A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 71

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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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“Your Highness the Crown Prince?! What brings you here at this hour…. Pardon? Did you say the Lady?!”
She never came.
Lord Promé and his wife were currently sleeping in their bedchamber, and there had been no visit from the Lady.
The night had been like any other, and nothing had disturbed the peace.
Behind the maids reporting in flustered tones, I could see the Reception Room in disarray.
Cinnamon powder scattered across the floor. A crumpled carpet.
Praha turned away without a word.
And he thought.
‘I need to tell the others.’
Yusara, who had gone to meet the Lord, had vanished.
He would need to inform Cyprus, Tangerine, and Yujein of the situation, discuss it with them, then split up to search for Yusara’s whereabouts and uncover what they had done.
That would be the rational choice.
“….”
But what if someone was watching him right now as he went to find the others?
What if they saw him waking Cyprus, Tangerine, and Yujein, realized something had gone wrong, and moved Yusara or harmed her?
What if something happened to Yusara?
‘Yusara is already in their hands.’
The thought that Yusara might have slipped away somewhere else on her own never crossed Praha’s mind.
These were people reckless enough to kidnap a princess of an entire nation. There was no telling what they might do if things went wrong.
If something happened to Yusara while he was finding the others, explaining the situation, and making a plan.
If that happened.
He felt he could never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
“….”
Praha clenched his fist.
Then wouldn’t it be better to slip away alone right now and find her himself?
‘It’s not the rational choice.’
Praha knew that.
But.
‘I can’t wait.’
She must be terrified right now.
Praha still remembered the expression on Yusara’s face from before, when he hadn’t held her hand.
If she was wearing that same expression now.
He couldn’t let that moment stretch on any longer.
If he followed immediately, he could track them.
With his resolve set, Praha caught a Servant who happened to be passing nearby. The Servant recognized the Crown Prince holding him and bowed his head.
“Is there something you need, Your Highness?”
“Give this to Cyprus.”
He thrust a bottle of cream and a book he’d been holding into the Servant’s hands. The Servant tilted his head upon seeing the book filled with ancient characters.
“This is for the Grand Duke, Your Highness?”
“Yes. And tell him this: ‘Stop eating and study for once.'”
It was a cipher between Praha and Cyprus—a signal that danger had arisen and action was required.
For a trained knight like Praha, tracking the clumsy traces of common street thugs was child’s play.
He left small markers for Cyprus and Tangerine to follow, easily making his way to the location where Yusara was presumed to be held.
“….”
Praha’s expression darkened as he spotted a two-story mansion hidden among the dense trees on the deserted Mount Prome.
‘A den of crime.’
The sharp-minded knight understood everything the moment he laid eyes on the structure.
Just as Praha was about to approach the front entrance with a subtle frown, he heard voices.
“So that’s why I….”
“Really?”
“I’m telling you!”
A group of men emerged from the mansion, and the area grew noisy. Praha calculated that he could subdue them and enter without difficulty.
But as he advanced without hesitation, a locking mechanism on the front gate blocked his path.
A jewel glowing crimson red.
Magic.
A security spell that attacked anyone who entered without authorization.
A magical device that would attack only him, even if he beat all those men senseless and dragged one inside as a hostage and guide.
And there was no telling how many more such devices lay within.
“….”
As Praha deliberated, his eyes fell upon burlap sacks carelessly piled near a pit in front of the mansion.
* * *
“…And after that, it proceeded as the young lady witnessed.”
“…So you’re saying you hid inside a sack and entered as if you were a kidnapped victim? What was in those sacks?”
“They abduct people from nearby cities. They inject the victims with drugs, place them in sacks, disguise them as cargo, and transport them to Promé. Once they arrive, they’re apparently left there until the drug wears off.”
The drug is potent and administered indiscriminately, so most don’t survive.
The dead are buried in the pit, sack and all.
Praha explained matter-of-factly.
“…So you hid your body in a corpse sack and entered that way?”
“Yes.”
“Good heavens! Once you’d discovered the hideout, you should have returned immediately to bring the Grand Duke and Tangerine! You should have alerted the nearby cities as well!”
That would have been the choice that truly considered your safety!
“Aren’t you concerned about the young lady’s wellbeing?!”
“If I had left, she would have been alone.”
“….”
“My objective wasn’t to eliminate them. It was to reach you.”
“….”
“I know my actions were foolish. But. Still.”
It’s good to confirm with my own eyes that you’re safe, Praha whispered.
“…What would you have done if they’d opened the sack and seen your face?”
No, never mind. Don’t answer. The thought alone is too horrifying.
I shook my head firmly. Praha looked at me with concern.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Good. That’s all that matters.”
“Is it really fine though… when even the Crown Prince was kidnapped?”
“True. And yet, I find myself grateful regardless.”
Ever since I learned the princess had been taken, it seems my ability to think clearly has vanished, Praha added.
“With such intellect, can I truly inherit the throne?”
“Why are you being so harsh on yourself?”
Why must people be so extreme?
I stopped Praha from his self-deprecation, examining his limbs—which appeared perfectly intact—as I asked.
“And you, Your Highness? Are you injured anywhere?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief at least. I’m truly unharmed as well.”
“Yes. I’m grateful for that.”
A heavy sigh escaped me.
Q. A man who gets himself kidnapped trying to rescue a kidnapped woman—what do you think of that?
A. I think it’s strange!
Because this man isn’t normally the type to charge forward so recklessly. He’s usually quite calculating…
He’s acting like a mother who just watched her child being dragged away.
Q. Doesn’t that make you uneasy?
A. Well, it does reassure me!
In a situation like this, I’m supposed to say something noble like “it’s better I’m taken alone than to drag you into this mess too.”
But honestly…
‘Having both of us here is so much better!’
Just looking at that massive frame beside me reduces my fear by ninety percent.
‘What kind of Crown Prince acts so recklessly?’
It was absurd—yet seeing his expressionless face still covered by that sack, staring blankly at me, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Out of sheer exasperation.
My laughter made me laugh even harder at myself.
“Lord Promé was quite certain, you know. He said you wouldn’t come looking for me.”
“That man is a fool.”
“Indeed…”
He never imagined the Crown Prince would actually come here.
That’s what they say—never let your guard down…
“First, take off that sack. Wasn’t that the one they used to carry corpses?”
“Yes.”
Praha complied without hesitation and moved his arms. I noticed his cheeks looked clean despite being rolled around—perhaps he’d bathed before coming—and asked.
“Even if Marquis Prome has left, there must be people guarding this prison. What if they recognize your face when they come in?”
“How many people do you think would recognize the Crown Prince’s face?”
“Hah.”
Do you never look in a mirror?
“If I may be so bold, Your Highness, a face like yours—I saw it once when I was eight years old, and even if I never saw it again until the day I died, I would remember it for my entire life…. Wait, Your Highness, was I right?”
Only now did Praha’s right cheekbone come into view as he awkwardly extracted his arm from the sack. A sickly greenish bruise had blossomed across it. Looking closer, I could see his lip was split as well.
At my cry of alarm, Praha quickly ran his hand across his face and spoke.
“It’s Praha, not Your Highness.”
“No…!”
Is that really what matters right now!
“How did this happen to you!”
“One of Marquis Prome’s knights was transporting me, but he couldn’t bear my weight and dropped me. He even kicked me, saying I was too heavy.”
“What?!”
Why would they blame Praha for being small and weak…!
Moved by pity, my hand reached out of its own accord. I traced the ruined beauty of his lips with my fingertips. Praha flinched.
“…It hurts.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“…Don’t pull away.”
It will hurt more if you remove your hand.
Praha murmured something absurd, then carefully took my hand that rested against his face. His large hand enveloped the back of my hand and my wrist in one motion.
Praha pressed his lips to the inside of my wrist and murmured something.
“What?”
“I said I’m truly grateful. That you’re safe.”
“….”
You.
Hearing that form of address from Praha for the first time, my heart lurched unexpectedly.
To hide my agitation, I spoke deliberately gruffly.
“…Who gets kidnapped while trying to rescue someone who’s been kidnapped? That’s foolish.”
“Yes.”
“I mean it.”
“Yes.”
I really do mean it.
It truly is foolish.
Yet feeling the body heat of this foolish person brings me such relief.
‘I was right.’
Praha didn’t abandon me and leave.
Instead, he came to rescue me.
“…You said protecting the Empire’s citizens is the Imperial Family’s first duty. If something went wrong here, you wouldn’t be able to fulfill that duty, would you? Is it really acceptable to come rescue just one person like this?”
Relief. Worry. Anguish. Turmoil. Remorse.
Overwhelmed by these tangled emotions, words tumbled out like petulant complaints.
Hearing my words, Praha moved his lips against my skin.
“But… you are.”
“Yes.”
“You said you liked a man who would put you first, abandoning everything else.”
“…Me?”
Had I really said something like that?
‘Ah….’
I had.
On the day the first zombies appeared, I’d said those words in the Imperial Villa Cabin.
‘Praha heard that. And he’s been remembering it all this time.’
But what did that have to do with Praha?
I looked up at him in bewilderment.
And only then did I realize I’d drawn so close that I was sitting right in front of him.
Close enough that our knees nearly touched.
Too close.
So close that the darkness shrouding the prison cell posed no obstacle.
His shallow breath tickled my lips.
“….”
“….”
His eyes met mine, then traced slowly down to my eyes, and descended gradually to my lips.
He stared at my lips with unmistakable intent.
That my lips parted slightly under his gaze was not intentional.
Suddenly, the hand of Praha—still holding mine—tightened its grip.
[Mount Prome: Underground ?th Floor Prison]
– Yusara, Praha (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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