Episode 31

In the original novel, Danha’s personal history was briefly mentioned a couple of times.

The King of Jehaguk had many children.

However, he was such a heartless father that there were children he had never even called by name after they were born.

Even when his children fell ill and died, became political sacrifices, were abused by their mothers, or died in battle, the King remained indifferent to them.

Danha took care of his neglected younger siblings as if he were their father.

Even while he wandered endlessly like a carefree drifter, he would always return to the palace with an armful of gifts.

Because in the palace, his pitiful younger siblings were waiting for him.

Losing the bracelet given to him by his youngest sister—one of those siblings—was enough to make him lose all rational judgment.

I lightly tapped my crossed arms with my fingers.

‘Normally, this would be the moment to remind him: “Aren’t you going to check on your remaining siblings? They’re waiting for you.” But…’

I glanced at Sien, who was watching Danha with indifference.

Not being able to find the previous Tower Master’s remains still weighed on my mind.

Perhaps Danha could help resolve that burden.

I lowered my gaze for a moment.

‘Yeah, it’s not like I’m going back to the dawn forest. It’s just delaying our escape by a day or two.’

If we still couldn’t find it, then I could just knock him out and take him with us.

With my thoughts sorted, I pulled out a chair from the table and sat down.

“Let’s eat first before the food gets cold.”

I then gestured for the other male leads to take their seats as well.

Danha sat down, looking bewildered.

“……”

Jaeger sat down reluctantly, his arms crossed.

It was better than when he wouldn’t even approach the dining table, but he still refused to touch the food.

“I’ll eat well, Ria.”

As I picked up my utensils, Sien gave a languid smile and started eating.

I sliced the duck meat into small pieces and put a bite into my mouth before speaking.

“How about we postpone our escape for just one day?”

Clatter—.

Jaeger suddenly shot up from his seat, gripping the table, and glared at me as if he wanted to tear me apart.

“What do you mean by that? Weren’t we supposed to leave first thing tomorrow?”

After swallowing my food, I set down my utensils and wiped my mouth with a napkin

“Yes, that’s right. We planned to use the warp scroll to escape tomorrow.”

“But then why—”

“We’re just delaying it by one day, Duke.”

Leaving now wouldn’t suddenly wake the Saintess, who had been asleep for a full month.

“……”

I lowered my napkin and looked up at Jaeger.

He furrowed his brows in clear agitation. The deep scar across his eyebrow made his expression look twice as fierce compared to when he was emotionless.

“Don’t make decisions without consulting us.”

“I’m consulting you right now.”

“This isn’t a discussion. It’s a notification.”

“I’m considering your opinion, aren’t I? If I were just notifying you, I wouldn’t be listening to your response at all.”

Ever since I found out that Redria was Jaeger’s first love, I had tried to avoid any emotional conflicts with him. But his aggressive tone made me unconsciously respond with a sharp edge to my words.

Jaeger stared at me intently.

The air between us sharpened, like needles pricking at my skin.

‘Is he going to grab me by the collar at this rate?’

I was trying my best to maintain a neutral expression, but I couldn’t help worrying that Jaeger might lose his temper and demand the warp scroll right then and there.

And then—

Clatter— Bang—!

The sudden noise startled me.

Jaeger’s chair had toppled over, crashing against the door.

“……”

Sien, who had stretched out his long legs beyond the dining table, calmly pulled them back and continued cutting his meat as if nothing had happened.

“Hey. Sit down.”

His voice was unusually low, nothing like his usual melodious tone.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Jaeger gritted his teeth, his tone dripping with hostility.

Sien slowly lifted his gaze. His violet eyes, shadowed beneath his lashes, were unreadable.

“I said, sit down.”

“……”

“Ria looks scared.”

At that, Jaeger’s gaze wavered slightly as he looked down at me.

In his dark pupils, I saw my own reflection—clutching my collar tightly as if bracing myself. To him, I must have looked like a terrified, trembling woman.

Clink— Clink—.

Just then, the Crown Prince tapped his knife against his water glass.

As the attention shifted to him, he flashed a cool, easygoing smile.

“You should listen to him. Threatening people won’t get you anywhere, no matter how big you are.”

“……”

Jaeger ran a large hand over his face and let out a deep sigh. Then, glancing at me, he muttered,

“I wasn’t trying to threaten you.”

His voice carried a faint trace of self-reproach, leaving me momentarily at a loss for words.

‘That’s not it—I was just holding onto my collar because I thought he might grab me by the throat.’

Just as I was about to explain, Jaeger dragged his chair back and sat down.

The tense atmosphere, which had been like a ticking time bomb, finally eased, and I lost the perfect moment to speak.

At that moment, my eyes met Sien’s.

He flashed me a playful smile, as if asking, Didn’t I do well?

‘It did cause a bit of a misunderstanding, but…’

Under the table, I subtly gave him a thumbs-up.

“Um…”

Next to me, Danha hesitated before speaking, as if weighed down by guilt over the situation.

“My lady, I think… it would be best to give up on finding the bracelet.”

“Why?”

“You won’t find it.”

“Still, let’s at least try. You’ve been to the forest before, right?”

“Yes. But I came back quickly.”

I took a sip of water and said, “Then we can split up and search both the cabin and the nearby forest.”

Danha turned fully toward me, hesitating and fumbling over his words.

His reluctance made the other male leads start looking at him strangely.

Danha glanced around at all of us before finally speaking with a troubled expression.

“The truth is… I cannot kill zombies.”

…What?

“So I won’t be much help searching for the bracelet outside the cabin.”

My dumbfounded reaction made him avert his eyes as he continued.

“They are not just strange creatures. They were once someone’s cherished loved ones. Just because they’ve turned into monsters… I cannot bring myself to harm them.”

Ah.

I set my water glass down on the table with an audible thud and rubbed my forehead.

‘Right. I got too comfortable with Danha and forgot about this for a moment.’

Danha might be close to my ideal type, but he’s also…

No, actually, he’s incredibly frustrating.

If Jaeger was rigidly bound by rules and principles, then Danha was utterly shackled by moral perfectionism.

In the middle of the original novel:

After escaping the zombies and reuniting with the male leads at the western shelter, Danha had no real knowledge of zombies.

He had never fought a life-or-death battle against them, nor had he suffered directly from their attacks.

So he couldn’t accept that the monsters were no longer human. To him, they were still the remains of someone’s family, friend, or lover.

A true Top 10 Zombie Apocalypse Villain!

And he ranked a solid third place in that category.

(For reference, Redria, who stole food, ranked tenth.)

There’s always one in every zombie story—the person who hides a zombie because they were once family or a friend, only to end up dooming the entire community.

Oh, but to be clear, Danha wasn’t quite that bad in the original.

By the latter half of the novel, when food supplies ran out and the battles against zombies grew more intense, his convictions wavered.

And just like the other male leads, he gradually started to lose his sanity.

…Well, that’s enough reminiscing. We’re going back to the capital before things even get to that point, anyway.

‘Guess there’s no other choice.’

I sighed several times in succession before saying,

“Just give me one day. I’ll find it myself.”

All of the male leads turned their attention to me.

After a moment of contemplation, the Crown Prince was the first to respond.

“Well, if the young lady insists.”

Sien took a sip of water and smiled lazily.

“If Ria is fine with it, then I don’t mind either.”

Jaeger, who had been staring at my rumpled collar, quickly averted his gaze the moment our eyes met.

“Just one day.”

He said it firmly.

‘Rushing back immediately would be difficult, but the fact that they’re agreeing so easily makes me suspicious.’

Feeling slightly uncertain, I stood up from the table.

“In that case, as a sign of gratitude to everyone, how about Danha does the dishes?”

“I will.”

Danha repeatedly expressed his thanks to both the male leads and me.

‘But… does he even know how to wash dishes?’

Just as I was thinking that, Danha blinked his innocent eyes and asked,

“But… what is dishwashing?”

Ah.

So he’s just as hopeless as the Crown Prince.

* * *

The Forest Near the Shelter
I dug through the dirt with a small shovel, then flopped down under the shade of a tree.

“Ugh, I can’t do this anymore.”

It had been six hours since I started searching for Danha’s bracelet.

It felt like searching for a needle in a desert.

I slowly blinked, opening and closing my eyes.

The dense canopy of leaves swayed gently, filtering the dazzling sunlight into flickering patches.

Kueeeek!

The distant, grotesque cries of zombies echoed faintly, but the scenery remained deceptively peaceful.

I blew at the strands of hair stuck to my sweaty forehead.

How long had I been lying there?

As I absentmindedly watched the trembling leaves, contemplating the fundamental reason behind my labor, sudden irritation flared within me.

‘If I possessed a villainess in a romance fantasy, shouldn’t I be tangled up with a handsome man, diving into a love affair?

Why am I running around with a hammer, hunting down male leads one by one and telling them, “Join my party!”?’

Instead of a straw hat, I had a hammer.
Instead of a navigation map, I had a zombie infestation map.
Instead of arms stretching like cheese, I was swinging a sledgehammer.

‘What’s the point of being a noble lady when my reality is a zombie-infested apocalypse?’

Kim. Deok. Soo…

Once again, I gritted my teeth as I thought of that name.