Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 48 - Saving the Celeste Household

Because Elizabeth Keaton’s bad reputation was so widespread, even Grand Duke Whitewood—who had no interest at all in high society—remembered her name.

〈I don’t… like the sound of this. Is it really okay to follow her?〉

〈I was enemies with her too, because of Siena, but this isn’t the time to worry about that. And more than anything, I trust my friend Sherry’s judgment. She’s never foolish, so I’m willing to trust Elizabeth Keaton, who’s coming as reinforcement.〉

〈But why “Duke” and not “Lady”?〉

〈Well, according to Sherry, the previous Duke died because of those monsters outside. Since the source of that information is Duke Keaton herself, it should be reliable.〉

〈Hmm….〉

Still not fully trusting Duke Keaton, who was said to be coming as reinforcement, the Grand Duke was gently pushed along by Jacqueline to the room he was staying in.

〈That’s enough. Please pack your things, Grand Duke. You didn’t plan to stay trapped here for hundreds or thousands of years, did you?〉

〈I heard there’s only about a week’s worth of food left.〉

〈You really do hear everything. Anyway, I’m going to get ready to leave too, so please prepare yourself. I heard they’ll arrive in about twenty minutes.〉

〈…Alright.〉

As he replayed the conversation with Jacqueline in his mind, Grand Duke Whitewood stared at the magical barrier with bored eyes.

“They’re here.”

Letters written in silver-gray mana appeared on the barrier.

We’re here!
Please open the door!

Grand Duke Whitewood, Aston Clitter, slung the bundle of luggage he’d packed in advance over his shoulder and left the room.

It was time to escape.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

A few minutes after Ruth wrote on the magical barrier, the front door of the Celeste marquis estate opened.

「Normally, the inside of a magic barrier shouldn’t be visible at all from the outside. But whoever controls it cleverly added variables and adjusted it, huh?」

No sooner had Zero finished speaking than Ruth, impressed for the same reason, recorded the phenomenon in the notebook he carried with him.

“That’s impressive skill. I did hear rumors that the young lady of the Celeste marquis family had considerable talent in magic, but… at this level, she easily could have entered the Magic Tower. It’s a shame she chose Tricala’s Academy instead.”

Truly a fitting setting for the original heroine’s friend!

‘And now, she’s my collaborator!’

As I waited with a pounding heart, people carrying their luggage came out.

At the very front was a woman with black hair and golden eyes, wearing glasses that gave her a sharp, intelligent look. She wore modest-colored clothes and had her hair tightly tied into a single braid, but the air around her was anything but ordinary.

“Jacky!”

“Sherry.”

She was Jacqueline Celeste.

‘Huh? But we’re outside the magic barrier—how can I hear Jacqueline’s voice?’

Normally, I shouldn’t be able to hear anything.

Just as I was about to doubt the barrier’s performance, Zero pointed at himself with his staff and bragged.

「It’s me, me! The barrier is set so voices don’t pass outside, but since it’s me, I can make it work. Ahem!」

‘Ooh, that’s amazing.’

Out of habit, I added some quick flattery and watched the two young ladies reunite.

Sherry waved her hand excitedly.

Seeing her, Jacqueline burst into a smile.

“How did you end up up there?”

“We climbed up so we wouldn’t bump into wandering zombies. Even if we erased our presence and scent, if we collided with one… it’d turn into total chaos.”

“Oh my, really?”

We were sitting on top of the marquis estate’s wall.

Before Jacqueline came out—right when we arrived in front of the Celeste estate—

Even though Ruth had cast a stealth spell, there were simply too many zombies roaming around to just stand calmly in front of the main gate.

“Graaaargh….”

“Uuugh….”

“Grrr….”

‘Ugh, please don’t come this way!’

If we collided with a zombie and they noticed us, it would be over. So as a last resort, we climbed onto the wall and plopped down.

The marquis estate’s wall was fairly high, but we had the all-purpose mage, Ruth.

『O wind, lift us up.』

All hail magic spells. All hail Ruth.

“Being a mage sure is hard work.”

“Still, it’s better when you’re not doing it alone.”

Ruth grinned and gestured toward Benedict.

“Thanks, Ben.”

“…It’s thanks to the spirits.”

Benedict could also use something similar to flight magic.

【Wind, lift us high.】

Having formed a contract with wind spirits, Benedict used their power to easily raise the group onto the wall.

‘It really feels like we’re thieves.’

「What kind of thief sits on a wall waiting for the homeowner?」

‘I’m just saying!’

While Zero and I bickered, Jacqueline seemed to get impatient and pointed toward the top of the magic barrier.

Reading her lips, Ruth said,

“She says she’ll open a hole at the top, like we did at the Damon estate, so we should come that way.”

“Is that okay, Ruth? You won’t run short on mana, right?”

At my question, Ruth looked at the people gathering on the marquis estate’s lawn and answered firmly.

“The number of survivors in the Celeste estate is forty-nine. That’s within the range I can handle, so this additional mana cost is fine.”

“Then… please do.”

“If possible, you should share the burden with Ben as well.”

Ah, right. Since Benedict could use similar magic, it would reduce the strain.

Relieved, I smiled.

“Oh, you can handle fine control with spirit magic too? Then I won’t hesitate—Benedict, I’ll ask you as well.”

Benedict sat expressionless among the spirits, which sparkled within a mysterious, subtle light.

“Benedict, if a hole opens at the top of the magic barrier, can you help Ruth and bring us over?”

Benedict exchanged a few words with the spirits in their spirit language, then nodded in response to my question.

“I can do it.”

“Then please help us!”

Jacqueline fixed her gaze on us and pointed upward, almost hopping in place as she did.

‘Now.’

When I looked at the top of the magic barrier, I could see a hole slowly forming.

“Ruth, Benedict!”

The two of them made OK signs with their hands.

“O wind, carry us inside.”

【Spirits of wind, please help us.】

Soon, our bodies floated up like soap bubbles, and one by one, we passed through the hole at the top of the barrier.

All seventeen of us landed safely on the lawn of the Celeste marquis estate, without leaving anyone behind.

“Phew, what a relief.”

“I feel like I aged ten years….”

“They didn’t notice us, but seeing zombies up close like that… it was terrifying.”

As the servants of the Damon ducal household chattered while calming their pounding hearts, Jacqueline ran over and hugged Sherry.

“Sherry! I really… really missed you.”

“…Me too, Jackie.”

Jacqueline was two heads taller than Sherry, so it looked like she was enveloping her in a hug, but neither of them cared about such small details as they shared the joy of reuniting.

“I thought I’d never see you again….”

“Yeah, I thought so too, but apparently not. They say even if the sky collapses, there’s always a way out. Old sayings really aren’t wrong.”

As the two women started chatting face to face after so long, I cleared my throat and looked around.

“Ahem.”

“Oh my, I completely lost track of myself.”

Jacqueline brought her family forward and greeted me.

“It’s been a while, Duke Elizabeth Keaton. This is our first time meeting since you became a duke.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“The people behind me are my family.”

After greeting me properly, she introduced them one by one.

“This is my father, Marquis Nigel Celeste.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you like this, new Duke of Keaton.”

“The pleasure is mine.”

We exchanged a formal handshake.

“This is my mother, Marchioness Vanessa Celeste.”

“Thank you for risking your life to come save us, Duke Keaton. I truly admire your bravery.”

Marchioness Vanessa held my hand tightly and thanked me several times.

「She seems especially grateful because she’s been mentally and physically worn down.」

Well, being trapped inside like livestock and unable to go out couldn’t have been a pleasant experience.

“It was nothing. It was simply what needed to be done.”

When I smiled gently as I spoke, the marchioness seemed to take a liking to me.

“My, and you’re humble as well. I suppose all those rumors going around high society were false.”

No… they were probably true. Just not anymore.

After giving an awkward smile, I was introduced to the last family member.

“This is my younger sister, Jessica. Jessica? Greet Duke Keaton.”

“H-hello… I-I’m Jessica.”

She looked just like Jacqueline, but her personality was the complete opposite—her twin sister, Jessica.

The easiest way to tell them apart was their eyes. Jacqueline had red eyes, while Jessica’s were green.

“Th-thank you for coming to save us.”

After saying only that, Jessica quickly hid behind Jacqueline.

Jacqueline hugged her twin protectively and said,

“Jessica is very shy around strangers. My sister is timid, so please understand.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

At my words, Jacqueline’s eyes lit up.

“…You’re the first person besides Siena and Sherry who’s treated Jessica normally after meeting her. Other nobles would meet her, then mock her stutter behind her back.”

「If you’d picked on Jessica’s way of speaking, she might’ve chased you out with magic on the spot. She really treasures her sister. You behaved well.」

‘Uh… I was just trying to get back to the Keaton estate as soon as possible.’

「If luck stats showed up on a status window, yours would be at least A-rank.」

If I were that lucky, shouldn’t I not have ended up in a zombie apocalypse romance fantasy in the first place?

Anyway, I decided to be grateful for the accidental good luck.

“You’ve all packed everything you need, right? Please tell me you only brought necessities—food, water, and daily supplies. Everything else will just be a burden.”

Taking luxury items like jewelry while evacuating would be foolish. They’d only add weight.

At my words, no one seemed to be carrying unnecessary items.

“Don’t worry about that. I made sure to give strict instructions to my family.”

The Celeste marquis family had a history just as long as the Damon ducal house.

Leaving behind the vast wealth their family had built couldn’t have been easy, but they readily abandoned everything unnecessary for survival.

“Our ancestors came from a foreign land and settled in the Empire. ‘As long as you survive, there’s nothing you can’t overcome’—that’s our family motto.”

There was no sign of fear in Jacqueline’s firm, composed voice.

「Impressive. Since she’s basically the real leader of this family, she’s trying not to show any anxiety. It’s admirable.」

Even Zero applauded Jacqueline in admiration.

“Then let’s depart as we are. Ruth!”

Just as Ruth was about to cast the spell, my eyes met someone else’s.

A man with the same black hair as the Celeste family members—but with cold, deep crimson eyes.