Chapter 92
The road to Westmore was blocked.
I recalled the coachman who had been heading to the capital earlier, mentioning he had to turn back because the way through Westmore was shut down.
This was definitely something I’d heard just before the world ended.
[I can’t stay long… crackle—I have to go… They can’t find me. bzzzt—I can’t get out from here, but from your side, Westmore… crackle—a way to break through… static—isn’t there one?]
“What’s the situation there? Who are ‘they’? Are you really okay?”
[Ah, I can hear you a bit better now. Can you hear me? Officially, I’m a dead person here. Someone is trying to kill me.]
“What?”
Eden asked back, startled.
Hearing that, I thought of the soldiers who had come to kidnap Eden, posing as the Royal Army.
The siblings of the Duke of Lancaster’s family were both being threatened with their lives…
[Don’t worry too much. His Highness Theodore is a capable man. And, Brother, I have one last thing to ask you…]
As the connection improved, the voice over the receiver became a bit clearer than before.
Aurora hesitated, trailing off as if she were nervous. In turn, both Eden and I held our breath, waiting for her next words.
[Brother, are you really in that kind of relationship with Cherry Sinclair?]
“……What?”
“Excuse me?”
Flustered, I forgot to keep quiet and blurted out the question along with Eden, our voices nearly a scream.
Harrison, who had been silently watching us, simply shook his head.
[Oh? What was that? I just heard a woman’s voice. Is that Cherry Sinclair? Oh my god, heavens!]
“You misheard. And I have no relationship with Cherry Sinclair whatsoever.”
Eden answered firmly. He was so adamant that I almost felt a pang of disappointment.
I mean, of course it was true that we were nothing to each other, but still…
Aurora’s voice over the phone sounded incredibly serious. She truly meant it.
Eden glanced at me, then sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead, lost in thought.
[Ah, right. I can’t talk for long. I think I’m about to be discovered. I have to move.]
“What? Discovered? By whom?”
[When you come to the capital, come to Grayden Castle. There’s a dead tree by the eastern wall of the castle. If you dig well beneath that tree, you’ll find a door. If you go down there, there are stairs that lead into the castle. We’re all staying in the Head Chamberlain’s building.]
“I’m asking who is going to discover you—”
[Oh, but you haven’t seen Father, have you? I’m so worried about whether he’s alive.]
“I haven’t seen Father either. But knowing him, he’s definitely alive.”
[Honestly, I thought so too. He has a bit of a villainous side, so I didn’t think he’d die easily. You have that villainous vibe too, Brother, just like him. I knew you’d be alive.]
“Hey. How can you say that… No, never mind. More importantly, who is searching for you—”
[Oh my, Brother. I really have to go. I’m hanging up. Oh, and make sure to bring Cherry Sinclair. You aren’t going to be ungentlemanly and leave a lady behind, are you?]
“Hey. Aurora! Hello? Hello?!”
Beep—beep—beep—beep—
The call was cut off.
“Damn it, she just says what she wants and then…”
Eden let out a hollow laugh, staring at the receiver in disbelief. Even as he spoke, it was clear he was relieved.
Aurora really was a chatterbox. Truly. On top of that, she tended to talk over people and only say what she wanted; if you stayed in a conversation with her, you’d likely be swept away by her pace.
“What did she say about the situation in the capital?”
Harrison, who had been watching us, asked. Only then did Eden set the receiver and mouthpiece down properly and turn toward Harrison and me.
“It seems the road is blocked at Westmore, and the people in the capital are unable to get out.”
At Eden’s words, Harrison’s face immediately turned grave.
And for good reason. The capital, Benton, was both a magnificent fortress and a naturally isolated city.
Aside from the massive, rugged Rubilt Mountains guarding the north, it was surrounded on three sides by the Rid River.
There were three great bridges over the Rid River: one led to the western sea port, and the other two both led toward Westmore.
In other words, Westmore was essentially the gateway and trade route to the capital, Benton.
Then, Harrison spoke up.
“I came from Westmore myself, and they were certainly controlling the roads starting from there. I don’t know the details, but I suspect something happened in Westmore.”
Hearing that, Eden rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
“It reminds me of the Westmore urban legend case.”
He tossed the words out as he pondered.
Only then did I remember the Westmore urban legend that Knox had mentioned before.
He’d said that every night, screams and the cries of beasts were heard from a mansion in Westmore. But there were no witnesses.
The mansion where the strange sounds were heard constantly was, in fact, empty.
I thought it over and voiced a doubt.
“Could those beast sounds have been made by these damn monsters?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Harrison shook his head. Eden, who had been quietly reflecting, looked up as if he had made a decision and declared his intent.
“The only way to know for sure is to go there ourselves.”
“Are you leaving?”
Finally?
I had been planning to persuade him to stay. I felt a little regretful. But what could I do when Aurora herself had called? It couldn’t be helped. I quickly pushed my feelings aside and looked at Eden.
At my question, Eden glanced down at me. Unlike me, his expression looked very complicated. Just as he opened his mouth to say something to me—
The door leading to the dungeon swung wide open. It was Emmy.
“Star Candy Sis! Emergency, emergency!”
Emmy rushed into the police station, making a huge fuss.
“I went hunting with Vanilla, and since we had some time left, I thought I’d try digging at the entrance to the underground passage. And guess what? I barely dug at all before the path opened right up!”
It seemed there really was a path there. After hearing Emmy’s report, Harrison spoke to me.
“I need to maintain control here, so please go explore the underground passage with Officer Eden. Officer Eden, you aren’t leaving this very second, are you?”
Eden nodded.
“Since the sun is setting, it’s best to just pack some light bags for today.”
“What, Grumpy Old Man is leaving? For the capital?”
Emmy looked up at Eden with surprised eyes. Eden gave her a smirk and asked.
“Why? You gonna miss me?”
“No. You’re coming back anyway.”
“What? You don’t know that.”
“No? You’ll come back.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because Star Candy Sis is here.”
Huh? What does that mean? I didn’t understand that last part either, so I looked at Emmy.
Emmy, on the contrary, looked like she was the one who didn’t understand us. She pointed back and forth between Eden and me and asked.
“Aren’t you two a team?”
“I wanted us to be a team, but Miss Cherry rejected my request to be partners.”
Eden, who had his arms crossed, gestured toward me as he spoke. Then, when our eyes met, he let out a short, soft laugh.
Lately, Eden seemed to laugh whenever he looked at my face. It was as if he were itching to pick some fun sort of fight.
Anyway, Eden had never actually asked me to be his partner. He’d just mentioned his wishful thinking that it would have been nice to scout me as a fellow police officer before the world ended.
But knowing that saying that here would only prolong the conversation, I spoke as firmly as possible.
“What does a ‘partner’ even mean in these times? Besides, I have very firm conditions for the partner I want.”
A brief silence followed my last words.
Eden looked surprised, as if it were an unexpected answer, and Emmy quickly leaned in to listen. Even Harrison, while pretending not to, seemed interested in what I was going to say next.
“And what are those conditions?”
Eden asked me, and I shrugged, answering nonchalantly.
“It has to be someone who can pluck the stars from the sky for me.”
That’s the level a partner of Cherry Sinclair should be. Of course, I didn’t literally mean they had to go get a star. It was a metaphor.
Silence fell once more. Everyone’s expression as they looked at me was the same: ’What kind of bullshit is this?’
But I was very serious. After a long pause, Eden spoke.
“Those damn stars again… As I thought, Miss Cherry is not normal either.”
“You know you’re not one to talk, Officer Eden.”
“Ha… Stop it, you two, and get going.”
Harrison gestured at us with a weary face. It was a motion that clearly said ‘get lost.’ He looked thoroughly fed up.
