The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House-Chapter 181

Returning from the underground passage, we all gathered in my room to discuss the information we had gathered so far.

In my room were Ethan, Nox, Theodore, Vanilla, and Nikolai, all huddled together around a lantern placed on the floor.

Despite being nobles and royalty, no one hesitated to sit on the bare floor. Indeed, in a world on the brink of destruction, even royalty sits on the ground.

"Harrison is taking too long to return. Should we send support?" I asked, concerned.

Harrison's team had not yet returned while our team had managed to gather Elpinos herbs and explore the underground passages.

"It might take longer since they are transporting livestock as well. If you are worried, I can dispatch a few royal guards to assist them," Theodore suggested thoughtfully.

"Hmm. That sounds like a good idea," I agreed.

Nikolai promptly stood up, bid us farewell, and left the room to organize the support.

With the guards dispatched, I felt a bit more at ease.

We still had the task of compiling all the important information we had gathered.

"Miss Ruskin, do you really think the meeting from ten years ago has nothing to do with this virus outbreak?" I calmly initiated the discussion.

"It's hard to say. We don't have enough information to connect that meeting to this virus yet," Theodore responded, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

That made sense. In Vanilla's memories, the focus was more on Segrave's Spring and Rudbelt, who had been dormant for 300 years, rather than on any suspicious experiments.

"But we can't completely dismiss a connection either, especially since Baron Ruskin, one of their partners, left Happy House to us. Miss Ruskin, why did your father become their partner?" Theodore turned his question to Vanilla, who seemed to snap back to reality at his query.

Nox carefully observed Vanilla's expression.

Vanilla was usually reserved and kept her emotions tightly controlled, making her difficult to read.

She looked visibly shaken now, a clear sign of her distress.

"Miss, are you alright?"

"Yes... I'm just a bit shocked. I believe that meeting is related to this virus. The letter my father left hinted that he knew something about the virus," she replied.

"A letter?" Theodore asked, puzzled.

Vanilla pulled the letter from her pocket and handed it to him.

I was surprised she carried it with her at all times.

[You must be wondering why I left you this mansion. You will understand when 'that event' happens. Until then, guard the Brunel BN1 mansion at all costs.]

[Remember, the Brunel BN1 mansion is key. It's the main one and holds the key.]

[Find Segrave. You will need his help. We must reclaim the spring. I can't ignore the risk of this letter being discovered. I will say no more.]

Theodore read the letter thoroughly and then stroked his chin again.

"This definitely suggests that someone knew the virus would spread beforehand," he concluded.

Nox, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement.

"True, but remember that Baron Ruskin and Sinclair's chairman died before the virus spread. Their deaths now seem rather suspicious, especially since the Duke of Lancaster is the only one alive from that group," he pointed out.

The conversation shifted back to the Duke of Lancaster. Could the deaths of Baron Ruskin and Sinclair's chairman be connected to him?

"Now that you mention it, both my father and Chairman Sinclair died in the same type of car accident, didn't they...?" Vanilla voiced a chilling thought, drawing everyone's attention to Ethan, who remained calm.

Nox, who had been itching to speak, finally broke his silence.

"There's another mystery to solve. Philip Montaine Rudbelt was the original owner of this mansion, which was then bought by Baron Ruskin. Could Rudbelt, who supposedly slept for 300 years, be that man?"

"Rudbelt isn't just one person," Ethan unexpectedly interjected.

I thought I was the only one who knew there was more than one Rudbelt, but how did Ethan know?

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

"A long time ago, someone asked me to protect Aurora, and his last name was also Rudbelt. Thanks to him, I learned what kind of man my father was," he explained.

Ethan knew someone who asked him to look after Aurora?

"Who was that?" Nox asked curiously.

Ethan leaned back, lost in thought for a moment, then casually dropped a name.

"It was Ezra Dante Rudbelt."

"What?!" I exclaimed, jumping from my seat in shock.

I never expected Ezra's name to come up here!

"I had forgotten about it for a long time, but I recently dreamed about him, and it all came back to me. I was planning to tell Cherry right away, but then our doctor was dragged away by a mutant monster, and I forgot until now," Ethan explained awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Ezra Dante Rudbelt was someone I met only once during my time at the royal academy. He suddenly approached me in the library while I was studying for an exam," Ethan continued.

Studying in the library?

I had heard that Ethan, when he actually studied, could outdo Nox and Theodore and top the class, but it was hard to picture Ethan, always so proper and upright, in that light.

"He bluntly asked if I trusted my father and warned me to be wary of him. Then he told me to protect my soon-to-be sister, Aurora, and mentioned he needed to find 'the spring'."

"The spring? Could that be...?"

Before I could finish my sentence, Ethan nodded, indicating he knew what I was getting at.

"I thought the same thing. It seems to be the dried-up spring we saw earlier."

Ethan continued to explain, drawing us deeper into the mystery.

According to him, my father seemed to be keeping Rudbelt under his control and continuously monitoring him. So, if my father is currently in Westmoor, it's highly likely that Rudbelt is there as well. This is just speculation, but Rudbelt appeared to be a /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ scientist."

"A scientist? Then it makes sense for this Rudbelt fellow to be in Westmoor, especially since all the doctors and scientists were said to have gathered there," Nox nodded in agreement as Ethan spoke.

Theodore queried, "Is there any evidence that Ezra Dante Rudbelt was a scientist?"

"We met in the library, remember? The books he was carrying were all advanced scientific texts. Titles like 'Common Traits among Those Immune to the Virus', 'Alchemists Researching Immortality', and 'Studies on the Combination of Badon and Elpinos'. These aren't easy topics without a solid background. There were also a few books related to Segrave among them."

Ethan's impressive memory of all those book titles affirmed how he had managed to be the top scholar at the royal academy.

"Wait... Badon and Elpinos?" Nox interjected, catching a critical detail. Right, Badon and Elpinos are closely linked to the virus monsters, drugs, and herbs.

"And 'Alchemists Researching Immortality'? That reminds me of Duke Casey. There are famous rumors about alchemists frequenting Duke Casey's estate."

"Ah, yes. And Duke Casey was one of the first to die of the epidemic before it spread nationwide," Vanilla added, Theodore agreeing. Moreover, Duke Casey was practically an extension of Duke Lancaster's will.

"It seems we're beginning to see some clues. This partnership meeting from ten years ago might indeed be linked to the virus. Let me try spinning a speculative tale with the clues we've gathered so far. Listen up," Theodore said with a quick smile, piecing together his thoughts.

"Perhaps this partnership was involved in shady experiments related to Segrave, Rudbelt, and the spring.

Chairman Sinclair provided the funding, Baron Ruskin sourced and offered the experimental sites, Duke Casey conducted the experiments with alchemists, and Duke Lancaster oversaw it all.

Then, for some reason, Chairman Sinclair and Baron Ruskin changed their minds, and the other partners, unwilling to let the defectors off, disguised their deaths as accidents.

With key partners gone, the experiments faced disruptions, leading to their failure and the subsequent spread of the virus. Perhaps Duke Lancaster, unable to accept the failure, might still be continuing experiments in Westmoor."

Theodore's speculative narrative, while he called it a tale, sounded eerily plausible.

Silence fell in the room for a moment, everyone's faces reflecting shock.

I felt the same way.

Though I joked about my father possibly being a villain, the story changes if he's actually linked to the cause of our apocalypse.

Do I even deserve to survive if that's true? What was my father really thinking?

"Whatever happens, you should trust your dad. For me, protecting you is like protecting the whole world," my father's oft-repeated words echoed in my mind. He might have seemed villainous to some, but to me, he was the best father.

Then, Theodore's voice broke the silence.

"So the question now arises: 'What exactly is the experiment they are conducting?'"

Ethan added to the conversation, "Ah, Rudbelt also mentioned that more people had drunk from the spring. He said finding that child might help us too. Doesn't it seem like there's something special about the spring? So, my lord, your theory might be on point; maybe the experiment involves using the spring. That's why they stole it."

"More people? Does that mean not just one or two have drunk from the spring?"

"I'm curious what secrets lie in that spring. I also want to know who else has drunk from it."

I responded as everyone nodded in agreement, still visibly shaken.

Could Ethan or Aurora have drunk from the spring?

Everything was mere conjecture, but I was becoming increasingly eager to meet Ezra in person.

It seems I'll need to head to Westmoor.