Chapter 8
Eden pressed his boot down firmly onto the man’s palm.
“Aaargh!”
“You’re going to be handed over to the Benton Police Station anyway. I can guarantee there won’t be any torture if you speak up now.”
He said there wouldn’t be torture; he hadn’t said there wouldn’t be violence during the interrogation.
The man groaned and whimpered, seemingly agonizing over his decision. Eden waited calmly until the man opened his mouth.
Finally, the man spoke.
“I only heard that Cherry Sinclair left for Brunel today. It’s the truth!”
‘She left today? I missed her.’
But that was fine. He would go find her himself.
“Where is Brunel?”
“I-I don’t know. Only that it’s a small village without even a train station…”
No matter how much more he threatened or inflicted pain, he couldn’t extract any more information from the man. It truly seemed like he knew nothing else.
Eden had no choice but to hand him over to the police station and prepare to leave for Brunel himself.
‘Why would that Cherry Sinclair go to some countryside village without a train station? It doesn’t suit her at all. Even this is suspicious.’
Lately, all of Eden’s nerves were focused on the ‘Monster of Notium Street No. 61,’ the ‘owner of the C.S. brooch,’ the ‘smuggled firearms,’ and ‘Cherry Sinclair.’
In particular, Cherry Sinclair’s recent behavior had been so suspicious that it caught his eye even more.
At that point, Eden didn’t know that all the incidents he was concerned about were intertwined with Cherry Sinclair. He simply felt that he wouldn’t be satisfied until he confirmed things with Cherry herself regarding this case.
If the missing heiress of the Sinclair family really had ordered a large quantity of firearms, wouldn’t anyone be curious as to why?
Exceedingly so.
Time remaining until the end of the world: 19 days.
The only restaurant in Brunel Village.
Sitting on the terrace, I spread out yesterday’s newspaper—brought in from the neighboring town—since apparently, the people of Brunel don’t read the news much. (I liked that about this place, too.)
[Exclusive Report! Heiress Cherry Sinclair borrows 100 million gold for overseas business capital! What exactly is this non-existent overseas business…!]
As expected, my story was featured prominently in the paper again. Everyone seemed dying to know why on earth I had borrowed a massive sum like 100 million gold.
[Exclusive Report! The absence of Cherry Sinclair! Where is she now…? Currently verifying if it is an escape or a disappearance…]
‘Hmm, it’s more of an escape than a disappearance.’
Since I hadn’t been attending parties lately, the newspapers must have been bored, but that won’t be the case anymore.
Let them chatter all they want! Once the world ends, they won’t be able to play with their pens so excitedly anymore.
More than that, my head already ached thinking about Harrison nagging me once he found out about the loan. I folded the newspaper and looked outside while sipping my coffee.
I was looking out to see when Vanilla would arrive, but instead, I saw a man in a police uniform first. It was across from the restaurant, in front of the Brunel Police Station.
The man, who had been talking to another middle-aged officer, suddenly turned around.
The first thing that caught my eye was his beautiful blonde hair, which looked as if it were woven from gold thread.
Next were his blue eyes, which looked as cold as a winter lake. Below his sharp nose and red lips, I could see the collar of his uniform shirt fastened tight, looking almost suffocating.
He was a man who looked sexily sharp in his navy blue, structured police uniform.
‘Crazy. He’s handsome. Totally my style…’
That face felt familiar. It was strange.
Then, the officer I had seen in front of the mansion at Notium Street No. 61 flashed through my mind.
Aurora’s brother, Eden Duncan Lancaster!
‘Why is he here?!’
I remembered how he had kept calling the Sinclair mansion. Had he finally figured out that the person who killed the monster that day was Cherry Sinclair?
‘No wonder I had a bad feeling all day yesterday!’
Startled, I reflexively lowered my head, desperately trying to think of why Eden would be here. That’s when I saw him slowly walking toward me.
Entering the restaurant directly, he approached me as I sat on the terrace.
“Excuse me.”
“Ye—yes?”
I hadn’t expected him to talk to me, so I stammered like an idiot. Eden smirked as he looked at my face.
“There are no seats left. Mind if I join you?”
Snapping out of it at Eden’s question, I nodded with a flustered expression.
“What? Oh, yes, yes…”
It was definitely quiet when I came in; when did it get so crowded?
I looked behind me, but the restaurant was just as empty as when I first arrived.
‘What the hell is this? Is this a prank? Am I the only one who can’t see people?’
Since I’d already given him permission to sit, I couldn’t take it back. I let out a sigh.
‘Get it together, Cherry.’
Eden plopped down in the seat opposite me. Then, crossing his legs at an angle, he gave me a faint, ominous smile.
“I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while, but I didn’t expect to find you in a place like this.”
Eden, who had ordered an espresso, said while looking at me.
“Do you know me?”
“Cherry Sinclair is famous, isn’t she? Not a day goes by without your name appearing in the papers.”
The people in Brunel don’t really read the news, so they didn’t recognize me. Besides, it’s not like my photo was in the paper every time.
“…I see. I suppose I am a bit famous.”
It would be quite troublesome if this guy spread rumors that I was here.
‘Should I look for another village even now?’
But there wasn’t much time left for that.
Eden, who had been staring at my face, suddenly reached out his hand and introduced himself.
“I’m late with my introduction, Lady. I’m Eden Duncan Lancaster, an investigator with the Benton Police Headquarters.”
Yes, I know very well.
He’s a man with a persistent nature; once he’s hooked on something, he never lets go. In Benton, they said no criminal ever escaped once he set his sights on them. That’s how he got the nickname ‘Benton’s Mad Dog.’
Surely that trait hasn’t been triggered by me, right?
Could he have realized that I’m the owner of the brooch?
“My goodness, how surprising. Eden Duncan Lancaster? You’re the one I know, right? The one who appears in the papers often.”
I tried my best to look composed as I placed my hand on his outstretched one. I expected him to kiss the back of my hand in the noble fashion, but Eden shook it up and down.
I showed a bit of embarrassment, but Eden didn’t care.
Unfortunately for me, his personality was by no means good. Even in the original novel, he was described as having such a foul temper that he was easily disliked by people. This was despite the fact that he was specialized for survival and had high combat power, saving many people’s lives.
“I’m curious what brings the famous Sir Eden all the way out here.”
“It’s nothing compared to Lady Sinclair’s reputation. What brings a lady like you to a countryside village like this, of all places?”
Eden naturally tossed the question back to me. I thought quickly.
“I’m looking for a villa.”
I answered with a suitable excuse.
Eden’s eyebrow twitched. The idea of looking for a villa in a village that had absolutely nothing must have been out of the blue. As expected, he looked at me with a gaze filled with slight absurdity.
“Then you should also explain why you’re here, Sir Eden.”
“I’ve been reassigned.”
“What? Reassigned? To this countryside village?”
In my shock, I failed to control my expression. That was because his excuse was even more pathetic than mine.
“Sir Eden, you’re a Lancaster. You’re someone destined for an elite path straight to the Commissioner’s seat; for what reason would you be reassigned to a village like this? Have the people at headquarters lost their minds?”
If it was true, it was a disaster. Didn’t that mean I might have to be in this village with him until the end of the world?!
‘There was definitely nothing like this in the novel?!’
Eden was supposed to stay quietly by Aurora’s side in the capital and face the end of the world there. He needed to be next to the protagonist, Aurora, to stay safe and create the cure.
‘Ah, did this happen because I acted differently from the original story?’
If that was the case, I had a responsibility to send Eden back to the capital. Or I would have to protect him myself until the scientist male lead appeared.
‘…No, wait. Are you crazy, Cherry? Definitely not the latter. Protecting Eden Lancaster? How can you even imagine something so horrifying?’
Having to protect Eden until I found the scientist male lead, Ezra… I couldn’t take on such a bothersome task. Let’s not even imagine protecting Eden.
I slapped my own cheeks. Eden’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched me.
“You seem quite shocked.”
With an embarrassed face, I cleared my throat and replied.
“Ahem, anyway, it’s strange. You being here.”
“I don’t think it’s any stranger than Cherry Sinclair coming to a countryside village that isn’t even a resort town to get a villa.”
I had nothing to say because he was right. Still, I replied while feigning as much indifference as possible.
“Aside from that, you didn’t answer my question. Why were you reassigned here?”
“I thought I’d try to build up some results?”
“In this tiny village? It doesn’t seem like there would be many incidents.”
Was this a situation like a chairman’s son joining a company through the back door because he wanted to learn the business from the ground up?
“We’ll have to wait and see if there really are no incidents. I have a lot of patience. I’m good at waiting.”
As he said that, Eden stared intently at my face.
Damn it, maybe it was because I had a guilty conscience, but every single word felt like it had a hidden meaning. It felt exactly as if he knew something. I couldn’t figure out his ulterior motive at all.
‘…Right, let’s not panic too much. He’ll return to the capital before the end anyway. Aurora is still there.’
Even after reaching that tentative conclusion, I was still looking at him with an uneasy face when someone approached us.
“Are you the one who purchased the mansion on the hill?”
