A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 3

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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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Imperial Knight Kimon and Dazling were classmates who shared the adjacent room.
Among the knights, the confident and proactive Kimon stood out more prominently, while Dazling had a relatively weaker presence.
It was Kimon who read the subtly shifting atmosphere and opened the sealed room door, and it was also Kimon who deftly pushed back the decapitated Attendant that came lunging at them without warning.
More confident. More proactive.
“Wait a moment!”
So now, when the rumored noblewoman called out to them as they headed to verify the corpse—Kimon let out an obvious sigh, while Dazling remained silent.
“My lady, what is the matter?”
“Please take this with you.”
In this dangerous situation, what the noblewoman Yusara handed to the knights was merely a handkerchief.
A white handkerchief made of silk.
Embossed with the imperial seal.
The very handkerchief the noblewoman always carried, intending to gift it to the Crown Prince, though he had consistently refused it.
Kimon, who had unexpectedly received the rumored handkerchief, opened his mouth once, then closed it.
“Why would you give this to us…?”
The Crown Prince and Grand Duke, who were restraining the noblewoman from rushing out recklessly, wore equally bewildered expressions.
In the awkward silence that followed, only the noblewoman remained composed.
The noblewoman spoke.
“Earlier, Your Highnesses mentioned that there were bite marks on the severed head, correct?”
“Yes.”
“That person could have caused them. What if that person in the corridor suddenly wakes up and bites someone else?”
“What?”
“My lady, does that even make sense right now…?”
Kimon let out a hollow laugh, but the noblewoman ignored him. Pointing to the handkerchief, she spoke.
“After confirming that person is completely dead, stuff this into the corpse’s mouth. Be careful not to get bitten.”
Kimon immediately objected.
“That person is already unconscious. They’re almost certainly deceased. We appreciate your concern, but the magical rope His Highness provided is sufficient to keep the mouth closed.”
“But that rope is thin. Even with it tied, the jaw can still move, can’t it?”
“My lady, consider this: even if the corpse were to awaken, would they really bite someone while risking their own tongue being severed? They would know better than anyone how sharp the thread binding their mouth is.”
They wouldn’t dare move their mouth, let alone bite anyone. Rest assured. Kimon spoke with barely concealed sarcasm.
Dazling, standing beside him, looked up at Kimon with anxious eyes. The situation was certainly delicate, but Kimon’s tone was dangerously sharp.
If he kept this up, he might get slapped.
‘I’ve heard the noblewoman Yusara can’t stand being ignored.’
Yet the noblewoman did not grow angry. She merely persisted in her assertion.
“Either way, there’s no harm in being cautious.”
“My lady.”
“What I mean is, if we’re going to do this anyway, let’s make sure it can’t move at all. How does handling the matter perfectly harm you?”
The Crown Prince, observing the exchange, settled the matter.
“Kimon, follow the lady’s instructions.”
With the Crown Prince’s words, the knights had no choice but to comply.
As Kimon reluctantly crumpled the handkerchief in his hand, the noblewoman emphasized once more.
“Bind their hands, feet, and mouth carefully, but be cautious not to let them bite. This handkerchief is placed to prevent biting. If the corpse shows any sign of movement, do not touch it.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
“Absolutely, absolutely do not let them bite.”
* * *
“Who does she think she is, barking orders like that?”
The moment we were out of earshot, Kimon’s anger flared. His ears burned crimson—he was clearly seething over having to obey the lady’s commands.
“Does she already think she’s the Crown Prince’s fiancée?”
Dazling watched his colleague carefully—a skilled swordsman, though admittedly arrogant—before responding.
“Still, there’s no harm in being cautious.”
“I know that! That’s why His Highness gave us the magical rope, to be careful! Isn’t that enough? So why does she insist on shoving a handkerchief into the corpse’s mouth? It’s disgusting!”
She orders others to do what she won’t do herself. Kimon glanced back and shoved the lady’s handkerchief into his jacket pocket.
“A corpse that moves? Doesn’t she see the contradiction in her own words? I’m not taking orders from that foolish woman.”
‘She didn’t really command us, though.’
But if I said that now, Kimon—already furious—would only rage harder. So Dazling tried a different approach to persuade him.
“The Crown Prince himself told us to follow the lady’s instructions. He wouldn’t say that without good reason. It seems she’s simply concerned for our safety…”
“That’s exactly why! Who does she think she is to be concerned about us? We’re Imperial Knights! For her to presume—!”
Only the royal family had the right to command us or show concern for us!
“If the Grand Duke himself came to worry over us, then maybe I’d be grateful! But her?”
Kimon was determined—out of sheer stubbornness—to defy the lady’s words entirely.
In truth, Kimon wasn’t being entirely unreasonable in his defiance.
Now that I looked closer, it was undeniable: the figure sprawled across the corridor was a corpse. A completely dead person wouldn’t suddenly come back to life, would they?
Binding the corpse with magical rope was already a precaution. But was it really necessary to gag its mouth with a handkerchief?
“And now she pulls out a handkerchief the Crown Prince has rejected multiple times, flaunting it right in front of him. Is she trying to make a statement? Someone should tell that lady—a woman who clings to a man is pathetic.”
“…Aren’t you just upset with the lady in general?”
“Well, in any case!”
Kimon stamped his foot, showing no intention whatsoever of heeding the lady’s words.
I decided I should follow the lady’s instructions myself, at least make a show of being cautious. Dazling thought to himself.
‘If both Imperial Knights ignore her, the lady won’t be pleased.’
Judging by how she thanked me earlier, she doesn’t seem like a bad person.
‘Being careful not to let it bite is simple enough.’
That choice would alter both their fates.
* * *
I hate standing out.
Know what I despised most during new employee orientation? Talent shows.
Sitting through lectures all day was fine, memorizing pointless company history was fine, being stuck with my cohort was fine.
But talent shows? I truly hated those.
‘Who enjoys talent shows anyway? My talent is lying down. Is that acceptable?’
But I’m not a sociopath.
How could I turn away when I could see someone was about to die?
I said I wouldn’t stand out, not that I’d abandon my humanity.
I can’t go out into the Corridor in place of these Imperial Knights, I can’t touch a corpse mid-transformation into a zombie, and I certainly can’t scream, “Everyone pay attention! I’ve actually possessed someone in a novel!” But I can at least do this much.
And if, even after going this far, that Imperial Knight still won’t listen to me?
Then I have no idea what happens next.
‘I’m exhausted, truly. I just want everything to disappear. I want to be alone.’
But I can’t be alone until I escape this place.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, watching the Imperial Knights who had already advanced toward the corpse.
Once the Imperial Knights confirmed the corpse’s breathing had completely stopped, they carefully unwound the magical rope. They bound one arm and the torso with rope, then wrapped another cord around the mouth and nose.
The corpse being transported toward us was missing one arm—torn clean off. Exactly as described in the novel.
Q. Describe your feelings when a corpse mid-transformation into a zombie enters the room and you can only watch.
A. Absolutely miserable.
‘I genuinely want to go home.’
The Imperial Knights, gripping the corpse’s shoulders and legs, laid it down in the center of the room. A long arm blocked my path as I tried to rush forward.
Looking up, the arm belonged to the Grand Duke.
“That’s far enough, my lady. It’s dangerous.”
He was smiling, but the arm lowered before me like a barrier was solid as steel.
With no choice, I could only watch as the two Imperial Knights laid down the corpse and stood up.
‘Is there really a handkerchief in its mouth?’
I can’t see it. I should have just told them to break its jaw.
The Imperial Knight who had opened the door earlier glanced at me, swallowing nervously, and seemed oddly triumphant.
‘What’s his problem?’
I learned the reason from the Crown Prince’s words as he examined the corpse.
“Kimon, the handkerchief?”
“I have it, Your Highness.”
“Why didn’t you listen to the lady’s instructions?”
“I confirmed multiple times in the Corridor, but this one was already dead. I judged there was no need to waste the lady’s precious handkerchief on sealing a corpse’s mouth.”
“Excuse me…”
Whether it’s a precious handkerchief or a cheap one is for me to decide. And I’m the owner of the handkerchief, so if I say it’s fine?
Why won’t he listen! Why does he have to be so difficult! Are you my Junior Colleague or something?!
“…Never mind. Just step back from there.”
I sighed, blocked by the Grand Duke from getting closer, and spoke about how we don’t know when that corpse will finish transforming and wake up.
The other Imperial Knight—the one who had offered me water earlier—quickly stepped back from the corpse upon hearing my words.
But Kimon, the Imperial Knight I still couldn’t figure out what was wrong with, remained unmoved.
“My lady, I understand you’re frightened.”
The Imperial Knight, lifting his chin mockingly at me, deliberately bent down and grabbed the corpse’s hair.
“But there’s nothing to worry about. Look. Even when I pull it up by the hair like this, there’s no reaction whatsoever, is there?”
That’s when the corpse opened its mouth.
“Grraahhh!”
“No!”
The sharp magical rope tore through the corpse’s mouth.
The corpse bared its teeth, indifferent to the long gashes splitting both corners of its mouth.
Screams. Blood. The Grand Duke’s massive palm blocking my vision.
I forced his hand away and looked ahead.
The Crown Prince seized the back of the corpse’s skull as it clung to the Imperial Knight. A sickening crack—the sound of bone twisting—and the head that had been pressed against the knight’s cheek was violently torn away. Somehow, the corpse’s neck was severed.
The Imperial Knight stood vacant, one hand covering his ear.
Blood streamed relentlessly down the knight’s cheek and neck—the same knight who moments ago had been so confident.
“Is this what you meant?”
Even as the corpse rose, the Crown Prince remained composed. He lowered the head he’d been holding to the floor and brushed the blood from the back of his hand. His emotionless amber eyes fixed on me.
‘He used a magical rope. He severed the head with thread.’
“Thanks to you, my knight survived.”
“…No. He didn’t survive.”
My quiet reply came as my gaze fixed on the Imperial Knight, whose ear had been bitten clean off, bleeding profusely.
Following my silent stare, everyone’s eyes turned toward the wounded knight.
The ear lies close to the brain.
The transformation took only minutes.
The newly-turned zombie knight’s neck was severed by another Imperial Knight—the one who had been working alongside him moments before.
‘One head, one attendant, one knight. There are already three zombie corpses in this room.’
I pushed the Grand Duke’s arm aside and approached the body.
From the jacket of the headless corpse—once an Imperial Knight mere minutes ago—I retrieved my handkerchief.
I wiped my sweat-dampened hands on the cloth and met everyone’s eyes.
“You all saw it clearly. If a moving corpse bites you, you become a corpse too.”
“Bleeegh!”
The Troublemaker, who’d been retching the entire time, finally vomited.
I continued without pause.
“Everyone, pull yourselves together. It seems the genre of our lives is changing starting today.”
I’m in a possession story, and you’re all in a survival story.
[Imperial Villa 2nd Floor Secret Room]
– Yusara, Yujein, Crown Prince, Grand Duke, Supporting Character 1, Supporting Character 2, Troublemaker, Imperial Knight Dazling (Alive)
– Imperial Knight Kimon (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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