The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

To ask me questions? Not Eden?

I turned back to look at Eden. He shrugged his shoulders with a displeased look when our eyes met. It seemed like he was saying, ‘Handle it yourself.’ Well, he’s not my guardian, so I don’t need to consult him about matters.

I tried to examine Knox’s intentions, but I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. Behind his enigmatic expression, there seemed to be a hidden agenda.

After a brief moment of contemplation, I nodded readily.

“Sure. Then, would you like to come to my house with Sir Eden?”

Anyway, it worked out well. Since I had to silence Knox anyway, I might as well make a job offer to the worker.

***

Knox leisurely followed Cherry.

Cherry was walking uphill, leaving the outskirts of Brunel Village. She introduced a dilapidated mansion in the distance as her home.

It couldn’t have been very interesting.

Cherry and Eden, it’s surprising that two people who don’t get along are together…

No one would have expected that ‘that’ Cherry Sinclair would be living in such an abandoned mansion in a village.

“Please come in.”

Cherry opened the heavy stone gate and said to Knox. They passed through the gate and crossed the spacious garden.

Eden was walking a little away from Cherry.

Externally, Eden’s image was that of a madman who does as he pleases. He even earned the nickname ‘Benton’s Mad Dog’ as a police officer.

There were rumors that he tore criminals apart like a wild dog.

But contrary to appearances, Eden’s nature was kind and just. He willingly abandoned his position as a Lancaster’s successor with just one sense of duty.

On the other hand, externally, Knox appeared friendly and gentlemanly, but his nature was not as virtuous.

If asked whether a doctor who saves lives could be like that, Knox could confidently answer that he was.

Anyway, while Lancaster’s interest in Sinclair was unknown, it was evident why Knox would be interested in Cherry.

Around this time last year, Knox was present at the scene where the urban legend of Westmore spread.

There were stories of hearing screams and animal roars from a dilapidated mansion, and Elpinus herbs were discovered there.

At that time, people who were ignorant of Elpinus herbs requested drug testing from him.

Elpinus herbs were not drugs, of course. But the herb was difficult to obtain and even more difficult to cultivate.

However, it was strange that such herbs were found in large quantities at No. 10 Westmore Hague Road. So, he requested a drug investigator to trace the trade of Elpinus herbs.

“It seems someone is continuously buying and selling Elpinus herb seeds. The last transaction is at 61st Notium Street in Benton, the capital.”

He heard such news through the drug investigator.

And that day, Knox witnessed a very surprising sight at the mansion in No. 61st Notium Street.

The quiet mansion seemed to be filled with a great commotion, and a man burst out of the mansion’s front door. A creature of unknown identity followed the man, and shortly after, a woman with her hood pulled back ran out.

Knox had a clear view from the wall where he was standing. Although she was wearing a mask, he clearly saw her curly pink hair and golden eyes.

It was Cherry Sinclair.

“Ah!”

A scream echoed from in front of the gate. It seemed like a passerby had spotted the monster.

And Cherry, who had been walking along the road, immediately swung her axe at the fallen monster.

Kwa-chik!

The axe blade struck the monster’s head accurately, and a thick green liquid splattered.

Did I see it wrong?

Knox momentarily wondered if he had mistaken someone else for Cherry Sinclair a moment ago.

Well, that woman wouldn’t be coming to a place like this. If she was Cherry Sinclair, she wouldn’t appear alone in a place like this, especially dressed like that.

Moreover, it was unlikely for someone with a weak body who frequently fainted to wield an axe and kill a monster.

“It’s dangerous! Stay back!”

But then he heard the woman’s voice from earlier.

“Did you see a man who ran out of this house?”

“He went that way.”

And then, the subsequent conversation reached his ears.

It was very similar to the Cherry Sinclair voice Knox remembered. It would have been difficult to be certain it was her only from her voice if he hadn’t seen her face without the hood.

Knox noticed a box sticking out from Cherry’s open belt bag. She pushed the box inside and locked the buckle, but it was undoubtedly an Elpinus herb box.

After the monster was taken care of, the person who appeared at the scene was none other than the famous Eden Duncan Lancaster. He received a report and discovered the incident while on patrol.

Cherry Sinclair, after desperately protecting her flipped robe, managed to escape. In the end, she wasn’t captured.

10 Hague Street, Westmore.

61 Notium Street, Benton.

Elpinus herbs were found in both mansions.

And Cherry had stolen the Elpinus herb, which was mistakenly identified as drugs, from 61 Notium Street. She had tried to cultivate it in the garden of that dilapidated house.

Knox was convinced that Elpinus herbs had some connection to the rumored ‘monster.’

‘Does she also know something? About the relationship between the herb and the monster.’

That’s right. He was currently gathering information about the monster.

Furthermore, Knox had a crucial piece of information in his hands—the identity of the nobleman who used his influence to prevent the information about the monster’s corpse from being disclosed.

‘But it doesn’t seem like Cherry Sinclair has any connection to that nobleman.’

Considering the nobleman’s nature, it was unlikely for someone like Cherry, a young woman from the common class, to be involved in such covert operations.

‘Then why was Cherry there, and what was her purpose?’ It left a lingering question.

‘What if she’s also pursuing the monster? What if she noticed the connection between the incidents?’

From the moment Knox witnessed Cherry striking the monster with the axe, he decided not to trust the assessment of Cherry Sinclair known to the public.

She could have escaped, but she didn’t. She risked herself to kill the monster and save people. Perhaps she was someone different from what Knox knew.

So he decided to watch it for a while. It’s better to watch and figure out her purpose.

⟨Cherry’s Temporary Shelter Happy House⟩

And he was very curious about the identity of this suspicious mansion that Cherry had bought.

***

We entered the lobby on the first floor of Happy House.

I never imagined that I would bring Knox and Eden, the main characters of ⟨Love in a Ruined World,⟩ to this place.

Anyway, even in this awkward situation, my mind was filled with thoughts about ‘how to silence Knox’ and ‘how to recruit Knox as a doctor in charge of Happy House.’

…Of course, I knew that the latter possibility was almost nonexistent.

Knox took off his hat, put his hands behind his back, and looked around the lobby.

“Hmm. Is this really the mansion you’re living in?”

Knox seemed somewhat surprised. It was understandable, considering that the mansion was in a state of severe disrepair. It seemed as if it had been attacked by someone.

I asked Vanilla about the mansion, but she didn’t know much either. She simply replied that she didn’t know in detail because she owned many mansions.

The chandelier hanging precariously from the lobby ceiling on the first floor was broken, and the paint on the walls had peeled off. I tried my best to clean and polish, but I couldn’t do anything about the rusty moldings.

Furthermore, the built-in consoles and other furniture were quite old and messy.

At that moment, Eden spoke up.

“I had an idea, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

This was Eden’s first time looking around the inside of the mansion as well. That’s why he was also busily searching the surroundings. It seemed that he wanted to find a clue related to the ‘illegal firearms’ he subtly mentioned before.

‘Even though he apologized for the drug misunderstanding, it’s because guns are a separate issue. They want to be thorough.’

At that moment, Knox, who was stroking his chin, turned to me. He stared at my face intently, as if observing, and asked me a question.

“Why is Sinclair’s heiress acting like this here? There must be a reason for her behavior.”

Should I tell him the truth? I quietly approached Knox and whispered to him.

“Please don’t reveal that I’m here to anyone. Otherwise, I won’t be able to send you out of the mansion.”

I playfully warned him with a tone like that of a mansion owner.

“Ah, just to be clear, I’m not joking.”

To make sure I got a definite answer from Knox, I emphasized it again, and he nodded his head.

“I’m not that sinister of a noble. I’m a gentleman. I won’t reveal it.”

“Thank you.”

“Instead, you should answer me too. The real reason for acting like this here. Why are you hiding here after what you did? Tell me, only me. I’ll keep it a secret from Lancaster.”

Knox smiled with a gentle expression. Then, leaning closer to me as if whispering a secret, he said:

“Let’s make it a secret that only we two know. It’s better for Cherry as well. It feels more secretive that way, and I like it.”

…Huh?