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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 35
The meeting ended, leaving nothing but unease in its wake, and the Emperor departed.
The remaining nobles remained bowed until the Emperor's ‌‌‌Knight and his guards had all withdrawn.
"Phew."
They straightened their spines and began ‌‌‌chattering amongst themselves.
"This is no easy matter. Heh heh."
"I suppose it's time ‌‌‌for me to step down. Heh heh."
"Heh heh heh. I feel the same way."
"Heh heh heh."
Whether here or there, people always say the same things after a meeting.
In the bustling atmosphere, Praha walked ‌‌straight toward me.
"My lady."
I couldn't pretend not to notice as ‌‌‌Praha approached me in a direct line, and the onlookers fixed their curious gazes upon us both.
"It's been a while."
As Praha stood before me, the jade-colored earrings hanging from his handsome ears came into sharp focus.
The waist ornament matching the earring's hue as well.
Unlike the casual attire at the villa, these vibrant clothes suited him impeccably.
'After all, it really is about the face.'
"It's been a while for you too, Mascarpone."
"Yes, Your Highness."
A while? ‌‌That wasn't quite right, was it? ‌‌
"Your Highness, it's only been four days for us."
"Yes. It felt like a long time."
Dazling, standing behind Praha, blinked rapidly at both Mascarpone and me.
Praha glanced at Dazling, who was expressing the maximum enthusiasm a corporate worker ‌‌could muster during official protocol, and spoke.
"It seems Dazling also wishes to pay his respects to both of you."
With permission granted, Dazling approached us immediately.
"My lady!"
"Dazling!"
"I was worried!"
"I know! You sent a card!"
Are you alright, Dazling?! I'm ‌‌‌‌perfectly fine! And you, Mascarpone?! I'm perfectly fine too!
Like high school friends reuniting after four years, the ‌‌three of us chattered away ‌excitedly.
'Now ‌‌‌that I think about it.'
Didn't Nuisance Man curse at Dazling that day?
The fact that he'd already become a zombie seemed like a lesser problem than this.
When I brought it up, Dazling's face flushed ‌red.
"You remember that?"
"Of course! How could I forget!"
"I'm fine. I'm mad, after all."
"Pardon?"
"It's a world where you can't survive without losing your mind."
"Right. That's right!"
While we spoke, Praha waited patiently.
Only after ‌‌‌Dazling thanked him for the opportunity to ‌‌‌‌speak and stepped back did Praha open his mouth again.
"My lady, might I have a moment of your time?"
His expression had grown quite rigid.
Somehow, his manner toward me seemed even stiffer than the last ‌‌‌‌time I'd seen him.
He seemed tense.
'No, that can't be. Why would Praha be nervous in front of me?'
I hesitated before answering, lost in thought.
Normally, this would be where my connection to the protagonists ends.
Praha would soon set off on an adventure with Yujein and Cyprus, and I would stay here.
I have to stay if I don't want ‌to die.
'But the situation is different now.'
I'm the one who can see the crimson stone in the zombie's chest.
I'm the only person who holds a clue to this catastrophe.
'Let me hear what he has to say first.'
"Yes, that's fine. I have plenty of time."
"I'll contact you, my lady."
"Yes. Please do."
After Mascarpone tactfully excused herself and I made plans to meet her later, I stood beside Praha.
Praha, who ‌‌‌had been about to stride forward briskly, paused and slowed his pace to match mine.
"You don't need ‌to match my pace."
"I'm comfortable this way."
If ‌‌‌that's what he preferred.
As we passed through the Corridor where petals scattered ‌‌‌and made our way back to Praha's Palace, we endured the astonished gazes of onlookers.
'Is it really that shocking that I'm walking with Praha?'
I was more surprised as I entered the Palace.
The Entrance Hall was teeming with people.
"When will His Highness finally...."
"We've been waiting since dawn...."
Petitioner 1, who had been gleefully slandering me moments ago, widened his eyes in shock when he saw me actually arriving with Praha.
'Hmph.'
I lifted my chin.
This was the power of proximity to greatness.
"Your Highness!"
"Crown ‌‌Prince!"
Over twenty ‌‌petitioners couldn't bring themselves to approach, and instead bowed their waists desperately.
Praha's aide whispered uncomfortably ‌‌‌as he approached.
"Your Majesty, the officials requesting an audience have been waiting since ‌‌‌this morning."
Oh.
This really does seem like a hint that I should yield.
"Should I wait a bit? I have nothing to do anyway."
"No."
Praha cut off my words decisively and spoke to his aide.
"Which guest I meet first is my decision."
"But, Your Majesty...."
"Those people are waiting because they wish to ‌‌‌‌meet me, while the lady is someone I requested to meet. Isn't it obvious who should wait?"
At those words, all the officials requesting an audience were flustered.
"Your Majesty!"
One man among them gathered his courage and stepped forward.
A purple velvet vest and a golden watch chain. Pomaded hair.
It was Petitioner 1, the one who had mocked me earlier.
Petitioner 1, bowing deeply, forced a servile smile.
"Your Majesty, I am the eldest son of a house that holds exclusive supply rights of incense to the ‌‌‌Imperial Family. Recently, across the sea...."
This and that. Complaint after complaint.
"...therefore, would it ‌‌not be possible for you to hear my matter first?"
A threat that something catastrophic ‌‌‌would happen to the incense supply if he didn't listen to his story.
At that threat, Praha tilted his head.
"Is it truly a disaster if the Imperial Palace lacks incense?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"At worst... we ‌would simply have to smell your perspiration more directly, wouldn't we?"
"I beg your pardon??"
"Holding one's nose would solve the problem."
"...."
"The Imperial Palace will not face true disaster without incense, but if I do not speak with the lady right now, I will face disaster. Since I am an adult, I can tolerate the smell of perspiration, so you shall wait."
"...."
Thus, I—who had become the Crown Prince Praha's "disaster"—disappeared into the Palace, leaving the bewildered officials behind.
Praha led me to a place where he spent his personal time.
The ceiling was relatively low, like an ‌‌‌ordinary home, and an entire wall of windows let in bright, cozy light.
The moment we entered, Praha removed his earrings and placed them on the table.
'I suppose they were bothersome.'
They suited him, though.
Of course, removing a pair of earrings did nothing to diminish the dazzling adornment covering his entire form.
Standing before a man dressed like a peacock, I—looking like a beggar—glanced around awkwardly.
Exercise equipment hung from the ceiling for calisthenics, and a leather-bound play lay on the table.
'I know that book.'
I saw it in a history book yesterday....
"Ugh." ‌‌‌‌
"...Princess?"
"My apologies. I went to bed ‌‌‌late yesterday."
Truth was, I'd been up ‌all night.
I quickly changed the subject.
"Your Highness looks tired as well, doesn't he?"
"I had some matters to attend to."
"I see."
"If I may ask, Princess..."
Praha, who had been hesitating, posed the question.
"Why would you sleep late when you have nothing to do?"
This bastard?
"People with nothing to do tend to sleep ‌‌‌later, don't they?"
"I suppose so."
And ‌then silence.
'When we were fighting for our lives, ‌I didn't notice, ‌‌‌‌‌but being alone like this is awkward.'
Well, we weren't exactly on comfortable terms anyway.
"...Were you up late reading the book you're holding now?"
"Yes, well. ...Ah. Thank you for the card you sent."
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
Awkward.
Pure awkwardness.
Maybe now was the right moment to ask the question I'd been wanting to ask since earlier.
"Say, Your Highness."
Praha watched me silently as I called out to him.
His gaze felt so piercing that ‌‌I quickly corrected myself.
"Crown Prince Praha, Your Highness."
"...Yes."
"Why are you going?"
It was a question ‌‌that skipped the context, but Praha understood.
'Why are you going to the Investigation Team?'
No matter what the Emperor's orders were, you didn't have to go. Wouldn't it be better to ‌‌‌‌stay in the Capital, crying and begging forgiveness for your mistakes?
Praha answered.
"Because it's ‌‌‌my duty."
"What is Your Highness's duty?"
"To ensure the safety of the Empire's people."
"..."
"Even without the Emperor's command, I would have volunteered."
"What if the Emperor dies in the meantime?"
If something happened to Praha, the Emperor wouldn't escape unscathed either.
Establishing a successor is one of the Emperor's most fundamental duties.
At ‌‌‌least, that's what I understood from ‌‌‌‌what I knew.
If Praha were to die like this? His younger brother is still far too young.
But Praha's answer to my question was simple.
"For my mother, only her own reign matters. What comes after holds little importance."
Huh.
Quite the character, isn't she.
'Come to think of it, since she doesn't believe in God, she probably doesn't believe in the afterlife either.'
"My mother, I suspect,"
Praha continued.
"Wanted me to admit my wrongdoing and submit. But I don't believe I was ‌‌wrong."
"...."
"Even if I could go back, I would make the same choice. So I cannot apologize falsely."
Even if I could go back, I ‌‌would make the same choice....
That's just like me.
"So you chose to accept the punishment?"
"It was something I intended to volunteer for anyway, so it's acceptable."
"...."
This person must have been bamboo in a past life.
'Such unyielding integrity.'
Praha, whose earlobes had flushed red from wearing heavy earrings, spoke.
"The favor I wish to ask of you ‌‌‌is also connected to this matter."
A brief silence.
And upon hearing Praha's request, I was astounded.
"You're asking me to join the Investigation Team?"
"Yes."
"Me?"
That?
Why?
But once Praha overcame his hesitation and opened his mouth, he spoke without reservation.
"I'm not asking you to blindly follow me. This matter is dangerous. I cannot guarantee your life, so it would be far better for you to remain in the safety of the Capital. Personally, I would recommend that course."
"Pardon?"
Just now you asked me to join the Investigation Team?
"But it's also true that I hoped to receive your help."
"...."
What are you saying?
Praha spoke.
"I wish to recommend your safety, yet simultaneously I desire your assistance. But these contradictory feelings are mine alone. They are irrelevant."
"Then whose feelings matter?"
"Yours, my lady."
"...."
"Whether you participate in the Investigation Team or not ‌‌is entirely your choice. Rather than presuming to judge your ‌‌‌affairs myself, I believed it was right to speak honestly ‌‌‌‌and give you the agency to ‌decide."
This is your matter—you must judge and choose for yourself.
"...."
I fell silent.
It was unexpected.
The Investigation Team.
In the novel, where the villainess Yusara is forced to follow along and dies.
A man who would have done everything to keep me away was now asking me to accompany him first.
And he was giving me the choice to decide.
And yet.
"Why?"
"...?"
"I can't use holy power like Yujein, and I don't know how to fight. I'm just a passing civilian. Why would you take someone with no abilities who'll only be a hindrance?"
Why insist on bringing me along?
Praha's answer was simple.
"Because of the judgment you demonstrated at the Villa."
"Judgment?"
"You ‌were calmer than any ‌‌of us, and you saved us in every crisis. You devised the bait strategy in the Gallery, ‌‌‌‌contributed to finding the Portal in the Kitchen. You even set traps."
"That's...."
It was just because I'd watched a ‌‌‌‌few zombie films back in Korea....
It's experience rather than ability.
'Experience is still a form of strength, I suppose.'
"And if we speak of abilities, don't you possess ‌‌‌one yourself?"
"...Me?"
Do I have an ability?
[(Temporary Safe Zone) Imperial Palace]
- Yusara, Praha (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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