Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Madwoman of the Abandoned House
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“Is there nothing to do at the manor today?”
“What?”
“The firewood.”
“You chopped it all yesterday. That's more than enough.”
It seemed the strong Ethan had chopped nearly two years' worth of firewood in a single day. A massive pile was stacked in a corner of the garden.
“Then I will help with something else.”
*What's with him? Why is he acting like this?*
I stared at Ethan, puzzled.
*Is he trying to keep a close watch on me?*
Offering to help would be a good excuse for that. Wasn't he the one who'd pestered me (?) to give him a tour of the manor from the start?
While I was talking with Ethan, Knox approached us.
“What are you two talking about?”
As Knox spoke, Ethan pulled a baton from his belt. Whoa, sir, isn't that a bit of an overreaction?
Just as I expected, a flustered Knox held out both hands to calm Ethan down.
“Whoa, whoa. I was asking the lady here.”
Seeing that the two were about to fight again, I blithely ignored Knox's question and started walking away.
*I should get back to setting up the shelter.*
Spotting me walking away, the two men hurriedly followed.
“I'm busy. Stop bothering me and get out of my way.”
“I'm sure there's something I can help with. It looks like there are many repairs to be done.”
“Miss Cherry, you said you needed me. We have more bugs to catch.”
Ethan and Knox called out one after another, trailing behind me up the hill. Then, Ethan bared his teeth and growled at Knox.
“There's no way you just came down to this countryside for no reason. I don't know what you're plotting, but get lost. Unless you want to get your ass kicked.”
“My, you've developed quite the foul mouth since becoming a policeman. Anyone would mistake you for a street vagrant, not an officer. Hahaha.”
“With this face, no one's mistaking me for a street vagrant, so mind your own business and get the hell back to Benton, you bastard.”
“Didn't you hear me? Unlike you, Miss Cherry *asked* me to come.”
“Ugh, you're so loud.”
When I finally snapped, it suddenly went quiet. Ethan and Knox, sensing my mood, shut their mouths.
Ethan, who acted like a gentleman in front of me, instantly revealed his true, unfiltered personality to Knox.
His reason for pretending to be a gentleman with me was surely a ploy to lower my guard so he could ‘arrest me on the spot.’
But while Ethan's goal was obvious, I had no idea why Knox was approaching me.
*Since it's come to this, I might as well use Knox's interest in me to make him work his tail off.*
Right now, I was short on both time and help, so gaining even one extra person I could put to use was definitely a good thing.
*But if he gets in the way, I'll kick him out immediately.*
With that resolution, I climbed the hill.
* * *
When we reached the house, I put Ethan to work repairing the wall. The repairman who was supposed to be fixing it was still on the roof, building a catapult.
The Elpinus herbs didn't need compost, so I decided to plant the seeds directly. Knox would be doing it, of course.
The furniture I'd ordered was scheduled for delivery today, so I was going to be twice as busy as yesterday.
“To think the heir to the Duke of Lancaster is repairing a wall! Hahaha!”
Sucking on a lollipop, Knox was squatting next to Ethan, who was working on the wall, and teasing him. It looked like he had already finished planting the Elpinus herb seeds.
*...Is that why Ethan used to beat him up?*
I seemed to recall hearing that Knox got beaten up by Ethan a lot back when they were at the Royal Academy.
Sure enough, Ethan immediately grabbed Knox by the collar and threw him to the ground.
They weren't children. I was pretty sure both of them were older than me, yet they seemed even more immature.
How could those two possibly be the male leads of a romance novel? Although, one of them was her brother, not a male lead.
Just then, someone entered through the main gate with a greeting. It was Susanna.
“My lady. This manor is in quite a remote location.”
She stepped into the garden, struggling with a rectangular suitcase.
“Susanna! You're finally here!”
I shot up from my seat and ran to Susanna.
“My lady!”
Susanna welcomed me as I ran up. We clasped hands tightly, squealing with delight and spinning in a circle.
“Was it a difficult journey?”
“It was fine. This is the manor where I'll be staying with you, my lady, so I must get used to it.”
Whose maid was she to speak so sweetly? As I was patting her head, Susanna noticed Ethan and Knox and asked me.
“Oh? Who are these gentlemen...?”
“Ah, they're the hired help. Go ahead and unpack.”
Since we wouldn't be seeing each other after the apocalypse anyway, I didn't bother formally introducing Ethan and Knox to Susanna.
Knox and Ethan turned to look at me, dumbfounded. Susanna glanced between us cautiously, then picked up her suitcase and bowed to me.
“Then, may I go inside and unpack?”
“Yes, of course. Go right ahead.”
After sending Susanna into the manor, the furniture I had ordered from the neighboring town of Kintne arrived.
Workers from the furniture store began carrying the pieces into the manor. Ethan and Knox, who had been cautiously watching me, started helping move the furniture.
I brought out drinks for everyone and watched with a sense of satisfaction as the manor gradually filled with furniture. It felt like things were finally coming together.
If someone were to ask me how to build an excellent shelter, I would answer with confidence.
'Money!'
By spending money lavishly and filling the place with all sorts of things, I was creating a truly magnificent shelter.
Ethan and the delivery men looked shocked when they saw the food and various daily necessities stored in the pantry off the kitchen.
“It's like a war bunker.”
Hearing the workers mutter that made me realize I was really doing things right.
* * *
Time left until the apocalypse: 14 days.
Knox and Ethan stayed at Happy House late into the night, helping me organize everything.
Since they had both worked hard and sweated all day, I generously gave them each a room.
As a result, they had both fallen asleep as if they'd passed out and only just woken up this morning.
“...My apologies. I didn't intend to stay the night.”
Ethan, having woken up in the morning, approached me with a flustered look.
I gave him a cursory greeting and left the room, shouldering a net full of bells. Seeing me, Ethan's eyes widened in confusion.
“What are those bells for?”
“Oh. I have a use for them. I'll be busy today, so I'm afraid I won't be able to see you off. Please give my regards to our good doctor.”
As I said my goodbyes and hurried out of the manor, Susanna quickly grabbed a robe, draped it over her shoulders, and followed me.
“My lady! I'm coming with you.”
Crossing the garden, I handed some of the bells to Susanna, who was following me. Then I took a rope from the belt bag at my waist.
“What are you going to do with these?”
“I'm going to hang them in the forest.”
*They* are sensitive to sound. So, I would hang bells everywhere and use the noise to distract them.
I hung bells on trees throughout the small forest right behind the manor and connected them with ropes. That way, when needed, I could pull the ropes from the manor to make the bells ring.
Next, I brought a shovel and dug deep trenches around the manor to create traps. And with a sign,
<※BEWARE OF TRAPS※>
I also left a marker. The monsters wouldn't be able to read it, but any human would see it and be careful.
“My lady... where did you learn to do all this?”
Susanna, who was carrying a load of supplies and keeping pace with me, asked cautiously.
“Well...”
From movies? It was the kind of thing any modern person could easily come up with.
But for the upper class of this world, it was a different story. Especially for Cherry Sinclair, with her image as a spoiled heiress, this would have been completely unimaginable.
*My past life's memories are a godsend.*
With that thought, I came up with a plausible excuse.
“You know how I traveled abroad a lot with my mother and father when I was young. I learned it somewhere on the western continent. We did a lot of interesting things.”
But Susanna's face seemed to be written with the unspoken question, 'What on earth were you doing?' I had no further explanation to add, so I just smiled.
In any case, it was a relief that the preparations for the apocalypse were proceeding smoothly, but it seemed that in the village of Brunel, I was becoming known as 'the madwoman of the abandoned house.'
For some reason, it felt like my eyes were sweating. Was this really going to be okay?