Chapter 7
“How can you say that? I was the one at the scene of the incident, no one else. And Cherry Sinclair is on the front page of the newspaper every day—I couldn’t just ignore it.”
Eden folded the newspaper with a look of exasperation. Inspector Marcel shook his head at him.
“Why risk your life for the investigation? You’re already on a clear path to become the Chief of Police as long as you deliver decent results.”
Eden’s father, the Duke of Lancaster, had never been pleased with his son abandoning his title to become a police officer.
But Eden’s natural status didn’t vanish, and his promotions within the police were practically assured.
“So it would be better not to poke around the Sinclairs unnecessarily,” Marcel advised. Stirring trouble with the Sinclairs was dangerous business.
“I didn’t become a policeman to become Chief. If I wanted honor, I could have just inherited the title of Duke,” Eden replied.
He was a man with a deep sense of duty as a police officer—and, in many ways, an unusual one.
He had abandoned his dukedom to become a cop, and his manners and comportment were hardly what one would expect from a high-ranking noble.
Yet, despite being a little rough and brash, his skill was undeniable.
A genius in swordsmanship and marksmanship, nicknamed as such during his days at Lubrege Benton College, the Royal School of Graydon.
“By the way, Inspector, have you seen today’s Benton newspaper? Not a single word about that monster appeared.”
Marcel sighed wearily at Eden’s remark.
“The higher-ups ordered us not to stir confusion until the facts were confirmed. Don’t pry too much, if you can avoid it.”
Eden considered trying to find out who the “higher-ups” were.
But he already had a good idea. Somehow, before even looking for the answer, he felt he knew it.
Then Marcel asked him:
“By the way, what’s that brooch?”
Eden held a sparkling brooch in his hand, adorned with a rubellite gemstone and golden flowers.
“There was a woman who killed the monster with an axe,” he said, confident it was a woman. The playful, lively voice he remembered belonged unmistakably to a female.
The next memory was her eyes.
Though her face was masked, her golden eyes, as if made from pure molten gold, were etched deeply into Eden’s mind.
“She killed that monster with an axe? Have you seen its size?” Marcel asked.
“Strange, isn’t it? My sister witnessed it herself. Even an adult man would find it difficult, yet a woman alone killed that huge creature,” Eden explained.
“A woman alone… That’s odd.” Marcel’s shocked expression met Eden’s, who then held up the brooch in his hand.
C. S.
The initials were engraved there.
Even if she saved Aurora’s life, she was still a suspicious figure who had fled the scene. And she seemed somehow connected to the mysterious monster, even if only partially.
‘C. S.—the same initials as Cherry Sinclair.’
Her eye color matched too.
Eden chuckled softly to himself at the absurdity of the thought. Cherry Sinclair was not the type to venture into rough, remote neighborhoods; she was delicate and refined.
He handed the newspaper to a nearby constable and left the yard of 61 Notium Street.
“Where are you going?” Marcel asked.
“I received a tip that a large shipment of firearms was illegally brought in from the Briwood Kingdom. Thanks to you, there’s nothing more for me to do here, so I’ll check it out,” Eden replied.
“And who gave you that tip?”
Eden pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth.
“I’ll find out soon enough. I’m going,” he said, exiting briskly, not the most polite, but thorough enough to nod at Marcel.
Benton, Westmore, Honderf, and then Kintney.
There were four stations from Benton to Kintney. After disembarking at Kintney, a carriage ride deeper into the mountains would lead to Brunel.
No cars or trams ran here. It made me realize just how pampered my life in the capital had been.
The train made travel easier; we departed in the morning and arrived by the afternoon.
‘Finally, we’re here!’
The village where I would build the shelter: Brunel.
I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked ahead.
An isolated mansion perched like a fortress on a hill at the edge of the village came into view.
The remote mansion mentioned in the novel, where Vanilla had stayed, was here.
It was mostly hidden among dense trees, only the chimney visible—a gloomy, haunted mansion straight out of an American horror movie.
‘Looks like a monster could come out of there.’
I swallowed nervously; the mansion seemed to radiate an icy chill.
I planned to purchase it with the village chief’s introduction, the owner being Vanilla.
‘So this mansion belonged to Vanilla.’
As I had noted before, the mansion was solidly situated on the hill, with the village in front and mountains rich in gathering resources behind.
Despite being a small village, it had all the essentials: grocery stores, general stores, a clinic, weapon shop, restaurants, and an inn. The village could easily serve as a full survival camp.
‘I wish I could buy the entire village too…’
Of course, I knew that was impossible—some things can’t be bought with money.
I circled the mansion and waited for the owner, Vanilla, to finalize the purchase.
But after a long wait, she didn’t appear. I learned she was absent today, and I’d have to wait until tomorrow.
‘Not a good start. What’s going to happen tomorrow?’
I pushed aside my uneasy feelings and reluctantly decided to spend the night at the village inn.
That night, Benton.
Eden grabbed a man by the back of the neck at a dead-end alley, swinging a baton from his waist.
Thunk—
“Ugh!”
The man collapsed. Eden, looking weary, quickly wiped his face dry and straddled the man’s back.
“You know who I am?” Eden muttered irritably, ruffling the man’s hair. The man could only groan in pain.
Eden pulled a revolver from his pocket, opened the cylinder, and saw three of the six chambers loaded. He inserted fresh bullets into the empty chambers.
“I wasn’t supposed to come after someone like you. But here I am. That means you’re screwed.”
Despite his polished appearance, a somewhat crude curse slipped from his mouth.
The man had been caught red-handed meeting an illegal arms dealer.
“Tell me. Most of the firearms illegally imported from the Briwood Kingdom are headed for rural villages, right? But you don’t know which village yet?”
In Graydon, civilians weren’t allowed to possess firearms. This was definitely a matter for police investigation.
Eden spun the revolver’s cylinder. The sound made the man shiver in fear.
“I-I really don’t know! I’m just a courier!”
“Do you expect me to believe that? You were caught on the scene, idiot.”
Eden tapped the man’s head with the revolver. The man stiffened, sweat soaking his collar.
“I confirmed that Lawyer Howard is involved. Isn’t this the Sinclair family’s doing? Answer me.”
In Graydon, the Sinclair name carried as much weight as Eden’s Lancaster family.
A wealthy Sinclair could easily smuggle firearms if they wished.
He told Marcel he had received a tip, but Eden had personally seen the Briwood arms expert, Jose, secretly meeting with Harrison Howard.
No proof, but he was certain.
‘And Cherry Sinclair is avoiding my calls.’
Was she hiding something? She hadn’t answered a single call, as if intentionally avoiding him.
“The Sinclair heiress suddenly took a 100 million gold loan and disappeared—could this be related?”
The man could only groan in pain, offering no answer.
Eden opened his notebook and flipped it to a page where a newspaper clipping was attached.
Golden eyes sparkling like finely crafted gold, bright cherry-colored curly hair, a cute cocktail hat, and a wide, white-toothed smile. She exuded lively energy.
I could see why she was nicknamed the “Candy Lady.” No matter who she was with, all eyes would immediately go to Cherry.
‘But…’
Most rumors painted Cherry Sinclair as a spendthrift party girl, indulging in scandals. She was indecisive, incapable of managing the Sinclair estate, and utterly detestable to Eden.
Now, her possible connection to illegal arms smuggling added another reason for suspicion.
‘Cherry Sinclair…’
Eden disliked things that didn’t go according to plan. He hated leaving unanswered questions—whether it was the monster incident or now the arms smuggling.
The police chief had already kept this quiet, knowing Harrison and the Sinclair family were involved.
‘The Sinclair family made the current police chief, so it makes sense.’
Cherry Sinclair irritated him. And Eden had to see irritating things for himself to be satisfied.
His cold gaze landed on the man cowering below.
“I have a good idea.”
