The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 225

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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 225
Miller surrendered the Lunos Family Dye—the island’s most crucial weapon—to the Emperor. For his own safety.
It was a painful truth for anyone on Right Island, but the one whose heart ached most under that truth was his younger brother, Pejin.
After hearing this news, it took Pejin a considerable time before he opened his mouth again. Yet it wasn’t the process of gathering his thoughts that consumed so much time.
It was the time needed to accept a single, unbearable fact: that with Miller, no matter how completely their relationship might rupture, the blood tie born of one family could never be fully erased.
Pejin forced his emotions down and finally spoke.
“If the Dye has fallen into the Emperor’s hands, we’ll need to prepare for an assault on the Northern Coast.”
As his words ended, Paul gasped softly and then explained in Pejin’s stead.
“Without Dye to sustain them in the Fog, of course the Rasa Empire Army won’t attempt to penetrate into the Island Interior. But if they have the Dye, that changes everything. They’ll push in as deep as the supply allows.”
That single difference in Dye availability would completely transform both nations’ strategies.
From Right Island’s perspective, starved for absolute military strength, the situation actually made strategy easier. There was no opponent more straightforward to counter than one who revealed what it wanted. This intelligence allowed the island to concentrate its scant forces in a single location—a piece of good fortune, nearly.
Yet Logan stood at a distance, stealing glances at Pejin’s expression.
Pejin himself had not entirely failed to anticipate the likelihood that the Dye would leak into Rasa’s hands. He had even voiced the necessity of strengthening Ground Warfare preparations in such a scenario.
Moreover, Pejin harbored no further expectations of his brother, and so could not be devastated more than he already was. In his mind, at least, that much was clear.
But this betrayal could not help but shake him once more, on an emotional level.
Even as Paul explained, Pejin struggled to settle that tremor. Logan and Paul, who remembered how Pejin had lived in Rasa, watched his restlessness with unease. There were times when Pejin swayed like a gutted shipwreck—like a vessel without helm or captain.
Logan observed Pejin’s state and cast a glance toward the shelf where the spirits sat. Drinking allowed Pejin to quiet that roiling emotion, at least temporarily. Of course, everyone knew he was merely borrowing the stability of his future, doubling the anxiety waiting there—but who could afford to think about tomorrow in a moment so urgent as this?
Just then, an Army General posed a question.
“And us? Do we have sufficient supply of that Lunos Family Dye?”
The War Ministry official responsible for managing the Lunos Dye offered a reply.
“For supplies alone, yes—we have enough.”
“Then our shortage is merely manpower.”
The General’s gaze swept across the assembled police, taking inventory. Paul answered to what that gaze sought.
“The Police will contribute whatever forces we can spare.”
The Empire Police officers were, after all, armed police graduates of the military academy. Moreover, having seen real combat in the Ground Warfare at Lunos Harbor, their combat strength was beyond doubt.
What this General truly had in mind, therefore, was Pejin Dieusz.
Without knowledge of the state of his health, the participation of the new Grand Duke would be crucial for morale. But that was only one concern.
Even setting that aside, there were many eyes scrutinizing the legitimacy of Pejin, who had suddenly assumed the Grand Duke’s throne when Miller fled. The timing had been too tense to press the matter, but the fact that the Grand Duke—who should have played the most vital role in the coming war—had abandoned his post was something difficult to accept. Pejin was that fugitive Grand Duke’s brother. Worse still, he was an ex-officer of the Rasa Police; the question of whether he truly served this Grand Duchy would not easily sleep.
Then came the news that Miller had stolen the Dye and presented it to the Emperor—and suspicion of Pejin Dieusz deepened further.
One minister rose to agree with the General’s point, addressing Pejin directly.
“Your Highness, if you were to lead us, no boost to morale could surpass it.”
To this, Pejin replied:
“I’ll give it serious consideration.”
But a mere promise to consider could not greatly shift eyes already lit with suspicion.
April simply watched Pejin. This proof had to come from Pejin himself. On Right Island at this hour, the one enjoying the most absolute support was, of course, April. But she judged that any words she spoke now would, in the long run, do Pejin more harm than good, and so held her tongue.
Even so, it was difficult to suppress her anger at those who were attacking him—who had abandoned a stable life in Rasa to come to this land for Right Island’s sake.
With suspicion’s gaze concentrated upon him, Pejin finally let out a bitter laugh.
Was this the first time he’d faced such doubt?
Pejin opened his mouth slowly, as he always did before the Police.
“I won’t deny that Miller Dieusz is my brother, nor that his betrayal might fuel suspicion of me. Once this war is over, should we have the opportunity to prosecute him, I swear I will do so in strict accordance with the Grand Duchy’s law—with no mercy shown to my own blood.”
The Empire Police had heard this proof countless times. Before the Emperor, before the Police themselves, sometimes even before his own subordinates, Pejin had been forced to demonstrate his loyalty to the throne.
He had weathered the scrutiny of countless Police officers. Only, the fact that such suspicion had followed him even back to his homeland was something that wore on him.
Pejin continued, his voice neither hollow nor fervent.
“You may doubt my loyalty to the Grand Duchy as much as you wish. I will prove it to whatever extent you demand.”
And he fixed his gaze upon each of those who questioned his sincerity.
“But I will not prove myself by my own hand. You will conduct the investigation, and you will bear the weight of it.”
His proof and his warning hung in the chamber, and silence fell.
In that gaze of others, Pejin showed no disturbance of emotion. Yet Paul and Logan, who had worked closest to him, understood the weariness behind his proof—and the melancholy that weariness carried with it.
When Logan decided he should offer Pejin a drink and took a step toward the shelf, April’s voice cut through.
“Pejin.”
At the sound of his name, Pejin turned to look at her. April rose from her seat and gestured for him to follow. Logan watched quietly as the two of them left, and from where he stood observing the corridor, April spoke to Pejin.
“Are you sad?”
Did she really just ask it that directly?
Logan considered himself fairly blunt, but he could not match April’s extremity.
‘Perhaps that’s why I’m the investor and she’s the entrepreneur……?’
Logan listened to the exchange, and when he saw Pejin nod his head with a somewhat sullen expression, he turned away as if closing his eyes—a look of genuine distress. It was an expression change he truly didn’t want to witness. Still, Pejin, even among the Police, was sensitive to subtle signs; he must have noticed Logan watching. Yet he seemed not to care.
Though it pained him, Logan felt obligated to turn back and keep watch over Pejin’s state—and he saw April kiss Pejin on the cheek.
“Better now?”
At her action and question, Pejin’s expression grew complicated. Then he bent his waist and pointed to his other cheek, saying:
“A little better, but still sad. Come on, do the other side too.”
The moment Logan heard that answer, he spun around in fury. Paul, who had also followed Pejin out of concern for his state, spotted Logan turning back and asked:
“How is His Highness?”
“I’ve lost my eyes. And my ears too.”
“No, I’m asking how His Highness is doing.”
“He’s perfectly fine. I’m the one who’s not fine!”
“……Since when are you in a mood?”
Logan, who normally let even things worth being angry about slide with a smooth laugh, was sulking like a child who had only just discovered that his parents were in a passionate affair. Paul doubted what Logan said and moved to go check for himself, but Logan grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“It’s better if you don’t go. Believe me, senior.”
“Trust you? Who else is there to trust?”
“I’m staking my career in the Police on it.”
“Is that all?”
Paul still looked unconvinced, but he followed Logan back to the conference room anyway.

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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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