A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 28

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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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I turned my head to examine my profile in the mirror.
There it was.
The small mole beneath my eye that I’d had removed during my university years was still there, exactly as it had been.
“Why, why?! Have I developed freckles?!”
The Grand Duke, startled, quickly retrieved a pearl and rubbed it across my face.
I studied my luminous skin in thought.
‘So our appearances are similar—fine, I can accept that—but the mole too? Exactly the same?’
It wasn’t even close; this was essentially me.
Me at about my second year of university.
‘But if this were dimensional travel, then Yusara shouldn’t have existed in this world originally, right?’
And since when does dimensional travel function as an anti-aging procedure? Reversing my age entirely?
I examined my hair cascading to my waist, my entire body maintained like a celebrity’s from head to toe.
“….”
There was only one conclusion.
: I had possessed the body of a character in a novel written by someone who modeled her after me.
For example: I’d possessed a character in a novel my Junior Colleague wrote to take revenge on me.
‘Now that I think about it, my stamina has been exceptional.’
Mascarpone and Consomme were exhausted, so a noblewoman like Yusara shouldn’t have had much stamina either, yet at the villa I ran just as easily as I normally would.
That matched me too.
I’d always had unusually good stamina since childhood.
“….”
I have ☆absolutely☆ no idea what’s going on!
But before I could think further, the Maid cleared away the mirror.
“Shall I bring a hand mirror?”
Instead, the Grand Duke accepted a small mirror and began examining the corners of her own eyes.
It looked as though she were wearing colored contact lenses. I was simply amazed that such things existed here too.
…Hmm.
‘The Grand Duke and I are the only East Asians here.’
Everyone I’d seen in this world—whether Black, white, Latino, or otherwise—was Western, but Yusara and Yusara’s mother were both East Asian.
Then perhaps.
This way everyone’s been ignoring me, treating me like a knight or a maid….
Could it be….
Racial discrimination?
“Forget it.”
I abandoned the pointless speculation and crossed my arms.
Coming from the zombie villa where survival was paramount to this peaceful city, there were simply too many variables to consider.
At the villa, people wouldn’t have cared if I acted strangely, but here was different.
“Why do I keep developing spots…when I’m not even in the sun!”
‘Especially since the person right in front of me is Yusara’s mother.’
What if she’s already noticed? That her daughter is acting a bit odd?
It was so different from usual.
Yet while I trembled with anxiety, Yusara’s mother noticed only the blemishes that had appeared on her daughter’s exterior.
“Are you hungry? Let’s eat, and then you can have yourself groomed.”
The Grand Duke laughed as she lowered the mirror, saying that once I wore a new dress and styled my hair differently, surely the Crown Prince would fall for me too.
She noticed the raw scrapes on my skin, the shadows beneath my eyes, the hollowed-out stomach.
But she failed to perceive the most crucial thing within her daughter—that my soul had been exchanged.
“…Where has my younger brother gone?”
Before I knew it, I had been dragged down to the Dining Room and seated.
I took a sip of lemon water—something the Grand Duke claimed was good for weight loss, though I questioned whether it was wise to drink on an empty stomach—and asked.
I knew she had a younger brother whom their parents constantly favored over the young lady, yet he was nowhere to be seen.
At my question, the Grand Duke heaved a great sigh.
“Yesterday at noon he left with several pouches of gold coins and hasn’t sent word since! I even sent a Servant to bring him back, but even he’s gone silent!”
“Where did he go?”
“Where else! The Horse Racing Track!”
“I see.”
“He’s stayed out before, but he’s never failed to send word! The world is dangerous these days—what on earth is he doing out there!”
“He’ll probably come back once his money runs out…”
To get more money.
“I hope he’s not fallen in with some disreputable women!”
The Grand Duke struck the table indignantly.
“And what is that Servant doing!”
A thought occurred to me, and I asked.
“But if even the Servant who went to fetch him isn’t responding… shouldn’t you send people to search for them?”
Something could be wrong.
“You’re too naive—if he’s gotten involved with the wrong woman, it could be serious!”
Yet the Grand Duke seemed not to hear me at all, continuing only to rail against disreputable women.
“When will the meal be ready, for goodness’ sake?!”
Her impatient voice twisted nearly 180 degrees in her seat toward the Kitchen.
“…?!”
Just as my appetite vanished at the grotesque sight, the Servants finally emerged with the meal.
‘Well, let’s eat anyway.’
With that sentiment, I looked at the plate placed before me.
“…”
Half a boiled egg with the yolk removed, two small pieces of salad, and three almonds and blueberries.
Seeing my stunned expression, the Grand Duke preened.
“It’s more than you usually eat, isn’t it? I thought it might be acceptable today.”
“…”
“Mother is so happy that her daughter has become slender. Now I can finally take you to the dressmaker without embarrassment!”
The Grand Duke, giggling, picked up the plate before her.
She had given me salad scraps while she took the steak for herself.
The Grand Duke brought a steak plate brimming with blood and grease to her lips….
‘…Is she drinking blood right now?’
“That Their Highnesses would send you cards! (the sound of liquid being swallowed) Women truly are….”
She stared at the glistening lips before asking.
“Does my younger brother eat the same way I do?”
“He’s a man!”
“….”
“You mustn’t let your guard down now that you’ve slipped. Maintaining your figure is harder than losing weight, you know. Men prefer slender waists.”
“….”
“Just bear with it a little longer, yes? You don’t want to have to ‘regulate’ again, do you?”
Regulate.
The moment I heard that word, a memory flashed through my mind.
Me at a party, taking one bite of cake before rushing to the bathroom and shoving my fingers down my throat.
Me creeping barefoot down to the kitchen in the dead of night when everyone else was asleep, caught red-handed by the kitchen maid.
‘It’s a secret from Mother, yes? Please!’
Before I could even recall whether I’d read such scenes in a novel.
I felt disgusted.
‘Now I understand why the Grand Duke’s daughter’s personality fell apart.’
I understand why the maids despised her too.
Criticized at every meal for her weight, eating and purging, sneaking food in the shadows—how pathetic the Grand Duke’s daughter must have seemed.
How human could she have appeared?
“This veal I’m eating now—it’s not too old, is it?”
“It’s veal slaughtered at ten weeks of age, Your Excellency.”
“Yes, that’s how it should be! I feel rejuvenated!”
“….”
“Come now, eat up! Start with the salad to fill your stomach, then have some eggs!”
Clatter.
‘I won’t eat. No, I can’t eat.’
I set down my fork with deliberate noise. I turned to the Grand Duke, still sipping blood and grease, and asked.
“Mother.”
“Yes?”
“Would you be pleased if I collapsed from exhaustion, was caught, and became a corpse?”
Would you be delighted then? That your daughter died slim and elegant?
“…I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“To meet some wicked girls.”
“You…!”
“And eat a hundred cream buns with them.”
* * *
‘Now I understand why the Grand Duke’s daughter hated this place.’
I’m already sick of this house.
A mother who wouldn’t notice if my soul had been swapped. A Maid who dismisses me. A brother stashed away somewhere I can’t find. And openly bizarre family secrets lurking in every corner.
I rolled the single crimson stone—the only thing that still felt real—between my palms.
‘I need to figure out how to get back to my original world. As quickly as possible.’
Q. But how?
A. (No idea)
Back on Earth, whenever I didn’t know something, I could just search for it.
Whether it was today’s weather, the New York stock market, or exchange rates—the internet solved everything. But now I don’t even know how to find out what I don’t know.
‘Like traveling overseas without a maps app.’
I feel like I should be doing something—talking to gods or smashing zombies—yet here I am, paralyzed.
It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
‘I should head to the library first… or find someone knowledgeable to ask.’
I don’t know how people in this world treat the possessed, so I can’t just go around asking questions recklessly.
What if they burn me at the stake as a witch?
Or they might give me false information because they hate the villainess that I am.
Books were my only answer.
Text doesn’t discriminate.
‘A library… no, wait. This is a noble’s house, so there should be a Study.’
While I’m at it, I should learn the customs of this place too. I’m going into the Imperial Palace the day after tomorrow—I can’t act like this there.
Making mental notes of my plans, I climbed the staircase.
As I stepped onto the Second Floor, the floorboards creaked loudly beneath my feet.
A Prayer Room came into view down the corridor.
I asked the Maid who had followed me.
“Where’s the Study?”
“Across from here, Miss.”
“The Study is on the Second Floor?”
Books are heavy—having a Study up here doesn’t make sense…
They must not have many books.
“Um, but….”
“Speak.”
“You don’t have access to it, Miss.”
“…Why?”
“The Young Master uses the Study as his personal office.”
“…Then where am I supposed to read?”
“….”
Nowhere?
“I was educated, wasn’t I?”
“….”
Unbelievable.
“I’m the eldest daughter of this house, aren’t I? How am I supposed to carry on the family legacy if I know nothing? What? There’s a younger brother? So they didn’t bother educating me from the start?”
She’s a woman and accepted the title of Grand Duke, but her daughter can’t?
Is this family the only one that discriminates like this? Mascarpone is the heir to that household!
How is this acceptable?!
‘I’m absolutely furious!’
Forget the zombies—I want to find a lawyer right now and look into a lawsuit over the statutory share of the inheritance.
This family is absolutely insufferable!
While I’m searching for books on etiquette, I’ll be looking up the legal code right alongside them!
“More work to do! How exciting!”
Thirty minutes later, I was striding down the street with a huff.
Two Guard Knights and a Maid followed behind me, gauging my mood as I fumed.
I’m not sure if two guards will be enough with zombies popping up at any moment, but I can’t exactly go without them either!
‘It’ll be fine! It was fine in the novel!’
Part of me wishes this whole world would just collapse!
And yet, I’m determined to learn about this world from here on out!
‘I need to understand the situation first.’
What kind of society is this? What are the taboos? Has anyone like me—a transmigrator—appeared before?
Maybe transmigration is no big deal here, and they’d just say, “Oh, you transmigrated?” and send me back without a second thought.
Or perhaps I’m such a rare existence that appears once every thousand years that they’d lock me up and drain my blood….
I walked with long strides, my eyes eagerly taking in the sights of the streets around me.
“Extra! Extra!”
“The De Mer Grand Duke Family is distributing hand sanitizer for the citizens of the Empire! Please take one!”
Neatly landscaped trees lining the avenue, pristine white stone pavement without a single crack, the rich scent of almond blossoms.
In the distance, the yellow Imperial Palace.
‘It’s like a city made of cream puffs.’
The city is certainly developed. But how advanced is the transportation?
There are magical Portals here. Can you go anywhere with them? From what Mascarpone said, it doesn’t seem like it.
Are there no telephones? No trains?
“What is that place?”
“The Stock Exchange, Miss.”
“Oh… so there are quite a few companies large enough to be listed? It says they do futures trading… do they only trade commodity futures? Agricultural products? Livestock? The base currency is obviously Imperial money, right?”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind, I’m just rambling.”
‘There’s the variable of magic here too. I need to figure out what level of magic exists.’
Without knowledge, even what I see means nothing to me.
I came out thinking I’d ‘meet some wicked girls,’ but there’s no way I’ll actually meet anyone here.
People hate me, despise me, and even my closest blood relative—my mother—cares more about this shell than my soul.
I felt more uncomfortable now than I did at the zombie Villa.
Like I’ve been dropped alone into a strange world.
‘Which is actually true, too.’
Frowning as I turned my head, I noticed a man staring at me from the shop across the street.
A vacant expression bloomed across her bright, refined features—the kind of face that seemed to radiate clarity and composure.
“Consomme?”
“Ah….”
Never did I imagine the day would come when I’d be relieved to see her.
Stranded alone in this bizarre, fractured world.
(At the very least) I had found someone I knew.
[(Temporary Safe Zone) Capital District 3]
– Yusara (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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