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Chapter 22
The next morning.
Unlike usual, Nana didn’t wake up at all, buried in her bed as if a ghost of sleep had possessed her.
Her breathing was steady and calm, but no external stimulus could elicit even the slightest movement.
Tanbbang cautiously entered Nana’s room and tapped her with his paw in front of the butler’s face. She didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.
This time he jumped onto her stomach! The soft blanket flinched, but Nana remained deep in her slumber.
Giving up on waking her, Tanbbang left through the cat-only door, leaving the blanket adorned with cat fur.
As soon as he stepped into the living room, the cat’s form disappeared, and a human figure appeared—it was Ateruna.
“The employer…?”
“She’s just sleeping. No need to worry.”
“……”
“Really, I mean it. I’ve seen plenty of people like her while following Grandma Rosha. This is just a kind of discharge that comes when tension relaxes. All the fatigue and stress she’s accumulated exploded at once. After a good rest, she’ll be fine.”
Ishanka quietly nodded at the explanation, but the unease lingering deep in his eyes hadn’t completely vanished.
Could contact with Ash, or being near the zombies, have affected her like black magic? He couldn’t dismiss that possibility.
But if Ateruna was right, it was a relief.
A few days passed.
Nana, who had curled up in silence, slowly opened her eyes.
Her reflection in the mirror was a mess. Dark circles under her eyes, hair disheveled like a storm had passed.
Yet her gaze was sharp. No wavering, no hesitation. A solid silence wrapped around her eyes.
After quickly washing her face and dressing neatly, she left the room without a word.
“Going to see him again?”
Ishanka spoke quietly, standing by the front door.
His gaze slowly followed Nana. His voice was calm, but a subtle sharpness underlined his words.
He wasn’t pleased at the thought that she still held feelings for that zombie.
That scene in the Eastern Forest remained etched in his memory.
Sunlight streaming through the trees, Nana smiling at Ash. Cheeks flushed, lips constantly moving.
A brightness unlike her usual self. Warm, gentle laughter.
Something stirred in Ishanka’s chest, tickling at an unknown place.
Without realizing what it was, he found himself moving slightly closer to her.
Then came her words:
“So… Ash…”
At that moment, he realized her gaze was not on him, but on that brown-haired zombie.
A cold sensation ran through his heart.
Something simmered in his chest, but he refused to acknowledge it.
‘Whoever is next to her doesn’t concern me.’
He tried to convince himself. He was just her employee, with no right to dictate her feelings.
But the mind could understand—his heart could not follow.
A nameless emotion churned wetly inside him.
From that day on, he avoided the place.
Yet every day, his footsteps still led him to the Eastern Forest. Under the pretense of hunting, or simply because it was on the route.
He knew the truth: he was going there to see Nana.
And every day, he watched her meet her, laughing, chatting, talking to Ash.
Each time he saw her like that, Ishanka felt consumed by some unknown feeling.
‘She never makes that face when she’s with me. What the hell is that thing?’
A dead being. Unable to speak, unable to smile, stripped of emotions.
The fact that such an entity still held a place somewhere in Nana’s heart was unbearable.
He wanted to erase it. If it disappeared from his sight, maybe his heart would be okay. But it wasn’t.
Then, in the moment Nana stepped toward Ash, his body reacted before his thoughts could.
Instinct, not reasoning.
At that instant, he had already grabbed her.
“He’s dead. And a zombie.”
Ishanka’s voice was cold. He tried to suppress his emotions, but a sharp edge slipped through the words.
“I don’t know your relationship with him, but no matter how precious someone is, the dead belong buried in memory.”
“I know that too.”
Nana answered quietly. No hesitation. Her eyes calm, her voice even.
“That’s why I’m going.”
Ishanka gazed at her for a moment, unable to speak.
This was the same person who had been lying in bed moments ago—but now she looked like a warrior walking toward a battlefield.
“You’ll come with me, right, Isha?”
“Eh?”
“That’s good. Let’s go together.”
The unexpected words left Ishanka momentarily stunned. Go together? To see that zombie?
Was she suggesting an introduction?
His mind was chaotic, but his body had already followed her footsteps toward the Eastern Forest.
The forest air was strangely heavy. The cool dawn breeze passed through the trees.
Nana headed toward the familiar tree stump. There, sitting in his usual spot, was the brown-haired zombie, Ash.
“Stand up.”
At her brief command, Ash slowly rose from the ground.
Vacant eyes. Lethargic movements. Completely unlike his living self.
Nana gazed at his face for a long moment, then carefully pulled something from her pocket.
In her hand was the dagger Ishanka had given her long ago.
A simple, undecorated blade.
The weight of the dagger pressed fully against her fingertips.
“Isha, how much do you know about them?”
“I only know how to kill them effectively.”
“That’s good. Where do you stab a zombie to stop it?”
“The most reliable way is the neck. If that’s difficult, stabbing the heart will also stop their movements.”
Nana nodded, gripping the dagger tightly. The blade reflected the dawn light sharply.
“I’ve thought a lot.”
Her eyes flickered, then hardened once more.
“You’re right… Ash is dead. What’s in front of me is just his shell. Outside the fields, he wouldn’t recognize me and could attack at any moment. At the same time, he’s a remnant of my past—a ghost.”
The dagger trembled in her hand.
Yet she stepped forward toward Ash.
“As such, I’ll let him go. Bury him in memory, let him rest in peace.”
The moment she took a step toward Ash, Ishanka extended his arm and held her back.
“I’ll do it.”
In his lavender eyes, Nana’s puzzled expression was reflected.
“You’ve never killed a human, not even an animal. For a beginner, stabbing a heart with a dagger is no easy task. Cutting the neck is even more difficult.”
“Even so…”
“I’m your servant. Your work is my work. Leave this to a professional.”
Nana silently nodded, a bitter tinge lingering as she felt her last hesitation detected by him.
Ash remained still. Neither moving nor speaking. Ishanka stepped in front of him and drew his sword without hesitation.
And in a single motion, the sharp tip pierced Ash’s heart.
Ash did not resist. He didn’t grimace, didn’t make a sound. He fell quietly to the ground.
Gray smoke rose from his chest as his blood spilled, and his form gradually turned to ashes, scattering into the wind.
Nana closed her eyes, watching Ash disappear.
“Hello? You must be Adrien. I heard about you from my mom. I’m Ash Miller. Just call me Ash.”
“Wow, the weeds… That’s no joke. You did all this by yourself? Amazing.”
“Adrien, want to go on a picnic today if you’re free? Oh, of course! Not just the two of us—Sam will come too! So don’t feel too pressured!”
“Adrien, when the flower festival comes to town this May… would you… dance with me?”
The wind blew, and Ash had completely vanished.
Nana quietly looked down at the spot.
She offered her final farewell in her heart, finally confronting the reality she had been avoiding.
She had made her decision.
She would declare the ruined Sweet Little Village as her land.
And someday, she would revive it into a village filled with laughter once more.
