Chapter 74
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: A Calculated Risk
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I tilted my head, watching the two men, then answered Amy.
“I don’t have a boyfriend. Know any good men you could set me up with?”
Hearing my answer, Amy gave me a meaningful look before glancing back at Knox and Ethan.
“Looks like these old guys need to step up their game.”
She remarked.
I wanted to retort immediately, but I was too busy tying the Elpinus herbs to the arrowheads, so I just kept my mouth shut.
“This should be enough.”
As I muttered, Amy scurried over and offered some advice.
“You should add a little more. It needs to be a larger amount than what’s stuck in the gate, at least.”
Amy was right. The whole point of launching the Elpinus herbs was to draw the monsters’ attention, which meant they had to find this arrow more interesting.
I decided to trust Amy’s word—that the Elpinus herbs grew back quickly.
So, though it felt like a waste, I stripped all but a small portion of the Elpinus herbs and tied them to two separate arrows.
Then, I walked over to Knox and Amy, who were struggling to remove the stone gate’s crossbar, and pulled it out in one go.
It was heavy, after all; even the professional workmen had needed several men to lift it.
Ignoring Amy’s astonished stare, I nocked the first arrow in my crossbow and aimed at the gate. With the crossbar removed, all that was left was to open it.
“Everyone, get ready.”
Knox and Amy stood before the heavy stone gate, ready to open it. Nearby, Ethan had loaded his revolver and was aiming at the gate, just like me.
“One, two…”
As I counted, I carefully placed my finger on the crossbow’s trigger. Then I shouted the next word.
“Three! Open it!”
The heavy gate opened with painstaking slowness. The left side, where Knox was, opened quickly enough, but the right side barely budged despite Amy’s grunting and straining. In the end, Ethan had to help her.
When the gate was finally wide open, the monsters that had been ramming their heads against it were revealed.
Kuruk?
Grrrr-
Grrrrrrrrrrr-
The three monsters pressed right up against the gate each had a different appearance.
The monster on the far left had a dwarfish torso, a long, thick tail, and short limbs, making it look like a dinosaur.
Next to it was one that looked like a mole but with two heads, and the monster on the far right had a humanoid shape, but with a long neck and a single eye.
They were all equally grotesque.
I pulled the crossbow’s trigger. The arrow, tipped with Elpinus herbs, flew in a high arc over the creatures’ heads.
I could see the nearby monsters chasing the scent, running deep into the forest.
The problem was the three creatures right in front of the gate, who remained where they were, baring their teeth at us.
They charged toward Ethan and Amy, who were closest.
Bang—Bang!
Ethan immediately pulled the trigger and fired. At the sound, the monsters that had run off began to turn back toward us, one by one.
Damn it.
“Sir Ethan, put the gun away and use your sword!”
At my words, Ethan quickly holstered his revolver and drew his sword. He immediately cut down the two monsters charging at Knox and Amy in a single stroke.
At the same time, I fired my crossbow at the mole-like monster attacking Ethan from behind. The arrow struck it squarely in the head.
“Ah, no! Sis, you were supposed to shoot it far away! If you hit that one…!”
Without waiting for Amy to finish, I drew the axe from my back and ran. Before the mole-like monster could collapse to the ground, I swung the axe at it.
Thwack—!
Like the arrow I had just fired, the mole-like monster flew high in a wide arc, landing far away.
The monsters that had been running toward us caught the scent of the Elpinus herbs stuck in the mole-monster’s head and swarmed in that direction instead.
In that moment, Knox and Amy quickly retrieved the Elpinus herbs from the gate, and Ethan slammed it shut.
“You had a plan all along, Sis. You’re the best. The coolest.”
Amy approached me, her hands clasped and her eyes sparkling.
Of course, I was in no state to reply. The tension finally broke, and I collapsed right where I stood.
“Miss Cherry, what’s wrong?”
“Lady Sinclair, what is it?”
Ethan and Knox asked as they came over to me.
“The tension’s gone, and my legs have given out. I just want to rest…”
Before I could finish my sentence, my view suddenly shot upward.
Ethan had swept me up into his arms, bridal style. Knox’s startled gaze was fixed on us.
Startled, I momentarily considered pushing him away and getting down. But on second thought, being carried was much more convenient. So, I decided to just stay put quietly in his arms.
Amy circled us rapidly, her eyes filled with interest.
“So your boyfriend really is this cranky old guy, huh?”
“Just be quiet, kid. You there, Ludpersher. You come too. These two need treatment.”
Ethan gestured to Knox with his chin. To be honest, Amy’s condition looked more serious than mine.
She had been covered in scrapes and scratches, bloody from head to toe, even before she came inside.
Knox, lollipop in his mouth, gave a leisurely nod. His thigh wound seemed to have healed completely.
“Mr. Ludpersher, is your wound okay?”
I pointed to his bandaged thigh. Knox, who had been following with a limp, nodded.
“It’s fine. It’s the kind of wound that just needs time for the flesh to grow back. The real problem seems to be Wharton.”
“I’m fine, too. Scratches like these don’t even hurt.”
Amy, who was also following behind us, replied to Knox’s comment.
She walked with a somewhat defiant attitude, her hands laced behind her head.
“The more I think about it, the more I’m glad I risked my life to come here. A cop, a doctor, and a super-strong sis. Plus a mansion that’s basically a fortress!”
I’m the only one with a weird nickname in that list, and I’m pretty sure that’s not my imagination.
I shot a furtive glare at Amy, then remembered her age and shook my head.
“Behave yourself, kid. You should be grateful we haven’t put you in handcuffs.”
Ethan warned Amy.
Contrary to my expectation that she would talk back, Amy nodded and shut her mouth.
When I gave her a puzzled look, Amy said in a small voice,
“I know I was too cocky, I’m sorry. It’s just, you know, important to take charge when you first meet someone. So I acted tough. I’m not shameless; I know how to be grateful. I’ll try to get on your good side, Sis, and you guys too.”
“I have no intention of going easy on you. You will be interrogated.”
Ethan replied coolly. In response, Amy immediately stuck her tongue out at him.
This happened less than a minute after she’d said she would ‘try to get on their good side.’
Knox, who had been watching silently, spoke with an amused expression.
“You two seem to have the same mental age, don’t you think?”
As soon as he said that, the mansion’s front door slammed shut in his face. Ethan had childishly closed it on him.
From behind the door, Knox grumbled as he opened it again and stepped inside.
I understood Ethan’s position on interrogating Amy.
In truth, Amy, having made it through that horde of monsters to the mansion, was just as suspicious as I was.
Besides, a young girl coming all this way alone—her purpose had to be verified.
This wasn’t just about Amy; it was a matter of life and death for me, who had to protect the mansion.
And there was another pressing issue at hand: the Elpinus herbs.
Even if the herb served as a vaccine, if its scent excited the monsters, we couldn’t grow it openly in the garden. Growing it inside the mansion was itself a dangerous proposition.
‘It would be difficult unless we could grow it in a cave somewhere….’
Before I knew it, we had reached the lobby of Happy House, still in Ethan’s arms. Only then did I get down.
‘Maybe I should call Ethan whenever I need to get somewhere from now on.’
Pushing the useless thought aside, I asked Ethan and Knox to guide Amy to the salon. Treating her wounds would be easier there than in the banquet hall.
I went straight up to the second-floor storage room, gathered the medical supplies, and handed them to Knox. It wasn’t much, but it was the most I could get my hands on.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I can handle first aid. I think you should rest, Mr. Ludpersher.”
Knox was a valuable asset; we needed to conserve his strength.
But Knox, with the lollipop still in his mouth, just smiled as if it were nothing.