The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

The monster’s corpse was eventually not moved but burned in the Happy House’s garden. Throughout the day, a hazy smoke rose into the sky. The monster’s corpse burned for a long time.

A peculiar atmosphere lingered in the mansion. Vanilla, Eden, and I stood silently, watching the monster’s corpse burn.

Amid the silence where no one dared to speak, Vanilla opened her mouth quietly.

“What on earth was that?”

She muttered to herself while gazing at the billowing smoke with a vacant expression.

“I don’t know either.”

I pretended not to know for the time being.

An uncomfortable stillness filled the air again. Crackling. The sound of wood crackling as it burned, and the foul smell of the monster’s body being consumed pervaded the surroundings.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky.

“Before this…”

Eden subtly began his sentence, then his gaze narrowed as if he was recalling something.

“Before this, I think I’ve seen something similar.”

My heart sank at Eden’s words. I feigned ignorance and asked him.

“Where did you see it? What happened to those creatures?”

“It was related to the 61st Notium Street incident, I think I saw similar creatures in Benton. There were no casualties. The creature had died before that happened.”

“It died before that?”

This time, Vanilla asked with a puzzled expression. Eden answered without taking his eyes off the monster’s corpse.

“Yes. A woman single-handedly killed the creature.”

Suddenly, Eden took a round brooch out of his uniform jacket pocket.

“The owner of this brooch. I haven’t seen her face, but she might know about this.”

Eden muttered. The brooch in his hand looked very familiar. It was the kind of accessory that made me want to feign ignorance, for some reason.

Vanilla looked at Eden with a puzzled face and then glanced at the brooch in his hand.

“Wait a minute. These initials… Could they be the initials of the brooch’s owner?”

“Speculatively, yes.”

“Lady Sinclair’s initials are the same, aren’t they?”

Both Vanilla and Eden turned to look at me at the same time. Cold sweat trickled down my back, but I smiled nonchalantly.

“Yes, that’s strange. I also… Anyway, I read about it in the newspaper. How on earth did this happen?”

I quickly swallowed the urge to say, “I don’t know how to use an axe.”

Hadn’t Eden mentioned that the woman had used an axe? I almost blurted out the truth.

Eden stared at me with an expression that was hard to decipher. It felt like my blood was drying up.

Surprisingly, once again, Eden didn’t say anything to me this time either. I couldn’t tell whether he was pretending not to know or if he genuinely didn’t know.

‘This is scarier.’

Silence settled in once again. We stared quietly at the burning flames.

“61st Notium Street. Why does it sound familiar…”

Vanilla, who was mumbling to herself, turned to me and Eden, asking.

“But if this monster appeared in 61st Notium Street, could it be appearing in other places as well?”

“Based on what we saw earlier, it seems there’s a risk of infection. If that’s the case, it’s a really big problem.”

Vanilla and Eden said one after the other. I couldn’t offer any response. Unfortunately, their concerns were already too late.

The virus was already spreading, and the end was near.

“Maybe that’s why she killed it.”

Eden mumbled quietly to himself. But I heard his words clearly, and I realized he was talking about me.

“For now, it would be best to inform the headquarters and start a thorough investigation. We need to search and see if there are more of these creatures.”

Eden said as if mumbling. This time too, it seemed like he was talking to himself. Although, it was a bit loud to be called mumbling.

Vanilla blankly shook her head beside me.

In a world destroyed like this, it was too tough for a man like Eden, who was willing to sacrifice himself for others without hesitation, to survive.

Eden was not someone who should sacrifice himself for others. His life was meant to save the world.

‘After all, Ethan had better go back to the capital.’

Aurora is the protagonist and can’t die, so it would be better for him to stay by her side.

As I mentioned before, if not, I would have to protect Eden now.

“If you’re going to inform headquarters and conduct a thorough investigation, are you going back to the capital?”

I asked Eden with some hope. However, he stared at me intently. His expressionless face was quite cold.

Eventually, he answered.

“No. I will stay here.”

“Why, why?”

I asked in surprise, and Eden furrowed his brows, seeming slightly displeased.

“Since the monster appeared here, shouldn’t we continue the investigation on this side too?”

Damn it. Hearing Eden’s words, I once again felt hopeless.

‘There’s still a bit of time left…’

I recalculated the days remaining.

* * *

Remaining time until the apocalypse: 10 days.

Happy House was somewhat taking on the appearance of a refuge.

The kitchen was well-stocked with groceries and neatly arranged cooking utensils, with the water supply filled amply.

The banquet hall was in a state that could immediately host guests, and the wall torches and chandeliers in the corridor had been replaced with new ones, making everything look neat.

The catapult on the second-floor roof, set up in preparation for the monster’s approach, had also been installed.

The rooms on the second floor were turned into storage, filling them with various necessities and furniture. Despite using them generously for two years, there was still plenty left over.

At that moment, Susanna came down the lobby stairs.

“The second floor is also organized. You cleaned so thoroughly that I had nothing to do.”

Susanna approached me, standing in the lobby.

Since I purchased the mansion and had been consistently cleaning it, the mansion, although old, had become fairly clean. Susanna held a broom and looked at me with her twinkling eyes.

“I was really surprised you knew how to clean. What is it that my lady can’t do?”

I couldn’t emphasize it enough, but Susanna was an angel. I took a step toward her and shook her hand, holding it firmly.

“Susanna, you’re truly the best.”

Susanna blushed and shyly nodded her head. I patted her head and opened the front door, gazing out at the garden.

On the right side of the garden, I had planted a full bed of Elpinus herb seeds and labeled them separately. On the left side, where the rest of the crops were planted, I had spread compost and was waiting for them to grow.

Beyond the garden was the chicken coop, and beside it, in a small cabin, I had stored various weapons and gardening tools.

The walls surrounding the garden and the mansion had been reinforced and were now much thicker and higher.

The barbed wire fence was also quite thick, making it not easy for monsters to cross.

To think a refuge like this was completed in such a short time, tears were almost welling up in my eyes. The hardships I’d faced passed by like a panorama.

‘After all, money is the best.’

After personally tending and decorating it, I’d grown attached to this house. I even found myself saying nonsense like I wouldn’t mind living in Happy House until I grew old and died.

In essence, it was no different from independence. I had fulfilled my dream of owning a home that I had never experienced in my previous life!

‘You’ve worked hard, Cherry. You did really well.’

I consoled myself, looking toward the front gate. Susanna, who had followed me out, pointed at the gate.

“Opening and closing the gate isn’t difficult, but the bars are too heavy, miss.”

She pointed to the barricade beside the stone gate.

“Anyway, there won’t be any reason to go out.”

Of course, Susanna didn’t understand my words.

‘Now, if only Harrison would come.’

Today was the day Harrison was supposed to come from the Capital to Brunel. I got ready and headed outside the mansion.

From morning until now, police officers patrolled the outskirts of the village and around Happy House.

As Eden suggested, the search was underway. It seemed like they weren’t just patrolling but also investigating the events of that day.

I also joined them briefly, wielding the cricket bat, searching the surroundings with them, but as expected, we found nothing.

“From morning until now, we’ve searched, but there’s no sign of any beasts, let alone a habitat for them. Is there really such a monster?”

A middle-aged police officer with a stylish mustache poked around the tall grass and spoke. I quickly responded.

“That’s right. There’s no way something like that exists. We’ve searched enough.”

Unless the apocalypse was hastened, monsters wouldn’t suddenly appear. And even if they did, they would likely be the type that I could easily eliminate with a swing of the bat. In short, the ones that appeared now were all small fry.

Still, I was grateful for the patrol, so I looked around a bit more and bid the police officer’s farewell.

“I have something to do, so I’ll be going now. Thank you for your assistance today, officers.”

Then I quickly left the forest.

‘There’s a lot to do, so much.’

I needed to meet Harrison as soon as possible at the train station.

I came down to the village of Brunel to rent a carriage, and there was something strange about the atmosphere today. Whenever I passed by, the villagers would look at me and exchange whispers.