Chapter 85
*Even if You’re Happy to See Me, Ask Permission Before Kissing*
The young master pulled me behind him. I peeked at the zombies. Their mouths were stained crimson.
“Um… Young Master? Would it be too optimistic of me to think they’re just… experimenting with a unique makeup style?”
“They ate their way here. Look. Some of them are missing limbs and faces.”
“Please don’t tell me that. I don’t want to know.”
He was right. The zombies were covered in blood. Theirs or someone else’s, I couldn’t tell.
I wondered if the others back at the mansion were safe.
“I understand why Umbram is obsessed with zombies. Is he planning to create an army of berserkers?”
“I don’t know about that, but what should we do? I wish I had brought my vacuum cleaner.”
I sighed, looking at him. He wasn’t in any better shape. He was clearly still half-asleep, his hair a mess, still in his pajamas.
“Young Master, go to the workshop and change your clothes. A respectable mage should always wear a three-piece suit, even when eating.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Just go!”
I pushed him towards the workshop and ran towards the zombies.
First, a roundhouse kick! I jumped and kicked a zombie, as if stomping on it. If I were an ordinary girl (and if I knew how to do a roundhouse kick), it wouldn’t have done much damage. But I was different.
“Oof!”
The zombie lost its balance and fell, a footprint-shaped dent on its armor. I was light, but my strength was superhuman.
“You underestimated me because I’m pretty!”
I stepped on the fallen zombie, bent down, and snatched its spear.
As I stood up, I took down two more zombies with the spear. I rolled forward, impaling one, and the other, losing its balance, stumbled and fell.
“Young Master! I think I have a talent for combat!”
He wasn’t in a position to praise me, unfortunately. He was surrounded by zombies.
While I took down a few more, the number of zombies around him increased.
Could they recognize humans? Were they drawn to his warm body and nutritious blood?
“Leave our delicious young master alone!”
I brandished the spear and charged towards him, but there was a problem.
I wasn’t a spearman, so I didn’t know how to spin it.
“Oops!”
I tried to spin the spear, but failed. Since I was holding it horizontally, I didn’t fall. Instead, a few zombies next to me were knocked down by the spear.
“I need to get up!”
As I tried to stand, holding the spear vertically, I accidentally impaled another zombie.
“I didn’t mean to do that!”
I pulled the spear out with too much force, exploding the head of the zombie behind it.
“Ugh, you’re getting my clothes dirty!”
Startled, I threw the spear, taking down three more zombies.
“Maybe I do have a talent for this.”
I looked at the young master, impressed with myself. He was struggling, fighting like a brawler instead of using magic.
“Young Master! Why are you punching zombies! Use magic like a proper mage!”
“I can’t!”
He shouted, knocking down a zombie.
“I have to protect the workshop with magic!”
I immediately understood. He wasn’t trying to protect the workshop, he was trying to protect Anna’s body.
Anna, whom he had kept alive for five years.
I was grateful, but! I was grateful, but!
“Use magic! Don’t forget you’re a mage!”
“I’m already using magic! I’ve cast a protective spell on the workshop! Estella, go over there!”
“No!”
“Now!”
I wasn’t going to listen. I fought my way towards him. But it wasn’t easy.
“There are too many!”
Where were they all coming from? Did someone water the cemetery with diluted elixir? Why were there so many!
“Must… defeat… ugh…”
“We will win… for His Highness…”
“I will win! Estella will win! For the young master!”
I was strong, so it didn’t matter how many there were. I was defeating them faster than they could appear.
Just a little further…!
Just as I almost reached him, something grabbed me from behind.
“Huh?”
“Estella!”
It was a zombie. It tried to eat me. One bit me, then others joined in.
Crunch! Crack! Their teeth were strong, but I knew that was the sound of their teeth breaking.
But the young master didn’t seem to realize.
He ran towards me, ignoring the zombies surrounding him. I was happy that he was coming to save me, but the problem was that the zombies had weapons.
“Young Master!”
Just as I called out to him, a zombie lunged at him with a spear. He had two choices: abandon me and run, or stay and get stabbed.
Neither option seemed appealing to him. He pulled me closer, shielding me with his body.
“Ugh!”
The spear grazed his side, tearing his thin pajamas and leaving a red mark on his skin.
“No!”
I ripped off my apron and pressed it against his wound. At the same time, I threw my shoe at the zombie that had attacked him.
Thwack! It hit the zombie in the head. I wished its head had exploded, but my shoe wasn’t that sturdy. It only broke its nose, drawing blood.
“Are you hurt?”
I was worried. He just backed away, holding me close.
“Fight back! Mage! You’re a mage!”
He wasn’t thinking straight. Was he still half-asleep? He kept checking me for injuries, glancing at the workshop.
Whenever a zombie approached the workshop, it would burst into flames upon touching the magic barrier. The flames were large and bright, and the barrier was unnecessarily wide.
He was wasting all his magic on the barrier, leaving him with no energy to fight the zombies.
“What should I say to provoke you into using magic on these zombies?”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“That’s not something you should be saying while bleeding from your side.”
“I just need you to be safe. Just you…”
I grabbed him. To throw him.
“It’s not for me, it’s for Anna!”
“What? Wait, Estella! Let go!”
“Since you’re already injured, how about a few bruises?”
Just as the zombies were about to attack us again, I threw him inside the workshop’s magic barrier.
“Hey!”
“Just this once!”
Remember our dress-up game?
He had promised to forgive me for one mistake. So he had to forgive me for this.
I picked up a discarded weapon and charged at the zombies.
“Estella, stop!”
He must have been telling me to stop moving, but his words made my heart sink.
He was an idiot.
He was so flustered that he lost control of his magic and unleashed it towards me. A giant magic circle, wreathed in flames, appeared beneath our feet.
Even I, a powerful doll, wasn’t durable enough to withstand his full power. I could feel cracks forming on my body.
He knew he would have to repair me if I broke, right…?
“You’re such an idiot.”
As the flames engulfed the zombies, I felt my consciousness fading.
Well, I couldn’t sleep usually, so I might as well enjoy this nap.
“Estella!”
I couldn’t answer his call and collapsed.
“I’ll win!”
I shouted and sat up. A rattling sound came from my ankle.
“What? Am I a prisoner? Do zombies have that kind of intelligence?”
I sat up and looked around. A magic chain was attached to my ankle.
Ah, I wasn’t Estella.
I shook my head and looked around. The zombies were gone. A garden filled with yellow flowers filled my vision.
“I thought this was a dream last time, but…”
After reading the young master’s journal, I was certain.
I was alive! I wasn’t dead! I wasn’t buried!
And I had awakened in my original body.
“What happened to Estella?”
She must have broken from the young master’s magic. I had lost consciousness before seeing how badly she was damaged.
I was also worried about the young master. He was easily frightened, despite his appearance, and seeing Estella break would have been a shock.
Perhaps he was still fighting the zombies. Then I had to help him!
I wanted to get out of bed, but I couldn’t. The magic chain prevented me from leaving.
“What did I do to deserve this imprisonment?”
If there were any rocks nearby, I would use them to break the chain, but my surroundings were perfectly safe. Was this his doing?
“Did he… tie me up so I couldn’t escape…?”
The thought made my heart flutter.
“Oh my. Does that mean he likes me that much? He’s so innocent.”
Despite his innocence, I had to get up. I couldn’t let the zombies eat him!
I focused and looked around. Beyond the flowers, there was an arched doorway. The scenery around it shimmered. It must have been a magic portal.
I had to go through there!
I focused on the doorway. The garden was silent, not a breath of wind.
Then I heard faint sounds coming from the doorway. Sounds from the workshop.
The banging of a hammer, the whirring of a machine, the clinking of metal…
And then, a voice, softer and fainter than the other noises, caught my attention. The young master’s voice.
“Estella, wait a little longer. I’ll fix you soon, so you have to wake up…”