Chapter 20
He must be someone who rose to prominence while I was away studying in the Kingdom of Briwood.
Theodore glared at the newspaper with a displeased expression, then flipped to the next page.
[Unidentified monsters sighted across the country… Police authorities: “Verifying the facts.”]
Another one of those monster incidents.
“Why are there so many of these lately?”
Last year there had been the Westmore urban legend case, and about three months ago, a massive funeral was held at the Marquis Casey’s estate. The cause had later been revealed to be an epidemic.
Because of the risk of contagion, the Casey estate had been immediately sealed off.
You’d think the gates would have opened at least once for food supplies—but the estate had remained shut to this day.
As if they had anticipated this outcome and prepared in advance.
Theodore questioned Elderson as if giving him a test.
“You know whose man Marquis Casey is, right?”
“He is one of Duke Lancaster’s subordinates.”
“And Duke Lancaster?”
“He serves Prince Lloyd.”
“Exactly. That’s it. There’s no way those two would have stayed quiet about the Marquis Casey affair. There’s something going on.”
Theodore stroked his chin, deep in thought.
An epidemic and monsters. Marquis Casey, Duke Lancaster, and Prince Lloyd entangled in the middle of it all. Could it truly be mere coincidence?
Pointing to the monster article in the newspaper, Theodore asked,
“This is related to the Nottingham Street No. 61 incident too, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It appears to be the same kind of disturbance.”
Theodore leaned his chin on his interlaced fingers, looking intrigued. Once again, he questioned Elderson like a teacher testing a pupil.
“They found a monster’s corpse at Nottingham Street 61, didn’t they? Elderson, do you know who suppressed and covered up that case?”
This time Elderson answered confidently.
“It was Duke Lancaster.”
Lancaster… The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it felt.
Unlike himself, who lacked power, Prince Lloyd stood backed by Lancaster and constantly threatened Theodore’s position.
Letting out a sigh, Theodore pulled out his fountain pen and scribbled his signature across the documents.
“Conduct a thorough investigation into these monster sightings. Secure witness statements. From now on, don’t overlook even the smallest detail related to monster incidents—launch a full-scale investigation. Inform the Commissioner of Police. I want to see him.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“And find out why Eden and Knox went down to Brunel!”
Theodore emphasized it once more, just in case.
“Yes! Of course!”
Elderson answered energetically, but Theodore still felt uneasy. He watched his aide leave with a dissatisfied look.
At this rate, he might have to replace his assistant—or investigate everything himself.
Brunel Village Medical Clinic, located in the town center.
“How long will you be staying in Brunel, Mr. Rudfisher?”
“Why do you ask? Are you interested in me?”
“Yes.”
Knox recalled what Cherry had said to him just yesterday—how she had answered without hesitation when he asked if she was interested in him.
Of course, even Knox knew her “interest” wasn’t romantic.
He had come all the way to this remote countryside out of curiosity about monsters, but now an unexpected new source of amusement had appeared.
After all, he had discovered that Eden was also interested in Cherry Sinclair.
‘So what exactly is their relationship?’
Cherry had been a gossip darling of high society who loved extravagance—a bourgeois woman who longed for aristocratic status.
In contrast, Eden despised the pretentious high society and its luxury. He was a noble who wanted to dismantle aristocratic conventions altogether.
What an ill-matched pair. Two people from completely opposite worlds.
If high society learned of this, it would be gossip they’d chew on not just for days, but for months.
Did Eden even know? That the woman who had appeared and then vanished at Nottingham Street No. 61 that day was Cherry Sinclair.
Knox hummed lightly, feeling excited.
Interesting. Cherry Sinclair was far stranger—and far funnier—than he had imagined.
“Goodness, isn’t that the girl from the abandoned house?”
The innkeeper, who was receiving treatment from Knox, pointed outside the clinic. Through the wide-open door, brilliant red hair could be seen. Cherry Sinclair.
She was pulling a cart loaded with axes, swords, crossbows, and various other weapons—as if she had cleaned out Brunel’s weapon shop.
“Looks like it was the weapon store this time?”
“Oh dear, won’t she visit my bookstore?”
At the innkeeper’s comment, the bookstore owner looked at Cherry wistfully.
“But that young lady is quite strong.”
“Seriously. Isn’t that heavy?”
“Seeing that, she’s definitely not a noble. Aren’t noble ladies supposed to be so delicate they can barely lift anything?”
“Come on, that girl from the abandoned house isn’t a noble. She doesn’t even use maids and repairs the mansion herself.”
‘Cherry Sinclair isn’t technically a noble,’ Knox thought.
But she had lived more luxuriously than most nobles, which made it ambiguous.
The villagers’ gossip only heightened his curiosity. Hearing about Cherry from their perspective was highly entertaining.
He had seen her mansion yesterday himself. As they said, it was practically an abandoned house.
Even though it was under heavy repair, it was absolutely not a place befitting Cherry Sinclair, heiress of the Sinclair family.
Just then, a man in a police uniform appeared from somewhere. Even from a distance, it was clearly Eden. He approached Cherry and spoke to her.
Resting his chin on his hand, Knox watched the two converse. He was so curious about what they were saying that he had to restrain himself from running out of the clinic.
The villagers watching alongside him began whispering.
“Don’t you think that young policeman likes the girl from the abandoned house?”
“He follows her around constantly. He never takes his eyes off her.”
“Whenever she comes into town, he questions everyone about what she did and what she said. That’s obsession if I’ve ever seen it. Is a policeman even allowed to act like that?”
So Knox wasn’t the only one who thought so.
He reconsidered Eden’s personality. Once Eden fixated on something, he clung to it like a mad dog.
‘Come to think of it, maybe he’s digging in because of suspicion.’
If he was linking Cherry Sinclair to the Nottingham Street 61 incident, that would explain it.
‘Assigned to Brunel Police Station? What a joke.’
If Eden was fixated on Cherry, then he must have volunteered for the Brunel post after learning she was here.
Lost in thought, Knox stood up. The villagers turned toward him.
“Everyone, we’ll be ending today’s consultations a bit early.”
They voiced their disappointment.
But Knox smiled charmingly, told them he’d see them tomorrow, and left the clinic.
Time remaining until the apocalypse: 15 days.
Today was the day Susanna was supposed to arrive.
Of course, there was still plenty to do before she got here.
First, I bought every weapon available at the village’s weapon shop. Firearms were excluded, of course. They weren’t sold there to begin with—they were illegal.
‘Will Harrison really bring the guns? I wish I could at least get through to him.’
I made a mental note to try calling Harrison again today as I walked, pulling a cart piled high with weapons.
Feeling the weight of many gazes on me, I glanced sideways and saw the villagers gathered at the clinic—Knox among them.
Though he had only recently arrived, Knox had already become immensely popular. Being a doctor helped, but more than that, he was handsome and affable, which especially endeared him to the married women.
‘Well, he was the charming second male lead, almost on par with Crown Prince Theodore, the main male lead.’
Eden was excluded from the male lead lineup since he was the heroine’s brother.
Just then, Eden suddenly appeared. He approached me casually and spoke. Where on earth had he come from?
“Miss Cherry, what is all this?”
“Can’t you tell? Weapons. Don’t worry—no firearms. I thought I might need them, living alone.”
“That doesn’t look like an amount one person would use.”
Eden stared at me in disbelief. He looked like he had a hundred questions but swallowed them back.
He probably wanted to ask what on earth I intended to do with all these weapons.
Pretending not to notice, I bid him farewell.
“I’ll be going now. Keep up the good work.”
Adios.
I gave him a bright salute, touching two fingers to my forehead before turning away—only for Eden to grab me.
