A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 42

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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 observed the Imperial Knight rushing toward us.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness!”
A uniform disheveled like a rebellious idol in a music video.
Red sauce smeared on the sleeves.
Fluffy hair tousled by the wind into complete disarray.
A knight who looked like a puppy that had napped for an hour and had her hair pressed down saluted sharply before us, grinning so wide her cheekbones bulged.
“Imperial Knight Tangerine, just returned!”
“….”
What is this chirping creature?
“It’s been so long since I’ve done a joint operation with both Your Highnesses! I’m so excited!”
I observed her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes with a suspicious gaze.
‘Was there always someone like this?’
If someone this conspicuous had been wandering the Palace, there’s no way I wouldn’t have known.
“Grand Duke, I hope you’ve been well!”
She even spoke casually, as if she were already acquainted with Cyprus.
Both her tone and manner were far too spirited for an Imperial Knight.
‘Can I trust this person?’
I watched quietly as the sunlight-like knight circled around Praha and Cyprus, chattering away.
Yujein whispered beside me.
“Do you think they brought a female knight to be considerate of us being women?”
“…No, it’s simply because she’s skilled.”
“Ah!”
Despite appearing like an excited large dog out for a walk, look at her arms and thighs—pure muscle all over.
‘And Praha isn’t the type to choose people based on consideration when lives are on the line.’
I can vouch for that as someone with experience in unrequited love.
“Tangerine. Quiet.”
Praha, who had barely managed to calm down the panting chirping creature, brought her before us.
“This is Imperial Knight Tangerine, who will be accompanying us.”
Only then did Tangerine, noticing Yujein and me, greet us with her entire body radiating ‘New people! How exciting!’
“Looking forward to working with you! Holy Maiden! And… Grand Duchess?”
Her eyes tilted curiously as she stared at me, brimming with curiosity—’Is this person the rumored Grand Duchess?’
Her curiosity was so blatant it actually seemed pure.
‘Better than malice, at least.’
“Tangerine is the coldest among the Imperial Family’s swordsmen. Her hands show no mercy, and she doesn’t let sentiment ruin her work. There will be times ahead when we need to cut down children or elderly who have become corpses, and I brought her because she’s someone who won’t hesitate in such moments.”
Praha explained the reasoning behind this selection from beside me.
‘We would have accepted whoever was brought anyway.’
But the fact that he explained it so seriously—it felt like he was truly treating us as equals.
‘Compared to how he used to stay silent after saying only what was necessary back at the zombie villa.’
It was remarkable progress.
“Your Highness! If you say it like that, it makes me sound like someone without blood or tears!”
“That’s right.”
‘So from now on, in dangerous areas, I’ll be sharing a room with this woman.’
Since we’re both female.
Falling asleep with Yujein and Tangerine on either side of me.
Even if everyone else dies, I’ll be safe.
*Whoooosh—*
Following the station master and engineer who had been waiting, I boarded the train.
The interior, finished in red and deep green in a Christmas style, caught my eye.
‘It’s like the Orient Express.’
Naturally, our entire party had chartered the train’s private cars and all the adjoining lounges.
“It’s truly magnificent!”
“Is this your first time riding a train, Saint?”
“Yes, it’s also my first time at Central Station.”
Among the group unpacking their belongings and claiming beds one by one, I also selected one for myself.
“Ah, it’s hot.”
I was struggling to lift the closed window.
Praha, who approached from the side, opened it with one hand.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all.”
And then a brief silence.
“Saint, the French fries from the dining room here are delicious!”
“Really?”
“Yes! I’m going to eat some right now!”
Praha glanced at Tangerine, who was chattering busily from the opposite bunk, and spoke.
“Tangerine is the younger sibling of the Knight we saw on the Central Staircase that day.”
“I see.”
The Knight who was on the Central Staircase of the Villa’s Second Floor.
The one who cut down his own comrades to fulfill his duty in that horrifying situation, and ultimately became a zombie himself.
Now that I think about it, their facial features do seem similar…
I watched Tangerine, who was smiling at this sudden realization.
Praha spoke.
“When that Knight died, Tangerine became the only child of that house. Originally, we had planned to grant them an estate so they could live safely with their family.”
“But they volunteered because they wanted to know why their older brother died.”
“Yes.”
“…Didn’t they resent you?”
Regardless of the circumstances, it was Praha right in front of me who cut their brother’s throat.
At my words, Praha simply shook his head.
This situation is complicated too.
‘Fine. As long as they don’t harbor resentment and betray us later, that’s all that matters.’
Instead of sighing, I said something else.
“I thought Dazling would be coming.”
Dazling has experience with zombies, after all.
“Since Dazling is one of the few who has faced the walking dead, he must remain to defend the Capital.”
“I see.”
That made sense.
“Dazling and Mascarpone will have their hands full.”
“Yes. We’re grateful for the opportunity.”
“Dazling and I are close! Dazling told me so much about the Grand Duchess!”
Tangerine, who had caught the word “Dazling” from across the room, cried out.
Her hearing was sharp too.
“Oh, french fries! Let me go get some french fries!”
I’ll be right back! Before anyone could stop her, Tangerine dashed out with a cheerful laugh.
Cyprus closed the private cabin door in place of Tangerine, who had left without shutting it.
“Even with all that talk, once she reaches the Dining Room, she’ll probably ‘accidentally’ open every compartment door along the way.”
“We need to check for potential hazards.”
“So that’s the kind of person you are…”
Yujein nodded in admiration.
“All that talking is a form of camouflage…”
“Though it’s also true that Tangerine genuinely enjoys conversation…”
Was it my imagination, or did Cyprus’s eyes seem a bit hollow?
And soon enough, I would understand the reason for that hollow gaze…
“It’s delicious, Saint! Grand Duchess, you should try some too!”
Tangerine’s chatter didn’t stop even as we all set down our luggage and gathered around the sofa in the center of the private cabin, reaching for french fries.
Her output of speech was truly extraordinary.
But it wasn’t unpleasant to listen to—everything Tangerine said was quite interesting.
For instance, her testimony about Praha’s temperament.
“We train by carrying an injured comrade and running up the mountain while another squad chases us with swords! And they shoot arrows too! It was really fun!”
“That was…fun?”
“Thrilling! An arrow shot by the Crown Prince nearly lodged itself in the back of my head!”
My comrade who was carrying me—playing the injured role—unconsciously positioned me in front of him when arrows started raining down from behind. He was trying to avoid getting hit himself.
“I thought I was going to die!”
“That’s why I saved you.”
“How did you save me?”
Curious, I asked.
Praha hesitated slightly, unusually cautious.
“I resolved it through conversation.”
He clearly didn’t want to continue this story, but Tangerine paid no mind.
Wiping the salt from her hands with a napkin, Tangerine spoke brightly.
“He threw down his bow and ran straight at us, then beat my comrade senseless. He said if we were going to abandon our ally for a few arrows, we might as well die right here and now.”
He closed that distance in an instant—goodness, I thought I was going to die of fright!
“You two had quite the physical conversation.”
Praha, who had been fidgeting, corrected me.
“I wasn’t beaten that badly.”
“You were absolutely beaten! Saying things like ‘is this your true nature?’ and ‘I’m so disappointed!'”
…As someone who had once used the family knights as shields in my first life and died by Praha’s hand, those words stung far too deeply.
The more I thought about it, the more I was glad I hadn’t brought the family knights along.
How would I know if my own true nature would emerge in an extreme situation?
Pro tip for preventing your true nature from showing: just don’t bring anyone with you.
“Oh, should I also tell you about the time a cat got into the Grand Duke’s pants?”
“Tangerine, please.”
“Why not! It’s hilarious!”
Ding ding ding ding—
“Oh, we’re departing!”
The bell rang at just the right moment, cutting off Tangerine’s words.
Soon, accompanied by the engineer’s cry announcing the train’s departure, the scenery of the Capital began to flow past before my eyes.
Having claimed a window seat early on, I gazed out the window while letting Tangerine’s endless chatter go in one ear and out the other.
Cream-colored buildings that made the entire city look like a massive buttercream cake. White statues standing tall here and there. Jeweled fountains spouting water.
Children dressed like Alpine girls ran about on the platform, giggling….
“It’s beautiful.”
Even after seeing it again after decades, it remains beautiful.
The thought that zombies might appear in such a city made me dizzy.
Cyprus, who had barely managed to silence Tangerine’s rambling, responded to my musings.
“My southern territory is also beautiful. White villas embraced by an emerald sea, with islands stretching along the coastline.”
If the Capital was like a yellow buttercream cake, then his city was like a green jewel blooming in the sea, Cyprus boasted.
I responded flatly.
“That sounds nice.”
“It is. The sun doesn’t set until late, and you can eat as much high-quality seafood and wine as you want. The fruit wines produced in the south are the Empire’s pride too. You probably already know that.”
“Alcohol is a Class 1 carcinogen.”
“A carcin…ogen?”
“Yes. Either give me that territory or stop bragging.”
He pouted indignantly.
“It’s not bragging—I’m asking you to understand.”
“Why?”
Why should I care about the territory of a man I rejected?
We’re not that kind of people.
But Cyprus seemed to think differently.
The man with his broad shoulders slumped complained.
“You’re cold. I went to my territory, yet you don’t even ask how it is, if it’s safe, who I left it in charge of, or how it’s doing?”
“You’re here perfectly fine without becoming a zombie, so it must have been safe, right?”
It’s been hot lately—do I really need to contribute to global warming with one warm word of comfort?
This isn’t Earth, but.
“And you have an older sister, don’t you? The Grand Duchess will take care of the Territory.”
The moment I threw that out, Cyprus froze for an instant.
Then he laughs.
“That’s right. I do have an older sister.”
“Yes. I know that much.”
“As expected.”
“It’s not ‘as expected’—it’s common sense. About the members of the Imperial Family.”
“Aha.”
“Your Highness, do you have an older sister?”
“Yes. I was beaten and raised since childhood.”
Yujein, startled, speaks up, and he responds with a laugh.
….
I fixed my gaze on Cyprus, who was drinking iced caramel milk.
He laughed as if nothing was wrong, cracking jokes like “I got beaten so much back then that I developed a good personality,” and brushed past it.
But I saw it clearly.
The moment I mentioned the Grand Duchess, Cyprus’s expression turned cold.
‘Did I have some massive fight with Cyprus’s older sister in the past?’
No, that wasn’t it.
I’ve never even met Cyprus’s older sister.
By my standards, that was nearly decades ago, so I don’t remember.
Since my second life as Yusara, a Korean, is mixed in there, all my past memories don’t come back vividly.
‘There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m the kind of person who can’t even remember the name of the elementary school I graduated from.’
I’ll avoid mentioning the Grand Duchess from now on.
Keeping just that in mind, I tried to look away when my eyes suddenly met Praha’s.
Praha was watching me as I watched Cyprus.
When our eyes met, Praha turned his gaze toward the window, his lips pressed into a rigid line.
Seeing that stiff expression, I reflexively flinch as that moment comes back to me.
The final moment of my first life.
‘How can you save others when you cannot even save yourself?’
Praha.
The man who killed me in the past.
Now that my memories have returned, what are my feelings toward this man?
Well.
Let me just be honest.
[(Temporary Safe Zone) Inside the Train]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine (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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