A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 27

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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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Someone suddenly burst in and yanked open the curtains around my bed.
“…?!”
I looked up in shock.
And then I was even more shocked.
“Yusara!”
This is my mother?!
She was skeletal thin, her hair dyed a bright blonde, and covered in bluish bruises scattered across her limbs—but she was unmistakably my mother!
Mother pulled me into a tight embrace.
“You’ve awakened!”
A heavy fragrance wafted through the air.
The hand stroking my back over my nightgown was so gaunt it was startling—and that’s when I realized.
‘This isn’t my mother.’
This woman is Yusara’s mother.
I hastily shoved the red stones I’d been holding into my pocket.
At the same time, the Head Maid instructed the maids beside her.
“What are you doing? Draw the curtains at once!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the curtains drew shut in perfect unison.
The thick blackout curtains, so at odds with the room’s cheerful atmosphere, blocked out all the sunlight streaming in.
Only then did Yusara’s mother, who had been holding me, sit up.
At that moment.
In the suddenly darkened room.
I caught the scent of metal, hidden beneath the fragrance.
“….”
‘What is that smell?’
Well. In any case.
This woman is Yusara’s mother.
If anyone were to notice that Yusara’s soul had been switched, wouldn’t this woman be first on the list?
‘Even if she doesn’t realize the soul has changed, she’ll notice her daughter is different. She’s her mother, after all.’
I, who had suddenly become a malevolent spirit dwelling in another’s body, tensed and carefully observed her.
Yusara’s mother’s eyes glistened with tears.
“Thank goodness you’ve awakened without incident. When I heard the news from the Crown Prince, I was so worried!”
“Yes….”
“I prayed to the goddess of beauty and marriage for hours, begging her to let you wake safely!”
“Oh….”
That’s very kind, but shouldn’t those prayers have been directed to the god of survival and immunity instead?
“Are you in any pain?”
A hand with pointed nails touched my forehead. The fingertips were rough and the body temperature unnaturally cold.
I naturally pulled away and changed the subject.
“Um, so… did you hear everything about what happened at the Villa yesterday?”
“Exactly! I heard the Imperial Family is holding an emergency meeting about this very matter!”
“Is that so?”
Of course it would be.
I could have predicted this even without reading the novel.
In a world where magic and gods exist, how would they possibly handle a zombie apocalypse?
I kept my mouth shut and waited for the Grand Duke’s mother to continue speaking.
What would this high-ranking noblewoman say about this catastrophe?
“I’ve already healed the wound on your forehead without a trace. I even trimmed your broken nails while you were sleeping. You ran through the Garden, did you? Later, I’ll make sure to massage your calves—muscular legs on a woman look unsightly.”
“….”
That’s all?
“Your palms and heels are completely healed without a single callus. I used a magical remedy—one drop per pearl. They’ll become softer than a newborn baby’s skin.”
“….”
That’s all? (2)
‘Is she speaking in riddles to maintain secrecy in front of the maids, and I’m just not understanding?’
“Are there any other scratches?”
I fell silent before her pale face, eyes gleaming.
“Aaaahhh!”
A scream suddenly pierced the air.
…?!
“Aaaahhh!”
Thud!
“Ahhh!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Your Grace!”
The Head Maid rushed past my frozen form and quickly adjusted the curtains.
The thick blackout curtain shifted, cutting off the single ray of sunlight that had briefly leaked through.
“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Patter patter patter.
The maid who had drawn the curtain suddenly bolted from the room.
The room fell dark once more.
Only then did the Grand Duke’s mother laugh.
“Now, where were we?”
“…The scratches….”
“Right, let me see!”
“Oh!”
The woman’s eyes widened as she lifted my nightgown to examine my lower abdomen.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Why are you screaming again…!”
“Bring the remedy at once! At once!”
Here too! Good heavens! Here as well!
She examined me thoroughly, catching even the scrapes I didn’t know I had.
Only after applying a pearl-sized treatment to each wound did the young lady’s mother seem satisfied.
As someone who didn’t even have a single pearl, let alone a bead of ice cream,
I could only feel bewildered.
‘The atmosphere seems a bit insane right now, doesn’t it?’
I couldn’t understand how the situation had unfolded, but now—
“Um… Mother? Mom?”
I asked cautiously.
“Where did all these treatments come from? The cost must have been considerable.”
“I bought out the entire stock from the magic shop in the Capital. About half of it was sent by Mascarpone.”
That fierce girl. Dismissing her lightly, the young lady’s mother—the Head Maid had just called her “Your Grace,” so she was likely the Grand Duke—nodded her head.
“The Crown Prince and the Grand Duke also sent medicine.”
“Hmm…”
“Even a commoner sent holy water. A commoner, of all people.”
A commoner? Yujein?
“An Imperial Knight named Dazling also sent ointment and a card—the handwriting was quite elegant! Is he male?”
“No.”
“Tsk.”
Anyway, while I was unconscious, quite a few letters and gifts arrived. She had a maid lay them out in a row on the table.
Among them, the cards from Praha and the Grand Duke showed signs of having been opened.
I considered asking why she’d opened someone else’s cards, but gave up.
‘Why does she keep talking only about skin?’
Zombies have appeared, yet she hasn’t mentioned it once?
If this woman is the Grand Duke, why isn’t she at the emergency meeting and why is she here? Where did Father go? I don’t know if the relationship between the Grand Duke and me is good or bad, or what her personality is like, so I’m just watching her carefully.
“Ugh…”
The Grand Duke trembled and merely belched.
Having no choice, I asked first.
“Is there an emergency meeting at the Imperial Family?”
“Grrrgh. Yes.”
The Grand Duke, belching as if about to vomit her very entrails, spoke while examining her fingernails.
“It’s an emergency meeting to investigate the truth about this incident and prepare countermeasures. A summons came for you as well, as a witness. You should go.”
Unlike her earlier enthusiasm, her tone had suddenly become sluggish and disinterested.
Her speech even sounded dazed.
“When?”
“The day after tomorrow afternoon.”
“What? The day after tomorrow?”
Zombies are overrunning the place, yet the day after tomorrow afternoon?
“That works out well. I need to manage my skin anyway. Two days should be enough…”
My skin had roughened in just one day.
The Grand Duke clicked her tongue and stroked my cheek. Her fingertips were still cold.
“These shadows under my eyes won’t fade no matter what I do. I’m not even doing anything, so why am I so exhausted!”
Should I apply mercury to rub them away?
“If only my eyes were a brighter color!”
I wish I could pluck out my eyes like fingernails and have new ones grow in!
“….”
This person isn’t in their right mind….
‘How creepy.’
I ignored the goosebumps prickling across my arms and forced the corners of my mouth upward.
“Once you’re a corpse, what good is eye color anyway… But more importantly, isn’t the day after tomorrow too late? What if those creatures appear in the Capital at any moment?”
I deliberately obscured my words, uncertain how much information I could disclose to the servants.
The Grand Duke seemed indifferent, but she dismissed the servants regardless.
“All of you, leave. Go fetch a large mirror.”
Once the Head Maid had exited and closed the door, the Grand Duke examined her fingernails again before speaking.
“The situation is unfolding far more urgently than you realize.”
“….”
“Everyone was shocked. Someone infiltrated the Imperial Private Estate and attempted to assassinate a member of the Imperial Family? Using such bizarre methods no less! Yet we don’t even know how the incident occurred!”
“….”
“If word of this spreads, it will throw the Empire into chaos. The Imperial Family’s authority will crumble, and a new war might even break out.”
“A war….”
“Yes. A war that ended less than three years ago. Everyone agreed to keep quiet for now and focus on tracing the cause of this incident.”
“I see.”
But here’s the thing.
“Then why is the meeting the day after tomorrow?”
If it’s that urgent, shouldn’t it already be happening?
“Well, the two younger Highnesses insisted we must immediately enter wartime readiness, requisition knights from noble houses, establish checkpoints in every city. But that’s not what’s important right now, is it?”
“Pardon? Then what is important?”
The Grand Duke laughed, seemingly surprised by my persistence.
“You’re saying such things too?”
“….”
“That’s just the younger Highnesses speaking in youthful haste, confusing their priorities.”
“…So they want to do something immediately because corpses are walking around?”
“No, no. Doing something immediately is right, but the direction is different.”
The Grand Duke blinked her eyes rapidly.
“If houses requisition knights to patrol the streets, who guards the nobles’ mansions? Checkpoints? Who pays for those?”
With each blink, her sluggish speech gradually returned to normal.
“Moreover, if that happens, only the martial families will gain influence. Is there any guarantee we can reclaim the concentrated voice of power after this is over?”
Yet the content of her words remained abnormal.
“But if everyone dies, there’s no voice of power to reclaim!”
So you’re saying we should do nothing? I protested. The Grand Duke smiled warmly at me.
“Of course not. Everyone is moving urgently as we speak.”
“What on earth is so urgent…?”
“First, we prepare the Imperial Palace and the nobles’ mansions, and then we discuss the rest through a conference. It’ll take a day or two to complete the basic preparations, so the conference comes after.”
“….”
“His Majesty has already agreed to this matter.”
The Grand Duke continued, speaking as if teaching a five-year-old.
“You two highnesses still lack experience, so your grasp of reality may be insufficient, but not all human lives hold equal value.”
“….”
“Without a ruling class to guide them, commoners lose their direction. So we must prepare the most important places first.”
What utter nonsense….
“Don’t worry. Surely we wouldn’t abandon our people? Then who would pay taxes?”
Red lips curved into a smile.
I remained silent.
So in other words, let’s find our own way to survive first. Whether commoners live or die doesn’t matter.
It’s the kind of thinking a K-era politician would have.
Politicians at least canvass for votes every four years, but these bastards have hereditary succession!
Infuriating!
Unbothered by my seething frustration, the Grand Duke remained serene. A jewel fell from one of her fingernails, and she pouted about it before suddenly asking me.
“By the way, you’ve lost weight, haven’t you?”
“What?”
“Even though I kept telling you to lose weight, to lose it desperately, you couldn’t shed that belly fat—but now it’s all gone. Your face looks slimmer too!”
Just then, the maids returned with mirrors. A large mirror was thrust before my eyes.
The Grand Duke held the large mirror and paid no mind to the trembling maid.
“Look at yourself!”
I was dumbfounded, but I looked anyway.
Since I’d possessed this body, I had to see my reflection at least once.
‘There were mirrors at the zombie villa too, but I never had time to look.’
According to the novel’s description, the young lady Yusara shares my name and bears a similar appearance.
‘Let me see just how identical we are.’
I furrowed my brow and looked into the mirror.
“…What…?”
“See? You’ve lost weight, haven’t you?”
It’s just me…?
‘Could this be dimensional travel instead of possession?’
[(Temporary Safe Zone) Duke’s Residence, 3rd Floor, Young Lady’s Room]
– Yusara (Surviving)

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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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