Chapter 8
Eden pressed the sole of his shoe firmly against the man’s palm.
“Argh!”
“You’re going to be handed over to the Benton Police Station anyway. If you cooperate here, I can’t promise there won’t be pain, but I guarantee there won’t be torture.”
He promised no torture, but he didn’t say there would be no violence during interrogation.
The man groaned, clearly struggling, as Eden calmly waited for him to speak.
Finally, the man opened his mouth.
“All I heard is that Cherry Sinclair left for Brunel today. I swear, that’s all I know.”
‘Left today? Missed her.’
But that’s fine. He would go after her himself.
“Where is Brunel?”
“I-I don’t know. All I know is that it’s a small village with no train station…”
Even after further threats and inflicting more pain, the man revealed nothing beyond that. It seemed he truly didn’t know anything else.
Eden had no choice but to hand him over to the police station and prepare to leave for Brunel himself.
‘Why would Cherry Sinclair, of all people, go to a remote village with no train station? Suspicious in itself.’
Recently, Eden’s attention had been completely consumed by the “monster at 61 Notium Street,” the “C.S. brooch owner,” the “illegal firearms,” and “Cherry Sinclair.”
Among them, Cherry’s recent movements were the most suspicious, holding his gaze entirely.
At that point, Eden didn’t yet realize that all these incidents were tied to Cherry Sinclair. He only thought that for this case, he needed to confirm things directly with her to be satisfied.
If the missing Sinclair heiress really ordered a large quantity of firearms, wouldn’t he be curious about the reason?
Absolutely.
Time left until the world’s end: 19 days.
The only restaurant in Brunel village.
Sitting on the terrace, I opened yesterday’s newspaper brought from the neighboring village (the people of Brunel didn’t usually read newspapers, which suited me just fine).
[Exclusive Report! Heiress Cherry Sinclair takes a 100 million gold loan under the pretense of overseas business! What is this non-existent foreign enterprise…!]
Of course, my story was once again splashed across the front page. Everyone seemed desperate to know why I had borrowed such an enormous sum.
[Exclusive Report! Cherry Sinclair is missing! Where is she now…? Investigating whether this is a disappearance or a flight.]
‘Hmm, it’s more of a flight than a disappearance.’
I hadn’t attended parties lately, so the newspapers were probably bored. Let them talk! Once the world ends, they won’t get to write like this anymore.
But thinking of Harrison discovering my loan and lecturing me already gave me a headache. I folded the newspaper, sipped my coffee, and looked outside.
I had been waiting to see when Vanilla would arrive, but instead, a man in a police uniform appeared first, across from the restaurant, in front of the Brunel Police Station.
He had been conversing with a middle-aged officer but suddenly turned his back.
The first thing I noticed was his beautiful blonde hair, interwoven like threads of gold.
Next came the icy blue eyes, sharp nose, and under the red lips, the collar of a tightly fastened uniform shirt.
The navy-blue, sharp-angled police uniform suited him perfectly.
‘Insane. Handsome. Totally my type…’
His face looked familiar. Strange.
Then I remembered the policeman I saw in front of 61 Notium Street.
Aurora’s brother—Eden Duncan Lancaster!
‘Why is he here?!’
I recalled how he had been constantly calling the Sinclair mansion. Had he finally discovered that Cherry Sinclair was the one who killed the monster?
‘No wonder I had that bad feeling yesterday!’
Panicked, I reflexively lowered my head, desperately trying to figure out why Eden was here. He began walking slowly toward me on the terrace.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes? Um…”
I wasn’t expecting him to speak, so I responded like an idiot. Eden gave a small smirk as he looked at my face.
“There’s no seat. May I join you?”
Startled, I nodded awkwardly.
“Y-Yes? Oh, yes….”
When I entered, the restaurant had seemed empty, but when I looked back, it still was.
‘What the… Is this some kind of hidden camera? Am I the only one who can’t see anyone else?’
I couldn’t retract my permission for him to sit, so I sighed.
‘Focus, Cherry.’
Eden plopped down opposite me, crossed his legs at an angle, and smiled at me—a foreboding smile.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, but I didn’t expect you to be here.”
He ordered an espresso and looked at me.
“Do you know me?” I asked.
“Cherry Sinclair, aren’t you famous? There’s hardly a day your story doesn’t appear in the newspaper.”
The people in Brunel didn’t read newspapers, so they hadn’t recognized me. My photo wasn’t even in every issue.
“…I see. I am somewhat famous, then.”
If he spreads the word that I’m here, it’ll be quite troublesome.
‘Should I find another village right now?’
But there wasn’t much time left.
Eden studied my face silently before suddenly extending his hand.
“Allow me to introduce myself, Lady. I am Eden Duncan Lancaster, an investigator with the Benton Police Department.”
Yes, I know him well.
He was a man who, once fixated on something, would not let go. There was a saying in Benton: no criminal escapes him once he has his sights on them. Hence the nickname: “Benton’s Mad Dog.”
Could it be that this obsessive trait has been triggered by me?
Could he have realized that I’m the owner of the brooch?
“My goodness, fascinating. Eden Duncan Lancaster? The one I know, the frequent newspaper figure?”
I tried to appear calm as I placed my hand over his. I had expected a noble-style hand-kiss, but Eden shook my hand up and down.
I showed slight embarrassment, but Eden didn’t care.
Unfortunately for me, his personality wasn’t pleasant. Even in the original story, he was described as ill-tempered and easily disliked, despite being highly capable in survival and combat.
“I wonder what brings someone as famous as Sir Eden here,” I said.
“Not comparable to Lady Sinclair’s fame. But what brings you to a rural village like this?”
He naturally redirected the question to me. I quickly thought of an answer.
“I’m looking for a vacation home,” I said, offering a plausible excuse.
His eyebrows twitched. Claiming to look for a vacation home in this empty village probably seemed odd. He gave me a slightly incredulous look.
“Then you should also explain why you were assigned here, Sir Eden.”
“Assigned?” I stammered. My expression betrayed me. My excuse was even worse than his.
“You’re from the Lancaster family. On a clear path to the Chief of Police, why would you be assigned to this rural village? Are the police in Benton out of their minds?”
If true, this was serious. Did this mean I’d have to stay here with him until the world ended?
‘This isn’t in the original story!’
Eden should have been beside Aurora in the capital when the disaster struck, safe and helping produce the antidote.
‘Ah, did my actions diverge from the original story?’
If so, I was responsible for either sending Eden back to the capital or protecting him until the scientist male lead appeared.
‘No. Stop, Cherry. Protecting Eden Lancaster? Don’t even think about it.’
I slapped my cheeks to shake off the thought. Eden looked at me in surprise, eyes wide.
“You seem quite startled.”
I coughed awkwardly.
“Anyway… it’s strange. You being here.”
“It’s less strange than Lady Cherry coming to a rural village to get a vacation home,” he said.
He was right. I could only mask my frustration and respond.
“More importantly, you haven’t answered my question. Why were you assigned here?”
“To gain some experience,” he said.
“In this tiny village? There shouldn’t be any major incidents here.”
Like a chairman’s son parachuting into the job to learn from the ground up?
“We’ll see if there are really no incidents. I’m patient. I can wait,” Eden said, staring at me intently.
Damn, everything he said felt pointed, like he knew more than he should.
‘…Alright, don’t panic. He’ll return to the capital before the disaster. Aurora’s still there.’
I drew a tentative conclusion, still uneasy as someone approached us.
“You’re the one who purchased the mansion on the hill, right?”
