The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

The person who spoke was a woman.

She had pale blue hair, sharp features, and gray eyes. Her aloof expression tightened slightly when our eyes met, and she suddenly blurted out:

“You’re ridiculously beautiful.”

…Is that really something to say while looking so displeased?

But she quickly regained her composure and held out her hand for a handshake.

“I came to deliver the keys. I’m Vanilla Eddy Ruskin, the owner of the mansion.”

For someone with such a cold appearance, her name sounded incredibly soft. Honestly, she barely appeared in the novel, so I didn’t know much about her either.

I stood up and shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Ruskin. You’ve received the purchase contract, right? I suppose that makes me the new owner of the mansion starting today.”

As I exchanged pleasantries and shook hands with Vanilla, Ethan suddenly turned to me and asked:

“The mansion on the hill? Are you seriously buying that old ruin? Why would the Sinclair heiress want a place like that?”

I spun around in surprise to face him.

“Shh! Keep your voice down. Do you think I want to announce to the world that I’m Cherry Sinclair?”

“Is that a problem?”

It’s not that it’s a problem, but if people find out, it’s going to be a huge hassle!

As I was whispering hurriedly with Ethan, Vanilla let out a long sigh and spoke to me.

“I know you’re Cherry Sinclair. It was written on the contract. And frankly, I don’t care who you are. The only thing I care about is money.”

Her firm reassurance made me feel slightly embarrassed.

‘Right. I had to put my name on the contract.’

At that moment, Ethan, who had been silently observing our conversation, pointed at Vanilla’s waist. Something was hanging there.

“What’s that?”

“Birds.”

…Did I hear that right? Birds?

It was only then that I noticed two birds hanging upside down from her waist.

Beside them was a shotgun tucked into a holster. How had I missed such a conspicuous sight until now?

“The village chief asked me to hunt a few. The pay’s pretty good.”

…Now I understood how Vanilla managed to survive on her own for six months in the novel.

It wasn’t just because the mansion’s defenses were solid.

For some reason, I suddenly felt the urge to recruit her into my shelter.

“Here’s the key.”

She handed me the key and added a final warning.

“Brunel’s a backwater village, and as you’ve seen, the mansion is extremely isolated. The repair costs alone will be astronomical. It’s in my name because I inherited it from my father, but I already warned you—I really don’t recommend it. If you went through with the purchase, that’s entirely your choice, Miss Sinclair.”

I nodded, slightly flustered by her rapid-fire comments. Vanilla maintained her icy expression and continued.

“I’ll be staying in this village for a while, so call me if you need anything. But I charge for consultations.”

She adjusted her monocle and looked at me with a determined face. I nodded, still a bit dazed. Consultation fees?

“No matter how pretty and cute you are, Miss Sinclair, I won’t give you a discount.”

What the hell?

Vanilla handed me the mansion’s floor plan next. As I skimmed through it, I quickly called her back before she could leave.

“Wait, Miss Ruskin.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Vanilla replied, but despite her words, she pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. She seemed like someone who hated wasting a single second.

“Is there anything unusual about the mansion? Something like hidden facilities that would make it ideal for self-sufficiency?”

Vanilla gave me a look as if I’d asked the dumbest question in the world.

But the novel clearly described the mansion as special—optimized for survival.

“Well, it has a garden that could be turned into a vegetable patch and a well for water. Other than that, I’m not sure. I manage too many properties to keep track.”

I scrutinized her expression, but she really seemed clueless. My shoulders sagged a little.

Maybe the mansion’s only advantage was its location and convenience for self-sufficiency.

Realistically, living self-sufficiently required actual survival skills. I was starting to worry.

After Vanilla left, I exited the restaurant and headed toward the hill where the mansion stood.

Ethan followed me like a shadow. I stopped halfway up the hill and turned around.

A man in a perfectly pressed police uniform was leisurely climbing the hill, hands in his pockets.

“Why do you keep following me?”

I demanded, frowning. Ethan paused and glanced around before pulling his hands out of his pockets and stroking his chin. He looked past me at the mansion.

“The place is extremely remote. It seems perfect for smuggling firearms and hiding them. Or embezzling funds and going into hiding. Oh, that was just me thinking out loud.”

He flashed me a sly smile.

Firearms? Embezzlement? What the hell was he talking about? Was this because of the loan I took out?

“I have no idea what you’re insinuating. If you’re so curious about the mansion, why don’t you just take a look—”

I trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly freezing.

‘Wait. He said firearms. Illegal smuggling, no less.’

Ethan never said anything without a reason.

“…Fine. What kind of weapons are you looking for? I can even arrange for an instructor to teach you how to use them.”

“Swords, crossbows, axes—everything. But Harrison, I don’t need—”

“Miss Sinclair. That’s non-negotiable.”

Everything?

Now that I thought about it, Harrison was exactly the kind of person who’d take “everything” literally and send an entire arsenal. Damn it.

“It seems like my inspecting the mansion is causing some concern.”

Ethan crossed his arms and gave me a pointed look, as if testing my reaction.

There were plenty of reasons why I didn’t want him snooping around the mansion. But above all, I couldn’t risk getting entangled with him.

The Sinclair family wasn’t exactly squeaky clean either. Going to jail before the apocalypse wasn’t part of my plan.

“Well, um! It’s inappropriate for a man to enter a woman’s house uninvited!”

“I’m a police officer, not just any man—”

“A man is a man. Doesn’t matter.”

“That’s true, but how did this argument—”

“No warrant? Then you’re just a random guy. Or worse, a beast!”

“…A beast? Excuse me?”

Ethan looked completely baffled. I put my hands on my hips and declared confidently:

“If you keep following me, that makes you a beast!”

“Your logic is absurd.”

“Oh? Keep coming and you’ll see what happens!”

Ethan’s dumbfounded expression was priceless.

While he stood there stunned, I quickly bolted up the hill.

I unlocked the mansion’s gate, slipped inside, and firmly locked it behind me with a sigh of relief.

I definitely needed to call Harrison.

*****

No matter how much I searched the large mansion, I couldn’t find any firearms.

Of course, that was expected. How could Harrison have already sent the guns when I had just bought the mansion?

Still, I wanted to call Harrison just in case. Unfortunately, in this tiny village, the only telephone was at the police station.

‘I won’t run into Ethan again, right?’

I stood outside the police station, hesitating for a long time. Going all the way to Kintne just to find another phone was too much of a hassle.

‘Fine. Let’s just go in.’

Hoping Ethan was out on patrol, I carefully opened the door to the police station—and was immediately met with a bizarre sight.

A man in tattered clothes lay sprawled on the floor.

His clothes were completely shredded, hanging off him like rags. And Ethan was sitting on the man’s back—calmly drinking Scotch whiskey.

Ethan looked up at me with a curious expression.

His police uniform jacket was nowhere to be seen, and his white shirt had three or four buttons undone—or rather, ripped off.

“Urgh…” The man groaned under Ethan’s weight.

Ethan downed the rest of his whiskey in one gulp and then placed the empty glass on top of the man’s head.@@novelbin@@

“If you drop that glass and break it, I’ll kill you.”

His voice was as cold as ice.

Then he turned to me.

“Didn’t you push me away so harshly earlier? What brings you here now?”