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‌‌‌‌ A Corporate Slave Becomes a Villainous Nuisance in a Zombie Apocalypse Episode 11 Grand Duke Cyprus of the Southern Region. Height: easily over 190 centimeters. Build: imposing. Hands and ‌‌‌‌feet: massive. Add to that broad shoulders, masculine arms, and a thick chest. = His clothes were being put through an ordeal. Despite being solid enough to ‌‌‌kill someone with just his forearms, he somehow managed to look elongated and lean—if that counted as a talent. 'And if I go toward that entrance, ‌‌‌there's another large man with a similar build.' He smelled incongruously of soap. The Grand Duke blinked at my sigh-laden gaze. "Why?" "...It's nothing." Having to chop up ‌‌‌zombies and smear them all over a body this massive seemed impractical. It wouldn't work. 'I'd need at least three zombies to cover both of them head to toe.' "No, why? I'm curious. Tell me." "It's just... nothing important." I'd been thinking about what would happen if I mashed up a zombie and used it as a full-body mask. I whispered ‌‌‌‌the plan I'd just abandoned directly into the Grand Duke's ear, keeping my voice deliberately low in case the corpse lying beside us could hear. 'They say hearing is the last sense to go, even after death. What if he hears me talking about desecrating his own body and gets upset?' As I lowered my voice, the Grand Duke instinctively bent down. I offered my opinion to his handsome ear, now close to mine. "...I was thinking about it, but it probably won't work, right? You two Your Highnesses are..." Both such well-built men. The ‌‌‌Grand Duke laughed at my words. "You're unexpectedly creative, aren't you?" It wasn't ‌‌‌me being creative—it was the writers of "Working Daddy" who were creative. "If it worked, we wouldn't have to run ‌around so hard..." "Right. But it's a plan we can't use. You should have been born smaller." "True. It's unfortunate. Of all things, Praha and I happen to be two well-built men." The Grand Duke said we should definitely try it sometime later. "I hope that 'sometime later' never comes..." "Indeed." The Grand Duke, who had been alternating his gaze between the abandoned corpse's face and me, suddenly asked: "You don't seem scared of corpses?" "What are you talking about? Of course I'm scared." I'm not a murderer, so naturally corpses terrify me. Today was the first time I'd ever seen a dead body in my life. 'It's just.' ‌‌‌‌My situation—suddenly possessing a body in a fantasy world—was far more terrifying. "I'm absolutely terrified. Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo." Wah-wah. The Grand Duke, staring at me, spoke in a low ‌voice. "You seem particularly strange today, Yusara." "What do you mean?" "Something's different. You said you were scared, yet your eyes were ‌‌‌‌dead as a fish's." "...." Did this guy just insult me? "And trying to help those knights earlier—that's not like you either." "That was... because it was obviously dangerous." I couldn't just stand by and watch them die. "Exactly. The usual Yusara wouldn't care about something like that, would she?" "...." So Yusara really was a psychopath after all.... "You're making me think too ‌‌much...." ‌The Grand Duke muttered to himself, then lowered his gaze. Soon he lifted his head, and the man's eyes looking down at me gleamed with mischief. "In any case, with someone as capable as you around, executing Yusara's plan becomes difficult. Shall we find another way together?" Together. Both of us. The Grand Duke emphasized the words. I had no choice but to nod. "Fine, whatever." Two people searching would be faster than one. * * * 'Why does this Grand Duke bastard keep glancing at me?' Never mind. Not my concern. The Gallery was smaller than I expected. ‌According to the Grand Duke, all the important records were kept on a separate Artificial Island built ‌specifically for document storage, and this place only held things that wouldn't be catastrophic if lost. "Wouldn't losing this be catastrophic? It's a ‌‌‌‌portrait of the Emperor." "It's a copy." "Ah." The Grand Duke was Imperial Family, wasn't he? His succession rank was higher than Nuisance Man's. Maybe that's why—he seemed to know everything I asked about. It felt like I was touring an ‌‌art museum with a personal guide in the middle of the night. "Why is the corner of this one broken?" "His Majesty faced considerable resistance when he took this from the Temple." "Ah...." "Be careful. It's sharp." An Imperial treasure I could smell up close and even feel the texture of with my own ‌hands. When would I ever get to experience artwork in 4D like this? With that thought, I leaned in close to examine it. A deity of the underworld carved from jade, small enough to fit in a palm; a golden plate the size of a pizza box with grape vines etched into it; a three-tiered dessert bowl adorned with beads.... "What is this?" I picked up a small golden skull-shaped ornament that looked like it could crack someone's skull if thrown properly and asked. "Ah, that's the skull of an Imperial Family member who died at birth, coated in pure gold." "...!" Startled, I nearly dropped the skull I was holding, but the Grand Duke caught it with an "oops." "You should be careful." With that, he pressed the skull back into my hands. ‌‌‌"I ‌‌‌don't want it, I don't want it, put it back over there...!" "Why not? Go ahead and touch it. If he were ‌‌still alive, he'd be about my uncle." Pay your respects, the ‌‌Grand Duke chuckled. You greet an adult you've just met for the first time by cradling their skull in one hand?! You're insane! "This is horrifying!" "My lady, if you make such a face, my uncle will be sad...." "Waaah!" I was about to fling the skull that had been forced into my hands like a baseball, when a thought suddenly struck me. ‌‌‌I looked at the skull in my palm. The entire small cranium was gilded in gold, and the hollow eye sockets were adorned with curved jade and hanging ornaments. What was already not light for a human skull had become considerably heavier with the abundance of jewels dangling from it. A smooth, round sensation filling my hand. 'My ‌‌ancestor's back of the head is quite beautiful.' I examined the sturdy skull with its Silla crown-like visuals, turning it over in my fingers. "Your Highness, could this possibly...." "Yes." The Grand Duke, whose eyes met mine, nodded. "We're thinking the same thing right now, aren't we?" "It seems so." ‌‌‌The thought that if we played this ‌‌right, we could escape with this. The Grand Duke looked around the surroundings and soon ‌‌‌found and brought back another decent item. It was a jade carving modeled after the god of the afterlife. "Won't you be punished by heaven if you break that?" "I'm not sure. I'm not afraid of divine punishment myself." The two of us touched the two treasures together, tossing and catching them as we deliberated. "Which do you think would be more forgiving, Your Highness—the ‌‌god or our ancestor?" "Surely the ancestor, wouldn't you say?" "That's what I thought too." Then we'll go with the skull. I carefully picked up the gleaming golden skull and returned to the Crown Prince at the entrance. As I passed through the space between them, who were crouching down, without hesitation, Mascarpone and the others turned their heads to look at me. To them, ‌‌I lifted my chin with a slight shrug. 'I've found a way, you guys.' Though it comes with a bit of sacrilege.... Even as I approached right beside him, the Crown Prince continued to watch outside, remaining alert. I carefully tugged ‌at the sleeve of the Crown Prince, who was only showing me his profile. 'What is it?' To him, who was asking with his eyes, I tapped my lips ‌‌‌‌‌to indicate I had something to say. I thought ‌‌‌the Crown Prince would bow his head like the Grand Duke did, but he just stared blankly. With no other choice, I rose up on my tiptoes. And I stumbled. "...Ah...!" My face, thrashing to avoid falling, buried itself right into the Crown Prince's collarbone. My lips touched his neck. More precisely, his Adam's apple. "...!" "...!" As I ‌‌hurriedly tried to pull away, the Crown Prince steadied me by supporting my waist. "I wasn't trying to kiss ‌‌your neck, Your ‌‌‌Highness...!" "...I know." Stand up straight, his hand gently straightening my waist once. My burning cheeks lay ‌‌‌‌completely exposed beneath the Crown Prince's indifferent gaze. 'What is this...!' A kiss on ‌‌the neck, out of nowhere! [Things I've done since possessing this body] 1. Steal and wear shoes from ‌‌‌‌a corpse. 2. Get into a verbal fight with a bratty kid (and I won!). 3. Kiss a strange man's neck. I'm going insane! "The person was trying to speak, but you wouldn't bend down, so what did you expect! I can't just grab your shoulders and support myself!" I was genuinely resentful. With that sentiment, I shot out a small complaint. The Crown Prince calmly met my glare, my eyes wide and fierce. "...Yes. I apologize." Only then did his ‌‌face slowly descend toward me. 'I want to grab his ear and pull it.' With resentment, I brought my lips close. I pressed them near his soap-scented ear and whispered. "The corpses can't see ahead. They sense us through hearing and smell." "...Yes." Stop flinching so much—it's uncomfortable for me too. "So I'm about to try something, but do you have any better ideas?" "...What will you ‌‌‌do?" I showed him the ‌‌skull I'd been holding silently. The Crown Prince understood my intention the moment he saw it. The Crown Prince nodded. "It's a good method. It depends on how poor their vision is, but based on my experience so far, I'd say they're practically blind." "Yes. I think so too. But will you ‌‌be alright? I heard this skull belonged to your ancestors." "I think it's better to become a skull myself ‌‌‌‌than ‌‌to become one while protecting an ancestor's skull." "...That's true." Confucianism doesn't seem to be the foundation of this country after all. Now that I had the descendant's permission, there was nothing to hesitate about. "Alright. If we return safely, let's perform a memorial rite for your ancestor to ask for forgiveness." "A ritual offering?" "You set out food so your ancestors come eat and leave." "Isn't that something you do for the gods?" "From today on, ‌‌‌let's do it ‌‌‌for our ancestors too." ‌‌‌‌The Crown Prince let out a soft laugh at my words and replied. "Let's do that." "Yes. Your Highness, you prepare the ritual food." Cook the pancakes and grill the meat. With those solid forearms of yours. The quick-thinking Grand Duke had already positioned everyone behind us. My bewildered companions huddled together, watching the Crown Prince and ‌‌‌me. When I explained what we were about to do, they were shocked, but we all agreed this was our best option. I flexed the hand holding the skull, opening and closing it slightly. My torn palm ‌‌‌still stung, but this was manageable. I peeked through the curtain to check the outside situation. 'I should aim roughly in that direction.' Though it seemed a bit far. Would kicking it work better than throwing it by hand? If that's the case, wouldn't it have been better if a soccer player possessed me instead? One chance. As I swung my arm to loosen my muscles, the Crown Prince stopped me. He wrapped my ‌‌‌‌hand with his large palm and smoothly took the skull from me. The skull, which I'd barely been holding, looked absurdly small in the Crown Prince's hand. The Crown Prince said. "I'll do it." "...It would be better if a descendant did it anyway." He'd probably have more strength than me. The Crown Prince rolled ‌‌‌the ancestral skull in his palm a few times, then surveyed left and right beyond the curtain. Confirming there were no zombies within arm's reach, he extended only his ‌‌arm outside the curtain. Gauging the angle, the Crown Prince threw the skull toward the Left Stairs we'd fled from earlier. There was ‌‌‌‌a large glass window in that direction. The skull flew like a baseball and shattered the window. Crack! Shatter! Please hit a home run for us, ‌‌‌ancestor! [Imperial Villa First Floor Gallery] - Yusara, Yujein, Crown Prince, Grand Duke, Dazling, Mascarpone, Supporting Character 2, Nuisance Man (Alive)

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please ‌read directly on our official site: valirscans.org

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