I set the bag down, drew my axe, and quickly scanned the area.
The dark forest was eerily silent, but the village behind us was still echoing with the cries of monsters.
After confirming it was safe, I called down to the others.
“Come up!”
At my signal, Nox climbed the ladder first, followed by Ethan.
“Is your leg okay?”
I turned to Nox, who looked visibly drained. Slumped on the ground, he managed a strained nod.
“I can bear it.”
“Then we should get moving quickly.”
Ethan reached out his hand, and Nox stared at him for a moment before quietly accepting the help to stand.
Just as Ethan had said, the forest behind the police station connected to the hill behind Happy House.
We needed to climb the slope and enter from the back of the estate.
It had been sunset when we were underground, but by the time we emerged, night had already fallen.
Darkness crept in fast once the sun set. I pulled the lantern from the bag and lit it again.
‘I’m going to run out of matches at this rate.’
I’d stocked up two years’ worth in the mansion, but even that might not be enough.
Maybe I should practice starting fires without matches, like they do in survival shows. I’d bought plenty of books about wilderness survival, after all. Not that I was confident I could actually start a fire with sticks and stones.
“Are we heading to your mansion now, Miss Sinclair?”
Nox asked, and I nodded. We hadn’t been able to make contact, so returning to the mansion was the only option.
I’d expected this, but Ethan probably hadn’t. He’d grown noticeably quieter.
“Let’s go.”
I supported Nox again, and we stepped into the forest.
Thankfully, there were no monsters in the woods—yet. It seemed the creatures hadn’t wandered far from the village, probably because there were still people there.
Eventually, though, as supplies ran out, they’d start to spread out.
We moved through the dark, silent forest.
Crunch. Crunch.
No one spoke.
The brief moment of peace allowed the earlier tension to settle, and unease crept back into my mind.
I thought back to the events at the police station.
“It’s no use. I’ve tried dozens of times. No one’s answering. Same with the water supply.”
“Even if the pipes are intact, there’s no way the trains are still running. Nobody’s coming down to this backwater place like Brunel.”
That was what Hans had said.
Come to think of it, Ethan’s mood had darkened right around then.
What was the situation like in the capital?
Nox broke the silence.
“Maybe it’s just a problem with the phone lines.”
“Yeah. That’s possible.”
Ethan agreed, but he didn’t sound convinced—not even by his own words. His expression grew more doubtful, and he fell silent again.
Crunch. Crunch.
The steady sound of footsteps filled the void.
Ethan, in particular, radiated gloom.
Honestly, if I had a younger sister like Aurora—someone I adored—I’d probably be losing my mind with worry, too.
But in my case...
‘Harrison’s fine.’
I had that kind of faith. Harrison was the type who excelled at everything he did.
“This still feels like a nightmare. A really bad one.”
Looking pale and worn, Nox let out a sigh as Ethan supported him.
“Maybe it’s better to believe it’s just a dream.”
Ethan muttered back. I didn’t say anything.
“After being trapped in that damn village, hiding from those things, I figured something out. It has to be a contagious virus. If you get bitten, you’re infected. Then, after a while, your body starts to change into one of them.”
Nox spoke abruptly.
He must have kept a close eye on the monsters during the days he was isolated in the town.
Ethan and I already knew most of what he said, so it wasn’t surprising.
What was interesting, though, was what he said next.
“This whole mess doesn’t seem like it started in Brunel,” Nox said. “I saw the first infected here—the stable keeper. His condition started getting weird right after he returned from the capital.”
So Nox had witnessed the first infected person in Brunel. He paused, taking a breath, likely due to the pain in his leg, and then continued.
“If I had to guess, the initial outbreak probably started in the capital. Or at the very least, somewhere nearby.”
The possibility that the first infection occurred in the capital...
It might not be far-fetched, especially considering the alchemists and Marquis Casey had been there.
Still, it was only speculation—nothing definitive.
Even if the alchemists had conducted unethical experiments, we still didn’t know exactly what kind of experiments they were or what their goals had been.
Breaking the silence, Ethan finally spoke.
“If it started in the capital... then by now, the capital must be...”
“Probably in even worse shape than Brunel,” Nox replied.
Ethan let out a low, pained groan. Nox glanced at him as he leaned on us for support.
“Your sister’s in the capital, isn’t she? Looks like our friend here won’t be sleeping anytime soon.”
“Don’t worry about my sister. Worry about your own family.”
“My family?”
Nox let out a casual laugh.
“They’ll be fine. We’re more business partners than family. We’re not as tight-knit as the Lancasters.”
“Lancasters aren’t any different.”
Ethan’s voice was flat.
Nox looked at him curiously, clearly surprised.
Despite knowing each other for years, it seemed even Nox didn’t know much about Ethan’s family situation.
Not that Ethan seemed to care about Nox’s personal life either.
I thought back to something Ethan had said earlier—that he’d once believed his father was an honorable man.
“My father was a good man. At least, that’s what I thought until five years ago.”
“He didn’t get his hands dirty directly, but he was involved in all kinds of crimes and illegal deals.”
“Is that why you became a cop?”
“Call it running away if you want.”
“No, that’s called having a conscience. At least you didn’t ignore it. Unlike me.”
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“I’m not as righteous as you think. I didn’t have the guts to take him down myself. All I did was leave and try to atone somewhere else.”
From the sound of it, Nox really didn’t know the details of Ethan’s story.
And that meant I might be the only one who did.
It was a strange feeling—like we’d shared something deeper, even if Ethan himself probably didn’t see it that way.
I glanced at the two men and broke the silence.
“Well, at least both of you have parents who are still alive. Even if you don’t know where they are, there’s still hope they’re out there.”
Both men turned to look at me.
For a brief moment, I saw sympathy flicker in their eyes. I shrugged it off and added,
“I’ve been on my own for a long time. Use that as your consolation.”
Nox muttered under his breath.
“I honestly don’t care what happens to the people I call family. If I had to turn into one of those monsters, I’d rather die as a human.”
“For once, I agree with you.”
Ethan surprisingly backed him up.
The Ludfisher family’s youngest son, raised in luxury, had no attachment to his own relatives.
Why?
Not that I cared enough to pry into sensitive topics.
By now, we’d climbed high enough that we could see Happy House in the distance.
“There it is,” I said.
Ethan and Nox came up behind me.
“Looks like most of the monsters are gone. Using the catapult was a smart call,” Ethan said.
Nox, who had been staring at the mansion, suddenly turned to me.
“That catapult—was that what those workers were installing on the roof the other day? What the hell made you decide to build something like that?”
Nox stared at me like he genuinely wanted to know.
Another awkward question.
“Let’s talk about it after we get inside.”
I let go of Nox’s arm and reached for my axe, which was strapped to my back.
There weren’t many of them, but a few monsters still lingered near the mansion.