The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

As I was up on the roof hammering away with the contractor, I could feel Ethan’s sharp gaze piercing through me from below.

‘Suspicious or not, there’s no helping it.’

When I first arrived in Brunel, I intended to keep this place a secret hideout.

But seeing how things were going, it was about time to give up on keeping secrets. The apocalypse was right around the corner. Being prepared mattered more than looking suspicious.

Standing on the roof, I raised my opera binoculars and scanned the area.

‘Monsters might show up here too.’

The novel had mentioned that, just before the world’s collapse, monsters began appearing sporadically across various towns.

So, even while preparing for the apocalypse, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

For now, though, the village seemed peaceful.

‘Still, I’ll have to check regularly.’

After keeping an eye on the contractor building the catapult, I climbed back down. The wall repairs seemed to be about halfway done.

‘I think I’ll need to hire another contractor.’

Speed mattered. The faster this work was finished, the better.

“What exactly are you planning to do with this mansion? You’re making me more and more curious.”

Ethan, carrying his axe on his shoulder, approached me. He wiped the sweat from his chin with the back of his hand and waited for my answer.

“I told you, it’s my private retreat.”

Ethan looked at me like he didn’t even know where to start questioning that excuse.

Then, he glanced over my outfit—coveralls, boots, and a straw hat. Perfect farming gear.

“Are you really Cherry Sinclair? You’re nothing like the Cherry Sinclair the newspapers talk about.”

He rubbed his chin as he spoke.

He wasn’t wrong. The old Cherry wouldn’t have touched these clothes with a ten-foot pole. She had outshined every other noble as the most extravagant figure in high society.

“I don’t like wearing this either. It’s not cute.”

“No one forced you into this. You’re the one acting out of character.”

Exactly. No one forced me. I sighed heavily.

As Ethan and I continued our pointless back-and-forth, he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms. Then he rolled us both out of the way.

Thud!

A pile of wooden materials crashed to the ground, shattering. It had fallen from the roof.

‘Wow. His reflexes are insane.’

I was still catching my breath in Ethan’s arms when the contractor, pale as a sheet, leaned over the edge and shouted,

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“You almost…! You almost hit us!”

Ethan glanced down at me, bit back a curse, then glared up at the contractor.

He pointed at his own eyes, then jabbed his finger toward the contractor, wordlessly threatening him to keep it together.

I couldn’t help but think Ethan only toned down his temper when dealing with me. He was probably holding back because he wanted something—like dirt on the Sinclair family.

“I-I’m really sorry! My apologies!”

The contractor kept bowing, his face deathly pale.

After scolding him a few more times, Ethan turned back to me.

“Thanks.”

“It’s fine. No one got hurt.”

Ethan ruffled my hair absentmindedly and went back to chopping wood.

I stood there, staring at his back in a daze before shaking my head.

‘What was that?’

I brushed my hair as if to wipe away the lingering sensation of his hand and tilted my head. Ethan’s kindness felt suspicious. Sure, he was selectively gentlemanly at times, but this was weird.

Shrugging it off, I grabbed a hoe and went to the vegetable patch. I had already cleared the weeds yesterday, so today’s job was tilling the soil.

I needed to plow and fertilize the ground today so I could plant seeds in two weeks.

Just as I was about to start, I heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Haha! Lancaster, what the hell are you doing? Are you a lumberjack now?”

Nox had entered the garden at some point and was laughing uproariously at Ethan’s appearance.

If Ethan was the rough type, Nox was the infuriating type.

‘There’s no way Ethan’s going to let that slide…’

Thwack!

Sure enough, Ethan hurled his axe, and it landed perfectly at Nox’s feet. Nox paled but managed to keep smiling as he stepped back.

“I told you not to loiter around in front of me.”

Ethan’s tone dripped with irritation. Nox raised both hands in surrender.

“I’m here because Miss Sinclair asked me to be.”

Both men turned to look at me. Sighing, I nodded.

“Mr. Ludfisher promised to help catch bugs today.”

“Me?”

“Bugs?”

The first question came from Nox, the second from Ethan.

“You were serious about that yesterday? I didn’t think you actually meant catching bugs.”

Nox shook his head, claiming he was willing to help grow herbs but not to deal with pests directly.

“Then I don’t need you. You can leave—”

“A gentleman wouldn’t abandon a lady. I’ll catch the bugs.”

Narrowing my eyes, I watched Nox as he began hunting insects. Seeing someone as polished as him scouring the garden for bugs felt surreal.

Clearly, like Ethan, Nox wanted to keep a close eye on me. Their motives were different, though.

Ethan was openly suspicious, but Nox seemed almost too friendly.

Watching them—one chopping wood and the other hunting bugs—I shook my head.@@novelbin@@

‘So much for a secret hideout. That idea’s completely shot.’

Still, I felt strangely at ease. Forget the original plot—I’d focus on my own path and leave the rest to fate.

Suddenly, I asked Nox a question that had been bothering me.

“How long are you staying in Brunel, Mr. Ludfisher?”

“Why? Are you interested in me?”

“Yes.”

Specifically, your physical capabilities.

Of course, I didn’t say the second part out loud.

Nox gave me a surprised look, clearly flustered.

If I was going to use him, I needed to figure out how to maximize his usefulness.

“I haven’t set a return date yet. I plan to take my time and relax. I’ve been working too hard lately.”

I glanced at the centipede wriggling inside Nox’s glass jar.

For someone who claimed he was here to relax, he was working surprisingly hard. But hey, if this was his idea of rest, who was I to argue?

“Thanks in advance.”

*****

Kingdom of Graydon, Crown Prince’s Office.

Crown Prince Theodore looked up from his desk with a puzzled expression as he listened to his aide Elderson’s report.

“Where did you say Ethan and Nox are?”

“They’ve both gone down to a village called Brunel.”

“Brunel? Both of them?”

Elderson nodded in confirmation.

Theodore, Ethan, and Nox had all been classmates at the royal academy.

Although Theodore had a hostile relationship with the Duke of Lancaster—Ethan’s father, who was infamous for his scheming—he genuinely liked Ethan. Unlike his father, Ethan was trustworthy. In fact, he was the most honest person Theodore knew.

But now, after days without contact, Theodore had just learned that Ethan and Nox were in Brunel. And they were there together, despite their less-than-friendly relationship?

“What are they doing down there?”

“Sir Ethan has reportedly been assigned to the Brunel police station.”

“Assigned? To some countryside police station? That doesn’t make any sense. There’s got to be another reason.”

“...”

“Find out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“And Nox?”

“I’ll investigate as well.”

Theodore put down the documents he had been reading and stared at Elderson, clearly unimpressed.

Was his aide seriously delivering a report without even knowing the full story?

Noticing Theodore’s rising irritation, Elderson turned pale and quickly lowered his head. Theodore shook his head in disbelief as he watched him.

‘That idiot can’t do anything properly.’

As Theodore brooded, his eyes landed on today’s newspaper.

[Cherry Sinclair Halts Social Activities for Fifth Consecutive Day... Attorney Howard Assures Public: ‘No Threats to Her Safety.’]

He picked up the paper.

“Look, I get that the Sinclairs are a big deal, but how does this woman keep ending up on the front page without even doing anything? How is she mentioned more often than me, the crown prince?”

Ultimately, Theodore’s irritation boiled down to the fact that Cherry appeared in headlines more frequently than he did.

Glancing at the article, Elderson added,

“Miss Cherry Sinclair is the hottest star in the social scene these days.”

“Since when?”

“Around a year ago, I believe… It’s been a while now.”

Theodore’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he stared at the newspaper again, clearly surprised.