A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 77

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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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“Ha….”
My face felt like it was about to burst.
Not just my face—every muscle in my body, from my arms to my thighs, felt ready to tear apart.
It was like the day after doing 150 split squats in each hand while holding kettlebells.
“Wow….”
The exhaustion was so overwhelming that laughter was all I had left.
I wanted to collapse right then and there, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back up. My legs, which I was forcing to stay upright, had been trembling uncontrollably the whole time.
I practically shoved the door open with my face to reach the Ground Floor.
The sudden flood of sunlight made me squint.
The open air of the Ground Floor.
“Ugh….”
I felt nauseous from the exhaustion. My head was spinning too.
Has anyone here ever tried supporting a man over 190 centimeters tall while running on an empty stomach?
I have.
Let me share my thoughts.
This is why people need to exercise regularly.
Thud.
Behind me, the door to the Staircase connecting Basement Level 1 and the Ground Floor—the one I’d just climbed—closed shut. I glanced back just enough to confirm it had closed properly.
I’d nearly tumbled backward down those stairs several times on the way up.
‘Your Highness, be honest with me. You’re over a hundred kilograms, aren’t you?!’
I’d asked Praha halfway up because he was so heavy, but he didn’t answer.
By the end, I was practically dragging Praha up the stairs.
“Ow, my back….”
I groaned and looked around.
With sunlight streaming in this brightly, this was definitely the 1st Floor.
It was nighttime when I was first kidnapped, but I have no idea when the sun came up. What time is it now? Please don’t tell me more than a day has passed?
After being in the dark Basement for so long, stepping out into the light gave me a sense of liberation—like it was finally over.
Except it wasn’t over.
This was when I needed to keep my wits about me most.
I looked at Praha, who was hanging limply from my shoulders.
“Your Highness, there doesn’t seem to be anyone on the 1st Floor. Just like that man said, everyone in this building must be turned into zombies in the Basement right now.”
“….”
“To break the magical device on the entrance, we’ll need some strength first…. Should we tend to your wounds before we leave?”
“….”
“…Your Highness.”
“….”
“Praha.”
“….”
“Hey.”
His silence filled me with dread.
Throughout the entire climb up here, I kept talking to prevent him from losing consciousness, but at some point, Praha stopped responding to me.
His face, leaning against mine, had turned deathly pale.
His dark eyelashes were drenched with sweat.
My heart began to race with urgency.
‘I need to do something, fast.’
I wished I had something I could use for first aid.
What kind of first aid could a non-medical person even administer to someone who’d been stabbed?
I knew you shouldn’t give them water, and the most important thing was to stop the bleeding….
“I should have grabbed some medical supplies from the torture chamber back there if I’d known this would happen.”
“….”
“What’s your blood type? If it matches, I can give you a transfusion.”
I kept talking to the unresponsive Praha, mostly to myself.
I laid Praha down on the thick carpet spread before the Second Floor Staircase. The moment I bent my waist to set him down, I lost my balance and nearly collapsed with him. I barely caught myself by pressing my palms against the ground.
“Out of all the men I know, you’re probably the heaviest.”
“….”
Please say something….
“Just stay here for a moment. I’ll look around quickly and come back.”
Let me see.
That large door over there must lead to the Banquet Hall and the Auction House, and on the Second Floor there’s… the Local Lord’s Office and Reception Room, or so I was told.
‘I heard the Local Lord’s room has some kind of device that can blow up the entire building… but I’ve never been there, so I don’t know!’
“If I had my way, I’d just blow this whole place up….”
Get a grip.
First, find medical supplies.
Grab anything to drink or eat if there is any.
Then figure out an escape route.
I can’t waste time. I have no idea when the Local Lord might return.
Even now, it felt like I was sneaking through a mansion where a murderer roamed freely.
‘This is terrifying….’
How was I supposed to bypass the security magic supposedly placed on the entrance? I was just about to push myself up while glaring at the door.
Jingle, jingle, jingle….
The door swung open.
There was no time to hide.
The Mansion door opened, and Lord Promé entered with four subordinates.
“Where the hell is that Smoothie bastard hiding like a rat? Have the men guarding the Territory borders reported anything yet?”
“No. He’s probably still somewhere within the Territory.”
“Then what do we do?! We need to find him quickly and bury him along with the girl! If that bastard escapes and reports us!”
“Surely he wouldn’t do that. His younger siblings are in the Territory.”
“But we haven’t found his siblings either!”
“…I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize—tell me what we’re going to do! A solution!”
“I’ll drag out a few of Smoothie’s usual associates and have them whipped in the plaza. Then someone frightened will surely come forward to report it.”
“Be cautious. Until we confirm that both His Highnesses and the Saintess have safely departed, causing a disturbance could….”
The magical device deactivates, the outer cloak falls away, and Lord Promé’s voice—which had been bustling with activity—abruptly stops.
With Praha’s arm draped across my shoulder, I stand awkwardly, unable to move in either direction, and our eyes meet with the Lord’s.
“…?!”
“The Young Lady?!”
The Lord’s subordinates, belatedly grasping the situation, scramble in confusion.
“What is this…. How…?”
The Lord’s jaw drops, his gaze slowly drifting from me—drenched in sweat—to the arm I’m supporting, and then to its owner: Praha, bleeding and collapsed on the floor.
Upon seeing Praha with his head bowed low, Lord Promé’s eyes widen to their absolute limit.
“…Crown Prince?”
“…!”
“…!”
The Lord’s subordinates, recognizing Praha, erupt into chaos.
Seizing the moment of their confusion, I shuffle backward step by step, gripping Praha’s arm more firmly across my shoulder.
Should I retreat back down to the Basement and close the door?
No. That would only trap me between zombies behind and the Lord’s subordinates ahead.
Now that the magical device is deactivated, should I break through the window and escape?
No to that as well. A window of that thickness won’t shatter from me bumping into it. I’d simply be caught.
Then….
My retreating heel touches the Staircase leading up to the Second Floor.
While I’m calculating my options, the Lord reaches his own conclusion.
“Ha, the Crown Prince….”
The Lord shakes his head slowly, letting out a hollow laugh.
“The Crown Prince…!”
Of course.
They must find this situation utterly unbelievable.
They’ve been caught red-handed by the Empire’s Crown Prince at their crime scene.
And not just any crime—one that carries capital punishment.
Everyone involved, along with their families, will face execution or life imprisonment.
They’re finished.
But the Crown Prince who’s witnessed all this happens to be alone and gravely wounded.
So what will they do?
When death awaits either way….
“Seize him!”
Yes, naturally they’d choose this path….
But Praha, bleeding from his side and unconscious, wasn’t entirely alone either.
I’m here for Praha.
The moment those words leave the Lord’s mouth—the very words I’d anticipated—I hoist Praha onto my back with every ounce of strength and run.
Though “run” hardly does justice to the pathetic spectacle of it all.
The only choice available to us now—to reach the Second Floor.
Behind me, as I clawed my way upward with every ounce of strength I possessed, the Local Lord’s laughter echoed through the space.
“Hahaha! A final desperate struggle, my lady?!”
“….”
“Very well, I’ll give you 15 minutes! I do hope you manage to hide well within that time!”
“….”
“You two, stay here and come up to fetch the lady exactly 15 minutes from now!”
“Us, my lord?”
“Yes!”
“But then, what about the Crown Prince….”
“Must I spell out every detail for you?! Figure it out yourselves!”
‘Right. I knew it.’
No matter how desperate the situation, the Local Lord wouldn’t risk confronting the Crown Prince directly himself.
Once I reached the Second Floor, he’d naturally dump the responsibility on his subordinates—exactly as I’d anticipated.
‘If his men come up, I’ll just have to fight or talk my way through, buying time however I can.’
Or perhaps I wouldn’t even need to.
Fifteen minutes of grace—I should be grateful for such generosity.
Fifteen minutes is more than enough.
After fifteen minutes, he won’t even think about chasing us anymore.
“Your efforts will be futile, my lady! Where on earth do you think you can hide in this modest Mansion?!”
I climbed the Staircase, leaving behind Lord Promé—whose face had gone ashen and whose voice trembled visibly, yet who still affected a facade of composure.
“Surely you don’t intend to actually fight back!”
The Local Lord’s laughter quickly devolved into frantic desperation.
I heard the furious Lord Promé stomp his foot with a heavy thud.
The Local Lord bellowed.
“What were those fools in the Basement doing?! They didn’t even notice the lady escaping! How has the situation spiraled this far out of control without a single one of them showing their face?!”
“Ah, perhaps they’re unable to emerge because of the magical device installed in the Basement….”
Smack!
“The lady broke through the device and escaped! So what excuse do you have?!”
Smack! Smack!
“How in the world did someone manage to escape from the Underground Dungeon in the first place?!”
Smack!
“Open the door to the Basement immediately! I’m going down there myself to see what those incompetent fools are doing!”
“Yes, sir!”
“And you two—don’t forget to capture the lady!”
I ran, ignoring the Local Lord’s tantrum erupting below.
Though “ran” was generous—it was more like clawing my way upward, but regardless.
“If they’re just lying around drunk down there… I’ll throw those Basement fools into Prison myself! Why aren’t you opening it faster!”
“….”
“What a delightful morning! The hunt begins!”
Yes, the hunt begins.
But I’m the prey.
[Mount Prome: Ground Floor]
– 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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