Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: An Uneasy Truce
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“Ah. Did you really think I'd fall for such a flimsy excuse, my dear Miss Cherry? Then how do you explain the existence of this mansion?”
“After seeing a monster like that, how could I possibly stay in the capital out of fear? The letter said the monster was contagious. To be honest, I was skeptical until then.”
I shrugged and continued. Ethan didn't seem to care whether I spoke curtly or not.
“I told you. My life was nothing but money, so I wanted to find some excitement. Even if the letter was fake, I thought it would be quite amusing to imagine such a disaster and build a shelter. But then I came down here and saw the farmer change, and I was convinced. I don't know who sent it, but the letter was right about everything. See? The world ended because of a contagious monster.”
“And you didn't think to investigate who sent the letter?”
“Of course I did. But think about it. When did the incident at 61 Notium Street happen? What could I have possibly found out in such a short time?”
Ethan fell silent. With nothing more to say, he narrowed his eyes and simply studied my expression.
It seemed my excuse had worked, to some extent. That is, to some extent. In fact, he didn't press me any further on it. It's not like I committed a crime; I just look suspicious, that's all.
“So that's why you told me not to touch the monster back then. You knew it was contagious.”
Ethan nodded as if he were genuinely convinced. But his eyes remained icily calm.
*That's not the look of someone who's convinced at all…!*
But I couldn't think of any other explanation to make him understand. To be honest, there were still many things I hadn't figured out myself. I don't get it either, me!
The bigger problem was that Ethan's trust in me was abysmally low. It felt like nothing I said would get through to him.
I finally decided to give up on making him understand. I guess I'll just have to knock him out from behind….
“It seems you have no intention of telling the truth.”
Ethan said. No, I'm telling you, I don't know the truth either….
Since it had come to this, I decided to ask him something I was genuinely curious about.
“By the way, did you find out who sent the letter to your sister? I'm curious too.”
“All we know is that it suddenly appeared on her bedroom desk.”
Ethan ran a hand through his hair in frustration. It seemed he was quite exasperated himself for not being able to solve the mystery of Aurora's letter.
On Aurora's bedroom desk? Does that mean someone managed to bypass the Lancaster estate's tight security and sneak into her room?
“Must have been an inside job.”
Ethan nodded at my words. It seemed he had suspected the same thing.
But he offered no further explanation. What was it? Who could have possibly sent Aurora that letter?
Luring her to 61 Notium Street under the pretense of revealing the secret of her birth was just too strange.
*Whoever sent that letter must have known something about the monster at 61 Notium Street.*
As I was lost in thought, a shadow fell over my face. Ethan had moved right up close to me.
I looked up and met Ethan's eyes. He stood there for a long moment, just watching me in silence.
Ethan's piercing blue eyes were as cold as ice and as turbulent as a towering wave. It was a gaze I could never hope to imitate.
“I told you, Miss Cherry. I'm repaying a debt right now.”
What does that mean? Explain it so I can understand. I asked him with my eyes.
But Ethan just kept observing my face. He knew I wanted a proper answer, but he just stood there, staring.
The tension was suffocating. Ethan was weighing something. He pressed down on me with a heavy pressure, as if he were calculating something, or perhaps testing me.
Just when I felt like I was about to choke from the relentless pressure, Ethan finally spoke.
“It was a poor excuse, but I'll play along for now. That's not our most pressing concern.”
Right. We had other things to do right now, things we had to work on together.
Ethan seemed convinced that I was hiding something else besides the letter.
Of course, his conviction was correct. But it wasn't as if I could explain the novel *Love in a Ruined World* to him.
If I brought that up, his reaction would be the same as with the letter, no, even worse.
As soon as Ethan finished speaking, a dull thud sounded against the main gate of Happy House.
*Thud—!*
It seemed to be the work of the monsters gathered around the mansion. I needed to end this conversation, so I retorted to Ethan.
“Letting it slide? How gracious of you to show such mercy.”
The sarcastic words just slipped out.
It felt like I'd lost, but no. I was the one letting *him* off the hook. If another unfavorable situation arose, I'd just knock Ethan out from behind and then….
“That doesn't mean I trust you completely. Even setting aside the 61 Notium Street incident, there are too many suspicious things about you. I don't trust people easily.”
My imagination of smacking Ethan in the back of the head was interrupted, and I looked up.
Unlike a moment ago, Ethan's face was now calm as he looked at me.
To be fair, if he had asked for specifics about the mansion, I wouldn't have had much to say.
Even I wouldn't believe that ‘that’ Cherry Sinclair would move to the countryside and spend a fortune building a mansion like this just because of a single letter.
“But why the sudden formality again? Is being fickle a hobby of yours?”
“I told you I prefer it this way. Maintaining formality. It's more fitting for us to converse with this much distance between us.”
The turbulence in him had subsided, and Ethan replied with a coolly composed face.
I thought we had grown a little closer, but now it felt like an even thicker wall had risen between us.
But I agreed with his words. Right. That's what I wanted, too. This much distance between us was perfect.
“Do you dislike it?”
“No. I agree. Let's be formal. But if you change your attitude again and speak carelessly like before, I won't let it slide next time.”
I answered as if I were indulging a child's tantrum.
But Ethan, the one who had suggested creating distance in the first place, looked at me strangely when I agreed so readily.
*God, he's difficult.*
The idea of him letting it go because he was "repaying a debt" didn't seem like Ethan at all. Why would he back down so quietly? His meek acceptance of the situation was actually more unsettling.
But whatever the case, we needed to move quickly. Ethan and I straightened our clothes, finishing our preparations.
I took several empty bags from the second-floor storage room and handed them to Ethan, acting nonchalantly as if our sharp-edged conversation from moments ago had never happened.
“I thought we should take some empty bags. If we can find more food or daily necessities, it would be good to bring them back and stock up.”
Ethan glanced at me. He took the bags from me just as casually.
“You assess situations very quickly.”
“Spend a year in high society. You'll develop judgment you never knew you had.”
“Hmm. Why people thought of you as an incompetent idler is the biggest mystery to me.”
I had nothing to say to that, so I just scratched my cheek. I couldn't exactly tell him that the current me was a different person.
“Do you happen to need medicine again? If you don't want to be treated at the Ludpersher hospital, I can find another one for you. Perhaps it would be best to just check into a hospital for a few days and rest….”
Even Harrison had told me to see a doctor; I didn't expect Ethan to be any different.
I didn't answer, but Ethan didn't seem to mind, as if he hadn't been expecting a reply anyway.
*I'll just keep pretending I don't know what he's talking about.*
With that thought, I arranged the watch schedule with Ethan.
* * *
Ethan went up to the observatory to take the first watch, and I returned to my room to sleep, lying down on my bed. The shift change was in about two hours.
The dark mansion was silent. With all the torches extinguished, only the moonlight filtering through the window illuminated the view.
The mattress was soft, and the new blanket was plush and warm. Lying in such a comfortable bed, it was hard to believe the world had ended.
*Awooooooo—*
Except for the occasional, unidentifiable monster's cry in the distance, it felt truly peaceful.
But a constant tension lingered. Every nerve felt on edge. All sorts of terrible thoughts swirled in my mind.
*How can I possibly sleep when the world has become like this? Dammit, how can anyone sleep so soundly at a time like this?*
That soundly sleeping person was me.
I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I came to my senses and opened my eyes, the sun was rising.
*Shit, I'm screwed.*
Without even thinking to fix my messy hair, I roughly wiped the dried drool from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. Then I scrambled up to the roof.
Ethan was sitting alone in the observatory, gazing at something in the distance.