A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 70

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Screeeech—
A brazier filled with glowing red coals was carried into the Underground Dungeon. Sparks crackled and danced from the incandescent charcoal.
Thud.
“Phew.”
The two servants of the Local Lord set down the brazier in the Corridor and wiped the sweat from their brows before retreating.
“Allow me to introduce you. This is the most diligent worker in this Mansion.”
Lord Promé’s face flushed orange in the firelight as he smiled with satisfaction.
The Local Lord, who had gestured for me to look closely, reached between the glowing coals and withdrew a long, slender rod.
Screeeech—
A branding iron.
The Local Lord turned the branding iron—its handle worn smooth from use—this way and that before thrusting it toward my face.
Clang.
The iron bars where the branding iron touched instantly glowed red-hot.
“Oh my, how careless. I made a mistake.”
…
“I nearly scarred your lovely skin, my lady. I must be more careful!”
The man who had been nothing but servile before Praha and Cyprus now deepened his voice and affected an air of importance before his own subordinates.
I clenched my teeth, despising the thought of showing fear to such a creature.
“Tch.”
Seeing me without so much as a blink, the Local Lord extended his hand to his subordinate.
The subordinate placed a large pair of shears into his palm.
The Local Lord clapped the heavily rusted blades together once, twice, then rubbed them against the branding iron.
“Well, that’s fine. Today isn’t the only day, after all.”
Dried blood flakes crumbled from the shears’ blades.
“As you know, I’m short on time today. I must soon tell the two Highnesses when they awaken that you and Smoothie made eye contact and fled together, and I must also see them safely off from my Territory.”
“…Do you truly believe they will leave without searching for me if you tell them that?”
“Of course!”
Surely you don’t think otherwise, my lady? The Local Lord laughed.
“Hahahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
The Local Lord’s subordinates behind him also mocked me.
‘These fools.’
Have they already forgotten how my companions behaved at the banquet on the day we arrived?
They’re all my loyal dogs and cats and birds and creatures.
‘Though I suppose I didn’t believe they’d come rescue me from the Maze either.’
My reputation must be truly terrible, I thought with self-deprecating irony, lowering my head.
The enormous sack at my feet writhed.
“So today, let me simply give you a taste of what this place is, my lady.”
The Local Lord, who had gathered the branding iron and shears in one hand, turned his body.
Heading toward the Adjacent Room where the Unlucky Adventurer was held, the Local Lord fished a key from his waist.
Clink, clink.
Creak.
“Hnngh….”
I heard the sound of the Unlucky Adventurer—the man who had been conversing with me just moments ago, claiming he’d simply lost his way—shuffling backward.
Clang.
Screech.
Clink, clink.
“Eeek…! P-please, don’t come closer…!”
“He’s in the way. Seize him.”
“Yes.”
Yet in a cell as cramped as my own chamber, there was no escape for him.
Thud-thud sounds.
Smack.
“Ahhh!”
First came screams.
Screech.
Crash.
“…! …!”
Then the sound of something being hurled and shattered.
“Aaahhh! Aaahhh! Uuugh! Ugh! …!”
Gulp.
“….”
And then came a terrible silence.
The acrid stench of charred flesh filled the dungeon.
Minutes later, Lord Promé appeared before me again and tossed a small, blood-crusted fragment at my feet.
“….”
“You will be taken to Sodom, my lady. I’m certain you’re well acquainted with that region’s reputation. The Empire’s premier pleasure district.”
Sodom. A place where alcohol, gambling, and auctions flourished.
Blood droplets fell from the lord’s outstretched hands in a grotesque display.
“You will be put on the auction block at Sodom’s Slave Auction House. Perhaps some visiting nobleman will recognize you!”
Will someone truly recognize you and come to your rescue?
Or will they seize the opportunity to claim the notorious lady as their own slave?
“You should have lived virtuously from the start.”
“….”
“No one will save you. Your companions won’t even search for you. All that remains in your life now is a pathetic descent. Isn’t that delightful?”
The lord wiped the blood from his hands onto a handkerchief and tossed it mockingly through the iron bars toward me.
“I find it most delightful. Watching a young, beautiful woman destroy her own future is always a great pleasure.”
As he spoke, the lord studied my expression.
As if he expected me to be startled and terrified by his vile words.
I bit my lip to keep from sneering.
‘Pretending to be the world’s greatest villain. A small-time crook, no less.’
Do you think you’re the only person in this world who likes that sort of thing? There are plenty of pathetic losers like you these days. It’s hardly surprising.
It’s a characteristic of that type—delusional small-fry who mistake themselves for terrifying villains.
So I’m not afraid of someone like you.
“Smoothie will be arriving here soon. We’ll place him in the same cell as you.”
“….”
“I took careful note of the expressions on both His Highnesses’ faces when they heard that the lady had fled in the dead of night with Smoothie. I’ll be sure to relay them to you.”
The Local Lord, who had been clicking his scissors and rambling on before me, left with his subordinates.
Thud.
The dungeon was engulfed in darkness and silence once more.
I stared down at the severed tongue that had fallen at my feet.
It was horrifying, and this situation terrified me, but separate from that—Lord Promé did not frighten me.
‘People like that are predictable.’
This man didn’t actually enjoy cutting out people’s tongues.
He enjoyed watching others fear him and cower in terror during the process.
It was how he confirmed his own pitiful existence.
What Lord Promé wanted from me was abundantly clear.
To see me—a lady of noble birth—weeping, wailing, trembling with fear.
‘So he won’t kill me easily or injure me severely. That would ruin his fun.’
He’d probably keep me locked in here for a few days.
I just needed to escape within that time.
“Hey there…. Are you alright?”
I gripped the iron bars again and called out to the adventurer in the adjacent cell.
I’d asked several times, but no answer came. He was either unconscious from blood loss, or perhaps already dead.
Or his mind had half-departed.
I turned my attention to the large sack sprawled beside me.
It had been twitching occasionally since earlier, moving violently especially when the Local Lord was threatening me, but now it lay still.
“….”
I crouched down in front of the sack.
When my hand touched what appeared to be the face of the person inside, the figure within flinched.
‘I’m hesitant to simply release an unknown man in the same cell as me.’
But I couldn’t just leave him like this either.
“Excuse me, are you a criminal?”
Shake shake.
“Have you harbored hatred toward women in the past?”
Shake shake.
“Do you have three or more women you maintain friendly relations with?”
Nod nod.
“Good. Then I’ll set you free.”
“….”
“Just a moment…. This is proving rather difficult to untie.”
That was when a voice emerged from within the sack.
I struggled to comprehend the hushed, low murmur, asking several times before finally grasping what was said.
“Has everyone left, you ask? Yes. They have.”
With that, the sack suddenly lurched upright and sat up of its own accord.
It thrashed about a few times as if orienting itself, then from within came a sharp ripping sound. The burlap tore effortlessly. A face emerged as though surfacing from water.
The human within the sack shook their head, scattering droplets.
Unwavering amber eyes met mine.
“….”
“….”
“…Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
What are you doing coming out of there…?
“Did you perhaps come to rescue me…?”
“No, I’ve been captured as well.”
“….”
Why…?
“Marquis Prome believed Your Highness was sleeping in his chambers….”
“I was taken captive without the Marquis’s knowledge.”
“….”
So then why…?
* * *
Praha was occupied.
He had arranged to meet with Yusara.
Though he had just left her company moments ago, the trivial fact that he would see her again shortly consumed his thoughts entirely.
“Your Highness, are you bathing again?”
“….”
Despite having nothing particular to do, he washed himself once more without reason.
He inquired of the servant, who had been nodding off drowsily, about how to prepare cream coffee.
Initially, he had intended to simply command the servant to bring him cream coffee.
But then Yusara’s words came to mind.
‘My maids will have all left for the day, so it would be difficult to summon them.’
The Crown Prince, imperial through and through, had always been accustomed to having someone at his side around the clock and had never once entertained such a thought.
Yet because Yusara had said it, he found himself convinced it must be right.
So he whipped the milk and cream himself, stirring it together.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, what do you intend to do with such an enormous amount of cream?”
The servant of Promé, unaware that one should not speak carelessly to royalty, asked with evident bewilderment. Praha answered simply.
“To drink it.”
“But such a quantity…. It seems like enough for a hundred people to drink and still have some left over….”
The servant’s words trailed off.
Ah. Only then did Praha glance down at the glass bowl the size of a washbasin he was holding.
“Is that too much for one person?”
“One person?!”
“….”
Well, I suppose that’s enough cream-making for now.
“Where did I put my book?”
I recalled that Yusara had mentioned wanting to study ancient languages.
I thought she’d be delighted if I brought it along with coffee, so I gathered it up.
Thirty minutes spent inspecting the pages to ensure there was nothing strange written in them, checking that I hadn’t left any notes in my atrocious handwriting—a precaution that consumed half an hour.
Since she’d complained her feet were swollen from walking too much, I grabbed a heating pad.
She seemed to use the iron arrows I’d brought quite effectively, so I packed a few more of them.
Wanting to give her this and that, I’d somehow accumulated an entire bundle of items.
None of it was urgently needed, nor did any of it have to be given today—Praha hadn’t thought that far ahead.
But faced with the truly staggering quantity of cream contained in ten glass bottles, I found myself hesitating slightly.
‘Is this right?’
Should I bring just one bottle and discard the rest?
Two bottles? Three?
As I deliberated, my reflection suddenly caught my eye in the mirror.
There stood a man who looked like a fifteen-year-old boy—somewhat vacant in expression.
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Why was this so difficult?
Wouldn’t it be easier to survive bare-handed in a zombie den?
No one had assigned me this task, yet here I was, having created all this trouble for myself, only to conclude it was ‘difficult.’
Throughout all this, my expression remained perfectly blank, which caused the Servant beside me to grow increasingly uneasy.
“I’ll take just this.”
“Your Highness, what shall we do with the remaining cream?”
“Leave it.”
“But it will spoil….”
“Feed it to Cyprus.”
I cast a dissatisfied glance at my still-damp hair before leaving the room, already dismissing the mountain of cream I’d made from my mind.
I waited quietly, seated in a chair in the Central Garden.
But no matter how long I waited, Yusara never came.
[Mount Prome: Underground Dungeon – ? Floor]
– Yusara, Praha (Alive)

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————