The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

Next, it’s time to look at the second floor. I walked up to the second floor through the staircase in the central lobby.

There were a total of nine rooms on the second floor. The last room seemed to be a nursery, as it was filled with cribs and supplies.

The rooms next to it also showed traces of human habitation. It seemed like quite a few people had lived in this mansion.

‘And it doesn’t seem that old after all.’

Although it was dusty and worn with scratches, there were quite a few usable pieces of furniture.

It was when I was looking around the rooms and scanning the sofas in the large lobby on the second floor.

Creak.

I heard the sound of a rusty hinge moving behind me. I stopped in my tracks as I was dusting off the sofa.

What… What was that sound?

It clearly came from the direction of the nursery. Of all places, it had to be the nursery.

I slowly turned my head. The dim second-floor corridor came into view, and at the very end, I saw the nursery with the door slightly ajar.

‘Was the door originally half-closed like that?’

I must have checked the room and left the door wide open.

As I stood frozen for a while,

Creak.

Once again, I heard the strange sound. This time, I was certain. It was coming from the nursery.

I slowly lifted my foot. After all, I had to investigate the cause of the sound. This was my home now.

Creak. Creak. The sound continued to come from the nursery. It sounded like something was moving. I swallowed nervously and took a step.

Thud.

But I misjudged my strength, and as a result, my footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Click…

Suddenly, the sound from the nursery stopped. I couldn’t move from where I stood.

‘I’m scared!’

I had seen this scene in horror movies countless times. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t. I had to turn this house into a shelter somehow.

‘Right. Compared to virus monsters, ghosts are nothing.’

I gritted my teeth and quickly walked forward. I swung open the door to the nursery.

The curtains fluttered between the open windows. Warm sunlight streamed in along with a gentle breeze.

Creak.

At that moment, the rocking chair in front of the window moved. It seemed to have been swayed by the wind.

“You startled me.”

I wiped the cold sweat that had formed on my forehead and let out a sigh.

‘D*mn it, how is this a romance novel? Isn’t this just a survival horror novel.’

Only I would have a different genre. Only me.

After calming down a bit, I carefully looked around the nursery. And that’s when I noticed the word ‘Segrave’ carved into the rocking chair.

The Segrave family often appeared as heroes or protectors in fairy tales, so their name was frequently used for children’s items. Perhaps it was because I had seen the mention of the ‘Segrave family’ in today’s newspaper, but I suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

Anyway, an empty nursery felt incredibly strange while I stood there.

‘I should clean this up quickly. It won’t do like this.’

Feeling a sense of urgency, I hurriedly decided to clean. Maybe if I got rid of all the furniture and cleaned thoroughly, things would be a little different.

‘Should I just ask for help…?’

A single phone call, and Harrison would send people to this rural village. With their manpower and resources, they could transform the mansion into an excellent shelter in no time.

But if that happened, the mansion, optimized as a refuge, would attract a lot of attention. And I, Cherry Sinclair, would become the center of public attention.

It would be difficult to quietly survive under such circumstances. After the apocalypse, all sorts of people might come knocking on the door of Happy House, begging to be saved.

‘Do I have the capacity to take care of others when I’m busy trying to survive alone?’

I’m not the type of person who can afford to do that. I am definitely not someone with leadership qualities.

‘I can’t let it come to that.’

Eventually, I resigned myself and decided to clean. I picked up a broom and diligently swept the floor.

Cleanliness was directly linked to survival. Moreover, the mansion was seriously dirty.

Some of the rooms still had beds and furniture. After getting rid of the bedding and dusting them off, they seemed quite usable.

Of course, I would have to buy a new bed for myself.

I brought down all the unnecessary furniture from the nursery and piled them in the garden.

Anyway, one good thing about having supernatural powers is that I could move the furniture by myself.

I looked proudly at the garden where the furniture was piled, rubbing my hands.

Now I had to fill the empty rooms with furniture again, but for that, I needed to visit the neighboring city where the furniture store was located.

‘That can wait for now.’

After clearing the furniture, I brought a rag and focused on cleaning the marble floors and areas where my hands touched.

It’s fortunate that I have memories from my previous life. The past me was never a person who would mop the floor even in a crisis situation.

They say this is a self-inflicted disaster, right? Anyway, it seems like a long and arduous journey lies ahead.

Once I finished, the rag was covered in black dust. Eventually, I had to place a bucket filled with water next to me and clean using that.

However, the bucket quickly became dirty too, so I spent more time going back and forth to the well.

Sh*t.

But the real issue is that I’ve been cleaning all day and I’ve only managed to clear half of the mansion.

“D*mn it. There’s no end to this!”

No end!

No!

…!

My cries echoed through the empty building like an echo.

***

D*mn. This is not right. This is not something a person should do.

I ordered an orange juice at the only restaurant in Brunel Village and slumped down in my seat.

Cold droplets ran down the corner of my eye. It’s not tears, it’s sweat.

Surviving is too difficult. It’s incredibly exhausting, and I haven’t even started real survival yet…!

Should I just tell Harrison everything? Damn it. I go through this dilemma dozens of times a day.

And once again, I imagined myself facing the end, confined in a hospital. I clenched my fists.

“I can’t let that happen!”

“What can’t happen?”

Eden asked me. He was sitting across from me, leisurely reading a newspaper. I let out a bitter laugh.

“Well, aren’t you going home? To your place?”

Finally, Eden folded the newspaper. He placed it neatly on the table and gave me a smile.

“Well, this is my home now. Isn’t Brunel Police Station my workplace? I’m on duty right now.”

Where on earth does he see a police officer on duty? What kind of duty is he performing? He seems more like he’s slacking off at work.

“Of course. Yes, yes. Please work hard.”

I gave a half-hearted response and avoided his gaze.

Eden was skilled at interrogation. It’s best to act as if I know nothing and avoid revealing anything unnecessary.

‘Should I just try to win him over to my side?’

Eden is a man with excellent survivability and combat power, to the extent that he is ranked as the number one person you don’t want to meet as an enemy. He was a man worthy of being on my side.

‘But if I do that, things will become too troublesome.’

Sigh.

‘For now, there’s still some time until the apocalypse. I’ll put this on hold.’

Coincidentally, my orange juice arrived. However, the woman who brought the orange juice was someone I recognized.

“Oh? Miss Ruskin.”

Vanilla Eddy Ruskin. The previous owner of the house.

By the way, having a name consisting of three words in Grayden signifies nobility. Just like Eden Duncan Lancaster.

“What are you doing here?”

In response to my question, Vanilla confidently placed the tray she was carrying on her hip and replied.

“I’m working part-time.”

So, you’re not a noble?

I swallowed the question I wanted to ask. It could be impolite.

“Hey, do your best.”

She responded with a nod of her head. But even after the greeting was over, she didn’t move from her spot. Did she have something more to say?

When I quietly looked up at Vanilla, she pressed her thumb and index finger together and spoke to me.

“You didn’t give me a tip.”

Looking at that frivolous hand gesture, I thought her name is Vanilla Ruskin, but maybe I misunderstood her as Vanilla Eddy Ruskin. Besides, didn’t the tipping culture belong to the neighboring kingdom of Briwood?

I blinked in surprise and took out money from my pocket, handing it to her.

After receiving the tip, Vanilla turned to Eden. Upon seeing that, Eden readily took out money and handed it to her as well. Both Eden and I have plenty of money, after all.

Vanilla accepted the money with a grateful expression and alternated her gaze between us.

“I really like you both.”

Vanilla said cheerfully as she turned away, and I hastily grabbed her arm.

“Just a moment, Miss Ruskin.”

Come to think of it, this works out perfectly.

I quickly unfolded the blueprint of the mansion that I had brought just in case.