The Abandoned Villainess Became a Zombie - Chapter 3

The chair’s backrest slowly cracked before breaking into several pieces. Watching it shatter with my own eyes, a laugh slipped out, and my mind started working quickly.

If I played my cards right, could I even win against the grand duke or the crown prince?

Thump, thump.

Thump.

But my fleeting happiness ended the moment I recalled the novel.

Who were they? They were the male leads of a post-apocalyptic novel. Survivors who had torn off zombies’ arms with their bare hands and endured the most brutal conditions.

Thinking about going up against those monsters was foolish, even if only for a moment.

As my heart calmed and returned to normal, my brief awakening ended.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door, but they didn’t seem to be waiting for permission, as the door soon opened.

“How could you just run off like that?”

The crown prince glanced around the room meaninglessly before shutting the door.

“Is your hand okay?”

“……”

I meant to give a vague response that I was fine, but my awakening had ended, and it took me a moment to get the words out.

“It was an unavoidable situation. We couldn’t all risk our lives just to save one person.”

But the crown prince let out a deep sigh, seemingly unwilling to wait any longer.

“None of us had an obligation to protect you. The only reason we helped you so far was out of kindness and generosity.”

He seemed angry at me for snapping at Lilia.

“You have no right to demand anything here.”

Perhaps worried that I might hold a grudge over this incident, he continued speaking, determined to make his stance clear.

…Of course, everything he said was correct.

I knew it was every man for himself.

Even so, I couldn’t easily erase the image of the crown prince turning his back on me without hesitation, his eyes cold and indifferent.

“So stop sulking for no reason. And especially, don’t be rude to Lady Sweedy, who was worried about you.”

“……”

I had plenty to say, but explaining my feelings now would be difficult. My awakening had ended, and my speech would likely come out sluggish again. I didn’t want to raise further suspicion, so I just nodded silently.

The crown prince frowned slightly, blinking as if he hadn’t expected me to back down so easily.

“…If I really wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have opened the gate.”

When I lifted my head, he looked at me for a moment before turning away, as if he had nothing more to say.

“Come down and eat something.”

When I shook my head, he furrowed his brows before speaking again.

“I’ll bring it to you.”

“……”

‘…I get that you don’t care whether I live or die, but why go out of your way to scold me?’

In the end, the only thing he had to say to me after I barely made it back alive was, ‘Don’t be rude to Lilia.’

He didn’t ask how I had survived or what I had gone through. It was as if none of that mattered.

***

The novel In Search of Paradise begins when a zombie outbreak occurs in the empire’s capital. The exact origin of the outbreak is never described, but within just four days, the infection spreads uncontrollably across the entire empire.

At the time of the outbreak, the main characters happened to be near Mendwill for various reasons.

After coincidentally meeting, they decided to have a meal together before returning to the capital. However, just then, a messenger bird arrived for the crown prince. The letter contained a report on the situation in the capital, along with an imperial order instructing him to flee immediately and stay away from the capital.

Upon receiving the letter, the crown prince relayed the information to the local lords and prepared to evacuate with the people of Mendwill. However, the lords, who had already been informed of the crisis by the emperor, locked their gates and refused to take in any refugees.

The lord of Reten offered to let only the crown prince and his group inside, but the crown prince refused, choosing to stay with the refugees instead.

Thus, he led the refugees toward the nearest fortress, but by the time they arrived, the fast-approaching zombies had reduced their numbers from hundreds to just five survivors.

The survivors were:

Crown Prince Idorian Fidentre,

Grand Duke Heresden Dwayne,

Heroine Lilia Sweedy,

Nine-year-old Uben,

And Penelope Lloyd.

The novel concludes with these characters successfully developing a cure after four long years, saving humanity. Of course, countless events unfolded along the way, but that was the main storyline.

“……”

So what I needed to focus on now was surviving for four years without revealing that I was a zombie. One might wonder if I could confess my condition and seek their help, but among our group was the cold-hearted Grand Duke, Heresden.

He had once executed his own longtime friend and knight without hesitation the moment he was infected. If he could kill his own friend, there was no way he would spare me, Penelope.

Then there was Uben, who loathed zombies to his core. It was unclear whether he failed to recognize that zombies had once been human or if he simply didn’t care, but he showed no hesitation in killing them. To him, every zombie was the enemy that had taken his parents. The moment he saw one, his eyes burned with murderous intent.

Despite all this, I couldn’t leave this group. The fortress was the safest place to avoid wild animal attacks in this forest, and most importantly, it would be the first place to receive the cure when it was developed.

Due to limited supply, the cure would first be distributed in the capital and gradually extended to the surrounding areas. Staying with the protagonists was the fastest way to return to being human.

No matter how unfair or humiliating it was, I had to endure it.

***

Dinner time, when everyone gathered for a meal.

‘This is so unfair!’

I stared blankly at the chicken neck half-submerged in the steaming broth.

The crown prince had two drumsticks. The grand duke and Lilia each had a drumstick and a wing, while Uben had two wings in his bowl.

And I got… the chicken neck. I didn’t feel hunger. I had no appetite and no need to eat.

But still! This was just too much!

I glared at Uben, the one responsible for this meal distribution.

He was a native of the Mendwill territory, rescued by the heroine and the crown prince from a zombie attack. In the novel, he was in charge of cooking.

Uben had witnessed his pregnant mother being bitten by a zombie right before his eyes. That experience had left him with an intense hatred for zombies. If there was anything he despised as much as zombies, it was me—Penelope.

“Why are you crying over a woman who could barely walk properly? She was as good as dead already.”

Recalling Penelope’s past actions, I lowered my head in silence.

Giving me two chicken necks… Maybe this kid was an angel after all.

“Penelope, why aren’t you eating?”

The crown prince let out a sigh as he scolded me.

“You didn’t even touch the potatoes I gave you earlier.”

When I looked up again, everyone at the table was staring at me. Not wanting to attract any more attention, I quickly picked up my spoon.

“This is an emergency situation, no different from wartime. And yet you’re still being picky about food?”

Even as I struggled to control my sluggish movements, the crown prince continued his nagging.

“We’re not going to cater to your preferences anymore. So stop being stubborn and eat.”

He took my bowl, swapped it with his, and even pushed a roasted potato toward me, gesturing for me to eat quickly.

‘I barely managed to hold one spoon, and now you’re making this harder for me…’

With these sharp-eyed observers in front of me, any mistake could cost me my life. And now, I was about to put on a ridiculous show, attempting to separate chicken meat from the bone with a fork and spoon as a zombie barely capable of fine motor control.

“…I don’t feel well. I’ll just eat this.”

I pulled my original bowl back toward me, trying to defuse the situation. The crown prince frowned, displeased, but before he could start lecturing again, I hurriedly bowed my head.

‘Fine. I’ll eat.’

Zombies digested food extremely slowly. If I kept eating like this at every meal, wouldn’t my stomach eventually burst?

But looking at the crown prince’s sharp gaze, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to leave the table without eating something. I lifted a spoonful of the pale broth to my lips when—

“So, how did you make it to the fortress without getting caught by zombies?”

Uben asked in a sharp tone.