Chapter 67
Even if Knox being here didn’t prevent it, it meant that while the specific details might shift, the broad strokes of the original plot remained unchanged.
Lost in thought, I finally spoke up.
“I’ve taken you all in because I’m generous, but if you’re going to stay here, everyone has to pull more than their own weight.”
In an emergency like this, just doing one’s part wasn’t enough. Everyone had to go above and beyond.
Knox nodded, as if it were a simple request.
“I’ll tell you more about the Elpinus herb. You were curious about how to cultivate it, weren’t you?”
“I could have told her how to grow Elpinus myself.”
“Amy Wharton, don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re only staying here temporarily too.”
Watching Amy talk back to Knox, I gave her a sharp look. At that, Amy looked up at me with those Puss-in-Boots eyes again.
“Sister, are you really going to throw me out?”
“The little lady is a fox. She knows exactly who to cling to for survival. Are you discriminating against us in favor of Miss Cherry right now?”
Knox asked Amy playfully. Amy looked at him as if he were stating the obvious.
“Of course. The survival instinct of all living things is to kneel before the strong.”
Whether they were having that conversation or not, I focused on buffing the surface of an eggshell until it shone. Then, I poked a hole in it and downed the raw egg in one go.
Suddenly, the surroundings went silent. All three of them were staring at me as I ate. I tilted my head at their gaze.
“What? Why? You want an egg?”
When I held out the egg I was holding, all three shook their heads simultaneously.
“Didn’t you just take that out? My sister has a bit of a cruel streak.”
“Eating a raw egg… and a fresh one at that, straight from the shell…”
Following Amy, Knox muttered with a look of disbelief, seemingly quite shocked.
“I didn’t eat the shell. I poked a hole.”
I showed them the hole in the egg. Knox shook his head as if that wasn’t the point.
“Have you never tried a raw egg?”
“Isn’t it more strange to have tried one?”
“You all haven’t been hungry enough yet.”
“It sounds very strange hearing that coming from the Sinclair heiress.”
That was true. I was Cherry Sinclair.
Usually, I’d have soft-boiled eggs for brunch, but no member of the high nobility ate fresh eggs raw like this.
“I’ve tried it.”
Eden approached me and picked up an egg from my lap. He looked at me as if asking for permission. When I nodded, he polished the shell, poked a hole with his fingernail, and downed it just as I had.
Amy and Knox watched Eden with a shudder. They looked exactly alike, like a father and daughter. Knox, watching Eden, spoke to Amy.
“To be honest, in terms of pure survival skills, a Lancaster is no joke. I’ll admit he’s good for more than just shooting things.”
Amy burst out laughing at Knox’s words.
“Pfft. ‘Shooting things.’ Why is your word choice like that? It’s so uncool.”
Knox looked irritably at Amy, who was clutching her stomach with laughter.
“Ha… Is this how kids talk these days? No manners at all.”
Knox sighed, brushing his hair back from his forehead. I listened quietly and then took Amy’s side.
“To be fair, the word choice was a bit uncool.”
“Miss Cherry, you’re hurting my feelings.”
“Do you all have a lot of free time? The villagers might raid us any minute.”
Eden cut off our conversation bluntly. I locked eyes with Knox for a moment and shrugged. Then, I quietly put the eggs into the basket I had left by the coop, sat back down, and began tying up bundles of firewood.
It was Knox who answered Eden.
“Free time? It’s because we all trust Miss Cherry. You said you were confident.”
“I was confident because Sir Eden is here.”
I replied, glancing at Eden. Amy was too young, and Knox was far from a combatant. That meant Eden was the only one I could rely on for physical force.
Then, Eden asked me tentatively.
“By the way, Miss Cherry, you said there was someone you wanted to find too.”
“That’s right. There is.”
“If it’s someone Miss Cherry wants to find, it must be the lawyer, Harrison Howard.”
Since it was the truth, I didn’t deny Knox’s words. At that, Amy, who had been listening silently, reacted with surprise.
“Gasp. You know people like lawyers too? …Well, this mister was a doctor.”
Amy looked at Knox with a new sense of realization. Knox, who was sucking on a lollipop, gave a bright smile. He looked like someone who was well aware of his own importance.
When Amy told him he was being greasy, Knox wiped the smile off his face and sighed. Leaving Knox alone, Amy stared at me. I asked her.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just thought you all really live in a different world.”
“This one truly lived in a different world. She lived a life that even nobles found fascinating.”
Eden said, gesturing toward me.
“And that’s why I was chased by Sir Eden.”
At my words, Eden looked at me with a face full of discontent, as if his chasing me had been perfectly justified.
Well, actually, he didn’t have much choice. I admit I was suspicious.
Then, Knox leaned toward us as if sharing a secret.
“I knew Lancaster would have followed Miss Cherry. Then did you also know that the woman with the axe at No. 61 Notium Street was Cherry?”
Eden and I both looked at him at the same time.
“How do you know that?”
At Eden’s question, Knox’s hand, which had been calmly sharpening a knife, stopped. He seemed to think for a moment, then a wide smirk spread across his lips.
“Ah. Is this one of those situations? Where I made a slip of the tongue?”
“Why are you so happy about a slip of the tongue? Are you a pervert?”
Despite my scolding, Knox burst out laughing, unbothered. Eden, who was sharpening a knife alongside him, stretched out his long leg and kicked Knox.
“You crazy bastard. I know Miss Cherry is the woman who swung the axe at No. 61 Notium Street. What I’m asking is how you know that.”
“Honestly, such unrefined language.”
Knox glared at Eden while brushing the dirt off his trousers. Eden continued to press him.
“Look here, Rudfercher. I only found out recently, but it looks like you knew since the moment you came down here?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. Miss Cherry coming out of No. 61 Notium Street. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Miss Cherry, I would have just confirmed the facts as the consulting physician and gone straight back to the capital. Why else would I stay in a rural village like this if not for her?”
“As a person from this rural village, that makes me feel very strange.”
Amy, who had been listening quietly, chimed in. Of course, Knox and Eden didn’t seem to care.
Regardless, I narrowed my eyes, mulling over Knox’s statement.
The reason the sub-male lead of The Ruined Love came down to Brunel Village, unlike in the original story, was actually because of me. In the end, I had changed everything.
‘Is that why the world is ending sooner than scheduled?’
To be honest, it was a very plausible theory.
From now on, some of the things destined to happen would remain the same, while others would not happen at all or would occur in a different form.
‘…I can’t obsess over the original story.’
I should just think of it as having seen a reference book in advance. The reference book and the actual exam are strictly different.
When I thought about it, the same went for Eden. Just because he possessed the virus antibodies didn’t mean I had to obsess over him.
‘If I do that, my life might really end up on the line.’
What would be the point of anything if I died before the cure was even developed?
With Knox’s words, a long silence fell between us.
Amy, sensing the atmosphere, quickly spoke up as she set down the bundle of firewood she was holding.
“I’m done. Should this be enough?”
About ten bundles of firewood were piled up next to Amy. As she said, that was plenty.
When it came time to face the villagers directly, it was better to use weapons like Eden’s gun, a crossbow, or an axe.
“Preparations are finished.”
Knox stood up, sliding his well-sharpened swords into their sheaths. I watched him for a moment before turning to Eden.
Eden, who had also stood up, was organizing his weapons.
“Sir Eden.”
“Yes?”
Eden looked up at my call. His eyes met mine as he slowly straightened his posture.
The cloak hanging from one of his shoulders fluttered in the wind. Even in this situation, he looked quite dashing.
