A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 92
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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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“….”
“….”
“…Money?”
“Yes!”
Tangerine added, “For what it’s worth, I like money too.”
Yujein nodded seriously beside her.
“You really do love money, my lady. Last time I saw you, you were only talking about money with Smoothie. You said you’d endure being bound to a specific place with people you dislike for eight hours a day—or even longer—if it meant earning money.”
“…Is there such a punishment?”
But I couldn’t exactly gift her money, could I?
‘I’ve prepared a billion won to impress my lady. All in cash. What’s beside it is a gold bar. Clean merchandise with no risk of institutional tracking. I’ll give it to her once a day.’
Praha, who understood nothing of women, thought that no woman would rejoice at such words.
What was mere money compared to this? Once married to me, she would possess not only wealth but my body, my heart, and every last moment of my life—all would become Yusara’s.
‘My body, my heart, and every last fragment of my life. If only I could become Yusara’s husband.’
Yusara hadn’t even agreed to marry me, yet I was already thinking of laying everything at her feet.
Yujein watched the tips of Praha’s ears flush faintly as he lost himself in thought, and spoke casually.
“You also seem to love real estate quite a bit, my lady.”
“Real estate… you say?”
“Yes. Properties with a view of the river….”
“….”
Praha couldn’t tell if these two were actually helping or hindering him.
“Oh! We know for certain what you dislike! Being called Valkyrie!”
“That’s right, you said it feels like you’d have to stumble down from a ship with a bottle of alcohol in hand!”
“So we kept it secret that His Highness first came up with that nickname! We did well, didn’t we?”
“I’d appreciate it if you continued to keep that hidden.”
“Oh, and you love bread!”
“Puppies!”
“Spicy chicken!”
“Brushing your teeth!”
“Brushing your teeth? You like brushing your teeth, my lady?”
“Every time I see you, you’re brushing them?”
“That’s not because my lady likes brushing her teeth—it’s because Cyprus dislikes it….”
“Still, you do it three times a day….”
Three times a day was necessary—to avoid suffering when old….
Between Tangerine and Yujein, who had begun competitively shouting out what Yusara loved, Praha kept his gaze fixed only on the real Yusara.
“Grand Duke, why are you so skilled? I can’t win even once!”
“I’ve held a sword since I took my first steps, so wouldn’t it be terribly sad if my lady, who’s only trained for a few days, defeated me….”
“Still!”
Beneath the afternoon breeze and sunlight, Praha’s lifesaver, a magnificent mage, and his first love wiped the sweat from her brow. Beside her, his rival Cyprus handed her a towel.
Merely watching her wipe away the perspiration stirred something tender within me.
“Ah, it’s hot.”
Yusara walked toward Praha, wiping her face vigorously with the towel draped around her neck.
Her cheeks flushed from exertion glowed with vitality. Her tied-back hair escaped in wispy strands here and there, and her extended arms now bore noticeably more muscle than before. It was a pleasant sight.
“If I get in the carriage like this, won’t I be radiating the scent of sweat? Please, everyone, keep your distance from me. I’m begging you for the sake of my dignity.”
Praha accepted the damp towel from Yusara’s complaining hands and spoke.
“I’ll teach you next time.”
“That’s enough. What kind of patient—”
“I’ve fully recovered.”
“Even so, it’s fine. Your Highness must find it bothersome.”
“Not bothersome in the slightest.”
Praha emphasized the point.
Yusara, mid-sip of water, lifted only her eyes to look at Praha. Those dark eyes that met his own curved upward in a smile.
“I’m going to be a bother to you.”
….
This is truly vexing.
I wish—I desperately wish—that you would give me at least a day’s notice before gracing me with that smile.
Careful not to reveal that the sensation had traveled all the way to his fingertips, Praha turned away first.
Their party numbered five. To secure the seat across from Yusara in the carriage to the Nearby City, he needed to play it cool from this very moment.
* * *
And that evening.
Cyprus called out to Praha as he entered the room after a brief conversation with Tangerine.
“You paid forty times the original price for that coffee? Have you lost your mind?”
….
“But what now? She’s quit drinking coffee.”
Cyprus lay on the bed with a thick layer of cold cream spread across his face. He’d even brought along black silk pajamas from somewhere and was wearing them. He was in every way the opposite of Praha, who had merely washed, roughly dried his hair, and planned to sleep in whatever he threw on.
“Didn’t you tell the Kitchen to serve cold coffee as tomorrow’s breakfast menu? Go cancel it now if—”
“What’s a way to clarify one’s feelings without causing confusion?”
As always, Praha ignored Cyprus’s words and said what he wanted to say.
As always, Cyprus didn’t mind being ignored and answered his friend’s question anyway.
“I don’t know. A direct confession so unmistakable that confusion becomes impossible?”
“Not that last resort.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Something refined. Something the other person would like.”
“That’s not really a matter of method… If a good person does it, anything works. If a bad person does it, anything falls flat. Isn’t it something like that?”
….
It was a fair point.
But.
“Still, there must be some methods that are better than others.”
After accidentally overhearing a snippet of conversation between Yusara, Yujein, and Tangerine earlier, Praha had given the matter considerable thought.
-(Methods to clarify one’s feelings without confusion, according to Praha)-
1. Serenade
: Cannot sing.
2. Compose and present a poem
: No talent.
3. Paint a portrait
: Same as above.
‘Why don’t they teach this sort of thing at university?’
After wrestling with the problem repeatedly, I found myself back at Cyprus’s door—never mind that he’d already refused to help. But when it came to handling the opposite sex, Cyprus understood far better than I did.
Sweet whispers, playful banter to lift spirits, comfort, expressions of affection—he had mastered them all.
Cyprus tilted his head thoughtfully before offering another plausible answer.
“An expensive gift given with genuine care.”
“An expensive gift given with genuine care?”
“Yeah. You spend time choosing it. You spend money buying something costly. You’re offering the two most precious things a person has—time and money—all at once.”
A carefully chosen, expensive gift….
Perhaps a piece of real estate, then.
“Or flowers work too.”
“Flowers?”
“Yeah. They’re soft, fragrant, beautiful to look at.”
Well, an expensive bouquet given with genuine care would be even better, I thought.
I, Praha, whose gift sense was admittedly lacking, considered this carefully.
I suddenly recalled the nonsense I’d spouted to Yusara—though I’d meant every word.
Hadn’t I promised to let her walk through a “Corridor made of flowers”?
That idle promise became the catalyst for the flower rampage I orchestrated mere hours later.
* * *
“Welcome!”
At dawn, the florist nearest the entrance greeted me warmly as I strode into the Flower Market with solemn purpose.
“Are you looking for any particular flowers?”
“…Not really….”
This man is handsome. He looks almost exactly like the Crown Prince.
But it couldn’t be. Why would the Crown Prince be in this neighborhood’s flower market at this hour? Still, he’s really handsome.
The florist smiled, eagerly drinking in the sight of a beauty so rare she might never see his like again. To prolong the view, she asked as slowly as possible.
“Who will be receiving these flowers?”
The florist had expected an answer along these lines.
‘A friend’s birthday, a sibling who passed an exam, a lover, my mother, a business contact who just got promoted.’
But my answer was this:
“…Someone who suits a thousand blossoms in full bloom.”
“I’m sorry?”
“A person who looks beautiful surrounded by a thousand flowers in full bloom.”
“Oh… I see….”
‘What kind of person is that supposed to be?’
“What kind of person is that anyway?”
The innkeeper, understanding it was probably just a lover’s boast, asked again.
“Then you’ll want to look at this section. Do you need about a bundle?”
“No. All of it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I need every flower you have in this shop.”
‘Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?’
* * *
[I am someone who makes my feelings clear.]
“….”
The evidence I had been desperately denying all this time, afraid of misunderstanding on my own, was now thrust directly before my eyes.
There was no more avoiding it.
Praha loves me.
‘If I can’t see it by now, I’m a fool.’
Should I be happy?
Should I burst into tears and rejoice that I’ve succeeded, that I’ve finally achieved the wish I desperately longed for in my past life, even as I bled to death?
‘No. Praha’s feelings aren’t like some mission.’
It’s not success if I obtain it and failure if I don’t.
Strangely, the first person who came to mind in that moment was my mother.
One thing was certain—if my mother saw this situation, she would be overjoyed.
She would tell me that I’m finally being loved, that if I maintain this love until the end, I’ll be happy.
But I….
‘I don’t know.’
[Inn Second Floor]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine (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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