Was being compared to the Duke of Lancaster actually a compliment for someone as incompetent as Cherry Sinclair? What exactly made Ethan think we were alike?
“I had no choice but to distrust Cherry Sinclair,” Ethan said. “On top of that, I saw it myself—Jose Cambron, the illegal weapons expert from the Briwood Kingdom, secretly meeting with Harrison Howard.”
“......”
Only then did I finally understand why Ethan had come all the way to Brunel—and why he’d been watching me so closely with near certainty.
He didn’t have solid proof, but his suspicions were too clear to ignore.
‘Wait, Jose? Did he just say Jose?’
Could it be the same Jose I knew? The sub-male lead who was supposed to be by Aurora’s side?
‘Then again, his meeting with Harrison happened before the collapse, so he’s probably with Aurora now.’
Of course, it was still too early in the timeline for Jose to meet Aurora.
I had no excuse, so I stayed silent.
“And let’s not forget—until just last month, the Sinclair family’s exploitative labor contracts were a hot issue. It’s also public knowledge that the social club you ran was actually a gambling den.”
I couldn’t deny any of that either. Damn it.
“...I regret it,” I muttered quietly.
Ethan clearly didn’t care about my regret and continued without pause.
“To be honest, I still don’t understand why you built this bizarre mansion or why you knocked me out and dragged me here. And I have no idea what you’re planning, but it’s all suspicious as hell...”
He paused briefly.
“But I do know one thing—if you hadn’t saved me, I might already be one of those monsters roaming the streets.”
He wasn’t wrong. Though honestly, Ethan couldn’t be allowed to end up like that.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
To put it bluntly, aside from the scientist male lead, the other characters in the original story weren’t strictly necessary. As long as Ethan survived, they could use his blood to create a cure.
“At this point, what does the past even matter? Even if you really did commit crimes, there probably isn’t even an institution left to punish you.”
What he said next caught me off guard.
I’d expected him to keep pressuring and interrogating me, but instead, Ethan seemed to be saying he was letting it go.
“I told you, Cherry. I’m repaying a debt right now.”
“Your excuse was terrible, but I’ll let it slide—for now. We have bigger priorities.”
“But don’t take that as a sign that I trust you. Even if I overlook what happened at 61 Notium Street, there’s still too much about you that doesn’t add up. I don’t trust people easily.”
Oh. So that’s why he’d said he’d let it go earlier. I’d been wondering why Ethan, of all people, had decided to back off.
“But even if I no longer have the means to investigate you, that doesn’t mean the things you’ve done will just disappear.”
“......”
“Trust and faith are worth more than life itself. Just because you saved my life doesn’t mean I owe you my trust.”
“...Sure.”
Ethan could be unbearably serious when he wanted to be.
See? How could someone like this claim not to be a good cop?
I wanted to throw his own words back at him: “I’m not that conscientious. Cherry, you seem to think I’m some righteous cop, but I’m not.”
Maybe his rough attitude and harsh words masked it, but to me, Ethan seemed both righteous and kind. I couldn’t say how others saw him, but that’s how I saw it.
His comment about trust and faith being worth more than life hit me hard.
It was the kind of sentiment that stuck with you.
A man who could say something like that—someone who valued trust and faith more than life itself—felt like someone I could entrust my life to in this cruel world.
In a situation where no one’s survival was guaranteed except for the protagonists, I couldn’t help but wonder what it might feel like to have his trust and faith.
‘But that will always be reserved for Aurora, won’t it?’
As far as I knew, both in the novel and in this world, Ethan had always cared for Aurora the most.
“Still, don’t forget this one thing—who it is that you owe your life to right now, Sir Ethan.”
I spoke as if I were trying to brainwash him.
It might have been a bit much, considering I’d practically kidnapped him, but I felt like I needed to drill it into his head if I wanted to keep myself alive in the future.
“I’ll repay you.”
“That’s not what I meant. Just be grateful.”
“No, I’ll repay you, Cherry. I’d rather not leave any debts between us.”
Ethan looked at me firmly, his expression brooking no argument. I held my tongue and stared back at him.
A brief silence passed between us.
Honestly, I didn’t need any repayment from Ethan. But his words made it clear—he was drawing a line between us. He didn’t want to owe me anything.
Still, there was only one thing I truly wanted from him. A cure.
“Then... just survive. No matter what happens, survive at all costs. Don’t think about anyone else—just make sure you live. That’s enough. You’re worth it.”
After all, someone carrying antibodies against the virus was priceless.
Of course, Ethan couldn’t give me what I wanted right now. So I shrugged and answered offhandedly, ready to move on from the topic.
But for some reason, Ethan’s blue eyes widened slightly. I saw them waver, just for a moment.
Watching that subtle shift, I suddenly understood why Ethan, of all people, had been unusually talkative—sharing personal stories he’d probably never told anyone before.
He was anxious. Afraid that it really might be just the two of us left in this world.
‘So Ethan’s human, after all.’
I let out a small sigh and looked up at the sun rising in the sky.
While we’d been talking, the world around us had grown brighter. And with that light, the devastation around us became even more vivid and impossible to ignore.
The bloodstained town looked utterly hopeless—horrifying in its destruction.
But there was no time to sit and wallow in fear.
It was time for us to move.