Chapter 16
Something you want to ask me? Not Eden?
I looked back at Eden. He had been glaring at Knox with dissatisfaction, but when our eyes met, he simply shrugged. It seemed to mean I should handle it myself. Then again, Eden isn’t my guardian, so this wasn’t really something I needed to consult him on.
I tried to gauge Knox’s intentions, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. Behind that polished face, it felt like a hundred snakes were coiled up inside.
After a moment’s thought, I gave a ready nod.
“Fine. Then would you like to come to my house with Sir Eden?”
Actually, this worked out well. I needed to make sure Knox kept his mouth shut anyway. While I was at it, maybe I’d even try to scout him as a worker.
Knox followed Cherry with a leisurely stride.
Cherry was heading out of the outskirts of Brunel Village and climbing a hill. She introduced the dilapidated mansion visible in the distance as her home.
It was an incredibly interesting turn of events.
It was surprising enough to see Cherry and Eden—two people who didn’t belong together—in the same place, but…
No one would have expected the Cherry Sinclair to be living in a ruin in a rural village like this.
“Please, come in.”
Cherry spoke to Knox as she opened the heavy stone gate. They passed through the entrance and crossed a sprawling garden.
Eden was walking a short distance away from Cherry.
To the public, Eden’s image was that of a reckless madman. Moreover, since becoming a police officer, he had apparently earned the nickname ‘The Mad Dog of Benton.’
There were even rumors that he tore into criminals like a beast.
Contrary to appearances, however, Eden’s nature was kind and righteous—enough so that he had ruthlessly abandoned his position as the heir to the Lancaster Dukedom for the sake of his sense of duty.
On the other hand, Knox—who appeared kind and gentlemanly to the world—did not possess such a virtuous nature.
In fact, if someone were to ask how a doctor who saves lives could be that way, Knox could confidently answer that he simply was.
Regardless of why a Lancaster was showing interest in a Sinclair, Knox had his own clear reasons for being interested in Cherry.
Around this time last year, Knox had been at the site where the Westmore urban legend first spread.
It was because he had heard that Elpinus herbs were found in a deserted house where people’s screams and the cries of beasts were reportedly heard.
Back then, as now, people ignorant of the Elpinus herb had requested he perform a drug appraisal.
The Elpinus herb was, of course, not a narcotic. However, the herb was difficult to obtain and even harder to manage and grow.
It was strange that such a herb was found in large quantities at Haig 10th Street in Westmore. That was why he had asked a narcotics investigator to track the trade of Elpinus.
“It seems someone is continuously buying and selling Elpinus seeds. The last transaction points to Notium Street No. 61 in the capital, Benton.”
He had received that news through the investigator.
And on that day, Knox had witnessed a truly startling sight at the mansion on Notium Street No. 61.
Just as a great commotion seemed to erupt within the quiet mansion, a man burst out through the front door.
A beast-like creature of unknown origin followed behind the man, and behind that, a woman whose hood had fallen back came running out.
From the wall where Knox had been standing, her face was clearly visible. Though she was wearing a mask, he distinctly saw the wavy pink hair and golden eyes.
The woman pulled her hood back up immediately, but with Knox’s keen eye for detail, he recognized her instantly.
It was Cherry Sinclair.
“Aaah!”
A scream rang out from the front gate. It seemed a passerby had discovered the monster.
Then, Cherry, who had rushed out with quick steps, immediately swung an axe at the monster collapsed on the ground.
CRACK!
The axe blade buried itself accurately in the monster’s head, and a thick green fluid splattered.
Did I see that right?
For a moment, Knox wondered if he had mistaken someone else for Cherry Sinclair.
After all, there was no way that woman would be in a slum like this. If it were Cherry Sinclair, she wouldn’t appear in a place like this alone, let alone dressed like that.
Furthermore, it was said she was so frail that she fainted often, so the idea of her hacking a monster to death with an axe was nonsensical.
“It’s dangerous! Get back!”
But the woman’s voice he just heard…
“Did you see the man who ran out of this house?”
“He, he ran that way.”
And the conversation that followed.
It was very similar to the voice of the Cherry Sinclair he remembered. If he hadn’t seen her face when the hood fell, it would have been hard to be certain it was her based on voice alone.
Knox noticed a box protruding from Cherry’s open belt bag. Though she shoved the box back in and buckled it, it was unmistakably an Elpinus herb box.
After the monster was dealt with, the famous Eden Duncan Lancaster appeared on the scene. It seemed he had been on patrol after receiving a report and stumbled upon the crime scene.
As if she had a guilty conscience, Cherry Sinclair desperately guarded her hood and then fled. In the end, she was never caught.
Haig 10th Street in Westmore.
Notium Street No. 61 in Benton.
Elpinus herbs appeared in both mansions.
And Cherry had stolen the Elpinus—which even Eden had mistaken for drugs—from Notium Street No. 61. And now she was trying to grow it in the garden of that ruin?
Knox was certain that the Elpinus herb was connected to the ‘monsters’ of the rumors.
‘Does she know something too? About the connection between the herbs and the monsters.’
Indeed. He was currently gathering information about the monsters.
Furthermore, Knox held one decisive piece of information. He knew exactly which noble had pulled the strings to ensure that ‘information regarding the monster’s corpse from Notium Street No. 61’ didn’t reach the public.
‘Even so, I don’t think Cherry Sinclair is involved with that noble.’
Given that noble’s personality, there was no way he would have deployed a young woman of commoner status like Cherry into such a covert operation.
‘Then why was Cherry there, and what is her goal?’ That question remained.
‘What if she’s also chasing the monsters? What if she’s noticed the connection between these riddled incidents?’
From the moment he witnessed Cherry hacking the monster with an axe, Knox decided not to believe the public’s assessment of Cherry Sinclair.
Even though she could have run away, she didn’t. She risked danger to kill the monster and save a person. Perhaps she was a different person than the one Knox knew.
So, for now, he decided to watch. It would be best to observe her for a while and figure out her objective.
<Cherry’s Temporary Shelter: Happy House>
He was also very curious about the true nature of this suspicious mansion Cherry had purchased.
We entered the first-floor lobby of Happy House.
I never dreamed I would be bringing the main characters of <Faded Love>, Knox and Eden, into this place.
Anyway, despite this awkward situation, my mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of ‘how to silence Knox’ and ‘how to scout Knox as Happy House’s dedicated doctor.’
……Of course, I knew the chances of achieving the latter were slim to none.
Knox took off his hat, tucked his hands behind his back, and slowly surveyed the lobby.
“Hmm. Is this really the mansion where you are staying?”
Knox seemed a bit surprised. Honestly, he had every right to be. The mansion was heavily damaged, almost as if it had been under attack by someone at some point.
I had asked Vanilla various questions about the mansion, but she didn’t know much either. As she had said before, she just gave the excuse that she owned so many properties that she didn’t know the details of this one.
A broken chandelier hung precariously from the lobby ceiling, and the paint on the walls was all peeling. I had swept and polished as hard as I could, but there was nothing I could do about the rusted moldings.
On top of that, the built-in consoles and other furniture were quite old and shabby.
Then Eden spoke up.
“I had a hunch, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
This was Eden’s first time seeing the interior of the mansion as well. Perhaps that’s why he was also looking around busily. He probably wanted to find clues about the ‘illegal firearms’ I had slyly mentioned before.
‘So he apologized for the drug misunderstanding, but the firearms are a separate matter. How thorough of him.’
Just then, Knox, who had been quietly stroking his chin, turned toward me. He stared at my face as if observing me before asking.
“Why on earth is a child of the Sinclair family doing this here? There must be a reason you’re acting like this.”
Would he believe me if I told him the truth? I quietly approached Knox and whispered to him.
“Please don’t tell anyone that I’m here. If you don’t promise that, I can’t let you leave this mansion.”
I gave him a light warning, sounding like the owner of a haunted mountain cabin.
“Ah. Just in case you were wondering, I’m not joking.”
When I emphasized it again to get a firm answer, he nodded.
“I am not such a petty noble. I am a gentleman. I will not speak a word.”
“Thank you.”
“In exchange, please answer me. The real reason you are doing this here. What exactly did you do that you’re hiding here? Tell only me. I’ll keep it a secret from Lancaster.”
Knox smiled with a gentle face. Then, he took a step closer to me as if whispering a deep secret.
“Let’s make it a secret only the two of us know. You’d like that too, wouldn’t you, Miss Cherry? I prefer it that way myself; it feels more… intimate.”
……Huh?
