The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 207

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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 207
* * *
April asked one more favor of the Riuru sailor: to bring back Daisy Hass’s body.
The Riuru sailor accepted without hesitation, as if he’d been waiting for exactly this request.
Dealing with Riuru merchants was never easy. They demanded prices so egregiously favorable to themselves that it felt almost reckless.
Yet at the same time, they wanted to honor the value of the money they received, and they didn’t deny that Daisy had been a great help in that process. So this voyage was compensation for failing to complete the mission perfectly.
Of course, it was unlikely the Empire had given Daisy Hass a proper burial, so recovery was a long shot. Both sides acknowledged this.
When they departed Right Island again, the Riuru sailors didn’t leave empty-handed.
Pejin, finding it difficult to know what was happening in Rasa from here, regarded third-country sailors as vital intelligence for the Grand Duchy.
He treated them with considerable generosity, and filled their pockets well besides.
After sending the ship off, April threw herself once more into schemes to make money.
Daisy Hass’s death had set everyone on Right Island ablaze with shock. For April, too, the impact had been severe.
After that, seized by the conviction that money would save her, she spent entire days holed up in the Grand Residence, with only staff and bankers passing in and out.
On the last day of February, adrift in that money-blind haze,
April was discussing finances with bankers in the residence as she always did when she heard an unusual commotion outside and turned toward the window.
Spotting several cargo wagons below, April murmured to herself.
“……Ah, that’s right.”
Still half-asleep, she’d been uncertain whether they’d actually agreed to it.
But thinking about it rationally now, there was no way Pejin would pass up an opportunity like this.
“I did ask him to move in with me…….”
Mille, who had come to the window at the sound of her voice, asked.
“You asked him to move in and then forgot?”
“Not forgot—I was so drowsy I wasn’t sure I’d actually said it. I thought maybe I’d dreamed it.”
“I’m not sure which is worse.”
“Which do you think looks better?”
“Well, forgetting would be worse than the other option.”
Mille laughed first, as if to brush the matter aside.
After seeing that the guests were fed, April went out to meet Pejin as he stepped from the carriage, teasing him pointlessly.
“Who said you were moving in? Why do you have so much luggage for a temporary stay?”
“It might turn into a permanent one.”
Pejin answered cheerfully and suddenly wrapped his arms around her. Then, needling her, he said,
“I thought you said it in a dream, but here you are actually moving me in—I was shocked.”
“……You’re like a ghost.”
“Well, you were half-asleep when you said it. But I heard you anyway, and I brought everything before you could change your mind.”
Sometimes Pejin seemed to be playing on top of her head about certain things. But since she’d said the words herself, April had no choice but to let him stay.
She gave him a room near the second-floor stairs and watched his belongings being carried inside.
Pejin followed after April with a grin, asking,
“Why did you suddenly want to live together?”
“Well…”
Surprisingly eager to answer, April hesitated, and Pejin’s expression twisted as he said,
“The way you’re rushing to reply tells me it’s not just because you’re so crazy about me.”
“So you don’t want to hear it?”
“Try me.”
Pejin crossed his arms, his expression dissatisfied but willing to listen. April continued,
“That day, lying in bed while you talked about Hass’s family and hospital bills for the injured in Rasa—”
“Already sounds like a very practical reason.”
“But that’s when I finally understood why the Dieusz Family needed to marry me to their eldest son. There were so many things we had to solve together.”
“…….”
At the mention of his brother, Pejin’s eyes narrowed. He kept listening, lips pursed in a way that was almost cute, asking her to go on—but April saw no reason to praise him for it.
April went on,
“Now it feels like things are finally aligned. Hearing your thoughts made me see it.”
“So to summarize: you wanted me here to make work easier?”
“If you don’t like it, you can move back out.”
“I was saying I’m satisfied that you brought me here to the Lunos Grand Residence for any reason at all.”
“There’s a second reason too.”
“What?”
Pejin asked without much hope, grumbling, and April answered,
“When I fall asleep, you’d have to leave. I didn’t want that.”
“Oh, so that’s why…… Huh?”
“That’s all. Go finish unpacking.”
April turned away sharply, as if the explanation was complete.
Pejin understood her words in his mind but couldn’t quite believe them in his heart. He stood frozen, then hurried after her.
“You didn’t want me to leave?”
“Those aren’t difficult words. Why ask again?”
“Because I want to hear it clearly. Say it one more time. Then I won’t bother you about it anymore.”
“Really won’t bother me about it?”
“Of course. Trust me.”
At his words, April let out a low sigh. But trusting his promise not to be a nuisance anymore, she opened her mouth.
“Like I said, the first reason I asked you to move in was because I realized you’re a good partner to have. My goal has always been to restore the Lunos Family to prosperity, and for that I need Right Island’s autonomy. In that respect, you’re an excellent partner to me.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to start there. I only care about the second reason.”
“Wait—I’m getting to it.”
At April’s reproach, Pejin made a motion to cover his mouth with his hand.
April, despite herself, smiled slightly at the sight and continued,
“I want you to be there when I wake up in the morning. I don’t want you to go home.”
“…….”
“I just want to live with you. Is that not okay?”
When she asked again, Pejin tapped the back of the hand covering his mouth with his other index finger.
It was a gesture asking if he could speak now. When April nodded, Pejin lowered his hand and said,
“It’s okay.”
“It is?”
His promise not to be a nuisance seemed genuine, as Pejin said nothing more. Then he rubbed his face with both hands.
“Damn.”
“Why are you cursing?”
“I’m so happy I think I’m going to cry.”
Pejin said this and then, genuinely looking about to tear up, sank down and covered his face with both hands.
At this, April murmured to herself,
“I don’t know whether to comfort him or laugh at him.”
Pejin’s head shot up in disbelief as he said,
“Laugh? Where did that option even come from?”
“It’s funny. You’re getting tears over me asking to live with you.”
“You think it’s funny that I love you so much? Aren’t you being cold?”
“I already knew I was cold. Don’t bring it up now.”
“I did know.”
“Finish unpacking. I’ll send the guests off and come back.”
“Hurry. I miss you.”
“And I have something for you to do.”
“What?”
Pejin asked irritably, and April looked down at him and said,
“Make yourself pretty and wait in my bed.”
At her words, Pejin’s brows furrowed as he said,
“Is something wrong with my hearing? Why does that sound suggestive?”
“……It might be the most suggestive thing I’ve ever said in my life.”
“Go send the guests off and come back.”
The moment Pejin said this, he stood up, turned April’s body toward the small dining hall where the guests were eating, and rushed off toward the unpacking himself.
* * *
War. Followed by a Preemptive Strike.
Leslie Ragnar, the Police Commissioner, let out a sigh at the conclusion reached in the war ministry conference.
The Rasa Empire was entranced by the Emperor’s claim that war would make the Rasa Empire the strongest nation in history.
Leslie thought the Preemptive Strike was dishonorable, and he wanted to inform Pejin of this fact.
But now that ships carrying people from the Grand Duchy could no longer cross the Strait, there was no way for them to contact each other.
His nephew Lian Ragnar, who had emerged as the standout candidate for the next Police Commissioner, emphasized to the Lunos Family that as long as Pejin Dieusz remained in the Grand Duchy, the Emperor’s expectation of ending the war quickly would prove mistaken.
Leslie Ragnar agreed with this assessment.
While lost in these worries, Lian rushed into his office.
“What is it?”
Leslie asked his cherished nephew gently and without thinking, and Lian answered,
“Another Riuru ship has arrived at the Harbor——they’re looking for the body of Daisy Hass.”
“Let them have it. We’ve already recovered it.”
“But it seems…… their reason for coming here may not be limited to that. I mean, it is their stated primary purpose, but the fact that they’re treating the soldiers to lavish meals while ostensibly searching for the body makes me suspicious they might be spies.”
Lian’s suspicion was not without reason.
Both of the Ragnar officers here knew Pejin well.
Planting ears in various places to gather intelligence was the first thing Pejin always did when solving a case.
And by what they knew of Pejin, the fact that suspicious circumstances pointing to spies had just been discovered meant—
“……Spies must have been operating openly for quite some time now.”
Leslie Ragnar muttered bitterly. And these spies likely existed most abundantly within this very Police Department itself.

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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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