The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 90

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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 90
“Just one glass. Then I’ll go. Don’t sit down—just stand here.”
“Okay, just one glass standing here.”
“Drink it and that’s it. Let’s promise we won’t cling to each other.”
“Okay.”
“And not that look in your eyes.”
“What look?”
“That look. The expression, the gestures—all of it saying don’t go. None of that.”
“I don’t know what you mean, but I’ll try. Eyes, expression, gestures.”
April took the glass from his hands, suppressing her joy and mimicking his words in a deliberately cool tone.
When he poured a little of the strong spirits into her glass, April spoke.
“Fill it all the way.”
“You’re too tired—I can’t do that.”
“Let me stand here longer. It’s only one glass anyway.”
At her words, Pejin let out a hollow laugh and, seeing no way around it, filled both her glass and his own to the brim.
They stood facing each other with their glasses raised and drank in small sips.
When April fell silent, something seemed to occur to her and she spoke.
“When you went to the Empire, you recreated that Fog exactly, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“So did the Empire figure out what caused it?”
Pejin shook his head slightly in response.
“I doubt it. Scholars’ work is difficult. Even if it wasn’t perfectly identical, they probably just created something similar.”
“I suppose. If they knew the cause, they wouldn’t pretend not to…….”
April nodded, murmuring to herself. Then, noticing that Pejin’s glass was emptying far too quickly, she smacked his arm.
“Drink slowly.”
“I’m in a hurry.”
At his words, April covered his glass with her hand.
“I don’t like it when you leave quickly.”
“Didn’t we agree not to do that?”
“We agreed not to after we finish drinking. While we’re still drinking, it’s allowed, isn’t it?”
Beaten by her logic, Pejin set the bottle and glass on the table pushed against the wall, then wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her.
Because it was Cherry Distilled Spirits, the scent of cherry hung heavy between them.
It was an unbearably lovely fragrance, and yet something wild beneath it.
April pulled his neck close and kissed him until her breath came short, and when he finally released her, she breathed heavily and scolded him.
“What kind of Cherry Distilled Spirits are you drinking? It doesn’t suit you at all.”
“I brought it for you, but because you kept being difficult, I never got to give it to you.”
“When have I ever not been difficult?”
“Never. That’s why I like you, though.”
Pejin swore softly and buried his face against her shoulder, muttering.
“Are the local police going to do anything to boost their statistics?”
“Arrest me.”
“Don’t say such terrible things. I’m the one who crossed all the way to the Empire to bring you back.”
At his words, April nodded slightly and caressed the nape of his neck. Then, pushing him away with her hand, she spoke.
“Now go. Will you be able to come to the funeral?”
“Should I? I’m from Dieusz House—I think everyone will hate me.”
“I sent Miller an invitation too.”
“What?”
“To show that the Lunos Family still exists.”
At April’s words, Pejin gave a quiet laugh.
He nodded, kissed her cheek, and left the residence.
After he was gone, April poured herself another glass from the bottle he had left behind and headed toward her bed.
Sitting on the bed, she drank in small sips. The joy of being together with him was so gentle, yet when separated from him, all her jumbled feelings made her plummet endlessly into an abyss.
She drank another sip, and another, each time the cherry scent began to fade, because she didn’t want to feel what it was like to be apart from him.
* * *
It was truly someone Pejin had not expected who woke him from his restless sleep.
“Pejin, are you awake?”
Since dreaming of one’s first love was not so surprising, Pejin took the voice coming from outside as part of his dream.
But that voice woke him again.
“Pejin.”
Only on the second call did he recognize Heidi’s voice and open his eyes.
Tired, he threw on a robe and went out to find Heidi standing before the door, eyeing him with displeasure.
Pejin crossed his arms and leaned his head against the wall, asking.
“What is it?”
“What is it? Are you being a teenager?”
“Usually that’s the reaction when you wake someone up.”
“Why are you still sleeping? What time is it? Besides, you’ve lost weight lately, haven’t you? Are you eating?”
“I haven’t lost weight, and I’m eating well. Please just tell me what this is about. I want to sleep more.”
“You have lost weight…….”
Heidi murmured with concern, then sighed once before getting to the point.
“Miller wants to talk to you about April.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s not like I’m planning to do anything about it anyway.”
“You’re not planning to do anything, yet you paid all that money and had people search for her body?”
“Since we can’t do anything about it anyway, I do what I can. Is that not allowed?”
“I don’t understand. You have no expectations for the future, yet you only treat her well. Is that love? Or is it pity?”
Heidi was a good person. Pejin had known her for a long time and was certain she was tender-hearted.
Yet at the same time, he knew of the anxiety, inferiority, and hatred she harbored regarding everything entangled with April.
Like a small red bird perched on white snow—it was a presence that could not help but be visible to the eyes of both the one who loved her and the one she loved.
Pejin answered with a composure that bordered on contempt.
“Wasn’t that exactly what you did with my brother? No expectations for the future, yet you only treat him well.”
“Why wouldn’t I have expectations? We’re husband and wife now.”
“If the Lunos Family hadn’t sent someone to kill you, you never would have married him.”
“…….”
“That wasn’t something he accomplished himself. If that hadn’t happened, he would have married April instead. Wouldn’t he?”
At Pejin’s words, Heidi stiffened, and then she began to bite her lip.
She was about to cry when a tear fell.
Pejin sighed and spoke.
“Don’t cry—I’ll become the garbage who made his sister-in-law weep.”
“Why do you speak like that?”
“You did this even when you were young. It’s strange now.”
Pejin turned away and went toward the flower vase, rummaging through the blooms. Then he pulled out a single Dahlia and handed it to Heidi, asking.
“Is this a Chilson’s Pride?”
“……Do you remember?”
Heidi loved Dahlias, and so Pejin and Miller had naturally come to learn various things about the flower.
He had learned plenty about varieties like the pale pink Chilson’s Pride among Dahlias.
Pejin changed the subject and asked her.
“Why do you like Dahlias?”
“If you asked the people of the Grand Duchy what flower they liked, Dahlia would be the most common answer, wouldn’t it?”
After soothing Heidi this way, he found his uniform and dressed to meet Miller, and found himself thinking about what kind of flower April liked.
Fortunately, the person he was about to see knew the answer to that question.
The moment Pejin saw Miller’s stern face waiting for him, he asked.
“Do you know what kind of flower April likes?”
“Is that really a question right now?”
“If you tell me, I’ll answer everything you want to ask.”
“She doesn’t really like flowers. She hates watching them wilt, so she doesn’t like them blooming either.”
It was such an unexpected answer that Pejin actually marveled at it.
“……Wow. Teenage April Lunos was something, wasn’t she?”
“Sit down.”
“Seems like you have a lot to talk about.”
Pejin laughed quietly at the sight of the bottles of spirits the valet had brought out. It looked like the two of them were planning to drink until death.
Pejin sat and spoke.
“Can’t we talk a little without alcohol?”
“What do men talk about without alcohol?”
“I’m asking if you could make an exception for your younger brother.”
As Pejin spoke, he filled his glass to the brim.
But in that moment, he squeezed his eyes shut. The voice of April asking him to fill her glass came to mind.
The instant he opened his eyes, it was the second time he’d thought of that woman. This was why you shouldn’t easily fall for someone, he thought. Life became suddenly, exhaustingly difficult.

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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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