The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

[You haven’t seen the papers, have you? There have been reports of mail carriers disappearing without a trace or being brutally murdered by unknown assailants. The world is becoming more dangerous. Please be careful, especially at night, Miss.]

‘Brutally murdered by unknown assailants.’

I squeezed my eyes shut.

While I had been floundering here, the world was already marching steadily toward its end.

“Thanks for the update. And Susanna, please tell Harrison this—I need him to bring the items himself. Ethan Duncan Lancaster is in this town right now. Just tell him Ethan is investigating those items, and he’ll understand.”

If Ethan discovered the firearms, things could spiral out of control fast.

With so little time left, I couldn’t afford to get stuck answering police questions—or worse, spend my final days locked up in a jail cell.

[Got it, Miss. I’ll let him know.]

I set the receiver down and took a long, steady breath.

‘If only Ethan would just go back to the capital, all my problems would be solved.’

The immutable law of the original plot.

That ominous term flashed through my mind, but I shook my head hard.

‘I’ll break the rules of the original story and survive.’

To do that, I needed to prepare even more thoroughly.

On my way out of the station, I pulled a notebook from my pocket to check my shopping list.

‘Next stop—furniture shopping.’

What’s the most important thing when building the perfect shelter?

‘Money.’

Without hesitation, I headed straight for Kintne’s furniture district.

*****

Brunel Police Station—Town Center.

Ethan sat at his desk, flipping through case files about incidents in Brunel and its surrounding areas.

[The Westmoor Urban Legend Case]

A case file from last year immediately caught his attention. Maybe it was because Cherry and Vanilla had mentioned Westmoor earlier.

The Westmoor urban legend case had been fairly well-known among police officers. After all, ten residents had gone missing there since last year.

Around this time last year, there had been reports of screams coming from an abandoned house in Westmoor.

Witnesses claimed that after the screams, they would hear noises resembling the cries of animals.

But when the police investigated the house, they found no signs of people—or animals.

‘Similar to the 61 Notium Street case, but different.’

The 61 Notium Street case had multiple eyewitnesses, and in the end, a monster did show up.

The Westmoor case, however, had no witnesses—just rumors. That’s why it had been dismissed as an “urban legend.”

‘That’s why it was shelved so quickly.’

Even the address of the abandoned house wasn’t recorded in the case file.

‘Tch. Sloppy work. They didn’t even keep proper records.’

Ethan clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Laughter suddenly erupted from the front of the station.

He looked up to see townspeople gathered inside, sipping tea and chatting like they were at a café.

A restaurant owner who had stopped by out of boredom started talking about Cherry.

“That girl living in the abandoned house—she’s a bit strange, don’t you think?”

The grocer and bookstore owner, who had come in with her, chimed in.

“She keeps hauling stuff into that old house.”

The townspeople’s gossip continued.

Ethan didn’t understand why they felt so comfortable having these conversations in a police station.

Then again, seeing Inspector Hans, the head of the station, enthusiastically joining the chatter, he started to get it.

“Well, she’s fixing it up, isn’t she? Making repairs and all.”

“The foundation’s solid enough, I’ll give her that. But doesn’t it look perfect for hiding after committing a crime?”

“Oh my. Do you think that girl might be—?”

For a brief moment, Ethan couldn’t help but wonder the same thing.

Cherry Sinclair had a knack for attracting attention, especially with her recent 100-million-gold loan scandal.

‘That was pretty big news.’

It wasn’t unreasonable to suspect her. What if she had caused trouble and was hiding out in this remote town?

‘Didn’t she say she was hiding her identity?’

If Brunel had been a larger town, her secret would’ve been exposed by now.

The media loved stories about Cherry Sinclair.

But Brunel was tiny—a sleepy, isolated village with no train station. Its residents were so rooted here, they rarely left.

Choosing this town to hide in? A smart move.

‘Or maybe she really is hiding illegal firearms.’

Cherry seemed to be at the center of every suspicious incident lately, and Ethan couldn’t let that slide.

For now, he was biding his time—waiting for the perfect moment to catch her red-handed.

“Hey, what’s that?”

The townspeople suddenly turned their attention to something outside.

Ethan glanced up, curious.

Through the open door, he saw something odd.

A woman dragging four massive straw scarecrows tied together with rope.@@novelbin@@

Cherry Sinclair.

Watching her, Ethan’s first thought was that she was far from ordinary.

‘She’s definitely not normal.’

Nothing she had done so far made any logical sense to him.

“What’s with those scarecrows?”

“Wait, is she carrying those all by herself?”

The people inside began whispering. Cherry must have heard them because she looked up.

With the door wide open, her eyes met everyone’s inside.

“Oh, hello there!”

Cherry raised her hand and waved cheerfully.

“Why are you carrying scarecrows?”

The grocer asked cautiously.

Cherry shrugged.

“For practice.”

“What kind of practice?”

“You know, figuring out how to cleanly sever necks.”

…What?

The crowd turned pale.

Cherry quickly waved her hands.

“Oh, no! I was joking. Haha!”

Scratching the back of her head, she burst into laughter.

In the process, the rope slipped, and the scarecrows tumbled to the ground.

She hoisted them back up effortlessly and gave the crowd a quick nod.

“Anyway, see you later!”

As she walked away, the police station fell into silence.

Ethan stared at her retreating figure.

Cherry Sinclair was supposed to be a delicate flower, raised in a greenhouse. Someone who hated physical labor.

Yet there she was, effortlessly carrying four enormous scarecrows.

‘How does that look delicate in any way?’

He suddenly recalled something Cherry had said recently.

“I get misunderstood a lot. I like luxury, act reckless, and get into trouble all the time. People probably think I’d commit crimes without hesitation.”

“But I’m used to being judged.”

Maybe it really was just a misunderstanding.

‘Then again, Howard was the one importing the weapons.’

Of course, Cherry Sinclair was suspicious in every other way.

One thing was certain—she wasn’t as shallow or foolish as the rumors claimed.

‘I’ll have to keep watching her.’

Ethan kept his eyes on Cherry as she disappeared from view, then turned to the townspeople.

“Does the girl in the abandoned house come into town often?”

A brief silence followed as the residents exchanged knowing glances.

Finally, the innkeeper spoke up.

“Oh, don’t even get me started. She cleaned out the grocery store yesterday.”

The grocer nodded furiously.

“And today, she emptied the general store.”

The general store owner agreed as well.

“It’s like she’s preparing for a war.”

“Where does she even get all that money?”

Ethan barely managed to suppress a laugh.

To Cherry Sinclair, this level of spending was pocket change.

“But why are you so interested in her, Officer?”

“Oh, come on. She’s gorgeous. That’s reason enough, isn’t it?”

Ethan let out a sigh.

Sure, Cherry was stunning. He wouldn’t argue with that.

But her looks weren’t what mattered here.