A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 134

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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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At dawn, Muffin groaned and opened her eyes.
‘I must have drunk too much juice before bed.’
For Muffin, who had always lived in the Island Village where cool breezes constantly swept through, this unfamiliar city of Sodom was excessively hot, constantly driving her to seek something to drink.
She had lost count of how many nights she’d woken up in the middle of sleep to use the bathroom.
‘Still, I’m doing better than most. At least I can get to the bathroom on my own.’
Cheese’s Younger Sibling had wet the bed on their first night here, hadn’t they?
Fortunately, the other sisters had graciously pretended not to notice.
Muffin cast a sidelong glance at Cheese sleeping beside her and her younger sibling, then quietly lifted herself up.
She could use the bathroom in the room, but then the other sisters sleeping in the Adjacent Room would wake up.
These days, the adults were so sensitive that they’d wake at the slightest sound.
Yesterday, after finishing her business, she’d found everyone already awake and staring at her—she’d felt so embarrassed she thought she might die.
Muffin carefully muffled her footsteps, stepped over the carpet that partially covered the door, and slipped into the Corridor.
“….”
Where was the bathroom again? Was it downstairs?
She’d definitely asked the Maid about the bathroom’s location, anticipating she’d need to go again during the night.
Muffin felt a sense of pride at her own cleverness and thoughtfulness as she carefully made her way down the Corridor, trying not to wake anyone.
“….”
‘This is a bit scary.’
The purple and golden castle that had looked so mystical during the day now resembled a haunted mansion in the darkness of night.
It felt as though a ghost in a white dress could emerge from the open end of the Corridor or from inside a doorless room at any moment, fixing her with a menacing gaze.
With so many open spaces, she couldn’t predict where a ghost might appear.
“Caw!”
“You startled me…!”
Muffin’s eyes met those of a bird in a cage, its yellow eyes wide and alert, and she pressed a hand to her chest.
“There are so many birds in this place.”
Muffin grumbled to herself as she stepped onto the Staircase leading downward.
It was just as she descended the Staircase and turned around a pillar.
“…Phew.”
Thud.
“….”
Between the small sigh she’d exhaled from fear, she distinctly heard it.
The sound of footsteps approaching from behind her.
Muffin, stiffening with dread, forced her rigid neck to turn and attempt to look behind her.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
“Grrr….”
“Ahhhhh…!”
Muffin, losing all reason, began running frantically in no particular direction.
Behind the wildly fleeing Muffin, the footsteps grew louder in pursuit.
Like hunting prey.
Cornered, Muffin bolted down the staircase in a desperate sprint.
The thought of screaming loud enough for her older siblings upstairs to hear, or of turning back to climb up again, never even crossed her mind.
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
Upon reaching the main entrance leading outside, Muffin seized the door handle and shook it frantically. She even threw her body against it, but the door remained firmly locked.
Cornered, Muffin bolted into the Corridor that appeared immediately beside her.
Patter-patter.
‘I have to scream.’
Yet her throat felt clamped shut, and no sound emerged.
Only ragged, gasping breaths escaped.
“Ugh….”
Patter-patter.
Muffin, who had been running while crying, was suddenly forced to a halt by someone’s powerful arm.
“Uh, uh-ah…!”
“Shh.”
It was the Maid of the castle.
The one who came to tidy Muffin’s bedding.
The Maid pulled the fleeing Muffin into her embrace and gripped both of her shoulders firmly.
The grip was strong enough to leave marks.
“Miss Muffin, what’s happening on the first floor? In the middle of the night?”
The Maid smiled as she asked why Muffin had come down. In the darkness, her crimson lips stretched wide in a horizontal gash.
“There, behind… someone….”
“Hm? Behind?”
“There’s someone behind me…!”
“Huh?”
The Maid glanced behind Muffin and tilted her head.
“There’s no one behind you.”
“….”
“Now, don’t be like this. Let’s get you back to your room. You shouldn’t be here.”
The Maid turned Muffin around by her shoulders and led her in the opposite direction from where she had just emerged.
Muffin’s face was streaked with tears, and she hadn’t properly seen the entrance or location of that place. She could only gasp for breath.
“I was trying to leave, but the door was locked….”
“Of course it’s locked. This is the castle where the Local Lord lives.”
“Someone from behind… a man….”
“You’re mistaken. Now, shall we go?”
Seeing that Muffin was quite frightened, the Maid drew grape juice from a small three-tiered fountain beside the staircase and offered it to her.
“Oh dear, I forgot to lock the door. You wait here for a moment.”
After placing the juice in Muffin’s hands, the Maid headed in the direction from which she had just appeared.
There stood a thick iron door—one that seemed out of place in a castle without doors….
“Come now, drink it quickly.”
At the Maid’s urging, Muffin drank the juice. Beneath its thick, cloying sweetness lay a bitter undertone—the taste of sugar pushed too far.
“…Muffin?”
As the group returned to their floor, Tangerine appeared ascending the opposite staircase.
Beads of perspiration dotted her forehead as though she’d just completed a patrol.
“Muffin, where were you?”
“It appears she went searching for the lavatory and became lost. Since she was wandering the first floor in tears, I…”
“I wasn’t asking you! Muffin, is that really true?”
Should I have told Tangerine about the heavy footsteps pursuing me or that strange door the Maid had emerged from?
But Muffin was gripped by fear, and I didn’t want to burden my sisters with worry over my own uncertain experience.
Besides, I felt inexplicably drowsy and hazy.
What had just happened felt like nothing more than a dream.
I wanted to dismiss this trivial incident and return to sleep as quickly as possible.
So I simply nodded.
“Use the lavatory in your room. I was only gone for fifteen minutes, and this happens!”
After the Maid left and the group was alone, Tangerine—who had checked on me repeatedly—ruffled my drowsy hair with abandon.
“I don’t usually leave my post, but today I sensed something suspicious! Nothing strange actually happened, right?”
“…Yes.”
“You mustn’t wander off without permission. Do you understand?”
“…Yes, sister.”
“Good, your eyes are heavy with sleep! Get some rest!”
Before drifting off, Muffin resolved:
From now on, I would use only the lavatory in my room, or better yet, drink nothing before bed.
But I was so terribly drowsy…
* * *
[I know the whereabouts of your Younger Brother.]
Before discussing this note.
“What are you doing?”
I demanded of Melon, who had brazenly entered my room and was holding my bag.
What was this…
I’d returned from an outing on New Year’s Day to find my cousin touching my tablet in my own room…
Caught red-handed rummaging through my bag, Melon brazenly thrust a doll toward me.
It was my prized doll.
“What is this?”
I wasn’t genuinely asking.
It was simply another way of saying “give this to me.”
“Mine.”
I spoke curtly and snatched the doll back.
Why does someone with so much money covet other people’s dolls? Ask your mother to buy you one.
“Yusara, what is the matter?”
Tangerine emerged from the adjacent room, freshly washed, with Cyprus and Praha peeking their heads in behind her.
For reference, our room arrangements are as follows.
Tangerine – the children – Yusara, Yujein – Cyprus, Praha.
Originally we each had our own room, but after the execution ground incident, we decided it was too dangerous for those without power to stay alone, so we changed it.
We even considered sharing one room altogether, but it was genuinely unbearable—the heat was suffocating. Someone would have collapsed.
“Do you need any help?”
“It’s nothing. Hey, get out.”
“This is my home.”
“Then go tell your mother to have her throw all of us out.”
I quickly shooed away Melon, who was pouting, and unfolded the note in my hand.
[Two thirty in the morning today. During the guards’ shift change. In front of the blue birdcage in the corridor. Alone.]
“Miss Yujein, did anyone visit our room while I was bathing?”
“N-no! I don’t think so… Nobody came…”
I asked Yujein just in case, but she clearly had no idea.
[Tell no one.]
‘This is deeply suspicious.’
How could I know if this note was truly from someone who knows my Younger Brother’s whereabouts, or if it was some scheme by the Local Lord of Sodom to kidnap me?
But the truth is, in this half-confined situation, this note is our only lead.
“Is something wrong?”
At Praha’s question as he entered my room, I hid the note and smiled.
“No. Nothing at all.”
If I carelessly revealed this, the lead might disappear forever.
As I kept silent with that thought, Praha, staring intently at me, spoke.
“I never attended that grooming ceremony.”
“…Yes? Oh, of course. I know.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know. I believe you.”
“I’m not sure about Cyprus. But when I woke up yesterday morning, he wasn’t in his bed.”
“Praha! Everyone can hear you?! Don’t slander people!”
Cyprus shouted from the far end of the room. Praha clicked his tongue softly and continued.
“You are the only one for me. I wouldn’t go even to a funeral ceremony, let alone a grooming one.”
“You should attend funerals…”
One must observe proper etiquette for such occasions.
Anyway, what should I do about this note in my hand?
That dawn. Two thirty.
‘It should be fine.’
I glanced once at the sleeping Yujein and left the room alone.
[Sodom Castle]
-Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine, Muffin, Cheese, Cheese’s Younger Sibling (Alive)

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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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