The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 223

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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 223
Pejin and April had no time to spare, much less the emotional leisure to savor being married. They hastened back to the Lunos Family Estate.
Becoming truly husband and wife changed nothing outwardly. They still woke in the same bed, still began each day with a kiss.
If one thing did differ, it was the disappearance of the elders’ meddling—those constant rebukes about how improper it was to live together without being married. Now that objection had vanished.
In its place came a flood of letters, each containing much the same refrain: a mixture of fury at not being invited to the ceremony and assurances that they would hold a proper wedding after the war, so they’d see the couple then.
Pejin grumbled as he reviewed the congratulatory letters.
“Remarkable. Even in the middle of an evacuation, everyone’s obsessing over propriety.”
April answered his complaint.
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Even now, they hold certain values sacred.”
“You didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you anyway—to me, that sacred thing is you.”
Anticipating her objection, Pejin spoke first, and April laughed softly at his preemption.
“I know.”
“Say something longer. We’re not that busy, are we?”
“We are. But I’ll say more anyway.”
April had spent the entire day moving about the Right Island, preparing shelters and transforming the Grand Residence into a fortress. For her efforts, Lady Eleonore had gifted her practical, comfortable clothing. As April struggled to fasten the cuff buttons on her work dress, she spoke.
“If I had to name what I hold sacred, it would be this estate, the Lunos Family, and commerce.”
As she listed each item, Pejin gestured for her hand so he could fasten the sleeve button for her, then chided her gently.
“And I’m only the first?”
“First.”
“You have that many sacred things, and I’m only first?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to break my heart like this. Why do you always say such wonderful things so suddenly? Give me some warning.”
“I always love you. I don’t know why you feel it’s sudden.”
“Well… I suppose you’re right. I’ll learn to accept it.”
Something about her saying she always loved him pleased him—his mouth twitched upward. Then he couldn’t help himself and spoke to her.
“I always love you too. Truly. I’d lose anything for you.”
April held his gaze steadily. His presence made her more anxious, yet at the same time, his very existence gave her happiness.
Knowing all of that—all the instability her feelings created—April had still chosen to love him.
As April was thinking this, Pejin suddenly realized something and murmured.
“Lately… I haven’t felt sensitive at all.”
He spoke these words, then his expression shifted to surprise. He looked to April.
“What’s happening to me?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“It’s your fault, isn’t it?”
“It’s a blessing, not a fault.”
“It’s strange. No medicine ever helped, but…”
“Love makes fools of people, I think.”
“Are you saying I’m a fool?”
Pejin made a show of furrowing his brow, and April nodded and burst into laughter.
* * *
August Lilyhill, Emperor of the Rasa Empire, had no doubts whatsoever that he understood the Dieusz brothers better than anyone else did.
Just as Pejin knew him well, he knew the brothers—both alike in some ways, different in others.
Pejin always said he would comply with whatever the Emperor wanted and generally arranged matters in the direction the Emperor preferred. Yet the Emperor could never fully trust him, because although Pejin’s execution was flawless, the results always aligned perfectly with Pejin’s own conclusions. After such missions, Pejin never returned empty-handed.
Miller, by contrast, was somewhat different. Miller showed his emotions plainly when given the Emperor’s orders or requests—hesitation, reluctance, guilt. It didn’t seem intentional on his part. Rather, he had been so protected by Pejin all these years that he’d never faced such situations before and lacked the skill to conceal his feelings.
Yet of the two, Miller was far easier to manage. Miller would do exactly as the Emperor wished, provided his own desires were satisfied. And discovering what Miller desired—that was remarkably simple.
The brothers, perhaps, were born with similar natures. But between them lay an insurmountable gap of experience.
The Emperor had known from the start that Heidi Dieusz was on friendly terms with influential young men of the region where the Dieusz Family had settled. Indeed, the family’s initial move there had been prompted by Heidi’s and those brothers’ mutual affection.
As they grew closer, Miller displayed the particular sensitivity that ran through the Dieusz bloodline like a natural instinct.
In peacetime, Miller and Heidi harbored no suspicions of each other. But now? That was different. A relationship begun while Miller was betrothed to another woman had grown precarious under the pressure of crisis, wavering dangerously, breeding mutual suspicion.
Today, at the dinner table with the Emperor, the Dieusz couple had performed a pantomime of peace and affection, yet August Lilyhill had heard through reliable channels that they had quarreled fiercely several days prior.
After the meal concluded and the Empress departed with Heidi to take tea with other noblewomen, August Lilyhill summoned Miller to the Imperial Garden.
The Emperor now addressed Miller as he might a close relative.
“April in the Rasa Empire is a lovely season, isn’t it? Though of course it cannot compare to August, the month of my birth.”
Miller answered with a faint smile.
“Isn’t August quite hot?”
“Not excessively so. Besides, the world overflows with fruit. Vendors can barely keep their stalls standing under the weight—everyone simply picks what falls from the trees. Why would anyone need anything else?”
“Considering the fruit prices in the Dieusz Grand Duchy, that is indeed remarkable.”
“The Empire is truly a fine place to live.”
The Emperor intended to satisfy Miller’s desires. So he faced him and handed him a cigarette, speaking as he did.
“I’ll have documents drawn up. Documents guaranteeing that no member of the Dieusz Family will ever be reduced to Second-Class Citizen status, no matter what occurs.”
As expected, light returned to Miller’s weary eyes at these words. This brother did indeed possess a beautiful face—the part of Rasa the Emperor most wished to preserve.
Yet the tremor in his hand as he accepted the cigarette had been annoying since earlier. Whether it was a temporary condition or not, the Emperor forced his attention away from it and continued speaking.
“If you simply provide me what I need, I shall secure much for you. Should you wish it, I would even grant you land.”
……
“Miller, you are now an Imperial citizen. Or rather, come to think of it, you always were. The Dieusz Family has intermarried with the Imperial House countless times since antiquity. Both you and Pejin carry within your veins a considerable measure of Royal blood. How could I regard you as a stranger?”
When Pejin had first seen this garden, abundant with greenery, he had been speechless for a moment. Coming from that harsh, frozen place to step into a garden where summer’s verdure lingered even unto winter—his astonishment was well-founded. Miller, at heart, must surely be admiring this garden’s aspect as well.
The Emperor continued.
“So, Miller.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Is there something you might give to me?”
The Emperor’s question, posed as one might coax a child, sent Miller into contemplation. Yet the Emperor found even his hesitation delightful. The answer was obvious enough. Miller Dieusz was a weak creature.
After a long silence, Miller spoke.
“I can obtain Dye.”
“Dye?”
“Yes. I understand Your Majesty fears that the troops sent to the Dieusz Grand Duchy may not survive should fog arise. And…”
The Emperor promptly finished the trailing thought.
“With merely some Dye Concentrate, you already possess the technique to manufacture vast quantities.”
“That Concentrate… I will provide it.”
After Miller spoke these words, he bit his lip, guilt weighing upon him. Before receiving the Concentrate, the Emperor issued an order to his secretary, careful not to agitate Miller’s sensitive nerves.
“First, draft a contract. A document guaranteeing that the Dieusz Family shall remain Imperial citizens in perpetuity. And grant them a townhouse in the Capital City.”
At the Emperor’s command, the secretary departed at once and returned with the contract prepared.
There in the Imperial Garden, a contract was concluded between the Emperor and a man who had once been Grand Duke of the Dieusz Grand Duchy. Afterward, Miller handed over the Dye Concentrate.

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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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