ESMLT 31

Chapter 31

In the original story, Danha’s personal history only appeared in passing, mentioned a few times at most.

The king of Jeha had many children.

Yet he was a cold, loveless father—so devoid of paternal affection that there were children he had sired and never once even called by name.

Whether a child died of illness, became a political scapegoat, was abused by the queen, or fell in battle, the king remained indifferent to his own flesh and blood.

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

Even while drifting endlessly, living like a carefree vagabond on extended retreats, he would return to the palace with his arms full of gifts.

Because his poor siblings were there.

One of those siblings—his youngest sister—had given him a bracelet, and now he had lost it. It was no wonder he couldn’t think rationally.

I tapped my finger lightly against my crossed arm.

Normally, this is where I’d say something like, “Aren’t you going to see your remaining siblings? They’re waiting for you,” to snap him out of it… but.

I glanced sideways at Sien, who was watching Danha with detached eyes.

The fact that we still hadn’t found the previous Master of the Mage Tower’s remains weighed heavily on my mind.

Maybe I could ease that burden by using Danha.

I lowered my gaze briefly.

Right. It’s not like we’re going back into the forest at dawn—it’s just delaying our escape by a day or two.

And if we still couldn’t find it, we could always knock him out and take him with us.

Having settled my thoughts, I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.

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

I then invited the male leads to sit as well.

Danha sat down with a dazed expression.

“……”

Jaeger sat with obvious reluctance, crossing his arms.

It was better than when he wouldn’t even come near the table, but he still didn’t touch the food.

“Thank you for the meal, Miss Ria.”

As I picked up my cutlery, Sien smiled lazily and began eating.

I cut the duck into small pieces, placed one in my mouth, and spoke.

“How about we delay our escape by just one day?”

Clatter—

Jaeger slammed his hands on the table and sprang to his feet, glaring at me as if he wanted to tear me apart.

“What do you mean by that? Weren’t we leaving tomorrow?”

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

“Yes, we were. We planned to use the warp scroll tomorrow.”

“Then why—”

“It’s just one day, Duke.”

It wasn’t like the Saintess—who had been asleep for a whole month—would suddenly wake up just because we left.

“……”

I lowered the napkin and looked up at him.

Jaeger frowned deeply, clearly agitated. The deep scar cutting through his eyebrow made his face look far more menacing than when he was expressionless.

“Don’t make decisions like this without discussion.”

“But we’re discussing it right now.”

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

“I’m listening to your opinion, aren’t I? If it were a notice, I wouldn’t bother hearing you out.”

Ever since I learned that Redria had been Jaeger’s first love, I’d tried to avoid emotional conflict with him—but his aggressive tone made my own words come out colder than intended.

Jaeger stared at me in silence.

The sharp tension in the air pricked my skin like needles.

Am I about to get grabbed by the collar?

I forced myself to keep a blank expression, but I was genuinely worried he might demand the warp scroll and start a scuffle.

Then—

Clatter—bang!

I jumped at the sudden noise.

It was the sound of Jaeger’s chair toppling over and crashing into the door.

“……”

Sien, having casually pulled his long legs back under the table, sliced his meat as if nothing had happened.

“Hey. Sit down.”

Unlike his usual soft voice, his tone was low and heavy.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Jaeger ground his teeth and spat the words.

Sien slowly lifted his head. His violet eyes, shadowed by his lashes, were anything but calm.

“I said sit.”

“……”

“Miss Ria’s scared.”

Only then did Jaeger look down at me, his eyes wavering slightly.

Reflected in his black pupils was me, gripping my collar tightly as if terrified—a frail woman trembling in fear.

Clink, clink—

At that moment, the Crown Prince tapped his water glass with a knife.

As everyone’s attention turned to him, he flashed a bright grin.

“How about you listen and sit down? Intimidating people with that big body of yours isn’t going to solve anything.”

“……”

Jaeger rubbed his face with a large hand and let out a sigh. Glancing at me, he said,

“I had no intention of threatening you.”

There was a trace of self-reproach in his voice, which caught me off guard.

I wasn’t scared—I was just worried about getting grabbed by the collar…

Before I could explain, Jaeger pulled his chair back and sat down.

The bomb-like tension faded, and I lost my chance to speak.

Our eyes met.

Sien gave me a beaming look that clearly said, Did I do well?

It’s a misunderstanding, but…

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

“Um…”

Perhaps feeling responsible for the situation, Danha—who was sitting beside me—hesitated before speaking.

“Miss, I think… it would be better to give up on finding the bracelet.”

“Why?”

“We won’t find it.”

“But we should at least try. You went into the forest, right?”

“I did. But I returned quickly.”

I took a sip of water and said,

“Then let’s split up and search the cabin and the nearby forest.”

At my words, Danha turned fully toward me, hesitating.

The male leads began to look at him strangely.

After glancing around at all of us, Danha spoke awkwardly.

“The truth is… I cannot kill zombies.”

“…What?”

“So I won’t be of any help searching outside the cabin.”

At my dumbfounded reaction, he averted his eyes and continued.

“They are not merely remains. They were once someone’s precious family. I cannot bring myself to harm them simply because they’ve become twisted creatures.”

Ah.

I set my glass down on the table with a thud and pressed my fingers to my forehead.

Right. Danha’s been so cooperative that I forgot.

He’s very close to my ideal type, but… he’s a bit—

No. Honestly, he’s very frustrating.

If Jaeger was rigid about principles and rules, Danha was morally obsessive.

In the middle of the original story, when he reunited with the male leads at the western shelter after fleeing zombies, Danha knew nothing about them.

He hadn’t fought for survival. He hadn’t suffered losses because of zombies.

So he couldn’t accept them as monsters—he saw them as the remains of someone’s family, friend, or lover.

A classic Zombie Apocalypse Villain Top 10 archetype.

He ranked third.

(For reference, Redria the food thief ranked tenth.)

You know the type—every zombie story has one. The person who hides zombies because they’re “family,” only to wipe out the entire community.

Ah, but to be clear, Danha doesn’t go that far in the original.

By the mid-to-late story, food runs out, battles pile up, and his beliefs change.

He slowly descends into madness like the others…

Enough. It won’t matter anyway—we’ll be back in the capital long before that.

It can’t be helped.

I sighed repeatedly and said,

“Give me just one day. I’ll look for it.”

All the male leads turned to me.

The Crown Prince pondered briefly before speaking.

“Well, if that’s what the young lady wants.”

Sien took a sip of water and smiled with his eyes.

“If Miss Ria’s okay with it, then so am I.”

Jaeger stared at my crumpled collar for a moment. When our eyes met, he sharply turned his head away.

“One day.”

That was all he said.

It’d be troublesome if he insisted on leaving immediately, but the fact that he gave in so easily is unsettling in its own way.

With a strange feeling, I stood up from the table.

“Then, as thanks to everyone, how about Danha does the dishes?”

“I will.”

Danha repeatedly thanked both me and the male leads.

But… does this guy even know how to wash dishes?

As if on cue, Danha blinked his innocent eyes and asked,

“By the way, what exactly is ‘doing the dishes’?”

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

The forest near the shelter.

After digging through the soil with a trowel, I sprawled out under a shaded tree.

“Ugh. I can’t do this anymore.”

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

It felt like searching for a needle in a desert.

I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them again.

Leaves filled the blue sky above me, swaying gently as sunlight glittered between them.

Kreeeek!

Despite the faint, grotesque cries of zombies echoing in the distance, the scenery was peaceful.

I blew at the bangs sticking annoyingly to my forehead.

How long did I lie there?

As I stared blankly at the swaying leaves and reflected on the fundamental reason I was doing all this, sudden irritation flared.

If you’re a reincarnated romance-fantasy protagonist, aren’t you supposed to get tangled up with handsome men and run a love plot? Why am I carrying a hammer, tracking down male leads one by one, going, “Join my party”?

A hammer instead of a straw hat.

A zombie-zone map instead of a sea chart.

Swinging a weapon instead of stretching arms out like melting cheese.

What’s the point of being a noble lady when the world I’m stuck in is a zombie-filled apocalypse?

Kim. Deok. Soo…

I ground my teeth as I thought of that name once more.