A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tangerine’s blade, which had fallen straight down, pierced my shoulder.
The force of the impact sent a sharp tingle through my entire body.
A tingle.
Not pain, but—
“I told you not to move!”
Tangerine scolded me like I was a difficult patient, then lifted the sword she’d embedded in my shoulder. I could only roll my eyes upward to look.
A white blade dripping with blood.
And impaled on it was a severed hand—a man’s severed hand.
The cross-section of the hand visible from my angle exposed white bone riddled with holes and still-twitching red flesh in stark detail.
“Ugh! Damn it!”
What the hell was that?!
I leaped sideways and frantically brushed at my shoulder.
“That hand has been stuck to the Princess’s shoulder this whole time!”
Tangerine explained with a giggle—she’d sliced off the zombie’s arm that was gripping the Princess’s shoulder, but while the body had fallen away, the hand remained attached. Of course it did!
Tangerine stared at the bluish hand impaled on her blade with a thoughtful hum, then lowered the sword to the ground and stomped on it to dislodge the hand.
Her tone and demeanor had returned to their usual cheerful cadence.
“Even though the Princess was jumping left and right, rolling forward and backward, causing absolute chaos, that hand just wouldn’t come off!”
“Insane…!”
How long had it been attached?!
“Then why didn’t you just tell me plainly instead of speaking so ominously?!”
Do you have any idea how terrified I was?!
My heart was racing a hundred times faster than when I learned Praha liked me, faster than when I saw Cyprus’s bare body.
Wow. I thought it was going to burst.
I glared at Tangerine with resentment. She tilted her head at my gaze with a confused sound.
“Well, if you suddenly tell a civilian that there’s a bomb stuck to their back or a winged cockroach clinging to their clothes, they tend to panic and have a fit!”
“A cockroach on my clothes?!”
“Yes! And if the cockroach accidentally crawls inside your clothes, it becomes even worse! I judged that a zombie hand would be the same!”
“….”
“Especially since the Princess is currently wearing something that offers absolutely no protection, I was so nervous that hand might scratch your skin!”
“Then why did your tone suddenly become so calm?!”
“Because I need to reassure other people—I can’t use a flustered tone!”
“Well, it didn’t reassure me at all!”
Overwhelmed by a wave of distress, I let out a wail and collapsed onto the ground.
The shock of thinking Tangerine was attacking me didn’t fade easily.
‘And it was even more shocking because it was Tangerine, of all people.’
What were the odds I could win in a one-on-one fight with Tangerine in a dead-end alley like this?
One hundred percent…
I have hypnotic magic, after all…
“I was seriously about to use magic. Tangerine, you almost got yourself killed just now, you know?”
“Oh no! I’m the sole heir to my family! What would my parents do if I died?!”
“That’s why I didn’t kill him. But then, what was all that talk about your worries?”
Praha wondered aloud, still sitting and brushing dirt from his limbs—when had Praha ever experienced such profound loss that he felt compelled to ponder it? He checked his back and other areas twice over, paranoid about undiscovered zombie fragments clinging to him.
The thought of being infected by a scratch from a severed zombie piece rather than the main body seemed almost insultingly pathetic.
“Well, you see.”
“You see?”
“I was thinking about how to spare the Crown Prince and others from experiencing the same sorrow I’ve endured!”
“….”
“Because I know how devastating that grief truly is!”
“…I thought you were seeking revenge.”
“Me? Revenge against whom?”
“…Against Praha.”
“Huh….”
“No… Earlier, Tangerine said that my brother died by Praha’s hand, that Praha severed my brother’s neck….”
“Ah!”
Is that something to seek revenge over? Tangerine laughed.
“That was my brother’s choice.”
“….”
“He died with honor. I cannot tarnish that with my own hands now!”
Tangerine extended a hand to help me up from where I’d collapsed onto the dirt.
“To think you suspected me of betrayal—your trust in Tangerine is thinner than newspaper, it seems. How disappointing.”
“No, I….”
Why did she have to phrase it like that? I suddenly felt apologetic and glanced at her nervously. Seeing my sidelong gaze, Tangerine let out a laugh.
“I’m joking!”
“Seriously…!”
“My brother died protecting the Imperial Family until the very end. If I were to betray the Imperial Family for that reason, wouldn’t his death become meaningless? That’s what I meant to say.”
“….”
“So I will fulfill my duty as a Knight to the very end, Princess. With my life.”
“Don’t say that!”
Talk like that and you’ll actually end up sacrificing yourself later!
Don’t lay down foreshadowing!
I grabbed Tangerine’s arm in alarm.
“Take that back right now!”
Nobody sacrifice themselves! We’re all getting out of here alive!
“Oh, the Princess worrying about me! Even though you suspected me of betrayal!”
Tears of gratitude and betrayal streaming down her face, Tangerine buried her face in her hands and sobbed dramatically, then brushed the dirt from my backside. She linked her arm with mine with an intimacy that transcended the bond between Princess and Knight—as if we were true friends.
Tangerine linked her arm with mine in that familiar way.
“Teasing the Princess is more fun than teasing the Crown Prince! I’d love to continue, but the zombies are coming! Shall we go?”
I looked in the direction Tangerine’s chin indicated.
“…There’s no path that way, is there?”
It’s a dead-end alley.
“Just climb over the wall!”
Tangerine pointed at the spots—here, here, and here—explaining that three jumps would do it.
Without a word, I brushed off Tangerine’s arm and gathered abandoned trash bags and wooden barrels from nearby, stacking them at the base of the Stone Wall.
Time to work out. A two-meter wall like this should be nothing—I’d vault over it in one smooth motion.
“But Tangerine…”
“Yes, what is it!”
“Do you really think Praha would be the saddest if he lost me?”
“So that’s what you were curious about! I’ll ask His Highness directly when we meet later!”
“Stop it!”
As Tangerine pulled me up and over the Stone Wall, one thought consumed me.
Tangerine had never taken back her promise to stake her life on this.
Once we’d safely escaped the Alley.
“I’m curious about something. That house back there—why did a Gate suddenly appear in that spot?”
“I have no idea!”
Tangerine laughed cheerfully, her long limbs dangling beneath her yellow pajamas. Blood continued to drip from her blade—she’d cut down several more zombies on the way out.
She looked like a mad master swordsman.
“Be careful, Princess! I might betray you, after all!”
“Seriously!”
I headed toward the Hill alongside Tangerine, who’d apparently found amusement in teasing me.
Yujein, Cherry, and General were already waiting on the Hill, which overlooked the Warehouse perfectly.
And Praha was there too.
“…Yusara? Tangerine?”
Praha, who’d been conversing with Yujein and Cherry—who’d just arrived—blinked as he watched me climb the Hill. He seemed unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Why have you returned?”
“The magic binding the Ship dissipated faster than expected.”
“All the adults except the Grand Duke have disembarked!”
“Woof!”
“A dog and a seventeen-year-old who swims well have also disembarked!”
“…This place is dangerous.”
“I know—you mean the Gate, right?”
I explained that I’d just fled from seeing that very Gate. Praha’s expression grew even more grave.
“Are you injured?”
“Lime is presumed dead! We couldn’t confirm the body.”
“What about the rest of you?”
“We’re all fine.”
“It’s all thanks to the Princess!”
Yujein interjected.
“Me?”
“Yes, you used magic for us back there!”
“I did?!”
“Yes! He shouted ‘Run!’ That’s how the Saint was able to escape to safety!”
Tangerine laughed as she added that the magic had caught her too, forcing her to flee outside the door before returning.
“That’s also why I couldn’t confirm Lime’s body—I was caught in the magic!”
“Ah….”
When I came to my senses, Cherry and Yujein were huddled far away in the corner.
So it was possible to cast it on multiple people at once.
While I nodded, Praha, who had been silent, spoke as he observed my still-wet hair, my ruined dress, and my dirt-covered limbs.
“Instead of warm water, you’ve been drenched in blood.”
“Promise me you’ll go wash with warm water, dress in comfortable clothes, wrap yourself in blankets, and eat something delicious. Then I’ll be happy.”
That’s right. Praha had asked that of me. I haven’t kept a single promise.
Embarrassed, I brushed my arm.
“Indeed.”
“Instead of comfortable clothes, you’re wearing burlap.”
“Not quite burlap….”
This dress was definitely something the landlord paid good money for. This is too much.
“And there are no blankets here either.”
“I’ll manage.”
It will be cold now that night is falling….
The sun was already setting. Praha, glancing at the dimming sky, spoke.
“It’s good that I got to see your face sooner than planned. But I don’t like being here.”
“….”
“It’s better to have something in front of me than to worry about what’s absent.”
“….”
“Still, I’d prefer to leave this dangerous place quickly.”
Unsure whether it was good or bad, Praha shook his head.
“We need to leave here first.”
“Now that I think about it, why did you come here, Your Highness?”
“I was planning to endure the remaining time here.”
“Here? It’s cold…. What would you do?”
“I was just going to stay still.”
“What kind of plan is that?”
Stay still for twelve hours? I laughed at the absurdity of it.
Praha, watching me laugh, stopped what he was about to say and looked at the setting sun once, then at me once more before speaking.
“Your smile alone is enough to make the sun lose its light and set.”
“What?”
“The sun must have realized it too. That it’s no longer the brightest existence on this earth.”
“….”
So suddenly…?
Behind me, flustered, Tangerine flailed her arms wildly. She mouthed the words.
‘Don’t even bother asking! There’s no need!’
…I think it would be best if we left this place quickly….
[Hill overlooking the Warehouse]
– Yusara, Praha, Yujein, Tangerine, General (Alive)
– Cherry (???)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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