The Villainess and I, her Zombie

"Ghhh..! Kghhh...!"

Fillia lifted herself up slightly, supporting her body on one elbow while massaging her neck.

Both her throat and eyes felt as if they had been set on fire and she couldn't stop coughing while tears kept flowing down her face despite her not feeling particularly moved.

Honestly, she barely remembered what happened.

She entered the room, saw the blue undead just chilling there, then he suddenly attacked her and pinned her to the door, and then...

...she realized ha she was sprawled on the floor in a rather compromising position while Zombie was kneeling a few steps away from her, clearly heartbroken.

...what even happened...?

"..."

Suddenly, the blue undead flinched and turned around to glance at her.

Their eyes meet for a second, and Fillia felt her heart beating faster.

"...I apologize. You do not deserve to be punished for something that happened in the different playthrough..."

The blue undead sighed and lowered his head to her apologetically.

"I-it's... khe...! It's fine. Kyaah...!"

Fillia coughed and waved her hand dismissively, sitting up and flinched suddenly – both because she realized that she is in her original form as well that her pajama pants were soaking wet.

"...oh, the water from the broken jug..."

Zombie muttered all meek, stood up, and helped the sickly girl stand up.

"...y-yes...! Water...! Just water!"

Fillia nodded vigorously and blushed from embarrassment.

"I shouldn't have come here today..."

"...?"

Zombie muttered, pulling the girl out from her own little world and making her furrow her brows in confusion.

"That's right – why are you even here...?! And how come you know who I am?! I never showed nor introduced myself to you like this!"

Fillia noded in realization and waved her hands around showcasing her looks.

"Wait- no! Don't look at me! I look hideous...!"

She suddenly realized what she was doing and gasped while covering her face with both arms.

"Have you not seen other members of your house? And even putting the close relationship of your relatives aside, you aren't even ugly considering the healthy standards."

Zombie looked at her and raised his brow while shrugging his shoulders.

"...wh-what...?"

The girl flinched and lowered her arms slightly.

"There's more than just one standard of beauty, you know? Porcelain dolls aren't that attractive, to begin with - take Cranberry for example... ah..."

Zombie added looking away with a dispirited face.

"..."

For a moment Fillia seemed like she was going to ask him whether he thinks she is pretty, but then she shook her and lowered her arms.

"Alright. Could you answer my previous questions?"

She breathed out and asked – not even realizing how quickly she got used to Zombie knowing her biggest secret that could threaten her entire family's position in the kingdom, and how little did that bother her.

"I'm here to get into your basement."

"...!"

Once again, Zombie answered indifferently, but his words caused the greatest reaction yet.

"You..! You can't!"

Fillia gasped with disbelief.

"There will be no point in doing so – Even if the elves escape, nothing will happen! No, this is such a bad idea – they might even kill themselves in an attempt to expose my family!"

"..."

Zombie looked at her and blinked a few times...

...why did it sound as if she was actually worried about the captured elves...?

"If they wanted to kill themselves they would bite off their tongues the moment anyone from your family came close – I don't think that it will be that bad."

Zombie spoke calmly – as expected of an undead speaking about the possible death of the living.

"...besides, I do not mean the first basement – I mean the one below."

He added in the same exact voice.

"...? The one below...? What are you talking about...?"

But the reaction to that was completely different than to the previous one.

Fillia tilted her head and furrowed her brows in absolute confusion.

"I see..."

With that, Zombie confirmed that only the avatar was aware of the real secret of the Envy family – maybe the knowledge was imparted from one avatar of envy to the other through the system's quests or something...

"Hey – if that's the case – if I promise you to not free the elves in the basement, will you help me get to the basement?"

The blue undead went ahead and straight-up asked the future villainess with a soft smile.

"...!"

Fillia blushed and fidgetted.

"Why would you want to go there if not to help the elves?"

She asked timidly, sounding more as if she wanted to continue the conversation while having no interest in the actual answer.

"It's about that lower level I mentioned before. Are you willing to help me out? Please?"

The blue undead switched from the sulking heartbroken mode straight into the mission-focused one and firmly grabbed Fillia's shoulders.

"...I don't know..."

She hesitated with a worried face...

"Please..."

"Ah! Of course!"

But that hesitation lasted only until the black eyes of the stone-hearted undead flashed with a pale blue light for a split second and any doubt was blown away from Fillia's mind.

The ease with what the blue undead bounced back from straight-up depression right into the all means necessary mode must have been staggering for anyone who wasn't aware of the properties of the passive skill called machine mind that Zombie received as a special reward.

With that skill, no matter what error or disturbance occurred, it would all be returned to the default setting just like resetting a machine back to the default setting.

Funnily enough – machine mind was the perfect countermeasure for Zombie's newest lust-based skill, mindbreak, but that information would not be necessary until the story would progress a little more.

"Good. You're such a helpful girl, Fillia. I will have to make you get your father and most of your family away from the mansion... preferably away from the city..."

Zombie added, gently swiping the girl's fringe away from her forehead to have a better look at her face – which made Fillia's heart flutter.

"O-of course...! I'll ask Carambola – he will definitely figure something out!"

She declared with a bright smile.

"That sounds amazing. I will be waiting in the weapon shop run by the little kobold. Contact me whenever you'll have a plan ready."

Zombie smiled and gently touched Fillia's chin to make her face up.

"...the more I look at you the cuter you look, you know...?"

He murmured, purposefully making his voice sound like he was letting his thought slip subconsciously – which the girl unused to hearing such compliments could not recognize as a part of Zombie's scheme and blushed, looking down bashfully.

"By the way... Where is the old kobold? That kid's grandfather – he was taken by a group of Envys two weeks ago together with a bunch of weapons from his shop."

He asked – remembering the rather odd absence of the life signature of the missing person.

"...old kobold...? Ah – My uncle wanted a very specific weapon made so he sent it out for him, but the kobold couldn't do it, so uncle got angry and killed him."

"..."

She answered rather casually, with her head still fuzzy from the lust-based skill that Zombie used against her – which caused the blue undead to frown and glare down at her.

"That's bad, right...?"

Fillia added hurriedly, expecting that this was the correct way to appeal to the blue undead.

"It is. But thank you for telling me. I must go now – contact me as soon as you'll finish the preparations."

Before Fillia raised her head, the scornful glare was exchanged with a soft smile and the blue undead briefly touched her face, gently caressing her cheek.

"...you could... stay... here..."

Fillia said timidly, but the blue undead only shook his head.

"Too dangerous, for you and for me. See you soon – close the window after I leave."

The blundered instructed her in a matter-of-fact voice and left – by opening the window and jumping through it into the night, of course.