Chapter 78
April opened her mouth.
“Meeting you here makes you seem a bit unfamiliar.”
“Why would the same person feel unfamiliar?”
“Just… Sometimes even the same person can feel different in a different place.”
To April, Fejin Deus seen on the Left Island felt somewhat more threatening. It was because his people were everywhere. Many times more than when he was on the Right Island.
Only after coming to the Left Island did it truly sink in that he was an Imperial police officer.
Yet pushing those thoughts aside, April muttered,
“But why am I still so glad to see you?”
“…”
“It’s strange…”
Fejin opened his mouth but couldn’t speak, finally lowering his head to look at his chest.
April, with her cheek resting against him and eyes closed, was exhausted. Understandable, given she had been brought to a place she’d never been before in her life.
After resting against Fejin’s chest for a while, April lifted her head and asked,
“Is it too late for the festival?”
At those words, Fejin, who had been quiet the whole time she leaned against him, said,
“You’re not really interested in the festival, you’re just asking because you want to return to the Right Island, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
Caught in her true intentions, April hesitated before nodding.
The weather wasn’t bad, and Fejin’s house was so comfortable it seemed ridiculous to compare it to the Grand Duchy police prison where she would have to be when she returned to the Right Island.
Nevertheless, April couldn’t hide her desire to return to the Grand Duchy.
Fejin clicked his tongue and said,
“Let’s go.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
At Fejin’s words, April’s expression noticeably brightened.
After preparing immediately and getting in the carriage heading to the port, Fejin said,
“I can’t go with you. I have to stay until after the Founding Festival.”
“You can’t come?”
“I called that sailor instead. The one who shared your cabin on the way here.”
“Ah, Irsa Joyce?”
“Yes.”
Though April looked disappointed, she accepted that she couldn’t interfere with his schedule when even her solitary return was supposed to be secret.
Besides, she took comfort in returning with Irsa, as she wanted to talk with her again.
When they reached the port, the short winter sun had just set.
After sunset, the Imperial capital was bustling with people everywhere due to the festival period.
April put on the mask Fejin had given her and got out of the carriage. Fortunately, not just them but most nobles were enjoying the festival wearing masks.
April’s attention was momentarily captured by fireworks being launched at the port.
“Wow…”
After fireworks crossed the dark sky, white smoke filled the air. April thought of the Right Island people who now feared even the sight of mist.
She asked Fejin,
“It was the dye, wasn’t it?”
At her words, Fejin hesitated before turning to April.
April faced his masked face. Taking his silence as confirmation, she nodded.
“I thought so.”
“How did you know?”
“You gave me the clue from the start. Saying the dress from the Empire was needed for the experiment.”
“Still, that doesn’t immediately lead to the dye. It could have been the fabric, or something different you ate during those two days.”
“True?”
April agreed and continued.
“That’s why I tested it. I wasn’t certain.”
“…Are you saying I, a police officer, fell for an investigation trap?”
At Fejin’s dumbfounded voice, April answered with a laugh.
“Actually, I had thought about the dress dye before. Somehow, I feel like my parents kept trying to explain it to me when they were alive.”
“Hmm.”
“But I can’t remember. Because I tried so hard to forget…”
“…”
“Now that the confinement is over, and if using that dye means people won’t die anymore, then maybe the misunderstanding about me being a witch can be cleared up too.”
“That’s true, but.”
Fejin let out a troubled sigh and continued.
“It gives me a headache just thinking about it. Having to remember something you can’t remember.”
“Still, when I talk with you about our childhood, I remember various things.”
“Then wait a moment.”
Fejin said this and turned to go somewhere briefly, but came back and took April’s hand.
April called out to the back of Fejin’s head as he pulled her along.
“Nothing will happen if you leave me alone for a moment.”
“No, I’d be bored.”
April laughed incredulously at Fejin’s nonchalant response.
Following him, she found he was unexpectedly entering a store full of paper.
Fejin said,
“They say scents remain longer than memories.”
“Scents?”
“When I think of the previous Lord Lunos, I immediately remember the smell of paper and ink.”
“Right, my father loved to record everything, didn’t he?”
“He recorded everything.”
It was Miller Deus who had burned all those records.
Fejin didn’t mention his brother’s wrongdoing, and April didn’t bring it up to him either. She thought it was something to discuss with the person directly involved.
April checked different types of paper and smelled them, but nothing particularly reminded her of the previous lord.
As she was wondering if they didn’t have the paper she was looking for, Fejin paid for a bundle of paper and said,
“This is the smell.”
What Fejin brought wasn’t one type of paper, but a bundle of papers from various countries tied together.
When April smelled the bundle, she covered her mouth with one hand.
“…It’s the smell from Father’s study.”
“Remember how many different kinds of paper he had? Whenever you entered his study, there was always this mixture of scents from papers from all different countries…”
Fejin stopped speaking at the sound of April’s breathing behind her ornate mask. He clicked his tongue, threw some bills to the merchant, and led her outside.
After the store emptied, Fejin lifted April’s mask. Tears were falling from her eyes.
Fejin bent down as far as he could to check her face and said,
“Are you a child? Why are you suddenly crying, you’re startling people.”
“Suddenly…”
The scent had brought back warm memories.
Father’s collection of papers from various countries.
She remembered that study where exotic patterns, gold leaf, sea breeze, leather, and spice scents mingled.
Father disliked anyone entering that place, to the point where he would dust it himself, but not his daughter.
April was always a welcome guest to her father. A guest who made him smile brightly.
Fejin gave the papers to April, who couldn’t continue speaking, and pretended to wipe her tears with a handkerchief as if cleaning a child’s face.
April hugged the papers and laughed at his playful gesture.
Fejin handed her the handkerchief, and after she had finished crying, he put her mask back on and they left the store.
Perhaps because of her cry, everything looked both clearer and hazier, like the world after rain. Sparkling things sparkled more, and beautiful things appeared more beautiful.
Even Fejin Deus, who was putting her aboard a small fishing boat at the empty port after removing her mask, appeared that way.
When April kept staring at his face even after boarding, Fejin asked,
“What are you looking at? Suddenly realized I’m handsome?”
“You might have actually been handsome if you hadn’t said that.”
“I know what I look like whether you acknowledge it or not.”
Fejin said this shamelessly, then waved his hand and tossed a gold coin in a catchable way to Irsa, who was making a tired expression behind him.
Confirming the gold coin in her hand, Irsa broke into a broad smile.
“Didn’t you already pay the fee?”
“That was the deposit. This is the fee.”
“You’re paying this much just for that?”
One Right Island gold coin was worth five sheep. Irsa quickly pocketed the gold coin, an amount not easily earned through sailing work, for just one night of travel between the two islands.
“Ah, you’re treating me too well, it makes me uncomfortable.”
April looked at Irsa with round eyes and said,
“You don’t look uncomfortable.”
“Can’t I say things I don’t need to sometimes?”
“No. Someone of my status doesn’t hear such things.”
“How annoying.”
When Irsa pretended to push her, April looked at her with surprise. But soon realizing it was an expression of friendliness, she pushed back.
Irsa pretended to stagger, then raised the anchor.
“Let’s go.”
