The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

Only then did he speak.

"I'm protesting."

"A protest about what?"

Ethan glanced briefly at Harrison, who was standing behind me. I heard Harrison let out an annoyed sigh as he noticed Ethan. I turned to Harrison, sensing that he might know something.

"What’s going on?"

"I advised him not to leave his room," Harrison replied, scratching his cheek awkwardly.

Hmm, well, Ethan is a patient, so it’s not unreasonable to suggest he stay in his room. But is that really something to warrant such an obvious protest?

"Preferably forever. He keeps pestering you, Miss, and it’s quite bothersome," Harrison added.

Of course, as soon as I heard Harrison’s follow-up, I immediately corrected my thoughts. Harrison had a tendency to become terrifyingly protective whenever it came to matters involving me.

Nox, standing nearby, smoked a cigarette while watching us with a face full of curiosity and amusement.

Naturally, Ethan ignored Harrison’s words entirely and spoke to me.

"When someone tells you not to come out, it only makes you want to come out more. I’m in a tough spot here, Miss Cherry. I want your attention, but someone keeps interfering."

"And yet, you told me not to enter your room before. You even put up warning signs."

"...That was my arrogance speaking. I apologize. I didn’t think you’d actually stay out."

"Just get up already."

"Because someone keeps getting in the way of our relationship, I have to hear your answer here and now, Miss Cherry," Ethan said, abruptly sitting up. Then, with a deliberate shrug, he looked directly at Harrison.

"I don’t want to be apart from Miss Cherry for even a moment. I’m afflicted with an illness that makes it impossible for me to live without her. What am I supposed to do?"

Cough. Harrison, apparently shocked by Ethan’s blunt statement, began to choke as if something had gone down the wrong pipe.

Harrison’s face turned bright red as he took a step toward Ethan, but before he could do anything, Jose and Victor grabbed each of his arms.

"Please, calm down, Counselor!"

Harrison hadn’t even done anything yet, but everyone was already overreacting.

Ethan snorted and smiled brightly at me.

"Have you thought it over? I’ve told you I’m offering my body and soul to you, Miss Cherry. All you need to do is accept."

The onlookers watched us with faces brimming with curiosity and excitement, as if they were witnessing a live performance of a melodrama.

Finally, Nox stepped in and dispersed the crowd. In the end, only Nox, Ethan, a somewhat calmer Harrison, and I remained in the lobby.

I looked at Ethan with an incredulous expression.

Had he really gone mad? Ever since discovering his immunity, he’d been acting increasingly strange. Confessing to me was the peak of his eccentricity.

"If you just accept me, I’ll take care of everything else," he said.

What on earth was he talking about? I stared at him silently, not bothering to respond. Then Ethan slyly grabbed my hand and began kneading it like dough.

"Is your entire body this soft, Miss Cherry? Everything I touch feels so tender."

With that, he pulled my hand closer, resting his cheek against the back of it while smiling blissfully. Like a cat demanding to be petted, he radiated shameless mischief.

I cautiously grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

"Sir Ethan... please, get a hold of yourself."

"I’ll stop if you just give me an answer."

"Fine, now get up."

At last, Ethan stood up abruptly. With a radiant smile, he pulled me into a tight embrace.

"You promised. From now on, I’m yours, Miss Cherry."

Ethan grinned slyly, his gaze shifting behind me. Curious, I turned to see Harrison, restrained by Nox, struggling and wriggling furiously.

The moment Harrison met my eyes, he froze.

He looked utterly devastated, as though the entire world had crumbled around him. For a moment, he resembled a father who’d just lost his daughter.

"Miss...!" Harrison called out.

I pushed Ethan away and stepped out of his embrace, letting out a deep sigh. Harrison was overreacting, too. I wasn’t a seven-year-old child.

‘With monsters swarming outside, everyone’s acting ridiculous.’

I resolved to begin a rigorous overhaul of Happy House starting tomorrow.

Chapter 29: A Visitor Arrives

A gentle rain was falling.

"I can’t believe this mansion even has such a supply of raincoats. Is there anything this place doesn’t have?" Michelle and Emma murmured in amazement, pulling their hoods tightly over their heads. I merely smiled in response.

While I’d stocked plenty of umbrellas, there were just enough for three people with a few extras. Combined with the raincoats, we had just enough for everyone at Happy House.

Wearing raincoats, Susanna and I harvested potatoes together. Nearby, Harrison, Emma, and Michelle were picking peas.

Kwaaaak!

Grrrrrr!

The cries of monsters echoed from beyond the mansion walls.

Ever since the mutated monster incident, more and more monsters had gathered around the mansion, refusing to disperse.

Michelle glanced nervously beyond the walls. Emma and Susanna patted her back reassuringly, calming her down.

Just like when Ethan, Nox, and I were first trapped in this mansion, the place was surrounded by monsters, making it impossible to leave through the front gate.

Heading down to Brunel Village was out of the question. From the lookout tower, it seemed a few monsters were wandering through the village, too.

Fortunately, thanks to the thorough training I’d given the villagers beforehand, no one had carelessly ventured outside and drawn the monsters’ attention.

As a result, most of the monsters appeared to assume there was no food in the village, lingering only around Happy House.

While it was possible to reach the village through the police station, there wasn’t much food left there, so there was no need to risk it.

‘It’d only arouse suspicion anyway.’

The underground passage in the police station was meticulously locked with a key whenever we used it, and it hadn’t been revealed to the villagers yet.

"It doesn’t look like a typhoon is coming," I remarked, pausing in the middle of harvesting potatoes to glance up at the gloomy sky. If it was going to rain, it should pour already. This constant drizzle was just making everything damp. Sigh.

"Uncle Victor has an incredible talent for predicting the weather. They say he’s been right about almost every forecast so far. He said the sky’s movements are unusual," Susanna said as she placed the harvested potatoes into a basket. Watching me struggle with the rake, she approached with a concerned expression and skillfully began digging out the potatoes.

"Our young lady isn’t meant to do this kind of work," she muttered with a distressed look as she held my gloved hand. Well, she wasn’t wrong—I wasn’t the type to do this sort of thing.

‘I want to go shopping. I want to drink milk. I want to attend a party.’

But there was no choice now.

"Sir Ethan is staying in his room, right?" I asked.

Harrison nodded reluctantly.

"He said he’ll behave and follow your instructions because you made him a promise, Miss."

A promise, huh? All I did was accept that his body and heart were now ‘mine.’

‘What kind of nonsense is that anyway? Not like I could really have him.’

Clicking my tongue, I shook my head.

"If he goes wandering outside again, I’ll lock him up for real this time."

At my words, Harrison nodded with a determined expression, his eyes gleaming.

Nox had been exhausted after days of caring for Ethan, so I told him to rest in his room. Vanilla was also injured, which meant we didn’t have many people who could move around freely.

Jose was digging the underground passage, Amy was standing guard, and Victor was preparing lunch.

"Well, if Harrison’s quietly digging, I should do my part too."

"It’s natural to do your share of the work. But you’re different, Miss. You’re the owner of this place. We’re all alive thanks to you," Harrison replied with a sigh, his glasses fogging up from the damp air.

Emma, Susanna, and Michelle nodded vigorously in agreement. Michelle, who had been hesitating until now, cautiously asked me a question.

"But Miss, how did someone as famous as you end up buying a mansion like this?"

As the wind picked up, the drizzle splashed against my face. I wiped the moisture away with my palm and answered.

"It’s a hobby."

"Excuse me?" Michelle blinked in confusion.

"My life was filled with nothing but money, so I wanted to find a unique form of entertainment. Turns out it’s come in handy now."

It was something I’d once said to Nox as well.

The three women looked at me with wide, admiring eyes.

"You’re amazing, Miss."

"Honestly, given the situation across all of Greydon, Happy House is probably the best shelter out there."

"Exactly. I’m so lucky to have met you, Miss," Emma and Michelle added after Susanna’s praise.

Only Harrison, who knew the real reason I purchased the mansion, looked at me with a significant expression.

As they said, Happy House’s survival capacity was indeed impressive when compared to the rest of Greydon.

Of course, I didn’t know much about the southern region, but at least in the northern part, where the capital was located, that was true—according to the events in Woven Love, anyway.

‘Benton and Hondorf were awful.’

If Happy House were to get involved in a survival camp base war, it would have a fairly high chance of success.

"Has Kellyan made any moves? I’m thinking of sending Charlie out tomorrow," I asked.

Harrison nodded.

"We haven’t begun proper interrogation yet, but if you give the order, we can start anytime," he whispered seriously, as if he were ready to cut off one of Kellyan’s hands at a moment’s notice.

"Kellyan claims he doesn’t know why Westmoor wants Ethan, but I think he at least knows what they plan to do with him once they get him," I said, pulling up a potato plant and brushing the soil away gently with a rake to reveal well-grown potatoes.

"Looking at him, though, he doesn’t seem like the type to spill under torture. Isn’t there a more effective method?" I asked Harrison, though I couldn’t think of any better ideas myself.

Then it struck me—what Kellyan wanted was ‘Ethan.’ I leaned in and whispered softly so only Harrison could hear.

"Should we hold a funeral for Sir Ethan?"