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A Corporate Slave Becomes a Villainous Nuisance in a Zombie Apocalypse Episode 32 Chapter 6. And Then I Got Locked in the Rice Chest "What am I supposed to do about your brother!" The day I entered the Imperial Palace. The day we finally held that not-so-urgent emergency meeting. The Duke came to my room in the morning, whimpering. "He hasn't come home in days... no contact at all! My innocent boy somehow fell in with the wrong crowd..." "...He didn't come home yesterday either?" I stopped the maid who was brushing my hair and straightened my posture. My younger brother, who had left around the same time I possessed this body, still hadn't returned. Was it a coincidence? Right when zombies appeared at the Imperial ‌Palace Villa, the villainous woman's younger brother suddenly vanished without a trace? "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" "Probably at the Racetrack or the Hunting Ground. He might even be at the Lakeside on the ‌‌‌outskirts." "The Lakeside?" "I heard duck racing has become all the rage there lately. Anyway!" For someone who'd come complaining since morning, he didn't seem particularly worried. Raising a son is pointless, he was only close to his mother when young but that's changed, he doesn't even think about his ‌‌lonely mother in this grand Mansion (well, what about me?)... 'He just needs someone to unload his grievances on, I guess.' I asked just in case. "Would you like me to find him?" "Nonsense! Where would a girl go!" "Then what if you sent the Knights?" "You! If the Knights forcibly bring him back, how hurt would your brother's pride be! Really!" What exactly was he expecting me to do? I tuned out around that point. The Duke, clearly unable to say a single word to his son, just whined at the easy target that was Yusara for a while longer. "By the way, did you not sleep well? ‌‌‌Those dark circles under your eyes make you look just like a corpse!" And with that parting shot about my appearance, he left. I felt deflated. 'Wherever that brother went, it's not like I can find him anyway.' My own matters were more pressing right now. "Don't mind what the Duke said, Miss!" "Your skin is absolutely radiant!" The moment the Duke left, the maids drew back the curtains to let light flood the room and began offering compliments while gauging my reaction. Multiple hands applied powder to my face and massaged my neck and shoulders. 'This ‌‌‌‌is nice. Free massage.' I only got massages like this when traveling abroad, but here ‌‌‌‌I could ‌‌‌‌get them for free. Wasn't this the only real perk of possession? 'If I'd had more ‌‌‌time, I could've ‌even gotten free personal training from the Family Knight Order.' If I happen to possess another character next time, I'll definitely get it—free personal training. "What would you like to wear today, miss?" The ‌‌‌maids, having finished their preparations, brought over a large rosewood box and opened it before me. Inside were three palm-sized dolls that resembled me. Each wore a different dress, had a different hairstyle, and wore different accessories. The ‌‌tiny dolls' faces were even delicately made up. As ‌‌‌if to say: we'll dress you exactly like this. I cut off one of the maids before she could start explaining while ‌‌pointing at the dolls. "Pants." "Pardon?" "Long, durable pants. Comfortable shoes. A long-sleeved top that won't tear if it catches on something. That's what I'll wear." "...." "While we're at it, could you cut my hair a bit?" * * * "Do you want to be cut?!" The Duke scowled at the maids upon seeing my freshly cut hair. Do I want to be cut? What kind of verbal abuse is that.... I stopped the Duke from scowling further. "I asked them to cut it." "What?!" "I've committed so many sins ‌‌in my usual life that I'm worried someone might grab me by the hair somewhere." More precisely, I'm worried a zombie might grab me by the hair. I'd wanted to cut it into a bob, but the maid said the Duke would have her head if I did, so I couldn't go that far. 'It's still long enough as it is.' I'm not Samson, so why should I insist on keeping hair that drags down to my waist? Whether the Duke screamed beside me ‌‌or not, I put on my coat. "I'm going out." By the way, the Duke isn't attending today's meeting. He doesn't go out while the sun is up. Reason: his skin might get damaged. My younger brother ‌‌‌‌has disappeared and the Duke is practically a vampire, so I'm the only one from this household attending the meeting. 'Is this really a ducal family?' I tucked ‌‌‌the 【Imperial Criminal Code: Special Part】 that I'd ‌‌‌fallen asleep reading last night under my arm and left the corridor. I glanced at the maid accompanying me when she tried to take the book, ‌‌and I refused. She was the maid ‌‌who'd gone ‌out to find Consomme's slippers after hearing the Head Maid's whisper when I'd regained consciousness. 'Time to start testing things out.' After confirming no one else was listening, I asked. "Did you find the slippers?" "Yes, miss?" "Did you find my slippers?" "What...." "I'm talking about those slippers you carelessly threw away—the ones I'd put in my pocket." "Ah...!" Her severe panic made it clear she'd assumed I'd forgotten about them. Especially since I hadn't mentioned it until now. I pressed the frozen Head Maid further. "Did ‌‌‌you fail to find them, or did you not even bother trying?" Whether you find something or not, you're supposed to ‌‌report back. Just because I said nothing, you think you can let it slide? How professionally convenient. The hesitant Head Maid finally began making excuses. "Well, that is... by the time I went down, they'd already gone into the fire. I was afraid you'd be upset, so I didn't mention it. Since you seemed to have forgotten, I felt too sorry to remind you...." "I see." But the thing is, I found them. Two ‌‌‌‌days ago, right after meeting Cyprus and coming home, I stopped by ‌‌the Incinerator first. I handed out a few pastries to the Knights, and they kindly showed me around. They were lying ‌‌‌on ‌‌top of a garbage bag. "So they were completely burned ‌‌‌to nothing?" "Yes... I'm so sorry, miss." "Hmm." I would've let it go if she'd been honest about it here. But there's no helping it now. I flipped through the criminal law book I'd been holding. It was my book, purchased from the Bookstore the day before yesterday. Let me see, the passage I was looking for.... Here it is. "Did you know that if a servant disposes of a noble's property without permission, it constitutes theft?" "Y-yes?" "And if it's a gift from the Imperial Family, the punishment is enhanced." "P-punishment...?" "Yes. Punishment." The Head Maid stood there with her mouth hanging open. She probably never expected a young lady who doesn't read a single line of books to cite the law. Originally, I hadn't planned to go this far. But even a cursory look at precedents ‌‌made it clear. That your actions stemmed from completely disrespecting me. 'What on earth were you thinking? I'm still your employer.' I understood why Yusara seemed ‌‌pathetic—criticized at home, insulted outside. But that doesn't mean you can cross the line. 'I may call my company's ‌‌‌owner by name and use casual speech online, but I don't do that at work.... I can't even call them by name, so ‌‌‌‌I use a code name instead.' Did it escalate because I let it slide the first time, the ‌second time, without consequences? Regardless, that disrespect ultimately benefited me. "I'm sorry! I was wrong!" I watched the maid, whose face had turned deathly pale, bow her head frantically without ‌‌‌‌expression. "I'm ‌‌‌sorry, Miss! I'm so sorry!" She wept, her complexion ashen. A swift change of tactics. She never expected this ‌‌when she lied without ever visiting the Incinerator. I extended my hand and helped the maid to her feet. "I'll forgive you." You're not my target, after all. "But there's a condition." Phase one of ‌my plan to tear this mad household apart. Beginning now. * * * 'That's what you get for doing something you can't clean up after.' I clicked my tongue in disapproval and walked toward the carriage. I could see a ragged group of commoner children following the maid's instructions as ‌‌‌‌‌they returned to the Backyard. I'd heard the Duke was doing some sort of charitable work. 'A person who dislikes sunlight but loves children....' "Yawn." I was dying of exhaustion. The Duke was right—this was indeed my second night without sleep. My entire body ached, and I desperately wanted to collapse into bed. But there was so much I needed to ‌‌learn about this strange new world that I'd spent the entire two days buried in books. Why, you ask? Consider this scenario. Suppose some alien possessed my friend's body to conquer Earth. [Yusara's Conversation Simulation] Me: (to my friend) King Sejong once said~ blah blah blah. The alien in my friend's body: Huh? King ‌‌Sejong? Hahaha, what was that? Is it food? Nom nom nom. Me: ...!!! (This bastard is definitely not my friend!) I'd be exposed immediately. And right now, I was in that alien's situation. To avoid being discovered as something amiss, I needed to understand this society. I had to know history, etiquette, mythology and philosophy ‌‌‌to grasp conversational context, Imperial geography, notable figures.... For those of you who thought possession meant looting restaurants and visiting art galleries, abandon those fantasies! The world simply doesn't work that way! Fortunately, I had no friends and was notorious as a foolish villainess, so the difficulty was manageable. Few people approached me, so there was little risk of ‌‌exposure, and even if I acted strangely, they'd dismiss it as just her being her usual self. Conclusion: Even inside the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace, I was still studying. "Yawn." Imperial criminal law and its precedents. ‌‍‌‌‌Theology. Magical theory. Whenever I couldn't help myself, I'd jot ‌‌down tax laws ‌‌‌as a distraction. Summarizing what I'd organized that way, it ‌‌‌came down to this: - Yusara's Notebook - This is a world where gods ‌‌‌actually ‌‌‌‌exist. Example: the God of Light, the Goddess of Beauty and Marriage. But they're incredibly stingy. They're reluctant to distribute their divine powers. : In fact, before her awakening, Yujein could only heal tiny wounds! Q. So why do people believe in gods? Wouldn't magic be better than stingy gods—magic that opens Portals and shoots flaming arrows? A. Magic can only be used by awakened mages, but divine power isn't limited that way. If you believe in the gods, anyone has a chance. People ‌without magical talent have no choice but to rely on the gods. Besides, magic can't be used on the spot like divine power. Using ‌‌‌‌magic requires formulas and calculations. Most mages use magic by inscribing formulas onto objects. A "mage" like the Harry Potter we imagine appears maybe once a century, if that. 'So that's why there were no mages at the Villa.' Mages who can cast magic on the spot are practically nonexistent. When enemies are rushing at you, you can't just stand there calculating ‌‌‌‌and say "wait an hour," so you need magical items rather than mages. 'Hmm.' If I were a person of this era, I'd believe in science. I ‌‌‌‌have no talent for magic, and who knows if the gods would favor me. 'It's not that Yusara had absolutely no magical talent... but I'm not sure if it even counts as talent.' Anyway. "If there are so many gods, why aren't there any Temples in the Capital?" The Escort Knight sitting across from me answered my muttering. "His Majesty the Emperor imposed taxes on the Temples." "Oh. They didn't pay taxes before?" "No. After His Majesty returned victorious from war, he imposed tax obligations on the Temples, and they all relocated to the outskirts." "Hmm." They probably didn't have the funds to maintain real estate. "There must ‌have been significant resistance." "There are few forces capable of defying the Empire's ruler fresh from victory, miss." "Ah." 'I should visit a Temple sometime.' Who knows? 'We've been waiting for you. We shall serve you properly'—maybe a god would ‌actually descend and grant me something. But I can't venture outside the Capital alone in these dangerous times... "Ugh. My head." Too much to do. I'm getting dizzy. ‌‌‌I lifted my head, furrowing my brow at the sensation of someone tapping my skull with a spoon. But. "Why aren't we moving?" The carriage hadn't budged since earlier. [(Temporary Safe Zone) Inside the Carriage] - Yusara (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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