this island.”
“That’s my job.”
Shaper said this and then looked around the hospital room in bewilderment.
“But I don’t understand. Why have I suddenly become popular?”
The room was filled with flowers brought by unmarried women from noble families and baskets of fruit preserves. Someone had apparently stayed here long enough to replace the hospital’s standard vase with far more elaborate and rare arrangements.
April nodded and murmured.
“So this is the man our aunt reluctantly chose.”
“Why ‘reluctantly’? Anyone can see there’s no one else suitable for the Head of the Lunos Family to marry.”
“Exactly why reluctantly.”
“……Is that so?”
Shaper furrowed his brow and continued.
“Anyway, what I mean is, I don’t understand why I’m popular now. When I was always going to parties, no one cared about me, so why did this popularity suddenly appear when I was stuck at some harbor? Do people only like me when they don’t see me often?”
“I suppose.”
April tilted her head in thought. After a long moment, she spoke.
“I think people ultimately long for integrity. They complain that it’s frustrating or inefficient on the surface, but deep down they admire it or feel inferior to it.”
“What are you talking about? Say it more simply.”
“When you were only going to parties and hunting, you didn’t actually do anything. So the only thing showing who you were came from parties and hunts. But that’s different now. You tried to save these people, and while no one else was hurt, you alone suffered burns.”
“That last part was a jab at me, wasn’t it?”
“Wow, you’re picking up on these things now. You’ve changed quite a bit.”
“Listen, it’s only natural that I get furious when I see that look on your face.”
Shaper complained irritably. April noticed a noble woman at the window holding flowers, watching her with startled eyes, and spoke to Shaper.
“You have a visitor. I’ll go.”
“April.”
“Yes?”
At Shaper’s call, April answered. Then Shaper spoke.
“You mustn’t die. No matter how I think about it.”
“Why did you add ‘you’?”
“Because I’m a soldier. I could die.”
……
“But you have to live. So hold the Nation-Building Festival the way you want it. For about a week. Make it spectacular. Lavish enough to bankrupt the entire realm!”
At Shaper’s words, April’s expression hardened, and she struck his arm sharply.
“Ow! Who hits a patient!”
“I’m a patient too. You made the patient angry first. You’d better not die.”
April left the room in exasperation and gestured to the noble woman waiting at the door to enter.
Stepping out of the hospital and into the outside air, April found a familiar scene unfolding before her.
A scene she hadn’t seen for a long time after Pejin departed for Rasa. His police officers and Shaper’s naval forces were squabbling with each other.
“……There’s that sight again.”
As April murmured, Pejin, who had been waiting at the door, fastened her coat and spoke.
“Aren’t you happy to see that sight after so long?”
“Happy? How? You and Shaper fight constantly, so of course your subordinates fight too.”
“He starts it first.”
“You’re just as bad.”
“Why are you taking his side? Are you pitying him because he’s injured?”
“No.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I said no.”
“Pity is a genuinely dangerous emotion. I’m terrified.”
Pejin lamented this, but his expression suggested he wasn’t particularly worried. It seemed to April that he was genuinely, truly confident in his own appearance. It wasn’t wrong, but it did annoy her somewhat.
* * *
The two soon headed for the Grand Duke’s Residence.
There were many Dieusz Grand Duchy citizens staying in Rasa, either permanently or temporarily. Before their ties to Rasa became completely binding, they had to be brought back to the Grand Duchy. This was the first problem Pejin had to address the moment he sat down as Grand Duke, and urgent action was required.
It felt novel to April that she was finally participating in the Nobility Council meeting she should have attended long ago. As she considered how long she had been excluded, she ran her hand over the chair bearing the Lunos Family crest.
After Pejin and April took their seats, all five Heads of Houses with seats in the Council chamber arrived. The remaining eight chairs were soon filled by officials for the full assembly, and all seats were occupied.
Since a different man now sat in the Grand Duke’s seat and the Head of the Lunos Family sat in the chair that had been empty for so many years, everyone in the chamber understood that the atmosphere would be entirely different from before.
The chair was held by a family that had presided over the Nobility Council since ancient times. The chair spoke.
“Those who left of their own will can fend for themselves, but our citizens who went to the Rasa Empire for work and cannot return is a serious problem. Time is of the essence. We must bring them back quickly.”
Then one of the council members spoke.
“Citizens are already sending their own ships to bring their families back. It’s difficult for the Grand Duchy to act officially. If we’re not careful, we could face bombardment. That would be the start of war.”
“That’s right. For now, quietly supporting privately sent ships seems to be the best option.”
Neither view was wrong.
As opinion began to lean toward supporting private vessels, a young man rushed into the council chamber and whispered something to one of the officials. The official’s face grew grave.
“A ship that departed yesterday still hasn’t returned.”
Then, one after another, an aide of Pejin’s and an employee managing April’s trading business rushed into the chamber and conveyed something to them. Pejin looked toward April and spoke.
“The Rasa Empire has begun detaining Dieusz Grand Duchy citizens. It seems they’re now detaining all ships bound for the Left Island as well.”
“Just now.”
April was about to answer Pejin carelessly when she suddenly remembered they were in a council meeting and looked around at the other members. She wondered if she should tell them.
For so long, the Lunos Family had been excluded from this council. There wasn’t yet enough trust between them and the others to confide in them.
Reading April’s expression, Pejin gestured to two houses and three officials.
“Step out for a moment, will you?”
At Pejin’s words, all five left the council chamber without a word of protest. He had selected those most connected to the Lunos Family, those who might make April uncomfortable—all who had supported the execution of the previous Lunos Family head. April suddenly came to herself and turned to Pejin.
“……You don’t need to do that anymore.”
“Yes, only today.”
Pejin answered casually and smiled at her.
April spoke to those who remained.
“If the Left Island is detaining people from the Right Island, there is only one way to get them out.”
“What would that be, Head of House?”
As the council members asked, April answered.
“We smuggle them out on third-party ships.”
“Is that…… possible?”
The question came with skepticism mingled with genuine curiosity about the method. April nodded and answered.
“Through our trade over this time, the Lunos Family has acquired considerable……”
“……Food supplies?”
One of the nobles beside her continued her thought, and April smiled as she went on.
“Yes, food. And inside those shipments, we’ve smuggled in Foreign Currency. A great deal of it.”
At her words, the council chamber fell silent. Only April’s voice continued through that silence.
“With that Foreign Currency, I’ve negotiated with two third-party vessels docked at Lunos Harbor to bring out our detained citizens. The transaction has already been completed. They will bring our people back.”
Even as her words ended, the council chamber remained still, filled only with the sound of blinking eyes. Then Pejin looked at the chair and spoke.
“What are you doing? If it’s resolved, we should end the meeting.”

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