The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 221

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

Chapter 221
The church Pejin had chosen stood on the mountainside. It was a handsome building of stacked red brick.
Though the church was old, it had been beautifully preserved thanks to the affectionate care of the townspeople. As April stepped inside, she spoke.
“How did you find a place like this so quickly?”
Pejin answered in a tone that anyone could see was self-satisfied.
“Is there anything the police don’t know? I know it all.”
“Is that so? You weren’t the police here before, so you wouldn’t have known. Though you are now.”
She teased him, but when April added those words—”though you are now”—Pejin let out a soft laugh. He looked up at the ceiling where frescoes were painted and spoke.
“I found this place before. A famous thief was hiding in this area, so I came to catch him. At the time, I thought about coming here with you, and now here we are.”
“Did you catch the thief?”
“If I hadn’t caught him, I wouldn’t have brought you here. It would be dangerous.”
As Pejin answered this way, he chided April by pointing to her eyes full of curiosity.
“I’ll tell you later, so pay attention to me. Not the thief.”
“Paying attention to the thief is also paying attention to you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t see it that way. I’m too narrow-minded.”
Speaking thus, the interior of the church they entered was decorated simply.
Since trade with the Rasa Empire had been cut off and they couldn’t bring in flowers that bloomed in spring, the only flowers they could obtain were wildflowers that stubbornly survived even in winter. Yet seeing the church decorated abundantly with those wildflowers, one could feel how much care Pejin had taken despite his busy schedule.
Among the winter wildflowers that bloomed on Right Island was a variety of jasmine, so the church was filled with jasmine’s fragrance. The Priest declared the marriage of the two within the church full of white flowers and pale pink buds not yet fully opened, and finished with a prayer announcing the declaration to God.
After becoming a complete married couple, the two remained on a bench in front of the church, reluctant to return to the Lunos Family Estate immediately. They wanted to indulge in a moment to celebrate becoming husband and wife.
The two brought a bottle of Knoc and filled their glasses. Pejin made a toast and spoke.
“Congratulations on the marriage.”
“You too.”
April answered thus, and the two looked at each other and laughed softly.
As April began, the sound of ice melting in the mountains was heard here and there, with large chunks breaking apart. If one listened carefully to that sound, one could also begin to hear the faint sound of a stream flowing.
“It’s spring.”
April murmured, and Pejin let out a snort.
“It’s winter. How is this spring? Snow still falls all the time.”
“Your standards for spring are too high.”
“No, it’s the people here who have low standards.”
“You’re going to live here from now on anyway. Why not live by their standards?”
“My dream is to be someone who changes the standards.”
Saying such things, they bickered back and forth, neither wanting to give in, when suddenly Pejin sighed. Then he took April’s arm and linked it through his own as he spoke.
“What if we’re still doing this when we’re old? Fighting all the time.”
At those words, April also imagined herself old, and without meaning to, she laughed.
“I don’t think either of us will change. No matter how much I think about it.”
“We’ll keep fighting like this forever?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, that’s us.”
Though Pejin spoke lamentingly, the corners of his mouth rose easily as if the thought made him want to smile. Then he checked the ring on his hand and the ring on April’s hand again as he spoke.
“We’re really husband and wife now.”
His face was smiling so much that April, watching him, finally burst into laughter herself. The scent of jasmine drifted from the wide-open church doors and enveloped the two of them.
Pejin spoke.
“I hate to admit it, but this time you were right.”
“What was right?”
“I need to change my standards. From now on, when someone asks me what spring is, I think I’ll remember today.”
At Pejin’s cheerful voice, April looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, me too.”
* * *
The Grand Duchy citizens remaining in Rasa were doing everything they could to avoid being treated as Second-Class Citizens. Those of Grand Duchy origin who were managing to receive First-Class Citizen treatment sought out the nobles desperately for help, but since those nobles were struggling to save themselves, they did not help the citizens.
Miller and Heidi, a couple who had settled in a Resort City of the Rasa Empire, lived in seclusion for some time, avoiding people’s gazes.
The mansion they had purchased was a Villa used by an influential family in the region, with a calm sea nearby and various fruits growing in the Garden.
There was no need to leave the house. The weather alone was a blessing for the people of the Grand Duchy. Miller watched from a distance the children happily picking fruit, their cheeks flushed with excitement.
Then he noticed Heidi finishing preparations for an outing and asked.
“Going out again today?”
“Ah, yes.”
Heidi brushed her hair back with a sheepish expression.
She had maintained a close relationship with the children of the Head of House who had sold them this Villa. There were two sons and a youngest daughter, and the eldest son was the same age as Heidi. She often went out with these three, and when it was a joint outing, Miller joined them as well.
Seeing that she had prepared alone today, it was at least not a joint outing. Miller found himself asking.
“Are you meeting all three?”
“No, Julia said she couldn’t come today.”
It meant it would be just the two men. Heidi continued.
“Many other friends will be there too, she said.”
……
“You know, Miller. If His Majesty takes a whim, we could be demoted to Second-Class Citizens at any moment. The best way to prevent that, just in case, is to become as close as possible to the nobility here.”
Heidi’s explanation grew longer, and Miller simply smiled and nodded without words.
“Yes. Have a good time.”
Having received Miller’s farewell, Heidi kissed him on the cheek and left the Villa.
Miller returned inside the house with a burning heart.
Pejin’s violence had left aftereffects on him. The particular problem was his hands. As the muscles ruptured, his hands shook severely whenever he tried to grip something.
Pejin was a cunning man, so he couldn’t have been unaware that aftereffects would remain. It was not an aftereffect that was always obvious, but in social gatherings, he was forced to use his left hand when drinking tea.
Sitting at a table and drinking a glass of water, he kept hearing what sounded like April’s scornful laughter in his ears.
No, he actually heard her voice coming beside him, and even saw her.
“See? I told you?”
“……Get out of here.”
“Heidi Basanta wanted you even though she knew you were engaged to me. People who have committed infidelity once don’t struggle with doing it twice. Especially when they have no guilt about it.”
From across the table, April was smiling endlessly like a villain. Miller, without thinking, hurled his glass at April Lunos.
The glass shattered with a loud noise, and the servant of Grand Duchy origin froze before silently beginning to clean up the glass.
“You’re wrong. That’s not infidelity—that’s fate.”
Miller murmured.
Just then, a guest arrived who would further shake his unstable emotions. It was a Messenger sent by the Emperor.
The Messenger came to where he was and politely handed him an Invitation.
“His Majesty the Emperor sent this.”
Opening the Invitation, it was a request to have a meal together. Why he wanted to meet was painfully obvious.
Miller knew that the Emperor was trying to pressure him through this meal. He would want information about the Grand Duchy, and about Pejin and April. In exchange for the treatment of Miller’s family.
“He asked that you be sure to attend.”
The Messenger still politely conveyed the Emperor’s command to him.
After the Messenger sent by the Emperor gave the Invitation and left, Miller opened a drawer on one side of his Study.
Inside was a bottle of Dye. Dye from the Lunos Family Estate.
April had given up all the Dye she possessed to build a shelter. She didn’t hesitate about it at all. In the process, Miller was able to use people and money to siphon off some of the Dye.
This was an excellent commodity to trade with the Emperor. The Emperor was desperate to obtain this Dye right now.
However, Miller still had standards about things he absolutely should not do. This was like a magic that protected the people of the Grand Duchy.
But at the same time, he was seized by an unbearable sense of unease.

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