A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 24

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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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Music drifts through the air.
A melody that announces this place as sanctuary.
In a world overrun by the undead, no one would have the leisure to play instruments so peacefully.
“…Your Highness?”
“Your Highness!”
The Imperial Knights rushed toward us upon seeing our early arrival.
“Your Highness! Weren’t you scheduled to return this afternoon?!”
“…Has anything happened here?”
“Yes…? Yes, this place is… Wait, Your Highness?!”
White armor. Cerulean cloaks. The blue rose crest emblazoned across their chests.
Imperial Knights.
The Imperial Knights guarding the Portal stared in shock at our disheveled state, then immediately formed a protective perimeter around us.
Through my blurred vision, I watched an Attendant sprint away urgently.
“His Highness has returned!”
“Summon the royal physician!”
“What has transpired?!”
A knight who appeared to be their commander turned to Praha.
“An attack?!”
Not a trace of foreknowledge crossed the alarmed knight’s features.
My recollection had been accurate.
The gate breach that unleashed the undead occurred only at the Imperial Villa on the Artificial Island where the three protagonists were stationed.
The Imperial Palace remained untouched.
Nothing had happened here.
We had returned safely.
Those who returned were.
Myself. Yujein. Crown Prince Praha. Grand Duke Cyprus. Mascarpone. Knight Dazling. The Troublemaker.
I bent slowly and retrieved a single slipper that had fallen on the Portal floor.
“Sound the alarm throughout the Imperial Palace!”
“Protect both His Highnesses!”
“Your Highness, your orders!”
Consomme did not return.
‘Aaaahhhhh!’
In that final moment, the Troublemaker had shoved the bitten Consomme beyond the Portal’s threshold.
‘No!’
‘Help me! Somebody help!’
Consomme’s terror-stricken eyes as the undead clung to her cheek. Her mouth agape in agony. Her hands desperately reaching for salvation.
I witnessed it all with my own eyes.
And I could do nothing.
‘Consomme…!’
My outstretched hand slipped through empty air.
The moment the Troublemaker shoved me into the light, infection bloomed—his eyes turning crimson.
Tears welling in those eyes.
“….”
I lifted my gaze.
Praha stood there, watching me intently.
“….”
“….”
“Am I pathetic?”
“No.”
“….”
“I don’t think that at all.”
With those words alone, he summoned the Imperial Knights. I watched Praha and the Grand Duke speak gravely with the knights before turning away.
The Troublemaker stood there awkwardly, tugging at his clothes.
When our eyes met, he pretended not to notice.
My voice trembled shamefully as I addressed him.
“They say women are burdens, yet I’ve survived twice because of those burdens.”
“What?”
“Why did you do it?”
I took two steps forward, standing before the Troublemaker.
“Answer me. Why did you do it?”
There was nothing holding me back now. Consomme, who had stood between us, was gone.
“Why did you do it! Why!”
My scream tore through the silence, and everything around me stilled.
The vigilant knights, Praha explaining the situation, Mascarpone sitting dazed—all froze and looked at me.
The Troublemaker, suddenly the center of attention, flinched and pouted his lips.
I waited.
Desperate to hear his answer.
I needed to know why, how he could possibly do such a thing.
After a long pause, all the Troublemaker said was:
“Why are you only coming at me?”
“What?”
“Why only me? So I should have died quietly there instead? Should I have meekly offered my neck to that corpse? You’re upset because I sacrificed someone else? Is that what you’re squawking about now, princess?”
There was no trace of regret or remorse in the Troublemaker’s upturned face.
“Is that what you wanted to say? That I shouldn’t have sacrificed others? Now you come asking who’s right and wrong? Either way, I lived and he died.”
“…hah.”
“What’s the point of assigning blame now? I survived, and he’s dead.”
“….”
“If you’re upset, do the same thing I did later.”
So he had lived by pushing a companion—someone who had weathered danger alongside him—in his stead.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
‘Why does he do this only to me?’ was originally my line.
He stole my role.
“You could have just… just pushed the corpse away.”
“Ha.”
“I didn’t even tell you to kill it. A single kick would have been enough. …We were moving anyway. It was already over.”
If you’d just dodged once, Praha beside you would have handled it somehow.
When you pulled Consomme toward you, Praha had already finished off the zombie rushing at him and was watching your direction.
It was a far easier and simpler choice than dragging someone next to you and throwing them in front.
Why? Why? Why?
“She was alive. She was talking to me. Just moments before, she….”
was smiling.
The Troublemaker heard my voice drain of strength and shrugged.
“What if I got bitten?”
“….”
“It’s survival instinct. I couldn’t help it.”
“Survival instinct….”
“Put yourself in my situation from earlier. You wouldn’t do the same? Not a chance. Everyone’s the same.”
“….”
“Honestly, shouldn’t you be grateful to me?”
If I hadn’t pushed her, this place would be chaos right now. Without me, we’d all be dead.
“…Ha.”
“It’s easy to play the good person with words. After I saved your life.”
The Troublemaker sneered, calling it all hypocrisy.
…I had nothing more to say.
“…You’re right. I’d do the same if I were in your position. Because that’s ‘instinct’. So here’s the thing.”
I stopped speaking and turned around.
Everyone was staring at me.
I undid Praha’s magical rope that still hung around my wrist. I tried to return it, but he wouldn’t take it. I had no choice but to hand it to the Imperial Knight standing beside me.
Then I whispered so only the nearby Praha could hear.
“Your Highness.”
“…Yes.”
“Papri needs to be isolated. Right now.”
Looking closely at the Troublemaker’s hand, there were scratches on the back of it… droplets of blood.
“He got scratched on his fingernails when he pushed Consomme away. It’s fine now, but as time passes, infection will begin to….”
“…My lady?”
“….”
“My lady!”
The Imperial Palace is peaceful.
A peach-colored floor laid with a sky-blue carpet.
Roman shades hung in the windows instead of curtains.
A golden crystal chandelier.
A palace that seemed crafted from cream and sunlight—lovely and dignified.
That was the last thing my memory held.
* * *
It was Praha who caught Yusara as she collapsed into unconsciousness.
The Imperial Knight who had been closest to her, who had moved to embrace her, startled and stepped back when the Crown Prince suddenly intervened.
A soft sound.
Her bound hair came undone, and black strands cascaded over Praha’s wrist.
It tickled.
“Look at her, look at her—she’s got nothing to say, so she’s pretending to faint.”
Papri prattled on, watching Yusara.
“She acts so superior all by herself, but what’s this? She’s just the same as everyone else in the end.”
“….”
“Even back at the Wooden Palisade, what was it? Letting the weak go first? Hearing that from behind, I was speechless. We’re struggling to survive, and she talks about yielding? It’s all an act, all hypocrisy.”
No one opened their mouth.
Not Praha, not Cyprus, not Mascarpone, not Dazling, nor the Imperial Knights and Attendants who had grasped the situation.
Only Papri’s voice echoed through the silence.
“Acting virtuous requires reading the room. These idiots who don’t even realize their lives are precious while playing good? Who’s going to acknowledge them for it?”
“Papri.”
It was Praha who cut off Papri’s words.
Praha, who had been staring at Yusara’s hair wound around his hand, asked quietly.
“Did you forget so soon? My guest is my responsibility.”
“What?”
“You’re not very bright, are you?”
Even as he spoke to Papri, his gaze remained fixed on her hair.
“Papri.”
Praha spoke.
“I’m not asking you to sacrifice your life for an elderly person trapped in a burning mansion, or to lead a resistance when the nation falls.”
Black, soft hair.
“But at the very least, when someone performs a good deed, don’t diminish them. Not because it’s something you cannot do.”
Everyone will see that your motivation is inferiority.
“I tried to build a society where everyone acknowledges those foolish enough to risk their lives while acting virtuous. It seems I’ve failed at politics.”
“…Brother?”
Finally, Praha lifted his head, his gaze turning toward Papri.
“Yes, Papri.”
Without taking his eyes off Papri, he issued a command to the Imperial Knights.
“Papri is infected with ‘that disease.’ Restrain him.”
“…?!”
At those words, everyone’s attention turned to Papri. Flustered, Papri took a step back.
In that moment, Mascarpone murmured something.
“Your hand….”
Startled by those words, Papri glanced down at the back of his hand and quickly tucked his arm behind his back.
“No, wait! It’s not—!”
But Praha spoke first.
“This disease is highly contagious and unpredictable. Keeping Papri at the Imperial Palace risks further infection. He will be sent to the Island immediately.”
“Wh-what?”
“Restrain him firmly during transport to prevent him from biting or injuring anyone.”
“No, no… no, it’s not! Wait!”
“Pay particular attention to the wound on his hand.”
“It’s not, I’m telling you! Brother! It’s not! I’m fine!”
“The Portal will be sealed the moment Papri reaches the Artificial Island.”
“Brother!!!!!!!!”
“And convene a meeting immediately. Summon everyone. Regardless of the hour.”
“Hey, Praha. Hold on.”
The Grand Duke interjected with a gentle smile.
“Even so, sending him away entirely seems harsh. There’s a chance—just a chance—he might not be infected.”
“R-right! I’m fine! Look! I’m speaking perfectly and walking fine!”
As the panicked Papri tried to approach the others, they all instinctively retreated.
The Grand Duke stepped forward to block his path, speaking softly.
“Papri, my brother. Just endure there for ten days. If you haven’t turned into a corpse after ten days, I’ll come retrieve you myself.”
The Grand Duke’s complexion was ashen as he spoke. His right arm hung at an unnatural angle.
He had caught Yusara as she fell from the Wooden Palisade, and the impact had shattered his bone.
I had been reckless. A broken arm would render me useless in combat.
I knew what would come after that.
Yet strangely, I felt no regret.
If I hadn’t sacrificed my arm, Yusara would have been injured.
Trading one arm to avoid that outcome was a bargain.
She had already been strange enough today—she couldn’t afford to be hurt on top of that.
No regrets.
“Huu….”
“Hmm? Ten days. Exactly ten days. And don’t reach for my hand.”
Would you rather stay forever? At the Grand Duke’s question, Papri shook his head frantically.
The Imperial Knights surrounded Papri.
“Wait, hold on. No, I’m telling you I’m fine. Let me just stay here quietly for one hour, okay? If I’m still fine after an hour, then I’m fine, right?”
It was, ironically, the female Imperial Knights who restrained Papri’s arms.
The very ones he had so thoroughly dismissed.
“No, wait! Stop! Just wait! Let go!”
Dazling, who had bitten fellow Imperial Knights urging him to seek treatment, approached.
“Let’s go, Papri.”
“D-Dazling Knight….”
“I’ll take care of this mad woman.”
Dazling bowed respectfully and wrenched Papri’s arm behind his back.
“Aaaagh!”
Papri screamed and thrashed about.
“Brother! No, I swear it’s not! This is just a scratch from somewhere! Ah! That time, at the cabin! I got scraped on a nail while helping them set up the trap! That wound!”
“….”
“Hey, say something, you two…. Tell them I got scratched helping you! Hurry! Hey! You’re supposed to be a saint!”
But Yujein also remained silent, only shaking her head. Mascarpone spoke bluntly.
“The trap was set by the lady. Papri was sitting down.”
“Tsk!”
Papri clicked his tongue and clung to Praha again.
“B-brother. Are you angry with me? Because I left without you earlier? It’s just that you… you… I would only be in the way….”
“That’s right. I am angry with you.”
Praha acknowledged it lightly.
“How dare you be born into this world. How dare you be born through the body of a woman you despise so much, harm my guest, and insult my knight.”
“….”
“Since the woman is taking back the life she gave you, you have no reason to complain, do you?”
Dazling lightly struck the back of Papri’s neck as he wailed. Without touching his mouth, she skillfully gagged him.
Dazling, who had been hesitating, spoke to Praha.
“Um, Your Highness. Please take care of the lady.”
“….”
“She must have suffered greatly. So….”
It was something the usual Dazling would never have done.
At her courage, Praha nodded carefully.
“It will take time for the Portal’s mana to recharge, so please wait in the meantime, Papri.”
“Mmph? Ummph! Mmph, mmph!”
Click.
The door closed, and the knight commander asked the Grand Duke a question.
“Will you really come to pick him up in ten days?”
The Grand Duke answered.
“No!”
Meanwhile, Praha’s attention had already turned to Yusara.
“…Lady?”
Yusara was bleeding.
[Imperial Palace]
– Yusara, Yujein, Praha, Grand Duke, Dazling, Mascarpone (Survived)
– Troublemaker, Consomme (Deceased)

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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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