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chapter 02
A distorted human head rolled in with a thud-thud motion.
Someone’s head—no, rather—
The body that had belonged to “someone” flailed about. A knight kicked it out of the room and slammed the door shut.
“Eeeek!”
“Aaagh!”
The room erupted in chaos.
I silently looked down at the head that had rolled and stopped at my feet.
“……”
It was a real human head.
Brown hair was tangled messily around the face, and there was a large bite mark on the cheek. The eyes were still open. Strands of hair were stuck in those eyes.
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again.
It wasn’t as frightening as I expected.
‘I’m not really scared of things like this.’
If I panicked over something like this, how was I supposed to survive what was coming next?
Honestly, all I could think was that this was just ridiculous.
‘What is this, some kind of “our school is under attack” situation? I’m not a high schooler, I’m a working adult. Send me home.’
Still, if I stayed too calm, I’d look suspicious.
So I glanced around and let out a scream.
“W-Waaah! So scary!”
Fortunately, no one paid attention to my poor acting.
Another knight who had remained in the room quickly grabbed a tablecloth and covered the rolled head.
“Are you alright?”
He seemed to think I had frozen from shock as I stared blankly at the head.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Shall I bring you some warm water?”
“If I need it, I’ll drink it myself. Thank you.”
Only after speaking did I realize that “thank you” didn’t really suit a villainess—but whatever.
Before I knew it, everyone had huddled together tightly except me. The supporting characters who had been sitting near the protagonists had slowly drifted away toward the corners.
Among them, Supporting Character 3 sat down heavily in the only empty chair across from Yujein.
“Ugh… I feel sick. What even is that…”
For reference, he was the only male among the supporting characters.
As Supporting Characters 1 and 2 hesitated after suddenly being left standing, the Crown Prince and the Duke rose as if jolted.
“Please, take these seats.”
“No, we couldn’t possibly—”
“It’s fine. We were just about to stand anyway. Right, Praha?”
“Yes.”
Now the two highest-ranking people in the room were standing, but Supporting Character 3 didn’t care at all.
‘Wasn’t he supposed to be the Crown Prince’s cousin?’
Yeah. I could already tell. This guy was going to be a walking nuisance later.
‘From now on, your name is Mr. Trouble.’
“Um… excuse me.”
Supporting Character 2, who had ended up sitting in the Crown Prince’s seat, spoke nervously, her face pale with fear.
“That rolling head… I mean, the dead person… what do you think it is? It probably wasn’t a servant who suddenly went mad and ran in here… maybe an assassin sent by the Republic? Something like that?”
The Duke nodded in agreement.
“If that’s the case, the one who cut off the assassin’s head must be our knight. The question is why there’s no one outside.”
In a world with no concept of zombies, that reaction was natural.
They couldn’t possibly imagine that it was an undead body. Even less that it could infect others.
I folded my arms and quietly listened.
Let’s see what nonsense they come up with.
“Assassin or not, the important thing is how an outsider got onto this island.”
“That’s right. Only authorized people can come and go from this island. The only way in is the imperial portal… that’s why we left all the maids and escorts behind…”
“Did something happen at the palace?”
No, the palace is fine.
It’s not that someone came through the portal—it’s that zombies suddenly started pouring out of thin air on this island.
“Where are all the imperial knights protecting us? At least the servants?”
They’re all infected.
“There are only two knights in this room. If this really was an attack…”
“There can’t be more than ten imperial knights who came to this island in total, right?”
“Why is no one coming to us…?”
Because they’re all infected.
It was frustrating to know the truth but not be able to say it.
“Are you alright?”
A voice suddenly dropped from above my head.
I looked up. It was the Crown Prince.
His black hair had fallen slightly over his forehead from the earlier commotion. A strong jawline was visible between the collar of his white shirt, fully buttoned up.
His deep voice and flawless features, his straight, indifferent eyes.
If this were my real world, I might have fallen in love instantly.
‘He’s so perfect… it’s almost disturbing.’
According to the story I knew, this man would eventually be the one to kill the heroine Yusara.
‘Still, Princess Yusara had good taste.’
I met the Crown Prince’s emotionless gaze and answered.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look well.”
“I’m just tired.”
“In situations like this, it’s better to stay with others.”
“Ah.”
So he wasn’t checking on me.
He was telling me to leave.
After holding his expressionless gaze for a few seconds, I stood up.
Seeing me rise, Mr. Trouble sank deeper into his chair. He had no intention of giving up his seat as the only male among the seated group.
‘Ugh.’
Fine. I’m not going.
I leaned against a nearby table instead.
The Crown Prince immediately pulled off the cloth covering the head.
“Ugh…”
Ignoring Mr. Trouble’s retching sound, he knelt in front of the severed head and examined it carefully.
“It was already severed at the neck.”
“Pardon?”
“When it was merely pushed, the head detached from the body. That’s strange.”
After seeing the confused faces, he continued.
“My knight did not use a weapon. He only pushed the servant with his bare hands. Yet the head came off. That means the servant’s neck was already nearly severed before the knight opened the door. It was so loose that even a light touch separated it.”
The Duke frowned.
“In other words, even with the neck in that condition, it still managed to run here?”
“And it even screamed.”
“How does something with a severed neck scream?”
“I don’t know.”
“How interesting,” the Duke muttered as he walked over.
“Excuse me.”
He gave me a polite smile while passing, then joined the Crown Prince by the head. The two of them knelt side by side.
“It looks like something bit it. An animal?”
“Too weak to be animal teeth.”
They were disturbingly unfazed for people inspecting a severed head.
I stayed still.
Don’t act up. Absolutely don’t act up.
The Crown Prince stood, brushing off his knees.
“I can’t tell what it is.”
“Then…”
“We should go outside.”
He turned to the knight at the door.
“Have you checked the situation outside?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The servant guarding the door and the knights in the hallway are all missing. However…”
“However?”
“I think I saw someone collapsed near the central staircase. They were wearing a servant’s uniform.”
At that, I couldn’t help but look at the knight.
Does he even realize?
That he just triggered his own death flag?
In the novel, what happens next goes like this.
Two knights, ordered by the Crown Prince, go out and bring back the collapsed servant in the hallway.
The servant appears to have died instantly from a stab to the heart, one arm completely torn off.
While they lay the body down and check whether it’s truly a servant and what weapon caused the wound, the supposedly dead servant’s remaining hand twitches.
“It’s still alive!”
The knight urgently shouts—and the moment he leans in to check the chest…
The servant, now a zombie, attacks.
People rush to pull it off, but it’s too late. The knight is bitten in a vital area and dies.
Soon after, he also transforms.
Losing one imperial knight—one of their strongest assets in a room full of nobles—throws everyone into panic and reveals the existence of zombies.
And in this scene, the one who opposes bringing the corpse into the room is me—Yusara.
Of course, I didn’t oppose it logically.
‘Why are you bringing a corpse in here?! What if it starts moving like the one whose head got cut off earlier?! Are you sure it’s dead?! No, don’t even check—just chop its head off and throw it somewhere!’
It was selfish and rude—but also the best possible solution.
And it was completely ignored.
The key point was that even if I objected, no one would listen.
No matter what I say, they will disregard me. That’s how the story moves forward.
‘Anyway, that knight has to die for the plot to progress. We can’t stay here forever.’
I looked at him with complicated feelings.
He looked young. No more than twenty-five.
The Crown Prince gave his order.
“Go and bring him back. Move together, do not act rashly, and confirm whether he is dead first.”
“If he is already dead?”
“It doesn’t matter. Bring the body—or whatever it is. Bind it.”
He pulled a silver wire from his wrist, thin like a violin string, and tossed it to a nearby knight.
In the novel, he uses that wire to tightly bind the corpse’s limbs and mouth, just in case.
The problem is that even after having its mouth sliced by the wire, the zombie still managed to bite someone.
“Even if it’s a corpse, we bind it?”
“When even a severed head can move, caution never hurts.”
The Crown Prince walked toward the door.
“Your Highness? Where are you going?”
“Someone must guard the door while you are out.”
“Your Highness, that’s not necessary—one of us can—”
“Then I’ll go and check the corpse myself.”
“Your Highness! How could you—”
“I’ll go too.”
The Duke’s smiling voice cut in.
“Duke…”
The two imperial knights looked flustered.
The Duke said calmly,
“There’s no helping it. You two are the only knights here, and aside from you, only Praha and I know how to use weapons. If you go out, it’s more appropriate for us to guard the door.”
“But—!”
“Don’t worry. We won’t lock you out.”
His tone was gentle—but firm.
‘At least the Crown Prince has a weapon. That guy is going out empty-handed and still not scared.’
The knights swallowed hard under the protection of the two nobles.
The Crown Prince and the Duke stood on either side of the door and signaled.
The door opened.
And immediately, a headless body lying on its back came into view.
“Ugh…”
Mr. Trouble’s retching sounded endless.
Everyone swallowed nervously and looked outside.
And there it was—far away, someone leaning against a wall, half-collapsed.
The two knights holding swords cautiously stepped forward.
One of them is going to die soon.
Die.
One of them is—
“Wait!”
Ah… damn it.
So you’re going to act up after all, Yusara…
[Imperial Villa – Second Floor Hidden Room]
- Yusara, Yujein, Crown Prince, Duke, Supporting Character 1, Supporting Character 2, Mr. Trouble, Imperial Knight 1, Imperial Knight 2 (Alive)
