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

A Corporate Slave Becomes a Villainous Nuisance in a Zombie Apocalypse
Episode 47
"You used that in ‌‌‌‌war?!"
"No. Everyone wears armor on ‌‌‌the battlefield."
"Ah."
It wasn't even during combat, yet the Crown Prince would break someone's jaw over nothing...
As I pondered this, ‌‌‌I recalled how Praha had constantly faced assassination threats when he was younger.
'The political situation was unstable back then.'
That's why I'd foolishly thought I wanted to save the ‌‌Crown ‌‌‌Prince, to make him happy—all because of that.
A boy with an expressionless face whose life was constantly in danger seemed somehow melancholic.
How foolish of me.
'There's no point bringing up that topic.' ‌‌‌
I should change the subject.
"Wasn't it difficult? I mean, going to war."
"It's my duty."
"Just because it's a duty doesn't mean it isn't hard."
Look at the obligation to pay taxes. How grueling ‌‌it is.
Every year-end settlement, I shed tears of blood.
When I voiced my opinion, Praha let out a ‌‌‌soft chuckle.
His laughter tickled my hair.
"How do you feel being outside the Capital?"
While some members of the Imperial Family were born in the Imperial Palace and never left it until death, Praha did venture out fairly often.
But leaving like this, completely away, must be rare for him.
"It's nice not having to dangle heavy things from my ears."
"Ah, earrings?"
"Yes." ‌‌‌‌
"You really hated them, didn't you..."
I laughed, remembering how a man who looked absolutely sick of jewelry obediently allowed himself to be adorned by imperial decree and went about his business.
"What do you mean? They looked great on you."
"...I'll keep that in mind." ‌‌
Praha's reluctant expression at my compliment made me ‌laugh even harder.
Ah, there it is again...
That staring whenever I laugh.
"..."
"..."
Suddenly, I felt Praha's face—as he held me in ‌‌‌his arms—lower slightly toward mine.
Our eyes met as I turned to look back at him, and Praha parted his lips slightly.
"...Perhaps."
I waited for Praha to ‌‌continue, my heart stirring with an odd feeling.
"Your Highness! My lady!"
A clear voice shattered the silence.
Startled, I quickly slipped out of Praha's embrace.
"T-Tangerine."
I wasn't stealing anything, yet my heart hammered against my ribs.
I stammered out her name in flustered greeting.
"Good morning!"
Tangerine, her hair disheveled into a bird's nest (apparently she hadn't bathed either), came bounding over with her jacket unbuttoned and fluttering behind her.
"What are you two doing ‌‌‌here?"
"Ah. Just some archery practice."
"Oh!"
You were socializing late into the night yesterday, yet here you are this morning, dedicating yourself to training from dawn!
"You're ‌a talent the ‌‌‌‌Knight Order missed out on!"
"That's not really the case..."
"It ‌‌‌absolutely is! In that case, shall we hunt down that bird flying over there for breakfast?"
"I can barely hit the target myself."
For some reason, I couldn't look directly at Praha, so I stared intently at Tangerine instead, muttering my response.
"No matter! I'll catch enough for both of us!"
"Um. Well. I'll just have the bread they serve in the Kitchen. I'll be going now."
I rushed through my words and hurriedly excused myself from the Courtyard.
I felt a penetrating gaze following me as I ‌‌‌‌left, but I pretended not to notice.
'Phew.'
This is all because Praha is far too handsome.
He probably isn't thinking anything of it, yet here I am, feeling strange and making a complete fool of myself...
'Don't get confused.'
I can't repeat my first life.
Absolutely don't get confused.
Never.
* * *
Tangerine murmured as she watched Yusara's retreating figure hurrying away from the Garden.
"Did I do something wrong...?"
"..."
"Does she dislike roasted bird?"
Praha stared intently at Tangerine, who was sadly lamenting without a clue.
Tangerine, sensing his gaze, turned to face Praha.
"..."
"..."
"Do you also dislike roasted bird, Your Highness?"
"No."
"I see."
And then silence.
Watching Praha silently attempt to enter the castle as well, Tangerine tilted ‌‌‌her head.
"Aren't you doing morning training, Your ‌Highness?"
"No."
My motivation had evaporated. ‌
Praha pressed down on my chest, which was beating slightly faster than usual, and glanced at the castle entrance where no one remained.
'If I chase after her now, can I catch up?'
Probably.
The lady and I have different leg lengths after all. ‌‌‌
But why am I trying to follow the lady?
Growing anxious, Praha unconsciously licked my lower lip with my tongue.
Lately, it had been like this constantly.
Whenever the lady entered my field of vision, I became inexplicably anxious.
My throat ‌‌‌‌dried.
A vaguely unpleasant sensation.
As if preparing ‌‌for an imminent attack, every muscle in my body tensed and blood surged.
As if spotting an enemy, my vision narrowed until only the lady filled it.
It felt like hearing war drums from far away before battle commenced....
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Yes.
It felt exactly like hearing the drums of a battlefield.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Was this because of the axe the lady had embedded in the back of my head?
Had it still not come out?
Would it ever come out?
"...." ‌‌
Tangerine looked at Praha strangely as I suddenly stood there staring down at my own ‌‌palm, despite saying I was going inside.
"Your Highness?"
"Tangerine."
"Yes?"
"I think I might be ill."
Praha suddenly thought to myself.
'The lady.'
Yusara.
Does she know that my pupils aren't perfectly black when viewed up close?
That her thick hair cascading down her nape is unbearably tempting to touch?
'Aren't you tired?'
'You've even lost consciousness before, so it's best not to overexert yourself.'
I wanted to say.
'In a one-on-one situation, if I just ‍‌‌‌seize this, I'm guaranteed to win.'
'Grip it tightly with your hand and crush it.'
What ‌‌actually came out of my mouth ‌‌‌‌were truly bizarre nonsensical ramblings.
I spent the entire dawn spouting gibberish, and ultimately missed my chance.
'What can I do? My mind goes blank the moment our eyes meet.'
Because nothing like this had ever happened to me before in my entire life.
As Praha, I ‌‌found myself wondering if I'd actually injured myself somewhere.
I ‌‌‌‌looked down at my palm, still retaining the warmth of Yusara's skin.
'A person who walks around smashing others' heads with an axe.'
One must be cautious around such a person.
Yet I had no desire to be cautious.
I had never dated anyone before.
Those around me were only women I needed to instruct or command.
My mother, my mentor, the occasional doctoral scholars I consulted at the university, the knights under my command.
Was it just after my nineteenth birthday?
Cyprus, who ‌‌‌casually dated and broke up repeatedly, advised me not to overthink things.
"For example, if you find someone's smile beautiful, you just go on a date with them."
"If you find their smile beautiful?"
"If you find it beautiful."
Then I should be dating the princess.
Yusara is beautiful.
At least, she appeared beautiful ‌‌to my eyes.
Eyes unlike anyone else in ‌‌this Empire.
An upright posture. A gaze that strikes straight ahead. A captivating smile.
Even the men who cursed the princess for being fierce and extravagant would steal glances whenever she appeared at banquets dressed in splendor.
I ‌‌‌‌blinked and posed a question to Cyprus.
"You said not to overthink it, so why didn't you date the princess?"
Wasn't it common knowledge throughout the Empire that the princess had unrequited feelings for Cyprus and chased after him for a time?
'Cyprus!'
'Yeah, Yusara.'
'Why ‌‌‌‌didn't you come to my birthday party yesterday?'
'Ah, I was busy.'
'Very busy?'
'Yeah.'
'I ‌‌see... I waited for you.'
The sight of the princess ‌‌‌blushing without realizing that Cyprus didn't return her affections was the talk of ‌‌‌‌‌high society.
When Cyprus would finally reject the princess was also a matter of speculation.
'Princess, you don't seem close to the Grand Duke these days?'
'When was I ever close to that bastard?'
The moment the two stopped conversing—(precisely when Cyprus remained unchanged while the ‌‌‌princess alone huffed and began ignoring him)—everyone knew the princess had finally been rejected.
"Why didn't I date Yusara, you ask?"
Cyprus simply laughed when he heard my question back then.
"I despise every single part that comprises Yusara."
Her blood, her name, the light in her eyes, the way she breathes, her voice, her smile. All of it.
Cyprus harboring ‌‌‌‌such ‌‌intense hatred toward someone was extraordinary.
It was unusual, but I let it pass without dwelling on it.
As ‌‌I watched Praha nod impassively, Cyprus winked at him.
"You know this is the first time you've ever mentioned a girl your age? And of all people, it's just Yusara."
Was there really a need to emphasize 'just'?
I remember thinking ‌exactly that.
In any ‌‍‌‌case, now.
Yusara didn't belong to either category of women who comprised my world.
Someone I wanted to seek counsel from like the doctors and professors, yet simultaneously someone who made me feel a certain sense of ‌‌‌‌‌responsibility. ‌‌‌
Suddenly.
'From now on, I want to love a man who will drop everything and lift me up the moment I fall.'
The words I'd overheard at ‌‌‍‌‌the villa came flooding back.
Thump....
My heartbeat slowed.
I couldn't comprehend myself.
'Isn't it good if Yusara finally finds her own happiness?'
It's a good thing.
For both of us.
It's good.
Really, it's good.
No, stop thinking about it.
"...."
But I couldn't stop thinking about it no matter what.
Perhaps Yusara had realized it.
Before the terror of death, my feelings for Praha were truly nothing at all.
'So now I'm just some unremarkable man scattered about in Yusara's surroundings?'
She won't visit me like she used to.
Then there's no reason to see her face either....
As Praha frowned, he didn't even realize he was calling the princess by her name.
'Did Yusara ever actually like me in the first place?'
Was she just pretending because of her desire for revenge against Cyprus?
Could it be that she still harbors feelings ‌for Cyprus?
'They bicker constantly, yet they get along so well, those two.'
Cyprus keeps saying Yusara has ‌‌‌become strange, showing his interest.
Cyprus keeps insisting Yusara has become strange, but from my perspective, she seemed no different from before.
'Yusara was always strange.'
It's the truth.
Yusara was always strange.
Even Praha, who harbored no particular thoughts about Yusara, found himself unable to help but think of her on several occasions.
[Birthdays]
Yusara: October 27th
Praha: October 31st
Cyprus: August 3rd

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