Chapter 67
Elenora, who had been listening and was always honest with her emotions, frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Jeff looked up at Elenora as she asked this.
Even though he had been silent for seven years, Elenora could read her husband’s gaze.
“This is something I shouldn’t hear either, isn’t it?”
“In my judgment… yes.”
The reason he had to send Deus away was that this story involved the Deus family.
Therefore, the reason he wanted Imperial citizen Elenora Merrow to leave was that this story involved the Lasa Empire.
Elenora nodded.
“Call me when you’re done talking, April. I have many stories to share too.”
“Yes, Aunt.”
After Elenora left, April looked at Jeff and said,
“Please tell me now. What you were going to say.”
“I don’t know all the details either. Your father and mother, worried about others getting involved, didn’t share the specifics with anyone.”
After considering this for a moment, April asked,
“Are you saying they deliberately excluded other Lunos family members?”
“Yes. Both of them must have known about their impending deaths. If they could save just you…”
April couldn’t think of how to respond to this.
Understanding her reaction, Jeff continued,
“Though I don’t know the details, Miller Deus must have borrowed the Empire’s power. Without that, he couldn’t have destroyed the Lunos family…”
Jeff slowly trailed off, surprised by the look in April’s eyes as she listened to his words.
Her eyes shifted from warm to cold, then intense again.
Could the same red color contain such a wide spectrum of emotions?
Jeff spoke again.
“Having a funeral is exactly the right decision. Many members of the Lunos family will want to attend.”
“But they’ll fear the Grand Duke, won’t they?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll have to force them.”
“Force them?”
“Yes, make it seem like they came to the funeral out of fear of me.”
Jeff, who had been staring blankly at April as she said this, soon smiled.
“How did you manage to take after both your parents so perfectly?”
“Did I?”
“The traits I envied in them… you have them all.”
When the wind blows strong, grass bends while trees break. Those born as trees might know it’s safer to bend, but their nature prevents it.
His brother was born a tree, married a similar wife, and had a child who took after them both. Born as trees that couldn’t bend in the wind, only standing firm with their stubbornness.
When the wind blows again, while all other Lunos family members bend, April Lunos would break. Like the others before her.
Or, with luck, she might endure. Then she would survive.
Jeff continued,
“That boy grew up in the Empire?”
“You mean Fejin? Yes, that’s right.”
“Watch him carefully. He must know the answers.”
“He knows the answers?”
“He’s from the Deus family that extended its reach to the Empire. Moreover, he grew up there himself. The Emperor will certainly try to use Fejin. His actions will always have a purpose.”
April looked toward where Fejin had gone.
She knew it too. That Fejin had some clear purpose she didn’t know about.
She nodded.
“I’ll look into it.”
If the headquarters investigator would do what she wanted, April could find the answers.
After finishing her conversation with Jeff, April went to find Fejin.
Seemingly uncomfortable being alone inside, he had gone to the garden.
April approached him and said,
“Why are you out here? You’re sensitive to cold.”
Fejin replied with a tired expression,
“Are you going to tease me about catching one cold for the rest of my life?”
He took another puff of his cigarette while complaining, then stubbed it out in the ashtray.
“If you’re done talking, let’s go. I’ll take you to the Lunos mansion and we can walk along the way.”
“Is there anywhere to walk in this cold?”
“Just dress warmly. We can have something warm to drink too.”
“Well, alright then.”
April agreed and was about to go in to get her things when she turned back to Fejin.
“Aren’t you going to ask what we talked about?”
“You wouldn’t tell me even if I asked, right?”
“Right.”
“That’s why I’m not asking.”
April nodded in agreement and went inside the mansion.
She returned to the study to say goodbye to Jeff and received Elenora’s farewell.
Elenora said,
“Come visit often. Send Cayani if you have anything to tell us.”
“No. Until he establishes his own position, the Lunos family can’t hold him back. We must remain enemies for now, Aunt.”
Moved by her words, Elenora replied,
“That won’t do. How can we let you endure alone?”
“We’re investing in the future. Someday, let’s all gather together to celebrate the new year.”
Realizing she shouldn’t push further against April’s consoling words, Elenora reluctantly nodded. After giving April a tight, comforting hug, she pointed to Fejin waiting by the carriage and said,
“If that fellow gives you trouble, at least tell me about that. We can share a drink and complain about him together.”
“Even though we’re just friends?”
“Even if you’re just friends.”
April nodded with a smile.
“I will.”
After finishing her goodbyes, April returned to Fejin, who escorted her into the carriage and got in himself.
After the carriage started moving, both were silent for a while.
Fejin could somewhat guess what Jeff Merrow had told April.
Though he didn’t know how much Jeff knew or had said, he was certain Jeff had warned her to be wary of him as both a Deus and an Imperial police officer.
April was looking out the window where the snow had finally stopped, revealing a blue sky.
Both had mountains of questions for each other, but couldn’t easily voice any of them.
Fejin sat with his legs crossed, looking straight ahead. He didn’t even glance at the scenery outside.
April was the first to break the silence.
“Where are we going for our walk?”
“The market.”
“The market?”
“The winter market, you know. Near the southern river.”
“That’s still there?”
“Yes, outside the territory. It’s even bigger now.”
The winter market had started when trading ships began coming up the southern river to unload their cargo.
The best goods were sent first to department stores and shops in the capital. Then they started selling the odds and ends that were awkward to sell in regular stores, items that couldn’t be easily categorized, right there at cheap prices. That was how the winter market began.
Originally located within Lunos territory, this market moved south of the river when the Lunos family fell, becoming one of the Grand Duke’s sources of income.
Now it had developed tremendously thanks to its popularity. What started as goods roughly piled on handcarts was now sold from properly constructed small shops. It had grown so much that even Imperial citizens now considered it a favorite tourist destination.
