Chapter 90
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Susanna's Story
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As Harrison suggested, we decided to leave the fireplace for now. There were too many risks involved.
‘This is unsettling. I thought it was just an ordinary abandoned house…’
I stared quietly into the dark interior of the fireplace, recalling what Vanilla had mentioned about the mansion in the novel.
[Vanilla survived alone for half a year in a secluded mansion in the village of Brunel.
She said this mansion was special, adding that it was optimized for survival.
The mansion I saw in person was just as she had described it.
-From the novel <Love in a Ruined World>]
The mansion was ‘special.’ I was sure there had been a mention of it…
Even if ‘optimized for survival’ could be interpreted in various ways, the mention of it being ‘special’ was rather significant.
I glanced over at Vanilla. As if reading my mind, Ethan immediately posed a question to her.
“Hey, you. You said you were the original owner. What in the world is this?”
Everyone turned to look at Vanilla. Standing by the door and observing the situation, Vanilla shrugged.
“I’ve never been inside this mansion myself, so I wouldn’t know.”
She slowly walked over and examined the fireplace intently. With a thoughtful expression, Vanilla peered into the wide-open, dark passage. Puzzled, I asked her,
“But you were the owner of the mansion. You’ve never even been inside?”
Vanilla scratched her cheek, looking troubled.
“Like I said before, I have too many mansions to manage. If Miss Sinclair hadn't purchased it, I probably would have come to see it at some point.”
Come to think of it, she had inherited mansions in the capital, Benton, and in Westmore as well. I vaguely remembered hearing that she had four or five more in other regions.
‘Baron and Baroness Ruskin passed away in a car accident a year ago…’
A year passes quickly when you’re grieving and sorting out an inheritance. It was a tight schedule to start managing so many properties.
‘My parents also died in a car accident three years ago.’
For some reason, I felt a sense of kinship with Vanilla.
“Then do you know anything about the previous owner, before you acquired the mansion?”
Vanilla shook her head at my question.
“My father might have known, but I don’t…”
Vanilla trailed off, then suddenly looked up at me as if she’d remembered something.
“I have some documents in my room at the inn in Brunel. They might have some information about the previous owner.”
“Ah… Brunel…”
I sighed. The others who had been listening to our conversation fell silent, likely thinking the same thing I was.
A room at an inn in Brunel meant it was in the middle of a monster den. And the documents might not even contain any useful information…
‘Besides, it’s not directly related to the virus. I’m just curious why this underground passage was built. Is it really worth the risk to find out?’
While I was lost in these discouraging thoughts, I heard Emma’s voice from behind me.
“Oh? Are you awake?”
I turned my head and saw Susanna, who was lying in bed, barely managing to open her eyes.
“Susanna!”
I handed the kerosene lantern to Harrison and rushed to the bed.
“Ah… Young Lady…”
Susanna called my name in a weak voice. I pulled her into a tight hug. She spoke to me, her voice thick with tears.
“Young Lady… I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Her back trembled. Didn't I say it before? Susanna is an angel. Even in a situation like this, she was worried about me.
“I should be the one saying that, Susanna. I’m so glad you’re safe. I thought you… I thought you were dead… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry, Young Lady? I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“Why should you be sorry?”
And so we went back and forth, apologizing to each other, until we both burst into tears.
To be perfectly honest, I might not have been all that close to Susanna. We hadn't known each other for very long, after all.
But what did the time we spent together matter? What was important was how much we cared for each other. Susanna was the kind of person who had followed me all the way to a rural village like Brunel without a moment's hesitation.
I had never told her, but that meant the world to me. No one had ever cared for me so unconditionally before.
After a long while of crying in each other’s arms, a wave of embarrassment washed over me as my sobs subsided. It was because everyone else was standing around us, watching.
As I pulled away from Susanna, Harrison handed me a handkerchief. Emma gently wiped Susanna’s face.
Just then, Amy asked with a curious look on her face.
“Star Candy, is she your maid?”
“Kid.”
Ethan shot Amy a look, telling her to read the room, and she fell silent. Jose took her hand and pulled her back.
“How are you feeling?”
I asked, tidying Susanna’s hair. With a pale face, she touched her head and shook it.
“I’m not sure. I’m so dizzy, and I have no strength.”
“Don’t push yourself. Just lie down.”
Knox helped her lie back down on the bed. Harrison came closer and asked Susanna,
“Do you remember what happened?”
Susanna’s eyes widened when she saw Harrison. She scanned the faces of the people gathered around her.
“Mr. Howard, what are you doing here…? And who are all these people?”
“It’s a long story. For now, can you tell us what happened? If it’s too difficult, you can tell us later.”
I soothed her, stroking her heavily bandaged hand. But Susanna shook her head.
“I’m alright… I’ll explain.”
I held her hand and nodded. She then slowly began to speak.
“That day, the day you went to meet Mr. Howard… I was at the mansion, feeding the chickens. But then someone kept knocking on the main gate. I thought you had forgotten something and come back.”
“The Young Lady does tend to forget things often.”
Harrison agreed with Susanna’s words. I cleared my throat with a pointed cough and glared at him.
“So I called out from behind the gate, asking if it was you, but there was no answer. Just more knocking.”
Susanna hugged her arms as if a chill ran down her spine from the memory, and continued.
“Something felt strange, so I opened the gate. I was just so curious about what was going on. You told me to be careful… I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault. It’s mine for leaving without a proper explanation.”
To be honest, even I thought it would be fine since there were still ten days until the apocalypse.
That’s why I left without barring the gate. The bar on our gate is a little too heavy for even a grown man to lift alone, and locking it would have been like trapping Susanna inside the mansion.
The gate itself was also hard to open, but it was better than the bar. She just had to push it, so Susanna could manage it if she really tried.
“What was there when you opened the gate?”
“Ah… When I opened the gate, there was someone lying collapsed in front of it, covered in blood. It was a mother holding her child. Both of them looked badly injured, so I brought them inside. I thought I should give them first aid and then call a doctor. They looked like they were on the verge of death.”
It was only then that I realized the wolf-like monster I had seen was the mother, and the small bear-like monster was the child.
“I moved them to the banquet hall first. Then, while I was getting the first aid kit and treating their wounds… they suddenly changed. The sight was truly horrific… I can only describe it as horrific…”
“Yeah, they are horrific. If it weren’t for Star Candy, we’d probably still be out there with them, right?”
“When I first saw them, I was so shocked I thought I had died. I thought I was in hell.”
As Susanna trailed off, shuddering, Amy and Emma chimed in with their agreement. Susanna looked back at us, her face filled with surprise.
“What do you mean? Did those monsters go down to the village?”
A chilling silence filled the room at her question.