KVZS 03

Imperial knights Kimon and Dazzling were partners sharing the adjacent room.

Among the knights, Kimon stood out as the more confident and proactive one, while Dazzling had relatively weaker presence.

It was always Kimon who read the oddly shifting atmosphere and opened the sealed room door, and it was also Kimon who quickly pushed away a headless servant that suddenly attacked them.

More confident. More proactive.

“Wait a moment!”

So now, when the rumored imperial princess shouted after them as they were heading to inspect the corpse—Kimon openly sighed, while Dazzling stayed silent.

“Princess, what is it?”

“Take this.”

In this dangerous situation, what Princess Yusara handed to the knights she had stopped was nothing more than a handkerchief.

A white silk handkerchief.

Embroidered with the imperial crest.

It was the very handkerchief she always carried, intending to give it to the Crown Prince as a gift—only for him to repeatedly refuse it.

Kimon, who had unexpectedly received the rumored handkerchief, opened and closed his mouth.

“Why are you giving this to us…?”

The Crown Prince and the Grand Duke, who had been restraining the princess from rushing forward recklessly, also looked bewildered.

In the awkward silence, only the princess remained calm.

She spoke.

“I heard earlier that Your Highnesses said the severed head had bite marks.”

“Yes.”

“What if it was caused by that person? What if the person in the hallway suddenly got up and bit someone?”

“Pardon?”

“Princess, that doesn’t make any sense…”

Kimon let out a hollow laugh, but the princess ignored him. She pointed at the handkerchief.

“After you confirm that the person is completely dead, stuff this into the corpse’s mouth. Be careful not to get bitten.”

Kimon immediately objected.

“He is already unconscious. He’s most likely dead. We appreciate your concern, but the magical rope given by His Highness is more than enough to restrain the mouth.”

“That rope is thin. Even if the jaw is tied, couldn’t it still move?”

“…Princess. Think about it. Even if the corpse were to awaken, do you think it would risk having its own tongue torn off just to bite someone? It would know better than anyone how sharp the binding is around its mouth.”

He added sarcastically, as if to say there was no way it would even dare move its mouth.

Dazzling, standing beside him, glanced at Kimon nervously. The situation was already tense, and his tone was dangerously sharp.

At this rate, wasn’t he going to get slapped?

‘Princess Yusara… I heard she can’t stand being ignored.’

But the princess did not get angry. She only persisted.

“In any case, it’s better to be careful.”

“Princess.”

“What I mean is, if we’re going to do it, we should make sure it absolutely cannot move. Does doing things properly hurt you in any way, sir knight?”

The Crown Prince, who had been observing, intervened.

“Kimon. Follow the princess’s instructions.”

Since the Crown Prince had spoken, the knights had no choice but to comply.

Reluctantly, Kimon rolled up the handkerchief in his hand. The princess emphasized once more:

“Bind the limbs and mouth thoroughly, and be careful not to get bitten. This handkerchief is for preventing bites. If the corpse shows even the slightest movement, do not touch it.”

“…Yes, Princess.”

“Absolutely. Absolutely do not get bitten.”

* * *

“Who does she think she is, giving orders like that? What gives her the right?”

As soon as they moved far enough away that their conversation could no longer be heard, Kimon exploded in anger. His ears were red with frustration.

“Does she think she’s already the Crown Prince’s fiancée or something?!”

Dazzling, who was more skilled than him but knew his temper could be a bit arrogant, replied carefully.

“Still, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

“I know that! That’s why His Highness gave us the magical rope and told us to be careful! Isn’t that enough? Why shove a handkerchief into a corpse’s mouth? It’s disgusting!”

If I’m not the one doing it, it’s easy for her to order it.

Kimon glanced back and shoved the princess’s handkerchief into his jacket pocket.

“A corpse moving? Does she even realize how contradictory she sounds? Let’s see if I have to listen to that idiot woman’s orders.”

‘It didn’t sound like an order…’

But if he said that now, Kimon would only explode further.

So Dazzling tried a roundabout approach.

“His Highness also told us to follow the princess’s words. He must have had a reason. Maybe she’s just worried about us…”

“So what if she’s worried about us?! We’re imperial knights! Who does she think she is—some princess!”

Only royalty had the right to command or worry about them!

“Let a duke be the one worrying then! Like I’d be grateful!”

Kimon was clearly determined not to follow her instructions out of sheer stubborn pride.

In truth, his objections weren’t entirely unreasonable.

Now that they were close, it was clear: the figure lying in the hallway was a corpse. A dead body could not suddenly come back to life.

Binding it with a magical rope was already more than enough caution. Why go as far as stuffing a handkerchief into its mouth?

“Showing off the handkerchief she’s been repeatedly rejected by the Crown Prince with… Is she trying to make a statement? Someone should tell her—women who cling are pathetic.”

“…Do you just dislike the princess?”

“What does it matter!”

Kimon stomped his feet, clearly unwilling to listen.

Dazzling thought inwardly that they should at least pretend to follow her instructions.

‘If both imperial knights ignore her, the princess will be upset.’

She didn’t seem like a bad person—she even thanked me earlier.

‘And preventing bites isn’t even difficult.’

That decision would change their fate.

* * *

I don’t like taking the lead.

Do you know what I hated most during new employee orientation? Talent shows.

Listening to lectures all day, memorizing useless company history, spending all day with new colleagues—I could tolerate all of that.

But talent shows? I absolutely hated them.

‘Who likes talent shows… My talent is lying down. Can I demonstrate that?’

But I’m not a sociopath.

If I know someone is going to die, how can I just ignore it?

I said don’t stand out—I didn’t say abandon basic human decency.

I can’t go out there and touch a zombie-infected corpse like those knights, and I can’t exactly shout, “Everyone listen! I’ve possessed a novel!” either—but I can at least do this much.

If they still refuse to listen to me after all this?

Then I don’t know anymore.

‘I’m so tired… just… everything disappear. I want to be alone.’

But until we escape here, I can’t even be alone.

Gulp.

I swallowed and watched the knights standing by the corpse.

After confirming it was completely dead, they carefully removed the magical rope. They bound one arm and the torso tightly, then wrapped more rope around its mouth and nose.

The corpse’s remaining arm had been torn off on the way here—just as described in the novel.

Q. Describe the feeling of having to watch a corpse turning into a zombie enter the room.

A. Absolutely awful.

‘I really, truly want to go home…’

The knights laid the body in the center of the room, holding its shoulders and legs.

A long arm blocked my path as I tried to rush forward.

I looked up—the Grand Duke.

“You stop here, Princess. It’s dangerous.”

He was smiling, but his arm, lowered like a barrier, was firm.

I could only watch as the two knights finished laying the corpse down.

‘Did they really put the handkerchief in its mouth?’

I can’t see. I should’ve told them to break its jaw instead.

While I swallowed nervously, the knight who had opened the door earlier glanced at me with a smug expression.

‘What’s with him?’

I soon found out why through the Crown Prince’s words.

“Kimon. The handkerchief?”

“I have it.”

“Why did you not follow the princess’s instructions?”

“I confirmed multiple times in the hallway that this man was already dead. There was no need to waste the princess’s valuable handkerchief on a corpse’s mouth.”

“Hey…”

Whether it’s valuable or cheap is for me to decide. I said I didn’t mind it!

Why won’t they listen? Why do they have to be so defiant? Am I your supervisor?!

“…Fine. Step away from there.”

We don’t know when that corpse might finish transforming.

Unable to get closer because the Grand Duke blocked me, I sighed.

The other knight—who had earlier offered me water—quickly stepped back.

But Kimon, the irritating knight who had been problematic from the start, did not move at all.

“Princess, I understand you’re scared, but—”

He lifted his chin mockingly and grabbed the corpse’s hair.

“See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

The moment he said that—

“Grrk!”

“No!”

A sharp magical rope tore into the corpse’s mouth.

The corpse opened its jaws. Even as its mouth ripped apart, it didn’t stop.

Screams. Blood. The Grand Duke’s large hand covering my eyes.

I forced his hand away and looked.

The Crown Prince had grabbed the back of the attacking corpse’s head. A sickening crack of bones echoed, and the knight’s face was forcibly pulled away. In an instant, the corpse’s neck was severed.

The knight stood frozen, one hand covering his ear.

Blood poured continuously down his cheek and neck.

“Is this what the princess meant?”

Even in the middle of a reanimating corpse attack, the Crown Prince remained calm. He set the severed head down and brushed blood from his hand.

His emotionless amber eyes turned toward me.

‘So they used the magical rope… and it sliced the head off with threads.’

“I suppose your knight survived thanks to you.”

“…No. He didn’t survive.”

I replied quietly, my gaze fixed on the knight bleeding from his ear.

Everyone followed my gaze.

The ear is close to the brain.

Transformation would take only minutes.

The knight who had been bitten in the ear was beheaded by the very knight who had been his partner moments earlier.

A head, a servant, a knight. There were already three zombies in this room.

I pushed the Grand Duke’s arm aside and walked toward the corpse.

I pulled my handkerchief from the jacket of the knight who had lost his head just minutes ago.

Wiping the sweat from my hands, I met everyone’s eyes.

“You all saw it clearly, right? If you get bitten by a moving corpse, you turn into one too.”

“Uweeeek!”

The useless guy who had been nauseous the entire time finally vomited.

I continued calmly.

“Everyone, focus. It looks like the genre of our lives just changed today.”

For me, it’s an isekai possession story.

For you, it’s a survival story.

[Imperial Villa, 2nd Floor Secret Room]

• Yusara, Yujein, Crown Prince, Grand Duke, Supporting Character 1, Supporting Character 2, Annoying Guy, Imperial Knight Dazzling (survivors)
• Imperial Knight Kimon (deceased)