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chapter 04
How can an ordinary person who has never even swung a sword survive a zombie outbreak?
- Don’t stand out.
- Follow the instructions of armed people carefully.
I had already broken rule #1—when I tried to stop the knight from dying. And I failed spectacularly.
I stared for a few seconds at the dead knight’s face—now completely silent—and then turned away.
What can you do? I have to live.
I clearly warned them. It’s their fault for not listening.
“How could something like this… Wait, that servant wasn’t actually dead, right? He just pretended to be dead for a moment…!”
“No.”
“But that doesn’t make sense! Dead people don’t get up and move, and they don’t infect the living either!”
“Even if it doesn’t make sense, this is the reality unfolding in front of your eyes.”
Chaos. Panic.
The prince and the duke managed to calm the people who were screaming in terror.
More precisely, the duke calmed them, while the prince was cutting off the legs of the corpse to ensure it wouldn’t get up again.
Everyone watching that scene looked like they might faint.
The duke, wearing an awkward smile, stepped between the prince and the crowd, using his body as a barrier.
“Please don’t pay attention to that side. Everyone, look at me.”
He looked slender, but somehow broad enough to block their view completely just by standing there.
The duke continued explaining.
“The rules are surprisingly simple. First: corpses move. To stop them, you cut off the head. Second: if you’re bitten by one, you get infected. Third: from now on, we escape this island.”
“Escape?”
“Yes, escape. Without being bitten, without dying. Simple, right?”
He spoke as if explaining game rules—but that did nothing to ease anyone’s fear.
“But Your Grace, aren’t there corpses like that roaming outside too? Wouldn’t it be better to just stay here and wait for rescue…!”
It seemed most people wanted to lock themselves in this room and wait to be saved.
The one who refuted that was the crown prince, who had just finished severing the corpse’s legs.
“Rescue won’t come.”
He said it bluntly, then walked to the window to look outside. The duke sighed and elaborated.
“Since something like this has happened on this island, it’s very likely the imperial palace isn’t peaceful either. If that’s the case, no rescue party will be sent.”
“And if the palace is peaceful, they won’t even imagine something like corpses walking around here. In that case, anyone sent to rescue us would be unprepared, get bitten, and become infected. Waiting for rescue would only create more corpses outside.”
Right. If those things block the escape route too, we’re done for.
“We need to leave as quickly as possible. If we delay and they start converging here…”
“Then what should we do?”
“We go to the portal. It’s the only way off this island.”
That was when the protagonist, Yu Jein, stepped in.
“What about the other people?”
Everyone who had been focused only on themselves looked at her in surprise.
“There are probably people still hiding around the mansion who didn’t manage to escape. We should rescue them and leave together.”
Her voice was thin, but clear.
Ah. That kind of statement that lets you observe how the male leads react.
What are you going to do?
In a situation like this, will you listen to the heroine you love?
Of course you will, right? This is a 19+ romance novel after all…
“I’m sorry, Miss Yu Jein. In a situation where we don’t even know for sure if there are survivors, we can’t search the mansion risking everyone’s lives.”
…Oh. So you’re not listening.
“Especially when five of us can’t fight properly.”
“But!”
“Escape comes first. We must survive first before we can save anyone else.”
The duke smiled, but his tone was firm.
Yu Jein, having been refused, turned to the crown prince instead.
After thinking for a moment, the prince spoke.
“The others…”
“Yes?”
“At this point, we should assume they’ve all become corpses.”
“What?!”
Even more blunt.
After a brief pause, he added further explanation.
“This unknown condition is highly contagious, and people outside are not prepared for this kind of disease. No one has come to warn us yet, which means the people on this island have already been overwhelmed.”
“That’s right, Miss Yu Jein… I understand your concern, but—”
I ignored the rising chatter and focused on preparing to survive.
‘I don’t even know why I ended up here, but dying after being bitten by zombies is not happening.’
I worked my ass off all year last year and still have my bonus sitting in my bank account. If I die as a zombie in some fantasy novel instead of on Earth, that’s just unfair.
Move. I need to move.
“We are currently in the far-right room on the second floor. The main portal we used to come to this island is outside the mansion, but according to the internal map, there is a secondary supply portal in the kitchen. The kitchen is on the first floor center, so that route is closer.”
“So how do we—”
Ignoring the voices behind me, I looked at the paper knife on the table. I reached for it, planning to take it at least, but someone grabbed it before me.
It was the knight who had earlier covered the head that had rolled near my feet.
He walked over and handed me the knife. His long, elegant hand was covered in calluses and scars.
“Thank you.”
The knight hesitated when he met my eyes.
“Lady… about earlier…”
“Yes.”
“You saved my life. Thank you. And… I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not listening to you.”
Ah. That.
“Well, I’m just glad you didn’t die.”
If there’s even one more sword-user alive in this situation, that’s a blessing.
‘Should I butter him up a bit? Ask him to protect me?’
I can’t fight zombies as a normal office worker, so I might as well rely on flattery.
“What’s your name?”
“Darjeeling, my lady.”
“Good. Sir Darjeeling. Congratulations on surviving. Please keep living. Would you like some warm water?”
Without waiting for an answer, I poured water from the kettle and handed it to him.
“It’s a bribe. A small bribe asking you to take care of me until we return to the palace.”
“I-I couldn’t possibly… I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“Yes. Have some snacks too.”
And please take care of me.
“I’ll be relying only on Sir Darjeeling. You’re the only one here who worried about me, after all.”
The room went silent.
I looked around. Everyone was now staring at me and Darjeeling.
The crown prince, the duke, even Yu Jein who looked slightly stunned, the obvious side character #1 with a scowl, the annoying man, and even side character #2 who was barely visible.
“…Did I interrupt something?”
“…No.”
The crown prince turned away, though his eyes had been staring at me intensely.
Why is he like that?
Is it because of what I just said?
But it’s true.
When that head rolled in front of me earlier, the only person who worried about me was Darjeeling.
After deciding on the destination, we armed ourselves.
The duke took the dead knight’s sword. The annoying man insisted that the dagger and small shield should go to him because “a man should handle weapons.”
The prince and Darjeeling already had their own weapons.
Me? A paper knife.
‘Will this even work?’
“Lady, what are you doing?”
“Looking for a weapon.”
“Hah.”
What now.
I turned around. It was side character #1.
She glared at me sharply.
“You really value your life, don’t you? But what exactly can you do with a weapon, my lady?”
Side character #1. The highest-ranking woman after me here.
Her family runs a trading guild specializing in magical tools.
Something like the prince’s magic rope.
Magic items are extremely rare and difficult to handle—her family basically controls 99% of the empire’s magic shops.
Her name was… Mascapone?
“My body is… of course important. I only have one.”
I answered flatly.
“And well, isn’t having a weapon better than having none? At least it increases your chances of survival.”
“No. If you have a weapon, we’ll be the ones who feel unsafe. What if you swing it wrong and stab us?”
“Enough, Mascapone.”
Side character #2 stopped her, but Mascapone didn’t seem willing to stop.
“You’re already annoying everyone at a time like this!”
Good grief.
“Your name is Mascapone, right?”
“Ha! So you don’t even remember my name now?”
Hmm. Then side character #2…
“You’re… Tiramisu?”
“…No.”
“Oh, my mistake.”
Fortunately, she seemed to take it as an insult to herself and let it go.
I said to Mascapone:
“I understand you’re anxious. But does picking a fight with me actually help? No, right? What if I hold a grudge and stab you when things get chaotic?”
“What did you say?!”
“If you hate me having a knife that much, then get your own. I’m not naive enough to trust my life entirely in someone else’s hands.”
Without waiting for a reply, I turned away.
There’s no time for this.
‘I look ridiculous.’
My long hair down to my waist, a dress exposing way too much skin, and heels that guaranteed I’d trip within ten steps.
At this rate I wouldn’t even make it to the stairs, let alone the kitchen.
I tore my dress at the thigh so I could move. The sound of fabric ripping made the men quickly turn their heads away.
“She’s finally lost it,” Mascapone sneered.
I ignored her.
I tied my hair up using usable scraps of cloth, then moved on to my shoes.
I found the severed leg of the dead knight.
Without hesitation, I took his boots.
“W-what the—she’s insane!”
I ignored the panic around me.
After tightening the laces, the combat boots were at least usable.
I looked at Mascapone, Yu Jein, and side character #2.
‘They’re definitely all wearing heels too.’
I picked up the remaining indoor slippers. There were only two pairs left.
‘I can’t use the dead servant’s shoes—they’re too big for them.’
No choice.
I tossed one slipper straight at Mascapone. When she was about to protest, I cut her off.
“Are you planning to run in those heels?”
She froze.
Behind her, Yu Jein and the others quietly negotiated who would take the slippers.
“Please, I’m fine. You take them.”
“Thank you, Miss Yu Jein.”
It was worrying that Yu Jein would have to move in heels, but she’d manage somehow.
Finally, I looked around the room one last time.
I just hoped my smart watch—bought to record my manager’s abuse—would start ringing soon and wake me up from this insane possession.
“Lady, aren’t you coming?”
“I’m coming!”
But something caught my eye.
‘What was that?’
Did something just sparkle on the corpse’s chest?
[Imperial Mansion 2nd Floor, Locked Room]
- Yu Sara, Yu Jein, Crown Prince, Duke, Mascapone, Side Character #2, Annoying Man, Darjeeling (alive)
