He quickly continued, "I'm just joking. You know there's a lot to do."
"Fejin," Miller finally stood up. He approached Fejin and spoke quietly so others couldn't hear, "That witch, we should kill her, right?"
"Even if she's a witch, we can't kill her. Not without proving murder."
"How can you prove a witch's murder? It's impossible."
Fejin eyed Miller and asked, "Impossible, you say?"
"Yes. Without the church's help. So, let's hand the trial over to the church."
"The church? Are you disregarding Lasa's police?"
"That's not what I meant..."
"Trials aren't conducted by the church. They're done by judges. Investigations are done by the police. Moreover, Lasa's police don't need the Grand Duke's permission."
Fejin paused and looked at the Grand Duchess. After catching Heidi's eye, who was hesitating on how to ease the tense atmosphere between the brothers, he softened his expression.
Seeing his younger brother's demeanor suggesting he had no reason to stay longer, Miller grabbed Fejin's arm and quickly delivered his remaining words:
"I heard your grades were excellent. If our parents were alive, you would have received more praise. I'm sorry I can't do more than this."
Fejin exhaled tiredly and asked, "What do I need to do for you to accept that I'm an adult now?"
"I'm not saying this because I think you're a child. The Grand Duchy has high expectations for you. Be the bridge between the two islands, Fejin Deus."
"I know that better than anyone without you having to say it."
Fejin responded thus, but politely bid farewell to the couple before turning away.
Miller called out to his retreating back, "We'll have a party before the year ends, Fejin!"
"Do as you like. I won't be going," Fejin left with an indifferent reply.
Grateful for even getting a response, Miller sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair.
"He was cuter when he was young, indeed. I wish my sons wouldn't grow up."
"I know. It's a shame they grow every day," Heidi agreed with his words. Then she asked incredulously, "But really, could Miss April be related to the Witch's Night?"
"Who knows. But that girl could do anything with her malice."
Miller clicked his tongue, remembering the young girl who used to follow him around. The look in her eyes of someone who had gotten everything she wanted since birth. The confidence of April Lunos, who believed nothing could go against her will, made him want to bury his head somewhere and die at the thought of spending a lifetime with her.
After the trial to deal with her fiancé ended in Miller's victory, and her parents were executed, April was no different from a madwoman. He recalled April with disheveled hair, crouched in a cell, cursing him.
"I'll come for you in seven years. I won't let this go."
The image of her gritting her teeth as she said those words was more than enough to evoke a witch.
* * *
April Lunos was familiar with the Grand Duchy's police headquarters. She had been in and out of there for over a year during her trial.
The police persistently sought evidence that April had caused the fog, but trying to find tangible evidence in a supernatural event yielded nothing.
Meanwhile, Fejin, who had gone to the Grand Duke's residence, returned. He clicked his tongue at the news of no findings and entered the interrogation room.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, April was sitting quietly without causing any disturbance. Instead, she was observing the view outside the police station window. It wasn't strange for her to find everything fascinating, being no different from someone who had been locked away in some cave for seven years.
The past seven years in the Grand Duchy had been a period of development at a pace unlike any other time in history. The technologies that came from the Empire were vastly different from those of the Grand Duchy. This transformed the right island into a new world.
Unaware of Fejin's entrance, April was trying to take in as much of the partial view as she could see from her seated position.
Fejin asked the Grand Duchy police officer standing in the corridor, "Handcuffs are necessary when there's a risk of escape, but why did you put them on April Lunos? Are you afraid she might attack with a knife?"
"Well, you never know. What if she uses some kind of spell..."
"So you're saying the handcuffs prevent spells. How clever."
The Grand Duchy police officer, his ears turning bright red at Fejin's sarcastic remark, hurriedly searched for the key and held it out with both hands as soon as Fejin extended his hand.
Fejin took the key, approached April, and first unlocked her right wrist from the handcuffs attached to the table.
April, startled by the belated sense of presence, flinched before immediately narrowing her eyes to glare at him.
"Did Miller tell you to kill me?"
"I'm an Imperial police officer. I don't take orders from the Grand Duke."
"Then you brought me here solely on your own judgment?"
"See? This is what being clever looks like," Fejin sarcastically remarked to the Grand Duchy police officer waiting by the door.
April tapped the table with her freed right hand and asked, "How long do I have to stay here? Let me out quickly."
"Oh, right, looks like someone you know has arrived."
"Aren't they idiots? How could I possibly kill someone? How did they become police with those brains?"
"I'll be the one insulting the police. If you don't keep quiet, I won't unlock the other one."
As Fejin pointed to her left wrist, April scowled and abruptly turned her head towards the window.
Still the same temperament, throwing a fit when things don't go her way, Fejin thought as he unlocked her left wrist.
As soon as he freed her, April grabbed the water glass beside her and splashed the water in Fejin's face.
Momentarily stunned by the unexpected action, Fejin cursed. Then, wiping the water from his face with his hand, he said, "I thought even a mad dog would come to its senses if locked up for seven years."
"Unlike a dog, I have intelligence. That's why I'm even angrier for being locked up for something I didn't do."
"Your parents tried to kill my brother. You must have known, but even if you really didn't, that's still grounds for execution."
April hesitated at Fejin's low voice.
Fejin continued, "You survived because you were young then. You claim to have intelligence. You should at least understand that much."
April replied in a pained voice, "Your brother didn't die. I lost my parents."
"Through due process."
April lost the will to continue the conversation at Fejin's reply, devoid of any sympathy, and fell silent.
Fejin moved to the window, leaned his back against the windowsill, and gestured towards the window as he opened a report.
"Take a look. While I read this."
Although April was frustrated by his nonchalant attitude, she didn't want to miss out just because she hated him.
After touching her wrists, which had been restrained for so long, she got up and walked to the window.
Placing her hands on the windowsill, April muttered bitterly, "It really has changed a lot."
The world had completely transformed from seven years ago. The continuous noise she had been hearing was the sound of engines running, and a tourist tram was making a large circle around the square.
Everything had become cleaner, everything had advanced. The buildings remained the same, but all the details in between had changed.
