Chapter 74
The car soon came to a stop at the Academy. Instead of the book smell April had expected, she first noticed the fragrant scent of flowers.
“You may get out now.”
After being escorted by the police and having her blindfold removed, April saw pottery vessels with pierced designs for holding potpourri—similar to the small bowl Fejin had bought along with the dress when he returned from the Empire.
The sight reminded her of Fejin.
From what she had heard from the police earlier, it seemed that her presence here was truly for an investigation concerning the Right Island.
April was tired, and her whole body ached from the aftermath, so she simply wanted to believe those words innocently.
Thinking that way, even Fejin’s pretense of not knowing about her arrest wasn’t entirely unforgivable.
Of course, whether she forgave him or not probably didn’t matter to him. But it made a difference to her feelings.
However, she still couldn’t understand why this had to be done through kidnapping rather than an invitation. Moreover, throughout the journey here, the police officers had repeatedly emphasized that she must keep her presence here absolutely secret.
While April was wondering what this secrecy was for, a scholar from the Academy approached her with a gentle smile.
“You’ve been informed, haven’t you? I’m terribly sorry we had to bring you here this way.”
“If this was the reason, you could have requested through Grand Duke Deus.”
“Ah, well…”
“Was it really necessary to kidnap me like this? I don’t understand.”
At the word ‘kidnapping,’ the scholar responded with an apologetic expression.
“We were trying to minimize unnecessary commotion… I’m truly sorry.”
The phrase ‘unnecessary commotion’ seemed to carry many implications. It wasn’t just about the commotion on the Right Island. It must be for the sake of conducting unrestricted experiments here in the Empire.
Shortly after, a doctor entered and addressed her with the same politeness characteristic of Imperial citizens.
“I’ll need to draw some blood.”
“What if I refuse?”
“I would still have to ask for your cooperation.”
The doctor began drawing blood after saying this.
April watched her arm and spoke to the doctor.
“Everyone in the Empire speaks so gently.”
“Is that so?”
“Like talking to a young animal.”
She continued with a tired expression.
“You’re not really listening to my answers.”
Her thoughts were confirmed by those words.
She felt the doctor hesitate momentarily, but he quickly resumed his gentle demeanor matching his soft speech and continued drawing blood. After that, he didn’t speak to her anymore.
Between the blood drawing and her fatigue, she lost consciousness. Perhaps she had simply fallen asleep, having stayed up all night due to anxiety.
Having been kidnapped in the dead of night, she briefly hoped that when she opened her eyes, she would be back on the Right Island. However, not much had changed.
❖ ❖ ❖
When she opened her eyes, it was night again, and she was wearing unfamiliar sleepwear.
She had awakened in a small room.
When she tried the door, it was locked, as expected.
April unconsciously looked toward the window.
Irsa’s words about escaping through windows came to mind, despite being inappropriate for her current situation.
April instinctively moved toward the window. Opening it, she saw a roof immediately in front.
“…”
She climbed onto the windowsill.
Below the roof was what appeared to be a five-story building. Though she knew falling would be fatal, she still wanted to get out.
She wanted to understand the situation. Why she was here, how long she would have to stay. She couldn’t just wait indefinitely in a place where no one would explain anything when asked.
“I must be out of my mind from the fever.”
Though she muttered these self-criticizing words, strangely enough, this moment felt almost enjoyable.
Engaging in such dangerous behavior made her wonder if she might have pirate blood flowing through her veins after all.
Pirates enjoyed sailing on stormy seas and fighting battles prepared for death.
After a perilous journey, she finally reached the roof. She looked for a place where she could slowly walk down the sloped roof.
At the back of the building, April found a balcony piled with cargo, and she could descend there without much difficulty.
“This is easier than I thought?”
April muttered as she carefully entered the building.
She descended the stairs of the Academy where everyone was asleep. The building was square-shaped, wrapped around a courtyard. They apparently hadn’t expected her to escape by crossing the roof.
There wasn’t much in the way of security inside the Academy. She found a closed door and was about to leave when, as if enchanted, she entered one building where the door was open.
It was the building where she had her blood drawn.
April recalled seeing scholars frequently entering and exiting one room in the building.
She slowly opened the door and went inside.
Inside was a vast, sealed space where mist had been created.
“You shouldn’t come in… oh dear, you’re already here.”
The scholar who turned around sighed.
However, his voice soon brightened as if this might be for the better.
“I don’t know how you got out of your room, but perhaps it’s better this way. Yes, I’ll be honest.”
“About what?”
“This place has been set up to replicate the exact conditions of the Right Island. For experiments.”
Masked scholars were watching her with investigative eyes.
April narrowed her eyes.
“The exact conditions?”
“Yes, Miss April.”
“Then that means… you know the cause of how the mist formed?”
The scholars hesitated at her words.
One scholar hurriedly spoke.
“It’s not exactly the same. It’s just a hypothesis…”
April didn’t believe a word the scholars said. It was laughable to trust anything said by those who had kidnapped her in the first place.
The scholar continued.
“More importantly, it’s truly remarkable, Miss April, that you remain unharmed in this mist. How is this possible?”
“I have no idea either. It’s frustrating.”
April was the most curious about that reason herself.
It wasn’t that she was completely unaffected by the mist, but she was clearly less affected than others.
Cold sweat ran down April’s body, but she turned her back to the scholars. She picked up a fallen chair and sat down.
There was no point in shouting to be let out; no one would listen anyway. So she decided not to even make such requests.
As if she would beg for something like this.
She’d rather die here if it came to that.
She sat straight and glared at the scholars.
When pressed down, people from mountainous regions would say they’re pressed by mountains, and those from stormy seas would say they’re pressed by great waves.
April Lunos was from the Right Island, a place of both mountains and waves.
She felt as if pressed once by a mountain and once by a wave, but she locked away such thoughts.
If she didn’t even allow herself to think about how difficult it was, she might just collapse and die here.
As she was thinking this, the door opened.
“We’re in the middle of an experiment! You can’t open the door!”
Regardless of the warning, the door opened, and several masked police officers entered.
April recalled recognizing Fejin on a particularly misty day.
Why? What had made her recognize that masked man as Fejin?
Even thinking about it again, she couldn’t understand. Why could she recognize just that man immediately, no matter where or how they met?
Whether it was his gait, his cologne, or all his subtle movements.
She spoke to the man who came through the mist and lifted her up.
“Fejin.”
“…”
“Why are you here?”
April asked this despite knowing that an Imperial police officer would surely know about events happening in the Empire.
It was her way of saying she was glad to see him.
