The underground passage was dark except for the faint light coming from the room behind them. The only thing lighting their way forward was the kerosene lantern Cherry carried.
She shone the lantern onto the walls of the passage.
“There are torches here.”
Just as she said, iron torches for wall mounting were embedded at regular intervals along the walls, which were made of solid, dry earth.
“This definitely leads somewhere,” Cherry murmured.
Ethan agreed. This decrepit passage had clearly been dug with purpose.
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They kept walking, venturing deeper until the light from the room behind them no longer reached.
The underground passage was wide enough for Ethan and Cherry to walk side by side.
Ethan glanced at her. Cherry’s round cheeks glowed softly in the lantern light, flushed as if she were blushing.
Her unusually long, thick lashes fluttered slowly. She was clearly tense, her nerves on edge.
Noticing his gaze, Cherry turned her head toward him. Her voice broke through the silence.
“What’s wrong?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Wait.”
Cherry stopped suddenly, calling out to him. Reflexively, Ethan raised his hand and pointed his gun straight ahead, as if doused in cold water. Startled, Cherry blinked rapidly and pointed toward his feet.
“Sorry for scaring you. Your bootlaces are untied, Sir Ethan.”
Ethan glanced down. Sure enough, his bootlaces were loose and undone.
As he moved to crouch down and tie them, Cherry stopped him.
“I’ll tie them for you. Keep holding your gun. Who knows what might come out.”
“It’ll only take a moment; I can—”
“I’ll do it. I have something I want to try.”
Cherry cut him off, her face unusually serious, and crouched in front of him. Something she wants to try? What could she possibly want to do with bootlaces?
Ethan’s view was filled with the top of her round head. Despite the apocalypse, she had consistently worn small cocktail hats, but today, she wasn’t wearing one.
Her small hands deftly tightened the bootlaces. For someone who probably didn’t tie laces often, she was surprisingly skilled.
Watching Cherry tie his laces while crouched at his feet, Ethan felt a strange sense of closeness. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with it, but it was undeniable.
“All done! Isn’t it cute?”
Cherry held the lantern to his feet, showing off her work. The laces were securely tied, but instead of a standard knot, they were finished in a clumsy butterfly bow. The bow was crooked and far from elegant.
Realizing it herself, Cherry made a sheepish expression but quickly straightened her face, speaking casually.
“It suits you.”
“Are you serious?”
Ethan let out a half-laugh, half-sigh, bewildered.
“Of course I’m serious. Now, let’s stop wasting time and continue our search.”
Before Ethan could protest, Cherry jumped up and resumed walking, forcing him to follow. She shot him a quick glance, clearly aware of how absurd it was, but still pretended nothing was amiss as she marched ahead.
Her ridiculous behavior was so unexpected that it was almost endearing.
Good grief...
Cherry often surprised him with her strange antics, but at times, she displayed a sharp intuition that was almost frightening. She seemed carefree, but she had her own systems and plans.
Looking back, Cherry hadn’t changed much. It was Ethan who had changed, walking this road with her since before the apocalypse. Perhaps all the emotional turmoil had been his alone.
Suppressing his complex thoughts, Ethan followed Cherry silently.
After a while, they reached a dead end. The path straight ahead was blocked by a wall of dirt, but a new path opened to the right.
“Do you think it was intentionally blocked off?”
“Probably. If it had collapsed naturally, the right path would’ve been blocked too.”
Ethan gestured toward the open path on the right, and Cherry nodded in agreement. She paused to catch her breath, the stale air beginning to get to her.
“How did Susanna survive in a place like this without light? In such a confined space, she could’ve suffocated.”
“There’s airflow here. From this direction.”
Ethan gently pulled Cherry closer by the shoulder, guiding her to where he stood.
“You’re right. It’s faint, but... There must be an exit nearby.”
“Stay alert. We don’t know when a monster might appear.”
Ethan checked his revolver absentmindedly before looking up, only to meet Cherry’s gaze.
“What?”
“You’re telling me to stay alert, but you look completely at ease. You seem awfully relaxed.”
“Call it confidence, not ease. In a narrow space like this, it’s not hard to smash those monsters’ heads in.”
“Hmm, fair enough. Then I’m confident too. Confident I can tear them in half.”
Cherry spoke boldly, and Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. Her ridiculous bravado was almost cute now.
Though, when she was actually smashing monsters barehanded, there’d be no room for amusement.
Finally, they approached what seemed to be the end of the path.
Cherry tapped the solid dirt wall at the end.
“This looks like the end. The path stops here.”
She placed the lantern on the ground and began examining the surroundings. Ethan stood beside her, carefully inspecting the area.
“We should’ve brought a shovel,” Cherry muttered.
Ethan felt a bit taken aback by Cherry’s muttered comment. It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. He just didn’t expect Cherry Sinclair, of all people, to voice such an idea so casually.
“I know it’s getting old, but...”
The Cherry Sinclair known to the world was a façade. A product of sensational media, fueled by the provocative title of the Sinclair family heiress. That much was certain.
“Unless she was politically exploited.”
Ethan recalled the newspaper he’d seen just before the world ended:
[Exclusive Report! Cherry Sinclair’s Disappearance Linked to Lancaster Heir Ethan!?]
[Cherry Sinclair and Ethan Duncan Lancaster Caught Meeting in a Rural Village...!? ‘The Swan and the Raven’ Shock High Society!]
If they’d used Cherry as a pawn to cover up the emergence of monsters, it wasn’t far-fetched.
For a moment, Ethan had even suspected Crown Prince Theodore of being behind those articles.
“Could Theodore be connected to the monsters in Brunel?”
But the Theodore Ethan knew wouldn’t do something so insane—or use someone like Cherry as a scapegoat to cover it up.
As his thoughts spiraled, Ethan broke the silence.
“Was it hard hiding your strength?”
Cherry, who had been tapping on the wall, glanced at him.
“Not really. I just didn’t use it. What’s so hard about that?”
“Fair enough.”
Ethan quickly agreed and joined her in tapping the wall. He soon noticed a faint breeze coming from above.
“Cherry.”
At his call, Cherry seemed to notice it too. She picked up the lantern and shone it upward.
The ceiling, which had been hidden in darkness, was made of wooden planks. It looked as if the passage above had been deliberately sealed off.
“If we push it up, it might open.”
Cherry reached up, but her short stature meant she could only graze the plank with her fingertips after a small jump.
Ethan shook his head and stepped forward, pushing the wooden plank upward. Cherry quickly grabbed her axe.
Creeeaak.
The plank, poorly greased, let out a rusty screech as it moved upward.
Thunk.
Finally, the ceiling hatch swung open.
Above them was pitch black. So dark it seemed like a void, the kind that made one hesitate to climb.
Both Cherry and Ethan stared into the abyss in silence, momentarily speechless.
*****
Deciding to explore the underground passage with Ethan had been an excellent choice. He was reliable.
Even so, their roles remained unchanged—Cherry took point in close quarters, while Ethan covered long-range.
“With strength like mine, what else can I do?”
Cherry decided to climb up first. Her height made it impossible to reach the ceiling on her own, so Ethan couldn’t pull her up even if he climbed first.
“We’ll need to bring a ladder next time.”
In the end, Ethan lifted her up. Cherry swallowed her pride and pressed her shoe firmly onto his shoulder.
“Ugh.” Ethan let out a quiet groan. Her shoe’s heel had dug into his shoulder. Feeling guilty, Cherry glanced down.
“Sorry! Are you okay?”
“Ugh... No, I’m not.”
“Thanks for saying you’re okay. Just hang in there a little longer.”
Cherry muttered as she struggled to hoist herself up. Below, Ethan’s exasperated voice rose to meet her.
“Cherry, I just said I’m not okay.”
“I know what you mean. Just hold on a moment—I’m doing my best. Ugh.”
Ethan sighed heavily, but Cherry had no mental space to worry about his small discomforts. After much effort, she finally managed to climb through the hatch and extended her hand to Ethan.
Ethan reached up, his expression slightly puzzled, and grabbed her hand.
Cherry gave him an incredulous look and said flatly, “The lantern.”
Ethan quickly let go, clearly embarrassed, and handed her the lantern instead.