The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

“How can I not? I was at the scene of the incident myself. And Cherry Sinclair’s name is on the front page every single day—it’s impossible to avoid seeing it.”

Ethan folded the newspaper with an exasperated look. Marcel, his superior, shook his head at him.

“Why are you so hell-bent on this investigation? Even if you just put in the bare minimum, you’re practically guaranteed to climb the ranks all the way to police chief.”

Ethan’s father, the Duke of Lancaster, had always disapproved of his decision to give up his title and become a police officer.

But his noble birth didn’t simply vanish, and his fast-track promotion within the police force was already seen as a given.

“So don’t go stirring up trouble by messing with the Sinclairs.”

Marcel’s words were a warning. Going up against the Sinclair family was no small matter.

“I didn’t join the police force to become chief. If I cared about status, I would’ve just inherited the Lancaster title.”

Ethan was a man deeply committed to his duty as a police officer. And in many ways, he was an oddity.

Giving up a duke’s title to become a cop was one thing, but his behavior—utterly lacking the refinement expected of a high-ranking noble—was another.

Still, despite his rough and cocky demeanor, no one doubted his skills.

A genius in both swordsmanship and marksmanship. That was the nickname he’d earned during his time at Lubridge Benton College, Graydon’s royal academy.

“More importantly, Chief—did you see today’s edition of the Benton Times? Not a single word about the monster.”

Marcel sighed, rubbing his temples.

“The higher-ups ordered us to avoid causing panic until we have all the facts. Don’t go digging too deep.”

Ethan considered investigating exactly which “higher-ups” had issued that order.

But he already had a pretty good idea. The answer felt obvious, even before he started looking.

Then Marcel pointed at the item in Ethan’s hand.

“By the way, what’s that brooch?”

Ethan looked down at the object in his palm. It was an ornate brooch, decorated with a rubellite gemstone surrounded by golden flowers.

“There was a woman who killed the monster with an axe.”

Ethan was sure it was a woman. Her voice—bright and clear, like marbles rolling across a floor—had been unmistakably feminine.

And then there were her eyes.

She’d been wearing a mask, so all he could see were her eyes.

Golden eyes—so brilliant they looked like molten gold—were burned into his memory.

“She killed that monster… with an axe? Did you see the size of that thing?”

“It’s strange. I thought so too. My sister saw it happen herself. It’s not something even a grown man could pull off, yet this woman killed it by herself.”

“A woman…? That’s bizarre.”

As Marcel frowned, Ethan held up the brooch in his hand.

C. S.

The initials were engraved on the back.

Even if this woman had saved Aurora’s life, she was still a suspicious figure who’d fled the scene. Not to mention, there was a strong chance she was connected to that mysterious monster.

‘C. S.… It matches Cherry Sinclair’s initials.’

And the eye color was the same too.

The thought flashed through Ethan’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it with a scoff. That was ridiculous.

Cherry Sinclair hated rough, dirty neighborhoods like this one. And she wasn’t exactly the athletic type.

Handing his newspaper to a nearby officer, Ethan turned and walked out of the mansion’s yard.

Marcel called after him.

“Where are you going now?”

“I received a report about a large shipment of illegal firearms smuggled in from the Briwood Kingdom. Thanks to you, it seems there’s nothing more for me to do here, so I’ll check that out instead.”

“Who filed the report?”

Ethan pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth before replying.

“That’s what I’m about to find out. I’ll be back.”

Despite his casual manner, Ethan gave Marcel a proper salute before heading out.

*****

Benton, Westmore, Hondorf, and then Kintne.

There were four stops in total from Benton’s central station to Kintne. From Kintne, it took a short carriage ride deeper into the mountains to reach Brunel.

No cars or trams? It really drove home just how refined and convenient my life in the capital had been.

Still, the best thing about trains was how easy they made travel. I left in the morning and arrived by the afternoon.

‘Finally here!’

Brunel—the village where I would build my shelter!

I shaded my eyes with my hand and tilted my head up.

Perched like a fortress on a hill at the edge of the village was an isolated mansion.

It was the only mansion mentioned in the novel as Vanilla’s hideout.

Truth be told, it was so shrouded by dense trees that all I could make out at first was its chimney. It looked like something straight out of an American horror movie—a gloomy, ominous mansion.

‘No wonder monsters are supposed to show up here.’

I swallowed hard. The place almost seemed to radiate cold air.

I planned to buy the mansion after being introduced to its owner, Vanilla, through the village chief.

‘So Vanilla owned this place.’

As I mentioned before, the mansion sat like a fortress on the hill, with the village below and mountains rich in resources behind it.

Despite being a small village, Brunel had everything needed for survival—a grocery store, a general store, a medical clinic, a weapons shop, a restaurant, and even an inn. The whole village could easily be turned into a survival camp.

‘If only I could just buy the entire village.’

Of course, I knew that was impossible. Some things just couldn’t be bought with money.

After taking a full lap around the mansion, I decided to wait for Vanilla so I could discuss purchasing it.

But even after waiting for quite a while, Vanilla didn’t show up.

I asked around and found out she was away for the day and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.

‘Not a great start. Is something bad about to happen tomorrow?’

Shaking off my unease, I had no choice but to spend the night at the village inn.

*****

That Night, Benton.

Ethan grabbed the collar of a panicked man trapped at a dead end. Then, pulling a baton from his belt, he swung it.

Thud—

“Ugh!”

The man collapsed to the ground with a groan.

Ethan, looking exhausted, rubbed his face before sitting down on the man’s back.

“Hey, do you even know who I am?”

Ethan muttered irritably, ruffling the back of his hair. The man groaned in pain, unable to respond.

Ethan pulled a revolver from his pocket and opened its cylinder. Three of the six chambers were loaded. He took out some bullets and began filling the empty slots.

“I’m not even supposed to be dealing with lowlives like you. So what does it mean that I’m here personally? It means you’re screwed.”@@novelbin@@

The harsh words that spilled from Ethan’s mouth felt out of place, given his sharp, gentlemanly appearance.

The man he’d just arrested had been caught red-handed while trying to meet an illegal arms dealer.

“Talk. Most of the firearms smuggled in from Briwood Kingdom are heading for some backwater village, right? Which village?”

In Graydon, it was illegal for civilians to own firearms. For Ethan, this case was more than worth investigating.

He spun the revolver’s cylinder with a click. The sound made the man whimper in fear.

“I—I don’t know! I just deliver the goods. I’m only a runner!”

“You expect me to believe that? You were caught on the spot, dumbass.”

Ethan tapped the man’s head with the barrel of his revolver. The man flinched, his collar soaked in sweat.

“I already confirmed Harrison Howard’s involvement. Is this Sinclair’s doing? Answer me.”

The name “Sinclair” carried just as much weight in Graydon as Ethan’s own Lancaster family.

If anyone had the power to smuggle weapons, it was the Sinclairs—assuming they had the intent.

Ethan had told Marcel he was acting on a tip, but he’d seen it with his own eyes. Recently, Jose, an illegal arms dealer from Briwood that Ethan had been monitoring, had met with Harrison Howard in secret.

There was no solid proof, but Ethan’s instincts were screaming at him.

‘And Cherry Sinclair is dodging my calls.’

Cherry had been deliberately avoiding him. She knew something. She had to.

“The Sinclair heiress suddenly takes out a 100-million gold loan and disappears. Is it connected to this?”

The man groaned in pain but kept his mouth shut.

Ethan pulled out a notebook from his uniform pocket. Taped to one page was a newspaper clipping.

It showed a woman with golden eyes and vibrant cherry-pink curls, wearing a cute cocktail hat and flashing a dazzling smile. She practically radiated energy.

No wonder people called her the “Sugar Star Lady.” With looks that stole the spotlight wherever she went, she was impossible to ignore.

‘But…’

The Cherry Sinclair he’d heard about in rumors was little more than a socialite.

A woman who loved extravagant parties, spent money like water, and courted scandal at every turn—a spoiled gossip girl.

She was also said to be indecisive and incompetent, hardly fit to lead the Sinclair family. She was exactly the type of person Ethan despised most.

And now, it seemed she might be connected to illegal arms smuggling too.

‘Cherry Sinclair…’

Ethan hated when things didn’t go according to plan. He also hated leaving questions unanswered.

The monster incident. This smuggling case. Both were loose ends he couldn’t ignore.

But the police chief was already working to bury this case, suspecting Harrison—and by extension, the Sinclair family—was involved.

‘It makes sense. Sinclair money put him in that position.’

Cherry Sinclair was a problem. And Ethan was the kind of man who needed to drag his problems into the light and examine them up close.

Ethan’s cold gaze shifted back to the man beneath him.

“I just thought of something fun.”