"Thanks to you, Miss Cherry, I’ve been getting plenty of sleep. I want to finish my tasks quickly and get a grasp of the situation. Maybe even make a few plans."
Meanwhile, Ethan sat slouched in a nearby chair, resting both legs on the table while keeping an eye on Amy.
His hands rested neatly on his stomach, positioned to grab his revolver at a moment’s notice.
Nox rummaged through the bag I’d brought him, pulling out first-aid supplies. After checking them, he turned to stare at me, a trace of surprise on his face.
"I thought about this when I first woke up here, but... this place really has everything."
"I was... building a vacation home. I planned to stay here and rest for about two years."
"A vacation home. A vacation home... Sure, let’s go with that."
Nox responded half-heartedly, his expression making it clear he didn’t believe me for a second.
Of course, it wasn’t just Nox. Ethan didn’t look like he believed me either. They both knew what kind of person Cherry Sinclair was.
On the other hand, Amy, who didn’t know much about me, stared with sparkling eyes.
"I heard you’re famous in the capital, Miss. How amazing are you? I mean, turning a mansion like this into a vacation home?"
"This is a mansion? Not a ruin?"
Nox scoffed as he wiped Amy’s wounds clean with a damp cloth.
"Lady Sinclair could buy a hundred more of these ‘ruins’ with her pocket money alone. She’s the richest person in Graydon. You’ll need to get used to that, Lady Wharton."
"What? Seriously?"
Amy gaped, looking at me with awe-filled eyes.
Well, she wasn’t wrong. But so what? The world had ended, and wealth wasn’t worth much anymore.
"I think it’s time for us to ask a few questions."
Ethan interrupted, snapping us back to reality. Amy’s enthusiasm faded, and she closed her mouth. Ethan ignored her reaction and started asking questions.
"Answer while you’re getting treated. How did you end up here?"
This time, even Nox didn’t object to Ethan’s questioning.
"I saw you carrying the doctor, Miss. I was hiding in a second-floor inn room."
Amy winced as Nox applied disinfectant to her facial wounds.
"I saw the lights coming on in this place. People in the village were talking about how weirdly you were setting up this ruin. When I heard that, I thought—this is the only place I can survive."
Ethan, listening silently, asked, "Have you ever learned swordsmanship?"
"No."
"Any formal sports training?"
"How’s a poor commoner who survives on pickpocketing and herb gathering supposed to afford sports training?"
"Your movements weren’t ordinary. So where’d you learn them?"
"I never learned. When you spend time gathering herbs in the treacherous Pellinum Mountains, things like that become second nature."
What kind of herbs had she been gathering in such a place? Ethan and Nox exchanged looks, clearly thinking the same thing I was, then fell silent, staring at her.
Amy, however, didn’t seem to care. She grabbed my hand and pleaded.
"Miss, can’t you take me in? I’ll be your footstool if you let me stay."
"Cough."
Nox, who had been treating her, choked and coughed awkwardly. I furrowed my brows in disbelief. What the hell was this girl saying?
"I don’t need a footstool. I can clean my own feet."
"Then I’ll be your maid."
"No need. I already have one maid."
For a moment, Susanna’s face flashed through my mind, and a wave of sadness hit me. My chest felt tight.
Amy, who had been carefully watching my expression, spoke softly.
"If you don’t want a maid, then... a slave?"
"I don’t need a slave either. If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay here for now. But only for now. You did tell me about the Elphinus herbs, so I’ll return the favor."
If it weren’t for Amy, I wouldn’t have realized the Elphinus herbs were stuck near the gate—or that their scent drove monsters crazy.
That was critical information. Just for that, she deserved a place in the mansion—for now.
‘There’s not enough food for too many people.’
I found myself thinking I’d have to prepare for more situations like this in the future.
"We’ll need to set some rules—for taking in new people or dealing with emergencies."
And just then, Amy dropped another bombshell.
"The villagers are planning to take over this place. They might attack soon."
"Hey, kid. And you’re only telling us this now?"
"Don’t call me kid, you old man."
Ethan and Amy locked eyes in another stare-down. Meanwhile, Nox finished treating her wounds and began packing up the first-aid supplies.
"What do you mean the villagers want to take over this place? Why?"
At my question, Amy glanced down at the bandages neatly covering her wounds before answering.
"Why else? This mansion looks useful. Like I said earlier, everyone saw you carry the doctor up here to this ruin. So now they think this place is safe. Plus, they’ve been saying you stocked up on supplies before the apocalypse and want to raid it."
Damn it. I couldn’t say I hadn’t considered this possibility, but hearing it confirmed still made me curse.
I turned back to Amy.
"So? When are they coming?"
"I don’t know. I left before they made any plans. I couldn’t stand listening to them anymore."
"A group so sloppy they didn’t even notice you sneaking out? Guess their combat skills are trash."
Ethan muttered under his breath, and Amy didn’t deny it. Instead, Ethan looked mildly annoyed and slightly excited, as if already anticipating the upcoming fight.
"Do they really think they can take on Miss Cherry? Even if all of them come at once, I doubt they’ll stand a chance."
"Oh, come on. Do I look like some kind of superhero?"
I shot back, exasperated. When Ethan asked what a superhero was, I gave him a quick explanation about superpowered heroes, but then Nox interrupted.
"Miss Cherry, what’s the plan?"
I paused, considering his question carefully.
"Sure, my goal was to survive here alone...."
I trailed off and glanced at the others. Maybe because this was my mansion, but both Nox and Ethan always deferred to me when it came to decisions.
"Obviously, I’m not about to let them take my mansion. Do you know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into building this place?"
"We saw it firsthand, Miss Cherry. I’d say blood and sweat are an understatement."
"Yeah. You looked more like a stubborn farm girl than the Sinclair heiress."
Nox muttered this under his breath to Ethan, but I heard every word.
Amy, who had been silently observing our exchange, suddenly voiced her concern.
"Why isn’t anyone panicking?"
Nox and Ethan both turned to look at me. Shrugging, I asked Amy,
"How many people are we talking about?"
"Ten. That’s how many I saw before I left."
"Gender ratio?"
"Six women and four men."
"That’s manageable."
The reason I wasn’t worried was simple. Like Ethan had said, a ragtag group like that wasn’t a real threat.
It might be tough, but six women and four men—especially untrained villagers—were hardly a challenge.
Besides, reaching Happy House wasn’t easy. It sat on the outskirts of Brunel, and anyone trying to get here would have to fight through monsters and climb up a hill. I doubted all ten of them would even make it here in one piece.
‘Now, if we were facing Crown Prince Theodore’s camp or Prince Lloyd’s camp, then I might be nervous.’
In the original story, Love in a Ruined World, the two largest survival camps were in the capital.
The first belonged to Crown Prince Theodore, based in the royal palace.
The second was led by his younger brother and greatest rival, Prince Lloyd.
I’d mentioned it before—Love in a Ruined World was basically a land-grabbing strategy game where Aurora expanded her influence by taking over these survival camps one by one.
Right now, Aurora was probably in the royal palace with Theodore, and it wouldn’t be long before she absorbed Lloyd’s camp too.
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‘Compared to that, this situation is a piece of cake.’
Not to mention, I had Nox, who was practically a second male lead, and Ethan, the most capable person in the Love in a Ruined World universe, by my side.
Smiling, I looked at Nox, Ethan, and Amy.
"Let’s come up with a plan."