I tilted my head, looking at the two men before answering Amy.
“I don’t have a boyfriend. If you know any good ones, feel free to introduce me.”
Amy gave me a meaningful look before glancing between Nox and Ethan.
Looks like you two need to try harder.
She said it so casually that it almost slipped past me.
I wanted to snap back at her, but I was too busy tying Elphinus herbs to the arrowheads, so I just kept my mouth shut.
“This should do, right?”
I mumbled, and Amy quickly scooted closer to inspect my work.
“You should add more. It needs to be a lot more than what’s stuck between those gates.”
She had a point. The whole purpose of scattering the Elphinus herbs was to draw the monsters’ attention. If this arrow didn’t smell stronger than the herbs by the gate, it wouldn’t work.
Deciding to trust Amy’s judgment—and her claim that the herbs grew quickly—I used nearly all of the Elphinus herbs I had left, tying them onto two arrows.
Then I moved over to Nox and Amy, who were struggling to remove the bar from the stone gate. With one swift motion, I yanked it free.
This was the kind of job that usually took a group of workers, so it was no surprise Amy stared at me with wide eyes. Ignoring her, I loaded the first arrow into the crossbow and aimed it at the gate.
The bar was out. All that was left was to open the gate.
“Get ready.”
Nox and Amy braced themselves in front of the heavy stone doors, preparing to push them open. Ethan stood nearby, loading his revolver and aiming alongside me.
“One... two...”
I rested my finger on the trigger and gave the final order.
“Three! Open it!”
The massive gate creaked open painfully slow.
Nox’s side swung wide with ease, but Amy grunted and strained against her door, barely budging it. Ethan eventually stepped in to help, and together, they forced it open.
And there they were—the monsters that had been pressing their grotesque bodies against the gate.
Kurruk?
Grrrrrrr-
Raaaagh—
Three of them, each looking completely different from the others.
The one on the far left had a short, stocky body with a long, thick tail and stubby limbs—almost like some kind of dinosaur.
The middle one looked like a giant mole, except it had two heads.
And the one on the far right resembled a human, but its neck was disturbingly long, and it had only one eye.
All three were equally disgusting.
I pulled the trigger.
The arrow, loaded with Elphinus herbs, arced through the air and landed in the forest beyond the monsters.
Several of them immediately turned and sprinted toward the scent.
But the three standing right in front of us didn’t move. Instead, they bared their teeth and lunged—straight at Ethan and Amy.
Bang! Bang!
Ethan fired his revolver, dropping one instantly. But the sound drew the attention of the monsters in the forest.
Shit.
“Ethan, switch to your sword!”
Ethan holstered the revolver and drew his blade without hesitation. He slashed through two of the creatures as they lunged toward Nox and Amy, cutting them down in one swing.
At the same time, I fired another arrow at the mole-like monster approaching from behind Ethan. The arrow struck it square in the head, but Amy suddenly yelled.
“No, wait! You’re supposed to shoot it farther away! If you kill it here—”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest. Dropping the crossbow, I grabbed my axe and charged.
Before the mole monster could collapse, I swung the axe with all my strength.
Thwack!
The impact sent its body flying, tracing a high arc through the air and landing far away in the forest.
The nearby monsters immediately turned, drawn to the scent of the Elphinus herbs stuck to its head.
Seizing the opportunity, Nox and Amy dashed forward to gather the remaining herbs scattered near the gate, while Ethan slammed the doors shut.
“Wow, you really had it all figured out. You’re amazing—no, you’re the absolute best!”
Amy clasped her hands together and beamed at me, her eyes practically sparkling.
Of course, I didn’t have the energy to respond. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor.
“Miss Cherry, what’s wrong?”
“Lady Sinclair, are you all right?”
Ethan and Nox rushed over to me.
“My legs gave out after all that tension. I just need to rest—”
Before I could finish my sentence, my view suddenly shifted upward.
Ethan had scooped me up in a bridal carry. Nox’s startled gaze immediately locked onto us.
For a second, I considered pushing Ethan away and getting down. But after thinking it over, being carried was... really convenient. So I decided to stay put and let him carry me.
Amy, meanwhile, circled around us with a mischievous look in her eyes.
“So your boyfriend’s this uptight old guy, huh?”
“Enough, kid. And you—Ludfisher. Follow me. These two need treatment.”
Ethan motioned for Nox to come along. Honestly, Amy’s condition looked worse than mine.
She’d been covered in cuts and scrapes even before she got inside, blood smeared all over her.
Nox, however, seemed completely unfazed as he sucked on his lollipop. Judging by how easily he walked, his leg wound must have already healed.
“Mr. Ludfisher, is your leg okay?”
I pointed to the bandage still wrapped around his thigh. Nox, limping slightly as he followed, nodded.
“I’m fine. It’s just a matter of waiting for the skin to finish closing up. I’d be more worried about Wharton.”
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
“I’m fine too. These scratches don’t even hurt.”
Amy, who had been trailing behind us, answered confidently. She had her hands laced behind her head and walked with a deliberately cocky stride.
“Now that I think about it, risking my life to get here was totally worth it. A cop, a doctor, and a badass lady with super strength—and on top of that, a mansion like a fortress!”
Wait. Did it bother me that I was the only one with a weird nickname? No, it wasn’t my imagination.
I glared at Amy briefly before shaking my head, reminding myself of her age.
“Just behave, kid. Be grateful you’re not still in cuffs.”
Ethan warned her sharply.
Surprisingly, Amy didn’t argue. She just nodded and kept walking.
When I gave her a suspicious look, she lowered her voice and said quietly:
“I know I acted a little full of myself earlier. Sorry about that. First impressions are important, you know? So I had to act tough. But I’m not ungrateful, and I do appreciate everything. I’ll try to get along with you guys.”
“Don’t bother trying. We’re still going to interrogate you.”
Ethan shot her down coldly. Amy instantly stuck her tongue out at him.
Not even a minute after claiming she’d behave.
Watching this unfold, Nox smirked.
“You two seem to have the same mental age.”
And then, right as he said that, Ethan slammed the front door shut in Nox’s face.
I heard Nox grumbling behind us as he opened the door again and came inside.
I understood why Ethan insisted on questioning Amy.
Honestly, it was suspicious that a young girl like her managed to fight through that horde of monsters and make it all the way here.
We needed to figure out why she came—and whether she was hiding anything.
Not just for Amy’s sake but for our own survival.
There was also another urgent issue—the Elphinus herbs.
Even if they worked like a vaccine, their scent clearly excited the monsters. Leaving them out in the open garden was asking for disaster. Keeping them inside the mansion was just as dangerous.
‘Unless we find some cave to grow them in, this isn’t going to work...’
Before I realized it, Ethan had carried me all the way into the lobby of Happy House. Only then did I finally get down.
‘Maybe I should just call Ethan next time I need to move around.’
That ridiculous thought crossed my mind as I asked Ethan and Nox to take Amy to the salon. It’d be easier to treat her wounds there than in the banquet hall.
Then I headed up to the second-floor storage room to grab medical supplies and handed them to Nox. It wasn’t much, but it was the best I could put together.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay? I can handle first aid. You should rest, Mr. Ludfisher.”
Nox was too valuable for us to risk pushing him too hard.
But he just smiled, still sucking on his lollipop, acting like it was nothing.