Chapter 52
I set my bag down and drew my axe, quickly scanning the surroundings.
The dark forest was silent. In contrast, the village behind us was still noisy with the cries of monsters.
After confirming the area was safe, I called down.
“Come up!”
At my signal, Knox climbed the ladder, followed by Eden.
“Is your leg alright?”
I asked Knox, who looked a bit exhausted. Sitting on the ground, he nodded laboriously.
“It’s bearable.”
“Then we’d better move quickly.”
Eden extended a hand toward Knox. Knox stared at Eden’s face for a moment before quietly taking his hand and pulling himself up.
Just as Eden had said, the forest behind the police station connected to the mountain behind Happy House.
Thus, we had to take the route up the forest slope and enter through the back of the estate.
The sun had been setting while we were down below, but by the time we reached the top, it had already vanished.
Once the sun begins to set, darkness falls in an instant. I pulled the lantern out of my bag again and lit it.
‘I’m going to run out of matches at this rate.’
I had prepared a generous two-year supply at the mansion, but I began to worry it might not be enough.
I should practice starting a fire without matches or a lighter, like on a deserted island. I had bought plenty of survival books, after all. Though, I couldn’t guarantee I’d actually be able to start a fire just by reading them.
“Are we heading to your mansion now, Miss Cherry?”
I nodded at Knox’s question. Since the phone call failed, returning to the mansion was the only option.
I had expected things to turn out this way, but Eden likely hadn’t. He had become noticeably quiet.
“Let’s go.”
I supported Knox again, and we stepped into the forest.
Fortunately, there were no monsters in the woods. For now, it seemed they hadn’t strayed from the village where people still remained. Of course, as time passed and food grew scarce, they would eventually scatter.
We walked through the silent, pitch-black forest.
Step. Step.
No one dared to speak first. As a brief moment of peace settled in, the anxiety I had pushed aside began to creep back.
I thought back to what happened at the police station.
“It’s no use. I’ve already tried dozens of times. No one picks up. The capital is the same.”
“Even if the capital is fine, there’s no way the trains are running. People won’t come down to a remote mountain village like Brunel.”
That was what Uncle Hans had said. Eden’s silence had definitely deepened from that moment on.
What was the situation in the capital right now?
Then, Knox broke the silence.
“It could just be a problem with the telephone office.”
“Right. That’s a possibility.”
Eden agreed, but he didn’t even sound convinced by his own words. With a skeptical expression, he lapsed back into a long silence.
Step. Step.
Aside from the rhythmic sound of footsteps on the dirt, nothing else could be heard.
Eden, in particular, radiated a gloomy aura. Honestly, if I had a younger sister as precious as Aurora, I would surely be going out of my mind with worry just like him.
On the other hand, in my case,
‘Harrison will be fine.’
I had that kind of faith. Harrison was someone who excelled at everything he did.
“I feel like I’m still dreaming. A very nasty dream, at that.”
Knox sighed, looking rather haggard. He was walking with Eden’s support.
“It might be better to believe it’s a dream.”
Eden muttered in response. I didn’t say a word.
“I learned something while being trapped in that hellish village and dodging those things. It’s definitely a contagious virus. You get infected if they bite you. And after a certain amount of time, your body turns into one of them.”
Knox spoke up abruptly. It seemed he had observed the monsters quite a bit during the days he was trapped in the village.
Regardless, what he just said was something Eden and I already knew.
What followed was more interesting.
“It didn’t look like this whole mess started in Brunel. I saw the stablehand who first showed these abnormal symptoms here, and his condition had been strange ever since he returned from the capital.”
It seemed Knox had witnessed the first infected person in Brunel. He paused to catch his breath, perhaps due to the pain in his leg, and continued.
“I suspect the first infected person was probably in the capital. Even if not, it was definitely somewhere nearby.”
The hypothesis that the first case was in the capital.
Considering the alchemists and Marquis KC were in the capital, it might be true. However, it was still just a suspicion and a guess, nothing certain.
Even if the alchemists performed unethical experiments, we didn’t yet know exactly what those experiments were or what they were for.
Eden, who had been silent, spoke up.
“If the point of origin was the capital, then the capital right now must be…”
“I expect the situation there is probably far worse than in Brunel.”
At Knox’s answer, Eden let out a short, pained groan. Knox, who was walking supported by an arm around each of our shoulders, looked at Eden.
“Your sister is in the capital, isn’t she? Our friend won’t be able to sleep a wink out of worry now.”
“Don’t worry about someone else’s sister. Worry about your own family.”
“My family? I’m sure they’re all doing just fine on their own.”
Knox laughed nonchalantly.
“We’re a ‘business family.’ We aren’t close-knit like the Lancasters.”
“The Lancasters are no different.”
Eden replied flatly. Knox looked at him, puzzled.
Though they had known each other for a long time, it seemed Knox didn’t know all of Eden’s family history.
The same went for Eden. He looked as though he had zero interest in Knox’s family affairs.
I recalled what Eden had told me before. He said he thought his father was a great man, but he wasn’t.
“My father is a great man. At least, that’s what I believed growing up until five years ago.”
“He simply doesn’t get blood on his own hands, but he’s involved in all sorts of crimes and illegal incidents.”
“Is that why you became a police officer?”
“I ran away in such a cowardly fashion.”
“It was a conscientious choice, wasn’t it? At least you didn’t look away. Unlike me.”
“I’m not that conscientious either. I couldn’t bring myself to take my father down, so I simply left and tried to atone elsewhere.”
Looking at them, it was clear Knox didn’t know Eden’s circumstances.
If so, did that mean I was the only person who knew Eden’s story and trauma?
It was a strange feeling. It felt like we had shared a bit of our inner selves. Of course, there was no way Eden would think that deeply into it.
I glanced back and forth between them and said,
“At least Sir Eden and Mr. Rudfercher have living parents. Right now, it’s just that their whereabouts are unknown; there’s still hope they might be alive.”
The two men looked at me. I read a fleeting moment of sympathy in their eyes. I shrugged and replied.
“I’ve been alone for a long time. Take comfort in that.”
To this, Knox offered a small rebuttal.
“I truly have no interest in the well-being of the people I call my family. Besides, if the alternative is turning into one of those monsters, I think dying as a human is a blessing.”
“That’s true enough.”
Eden rarely agreed with Knox, but he did so now.
I knew he was the youngest son of the Rudfercher family and had been raised with privilege, so why was Knox so indifferent toward his family?
However, I wasn’t interested enough in him to touch upon such a sensitive subject, so I let it slide.
In the meantime, we had climbed quite high, and Happy House was visible in the distance.
“We’re finally here.”
Eden and Knox stepped up behind me.
“Most of the monsters are gone. Using the catapults seems to have been a wise move.”
Eden said to me.
Knox, who was staring intently at the mansion in the distance, tossed a question my way.
“Those catapults… they’re the ones those contractors were installing on the roof last time, right? But why on earth did you build something like that?”
Knox looked at me with genuine curiosity. Another difficult question.
“Shall we talk once we’re inside the mansion?”
I let go of Knox’s arm. Then, with the hand not holding the lantern, I drew the axe tucked into my back.
There weren’t many, but there were still a few monsters wandering around the estate.
