Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 3 - Headshot

Chapter 3 Headshot

 

My face must have turned scary, because the two people beside me flinched and froze.

“D-Did we do something wrong?”

“No. I just suddenly remembered something really annoying.”

Seriously, what a twisted setup. To escape the zombies, I needed to catch one and get its blood.

I was about to lose it when the surroundings grew noisy again—something was twisting its joints as it approached from far away.

“Grrrraaahhh….”

A white wedding dress soaked in blood. Beautiful golden hair now a tangled mess. Eyes that once held a gentle green glow were now blazing red, the veins standing out.

But even so, the woman approaching us—Sienna Evergreen, the original female lead—still had a beautiful face.

“Urrghh… urrrghhh!”

She wasn’t the radiant bride of a beautiful wedding anymore. She was just a grotesque zombie.

“Kyaaah!”

“A-Aaah!”

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone around me—including me—had no special power to fight zombies. No one pulled out a sword or tried using magic.

「W-What do we do!」

Even Zero, my helper, panicked and started scurrying in place.

I silently adjusted my high heel, wondering how a so-called helper didn’t even give his possessed host a single weapon. It was one of Madame Canaria’s pieces from the “Ex-Boyfriend’s Wedding” collection, beautifully decorated with black pearls and rubies.

‘Mm, it’s nice and sharp.’

I had been running barefoot like crazy, holding the shoe in my hand. The sharp heel made it perfect as a weapon.

“GRAAAAH!”

“P-Please, Your Highness the Crown Princess! Get a hold of yourself!”

Someone running with us desperately shouted to the zombified heroine—but if words worked, she’d be a person, not a zombie.

While others cried and prayed to the gods, I quietly took aim.

‘Zombies are usually weak to the head…’

Headshot it is. Aim straight for the forehead.

One.

“Grrr…”

Two.

“GRAAAAH!”

Three.

“AAH—!”

Right as the zombified heroine jumped toward me—

THUD.

“Ghk… urrrgh…”

‘I did it!’

My heel, with its murderously sharp tip, was buried in her forehead. Strangely, there was no blood. Maybe because zombies were technically already dead.

“Oh my god…”

“T-The Crown Princess…!”

People who fell to the floor stared at me in horror, but I didn’t care.

“Grr… rrghhh…”

The heroine’s body twitched, then collapsed face-down. She wasn’t moving anymore—dead for sure this time.

‘Good. One thing’s clear now.’

These zombies die if you hit their heads.

For the first time since I ended up stuck in this novel, a high heel—which had only ever been a nuisance—had actually helped.

While I checked for any remaining movement with the other shoe, the nobles who had run away before came rushing back to blame me.

“T-The Crown Princess…”

“Lady Keaton killed her…!”

No, I didn’t. Biologically speaking, zombies were already dead—their hearts didn’t beat and they couldn’t be considered human. So technically, I wasn’t a murderer.

But of course, their delicate noble hearts saw only a crazy woman smashing the forehead of their precious Crown Princess with a heel.

“You… you vicious woman! This is all your doing, isn’t it?!”

“…What did you just say?”

I was so dumbfounded I didn’t even have the energy to respond.

If I hadn’t done anything, they would’ve all been bitten and dead. And yet they complained.

‘And I’m the one who wants to find the bastard who caused this zombie mess in the first place!’

Annoyed, I cut them off sharply.

“So you’re saying I should’ve let her bite you all instead?”

“Wh-What do you mean, ‘monster’?! Watch your mouth!”

“Exactly. Nothing is confirmed yet, and you dare call Her Highness a monster? Are you still holding a grudge after losing the Crown Prince to her?”

‘These idiots.’

Weren’t you all screaming “monster!” while running earlier?

“And why is that relevant now?”

“We’re saying all of this is your fault! Maybe you pretended to celebrate, but secretly planned this out to get revenge!”

“Hah.”

They still didn’t understand the situation and were now accusing me of killing the Crown Princess out of jealousy.

‘You were screaming and running for your lives earlier, but now you’re brave?’

It was laughable how fast they shifted blame once they felt safe.

“Why won’t you answer, Lady Keaton? Is it because you’re the culprit?”

“No. It’s because answering you is a waste of time.”

No matter what I said, they wouldn’t believe me. They only saw the villainess, Elizabeth Keaton.

‘I get that the zombie thing is overwhelming but still…’

I mean, zombies are new to me too, okay?

Why were they acting like I created them? What would I even gain from turning the Crown Princess into a zombie?

‘The Crown Prince isn’t even my type. Why would I turn the palace into a zombie playground to get him?’

Did I look suicidal enough to choose the death penalty on purpose? Even if I had chosen to stay in this world, I wouldn’t pull something that stupid.

I didn’t even have the power to make zombies. People really overestimated what a ducal house could do.

If my family had that kind of power, I would’ve gone home ages ago!

“Sure, sure. Think whatever you want. I’m going to run for my life now.”

I walked over to the fallen zombified Crown Princess and pulled out my heel.

Then I pushed all my strength into my legs.

“Eek!”

“I can’t believe Lady Keaton would do something so barbaric…!”

“We’re disappointed in you, Lady Keaton.”

Please. When did any of you ever consider me a gentle, sweet young lady? Never. And now you talk about being disappointed?

“Anyway, if you want to escape this palace, you’d better get the blood of the Crown Princess or anyone else who turned into a monster. Whoever it is, someone brave—or stupid—put a barrier around the palace.”

I still gave them one last warning. They were human too, after all, and I didn’t want them to die.

“W-What do you mean—hey! Stop! Lady Keaton!”

These people were a lost cause. So I ran alone. Running barefoot while clutching one high heel was honestly depressing.

Come to think of it, those loudmouth nobles would disappear one by one later anyway.

Clicking my tongue, I kept running through the long, twisting palace corridors. The heel in my hand was stained with the Crown Princess zombie’s blackened blood.

‘Let Zero be right about this working.’

Fortunately, Zero’s words were correct. This time I didn’t see that carved giant door again.

After running with the bloodstained heel for a while, I finally saw an exit leading outside.

‘So there really was a barrier around the palace.’

Who in the world would do that?

“Forget it. Anyway… I’m alive!”

I pushed the tall, sharp iron palace gates with all my strength. Warm sunlight hit my skin. I hadn’t realized how nice it felt.

Without hesitation, I ran toward the area where the nobles’ carriages were gathered.

 

 

****

 

 

 

Seeing me burst out in a ruined dress and bare feet, the coachman jumped in shock.

“M-My lady? W-What in the world happened?”

That disrespectful look of his. I could tell from his face that he thought I caused some trouble again.

“No time to explain. Just take me home right now.”

“Pardon? Ah, y-yes, my lady!”

I growled as if I would drive the carriage myself if he didn’t move. Terrified, the coachman shrank back and obeyed.

The rhythmic clatter of the horse’s hooves eased my mind. The palace—which still looked perfectly peaceful from the outside—grew smaller and smaller behind us.

‘Is it because of the barrier? It’s strangely quiet.’

From the outside, it looked like nothing had happened at all.

For a moment I wondered if the zombie outbreak I experienced was all a dream… but the black zombie blood on my heel made it clear that this was real.

“When we get home, I need to call a mage first.”

And as much as I hated it, I also needed to send a support request to the Magic Tower about the palace.

Not because I wanted to protect the imperial family or the nobles who were celebrating the couple’s wedding there.

‘It’s because, unexpectedly, I still have to stay in this world.’

I had a feeling Zero would say I had to somehow fix this mess if I wanted to go home.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Speak of the devil and he appears.

Sure enough, Zero appeared in the carriage with a dark expression, bringing bad news.

「Sorry, but… I don’t think you’ll be able to go home until we solve this situation.」

“…What?”

「Orders came from above.」

Ding.

A troubling notification sounded.

[The previous quest assigned to “Elizabeth Keaton,” <Surviving as a Villainess>, is now canceled.]

[A new quest has been assigned!]

[Quest: Survive the Doomed World (Subtitle: Defeat the zombies and go home!)]

[Do you accept?]

[YES / YES]

Damn it. It was a forced quest—I didn’t even have the option to refuse.

“Hey, you—!”

“My lady, we’ve arrived!”

Right as I was about to curse him out, the carriage entered the duke’s estate.

Zero, whose scruff I was pinching between two fingers, choked out weakly:

「W-We don’t have time for this… If the previous quest was easy mode, this one is hard mode.」

If we drag our feet now, both of us are done for.

The chilling thought cooled the blood that had been boiling in my head.

‘Annoying as it is, he’s right.’

I had to face reality.

But I didn’t want to be pushed around by this tiny hamster and his managers again. That was how things ended up like this in the first place.

So I made up my mind.
This time, I wouldn’t move according to some stupid villainess script.