Chapter 78
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Axe Woman of Notium Street
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If that event still happens even with Knox here, it means the main storyline of the original work won't change, even if the minor details do.
With that thought, I spoke.
“I was generous enough to take you all in, but if you're going to stay here, everyone needs to do more than just their share.”
In an emergency like this, just doing your part won't cut it. You have to pull more than your own weight.
Knox nodded, saying it wouldn't be difficult.
“I'll tell you about the Elpinus herb. You were curious about how to grow it, weren't you?”
“I can teach you how to grow the Elpinus herb, too.”
“Amy Wharton, don't get the wrong idea. You're only staying here temporarily too.”
Watching Amy talk back to Knox, I scolded her. In response, Amy looked up at me again with eyes like Puss in Boots.
“Are you really going to throw me out?”
“The little lady’s a sly one. She knows exactly who to cling to for survival. Are you treating us differently from Miss Cherry?”
Knox asked Amy, looking amused. Amy, in turn, gave him a look as if he'd just stated the obvious.
“Of course. The survival instinct of all living things dictates that they bow before the strong.”
Ignoring their conversation, I polished the surface of an eggshell until it was smooth. Then, I poked a hole in it and slurped down the raw egg.
Suddenly, everything went quiet. The three of them were staring at me drinking the egg. I tilted my head at their stares.
“What is it? Do you want an egg?”
When I held out the egg, all three of them shook their heads at the same time.
“Wasn't that just laid? You’re a little cruel, you know.”
“To eat a raw egg, and a freshly laid one at that, shell and all…”
Following Amy's comment, Knox, who seemed just as shocked, muttered in disbelief.
“I'm not eating the shell. I poked a hole.”
I showed them the hole in the egg. Knox shook his head as if that wasn't the point.
“Have you never eaten a raw egg?”
“Isn't it stranger to have eaten one?”
“Guess none of you have been hungry enough.”
“It's very strange hearing the Sinclair heiress say something like that.”
That was true. I was Cherry Sinclair, after all.
People usually eat soft-boiled eggs for brunch, but no one from the upper class eats a freshly laid egg raw like this.
“I have.”
Ethan approached me and picked up one of the eggs. He looked at me as if asking for permission. When I nodded, he polished the eggshell clean, made a hole with his fingernail, and drank it down just as I had.
Amy and Knox shuddered as they watched Ethan, their expressions identical, just like a father and daughter. Watching Ethan, Knox spoke to Amy.
“To be honest, in terms of pure survival skills, Lancaster is no pushover. He's not just good at firing a gun, I'll give him that.”
At Knox's words, Amy burst out laughing.
“Pfft. ‘Firing a gun,’ he says. What’s with your choice of words? So cringey.”
Knox looked irritably at Amy, who was clutching her stomach and laughing.
“Hah… Do all kids talk like this nowadays? Such bad manners.”
Knox sighed, sweeping his hair back from his forehead. I listened to the conversation quietly before taking Amy's side.
“To be fair, your choice of words was a little cringey.”
“Miss Cherry, you're hurting my feelings.”
“Must be nice to have so much free time. The villagers could attack any minute now.”
Just then, Ethan cut off our conversation with a casual remark. I met Knox's gaze and shrugged. Then I quietly placed the eggs into the basket by the chicken coop before sitting down again to tie up the firewood.
Knox was the one who answered Ethan.
“Hardly. We're just relaxed because we all trust Miss Cherry. You said you were confident, didn't you?”
“I was confident because I have you, Sir Ethan.”
I replied, glancing over at Ethan. Amy is too young, and Knox is far from being a fighter. That means the only person I can rely on for physical strength is Ethan.
Then, Ethan subtly asked me.
“By the way, you said you also had someone you wanted to find, Miss Cherry.”
“That's right. I do.”
“If it's someone you want to find, Miss Cherry, it must be the lawyer, Harrison Howard.”
It was true, so I didn't deny what Knox said. At that moment, Amy, who had been listening silently, reacted with surprise.
“Huh. You even know people like lawyers? …Then again, this guy was a doctor.”
Amy stared at Knox with a newfound sense of awe. With a lollipop in his mouth, Knox offered a faint smile. It was the expression of a man who was well aware of his own importance.
When Amy teased him for being cheesy, Knox's smile vanished, and he sighed. Ignoring him, Amy stared intently at me. I turned to her and asked.
“Why?”
“No reason, it's just… I was thinking you all really live in a different world.”
“She really was from another world. Lived a life that even the nobility found strange.”
Ethan said, gesturing towards me with a nod of his head.
“That's why I was chased around by Sir Ethan.”
At my words, Ethan gave me a disgruntled look, as if to say that his pursuit of me had been perfectly justified.
No, actually, he had no choice. I admit I was suspicious.
Just then, Knox leaned in towards us as if to share a secret.
“I knew Lancaster must have followed Miss Cherry. So, did you also know that Miss Cherry was the axe woman of 61 Notium Street?”
Ethan and I stared at him at the same time.
“How do you know that?”
At Ethan's question, Knox, who had been calmly sharpening a blade, paused. He seemed to ponder something for a moment before a wide grin spread across his face.
“Ah. Is this one of those moments? The kind where I've said too much?”
“If you misspoke, why do you look so happy? Are you some kind of pervert?”
Despite my rebuke, Knox burst out laughing, unfazed. Ethan, who had also been sharpening a blade, stretched out a long leg and kicked Knox.
“You lunatic. I already know Miss Cherry is the woman who swung an axe at 61 Notium Street. What I'm asking is, how do *you* know?”
“Honestly, such an unrefined way of speaking.”
Knox glared at Ethan and brushed the dirt off his pants. Ethan continued to press him.
“Hey, Ludpersher. I only found that out recently, but it looks like you knew since before you even came down here, didn't you?”
“I saw her myself. Miss Cherry, coming out of 61 Notium Street. To be honest, if it weren't for her, I would've just confirmed the facts and headed straight back to the capital after I came down as a consulting doctor. Why else would I have stayed in a countryside village like this?”
“As the local country girl here, that makes me feel pretty weird.”
Amy, who had been listening to our conversation, replied. Of course, Knox and Ethan didn't seem to care.
Anyway, I narrowed my eyes, mulling over Knox's recent statement.
So the reason the second male lead of <Love in a Ruined World> came down to Brunel Village, unlike in the original story, was actually because of me. In the end, I changed everything.
‘Could that be why the world ended sooner than planned?’
Honestly, it was a definite possibility.
From now on, some of the events that were originally supposed to happen would proceed as written, while others might not happen at all, or would occur in a changed form.
‘…I can't get obsessed with the original story.’
I should just think of it as having read the study guide in advance. The guide and the actual test are two very different things.
Come to think of it, the same applied to Ethan. Just because he had the antibody for the virus, there was no need for me to be fixated on him.
‘If I did that, my own life could end up hanging by a thread.’
What's the point of it all if I die before a cure is even developed?
After Knox's words, a long silence fell between us.
Amy, who had been glancing around nervously, put down the bundle of firewood she was holding and quickly spoke.
“All done. Shouldn't this be enough?”
About ten bundles of firewood were piled up next to Amy. As she said, that amount was enough.
When it came to dealing with the villagers directly, it was better to use weapons like Ethan's gun, crossbow, or axe.
“The preparations are finished.”
Knox stood up, sheathing the well-sharpened swords. I watched him for a moment before turning to look at Ethan.
Ethan, who had also gotten up, was organizing the weapons.
“Sir Ethan.”
“What is it?”
At my call, Ethan raised his head. His eyes met mine as he slowly rose to his feet.
The cape on one of his shoulders fluttered in the wind. Despite the situation, he cut quite a dashing figure.