The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 22

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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 22
People grew accustomed to misfortune far more easily than anyone expected.
This year, as with every year before, the mist that had returned faded quickly, blurring in people’s minds just as fast. Only those who had lost family members still beat their chests in grief.
The Grand Duchy grew colder with each passing day.
April, being someone from the Grand Duchy who was unusually sensitive to cold, found herself spending more and more time beneath her quilts.
If she could, she would have stayed there all day long. Had the Manor not required so much of her attention, she likely would have spent most of these seven years in bed.
As she sighed and settled in for a few more hours of sleep, Hanna entered once more.
“Then I’ll head to the Capital with grandfather, miss.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
April replied with practiced indifference.
Today, Hanna was planning to use the money April had given her to pay off the debt the Factory owed.
Since debt was always best paid quickly, April had promptly pressed the money into Hanna’s hands and sent her on her way.
Worried that the child might encounter trouble traveling alone, Bauman bundled himself up warmly and followed along.
After the two of them had left the Manor, April slowly rose from her bed. Today, with those two gone, she intended to venture down to the Basement and see what lay below.
As she stepped outside, she found that Bauman had completed the Chicken Coop in the time since she’d last looked.
True to his nature as a builder, the wooden structure was quite handsome. Even the hens seemed content with their new home, pecking at bits of feed outside before wandering back in to rest.
After admiring the Chicken Coop, April made her way toward the Basement.
Just as she was about to descend the stairs, Sebio sensed danger and seized her clothing, pulling her back.
“What are you doing?”
When April tugged free, Sebio began barking loudly, his cries echoing through the passage.
April spoke with firm resolve.
“Be quiet. That place holds no danger for me. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice if I were in peril?”
Even as she said it, her thoughts drifted unexpectedly to Pejin.
When she’d pulled the Rope that day, he was the first to appear. He’d known she’d sent a false signal to summon the Police quickly, yet he never reproached her for it.
She couldn’t fathom why she’d thought of him just now.
April shook her head firmly, then tied the persistent dog to a pillar before descending the stairs.
As before, when she reached the second basement level, the light from the Lantern grew noticeably brighter.
April was certain that somewhere in this Basement lay the source of what the people of the Grand Duchy called the Witch’s Power.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
* * *
The Police arrived shortly after April had descended into the Basement.
“The—the Basement door is open!” one officer reported, having checked first.
At this news, Pol pressed his hand to his forehead.
“Then we have to follow her down!”
“B-but sir, you know what happens! Everyone who goes down there collapses……”
That much was true enough.
Pol turned back toward the carriage, where Pejin sat waiting.
“What should we do? Wait……”
Though Pol trailed off, Pejin understood what he meant to ask.
Pejin stepped down from the carriage and spoke.
“I’ll go. I’m sturdy enough.”
“And if you collapse down there? If no one finds you, you’ll just stay lost?”
“The Rope.”
“That won’t save your life if you lose consciousness down there, Captain.”
Pol grumbled, but he handed Pejin the Rope all the same.
As Pejin threaded the Rope through his belt, Pol spoke.
“Be careful. I’m beginning to think she really is a witch.”
At this, Pejin let out a contemptuous laugh.
“Nonsense.”
“Then how do you explain it—those burly officers all collapsing while she stands untouched?”
Pejin glanced back at Pol as he replied.
“There’s no such thing as witches in this world. What you’re seeing is nothing but an illusion made convenient for use.”
April moved deeper into the second basement level.
Along the walls hung Candelabra, their candles fashioned from whale oil and affixed with melted wax.
As the light from her Lantern grew increasingly bright—bright enough to frighten her—she transferred the flame to each candle she encountered.
She pressed deeper still until she discovered a door in the far reaches of the second basement level.
Opening it, she found a staircase descending further down.
“……There’s another level?”
April murmured in disbelief.
She’d managed to reach the second level somehow, but venturing any deeper filled her with unease.
Yet she was certain now—she had to continue. She placed her foot on the first step.
A sound behind her made her spin around in alarm. Someone was coming down the stairs from above.
April despised every uniform the Police wore, yet in that moment, she felt genuine relief at the sight of that black coat.
For the first time, she realized that uniform existed not merely to threaten, but also to reassure.
When she heard Pejin’s voice, her heart eased even further.
“Don’t do anything suspicious, Lunos.”
“Then don’t wander freely through someone else’s home uninvited.”
“Why blame me? Did you not hear before House Arrest began that the Surveillance Period continues for two more years after those seven end?”
“I doubt I’d remember what I heard seven years ago.”
Her point was fair, and Pejin’s expression showed acknowledgment.
“Well, true enough. But such laws exist regardless. Any suspicious behavior triggers an immediate Police response.”
She wanted to ask why entering her own Basement counted as suspicious, but she had to admit—to anyone looking, it did seem exactly that. Not that she had nothing to say about it.
“Then the Police should have come by to inform me again the day my House Arrest ended.”
“The Grand Duchy Police failed spectacularly at that. Go complain to them—I’ll back you up.”
Pejin drew a line between himself and the Grand Duchy Police as he spoke, but then he continued moving toward her. April stopped him.
“Don’t come closer. You saw what happened to people last time.”
“I know what I’m doing. Citizens shouldn’t worry about the Police.”
“I’m not worried. I just don’t want to clean up a corpse in my own house.”
“And I’m not deluding myself that you’re concerned about me.”
Because Pejin wore a Mask, she could only hear the sardonic edge in his voice; his expression remained hidden, and something about that unsettled her.
The Mask obscured him so completely that as he walked toward her through the flickering candlelight, Pejin Dieusz appeared almost demonic. Even knowing it was him, a flicker of wariness took root in her mind.
“I said don’t come any closer.”
“I won’t die here.”
With that, Pejin stepped right up to the door.
Upon discovering the passage to the third basement level, he clicked his tongue.
“How deep does this house go, anyway?”
From the second basement to the third—
Even April, who had lived in this Manor her entire life, didn’t know it existed, so Pejin’s bewilderment was understandable.
April spoke.
“Wait here. I’ll go ahead.”
“I’ll go.”
“If you die down there, they’ll blame me.”
“Take your time. I’ll be waiting.”
Pejin relented immediately, shifting his stance. As his resistance eased, April found herself smiling without thinking—then quickly composed herself.
She drew a deep breath and began her descent.
When she was alone, fear had made the thought of going down unbearable. But knowing someone was watching from above gave her courage.
Unlike the twenty or so steps between the first and second floors, the stairs to the third basement level seemed to spiral endlessly downward.
As she descended the winding staircase, the oppressive darkness pressed down upon her shoulders.
The single Lantern was too small for this vast darkness. Yet April did not stop—until her feet came to an abrupt halt.
It was a sound. Like a human voice. Like wind. Like the murmur of a crowd. Like someone talking to themselves.
April nearly screamed, clamping her hand over her mouth. Goosebumps erupted across her entire body.

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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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