The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 210

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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 210
After hearing Pejin’s words, April regarded him for a moment, then pulled at his arm. Drawing close, she met his eyes and spoke.
“Come home quickly.”
At her words, Pejin laughed.
“I like the sound of that—telling me to come home. All right, I’ll be back soon.”
After exchanging their parting words, April left the harbor.
Pejin was not unaware of her desire to stay at Lunos Harbor, so he had thought it would require considerable persuasion to send her back to the Grand Residence.
Fortunately, however, she had accepted the reality that she must survive.
And thanks to Fin Tus, he had been able to convey that her wish to live stemmed not solely from concern for this island’s future, but from affection and love for those dear to her.
Her parents, Pejin himself, the people of the harbor here, and the countless inhabitants of Right Island who had once benefited from her aid—all loved the Head of the Lunos House.
Despite once being blamed for summoning the fog that had claimed countless lives, it was she herself, and the power of the Lunos Family, who had turned what appeared to be total loss into victory.
After sending April away, Pejin returned to the top of the lighthouse.
‘I want to hear it.’
The sullen expression April had worn lingered in his mind.
She was strange. Consistent from childhood to now, she never answered according to his wishes.
And yet, he was delighted by those few words alone.
It was not that she had said she loved him, nor was he hearing a declaration of love—he found it ridiculous and even pitiful to be moved by her desire to hear such words, and yet there was nothing he could do about it.
Pejin’s gaze, which had been fixed on the sea, dropped to the ring on his finger.
The explosion had occurred before the Marriage Declaration was complete, so both of them knew that many of the elders would not recognize their marriage. In fact, they had deliberately left the ceremony ambiguous from the start, setting the moment of the explosion as their opportunity.
To have the marriage properly recognized, they would need to call a priest again and resume the ceremony from where it had been interrupted.
In truth, it was not difficult—a few close relatives from both families could be summoned and the matter concluded. It was only a matter of will between the two.
Pejin had proposed, and April was gradually giving him her answer.
She had consented to return to this island, and had even gone so far as to suggest they live together first.
Pejin recalled April’s words—come home quickly—and smiled to himself. It was as welcome as her suggestion to live together. The words of returning to a home they would share. Those small grants of consent made him unbearably happy.
Yet at the same time, he found himself hoping she would delay her answer to his proposal.
It was clear that bombardment would target the coast, so beyond Lunos Harbor, he had prepared two other locations for defense. One was the Grand Duke’s Harbor, and the other was a factory on the Southern Coast.
As trade between the two nations ceased, all the Empire’s citizens working in that factory had returned to Rasa.
If that factory came under bombardment, his life could be in danger.
The distance was considerable, and his recovery had progressed considerably, so he was confident he could survive if only a faint fog were generated—but as he was no doctor, such overconfidence might prove foolish.
Once bombardment began, he could not help but contemplate the possibility of losing his life.
Fortunately, at least this time, the likelihood of Rasa targeting the factory was nearly zero.
As far as Pejin knew, the Emperor of Rasa would never permit it.
August Lilyhil was seized by the conviction that Right Island could be occupied far too easily. Therefore, a plan to target a factory capable of producing abundant fuel afterward would never gain imperial approval. In the first place, this preemptive bombardment itself was an action meant to placate the Emperor, so it would not have been broached at all.
And late that night.
A reconnaissance vessel, disguised as a civilian fishing boat, which had been scouting the distant waters, was seen returning.
The naval officer who had confirmed the signal received by the reconnaissance vessel spoke to Pejin.
“One cruiser and four landing craft are approaching.”
And the naval officer read the flag attached to the reconnaissance vessel, spelling out its letters.
Pejin had nearly perfect knowledge of Rasa’s naval forces. Therefore, from the letters the naval officer was now spelling out alone, he could determine exactly which warship was coming, what weapons it carried, and the extent of their power.
The naval officers who received the information Pejin provided rushed to Shaper Meyer, who was waiting aboard the warship.
Shaper Meyer clicked his tongue and spoke.
“These damn police don’t seem to know anything they shouldn’t.”
Though he said this in complaint, it was praise.
Right Island’s navy had many ships, but they were far inferior to Rasa’s warships.
Yet having obtained information about the preemptive bombardment that the enemy believed they were conducting in secret, it was not entirely without countermeasures.
Shaper Meyer spoke.
“There’s only one thing we need to do today.”
And he continued.
“Don’t touch the landing craft. Let them land. These loud-mouthed police will handle that themselves. We’re going to do only one thing…… sink that one ship.”
The sinking of a single cruiser would be a fatal blow to the Rasa Empire. Yet to sink that one ship, all these warships here, barely constructed with April’s vast investment, might also sink.
Of course, that was not their intention.
Shaper Meyer turned to face his subordinates and spoke.
“You understand, I’m sure, but each of these ships we’ve obtained was provided by the Head of the Lunos House, whom we’ve long called a witch. Which is to say, each one carries her blessing. You all know that the Lunos Family, for all their airs of nobility, have always received the protection of pirates. But today, let’s not deny it. That most of us are descended from pirates! And today, those descendants of pirates will defend this harbor!”
At this strange cry of pirate descent, the police stationed along the coast furrowed their brows.
Logan spoke to Pol and Pejin.
“It seems the navy is susceptible to that kind of talk…… Wow, it really works on them.”
And indeed, the naval officers were ignited with fighting spirit by Shaper Meyer’s words.
Being descendants of pirates was a confidence attended by shame, almost shamanistic in nature.
Contrary to the navy’s belief that they protected citizens by guarding the offshore waters, for pirates those waters had always been a battlefield, an object of conquest. Therefore, Shaper Meyer’s objective of “sinking the enemy’s ship” was a way of thinking closer to piracy.
Of course, this was likely the only viable strategy, given that Right Island’s current military strength made capturing a cruiser impossible.
Pejin watched the warship heading out to sea, then turned and spoke.
“Go. We have to catch and kill everyone who lands.”
“The navy seems rather overly excited. Will they be all right? Their strength is limited too…….”
As Pol expressed his worry, Pejin answered offhandedly.
“There are more landing craft than expected, so just worry about our job. The soldiers from Left Island will absolutely have no idea what kind of place this island’s winter sea is. Nor why Lunos Harbor is situated here.”
The offshore waters before Lunos Harbor were treacherous beyond measure. This was a sea where even experienced fishermen ran aground.
A blizzard was beginning. That tiresome snow was bitterly welcome today.
Pejin murmured.
“The March sea requires the permission of the Lunos House.”
Shortly after, the landing craft, moving separately from the cruiser, reached the harbor.
The soldiers disembarking seemed bewildered by the unexpectedly empty Lunos Harbor. The blizzard obscured their vision.
And gunfire broke out from some direction or other.
* * *
April continued her ordinary daily routine at the Lunos Grand Residence.
The Lunos Family was likewise preparing to evacuate, and servants were gradually moving belongings to a Lunos Family warehouse beyond the gorge.
The hill on which the Grand Residence stood was unusually clear today. The snow had fallen, and then, frustratingly, it cleared.
April prayed for snow to fall on Lunos Harbor. No one on this island was as hardy against blizzards as its own people.
News of the preemptive bombardment spread across the entire island within a day.
Thanks to reporters who rushed out during the war and did not cease transmitting information, April was able to receive relatively detailed reports in the newspaper each morning and evening.
And on the evening of the fifth day since leaving Lunos Harbor.
When the extra edition was delivered to the house, April placed both her hands on it before even unfolding the newspaper and offered a brief prayer for victory. And when she unfolded the newspaper, the first thing that caught her eye was a single brief line.
[One Rasa Empire Cruiser Sunk; Dieusz Grand Duchy Victorious in First Naval Battle]

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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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