They were too busy gossiping about the young and beautiful outsider even as the Lady of the Abandoned House tirelessly repaired her estate and moved about diligently.
In this quiet village, she was, without a doubt, an excellent topic for gossip.
To have spread all kinds of malicious rumors and now shamelessly plan to ask for her help—it was utterly disgraceful.
Amy, sitting with her legs crossed and a lollipop in her mouth, spoke up with a sharp tone.
"Wow, you’re all so loud. Why don’t you go out there yourselves instead of just talking?"
An eerie silence fell over the room.
As the villagers hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances, Amy clicked her tongue, her expression full of disdain.
"You—you rude little brat! How dare you talk like that when adults are speaking...!"
Jackson, the owner of the weapons shop, smacked Amy on the head. He hit her so hard that the lollipop in her mouth flew out and rolled across the floor.
"Ow! What the hell?! My mom’s never even hit me, so what gives you the right?!"
"You disrespectful little—!"
"Enough! What do you think you’re doing, hitting a kid?"
Victor, the inn’s cook, stepped in to stop Jackson. Amy glared at Jackson with fierce, defiant eyes, her sharp gaze practically slicing through him.
The look in her eyes made Jackson flare up again, but this time, the others intervened to hold him back.
Annoyed, Amy took a step back. She pushed her sharp, precisely cut bob behind her ears and spat out a curse.
‘This is exactly why I hate old farts.’
Once Jackson seemed to have calmed down, the villagers resumed their discussion.
"Why don’t we just take over that fortress?"
"Take over the mansion? That’s a bit... It has an owner, doesn’t it? And nobles, at that."
"The doctor and the cop, sure, but the Lady of the Mansion isn’t a noble, is she?"
It was a statement born of ignorance, unaware that Cherry Sinclair’s status far surpassed most nobles.
"That’s true, right? I think we could handle it."
"Yeah, she looked pretty young. Shouldn’t be too hard to overpower her."
Amy let out a small, disbelieving laugh. They had all seen the Lady of the Abandoned House take down a monster with an axe, yet they were still talking like this.
"At the very least, it’d be better than staying here."
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"The repairman who visited her place said it was set up like a war bunker."
"Yeah, and she bought a ton of supplies."
"Now that you mention it, she did. She practically cleaned out the village’s stock."
They talked as if she had stolen the supplies, even though she had paid for every single item.
"If we want to survive, we need to take that fortress."
They plotted to take the Lady of the Abandoned House’s home without hesitation.
‘Why does asking for help never cross their minds? Is it because she’s a young woman? Seriously, these old farts...’
Disgusted by their conversation, Amy stood up and grabbed a kitchen knife that had fallen on the floor. She then climbed the stairs to the second floor.
The others were so caught up in their discussion that no one paid her any attention.
Amy left the inn.
She was an excellent pickpocket and a skilled herbalist, but none of that was useful in this goddamn situation.
‘Still, those old farts are hopeless.’
The Lady of the Abandoned House was a hundred—no, a thousand times better than them. If it meant survival, Amy was prepared to kneel at her feet. She wouldn’t even mind becoming her servant if it kept her alive.
‘At the very least, I’m not going to end up like those old farts.’
Gripping the knife tightly, Amy set out toward the abandoned mansion, her resolve hardened.
*****
Ethan wasn’t showing any signs of leaving.
We were lying on a mat under the shade of the garden canopy, enjoying the breeze.
Although Nox’s thigh wound was nearly healed, he still avoided leaving the mansion as much as possible to avoid straining himself.
I turned toward Ethan.
“Hey. Didn’t you say you were going to find your sister?”
“I plan to stay until Miss Cherry recovers.”
Aurora must be safe if Theodore had taken her. No doubt about it.
Ethan muttered something under his breath, but his voice was too quiet for me to make out the words.
In truth, Ethan didn’t need to worry about Aurora. She was the heroine of Love in a Ruined World, and, as expected, Crown Prince Theodore would risk his life to protect her.
“I’m fine now, you know.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Hey, I said I’m fine! How would you know better than me?”
Ethan suddenly sat up. Flustered by my sharp retort, I quickly followed suit.
“Miss Cherry tends to overestimate her own strength. Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you have stamina.”
He wasn’t wrong. While I had brute strength, my endurance wasn’t exactly great.
“If I’m not here, huh? Who’s going to keep this reckless young lady in check?”
Ethan scowled as if he truly couldn’t stand me. The way he said it made me feel like a naive, immature girl.
I mean, Nox is right here too, so why is he acting like this? Does he see me as some sort of substitute for Aurora? Are all men with younger sisters like this?
As an only child both in my past life and this one, I wouldn’t know.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the mansion’s front gate.
I immediately grabbed the axe I had left nearby. Ethan pulled out his revolver from its holster and turned toward the gate with a tense expression.
“What is it? A monster?”
Grrrrr.
Before I could finish my sentence, growling sounds came from outside the gate. More than one.
I exchanged a wary look with Ethan.
“Why are they acting up all of a sudden?”
Sniff, sniff—
Sniff sniff sniff—
The creatures outside the gate were sniffing around.
“What’s going on?”
Yelp!
Grragh!
Suddenly, the monsters outside started crying out in pain, followed by the heavy thuds of something being struck.
“Please! Open the door! I know you’re in there!”
Then, a voice rang out from beyond the gate. It was a girl—young, by the sound of it.
“Ethan, can you head up to the watchtower and cover me? Check who’s out there and give me a signal if it’s safe to open the gate.”
Ethan hesitated, clearly wanting to object, but after a moment of thought, he let out a sigh and nodded. He then sprinted inside the mansion.
I could’ve given the signal and let Ethan open the gate, but I wasn’t capable of long-range attacks. I wouldn’t be able to cover him.
It was better this way—Ethan would cover me while I handled the close combat.
I slowly approached the gate, axe in hand. The sounds of a fierce struggle continued just outside.
“Please! Open up! Help me!”
The girl’s voice was filled with desperation. But as much as I wanted to help, I couldn’t afford to open the gate recklessly. If she was infected, it would spell disaster.
I turned my back to the gate. At that moment, Ethan appeared at the rooftop watchtower.
I saw him raise his binoculars and scan the area before making a gesture—a hand shaped like a gun firing, followed by a sharp upward flick. An attack signal.
It seemed safe enough to open the gate.
I unlatched it and was greeted by a shocking sight.
The girl couldn’t have been more than fifteen. Her face was youthful and innocent, but she was standing atop a pile of monsters, slashing at them with a kitchen knife.
She moved so quickly and nimbly that she almost looked like a flying squirrel.
I rushed forward, axe in hand.
Kicking a monster lunging at her square in the chest, I swung my axe at another charging creature.
Thunk!
The girl landed lightly on the ground, staring at me in surprise.
“Hurry inside!”
At my shout, the girl bolted through the open gate. I backed in after her, swinging my axe to hold off the remaining monsters, and then slammed the gate shut.
Bang! Bang!
Screeeeech!
The monsters outside roared in frustration, and we could hear them gathering around the mansion.
It was just like the time I went into town to bring back Nox. We’d barely managed to divert their attention to the village, only for them to swarm back here again.
We were trapped inside the mansion once more.
‘Did this girl lead the monsters here?’
I turned to look at the girl, who had collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily.
She was so young, yet she’d come all this way with nothing but a kitchen knife. It was astonishing.
Her body was covered in scrapes and drenched in blood—not from bites, but from being dragged and scraped along the ground.
“Don’t get too close, Miss Cherry.”
I didn’t even notice Ethan rushing down from the watchtower until he was suddenly standing between me and the girl.