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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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A Corporate Slave Becomes a Villainous Nuisance in a Zombie Apocalypse
Episode 33
'Could zombies have appeared?!'
No. That wasn't it.
It was just traffic congestion.
The Imperial Palace, which supposedly boasted 1,441 rooms and seven greenhouses, had gardens sprawling before its main gate that looked to span at least a square kilometer.
Cream-colored walls like choux pastry, elegant white pillars, and relatively subdued green windows—all of it stretched out before me in the distance.
Between them, carriages lined up in a single file.
The Knight peering out the window spoke.
"They're conducting security inspections. It appears to be a newly implemented procedure."
"That makes sense."
It must be ‌‌because of the zombies. ‌‌‌
The act of stopping the carriage and having each person disembark for body searches was actually quite prudent.
The sufficiently stern atmosphere meant no ‌‌‌one dared to resist.
The problem was.
Every time a noble descended from the carriage, a servant would exit first to install a footstep.
And when the noble finished their business and ‌‌‌reboarded, the time spent dismantling that footstep was absolutely endless.
"Why are they getting out only to get back in? Since they're already out, couldn't they just walk inside? The Imperial Palace is right there ahead."
"That would be far too great a distance, Miss."
"It's right there though?"
Could things appear closer than they actually are?
"How long would it take to walk?"
"At least five minutes, I would estimate."
"...."
They're causing all this chaos—getting out, getting back in, installing footsteps, dismantling footsteps—just to avoid a mere five-minute walk?
This is infuriating.
Just walk!
"It appears our turn will come in approximately one hour."
One hour?!
"I'm walking."
Without waiting for the Knights' response, I threw open the carriage door.
"Miss!"
"Miss!"
Both the Knights and the coachman cried out in alarm, but I had already leaped from the carriage.
As I strode purposefully toward the main gate, the Imperial Palace guards stared at me in shock.
"Who... the Lady?!"
'It feels ‌‌‌like I'm entering through a drive-through on foot.'
I smiled awkwardly and asked.
"Can one enter the palace on foot?"
Had I known that Lady Yusara was a celebrity in this empire (read: a scapegoat) and that every action I took would become gossip, I would have exercised more restraint.
[Villainous Yusara, Empire's Top Trending Topic #1!]
I'm ‌‌‌about to cry.
* * *
"Really, the lengths people go to for attention...."
"Well, she achieved her goal, didn't she? We're talking about her right now."
"What's remarkable is that she doesn't seem envious of anyone, despite all this."
"Her efforts are admirable, I suppose. Isn't she embarrassed? Living like that?"
"Would someone like her even ‌‌‌understand shame? That's an emotion reserved for higher beings."
"Pfft!"
What ‌‌‌kind of conversation was this?
It ‌‌was ‌‌insults directed at me.
The location: the Crown Prince's Palace Audience Chamber.
The time: fifteen minutes before the meeting began.
The cast: Yusara, Audience Petitioner 1, 2, 3, 4.
How this situation unfolded↓
After passing through security screening in just five minutes, I was escorted to the Audience Chamber of the Crown Prince's Palace where Praha resided.
"Please wait here."
"Yes."
'Nice place.'
I sat where the Attendant directed me to wait, and the moment the petitioners laid eyes on me, their ‌‌‌jaws dropped before they immediately began gossiping about me. ‌‌‌
Why?
Because word had already spread that I'd walked into the Palace.
'Rumors spread faster than people entering the Palace.'
If I'd known this would happen, I should've ridden in ‌‌on people's tongues instead of a carriage.
Whisper whisper.
Murmur murmur.
For reference, my expression while listening to these insults was as follows:
(=_=)
It was the blank stare of a frozen ‌‌fish. ‌‌‌
'Whether someone walks into the Palace or crawls in,'
it's not like ‌they were carried in on their own backs—what business is ‌it of theirs?
"A few days ago, she was at a ‌Coffee House with the Grand Duke...."
"And she was holding his hand while crying, they say...."
"Why did she suddenly cut her hair? She used to be obsessed with her long hair. At a party the other day, someone accidentally tugged at it and she made such a fuss."
"She must be copying Yujein."
"Never mind the hair—what about that outfit? How does she dare show up at the Imperial Palace ‌‌dressed like some half-naked vagrant!"
"After all, she was rejected by the Crown Prince...."
(=_=) ‌‌
How does someone accidentally tug at another person's hair anyway?
And besides, Yujein's hair was long too.
"It really does seem important for children to receive proper affection from those around them while growing up. If those needs aren't met in time, adults end up like that...."
"My goodness, why do you have to ‍phrase it so indirectly? Just say I wasn't loved as a child!"
"Hahahaha!"
What do you mean I ‌‌‌‌wasn't loved? I love myself!
I absolutely do!
'Just ‌‌‌ignore them. Let me read this book.'
When is this meeting supposed to start anyway? Is this even the right place?
'Maybe I should ask the Attendant again.'
Though when ‌‌‌‌I asked earlier, the Attendant had responded with an annoyed "Yes, yes."
That petitioner in the ‌‌purple vest keeps smirking, and it's getting on my nerves.
Then.
Help came from an unexpected direction.
"Why is this person always caught in the middle of some conflict whenever I see her?"
A clear voice. Decisive speech.
Mascarpone strode in and plopped down beside me.
Camouflage fatigues covering every limb. Hair cut short.
"...?!"
"...?!"
Petitioner 1234, who had been sneering at my outfit moments before, fell silent upon seeing Mascarpone dressed identically—or rather, even more extravagantly so.
Mascarpone brushed back her shortened hair and ‌‌glanced at me.
I pouted at her.
"I wasn't doing anything."
"I know."
Mascarpone replied casually and crossed her legs. She stretched languidly, ‌‌then winced as if still feeling sore muscles.
Then she suddenly turned to the now-silent 1234.
"What are you staring at?"
"M-Mascarpone?"
"As you can see, I'm on the young lady's side. You got a problem with that?"
'It seems like Mascarpone is the one picking the fight here....'
Her combat prowess was no joke.
'She really is the second most troublesome person in high society after me.'
She picked a side without even knowing what was going on.
Even though 1234 was a nobody without any noble standing, Mascarpone's wealth meant she couldn't be dismissed lightly. 1234 wore a confused expression but couldn't muster a rebuttal.
Mascarpone looked down at ‌‌‌the silent 1234 like they were an insect, scoffed dismissively, and grabbed my wrist.
"It seems you lot came to see the Crown Prince, yet you lower nobles don't even know his morning schedule. Your tongues are awfully loose."
"...Pardon?"
"The Crown Prince has already promised to meet with us. You lot should sit quietly here and waste time. The young lady and I are leaving."
"...."
"Let's go, Yusara."
I found myself pulled to my feet ‌before I could even react.
Mascarpone dragged me out of the Crown Prince's Palace after thoroughly scolding even the Attendant who had mistakenly guided me there.
"Why are you standing here like an idiot by yourself?"
"You told me to stay here...."
"I told you to stay, so you stay? Since when have you been so obedient?"
"But the Attendant personally guided me here... oh."
I understood now.
Where else would Yusara, who harbored an unrequited love for Praha, have been?
The moment I entered the Palace, I ‌‌would have gone straight to the Crown Prince's Audience Chamber.
Since I spent so much time there habitually, the Attendant naturally assumed I'd head there today as well.
'So that's what that remark was about.'
Mascarpone seemed to have reached the same conclusion, letting out a ‌small laugh.
"Well, anyway. I'm glad ‌‌I came to check just in case."
"You're right. Thanks for coming to find me."
I responded naturally while observing Mascarpone's complexion.
In ‌‌just two days, she ‌‌‌‌had become noticeably gaunt.
The face of someone suffering from the aftereffects of escaping death.
The face of someone who had ‌‌lost a friend in an accident.
'Mascarpone and Consomme were close, after all.'
The fact that she was managing to go out like this at all must be taking every ounce of her willpower.
"We're running short on time, aren't we? Should we hurry?"
"We're fine for now. The Emperor is always a little late anyway."
We made our ‌‌way through the Corridor at a brisk pace, chatting about ‌‌this and that.
We deliberately avoided mentioning Consomme.
"Thanks for sending the medicine. It worked well."
"Sure. Once you've used it ‌‌‌all, just throw the box in the Garden and smash it. Then it returns to soil."
"Oh. You're practicing ESG management."
"What management?"
"Never mind."
We arrived at the meeting place without ‌‌‌being late—the Imperial Court where the Emperor personally presided over trials.
As Mascarpone had said, the proceedings hadn't begun yet, and the interior ‌‌was bustling with activity.
Praha, Cyprus, and Yujein were nowhere to be seen.
With Praha absent, Dazling was naturally ‌‌‌absent as well.
Among the younger people, only Mascarpone and I were present.
"Where should we sit?"
"The gallery."
"The gallery? But we're the ones who actually experienced the incident."
"That's true, but no one here cares about our opinions."
Our ‌role today was simply to listen while those aged ministers discussed the situation without ever having experienced it firsthand, spouting their theories.
Mascarpone spoke with bitter cynicism.
"...."
I can tell exactly how this meeting will unfold without even being there.
To be honest, it was strange from the start that Praha and Cyprus participated in the Investigation Team in the original story.
They're the Crown Prince and Grand ‌‌Duke. Would they really ‌‌get directly involved in such dangerous work?
'In the original novel... everyone in the party except the protagonist's line died at the Villa, and Praha ended up taking responsibility for it.'
That was because Yujein hadn't awakened back then, unlike now.
Right. That's how it was.
'Did things change because I possessed this body?'
If the situation has changed now, wouldn't the composition of the Investigation Team change as well?
I looked around at the surroundings, where banners embroidered with blue roses on black velvet hung in layers.
It was solemn.
"Yujein didn't come today."
"Why?"
"She awakened ‌‌her divine power. She'll soon become a Saint officially... and it seems His Majesty is displeased about it."
"Well, that makes sense."
"You're not surprised?"
"What's there to be surprised about?"
The appearance of a Saint means the Temple's influence grows stronger. From the Emperor's perspective, it's ‌‌‌worth keeping in check.
The conflict between imperial and divine authority. That's what history books are always talking about. ‌‌‌
Especially in a crisis situation like this.
"The Grand Duke went to his Territory."
"Oh."
So he really did go after all that talk about needing to. That works out well.
"Paprika is... in the end..."
Mascarpone, ‌‌who ‌‌‌‌no longer even used ‌‌‌honorifics when referring ‌‌‌to ‌‌Nuisance Man, spoke about the recent circumstances of the group.
She spoke without pause.
As if trying to shake off her anxiety by pouring out words.
"So..."
I listened quietly.
'So that's how it happened.'
I wasn't particularly surprised.
"There's talk that His Majesty will punish the Crown Prince for Paprika's matter. Only His Majesty has the authority to execute summary judgment on the Imperial Family. But I support the Crown Prince's decision. ‌‌‌‌‌If he hadn't done that, I can't ‌‌imagine what would have happened to everything now... it's terrifying."
Mascarpone, who had ‌‌‌been speaking for a while, suddenly fell silent.
Then she took a shaky breath.
"...My lady."
"Yes?"
"If you have time later, would it be alright if..."
She couldn't finish her sentence.
I gently took Mascarpone's trembling hand.
"Tell me anything. I'll listen."
I'm neither a psychiatrist nor a counselor, but if listening helps, I'm ‌‌‌‌‌always here.
I've experienced it myself, so I know how ‌‌‌‌much strength that can provide.
Then the door opened, and the announcer's voice rang out.
"The ruler of the Empire blessed by the Twelve Deities, the king of territories where the sun never sets... ‌‌‌His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness Crown Prince Praha have arrived. All rise and pay your respects!"
It was the first time I'd seen Praha since that day.
[(Temporary Safe Zone) Imperial Palace]
- Yusara, Mascarpone (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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