Chapter 65
“I’m actually getting plenty of sleep, thanks to Lady Cherry. I just want to finish what I need to do so I can get a handle on the situation. And maybe draw up some plans.”
While he spoke, Eden sat slumped in a nearby chair with his legs propped up on the table, watching Emmy.
His hands were resting casually over his lower abdomen, positioned so he could reach for his revolver at any moment.
Knox pulled some medical supplies out of the bag I had brought and checked them over before turning to stare at me. A hint of surprise was etched on his face.
“I’ve been thinking this since I first woke up here, but you really have everything, don’t you?”
“……I was in the middle of turning it into a villa. I planned to stay here for about two years without stepping a foot outside.”
“A villa. A villa… Yes, right. A villa.”
Knox responded dismissively, his face clearly showing he didn’t believe a word I said.
Of course, it wasn’t just Knox; Eden didn’t seem to believe it either. They knew exactly what kind of person Cherry Sinclair was.
On the other hand, Emmy, who didn’t know much about me, looked on with sparkling eyes.
“I heard you were a famous person in the capital. Just how incredible are you? To furnish a grand mansion like this not even as a home, but as a villa.”
“Is this a grand mansion? Not a ruin?”
Knox looked incredulous as he wiped Emmy’s wounds clean with a wet towel.
“Lady Sinclair is someone who could buy more than a hundred ruins like this with just her personal pocket money. She is the wealthiest person in Grayden. You shouldn’t be surprised by something this small, Lady Wharton.”
“Huh? Is that true?”
Emmy’s jaw dropped as she shouted, looking at me. Somehow, there was a hint of admiration in her eyes.
Well, it’s true, but what does it matter? The world has ended, and wealth has become pretty much useless.
“I think it’s time we asked some questions, don’t you?”
Eden interrupted our conversation. Emmy shut her mouth, looking like her fun had been spoiled. Regardless of her reaction, Eden began his interrogation.
“Answer while you’re being treated. How did you get here?”
This time, Knox didn’t object to Eden’s questioning.
“I saw her carrying the doctor on her back. I was hiding in a second-floor room at the inn.”
As Knox applied disinfectant to the wound on Emmy’s face, she winced and frowned at the sting.
“I saw the lights come on in this ruin. I’d also heard rumors that she was decorating this place in a strange way. The villagers I was hiding with were gossiping about it. When I heard that, I thought, ‘If I go there, I might live.’”
Eden, who had been listening quietly to her answer, asked, “Have you ever learned swordsmanship?”
“No.”
“Have you been trained in any sports?”
“How is a poor commoner who barely gets by on pickpocketing and herb gathering supposed to learn sports?”
“Your movements are unusual. Where did you learn to move like that, then?”
“I never learned. When you’re climbing the rugged Pelinum Mountains to dig up herbs, stuff like that is nothing.”
Just how far did she go and what kind of herbs was she picking? Everyone must have been thinking the same thing, as both Eden and Knox stared at Emmy, momentarily lost for words.
Regardless, Emmy didn’t seem to care and grabbed my hand, pleading.
“Can’t you take me in? I’ll be your footstool.”
“Cough.”
Knox, who was tending to her wounds, let out a dry cough as if flustered. I narrowed my eyes, horrified. What on earth is this girl saying?
“I don’t need a footstool. I wash my own feet.”
“Then I’ll be your maid.”
“I don’t need one. I only have one maid.”
Suddenly, Susanna’s face flashed in my mind, and I grew somber. My chest felt tight, as if something were stuck there.
Emmy, who had been continuously gauging my reaction, spoke in a small voice.
“If you don’t want a maid, then a slave……”
“I don’t need a slave either. If you have nowhere to go, stay here for the time being. As I said, only for the time being. You told me about the Elpinus, so I’m returning the favor.”
If it hadn’t been for Emmy, I wouldn’t have known that Elpinus was stuck in the gate, nor that the monsters went crazy for its scent.
This was vital information, and for that alone, Emmy earned her stay at my mansion. For the time being, of course.
‘Food is too scarce for many people to stay.’
As I thought that, I decided I should prepare for the possibility of this happening again in the future.
I needed to establish rules for when to take in new people or for unexpected situations.
And then, Emmy delivered another piece of shocking news.
“The villagers are planning to take over this place. They might attack soon.”
“Hey, kid. Why are you just telling us that now?”
“Don’t call me a kid, you old geezer.”
Eden and Emmy began another staring contest. Having finished the treatment just in time, Knox packed away the medical supplies.
“What do you mean, the villagers are trying to take over? Why on earth?”
At my question, Emmy looked down at her wounds, which were neatly covered with gauze, and answered.
“Why else? Because this mansion looks useful. Like I said, everyone saw you rescue the doctor and head up to the ruin. So, I guess they all think it’s safe here. And they said you hoarded daily necessities before the downfall, so they have to seize them.”
For God’s sake. Well, it wasn’t that I hadn’t anticipated this kind of situation at all, but having it actually happen made the curses slip out.
I asked Emmy again.
“So. When are the villagers coming?”
“I don’t know. I just left on my own because it was so ridiculous to listen to.”
“A crowd full of people who don’t even notice a kid leaving… I can guess their level. Their combat power must be pathetic.”
Emmy didn’t deny Eden’s muttering. Along with his displeasure, Eden’s face showed a faint excitement at the prospect of an upcoming battle.
“I guess the villagers really underestimated Lady Cherry? I don’t think they could beat her even if they all came at once.”
“Don’t be ridiculous… Do you think I’m some kind of superhero?”
I retorted with an incredulous look. Eden asked what a superhero was. After I briefly explained that it was like a hero with abnormal powers, Knox spoke up.
“Lady Cherry, what are you going to do?”
At Knox’s question, I stopped talking and thought it over carefully.
“Of course, my goal was to survive here quietly on my own, but……”
I trailed off for a moment and glanced at the people watching me. Perhaps because I was the owner of this mansion, Knox and Eden always prioritized my opinion.
“Of course, I can’t just stand by while they try to steal my mansion. Do you know what kind of hell I went through to build this place…!”
“True, I saw firsthand the hell you went through while repairing this mansion.”
“That’s for sure. You looked less like a Sinclair heiress and more like a tenacious country girl.”
At Eden’s response, Knox whispered to him as if sharing a secret. Of course, I heard every word, so it was pointless.
Emmy, who had been listening blankly to our conversation, voiced a chilling question.
“Nobody seems nervous.”
Knox and Eden looked at me simultaneously. I shrugged and asked Emmy.
“How many villagers are there in total?”
“From what I saw before I left, ten.”
“What’s the gender ratio?”
“Six women and four men.”
“That should be fine.”
The reason I wasn’t nervous was that, as Eden said, I was confident I could win against such a ragtag group.
It might be a bit taxing, but with six women and four men, it was a fight worth taking. Especially if they were rural villagers who had never even held a sword.
In the first place, it wouldn’t be easy for them to even approach Happy House. Happy House was on the outskirts of Brunel Village, and they would have to climb the hill while fending off monsters, so there was no guarantee all ten would make it up safely.
‘If I’m going to be nervous, it should be about facing Prince Lloyd’s or Crown Prince Theodore’s survival camps.’
The two largest survival camps that appeared in the original work were both in the capital.
One was the 1st Survival Camp at the Royal Palace, created by Crown Prince Theodore. And the other was the 2nd Survival Camp, created by the Crown Prince’s younger brother and greatest rival, Prince Lloyd.
Didn’t I mention it? The original novel, <Ruined Love>, was a game of territorial expansion, with Aurora swallowing up survival camps one by one as she grew her power.
Aurora should be at the Royal Palace survival camp with Crown Prince Theodore by now, and she will likely absorb Prince Lloyd’s camp before long.
‘Compared to that, the business here is very easy.’
Besides, don’t I have Knox, the sub-male lead with as much weight as the main lead, and Eden, the most capable individual in the world of <Ruined Love>, right here with me?
I smiled as I looked at Knox, Eden, and Emmy.
“Then, shall we make a simple plan?”
