Leaving the sorrowful Zero behind and sighing deeply, I could see the anxious servants gathered in the spacious garden of the duke’s mansion.

“Ah, Miss Elizabeth… If the duke has passed away, what shall we do now?”

“The magic stone that keeps the emergency barrier up will eventually corrode…”

“But more urgently, the main problem is the supply of food. We cannot go outside, so if we continue like this, we may soon all starve to death.”

The butler, the steward, the head chef, and others were greatly perturbed and looked to me for a hopeful answer. The look in their eyes, wanting me to fill the duke’s void, was almost burdensome.

‘Just a short while ago, I was nothing more than a burden to this duchy, neither more nor less.’

But what is this gaze full of expectation? These sparkling eyes that look at me not as a broom carelessly left behind, but as the main pillar to hold up this house, what are they?

“If the duke has become what you call a zombie, then undoubtedly, the master of the Keaton Duchy is now Miss Elizabeth.”

The butler took the lead. In a situation where the duke was practically considered dead, the duchess had long passed away, and I was the only heir in the house, so it was a natural conclusion.

“You must now command us as the next Duchess of Keaton.”

“What should we do, Your Grace!”

“Uh, uh…”

I was taken aback. Perhaps due to their pride in having worked in the main mansion for a long time, the servants of the duchy did not like Elizabeth, who was known as the troublemaker and wicked woman of the house.

‘To be honest, I knew there would be a huge mess in the duchy.’

What is this docile, puppylike attitude?

Zero cleared his throat and answered regarding that.

“I used some possessed buff.”

‘You did?’

“It’s essential to have allies to solve this zombie crisis. You’ve come through the outside where even the duke couldn’t return alive. I made you look like a savior. To them, you must look like a golden rope that will break through this hellish situation.”

‘What are you, you brat?’

“It’s not a bad deal. Let’s use the duchy as a base and fight off the zombies!”

Indeed, when I checked the status window, several strange phrases appeared.

[Helper Zero has gifted trust and fame to the possessor!] [Elizabeth Keaton’s trust and fame increase by 30 each!] [With the increase in trust and fame, the loyalty of the servants working within the duchy increases.]

I quietly closed the status window and glanced at the duchy.

The Keaton Duchy was a majestic and beautiful building befitting a mansion located in the capital’s center. The mansion, built from rare minerals of cream and lavender colors, was so beautiful that it earned the nickname ‘Scent of Roses.’

The wellmaintained green lawn, lovely garden, fountains with graceful angel statues on the quiet threestory lavender mansion.

Using such a frilly mansion as a fortress to fight off zombies?

‘It’s easier said than done!’

The holy water stolen from the Pope felt unbearably heavy. It was a mere temporary solution. According to Zero, the holy water could only paralyze the zombies, and to kill them, one had to destroy their heads.

“If you said you wanted to go home, you should keep your initial promise. If you don’t, I’m not obligated to take you home.”

This rat bastard.

I had to suppress my rising anger. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. I had to solve this damned romantic zombie situation to go home.

I took a deep breath and gave the servants my first command.

“First, it seems the barrier has suffered a lot of damage, so replace the magic stone first. Then, there are some things I need you to make in the workshop.”

“What are they?”

“Water guns. Or sprayers.”

“Eh? Water guns and sprayers? I’ve never heard of such things before…”

“That’s why you have to make them.”

“What are you planning to use them for in the mansion?”

“To fight off zombies.”

“Eh?”

To the parrotlike butler who kept repeating the same words, I held out the heavy jug of holy water.
“This, Holy Water. Keep it safe. You need to load it into water guns and sprayers and shoot it.”

“Huh? Ah, no, the Holy Water is from where…”

“I stole it from the temple.”

“Huhhhh?”

The butler’s jaw and soul were about to fall out simultaneously at my overly confident attitude. A sound of sobbing that the Duke’s family’s honor had plummeted to the ground was also heard.

I spoke as I lifted his gaping jaw back up.

“I asked the temple for help, but they didn’t listen, so I took it ‘for us’. So don’t worry too much.”

‘It’s not entirely a lie, so this excuse should be fine.’

I thought it would be okay to twist such blame, since I was a Pope who wanted to turn a crisis into an opportunity. The servants, including the butler, were at a loss at my words, but soon changed their attitudes and flattered me, saying that I did well.

“It’s good that the Lady of the Duke’s family, who requested help for the people, was rejected. Rather, it’s better!”