The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

With Harrison by my side, I headed straight to Nox’s room. As we walked down the short hallway, I imagined Ethan’s reaction. I was curious how he would take the revelation that he was special.

"Would he be shocked? Or… perhaps pleased?"
When we arrived at Nox’s room, Ethan was getting his wounds treated. Since I hadn’t told anyone else about Ethan’s possible immunity, no one else was present.
Ethan appeared calm. Contrary to my expectations, he showed no emotional upheaval.

Nox began to speak in his usual composed manner.
“It might be as Cherry said—Lancaster could have some sort of immunity.”
“It could just be luck,” Harrison replied.

Ethan shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him either way.
Although it was now certain Ethan wasn’t infected, it seemed Harrison and Nox still couldn’t bring themselves to fully believe it.
Ethan himself appeared to think he’d simply gotten lucky this time.

That wasn’t the reaction I had been expecting. I hadn’t anticipated outright disbelief.
"How am I supposed to explain Ethan’s antibodies now?"
This was becoming troublesome.

“It could be a mutated virus. Let’s monitor him for a few more days,” Nox suggested, being the one among us with the most knowledge about viruses. Only then did Harrison and Ethan nod in agreement.
Though their worries had lessened somewhat, none of the three men seemed entirely reassured. There wasn’t any definitive proof to confirm that Ethan was immune.
"Fine. Let’s settle for this much speculation for now."

The only way to confirm Ethan had antibodies would be to have him bitten by a monster again. No matter how much I wanted to uncover his secret, I hoped such a thing would never happen again.
“For now, it’s best if you stay in your room as much as possible,” Harrison said.
Ethan obediently nodded. Nox began tidying up his medical supplies, and Harrison left to find something else to do.

I returned to my room to rest, but Ethan stopped me just as I reached my door.
“What is it?” I asked.
He stared at my face in silence. What was he trying to say? Was this another one of those things he’d say just to unsettle me?
Ever since the infection incident, Ethan had been complicating my thoughts with every word he said. So I braced myself, assuming this would be no different.

“I have something I want to say to you, Cherry.”
“Something to say?”
“…The reason you were ready to die alongside me—was it really because I’m your partner?”

“Well… I’ve told you before. It’s because you were saving me, and I—”
“Liar.”
His brow furrowed, and he slowly ran a hand over his face. His earlobes were slightly flushed.

“I’m not lying…”
Ethan’s eyebrow twitched. He stared down at me intently and asked, “Cherry, haven’t you always prioritized protecting my life above all else?”
“W-What? Well… yes, I guess I did.”

I wanted to argue, but it was true, so I had no choice but to admit it. Still, something about this didn’t feel right.
“On the day the world ended, you saved me first, before anyone else. You even dragged me to Happy House to keep me alive. You asked me to survive. Now that I think about it, this isn’t the first time. You’ve always been like that.”
Ethan murmured as if he was finally piecing together a puzzle.

“I’ve thought about it. There’s no way you did it because you like me. And I doubt it was because you saw me as just your partner.”
I froze, clamping my mouth shut.
While I was caught off guard, Ethan reached out. His large hand brushed the back of my neck, and he tilted his head slightly, leaning closer as if to whisper.

“But you know what? I don’t care about your true purpose or reason anymore. No matter what happens, you’ll save me again, won’t you?”
He pressed for an answer.
“Isn’t that right? Won’t you?”

“Well… yes, I would.”
I couldn’t deny it. It was the truth.
A satisfied smile spread across Ethan’s face. In that moment, he looked like a predator basking in the fullness of its meal. The air grew heavy, the silence thick and uncomfortable.

“If I’m not here, who will stop you? And if you’re not here, who will look out for me?”
Ethan leaned closer to me, lowering his head carefully. His face inched closer, our noses almost touching. He drew nearer still, casting a shadow over my face.
I felt his slow, warm breath against my skin. As his lips drew closer, I instinctively closed my eyes.

Thunk.
A heavy weight pressed down on my shoulder. Ethan had rested his forehead against it.
My eyes shot open, and my face burned hotly, flushing red.

"What’s wrong with you, Cherry? Why did you close your eyes?"
Frozen stiff, I stood there helplessly. Ethan finally spoke.
“It seems like…”

He struggled to get the words out, one at a time.
“…I…”
I? Me? My heart raced. What was he about to say?

The dialogue didn’t continue; it ended abruptly.
With his face buried against my shoulder, Ethan let out an exhausted sigh. The sensation of his warm breath pooling on my shoulder made my skin prickle.
“…Never mind.”

He finally held back his words. Why would he stop mid-sentence…!
The moment felt utterly deflated. At least I’d snapped back to my senses.
Ethan slowly lifted his head, leaving my shoulder feeling oddly empty. I raised my gaze to meet his.

“What’s this? Leaving me hanging like that?”
Saying all those strange things and cutting off like this—it was a terrible thing to do!
“Next time.”

Ethan abbreviated whatever he was about to say, patting my head briefly. Then, without another word or action, he calmly turned around and headed back to his room.
Left standing in the hallway, I placed my hand on the spot he had patted on my head. It felt as though his warmth still lingered there.
"This is weird. Really weird."

*****
As promised, once I returned home, I continued behaving like a piece of garbage, spending the next two days entirely in bed.
Naturally, Ethan still hadn’t transformed into a monster. By now, I was fairly certain he wasn’t infected.

And yet, he showed no signs of leaving his room.
To be honest, I had been avoiding Ethan since then, albeit subtly. Just thinking about his face made my heart pound like crazy.
Yeah. Maybe it’s better this way. A bit of distance would be good for both of us. We’d been sticking together too much lately.

“Young Lady, are you alright?”
Right on cue, Suzanna came into the room with a meal. I had requested to eat in bed, and now, like a spoiled child, I sat up eagerly.
After placing the tray on the bed, Suzanna raised her hands to cup my cheeks.

“Oh dear, how is your skin still so good despite neglecting it?”
“Did you rehearse that line?”
Suzanna burst out laughing at my question.

“Young Lady, please don’t get sick and always stay healthy.”
“I’m not sick. I’m just resting.”
Hearing my reply, Suzanna smiled warmly.

“Everyone’s been so worried about you.”
“Figures.”
I was the owner of this house and the one responsible for their survival. It was only natural for them to worry about what might happen to me.

That didn’t make it any less annoying that people kept peeking into my room one by one, checking to see if I was still alive.
I took the tray Suzanna had set down.
“I’ve always wanted to try this—eating in bed.”

For noble young ladies, having breakfast in bed was a common occurrence. Yet I had never done it, not even once.
On the tray were bowls and a glass of water. Seeing it suddenly reminded me of the canteen.
“Wait a minute.”

I handed the tray back to Suzanna and dashed over to the desk. Opening the drawer, I took out the old canteen—the one Suzanna had drunk from near the fireplace.
“You kept that?” Suzanna asked.
I nodded, examining the canteen closely. It had appeared perfectly ordinary the first time I saw it.

Yet something nagged at the edge of my mind. I inspected the canteen carefully. Its elegant design featured a beautifully engraved floral pattern.
"I’ve seen this somewhere before…"
Suddenly, a memory from the newspaper surfaced.

“Wait, this…”
Another memory struck me. I had definitely seen this pattern somewhere in this mansion.
Leaping to my feet, I ran straight up to the second floor.

“Young Lady!”
I heard Suzanna’s shout behind me. As I raced past, Amy and Jose, who happened to be in the hallway, looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“Sugar Star?”
“Miss Cherry?”

Once on the second floor, I headed directly to the last room.
It was a room I’d seen when we first cleaned Happy House. It had seemed like a nursery at the time. We were using it as a storage room now, but I’d kept the rocking chair—it had felt too valuable to throw away.
Unlocking the door with a key, I stepped inside. Sure enough, the rocking chair was still in its place by the window. Rushing over, I examined the backrest.

Seagrave.
As I remembered, the word “Seagrave” was engraved there, along with a distinct pattern.
It was gentian flowers.

_________________________
TL Notes:

Gentian flowers are a type of flowering plant known for their deep blue or violet color, although they can also appear in shades of purple, white, or yellow depending on the species. They are often associated with themes of justice, protection, and valor in various cultural contexts, as well as representing sweetness and intrinsic worth. In the context of this story, the presence of gentian flowers on the canteen and the rocking chair might carry symbolic meaning, such as a connection to the past, hidden truths, or resilience.