The sharp tone and half-assed words struck a nerve. I looked Ethan straight in the eye and retorted in the same tone.
“Would you have believed me if I told you that? You know the monster case? Nobody believed you, not even that monster ruckus that was constantly in the papers!”
“Ah. With such a lame excuse, I suppose you thought I would be deceived, my dear Miss Cherry, and how do you account for the existence of this mansion?”
“Well, I must be in the capital because I saw a monster like that and was terrified, and in your letter you said it was contagious, and I was actually in the capital at the time?”
I shrugged. Ethan didn’t seem to care if I sounded snarky or not.
“I told you, all I had was money and I wanted to have some fun. Even if the letter was a fake, I thought it would be fun to imagine a disaster like that happening and set up a shelter, and then I came down here and saw the change in the farmer, and I was convinced. I don’t know who wrote that letter, but it was all right. Look. The world has been destroyed by a contagious monster.”
“You didn’t think to find out more about the person who sent the letter?”
“Why wouldn’t I, but think about it. What do you think I could have found out in that short amount of time?”
Ethan fell silent. His eyes narrowed as if he had nothing more to say, and he studied my expression.
My excuse had worked-or at least partially. There really wasn’t much more to it than that. It’s not like I’d committed a crime, I just looked suspicious.
“So that’s why you told me not to touch the monster back then, because you knew it was contagious.”
Ethan nodded, as if he actually understood. But his eyes were still cold.
“‘You don’t look convinced at all……!
But I can’t think of any other explanation that would make him understand. To be honest, there were a lot of things I still hadn’t figured out. I’m not convinced, either!
Worst of all, Ethan’s trust level in me is pretty low. No matter what I said, it didn’t seem to be working.
I eventually gave up trying to make him understand. Maybe I should just hit him in the back of the head and knock him out…….
“I guess you’re not going to tell the truth.”
Ethan said.
“No, I mean, I don’t know the truth either…….
I turned to Ethan, figuring that at this point, I might as well ask him the truth.
“…by the way, did you ever find out who sent the letter to your sister, because I’m curious too.”
“I don’t know anything about it, except that it just happened to be sitting on my sister’s bedroom desk.”
Ethan ran an irritated hand through his hair, obviously frustrated that he hadn’t solved the Aurora letter case himself.
But I was puzzled by his words. The letter was on Aurora’s desk in her bedroom. Did that mean someone had managed to get past the Duke of Lancaster’s heavy security?
“It must be an inside job.”
Ethan nodded at my words. He must have suspected that too.
But he didn’t offer any further explanation. I wondered who had sent Aurora the letter.
It was very strange indeed that who had called her to Number 61 to tell her the secret of her birth.
‘Whoever sent that letter must have known something about the monster at 61 Nottingham Street.’
As I pondered this, a shadow fell over my face. Ethan moved closer to me.
I looked up and locked eyes with him. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just looked at me.
His jet-black eyes were icy and turbulent like high waves, a look I could never hope to emulate.
“I told you, Miss Cherry. I’m paying you back.”
What does that mean, please explain it to me. I ask him with a glare.
But Ethan just stared at me, studying my face, which meant he knew I wanted a proper answer.
There was a suffocating tension in the air. Ethan was weighing something. A gravity that was part calculation, part test, weighed me down.
Just when I thought I was going to lose my breath from the constant pressure, he spoke.
“That was a lousy excuse, but I’ll let it slide for now. That’s not what’s urgent right now.”
Right. We had other things we needed to work on together right now.
Ethan was convinced there was something else I was hiding besides the letter.
He was right, of course. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell him about novel, Love in a Ruined World.
If I bring it up, he’ll react the same way he did when I told him about the letter-or maybe worse.
Before Ethan could finish his sentence, there was a dull thud against the gate of the Happy House.
Thud!
It must have been one of the monsters that had gathered around the mansion. I knew I had to end the conversation, so I spat at Ethan.
“It’s very merciful of you to let it go.”
The sarcasm slipped out.
It sounds like I’ve lost, but I haven’t. I let you off the hook, I did. If the odds are ever stacked against me again, I’ll punch Ethan in the back of the head, knock him out, and then…….
“That doesn’t mean I trust you completely, because even if I can get past the 61 Nottingham Street thing, there are too many shady corners, and I don’t trust people very well.”
I looked up, imagining slapping Ethan on the back of the head.
He was looking at me with a calm face, unlike his murderous nemesis.
In truth, if he asked me specifically about the mansion, I’d have nothing to say.
I didn’t think I would have believed that ‘that’ Cherry Sinclair had come down to the countryside and spent a fortune decorating a mansion like this simply because she’d received a letter.
“Then why are you suddenly being so formal again, is this your habit?”
“I told you I like it better this way, formal. This is exactly the kind of distance we should be talking at.”
The tension had died down, and Ethan’s face was cold.
I thought we’d gotten a little closer, but it seemed like there was a thicker wall between us than before.
But I agree with what Ethan said. I want the same thing. Like the distance between us.
“You don’t like it?”
“No. I agree. Let’s go, formal, but if you change your attitude and start talking down to me like you did earlier, I’m not going to let you.”
I responded as if I were willing to overlook a child’s tantrum.
But Ethan, who had asked for the distance in the first place, gave me a strange look when I agreed so quickly.
“Well, that’s a hard one.’
I thought it wasn’t like him to let it go because he was repaying a favour, and I wondered why he was being so kind about it, which made me even more uneasy.
But whatever the case, we had to move fast now. Ethan and I cleaned up and started getting ready.
I grabbed several empty bags from the storage room on the second floor and handed them to Ethan, as if our conversation from the earlier day had never happened.
“I think I’ll grab some empty bags, and if we can get any more groceries or supplies, we will bring them back and stock up.”
Ethan glanced at me and casually took the bag from me.
“You’re quick to judge a situation.”
“Give me a year in a social circle and you’ll have some judgement.”
“Hmm. Why people thought you were a bunch of incompetents, that’s what I’m most puzzled about.”
I scratched my cheek, at a loss for words at Ethan’s comment. I couldn’t tell him that I was a different person now.
[Do you need any medication again, if you don’t want to be seen at the previous hospital I can find you another one, I just think it would be a good idea for you to stay in hospital for a few days and get some rest…….]
Harrison had told me to go to the doctor, and I didn’t think Ethan would be any different.
I didn’t say anything, but he didn’t seem to mind that I didn’t say anything in response.
‘I’ll just have to keep pretending.’
With that thought in mind, Ethan and I decided on our sleeping arrangements.
Ethan went up to the observation deck to stand guard first, and I returned to my room and fell into bed to try to get some sleep. The shift was about two hours later.
The darkened mansion was silent. Even the torches had been switched off, leaving only the moonlight streaming in through the window to illuminate my vision.
The mattress was plush and the new duvet was fluffy and warm. Lying in such a cosy bed, it was hard to believe the world had ended.
Uh-uh-uh-uh.
It was so peaceful, except for the occasional distant cries of an unidentified monster.
But there was a constant sense of tension. All my nerves were on edge. All sorts of bad thoughts raced through my head.
‘How am I going to sleep when the world is like this? Damn it, how can someone be so carefree in times like these?
That carefree person was me.
I don’t know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, it was dawn.
Holy XX, I’m screwed.
I wiped the dried drool from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand, not bothering to straighten my messy hair, and ran up to the roof.
Ethan was sitting alone on the observation deck, staring off into the distance.
The sharp tone and half-assed words struck a nerve. I looked Ethan straight in the eye and retorted in the same tone.
“Would you have believed me if I told you that? You know the monster case? Nobody believed you, not even that monster ruckus that was constantly in the papers!”
“Ah. With such a lame excuse, I suppose you thought I would be deceived, my dear Miss Cherry, and how do you account for the existence of this mansion?”
“Well, I must be in the capital because I saw a monster like that and was terrified, and in your letter you said it was contagious, and I was actually in the capital at the time?”
I shrugged. Ethan didn’t seem to care if I sounded snarky or not.
“I told you, all I had was money and I wanted to have some fun. Even if the letter was a fake, I thought it would be fun to imagine a disaster like that happening and set up a shelter, and then I came down here and saw the change in the farmer, and I was convinced. I don’t know who wrote that letter, but it was all right. Look. The world has been destroyed by a contagious monster.”
“You didn’t think to find out more about the person who sent the letter?”
“Why wouldn’t I, but think about it. What do you think I could have found out in that short amount of time?”
Ethan fell silent. His eyes narrowed as if he had nothing more to say, and he studied my expression.
My excuse had worked-or at least partially. There really wasn’t much more to it than that. It’s not like I’d committed a crime, I just looked suspicious.
“So that’s why you told me not to touch the monster back then, because you knew it was contagious.”
Ethan nodded, as if he actually understood. But his eyes were still cold.
“‘You don’t look convinced at all……!
But I can’t think of any other explanation that would make him understand. To be honest, there were a lot of things I still hadn’t figured out. I’m not convinced, either!
Worst of all, Ethan’s trust level in me is pretty low. No matter what I said, it didn’t seem to be working.
I eventually gave up trying to make him understand. Maybe I should just hit him in the back of the head and knock him out…….
“I guess you’re not going to tell the truth.”
Ethan said.
“No, I mean, I don’t know the truth either…….
I turned to Ethan, figuring that at this point, I might as well ask him the truth.
“…by the way, did you ever find out who sent the letter to your sister, because I’m curious too.”
“I don’t know anything about it, except that it just happened to be sitting on my sister’s bedroom desk.”
Ethan ran an irritated hand through his hair, obviously frustrated that he hadn’t solved the Aurora letter case himself.
But I was puzzled by his words. The letter was on Aurora’s desk in her bedroom. Did that mean someone had managed to get past the Duke of Lancaster’s heavy security?
“It must be an inside job.”
Ethan nodded at my words. He must have suspected that too.
But he didn’t offer any further explanation. I wondered who had sent Aurora the letter.
It was very strange indeed that who had called her to Number 61 to tell her the secret of her birth.
‘Whoever sent that letter must have known something about the monster at 61 Nottingham Street.’
As I pondered this, a shadow fell over my face. Ethan moved closer to me.
I looked up and locked eyes with him. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just looked at me.
His jet-black eyes were icy and turbulent like high waves, a look I could never hope to emulate.
“I told you, Miss Cherry. I’m paying you back.”
What does that mean, please explain it to me. I ask him with a glare.
But Ethan just stared at me, studying my face, which meant he knew I wanted a proper answer.
There was a suffocating tension in the air. Ethan was weighing something. A gravity that was part calculation, part test, weighed me down.
Just when I thought I was going to lose my breath from the constant pressure, he spoke.
“That was a lousy excuse, but I’ll let it slide for now. That’s not what’s urgent right now.”
Right. We had other things we needed to work on together right now.
Ethan was convinced there was something else I was hiding besides the letter.
He was right, of course. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell him about novel, Love in a Ruined World.
If I bring it up, he’ll react the same way he did when I told him about the letter-or maybe worse.
Before Ethan could finish his sentence, there was a dull thud against the gate of the Happy House.
Thud!
It must have been one of the monsters that had gathered around the mansion. I knew I had to end the conversation, so I spat at Ethan.
“It’s very merciful of you to let it go.”
The sarcasm slipped out.
It sounds like I’ve lost, but I haven’t. I let you off the hook, I did. If the odds are ever stacked against me again, I’ll punch Ethan in the back of the head, knock him out, and then…….
“That doesn’t mean I trust you completely, because even if I can get past the 61 Nottingham Street thing, there are too many shady corners, and I don’t trust people very well.”
I looked up, imagining slapping Ethan on the back of the head.
He was looking at me with a calm face, unlike his murderous nemesis.
In truth, if he asked me specifically about the mansion, I’d have nothing to say.
I didn’t think I would have believed that ‘that’ Cherry Sinclair had come down to the countryside and spent a fortune decorating a mansion like this simply because she’d received a letter.
“Then why are you suddenly being so formal again, is this your habit?”
“I told you I like it better this way, formal. This is exactly the kind of distance we should be talking at.”
The tension had died down, and Ethan’s face was cold.
I thought we’d gotten a little closer, but it seemed like there was a thicker wall between us than before.
But I agree with what Ethan said. I want the same thing. Like the distance between us.
“You don’t like it?”
“No. I agree. Let’s go, formal, but if you change your attitude and start talking down to me like you did earlier, I’m not going to let you.”
I responded as if I were willing to overlook a child’s tantrum.
But Ethan, who had asked for the distance in the first place, gave me a strange look when I agreed so quickly.
“Well, that’s a hard one.’
I thought it wasn’t like him to let it go because he was repaying a favour, and I wondered why he was being so kind about it, which made me even more uneasy.
But whatever the case, we had to move fast now. Ethan and I cleaned up and started getting ready.
I grabbed several empty bags from the storage room on the second floor and handed them to Ethan, as if our conversation from the earlier day had never happened.
“I think I’ll grab some empty bags, and if we can get any more groceries or supplies, we will bring them back and stock up.”
Ethan glanced at me and casually took the bag from me.
“You’re quick to judge a situation.”
“Give me a year in a social circle and you’ll have some judgement.”
“Hmm. Why people thought you were a bunch of incompetents, that’s what I’m most puzzled about.”
I scratched my cheek, at a loss for words at Ethan’s comment. I couldn’t tell him that I was a different person now.
[Do you need any medication again, if you don’t want to be seen at the previous hospital I can find you another one, I just think it would be a good idea for you to stay in hospital for a few days and get some rest…….]
Harrison had told me to go to the doctor, and I didn’t think Ethan would be any different.
I didn’t say anything, but he didn’t seem to mind that I didn’t say anything in response.
‘I’ll just have to keep pretending.’
With that thought in mind, Ethan and I decided on our sleeping arrangements.
Ethan went up to the observation deck to stand guard first, and I returned to my room and fell into bed to try to get some sleep. The shift was about two hours later.
The darkened mansion was silent. Even the torches had been switched off, leaving only the moonlight streaming in through the window to illuminate my vision.
The mattress was plush and the new duvet was fluffy and warm. Lying in such a cosy bed, it was hard to believe the world had ended.
Uh-uh-uh-uh.
It was so peaceful, except for the occasional distant cries of an unidentified monster.
But there was a constant sense of tension. All my nerves were on edge. All sorts of bad thoughts raced through my head.
‘How am I going to sleep when the world is like this? Damn it, how can someone be so carefree in times like these?
That carefree person was me.
I don’t know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, it was dawn.
Holy XX, I’m screwed.
I wiped the dried drool from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand, not bothering to straighten my messy hair, and ran up to the roof.
Ethan was sitting alone on the observation deck, staring off into the distance.
