chapter 9
Darjeeling, holding her sword upright, sprinted ahead. Mascarpone followed behind her, along with Supporting Character No. 2 and the Grand Duke carrying Yoo Je-in in his arms.
Yoo Je-in flinched in surprise when the Grand Duke picked her up without permission, but there wasn't really any choice.
"This way! ...Wait! Don't come yet!"
Darjeeling had reached the staircase on the left first. Even from this distance, they could clearly see her gritting her teeth.
Mascarpone, who had been about to stop in surprise, stumbled. The indoor slippers she was wearing slipped up around her ankle.
As she began sliding forward, the Grand Duke caught her with his free arm.
"Are you alright?!"
"Sir Darjeeling is up ahead...!"
"Stay behind me!"
Adjusting Yoo Je-in in one arm, the Grand Duke looked back.
Our eyes met as he checked whether I was following.
And then I realized something.
The Crown Prince wasn't following us.
I turned around.
The Crown Prince was backing away slowly, calmly watching the approaching zombies.
What's he doing?!
"Hey!"
Even when I shouted, he didn't look at me.
"Hey! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
I was just about to run over and drag him away by the collar—
When the Crown Prince untied the magical rope wrapped around his wrist.
He tied one end around a protruding pillar on one wall and fastened the other end to a window latch on the opposite wall. He worked with practiced ease, as if he'd done this many times before.
After quickly setting the trap, he ran toward me.
"Why aren't you running?"
This time, the Crown Prince urged me on.
"Because you weren't coming— Ack!"
"Excuse me."
Without slowing down, he wrapped an arm around my waist and hoisted me onto his shoulder like a sack of luggage.
My body was suddenly lifted nearly 190 centimeters into the air, and I swallowed a scream.
"Ugh!"
"Bear with it."
Whether I flailed my arms or not, whether my head bounced wildly up and down or not, the Crown Prince kept running.
It was unbelievable speed for someone carrying an adult woman who was 169 centimeters tall.
The only thing I could do was try not to bite my tongue.
Over the Crown Prince's back, I could see the corridor we'd just come through.
The zombies charging after us were tripping over the rope trap he'd set, their heads being sliced off one after another.
Slice. Thud. Thud. Roll.
"Kieeek...!"
It looked like some horrific VR game as jaws and necks separated from corpses and crashed onto the floor.
Blood sprayed everywhere. Zombies behind stepped on the fallen heads, tripped, collided with one another. The thin rope strained under the weight and trembled as if it would snap at any moment.
"Grrrk!"
The white cord that had looked like a musical string turned crimson in an instant.
"Kyaaah!"
The lips of a zombie lunging toward us were sliced off by the blood-red wire.
Even as the front ranks of zombies collapsed with severed necks, the rest continued charging forward.
Eventually, a whole group tangled together and fell, ripping the window latch from the wall.
That was the end of the trap.
"The trap collapsed!"
"Ignore it and keep running!"
How am I supposed to run?! You're carrying me!
At this rate, a zombie would grab my hair any second now!
If they got any closer, I'd be the first one caught!
I squeezed my eyes shut and clung to the Crown Prince's back.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
"KAAAAAH!"
Please, please, please...
This is so freaking terrifying!
I heard slicing sounds, screams, and footsteps from somewhere behind me.
"Mascarpone!"
"I'm fine— Aaah!"
"Watch out!"
"Are you alright?!"
"Yes! Sir Darjeeling...!"
"I'm fine too!"
Going down the stairs like that, I seriously thought I was going to bite my tongue off.
"This way!"
The moment we reached the bottom, we had no choice but to dive into the nearest hiding place.
Swish!
The Grand Duke immediately pulled the curtains shut behind us.
As soon as we slipped behind the thick blackout curtains, the Crown Prince gently lowered me to the floor.
The blind zombies rushed past just outside.
I was about to let out a sigh of relief when—
"Shh."
The Crown Prince suddenly pulled me against him.
A large, rough hand cradled the back of my head.
My face was buried in his shirt as he practically concealed me with his arms and body while peering outside through a gap in the curtain.
From where I stood, all I could see was his throat and the rise and fall of his chest.
Each time he breathed, the muscles pressed against my nose expanded and contracted slightly.
Sweat.
Blood.
And the scent of soap mixed together.
The Crown Prince's scent.
"Wait... this is a little too—"
I tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold.
"...Stay still."
"..."
"There's no door here."
Only then did I realize that this place was separated from the corridor by nothing but thick curtains.
No door.
Just curtains.
And zombies wandering outside.
Was this place insane?
Forget making it to the kitchen!
Things had somehow gotten even worse.
I buried my face in his shirt and struggled to steady my breathing.
Heat and breath radiated from the man's arms wrapped around my waist and head.
The Crown Prince was so focused on the situation outside that he only flinched whenever my breath brushed against him, as if he'd forgotten I was in his arms at all.
Or perhaps he had already decided that if a zombie came through, he'd sacrifice his own arm to protect me.
For a while, we stayed like that.
This is suffocating...
I twisted my body, but he didn't budge.
His hand remained tangled in my hair.
I finally raised an arm and tapped the forearm pinning me in place.
Only then did he lower his head toward me.
As his lips came closer, I whispered:
"You can let go now."
I can't breathe!
"...Ah."
"..."
"I'm sorry."
Only then did he slowly release me.
The moment I was free, I peeked through the curtain—
And nearly screamed when a zombie was staring right at me.
"...!"
If I hadn't remembered they were blind, I would have shrieked.
Ignoring the Crown Prince, who looked ready to shove me behind him again, I surveyed the situation outside.
The zombies that had followed us down from the second floor and the zombies from the first floor that had been drawn by the commotion were all wandering the corridor, making sounds like:
"Kieeek..."
"Grrr..."
Trying to get through that crowd to reach the kitchen?
Hmm.
Maybe someone thin enough to slip between raindrops could do it.
In other words—
We were doomed.
I turned around.
The others were sprawled out everywhere.
The nuisance guy was flat on the floor. Yoo Je-in and Supporting Character No. 2 sat beside Mascarpone, who was leaning against the wall.
Everyone was breathing heavily, chests heaving like freshly caught fish.
They were covering their mouths with their hands to keep from making noise, which only made it harder to calm down.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Even now, the nuisance guy was inching backward to hide behind everyone else.
Mascarpone snorted.
"Honestly..."
"Mascarpone..."
Supporting Character No. 2 shook her head while clutching Mascarpone's leg.
"D-Don't make noise... we'll all die."
She was right.
The only thing separating this cramped space from the zombie-filled corridor was a curtain.
The Grand Duke and Darjeeling must have gone inside to investigate.
Beyond them stretched a narrow corridor lit only by faint lights.
Dark enough that something might jump out at any moment, yet strangely luxurious.
Silver writing decorated the black walls.
Brocol.
Emperor of the Empire blessed by the Twelve Gods.
King of the land where the sun never sets.
(...)
In honor of the infinite glory of the Imperial Family.
Seeing words I could actually read made me feel absurdly relieved.
Holy crap, I can read the writing here?
At least I'm not illiterate!
Thank goodness!
Judging by the inscription, this seemed to be a gallery displaying treasures of the Imperial Family.
Building Layout Review
Second Floor: Stairs / Central Staircase / Secret Room
First Floor: Gallery / Kitchen / Dining Hall
Which meant we still had to travel about half the remaining distance to reach the kitchen.
Just then, the Grand Duke and Darjeeling returned from their investigation.
Seeing all of us crowded near the entrance, they tilted their heads in confusion.
The Grand Duke asked:
"Why is everyone gathered here?"
At his bright voice, Supporting Character No. 2 frantically waved both hands.
"Your Grace, you're speaking too loudly...!"
"This volume is fine."
"But...!"
"Really, it's fine. The only person who could hear a voice this soft and follow it would be that foreign princess who once insisted she'd received a divine revelation telling her to marry me."
There was someone like that?
"If you sit farther inside, you'll feel much less afraid. You'll be able to breathe easier too."
He wasn't wrong.
But nobody moved.
Some were too exhausted.
Others lacked the courage to venture deeper into the darkness.
The Grand Duke sighed and walked over to the Crown Prince.
Still watching the corridor, the Crown Prince asked:
"Well?"
"Nothing."
"I see."
Mascarpone frowned uneasily.
"Your Highnesses... what do you mean, nothing?"
Instead of the awkwardly smiling Grand Duke, the Crown Prince answered calmly.
"There are no doors in the area Cyprus just checked. The only entrance to this gallery is..."
"Grrr..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Everyone already knew.
The gallery's only entrance was—
The one I am guarding right now.
Are we trapped?
Zombies outside.
A gallery with no exit.
Darjeeling silently mouthed:
"What if we go out, clear the corpses, and force a path through?"
The Crown Prince somehow understood and shook his head.
"Too many."
True.
Zombies had literally fallen from the sky.
There were probably far more zombies wandering the island than there had originally been people.
The Crown Prince, the Grand Duke, and Darjeeling all seemed troubled by that fact.
"There should only be thirty people on this island..."
"Then how..."
Hmm.
Watching the three communicate silently, I turned away.
My gaze met Mascarpone's exhausted eyes.
Her neatly styled hair was now a mess.
The soles of her feet were black with dirt.
Her dress was wrinkled and disheveled.
A while ago she'd been picking fights nonstop, but now she was too tired to even talk.
I crouched in front of her.
Tapping her outstretched leg lightly, I called her name.
"Miss Mascarpone."
There was something I'd been wondering about for a while.
And now seemed like the time to ask.
[Imperial Villa - First Floor Gallery]
Survivors: Yusara, Yoo Je-in, Crown Prince, Grand Duke, Darjeeling, Mascarpone, Supporting Character No. 2, Nuisance Guy.