It’s so much better when he’s quiet. Honestly, he could just stay like that forever, and I wouldn’t mind.
With his sharp features, Ethan always looked like an aloof and calculating aristocrat. But surprisingly, there were times—just sometimes—when he came off as rough around the edges once he opened his mouth.
It was probably because of the occasional harsh words that slipped out.
What was truly fascinating, though, was the fact that this guy was the sole heir of the Lancaster Dukedom—the very man expected to lead the political world in the future.
If he kept talking like that after entering politics, high society was bound to explode with gossip behind his back. Somehow, the thought was pretty entertaining.
‘Anyway, as long as he stays quiet, he’s basically the perfect decoration. I mean, he’s ridiculously handsome.’
But that didn’t mean I wanted to get too deeply involved with him.
No matter how wealthy the Sinclair family was—even admired by nobles—we couldn’t compare to the Lancasters, who were high nobility in a league of their own.
...Wasn’t that before the world ended? Sure, maybe.
But even if society had collapsed, the gap between Ethan and me wasn’t just about status. We were fundamentally different.
Ethan was a central, indispensable main character in Love in a Ruined World, someone who absolutely couldn’t die. Meanwhile, I was just an expendable extra who wouldn’t matter if I dropped dead.
I shook my head and lifted the binoculars back to my eyes.
“This isn’t the time to focus on that,” I muttered.
Thanks to its position on the hill, Happy House offered a clear view of Brunel village.
It was late afternoon, the time when gas lamps should have been flickering to life. But, of course, there was no one left to light them.
The village remained dark, inhabited only by monsters prowling the streets—no trace of human life anywhere.
A blood-soaked town filled with monstrous figures and echoing with eerie cries. The scene was bizarre and unsettling.
I handed the binoculars to Ethan.
“Take a look. What if we just charge straight through?”
Ethan scanned the village through the binoculars and immediately shook his head.
“That won’t work. What if we end up drawing all the monsters in the village to this place?”
His tone was slightly condescending, as if pointing out an obvious flaw.
“We need to make our move carefully to get the best result in a single attempt.”
A single attempt with maximum impact.
He was right. We only had one life, so we needed to be as cautious as possible.
“Miss Cherry, why did you install those torches outside the walls?”
Ethan suddenly pointed toward the unlit torches set up beyond the outer wall and questioned me.
“The contractor must’ve made a mistake.”
Haha. I brushed it off with a half-hearted excuse.
Ethan already knew about the bells, which were even more suspicious, so there was no point in making elaborate explanations.
Still, even if Ethan had his own theories, there was no need for me to confirm them and spell things out.
The reason I wasn’t using the torches now was simple—we had to leave the mansion.
The torches were meant to stop monsters from approaching the mansion, not to drive them away completely.
On top of that, it wasn’t just about getting out. I also had to plan how we’d make it back safely afterward.
If we made a move and ended up drawing even more monsters, there was a real chance we wouldn’t be able to reenter the mansion later.
“There are traps too.”
Ethan, who had been carefully inspecting the area around the mansion, seemed to have noticed the traps I’d set up.
“Traps? Really?”
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I looked at him with an exaggeratedly shocked expression.
Ethan lowered the binoculars and stared at me—really stared. I awkwardly laughed and met his gaze.
“What?”
“...You seriously don’t know anything about them?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Of course not.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes and scrutinized my face. Cold sweat started dripping down my back.
He stared at me for what felt like forever before finally speaking.
“Miss Cherry, you must really think I’m easy to fool.”
His words had a sharp edge to them, and the sweat on my back turned ice-cold. I quickly avoided his gaze.
“But fine. I’ll let this slide—for now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re acting all magnanimous after saying everything you wanted to. That’s even scarier.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m repaying a debt? Cut me some slack. This is just how I talk. Besides, I’m trying to be nice to you since I owe you my life.”
I gave him a suspicious look.
Sure, Ethan’s tone was rougher when he was dealing with criminals—or with Nox, for that matter. But still...
Why does this feel so unsettling even though he’s supposedly treating me like his savior?
I couldn’t shake the fear that if he ever found out I was the one who took down the monster at 61 Notium Street, his attitude might change completely. Just thinking about it made me shiver.
Back when we first met on Notium Street, Ethan had said he found me suspicious—like I might be connected to the monsters somehow—after seeing me run away. I really couldn’t afford to let my secret slip.
Then again, what if he already knew? He’d given me that unreadable look every time I displayed abnormal strength.
Wait. Wouldn’t it be even scarier if he knows and is just waiting to see what I do?
Either way, it was a nightmare scenario. What happens if I lose the protagonist’s trust? Superhuman strength or not, wouldn’t that mean a quick and brutal death?
Finally, Ethan turned his gaze away from me and looked back toward the traps.
Several monsters had already fallen into the pits I’d prepared in advance.
“At least those seem to be working. That’s a relief.”
I nodded.
“Yeah, they are.”
Those pits... I’d made them with Susanna.
Thinking of her made my stomach churn again. The image of her maid uniform, ripped and blood-soaked, tried to claw its way back into my mind. I clenched my teeth and shoved the dark feelings down.
The truth was, if I were alone, I could’ve holed up in this mansion for a month or two—waiting until the monsters got bored and scattered.
But now, with Ethan here, we couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
We had someone to find. And we needed to move—now.
‘We need to find a way. A way...’
Ethan ruffled his hair in frustration and let out a sigh.
Scowling irritably, his gaze landed on the catapult installed by the railing. Naturally, my eyes followed his.
Two sturdy wooden pillars, a horizontal beam connecting them, and a lever-like throwing arm fixed below—it wasn’t exactly a sophisticated piece of equipment.
To be honest, calling it a catapult was generous. It was more like a crude lever mechanism.
I wasn’t a weapons expert, nor did I have any profound knowledge of physics or engineering. So my designs had their limits.
Ethan casually tapped the catapult with his fingers and asked,
“Miss Cherry, how about using this?”
“Hmm. It doesn’t seem efficient against that many monsters.”
A catapult required precision and focus. It was a weapon meant to deliver maximum impact in a single strike.
‘Wait... what if we don’t use it to hit the monsters directly?’
Our goal was to divert the monsters’ attention, not necessarily to kill them.
I looked back at Ethan, who was resting his chin in his hand. When our eyes met, he flashed a sly smile.
“You’re thinking the same thing I am, aren’t you?”
“You weren’t suggesting we use it to take out monsters directly, were you?”
Ethan nodded and turned to scan the village along with me.
“You said they’re sensitive to sound. So what if a loud noise came from somewhere else?”
“They’d all flock to that spot.”
I snatched the binoculars from Ethan’s hand and scanned the village again.
It was still as quiet as before—except for the monsters wandering the streets.
“No survivors in sight. As for something big enough to make a loud noise if we hit it...”
Trailing off, my gaze landed on a statue in the town square.
It was a statue of a girl in prayer—pretty big, too.
Ethan, who had been silently watching me, leaned down closer. His face suddenly loomed near mine.
Startled, I lowered the binoculars, but Ethan didn’t seem to care. He immediately pressed his eyes to the lenses I had just been using.
His smooth skin and soft, downy cheeks brushed close enough to make me freeze for a moment.