A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 78
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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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Let me assume I’m Lord Promé, who discovered the Crown Prince at the scene of my crime and panicked.
Characteristics: intellectually challenged. Servile. Weak-willed. Greedy.
No wife at my side to guide and direct me now.
How would I act?
‘First, I’d find someone to blame.’
After all, Praha and I are rats trapped in a jar together.
I’d postpone dealing with us—the difficult problem—as long as possible, and instead round up my subordinates to punish them.
I’d open the door leading to the Basement and search for the subordinates I’d locked away myself.
Those subordinates are all zombies now….
‘The moment I descend the Staircase and open that door, all hell breaks loose.’
The zombies—once the Lord’s subordinates, now confined—will overrun the Mansion.
The Lord and his four subordinates will be infected in an instant.
‘I’ll hide well, and once they’re all zombies…. Then, no matter what, Praha and I escape together.’
It’s quite different from my original plan, but there’s no help for it.
Fortunately, I already had experience escaping a zombie-infested Mansion.
Back then, Praha was unharmed, I had weapons, and there were far more of us!
‘If I succeeded once, I can do it twice. I just need to keep my composure.’
For that, I first needed to hide somewhere until this Mansion descended into zombie chaos.
“Huff, huff….”
I grabbed both of Praha’s arms and dragged him along. His long legs banged messily against the Staircase here and there, but I had no time to worry about that.
I was concerned about Praha’s wound, which still seemed to be bleeding.
‘There’s no alternative treatment for a blade wound. We just need to get to a hospital quickly.’
Of course, for any other injury, getting to a hospital quickly is also the best option!
But a blade wound especially demands we rush to a hospital no matter what!
If I hide here for too long, what will happen to Praha?
“Your Highness.”
“….”
“Please answer me. You’re making me anxious….”
How much blood has Praha lost by now?
The fact that he lost consciousness in the first place means he’s hemorrhaging heavily, doesn’t it? What if he goes into shock?
My heart felt like it would burst from anxiety.
I couldn’t tell if my trembling body was from exhaustion or from fear.
When I’d supported Praha up the Staircase to the 1st Floor earlier, sweat poured from my entire body like rain, it was agonizing, and my skin was slick with perspiration—
‘I was terrified I’d drop him.’
Now, perhaps because my mind was racing, I felt no exhaustion.
Where was this superhuman strength coming from?
Even knowing I’d be bedridden and unable to move tomorrow, I was drawing on every ounce of energy in my body.
Both my physical and mental stamina were completely spent….
“I don’t want to die….”
I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to become a zombie.
I hate becoming a slave just as much as I hate dying!
If those creatures—or zombies—from downstairs catch me, I won’t even die peacefully.
Then there won’t even be a tomorrow for me to suffer through.
‘I wish I could have a cola….’
“Gasp….”
I caught my breath and frantically surveyed my surroundings.
Unlike the 1st Floor, where the Banquet Hall, Auction House, and Staircase formed a circle around an open central hall, the 2nd Floor had a simpler layout.
A long corridor in front, like a hotel.
And two doors there.
Without hesitation, I bolted toward the nearest door.
The moment I stepped inside, a rich rose fragrance washed over me.
It seemed to be a Reception Room.
I had no time to look around.
I rushed frantically toward a coat closet visible in the corner.
I yanked open the closet door and shoved Praha inside.
His large frame filled it completely, his long limbs bumping against everything.
“I’m sorry! I’ll compress you as much as I can!”
I puffed up the strange fur cloak hanging folded on the rack and the feathered coat—which looked like it was mocking me—to conceal his massive body, making it just barely invisible from outside.
It was as I folded Praha’s dangling hand that he spoke.
“…Is this the residence of the young lady…? It’s quite cramped….”
“Your Highness…! Come to your senses?!”
I bowed toward Praha, who was murmuring faintly.
His pale face, buried in clothes, barely opened his eyes and looked at me.
Amber eyes gleaming in the shadows.
I cut off whatever Praha was trying to say.
“There’s no time to explain, so answer me first. Are you experiencing any symptoms—difficulty breathing, chills, anything like that?”
“No.”
“Thank goodness. Take this scarf, bunch it up, place it over the wound, and press as hard as you can.”
As long as I stop the bleeding, I can figure out the rest.
“Preserve your body heat. Don’t forget to breathe. You can’t run out of oxygen, so breathe steadily through this gap. Stay quiet if anyone comes in. …Why are you smiling?”
“Because I’m glad.”
“Your head must be injured too.”
What do I do? I exhaled a worried sigh and straightened up.
“Marquis Prome came back and discovered us. He’s looking for us right now. Stay hidden here. I’ll be back soon.”
As I reached to close the closet door, Praha grabbed my hand.
He spoke while struggling, barely able to open his eyes.
“Young lady, do you remember what I said before?”
“What did you say?”
“If you reach the point of protecting me, the situation is at its worst…. I told you to abandon me and run away.”
“….”
“This is precisely that situation.”
“….”
“Abandon me and escape alone.”
“….”
Praha’s fingers touched my cheek. Cold, blood-soaked fingertips brushed gently across my cheekbone before withdrawing.
Only then did I realize my eyes were burning hot and my lashes were wet.
Praha spoke.
“You have done your utmost. By bringing me this far and keeping me hidden, you have fulfilled your duty.”
In other words, leave him here and find a way out alone.
I bit down hard on Praha’s finger as he spouted such nonsense.
Praha flinched at being bitten.
Yes. That’s much better with your eyes wide open like that.
When you could barely open them like before and looked ready to collapse again, it was absolutely dreadful to see.
So dreadful I nearly wept.
Me, who never cried even during my corporate days.
“Are you going to keep saying such negative things? We don’t have time.”
I grasped Praha’s bitten hand and interlaced our fingers. Speaking with our eyes locked mere inches apart.
“Your Highness came to rescue me. You were injured protecting me. And now you’re telling me to abandon you and leave? Do I really seem like someone without loyalty to you?”
If you’re trying to provoke me right now, say so.
Because this time I’ll bite your neck instead of your hand.
“We die together, we live together. Do you understand?”
I pulled Praha’s hand toward me forcefully. I flipped his calloused, hardened hand and this time bit the back of it. To snap him to his senses. Hard.
“If Your Highness is a puppy, then I’m a wolf, a lion, a crocodile…. In any case, I’m an absolutely terrifying beast, yes? If you spout more nonsense, I’ll bite you again. I’ll really bite anywhere, so be careful.”
I released his hand and surveyed the surroundings.
A massive crystal liquor bottle shaped like a swan sat on the table. I seized it and hurled it against the wall, shattering it.
Crash!
Fragments scattered everywhere as the scent of alcohol flooded the air. I swept all the perfume bottles and blue vases holding yellow roses arranged in a line above the fireplace onto the floor.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
With this much alcohol and flower scent, even if zombies climbed this high, they wouldn’t be able to detect Praha’s blood.
I wrapped the largest piece of the shattered bottle in a tablecloth and pressed it into Praha’s hand, keeping the other fragments for myself. I cracked open the window slightly.
“Bear with the stuffiness for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
Tap-tap-tap-tap. I demonstrated by tapping the open wardrobe door in rhythm.
“If you hear this rhythm, it’s me. If it’s anyone else, attack.”
I glanced anxiously at the wall clock.
The promised fifteen minutes were nearly up.
Time was truly running out now.
I looked down at the man who had suddenly become docile after being bitten by me—the man I had to save today.
He was gazing up at me as if fairy wings or a halo were radiating from me. His expression dazzled.
…Today, I had to save Praha.
The opposite of how Praha had always saved me.
I spoke, concealing my tension.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m here, aren’t I? You trust me, right?”
I asked Praha, who still gazed at me as though I were his god or master.
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
Praha nodded and replied.
“By any chance, where do you plan to bite me next time?”
He’d lost his mind.
Bang.
I shut the wardrobe door.
It seemed Praha had lost far too much blood.
‘I need to get him to a hospital quickly.’
I deliberately left the door wide open as I headed toward the Adjacent Room.
I planned to leave the Reception Room door where Praha was open, while I would enter the Office, lock the door behind me.
The Local Lord’s subordinates coming up to the Second Floor would search through the Reception Room for anything useful, find nothing, then assume I’d entered the Office and locked myself inside.
‘With two rooms—one open, one locked—they’ll naturally assume I’m hiding behind the locked door.’
That way, they’d pay less attention to the Reception Room where Praha was actually hidden.
Just to be safe, I scanned the Corridor to see if there were any other rooms on this floor or escape routes before grasping the Office door handle.
Praha’s blood on my palm smeared onto the door handle.
Just then, I heard the voices of two subordinates ascending to the Second Floor.
“But really, can we even do this…?”
“Ugh, why did I have to draw duty today…?”
Thud thud.
Their footsteps—dragging and without rhythm—grew steadily closer.
I swallowed hard and turned the door handle.
But the door wouldn’t open.
[Mount Prome: 2nd 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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