Chapter 9
The person who spoke to me was a woman.
She had pale blue hair with little pigment, sharp eyes, and gray irises. The woman, who looked rather prim and aloof, narrowed her brows the moment our eyes met and suddenly blurted out,
“You’re incredibly beautiful.”
…Is that really something to say with such a scowl on your face?
However, she quickly put on an indifferent expression and extended her hand toward me for a handshake.
“I came to give you the keys. My name is Vanilla Eddie Ruskin. I’m the owner of the estate.”
She looked cold enough to freeze the world, yet her name sounded surprisingly gentle. In truth, she barely appeared in the novel at all, so I didn’t know much about her.
I stood up and took her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Ruskin. You received the sales contract, right? Then starting today, I’m the owner of the estate.”
As I said that and shook hands with Vanilla, Eden suddenly asked me,
“The estate on the hill? You’re buying that abandoned house? Why would the Sinclair heiress want a place like that?”
Startled, I turned to look at Eden.
“Shh. Keep your voice down. Do you plan to advertise that I’m Cherry Sinclair?”
“Would that be a problem?”
It’s not that it can’t be done—but if people find out, it becomes a hassle!
As Eden and I whispered back and forth, Vanilla let out a deep sigh and spoke to me.
“I know you’re Cherry Sinclair. It was written on the sales contract. And I don’t care who you are. The only thing I care about is money.”
She spoke so firmly, as if telling me not to worry, that I felt a little embarrassed.
‘Right. Of course I had to write my name on the contract.’
At that moment, Eden—who had been quietly listening—pointed at Vanilla’s waist. Something was hanging there.
“What’s that?”
“A bird.”
…Did I hear that right? A bird?
Only then did I notice two birds hanging upside down from her waist. Beside them was a holster with a shotgun in it.
How did I not notice something so eye-catching until now?
“The village chief asked me to catch a few, so I did some hunting. The pay’s pretty good.”
…Now I finally understood how Vanilla had managed to survive alone for half a year in the novel.
It clearly wasn’t just because the estate’s defenses were good.
For some reason, I suddenly wanted to recruit her into the shelter I was about to build.
“Take the keys.”
She placed the keys into my hand, not forgetting to give a final warning.
“Brunel is a backwater village, and as you’ve seen, the estate is extremely isolated. The repair costs alone will be enormous. It’s in my name, but I only inherited it because of my father, so I told you beforehand that I don’t recommend buying it. Going through with the purchase was your choice, Ms. Sinclair.”
Was this how Eden felt earlier? I nodded, momentarily overwhelmed by the stream of words. Vanilla continued in the same cold, expressionless tone.
“I’ll be staying in this village for a while. If you need anything, feel free to call me. Just know that I charge a dispatch fee.”
She adjusted her monocle and spoke solemnly. I nodded blankly. A dispatch fee?
“No discounts, no matter how pretty and cute you are, Ms. Sinclair.”
What is she even talking about?
Vanilla also handed me the estate’s blueprints. I glanced through them briefly, then grabbed her as she turned away.
“Wait a moment, Ms. Ruskin.”
“Yes?”
Despite her polite reply, Vanilla pulled out a pocket watch and even checked the time. She looked like someone who truly hated wasting it.
“Is there anything unusual about the estate? I was wondering if there might be some hidden facilities—something suitable for living self-sufficiently.”
Vanilla looked at me as if I had asked something absurd.
But in the novel, she had clearly said, ‘This estate is special. It’s optimized for survival.’ That’s how the estate had been introduced.
“Well… the garden’s good for turning into a vegetable patch, and there’s a well, so it’s easy to draw water. Other than that, I don’t really know. I manage too many estates to keep track of all the details.”
I carefully studied her expression, but she truly seemed to know nothing else. I felt a little disappointed.
Maybe the estate’s only strengths were its location and its suitability for self-sufficiency.
Though calling it self-sufficient was generous—you’d need real survival skills for that. That part worried me.
After seeing Vanilla off, I left the restaurant and headed toward the hill on the outskirts of the village where the estate stood.
Eden kept following me closely. Halfway up the hill, I stopped and turned around.
A man in a neatly pressed police uniform was strolling up the hill with his hands in his pockets.
“Why do you keep following me?” I demanded.
Eden, who had been looking around, stopped. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he rubbed his chin and looked past my shoulder toward the estate.
“The estate is extremely isolated. It looks perfect for smuggling and hiding firearms. Also good for embezzling business funds and lying low. Ah—just thinking out loud.”
He replied casually and flashed me a pleasant smile.
Firearms? And embezzlement? What is he talking about? Is this because of the loan I took?
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. You seem very interested in the estate—if you insist, you can take a look around—”
I trailed off mid-sentence, irritation creeping in.
‘Wait. He said firearms. Illegal ones.’
Eden wasn’t the type to say pointless things. He wouldn’t bring that up without reason.
“…Alright. Then what specific kinds of weapons do you want? I’ll even arrange an instructor to teach you how to use them.”
“Swords, crossbows, axes—everything! One of each! But Harrison, I don’t need a teach—”
“Miss. This is not negotiable.”
One of each.
That’s when it hit me—if I asked Harrison for “every type,” he would really send every kind of gun imaginable. Damn it.
“So it is a problem if I inspect the estate,” Eden said.
He crossed his arms and stood at an angle, studying my hesitant expression.
There were many reasons Eden couldn’t inspect the estate—and just as many reasons I shouldn’t get involved with him at all.
On top of that, the Sinclair family wasn’t exactly clean, which made things worse. I couldn’t go to prison before the world ended.
“O-Of course! It’s inappropriate for a strange man to enter the home of a woman living alone!”
“I’m not a strange man. I’m a police officer—”
“Aren’t police officers still strange men? Men are men.”
“Well, yes, but how did the conversation jump to—”
“Without a warrant, everyone’s a strange man—and a beast!”
“B-Beast… what?”
Eden stared at me as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. I planted my hands on my hips proudly and shouted,
“Therefore, if you follow me, you’re a beast.”
“Your logic makes no sense.”
“Oh? Keep coming and you’ll regret it.”
The look on Eden’s face as he processed my childish logic was impressive. He looked utterly dumbfounded.
While he stood there in a daze, I quickly ran up the hill.
I unlocked the estate’s main gate, slipped inside, bolted it shut, and let out a long sigh.
I really needed to call Harrison back in the capital.
No matter how thoroughly I searched the vast estate, I couldn’t find any firearms.
Naturally. I had only just bought the place—there was no way Harrison had already sent anything.
Still, just in case, I wanted to call him. Unfortunately, in this tiny village, the only telephone was at the police station.
‘Please don’t let me run into Eden again.’
I stood in front of the police station for a long time, hesitating. Going all the way to Kintne just to find another phone sounded like too much trouble.
‘Fine. I’ll just go in.’
Hoping Eden was out on patrol, I cautiously opened the police station door—
—and was greeted by a bizarre sight.
A man lay sprawled on the floor in a pitiful state.
His clothes were torn to shreds, and Eden was sitting on his back.
Casually drinking Scotch whisky.
Eden looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
His uniform jacket was nowhere to be seen, and several buttons of his white shirt were undone—no, torn off.
“Ugh…” the man beneath him groaned.
Eden downed the rest of his Scotch in one gulp, then placed the empty glass on top of the man’s head.
“Hey. If you drop that and break it, you’re dead.”
After threatening the man in a chilling tone, Eden turned to look at me.
“You pushed me away so coldly earlier—what brings you here now?”
