Chapter 18
Paladins were guarding the entrance to Sector 43. The officer in charge, upon seeing the young master, approached with a bright smile.
“Count Zepetto, you’ve finally arrived! We’ve been waiting. And who is this beside you? I’ve heard the Zepetto family has many beautiful women, but… Is this a Countess?”
He seemed like the type who was good at flattery, just like me.
“I’m Estella, the Count’s maid doll.”
“A doll?”
“She looks more human than a human, but she’s not actually one.”
The young master gave me a slightly exasperated look. He seemed to disapprove of my humor. Tsk, tsk. He had a terrible sense of humor.
At least he was handsome. Otherwise, the list of potential brides would have been even thinner.
“What’s the situation?”
“We’re holding back the zombies with the Paladin Order’s magic barrier, but their numbers seem to be increasing. If we don’t figure out the cause soon…”
As we walked towards the area where the zombies had appeared, the young master replied nonchalantly,
“How about burning the entire area down? If there are no corpses left to reanimate, problem solved.”
It sounded cold, but it made sense.
“But wouldn’t it be too sad to burn everything down? What about the people who come to mourn?”
I said, approaching the young master. The flattery man next to me nodded vigorously.
“Indeed. That would be too sad…”
“They’re ripping open their coffins and coming back to life. How about we just detach their arms from their bodies so they can’t open the lids? Would they kick their way out with their legs then? We might have to remove their limbs… Why are you both looking at me like that? Is that not a good idea?”
The young master turned to the knight. He had been agreeing with me just a moment ago, but now he suddenly changed his tune.
“Burning them down seems like a better option.”
“Right?”
“If we get permission, that is. Knight Commander Edna Raguel is strongly opposed. She says that if we burn them, ‘the mourners will have nowhere to go,’ as you said.”
Knight Commander Edna, who wanted to mass-produce me, said that? That was unexpected. The young master seemed to feel the same way, as he nodded in agreement when our eyes met.
“She gave a surprisingly compassionate reason, considering her gruff personality.”
“Mmm, indeed!”
“And she also added…”
The next reason was perfectly in line with Knight Commander Edna’s character.
“That more zombies need to appear so we have more research samples… She said the more, the merrier.”
“That sounds like her.”
We finally arrived at the scene where the paladins were struggling.
The paladins, seeing the young master, straightened up and deactivated the barrier. Their foreheads, glistening with sweat, shone brightly. Zombie heads were being lopped off as they tried to push past the barrier.
“Oh dear, this isn’t a pleasant sight for a young lady. Why don’t we go over there while Count Zepetto takes care of things?”
The knight said with a grin, offering his hand as if escorting a noble lady.
Honestly, to think he saw me as so weak. I firmly shook my head.
“I’m strong, so I’ll be fine.”
“Well, my lady, dissecting zombies and extracting their cores is quite gruesome and terrifying.”
He raised his arms like a roaring lion, as if trying to scare me.
But I, Estella, was a brave and capable maid, so it was fine. I had done it before.
“I collected them myself last time. You keep underestimating my potential, but I’m a very capable maid. The young master, a zombie investigator, begged and pleaded with me to help him, so I had no choice…”
I glanced at the young master as I said this. He raised an eyebrow as he polished his magic staff and gestured with his chin, as if encouraging me to continue.
This was his way of giving permission. His expression was stern, but it meant he wouldn’t scold me, no matter what I said.
“The young master insisted that he absolutely had to bring me. I’m very busy at the mansion, but I rushed here to obey his orders.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Besides, I can detach and reattach my own limbs. Although I do need the young master’s help to put them back on…”
I didn’t get permission for this statement. The young master looked at me and made a throat-slitting gesture.
“I was just kidding. My limbs like being attached to my body. Even if you try to rip them off… Ah, that’s not a good joke either? Anyway, they won’t come off. In conclusion, I’m very strong.”
The knight quickly apologized, saying he didn’t mean to dismiss me.
I should be lenient, considering the young master’s reputation.
But this man was about to cross a line.
“Not only beautiful, but strong as well. Truly remarkable. I would even like to meet you separately later…”
He said, taking my hand. His sidelong glances at the young master were suspicious.
This impudent knight was trying to flirt with our young master!
Our young master was beautiful, yes, but I couldn’t just hand him over to a paladin he had just met. If it were the Crown Prince, well, he was of high status and they were acquainted, so I might have understood. But then I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my dream of going shopping with the Countess, which would be disappointing. And to be fair, we should probably ask the young master about marriage, and then there was Head Butler Godora…!
As I was lost in thought, the young master suddenly appeared and swatted away the knight’s hand.
“Are you done preparing?”
“Let’s go, strong and sturdy Estella. You’ll be the one ripping apart the zombies from head to toe with your brute strength.”
“Was I really that strong? Earlier, you told me to just collect the cores.”
“Don’t talk back.”
The young master pushed me back.
“Aren’t you going to give me a weapon or something? Am I supposed to dig out the zombie cores with my bare hands? Even if I’m strong, isn’t that a bit much? Aside from the visual aspect, it’s unsanitary.”
Ignoring my complaints, the young master walked over to the knight. He was even taller than the knight, who trained and exercised every day.
My childhood friend, Young Master Lupin, was a delicate, doll-like boy who was shorter than me, even though we were the same age. The man with the intimidating expression before me was a stranger.
When did he become taller than me?
Ha, to be shorter than him… If I had been reborn as a golem instead of Estella, I wouldn’t have lost in height.
“I’m not interested in your name. We won’t be seeing each other again.”
The young master smirked, looking down at the knight condescendingly.
“But let me give you a warning. Don’t touch what belongs to a noble. She’s mine.”
“Belongs to you…?”
The knight looked at me and retorted,
“How can someone who speaks like that be just a doll? I can feel it. A pure soul residing within that doll!”
What? Had he seen through me as well?
The young master scoffed.
“You’re just interested because she’s pretty. Are you trying to trick me with talk of souls and steal my doll? How typical of a lackey from the technology-obsessed Raguel City. I appreciate your compliment on my creation, but don’t touch her with your filthy hands.”
“And give me the sword on your hip.”
I interjected and took the knight’s sword. I didn’t know how to use a sword, but it was thick and I thought I could use the flat side to bash zombies.
They both looked at me strangely.
“What? I need a weapon too.”
“…Right. That’s true.”
The young master wrapped his arm around my waist and turned to leave.
“Hey, lackey. This sword is mine now. Just so you know.”
With those cheeky words, we entered the closed-off cemetery.
Looking back, the knight looked completely dumbfounded. To think he had tried to flirt with the young master with that blank expression, perhaps he was actually quite brave inside.
As we faced the approaching zombies, the young master raised his staff and said to me,
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I think it’s wrong.”
“How can you say that when you don’t know what I’m thinking?”
“I have a feeling.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
I raised my sword at an angle and smiled.
“Let’s have a competition. Let’s see who can defeat more zombies.”
“No.”
He was always so decisive.
I had never learned swordsmanship in my previous life. Estella in this life didn’t have a sword-wielding function either.
Did I even have any functions other than moving like a human? I should ask him to install flamethrowers in my fingertips during my next repair.
“Ha! Hya! Ho!”
The sword wasn’t heavy at all, but I made various sounds for dramatic effect. The young master initially complained about the noise, but now he was ignoring me.
The sword was much better than the carriage door.
“Estella, I’ll restrain their legs, so you cut open their stomachs and expose the cores.”
Snakes emerged from the young master’s shadow and slithered across the ground, wrapping around the zombies’ legs. When the snakes opened their mouths and sank their fangs in, the zombies, oblivious to pain, groaned and collapsed.
They didn’t even realize they had fallen. They continued to groan and try to crawl forward, even while lying face down on the ground.
My role was to block the zombies, dissect them with my sharp sword, and extract the cores.
But I wasn’t sure what the cores looked like. They all felt round and red.
“Young Master! Is this a zombie core, or is it a former organ…?”
“Ugh! Stop shaking it. It’s disgusting. If you’re not sure, put it aside. I’ll check later.”
“Okay.”
I turned towards the magic box, holding the thing that might or might not be a core.
Just then, a zombie tried to attack the young master from behind.
“Young Master!”
I shouted urgently. He turned around, but the zombie’s unsanitary hand had already grabbed his shoulder.
“Damn it.”
“No!”
To protect the young master, I threw the thing I was holding.
“Estella! Don’t throw that!”