The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

Ethan looked at me with an expression that said, Here we go again.

“What kind of bizarre thing are you planning this time…?”

Trailing off, he suddenly shook his head and let out a sigh. Startled, I glanced around nervously and gave him a quick jab in the side.

“That sounds weird. Anyone listening would think I’m actually some kind of lunatic.”

“You’re not weird. You’re just ridiculous.”

“…What’s the difference between the two words?”

“The first means there’s something seriously wrong with you, and the second means you just seem entertaining.”

Ethan answered with a completely straight face, as if he genuinely believed what he was saying.

You’re the one who seems weirder to me, I thought.

At that moment, the older man turned toward me and asked,

“But miss, you look like a noble lady. What exactly do you plan to do with a chicken?”

This time, even Ethan looked at me curiously. Without batting an eye, I stared at both of them and replied,

“What else? I’m going to raise it. It’s my dream. A pet chicken—doesn’t that sound amazing?”

A brief silence fell over us. The older man and Ethan stared at me with expressions that said they had no words left.@@novelbin@@

Ethan’s eyes practically screamed, See? You’re strange. Lately, it seemed like he was communicating more with his eyes than with his mouth.

Ignoring them, I walked out of the restaurant and waved at Ethan.

“Anyway, Sir Ethan, I don’t need your help. I’m strong.”

Of course, neither the farmer nor Ethan believed that. Not until they saw it with their own eyes.

*****

Ethan was casually sitting on the dirt ground in Happy House’s garden, watching me carry supplies without a hint of concern.

I hoisted a portable wooden chicken coop holding five chickens with one hand.

And then—damn it—I realized too late. I was supposed to hide my unnatural strength from Ethan. He mustn’t connect this to the incident at 61 Notium Street.

But thinking about it, this isn’t the first time I’ve shown off my strength.

Maybe he wouldn’t link my brute strength to 61 Notium Street after all.

It probably just meant his image of me was already firmly set in his mind. Not a positive image, of course.

At that moment, Ethan glanced toward the farmer, as if reading my thoughts, then stepped closer to me. With a serious expression and a low voice, he asked,

“Are you, by any chance, impersonating Cherry Sinclair? Or were you threatened into acting as her substitute?”

The farmer was busy hammering away at a chicken coop in the corner of the garden. I set the portable coop down and turned to Ethan.

“Do you hear yourself right now?”

“And you raising chickens makes sense?”

“Respect my hobbies, will you?”

“Then what’s with your strength? From what I’ve heard, Cherry Sinclair is supposed to be delicate.”

“Brute strength isn’t exactly a virtue for high-society women. Of course, I kept it hidden.”

Ethan accepted that explanation immediately.

“Well, I suppose you always did want to be a noble lady.”

My pounding heart finally began to calm. As expected, Ethan didn’t even consider the possibility that I was the woman he’d met that day.

“Yeah, yeah. Now stop with the questions already.”

Brushing him off, I opened the mansion’s front door. Several unpacked bags were piled at the entrance.

Since the farmer was still busy building the chicken coop, I figured I might as well unpack and opened one of the bags—only for Ethan’s voice to sound behind me.

“You must really like cricket.”

He’d commented after seeing what I pulled out. Why did this guy stick to me like glue?

Sure enough, inside the bag was a steel cricket bat. It was probably Susanna’s doing.

And right next to the cricket bat… was an axe.

…Oh, hell. It was the axe I’d used to kill monsters during the 61 Notium Street incident.

“W-Why is this even in here?”

I quickly shoved the axe back into the bag, glancing nervously at Ethan.

But before I could even process my panic, a scream rang out from the garden.

“Ahhh! Aaaahhh!”

No, not the garden—from the gate.

Ethan and I locked eyes before sprinting outside without another word.

“Wait.”

I froze mid-step, suddenly realizing I needed a weapon. I turned back to grab the axe but hesitated.

No, this won’t work.

If I used the axe, Ethan might remember the incident at 61 Notium Street! Instead, I grabbed the cricket bat and rushed outside.

Bang!

The farmer had collapsed near the gate, and beyond him loomed a massive monster.

Its towering frame, easily over 2 meters tall, was covered in thick fur. At a glance, it resembled a bear, but its head was unmistakably human.

My mind blanked. Shit. I should’ve brought the axe!

“What the hell is that?”

I heard Ethan curse under his breath beside me.

Antibodies against the virus didn’t mean we couldn’t die. That meant I had to act before Ethan did. I was stronger, after all.

Shoving past Ethan, I sprinted toward the monster. It was slowly advancing on the fallen farmer.

“Wait, Cherry!”

Ignoring Ethan’s shout, I charged forward and swung the bat directly at the monster’s open mouth.

Thwack!

With a heavy thud, the monster flew backward and crashed into the mansion’s wall.

I frowned as I stared at the monster convulsing on the ground. Thank God Susanna had packed a cricket bat made of steel, not wood.

While thinking that, I turned my head and saw Ethan staring at me, his face filled with disbelief. He clearly wanted an explanation for what had just happened.

Trying to play it cool, I shrugged.

“I used to be a cricket player back in the day, but this is my first time seeing a cricket bat made of steel.”

“Steel or not, did you seriously just swing that thing and send it flying?”

Ethan asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. The suspicion in his piercing blue eyes sent a chill down my spine. Was this it? Was he finally going to figure it out?

“Oh, come on! You already knew I was strong, didn’t you? Hahaha.”

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, but even I thought I sounded suspicious.

Then again, there was no way I could explain my absurd strength in a way that made sense. I didn’t fully understand Cherry Sinclair’s strength myself.

“You’re probably stronger than me at this point.”

Ethan crossed his arms and scanned me from head to toe. His gaze wasn’t uncomfortable—it was nerve-wracking.

But to my surprise, Ethan didn’t press the matter further. His expression still looked uneasy, though.

Thank God I brought the cricket bat instead of the axe.

Seizing the chance to change the subject, I glanced down at the bat in my hand and muttered,

“Now that I think about it, why isn’t this bat made of wood?”

Cricket bats used for matches or practice were usually wooden, but the one Susanna had packed was solid steel.

[Benton Championship Winner’s Trophy]

The words etched onto the flat side of the bat made my brow furrow.

“…Oh, shit. It’s my trophy.”

No wonder it looked familiar. How had I not noticed? I was such an idiot.

This wasn’t a regular bat—it was a trophy. Back then, my team had been so skilled that we managed to win even with a benchwarmer like me.

It was my first and last match, so I’d kept it as a keepsake…!

ROOAARR!

The monster suddenly rose to its feet and charged at us.

Shit!

Panicking, I raised the bat to swing again—

Bang!

But before I could act, a gunshot rang out, and the monster collapsed. It wasn’t Ethan who fired.

Where the hell did that shot come from?

Click.

Ethan swiftly reloaded his pistol, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.

That’s when we spotted someone peeking over the mansion wall—Vanilla.

Vanilla Eddie Ruskin, the previous owner of my Happy House and a part-time waitress, was a poor (presumably) noblewoman.

In her hands was a shotgun.

“Ruskin, what the hell are you doing up there?”

Lowering her gun, Vanilla looked at the monster’s corpse. Something about the gleam in her eyes felt… unhinged.

“Is this thing wild game? Do you think it’ll sell for a good price?”

…Are you kidding me?

I gawked at Vanilla, hanging off the wall like a stray cat. How long had she been up there? And how the hell did she climb it?

We hadn’t finished installing the barbed wire yet. I really needed to get on that.

Still, thanks to Vanilla, we’d dealt with the monster faster than expected.

Meanwhile, Ethan approached the trembling farmer, who was still sprawled on the ground, and offered him a hand.

“Are you all right?”

Thankfully, the farmer didn’t seem to be injured. With Ethan’s help, he slowly got back on his feet.

I stood beside Vanilla, staring down at the monster’s corpse. Seeing it up close, Vanilla clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Holy shit, what is that…?!”

Her face went pale as she gagged, eventually turning to the side to vomit.

The monster’s massive body lay sprawled on the ground. It looked like a bear at first glance, but its gaping maw was lined with sharp teeth.

Its mouth was clean—no blood. It hadn’t eaten anything yet.

Good. If it had bitten someone, the virus would’ve spread like wildfire.