A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 91

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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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Anyone who has ever had their feelings rejected knows how painful it is.
I care for the other person, yet they don’t care for me!
It’s sorrowful, humiliating to one’s pride, and even shameful.
That’s why everyone fears rejection.
But Praha’s worry was somewhat different.
He focused on the pain of the one doing the rejecting.
Receiving affection you never wanted, and having to carefully refuse—what a burden.
‘What if she finds my feelings burdensome? What if my very existence becomes a burden to Yusara?’
That was the most pressing concern for Praha.
‘Rejection means something displeased her, doesn’t it?’
Praha was someone who had rejected countless people throughout his life.
From young noblewomen confessing their affections to high-ranking aristocrats making requests—he’d handled them all with gentle deflections and direct, firm refusals alike.
For someone who had always considered rejection an energy drain, the thought that he might be imposing that same exhaustion on Yusara troubled him deeply.
To reiterate: Yusara’s feelings were always what mattered most.
* * *
Sixteen hours before Praha’s flower shopping.
On the road from Promé to the Adjacent City, the party stopped their carriage at a small village for lunch.
It was a wayside village of a dozen or so households clustered together, where locals catered to passing travelers and made their living selling fodder and meals.
“My, what handsome young men!”
“And such pretty young ladies!”
“Young man, you look just like the Crown Prince!”
“Goodness, saying such things will get you arrested!”
“And this young lady—doesn’t she resemble that wretched noblewoman? A princess or something!”
“Nonsense! This young lady is far prettier!”
“I hear that often~”
“Here, eat this! A handsome young man is treating you!”
“Just this much, no more, no less! It’s free, absolutely free!”
Though the villagers didn’t know they were the Crown Prince and Grand Duke’s party, they had an uncanny knack for sensing wealth—they overcharged while paradoxically offering extras.
The Coachman from Promé, who had guided the party to this village claiming there was a good place to rest and was supposed to escort Yusara’s group to the Nearby City, had gone deathly pale.
“These people don’t even know who you are…”
“It’s fine.”
“B-but Your Highness the Crown Prince…!”
“Really, it’s alright. By the way, is there anywhere in this village where I could get coffee?”
“C-coffee, you say?”
The Coachman blinked at the Crown Prince’s sudden question—he hadn’t made a single demand or been difficult the entire journey.
In larger cities, coffee houses lined every alley, but this village certainly had none.
Coffee was an expensive luxury item, so commoners typically roasted chicory root as a substitute. This village had only the Village Chief possessing real coffee—and just one bag of inferior beans at that.
“I see.”
After hearing the explanation, Praha rose to his feet.
The Coachman followed as Praha left the resting party and headed alone toward the Village Chief’s house.
The Village Chief happened to be home and greeted Praha.
“Ah, a handsome bachelor. What do you need?”
“Coffee.”
“Coffee?”
The Village Chief blinked in surprise and reflexively pulled out a bag of coffee he’d been storing in his cupboard.
Praha spoke up.
“I want to buy some.”
“Huh? This? Bachelor, aren’t you heading to the city? Wouldn’t it be better to wait a few hours and drink it there?”
The Village Chief regarded Praha, who had suddenly appeared insisting on buying coffee beans, as if looking at some kind of coffee addict.
As if he cared.
“I need it now.”
Praha paid extra and bought the coffee.
Well, “paid extra” wasn’t quite the right phrase.
He paid a ridiculously inflated price and bought it.
Praha held the coffee bean bag, which already showed signs of being opened and partially consumed.
“…How exactly do I make coffee from this?”
Do I just pour water directly over the beans?
“Good heavens, bachelor! You have to grind the beans first!”
The Village Chief, who had bought cheap robusta beans and been too reluctant to use them, finally got to profit handsomely from the sale and was in such a good mood that he helped out from the sidelines.
After much trial and error, a pot of coffee for the group was ready. Six cups were also prepared. (One was for the Coachman.) Praha returned to the village entrance where the group had gathered, carrying a pot and cups that at least looked the part of proper coffee.
Cyprus, who had been teaching Yusara how to wield a weapon, asked a question.
“Praha, where did you go?”
‘I went through absolute hell just to make a pot of coffee. The way that Village Chief overcharged me for those cheap beans was something else… I’m never coming back to this village.’
The Coachman, whose face had turned pale, silently replied beside Praha.
“Oh, coffee smell!”
Yusara, who had been employing every underhanded trick imaginable to try to smack Cyprus’s head with a sword, instinctively detected her favorite scent.
The princess’s love of coffee was famous even in Promae Castle.
‘She drinks coffee by the bowlful!’
The Coachman had also heard from his girlfriend who worked in the Kitchen that ‘the princess drinks coffee with ice in it like it’s water.’
‘The Crown Prince must have gone to all this trouble to get coffee for the princess.’
The Coachman naturally expected the Crown Prince to boast to the princess about how much hardship he endured to obtain this coffee. Even if not outright boasting, he would at least try to take credit for it.
Then the princess would react with great emotion and gratitude.
But contrary to the Coachman’s expectations, the Crown Prince said nothing about his efforts.
“Please, have some.”
Praha set the pot he’d brought on a makeshift table.
Tangerine, who was shouting ‘The saint needs to build up her basic stamina!’ and mercilessly bending Yujein’s joints beside her, quickly poured coffee into cups and distributed them.
Yusara also received a cup.
“Thank you!”
“I’ll enjoy it, Your Highness! This will go perfectly with the snacks I received when we departed!”
“Tangerine, you certainly know how to appreciate things.”
“Hehe!”
Before I knew it, the Coachman found himself sipping coffee alongside these distinguished guests.
Though he had brought the coffee himself, the Crown Prince hadn’t taken a single sip. His amber gaze remained fixed solely on the lady.
Growing more anxious, the Coachman waited to see her reaction.
After greeting the Crown Prince politely, the lady brought the cup to her lips. She took one long sip, then—
“It’s delicious!”
Another sip. Then she quietly set the cup down.
Yusara had simply resolved to quit coffee ever since her escape from Prison, but the Coachman, unaware of this fact, interpreted her restraint as disinterest in the beverage.
‘How could this be! This is coffee the Crown Prince purchased at considerable expense!’
Of course, the lady knew nothing of this!
The Coachman felt even more pitiful.
If only he could step forward and tell her, ‘My lady! The Crown Prince went to such lengths for you!’ he thought desperately.
Yet the Crown Prince himself appeared utterly unbothered.
He swiftly removed the failed coffee from her reach and pushed a glass of water toward her instead.
Some men with strong egos might have grown angry in such a situation, thinking, ‘How dare she dismiss the effort I went through to obtain this? How infuriating!’
Witnessing the Crown Prince’s attitude—revealing none of his efforts, expecting no reward—the Coachman felt deeply moved.
‘The Crown Prince truly respects his companion. How befitting of royalty.’
What kind of man had I been to my girlfriend?
I had promised to make her the happiest woman in the world, yet had I ever treated her with such consideration?
This experience became a turning point for the Coachman to reflect upon and repent his own actions.
‘I should buy a gift for my girlfriend on the way back. How much money did I bring?’
The Coachman and the Kitchen Maid married a year later and lived happily ever after.
Praha had been the Kitchen Maid’s benefactor.
Meanwhile, Praha too was gaining insight in that very moment.
Having never cared for anyone in his life until now, he was discovering that observing someone he loved and anxiously reading their reactions was an extraordinarily painful process.
Whether her delight at the coffee was genuine or merely polite. Whether he should attempt the same gesture again.
His mood fluctuated dozens of times with each expression, each inflection of her voice. He had no idea how to manage these feelings.
‘Loving someone is truly agonizing.’
Yet simultaneously, it was sweet.
Even if it stripped me of composure and peace, leaving me like a candle before the wind, I would gladly throw myself into this exquisite torment.
“Tangerine.”
Yusara’s remaining coffee was consumed entirely by Tangerine, accompanied by pastries.
Yujein, who had been receiving punishment from Tangerine for neglecting her training, continued pushing her share of snacks toward Tangerine, praying she would keep eating until their departure.
Yusara and Cyprus were finishing their training in the distance.
“You mustn’t swing it that way, Grand Duke’s wife.”
“Why not! It went in perfectly!”
“Swinging like that only causes bruising. You need to strike vertically so it lodges in the neck and kills instantly.”
‘I feel like I could teach her better.’
Praha genuinely wanted to instruct Yusara himself, but…
‘What are you saying? You’re a patient. Rest now.’
He was flatly rejected by Yusara, who still firmly believed he was in pain.
Left with no choice, he gently grasped Yusara’s wrist to block her attack, while regarding only the delighted Cyprus with cold eyes.
Tangerine, who had stuffed three orangettes into her mouth at once, asked Praha, who had called her name but then fallen silent.
“Your Highness, speak! I’m listening!”
“What does the princess like?”
The question was half impulsive.
What did Yusara like?
Besides coffee.
Then Tangerine, chewing and swallowing the orangette, answered immediately.
“Money!”
[Overcharge Village]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine (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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