Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 12 - Holy Wooden Club

Chapter 12 Holy Wooden Club

 

After signing the contract with Elizabeth, Michael closed the duke’s office door behind him and walked out, falling into a strange feeling.

‘Was Elizabeth Keaton always like that?’

All the way to the Sky Room assigned to him, he kept staring at the right hand that had held Elizabeth’s.

The warmth left in Michael’s usually cold hand was faint but still there.

To think he had held hands with that Elizabeth—just a few days ago, Michael would never have imagined such a thing.

If that sly, snake-like pope hadn’t thrown him away, he would never have even stepped foot in the Keaton duchy…

‘Not bad.’

Surprisingly, Michael found himself thinking this situation wasn’t so bad.

The Elizabeth Keaton of the past had always been bothersome and annoying. She was the embodiment of malice who hated and envied Siena and picked fights over everything.

There was another reason Michael disliked Elizabeth.

He couldn’t put it into words, but there was always a strange sense of wrongness about her—like she was wearing a mask.

To someone who valued honesty above all else, Elizabeth Keaton had always felt unpleasant.

But the impression he got from her today was completely different.

Though she had calmly finished her calculations, he could still sense gentleness and concern for his feelings in her words.

Her every movement and tone carried confidence and ease, naturally drawing a person’s attention.

‘Like a butterfly about to take flight after shedding its old skin.’

Her current self suited her far more than that oddly mismatched, cruel version of the past.

And realizing he was thinking such things, Michael quickly scolded himself.

‘What am I thinking?’

He lifted both hands and slapped his cheeks hard enough for the sound to echo.

His stinging cheeks reddened, but once his thoughts had started flowing, they refused to stop.

‘…Just focus on your work, as written in the contract.’

He couldn’t forget.

His true duty was to save the Caladia Empire, which had fallen into chaos because of the zombies.

When Michael stepped into the Sky Room—its white and blue tones blending beautifully—he thought of someone who resembled an angel.

“Siena… this will be a way to save you too, right?”

Only an empty echo answered him inside the quiet room.

Michael had accepted that the temple and the pope had abandoned him.

But he could not accept—at least not easily—that Siena had become a zombie.

‘Looks like I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.’

Or so he thought.

But in truth, Michael slept deeply—his first good sleep since hearing news of Siena’s engagement.

Chirp-chirp. Chirp.

‘…It’s morning.’

Another new day had dawned.

No matter how despairing I felt, this strange and cruel world’s tomorrow had stepped forward and become today.

I’d been shaken badly by the revelation about the party-member requirements, and barely slept…

But maybe because zombies lurked outside, my eyes snapped open earlier than usual, even without anyone waking me.

Just as my personal maid, Lina, came in to wake me—

“K-kyaaaaah!”

Her brown eyes met my slightly bloodshot purple ones, and Lina jumped back nearly ten steps.

“You—you scared me! La—no, my Lady Duke!”

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

I’d startled myself too, but I apologized first.

Because Lina was holding something I’d never seen before.

A smooth, well-carved wooden club.

Whoever made it did a very good job. It looked sturdy and solid.

‘Now is not the time to admire it, right?’

But when I looked more closely at the wooden club, I noticed something—some faint white power wrapped around it.

‘Huh?’

Maybe it was because I’d become a saint, but something in my head informed me clearly.

This was holy power.

The wooden club had been blessed with holy energy.

I was impressed—but then confused.

Why on earth would she bring a wooden club into her employer’s bedroom?

“…Lina. Let me just ask—what exactly were you planning to do with that…?”

Surely she wasn’t planning to hit me with it, right?

When I stared at her with suspicion, my personal maid panicked.

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Then why did you bring a wooden club?”

Arms crossed, I asked in a questioning tone. Lina shrank a little as she answered weakly:

“The Holy Knight who became our guest yesterday made it… for us.”

“Huh? Sir Michael?”

「That stingy platinum-blond knight?」

Even Zero popped out in surprise.

Lina quickly explained everything exactly as it had happened.

“Well, my Lady Duke… the handsome Holy Knight woke up at dawn and busily carved this wooden club. Not just one—enough for every servant in the duchy to have one!”

“What?”

What was he, a professional stick-carving craftsman?

‘Why is he doing things I didn’t ask for?’

There was definitely no clause about this in the contract, so I was baffled.

As I stood there in disbelief, Lina moved closer and began brushing my messy morning hair while chatting cheerfully.

“We were shocked too. He’s a Holy Knight, someone who should be protecting you, the Duke, but he went out of his way to do hard labor himself. We tried to stop him, but he said that in dangerous times like these, this is the least he could do to earn his keep… so we just couldn’t stop him anymore.”

“But even so, you didn’t have to bring a wooden club into my bedroom, did you…?”

It was scary. Just for a moment, I wondered if the servants had grouped together and decided to betray me.

‘With how chaotic things are because of the zombies… something even worse could happen.’

In a situation where anything could happen, Lina’s sudden behavior only made chills run down my spine.

I clenched the bed sheet tightly, still watching her with wary eyes. Lina protested tearfully:

“Oh, come on! My Lady Duke! I’ve served you since you were little—there’s no way I’d do something scary to you!”

“You never know with people.”

“I—I’m terrified of you, my Lady… If anyone got hit from behind, it would probably be me!”

“Well, that’s true.”

I nodded at Lina’s clueless but honest words. She sighed and began fixing my hair with faster hands.

“Anyway, I’d never betray you! None of the servants would. We’re only carrying these wooden clubs for self-defense.”

“Michael told you to do this too?”

At my question, Lina nodded firmly.

“Yes. He said that even though the magic-stone barrier protecting the estate is still up… we shouldn’t rely on it completely. He said we should be prepared in case the barrier breaks or the magic stones run out.”

When I looked at her waist, I noticed she had a belt over her maid uniform—perfectly fitted to carry the club around easily.

‘Wow. He’s surprisingly skilled.’

I didn’t expect him to have this kind of practical talent. His thoughtful consideration made me see him a bit differently.

But I still wanted to warn Lina, so I flicked her forehead lightly.

“Ow! That hurts!”

Lina teared up, rubbing her forehead. Hmm… I thought I’d held back, but I guess it hurt more than expected.

Not that I felt very guilty.

Michael may have acted with good intentions, but to me, it was unpleasant.

“I meant for it to hurt, Lina.”

When I narrowed my eyes sharply, Lina hiccupped and bowed her head.

“I know Sir Michael meant well, but right now, I am the master of the Keaton Duchy. For someone to act inside the duchy in a way that threatens my authority, without my permission? You think I’d take that lightly?”

Even with the zombie outbreak, this clearly crossed a line.

How could she even think about entering the duke’s bedroom while holding a weapon?

‘The barrier protecting the estate is still perfectly fine.’

Had this been before the zombie chaos, Lina would’ve been kicked out on the spot for this.

Realizing that, Lina’s face drained of color, and she fell to her knees.

“I—I’m sorry, my Lady Duke! I must have lost my mind! Please forgive my rudeness…”

“…It’s fine.”

‘Even with Zero’s possession-buff, this was still too much to expect, huh.’

Elizabeth Keaton’s authority as a villainess had always been weak.

So this outcome wasn’t surprising.

‘Honestly, it’s a miracle things are going this well.’

Without Zero’s buff, some servants might have already abandoned the duchy.

And if they had worked together to empty the food storage while running away, that would’ve led straight to a bad ending.

‘Considering my unlucky life, this level of loyalty is practically a blessing.’

“I didn’t expect anything in the first place. So it’s fine.”

“W-what…?”

Lina’s face went from blank white paper to dark navy in an instant.

Why was she acting like she’d just heard something shocking?

I’m the one who found her reaction strange.

“Lina, the truth is that you—and the rest of the servants—don’t trust me completely. Right?”

If trust could be restored just by bringing back a bit of holy water, Elizabeth wouldn’t have been known as a villainess.

That was simply the situation of living inside Elizabeth’s body.

“T-that… well…”

Lina wasn’t good at lying, so she stuttered and trailed off.

‘Thought so.’

Seeing her reaction, I was reminded once again.

Life is self-served. In the end, when trying to survive, everyone else is just “others.”

If I didn’t want to be stabbed in the back, I could only trust myself.

I never wanted to go through the kind of heart-wrenching betrayal that feels like someone squeezing your heart again.

My cold indifference made Lina panic even more, and she continued begging.

“I’m sorry, my Lady Duke. I really am…”

“I said it’s fine. Just remember that next time, my orders come before anything else. And tell the others too.”

“I—I’ll remember. I swear I’ll remember.”

Lina was bowing so deeply she looked like she was praying to me.

I started dressing myself awkwardly but waved her away.

“Go to the dining hall ahead of me. Ah, and don’t forget to call the mages.”

“The mages?”

Lina looked confused as she saw me buttoning my blouse.

“There’s someone I want them to locate.”

I moved my hand subtly, opening the quest window so Lina wouldn’t see.

[Revealing the conditions for becoming a member of the “Zombie Defeat” party.]

[Only strong characters from the ‘original story’ can become your party members.]

‘If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it… or something like that.’

Since I couldn’t change the rules, I had no choice but to go looking for the other male leads from the original novel.

For example—the person most likely to become the next Tower Master, and one of the original story’s sub–male leads:

Lus Krichern.