A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 45

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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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A circular table like one from a Hotel Banquet Hall. Name cards placed at each seat.
The name written at the seat beside mine.
[Smoothie, Steward of Finances]
‘They seated me with their own retainer at the same table?’
Moreover, the only members of our party at this table were myself and Tangerine. Praha, Cyprus, and Yujein were seated at a different table with the Lord and Lady of Prome.
‘That must be the table of honor.’
They were openly disregarding me.
Yet it was awkward to take issue with it.
The table was round.
= The hierarchy wasn’t clearly divided like it would be at a rectangular table.
Moreover, the round tables in this banquet hall were small.
If Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, and the Lord and Lady of Prome sat down, one table would be completely full.
In fact, the Lord’s Son was seated at a different table as well.
‘Clever move. My mood is poor, but there’s no real recourse. If I lose my temper, I’ll only look foolish.’
“Hah.”
Cyprus, still standing beside me, twisted his lips in a peculiar way.
Praha and Yujein, who had been dragged by the Lady of Prome to view some sculpture over there before spotting us and coming over, wore identical expressions.
“….”
“….”
“I’m hungry!”
Only oblivious Tangerine was cheerful and giggling.
“Right now this is….”
I stopped Cyprus before he could say anything.
“That’s enough.”
“But, Your Highness.”
“I’m tired. Let’s eat quickly and go rest.”
Before anything else could be said, I dropped myself into my seat first.
‘I haven’t done anything since arriving here, yet people keep trying to provoke me.’
Why bother?
‘People really do live exhausting lives.’
I looked at the seat beside me.
A man wearing large spectacles stood there awkwardly.
His shoulders had stiffened completely—he couldn’t move forward or backward with the imperial family members losing their temper in front of him.
“Go on, sit down. This man is frozen stiff.”
I gestured the two men still hovering beside me and Yujein to their seats, then turned to the bespectacled man.
“Steward Smoothie…?”
“Y-yes…!”
The man who had been staring blankly at me suddenly straightened his back with a start.
“I am Smoothie, Steward of Finances at Promae Castle. It is an honor to meet you!”
“Yes, I’m pleased to meet you as well.”
Fair, gentle, and soft—she looked like some kind of idol.
A property manager, apparently.
Actually, that worked out perfectly.
‘In modern terms, she’d be like an accountant or tax advisor.’
As it happened, I had something I needed to consult with someone like that about.
“Smoothie, what process does one need to go through to become a property manager?”
“I, I received a degree from university…”
“Then perhaps you’re also well-versed in Bank loans?”
“S, somewhat.”
“Then! Perhaps! Is it legal for a successor to mortgage a family Mansion that’s still under parental ownership and take out a home equity loan from the Bank without permission?!”
My younger brother took out a loan using the Duke’s Residence in the Capital as collateral to get gambling funds!
“Is this even allowed?!”
I had to ask while I had the chance!
Smoothie, flustered by my sudden passion, fumbled for words.
“U, under Imperial law…”
His face reddened and he stammered, which made him seem utterly unreliable.
“Since a successor can be changed at any time before the current family head’s death…”
Yet his explanation was surprisingly professional.
He rattled off amended laws and precedents without leaving his seat.
“So you’re saying the contract itself could be rendered completely void?”
“Yes, yes! Though the procedure is complicated!”
“Thank you! Really, thank you!”
“Oh, no! It’s an honor!”
Less than thirty minutes after sitting down, my favorability toward Smoothie had skyrocketed.
This person is incredibly useful!
-Yusara’s Smoothie Acrostic-
S: Smoothie works great!
M: Marvelously great!
D: Dazzlingly great!
‘Just from a few words, I can tell he’s brilliant. So why is someone like this wasting away in a rural Territory like Promé?’
Lord Promé doesn’t seem like the type to treat his employees well.
“Oh, so you were university classmates with the Baron’s son?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“But why didn’t you apply for a position in the Imperial Palace’s tax office? If you graduated at the top of your class, you had more than enough qualifications. The Lord’s Son… I mean, the young master got in through a donation, I heard.”
“That’s… I’m an orphan. I finished university with a scholarship, but after that, I didn’t have the money to prepare for the exam…”
“Oh dear.”
So that’s why he ended up here…
“I never thought he’d end up working under me! You really do learn something new every day!”
I stared coldly at the Lord’s Son at the opposite table, laughing boisterously while pointing at Smoothie.
I understood perfectly.
‘That man who made me feel inferior back in university is now working under me. He must be thrilled out of his mind.’
I pushed a pumpkin pie toward Smoothie, who merely offered a bitter smile, as if accustomed to such contempt and ridicule.
“Eat up and take heart.”
“Th-thank you so much… My Lady…!”
“So anyone with a degree can work as a property manager? I don’t mean anything by it—I’m just thinking I should prepare for contingencies myself…”
While I chatted enthusiastically with someone from the same profession, whom I hadn’t seen in ages, our table had somehow emptied until only Smoothie and I remained.
“The crowd has thinned considerably.”
“Ah, it’s likely because of the bile liquor Lord Promé is serving… He enjoys hunting and fermenting it himself.”
‘Even his hobbies are repulsive.’
“Is that liquor particularly potent?”
“W-well, that too, but… Lord Promé insists quite forcefully that everyone drain their cups completely… so everyone fled before the bile liquor even appeared…”
“Oh, then we should escape as well…”
“It seems My Lady has grown quite close to Smoothie!”
At that moment, a booming voice reverberated across the table.
What?
Absorbed in conversation, I lifted my head.
Somehow, not only Lord Promé and his wife, but also Praha, Cyprus, and Yujein—everyone was looking our way.
My eyes widened under the concentrated attention.
Lord Promé raised his voice further.
“You seem quite fond of Smoothie, My Lady. I’ve been watching since earlier, and you haven’t stopped smiling!”
“Well… the conversation has been enjoyable.”
Now that I knew my Younger Brother couldn’t dispose of the Mansion as he pleased, how could I not be delighted?
At my shrug, a sinister smile curved across Lord Promé’s lips.
He then spoke in a deliberately subtle, murmuring tone.
“Indeed… Smoothie does have a decent face. Though hardly befitting a lady of your station, surely there’s no harm in keeping him company during your stay? Smoothie would consider it an honor.”
“Pardon?”
“Please be kind to him, My Lady. He is a retainer I hold dear.”
“Ha.”
Is this man insane?
The innuendo in his words was crude and vulgar.
I furrowed my brow and shot back.
“What do you mean, be kind to him? He’s not a dog.”
These days you can’t just pet a dog without consideration. Don’t you know about animal rights?
But Lord Promé, who seemed ignorant of human rights, let alone animal rights, showed no such restraint.
Lord Promé spoke.
“My, our young lady is still so innocent… Why, there’s even a saying: men are dogs.”
The banquet hall fell silent at those words.
At least our party did.
“Hahahaha!”
Only Lord’s Son was laughing.
The Local Lord, oblivious to the atmosphere, clutched his belly as if dying of laughter and continued speaking.
“There’s a saying in this world, you know. The similarities between dogs and men. First, you must feed them. Second, you must play with them. Since I’ve taken care of Smoothie’s meals, all that’s left is for the young lady to entertain him. Hahahaha!”
“….”
That bastard….
‘A fifty-year-old man spouting jokes like that in front of everyone as if they’re hilarious….’
You’ve really done it now.
I absolutely despise jokes like that.
Jokes that make an already miserable social life twice as miserable….
I tilted my head to the side, feigning composure.
“Is that so?”
I blinked exaggeratedly, then slowly sliced the meat with my knife.
My deliberate, serene response silenced the crowd, drawing every eye toward me.
After building sufficient tension, I set down my knife.
“Then perhaps.”
I pointed directly at Praha and Cyprus sitting across from me, then spoke with perfect clarity.
So that everyone at this banquet could hear.
“Could I take these two Highnesses to my home and the three of us live together?”
“…Pardon?”
“If three of us sleep in one bed, wow, that would be fun.”
“What are you saying right now….”
“Why not? You said men are dogs.”
Isn’t it fine to raise two dogs together?
I smiled brightly.
I added to the Local Lord, whose mouth hung open stupidly.
“You said men are dogs. By that logic, these two Highnesses here are dogs as well.”
“….”
“Or are the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke not men?”
You’re the one who made the dog comparison first, so you choose.
Are these two dogs, or are they not even men?
The entire assembly froze at my words daring to compare the Empire’s royal family to dogs.
“Hic.”
Smoothie hiccupped beside me.
No one dared to open their mouth, and no one could even breathe.
“I, I…!”
The Local Lord’s face flushed so deeply it seemed ready to burst as he shifted in his seat.
Then.
Praha, who had been chewing his salad with an expressionless face, deliberately set down his fork with a sound.
Clink.
And he spoke.
“Woof.”
“Oh, I was going to do that first! Then I’ll be meow meow.”
Cyprus, quick to interject, pressed his clenched fist against his cheek and smiled with his eyes.
Praha, who had quietly risen beside the meowing Cyprus, walked toward me with heavy footsteps.
“….”
He meticulously wiped his hands with the wet cloth I had been using. Then he carefully cradled one of my hands in both of his.
Praha brought my hand to his cheek and spoke.
“The dogs I’ve met in my life usually sit on their master’s lap.”
“….”
“But my body is far too large to sit on the Grand Duke’s lap.”
“…Yes?”
“Instead, I shall sit here.”
Praha settled into the empty seat beside me.
“Then me too!”
“M-me as well!”
Cyprus and Yujein, who had been observing the situation, quickly rose and came to my table.
“Meow.”
Unlike Cyprus, who sat down swiftly, Yujein hesitated slightly as she took her seat, murmuring softly.
“Squeak, squeak.”
…It sounded like she was imitating a mouse.
“Me too, me too!”
Tangerine, who had been devouring pumpkin pie from the fountain over there, came running and squawked loudly.
“I want to do it too, I do! I’m, um… quack?”
“What’s with the quack….”
“A duck! Oh, but there’s no seat. May I sit on your lap, Grand Duke?”
“Tangerine. Please.”
“Hic, hic.”
Smoothie, who had unexpectedly found himself seated alongside the Empire’s most distinguished individuals, hiccupped as though he might faint.
I caught a glimpse of Lord Promé and his wife, abandoned at their table, gaping in bewilderment.
I whispered to Praha.
“You’re not wearing earrings today, Your Highness?”
“No.”
“What a shame. They suited you well.”
“….”
“I’m joking. Don’t blush.”
The guest of honor table had changed.
[(Temporary Safe Zone) Promae Castle]
– Yusara, woof woof, meow meow, squeak squeak, quack quack (Survived)

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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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