The Mansion Awaits Spring — Chapter 34

DO...

DO YOU NOT HAVE FEELINGS FOR ME?

WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO CONFIRM THAT?

I'M JUST CURIOUS.

I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU ACTUALLY LIKE ME,

AND...

IF YOU LIKE ME TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'D DO ANYTHING FOR ME.

LOGAN'S WORDS CAME TO MIND.

YOU ALREADY KNOW.

LADY APRIL HAS FEELINGS FOR YOU, SUPERINTENDENT.

I WANTED APRIL...

TO COMPLETELY LOSE INTEREST IN ME.

I WANTED HER TO CONSIDER EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD WHEN MAKING A DECISION,

AND ONLY BARELY THINK OF ME AT THE VERY END...

I WANTED HER TO FEEL LIKE I WAS A COMPLETELY USELESS EXISTENCE.

BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT HER TO GET HURT BY ME.

...SOMEDAY,

I MIGHT FIND SOMEONE I LOVE.

BUT THAT...

DOESN'T MATTER TO ME.

AND ONCE AGAIN,

I BECAME CURIOUS ABOUT APRIL.

NO!

I WON'T DO IT!!

I ONLY LET YOU JOIN BECAUSE THE ADULTS TOLD ME TO PLAY WITH YOU,

BUT YOU'RE BEING SO DIFFICULT.

PEJIN DIEUS.

OF COURSE I AM!

E-EVERY TIME WE PLAY HOUSE, YOU ALWAYS...

YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME PLAY THE DOG!!

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

I NEED A WELL-BRED DOG AT THE TEA PARTY OF THE

FUTURE HEAD OF HOUSE LUNOS...

I'M NOT A DOG!!

I KNOW. THAT'S WHY I TOLD YOU TO PLAY THE "ROLE" OF A DOG.

WELL, DON'T DO IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO.

I CAN PLAY JUST FINE WITHOUT YOU ANYWAY.

DON'T BE LIKE THAT.

LET'S PLAY TOGETHER, PEJIN.

THIS TIME, I'LL MAKE A SPECIAL EXCEPTION AND NOT GIVE YOU THE DOG ROLE.

I'LL LET YOU PLAY THE ROLE OF A NOBLE LADY.

OKAY?

BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN OUR MOUTHS

JUST KNOW THAT I'M ONLY PLAYING WITH YOU THIS ONCE.

I don't really like being a noble lady either, but...

AND RAISED IN GOLDEN CRADLES...

APRIL AND I HAD VERY SIMILAR CHILDHOODS.

HOWEVER, OUR PERSPECTIVES ON OUR "FAMILIES" WERE DIFFERENT.

I WAS THE SECOND SON OF HOUSE DIEUS,

WHILE APRIL WAS THE ONLY CHILD OF HOUSE LUNOS.

EVEN AT A YOUNG AGE, IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF APRIL'S ACTIONS...

SHE CARRIED THE PRIDE OF BEING THE HEIR TO HOUSE LUNOS.

IT MADE HER SEEM BOLD,

BUT IT ALSO SHOWED HER STEADFASTNESS IN ENDURING RIGOROUS TRAINING.

I THOUGHT THAT WAS AMAZING.

EVEN WITHIN HER INNATE COLDNESS,

SHE LEARNED KINDNESS,

PLEASE TRY THE TEA, MY LADY~

AND CULTIVATED HER OWN WARM SENSE OF JUSTICE.

EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO REASON TO HATE HER MULTIFACETED NATURE, I STILL HATED IT.

TH-THANK YOU, MY LADY!

WHAT KIND OF NOBLE LADY SPEAKS LIKE A SOLDIER?

AND EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NOTHING LOVABLE ABOUT IT, I STILL FOUND IT BEAUTIFUL.

...SOMEDAY,

I MIGHT FIND SOMEONE I LOVE.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME.

WHEN I ASKED IF SHE HAD NO FEELINGS FOR ME,

AND SHE REPLIED THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER,

I FELT STRANGELY PROVOKED.

YOU ONLY GET ONE LIFE.

BY THE TIME YOUR EFFORTS RESTORE YOUR FAMILY TO ITS FORMER GLORY,

YOU'LL PROBABLY BE AT THE END OF YOUR LIFESPAN ANYWAY.

THEN WHAT FUN WOULD THERE BE IN LIFE?

...FUN?

HAHA...

PEJIN.

I LOST MY PARENTS RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES.

THEY WERE EXECUTED.

WILL I EVER HAVE EVEN A MOMENT IN THE REST OF MY LIFE WHEN I CAN JUST HAVE FUN,

WITHOUT THOSE MEMORIES HAUNTING ME?

IF THERE IS, I DON'T THINK I'D BE ABLE TO FORGIVE MYSELF.

HA...

HAHA...

HAHAHAHA!!

EVER SINCE THE MOMENT I REUNITED WITH APRIL AFTER SEVEN YEARS,

I WAS SECRETLY CURIOUS.

I KNEW THAT AFTER THE FALL OF HOUSE LUNOS,

THE APRIL LUNOS I KNEW WOULD NO LONGER EXIST.

SO I WAS CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW EXACTLY SHE HAD CHANGED.

HOWEVER, MY ASSUMPTION WAS WRONG.

SHE HADN'T CHANGED IN THE SLIGHTEST.

EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NO REASON TO HATE HER, I STILL HATE HER.

EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NOTHING LOVABLE ABOUT HER, SHE'S STILL BEAUTIFUL.

AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, MY FEELINGS WERE ALIGNING WITH HERS.

SHE WAS EXACTLY LIKE THE YOUNG GIRL I REMEMBERED,

THE ONE WHO LOVED HER FAMILY AND OVERFLOWED WITH CONFIDENCE.

SHE WAS STILL THE EXACT SAME APRIL LUNOS.

YOU ASK ME SOMETHING ANNOYING AND THEN LAUGH? Unbelievable.

THE FACT THAT APRIL WAS SOMEONE WHO WOULDN'T BE SWAYED BY SOMETHING LIKE LOVE...

BROUGHT OUT A SMILE OF RELIEF.

I SHOULD STOP TRYING TO TELL HER ABOUT THE FOG AND THE WITCH.

JUST LIKE LOGAN SAID, IF SHE FOUND OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FOG,

SHE'S THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO WOULD IMMEDIATELY CHARGE INTO THE FACTORY, UNLIKE A COWARD LIKE ME.

SO, THE ONLY THING I CAN DO ABOUT MY OWN DECEPTION IS...

...I HEARD YOU'LL BE HOLDING A FUNERAL FOR THE HEAD OF HOUSE LUNOS.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

I HEARD YOU WHEN YOU TOLD THE THIRD SON OF HOUSE GRAND.

When you were-talking-about how House Dieus would hate it or whatever.

TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED MOST FOR THE FUNERAL.

I'LL HELP YOU.