chapter 3
Imperial Knights Kimon and Dazzling were fellow trainees assigned to neighboring rooms.
Among the knights, the confident and assertive Kimon stood out more, while Dazzling tended to fade into the background.
It had been Kimon who sensed the strange atmosphere and opened the secret room’s door.
It had also been Kimon who quickly shoved away the decapitated servant that suddenly lunged at them.
More confident. More aggressive.
“Wait!”
So now, when the rumored young lady called out behind them as they headed off to inspect the corpse—
Kimon openly sighed, while Dazzling remained silent.
“My lady, what is it?”
“Take this with you.”
In the middle of such a dangerous situation, Lady Yusara stopped the knights only to hand them… a handkerchief.
A white silk handkerchief.
Embroidered with the imperial crest.
The very same handkerchief she always carried around intending to gift to the Crown Prince—only for him to consistently refuse it.
Kimon awkwardly accepted the infamous handkerchief and opened and closed his mouth once.
“Why are you giving this to us…?”
Even the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke, who had been preventing the young lady from recklessly rushing outside, looked confused.
An awkward silence settled over the room.
The only calm person there was the young lady herself.
She spoke evenly.
“Earlier, Your Highnesses said there were bite marks on the severed head, right?”
“Yes.”
“What if that person made them? What if the one lying in the hallway suddenly gets back up and bites someone else?”
“…What?”
“My lady, do you even hear yourself—”
Kimon let out a disbelieving laugh, but the young lady ignored him. Pointing at the handkerchief, she continued,
“After confirming that person is completely dead, stuff this into the corpse’s mouth. And be careful not to get bitten.”
Kimon immediately objected.
“That man is already unconscious. Most likely dead as well. We appreciate your concern, but the magical rope His Highness provided is more than enough to keep the corpse’s mouth restrained.”
“But the rope is thin, isn’t it? Even tied up, couldn’t the jaw still move?”
“Ha… My lady, think about it. Even if the corpse somehow woke up, would it really bite someone at the cost of slicing off its own tongue? The owner of the mouth knows better than anyone how sharp the thread binding it is.”
“It won’t even dare move its mouth, let alone bite anyone. So rest assured.”
Kimon’s tone dripped with sarcasm.
Beside him, Dazzling looked up at Kimon uneasily.
Yes, tensions were high, but Kimon’s attitude was crossing a dangerous line.
What if she slaps him at this rate?
They say Lady Yusara can’t stand being looked down on.
But the young lady did not get angry.
She only stubbornly insisted.
“Still, there’s nothing wrong with being cautious.”
“My lady.”
“What I mean is, if you’re going to do something, then make sure it absolutely can’t move. Does handling the job perfectly somehow disadvantage you?”
The Crown Prince, who had been watching silently, intervened.
“Kimon. Do as the young lady says.”
Once the Crown Prince spoke, the knights had no choice but to obey.
As Kimon reluctantly crumpled the handkerchief in his hand, the young lady emphasized once more,
“Tie its hands, feet, and mouth securely, but make sure you don’t get bitten. The handkerchief is there to prevent biting. If the corpse shows even the slightest sign of movement, do not touch it.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
“And absolutely, absolutely do not get bitten.”
“What gives her the right to order us around? Who does she think she is?”
The moment they were far enough away that the conversation could no longer be heard, Kimon exploded in anger.
His ears were bright red, clearly furious about being forced to follow the young lady’s instructions.
“Does she already think she’s His Highness’s fiancée?!”
Dazzling cautiously replied while watching his talented—but slightly arrogant—companion.
“Well… it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
“I know that! That’s why His Highness gave us the magic rope in the first place! Isn’t that enough? Why the hell do we need to stuff a handkerchief into a corpse’s mouth too? That’s disgusting!”
Easy for her to order around others when she doesn’t have to do it herself.
Kimon shot a glance backward and stuffed the young lady’s handkerchief into his jacket pocket.
“A corpse moving around. Doesn’t she hear the contradiction in her own words? Let’s see if I actually listen to orders from that idiot woman.”
I don’t think she was ordering us around…
But if he said that out loud, Kimon—already furious—would definitely go berserk.
So Dazzling tried persuading him more gently.
“His Highness the Crown Prince also told us to follow her words. Maybe there’s some logic to it. I think the young lady was just worried about us…”
“That’s exactly the problem! Who is she to worry about us?! We’re imperial knights! And she’s just some noble lady!”
“The only people qualified to command us—or worry about us—are royalty!”
“If a duke came and worried about me instead of some lady, would I be grateful then?!”
Kimon looked determined not to obey her out of sheer stubborn pride alone.
To be fair, Kimon wasn’t acting recklessly without reason.
Now that they had approached the body, it was obvious.
The figure sprawled in the hallway was a corpse.
A dead body wouldn’t suddenly come back to life.
Even tying it up with magical rope was already being sufficiently cautious. So why bother gagging its mouth too?
“And did you see her? Flashing around that handkerchief His Highness rejected over and over right in front of him. Is she trying to make some kind of statement? Someone should tell that young lady this—women who cling desperately are pathetic.”
“…Don’t you just dislike her?”
“Ah, whatever!”
Kimon stomped his foot, clearly having no intention of listening to the young lady.
Then I’ll follow her advice myself, Dazzling thought quietly. At least pretend to be cautious.
If both imperial knights ignore her completely, she won’t be pleased.
And judging by how she thanked him earlier, she didn’t seem like such a terrible person.
Being careful not to get bitten is simple enough.
That small difference split the two men’s fates apart.
I hate standing out.
Do you know what I hated most during new employee orientation?
The talent show.
Listening to lectures all day? Fine.
Memorizing pointless company history? Fine.
Being glued to coworkers all day? Fine.
But the talent show?
Absolutely horrible.
Who actually likes talent shows…? My special talent is lying down. Can I show that off instead?
But I’m not a sociopath.
If I know someone’s about to die, how can I just ignore it?
I said I didn’t want to stand out—not that I wanted to abandon basic human decency.
I couldn’t exactly go out into the hallway and touch a corpse in the middle of turning into a zombie for those knights.
And I definitely couldn’t shout, “Attention everyone! I’ve actually transmigrated into a novel!”
But at least I could do this much.
And if I went this far and that knight still ignored me?
Then I wash my hands of it.
God, this is exhausting… Just disappear already. I want to be alone.
But until we escaped this place, being alone wasn’t an option.
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, I stared at the knights who had already reached the corpse.
After confirming the corpse had truly stopped breathing, the knights carefully loosened the magical rope. They bound one arm and the torso together, then wrapped another length around the mouth and nose.
The corpse’s other arm—the one being dragged toward us—had already been torn off.
Exactly as described in the novel.
Q. Describe your feelings when you have to sit there watching a corpse turning into a zombie being brought into the room.
A. It fucking sucks.
I seriously, sincerely want to go home…
The knights carried the corpse in by its shoulders and legs and laid it in the middle of the room.
As I tried to rush closer, a long arm blocked my path.
Looking up, I saw it belonged to the Grand Duke.
“My lady, this is far enough. It’s dangerous.”
He was smiling, but the arm barring my way was firm as iron.
I had no choice but to stand there and watch the two knights lay the corpse down and step away.
Did they put the handkerchief in its mouth?
I couldn’t tell.
Maybe I should’ve just told them to smash its jaw instead.
As I nervously swallowed over and over, the knight who had opened the door earlier glanced at me.
For some reason, he looked smug.
What’s with him?
I found out why when the Crown Prince examined the corpse and asked:
“Kimon. The handkerchief?”
“I still have it.”
“Why didn’t you listen to the young lady?”
“I checked multiple times in the hallway. This man was already dead. I judged there was no need to waste the young lady’s pre.cious. hand.ker.chief. blocking a corpse’s mouth.”
“Hey…”
Whether the handkerchief was precious or cheap was my decision.
I’m the owner, and I said it was fine!
Why wouldn’t he listen?! Why insist on being difficult?!
What are you, my junior coworker?!
“…Whatever. Just step away from there first.”
That corpse could finish transforming and wake up at any moment.
Blocked by the Grand Duke and unable to approach, I sighed.
The other knight—the one who had offered me water earlier—quickly stepped back from the corpse after hearing me.
But the knight named Kimon, whose problem I genuinely could not understand anymore, refused to budge.
“My lady, I understand you’re frightened.”
The knight raised his chin mockingly toward me, then deliberately bent down and grabbed the corpse by the hair.
“There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Look. Even when I lift it by the hair like this, there’s no reaction whatsoever.”
That was when the corpse opened its mouth.
“Grrrk!”
“No!”
The razor-sharp magical rope tore through the corpse’s mouth.
The corpse bared its teeth.
Its cheeks split open all the way to the corners of its mouth, yet it didn’t care.
Screams. Blood. The Grand Duke’s large hand covering my eyes.
I forcibly shoved his hand away and looked forward.
The Crown Prince had grabbed the back of the corpse’s head while it clung to the knight.
Crack.
The sound of bones twisting echoed out.
The head attached to the knight’s face was forcibly torn away. Somehow, the Crown Prince severed the corpse’s neck moments later.
A knight stood there in shock, one hand over his ear.
Blood poured endlessly down the cheek and neck of the man who had looked so confident just moments ago.
“So this is what you meant, my lady?”
Even with a corpse resurrecting before his eyes, the Crown Prince remained calm.
He placed the severed head on the floor and flicked blood from the back of his hand. Those emotionless amber eyes turned toward me.
He used the magic rope. Cut the head off with the thread.
“Thanks to you, my knight survived.”
“…No. He didn’t.”
I answered quietly, my gaze fixed on the knight bleeding from where part of his ear had been bitten off.
Following my line of sight, everyone else looked toward the injured knight.
The ears are close to the brain.
It only took a few minutes for the transformation.
The one who cut off the zombie knight’s head was the very knight who had been working beside him moments ago.
One head. One servant. One knight. There are already three zombie corpses in this room.
I pushed aside the Grand Duke’s arm and walked toward the bodies.
From the jacket of the headless corpse—the man who had been an imperial knight only minutes earlier—I retrieved my handkerchief.
My palms were damp with sweat before I wiped them on the cloth and looked around at everyone.
“You all saw it clearly, right? If you get bitten by a moving corpse, you become a corpse too.”
“Bleeeurgh!”
The nuisance man who had been gagging this whole time finally vomited everything in his stomach.
Ignoring him, I continued.
“Everyone, get yourselves together. Because I think the genre of our lives just changed today.”
Mine into a transmigration story.
Yours into a survival horror.
[Imperial Villa, 2nd Floor Secret Room]