The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

"Why Nox, of all people?"

“That guy...”
Nox’s behavior toward Cherry was different from how he treated everyone else. It didn’t feel like mere gratitude for her saving his life or for being the owner of Happy House. There was something more to it.
“Does Cherry realize it?” Ethan’s gaze cooled as his thoughts spiraled.

Nox had no combat skills, no natural strength. If something happened to Cherry while she was out with someone like him...
Of course, Cherry was more than capable—her strength was such that anyone facing her ought to be worried for their own safety. But still, Ethan couldn’t shake his unease.
Standing outside Cherry’s door, he hesitated. At that moment, Harrison spotted him and approached.

“Where do you think you’re going? Sir Ethan, you were supposed to stay confined here for the time being.”
Harrison moved to block him. Ethan glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow in annoyance.
“Cherry went to the village with Ludpercher,” Ethan said flatly.

“She mentioned wanting to check on the Elpinos herbs planted in the police station’s underground prison. She also planned to stop by the village bookstore to look for an herbal reference guide.”
Through his glasses, Harrison’s green eyes studied Ethan closely. Ethan sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.
“I should’ve gone with her,” Ethan muttered under his breath.

He felt a strong urge to simply take Cherry away—to ensure everyone’s safety, including hers.
“...Is that really why I want to take her away? For everyone’s safety?”
A lie.

Ethan smirked bitterly.
“Go back to your room.” Harrison’s tone was firm as he addressed Ethan, who remained rooted in place outside Cherry’s door.
Ethan hesitated. If they intended to keep Cherry’s infection hidden from others, it was his responsibility. If he couldn’t take responsibility, then for the safety of everyone else, he’d have to expose the truth.

But exposing her secret wasn’t even a consideration for Ethan. He would rather abandon his principles than endure Cherry’s hatred.
“Abandoning my principles?” He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I’ve lost my mind.”
Dragging a hand down his face, Ethan turned to face Harrison, his posture slouched yet defiant.
“Cherry said she’d kill me if I turned into a monster. She’s not here to do that, though. Isn’t this breaking our deal?”

“Sir Ethan...”
“If she can’t keep her promise, why should I keep mine?”
Harrison fell silent at Ethan’s question, realizing that convincing him further was pointless.

“That man...” Harrison narrowed his eyes in disapproval as he watched Ethan’s demeanor shift the moment Cherry was mentioned.
“I’ll have to keep an eye on him.”
*****

Meanwhile, in the underground prison, Nox crouched near the freshly planted Elpinos herbs, a lollipop hanging from his lips.
“We should be able to harvest them in four days,” he said, inspecting the sprouts breaking through the soil. I nodded as I glanced at the small herb garden that had been cultivated here.
“Good work.”

It couldn’t have been easy to transport soil and prepare this space.
Nox looked up at me, staring intently. Did I have something on my face? I touched my cheek self-consciously.
“What is it?”

“Why don’t you praise me in another way?” he said, standing and leaning in close with a playful grin. His sudden proximity made me wary.
“...Another way?”
Nox tilted his head at an angle, his face drawing nearer.

“Pat my head.”
“Excuse me?”
I thought I’d misheard him, but he remained perfectly still, head inclined, waiting. Reluctantly, I reached out and gently patted his head.

“He’s like a docile puppy... or maybe a cunning fox,” I mused as my hand brushed through his unexpectedly soft hair. After a moment, Nox straightened, looking pleased.
“Victor, Emma, and Susanna helped me,” he admitted with a shrug.
“What? I just patted your head for all the hard work you supposedly did by yourself!”

“Go back and thank them too—but don’t pat their heads. That’s just for me.”
Running a hand through his disheveled hair, he shot me a sidelong glance, his eyes softening as he held out a hand to me. The gesture was like that of an escort offering his arm before entering a ballroom.
“What are you doing?”

“Escorting a lady, of course.”
“Here? In this underground prison?”
“We’re leaving, aren’t we, Miss Cherry? The location doesn’t matter. It’s the company that counts.”

Nox gave an exaggerated shake of his outstretched hand, eyebrows raised in mock pleading.
Bemused, I placed my hand in his. His expression relaxed as he began to lead me up the stairs.
“I wish I’d met you before the world ended,” he said, his voice tinged with nostalgia as he climbed.

I studied his profile, his handsome features lost in thought.
“Before the apocalypse, you wouldn’t have even glanced at me,” I thought. “The old me was definitely the type Ethan and Nox would have hated.”
Ethan had practically recoiled from me before, treating me like a criminal. Nox wouldn’t have been any different.

“Wait... come to think of it...”
“I was researching Elpinos herbs and investigating monsters even before the apocalypse,” Nox had once said.
I called out to him as he opened the door leading back into the police station.

“Mr. Ludpercher.”
Nox turned to me, still holding my hand.
“You mentioned investigating monsters before, didn’t you?”

“I did.”
Nox led me into the police station.
Inside, Amy was seated by the window, her expression bored. Since someone had to alternate between keeping watch at the Happy House’s lookout and the police station, it was her turn to guard the latter.

When she noticed us, Amy stood up, her curiosity evident.
“Oh, you came in person. I just switched shifts with Uncle Victor a little while ago. He said he had to grab some supplies from the kitchen at the restaurant.”
I nodded in acknowledgment. “We came out to stop by the bookstore.”

“The bookstore? Uncle Gary said he’s starting restoration work there tomorrow.”
“That’s good to hear, but we need something immediately.”
After exchanging brief words, Nox and I left the station. Amy stayed behind, continuing her watch, giving us a light wave as we exited.

The cleaned-up Brunel village was eerily quiet. Though small, the emptiness made it feel much larger—only about ten survivors remained.
“What were you going to say?” Nox asked as we walked down the village’s deserted streets.
“You mentioned before that you were investigating monsters. You also said you visited 61 Notium Street.”

“Ah, yes, I did.”
“Did you look into the incident that happened there as well?”
“I did, but there wasn’t much to go on. Why, is there something specific you’re curious about?”

“The person who covered it up. Do you know who it was?”
The monster incident at 61 Notium Street had multiple witnesses, but not a single mention of it made it into the papers. Someone in a high position had clearly suppressed the story, and I suspected it was the Marquis of Casey.
“And in the novel Love Amid Despair, the Marquis of Casey was portrayed as a villain who died at the very beginning,” I thought.

Nox suddenly halted, rubbing his chin as he threw me a cryptic look.
“Miss Cherry, you don’t know? I thought you’d have figured it out by now.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t have the time.”

I’d been too focused on getting to Brunel before the apocalypse struck.
Nox gave a vague smile, scanning the surroundings to ensure no one was near. Then, leaning closer, he spoke in a low voice.
“It was the Duke of Lancaster.”

“...What?”
For a moment, I doubted my ears. The Duke of Lancaster? Ethan’s father?
“You heard me correctly, Miss Cherry. It was the Duke of Lancaster.”

Seeing my confusion, Nox drove the point home.
“The Duke of Lancaster... Why? Does Sir Ethan know?”
“Who knows? I haven’t told him, and I doubt I’ll get the chance. But he might have his suspicions. After all, Ethan doesn’t trust his father.”

That much, I knew. But if Ethan had known his father was behind covering up the Notium Street incident, he would have told me. Ethan had been investigating the case as a police officer.
“Why would the Duke of Lancaster cover up that incident?”
“Good question. Now that I think about it, there were a lot of oddities surrounding the whole thing. You know the Marquis of Casey, right?”

“I’ve never met him, but I know of him.”
I hadn’t expected Nox to bring up the Marquis of Casey. As we approached the plaza, we spotted the collapsed remains of a building—what used to be the bookstore.
“Back then, there were rumors about the Marquis among us doctors,” Nox said, stopping in front of the ruins.

“What kind of rumors?”
“That he was kidnapping people and using them for experiments.”
Kidnapping people for experiments.

That wasn’t just a rumor—it was fact. In the novel, it was explained that the virus outbreak was the result of unethical experiments conducted by the Marquis and the alchemists he funded.
Nox crouched in front of the bookstore ruins, pulling away some debris. He picked up a book, brushing off the dirt on its cover. The title read Alchemy and the History of Graydon.
“Remember the Westmore Monster Incident? We started investigating narcotics because of the Elpinos herb we found there.”

Handing me the book, Nox continued, “Elpinos is one of the ingredients used to make Bardon. Bardon has hallucinogenic properties and is often used as a recreational drug in certain circles.”
“A drug as medicine?”
It wasn’t unthinkable. In this era, proper anesthetics hadn’t been developed yet, and substances like cocaine and opium were often used as substitutes.

“...So when Sir Ethan accused me of being a drug smuggler, he wasn’t entirely wrong.”
“Elpinos itself isn’t a drug,” Nox replied firmly. “As I’ve said before, it’s just an ordinary herb with restorative properties. Bardon, however, requires more than just Elpinos to make.”
That made sense. It was like how ordinary glue could be used for its intended purpose or as a recreational hallucinogen.

Back then, Ethan had asked Nox countless times if Elpinos was truly a drug. Thanks to Nox’s adamant denials, I had been released.
I gave Nox a thoughtful look. “Mr. Ludpercher, you’re like a genie.”
“A genie? What’s that?”

“Someone who grants wishes.”
“I don’t recall ever granting you a wish.”
Maybe not directly, but Nox always had valuable information. Whether it was about Elpinos or the Duke of Lancaster, he always seemed to have the answers. Even his appearance at Happy House, just when we needed a doctor, felt like a stroke of luck.

“Maybe not a genie—more like DoraXmon,” I thought, laughing to myself.
Nox watched me with an indecipherable expression as I chuckled.