The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 86

“Arit!”

Esmela was taken by surprise as someone suddenly burst into the room and dashed towards her, throwing themselves into her arms.

But soon after noticing the face of the clergy woman in her embrace, Esmela smiled warmly and called out her name with joy.

“Oh, oh…! Lady Esmela… I’m so, so relieved… And I’m sorry… I should have followed you back then… sniff…”

“Have you really been blaming yourself for three years over that? You didn’t do anything wrong. Now, stop crying…”

With her golden eyes looking up at Esmela, she gently wiped the tears that welled up at the corners of Arit’s eyes with her thumb.

It was an unexpected reunion.

A few steps back from this touching scene, Lanit watched the two with a satisfied smile.

While he too was happy to see Arit again, he didn’t want to interrupt their reunion at that moment.

“This is quite…”

At that moment, the mayor’s voice coming from the doorway grabbed Lanit’s attention.

“I understand the Saintess’s eagerness to meet Lady Esmela, but couldn’t you just wait a little bit…? What if Lady Esmela was not in a situation to let anyone else into the room…?”

The mayor repeatedly wiped the sweat from his forehead with an old, tattered handkerchief pulled from his pocket, sneaking glances at Lanit as he spoke.

‘Look at this guy. What on earth is he thinking right now…’

“Now, now. Count Peltion. Let’s not nitpick such minor details during this touching reunion.”

And then came a strange voice.

Distracted by Arit, Lanit only then became aware of the person’s presence.

As Lanit’s gaze locked onto the stranger’s face, the existence of the others in the room neatly faded from his mind.

Lanit’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.

“Ah… ah…”

His vocal cords struggled to form words, producing only a sort of groan.

“Let’s give these two a moment to bask in their reunion and then we can have a proper introduction.”

The uniform, symbolizing the Pereyeude family with its classic black and white contrast, had a golden cross emblem stitched onto the left shoulder.

As he took dignified steps towards Lanit, the dark blue hair tied back lightly fluttered with each step.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lopez Pereyude, head of the Pereyude family. You’re Esmela’s personal butler, Lanit, correct?”

Lanit looked at the outstretched right hand, then raised his head to meet Lopez’s gaze.

Sharp yet playful eyes glimmered with noble confidence, its corners forming a lively smile.

“…”

Lanit could only stare blankly at Lopez’s handsome face without saying a word.

“…You don’t want to shake hands?”

As Lopez awkwardly began to retract his outstretched hand, Lanit hurriedly wrapped both of his hands around Lopez’s right hand.

“No! Not at all! It’s truly a pleasure to meet you! I never thought I’d actually get to see you, I was just startled! I’m a fan!”

Lanit emphasized his words with an unnatural intonation.

“Uh, oh. I see. That’s a bit surprising—didn’t know I had fans. Ha ha.”

Count Lopez, though flustered, maintained his noble composure and calmly accepted Lanit’s bluster.

“Yes! Out of all the male leads in [Roinah], you’re the best…”

Lanit, excitedly spitting out words like a machine gun, suddenly realized what he was saying, shut his mouth in a hurry.

‘Ah, I messed up…’

“Uh? What did you just say? Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Ro… what?”

“Uh, uh…”

Lanit’s mind went blank.

Unable to respond properly and just mumbling, a hint of suspicion began to appear in Lopez’s gaze.

“Uh, Lanit.”

At just the right moment, Esmela stepped in to separate the two.

“Have you greeted Arit yet, Esmela?”

“Thanks to you, yes. Though I see you’ve grown some consideration during the time we’ve been apart.”

“People change over time, but your biting remarks haven’t changed at all.”

“Hmph.”

As Lopez chatted with Esmela, Lanit withdrew slightly, exhaling a huge sigh as he recalled his earlier blunder.

‘I almost made a huge mistake. I was close to making meta comments in front of a character…’

He shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if Esmela hadn’t intervened and Lopez had continued to press him.

Of course, there was a reason behind Lanit’s recent behavior.

After spending three years struggling to survive among zombies in the royal capital, Lanit had gradually stopped recalling his first life.

Then suddenly encountering Lopez Pereyude, the sub-male lead from [Romance in Arkesia~ The Four Jewels], awakened the dormant side of him as ‘[Roinah] enthusiast Park Tae-han.’

With both his identities of ‘Lanit’ and ‘Park Tae-han’ colliding and spinning in confusion, he blurted out whatever came to mind thinking he needed to respond to Lopez.

‘Get a grip, man. You are Lanit, Esmela Herta’s personal butler.’

Lanit lightly slapped his cheeks with both hands.

“Um, Lady Lanit.”

At that moment, Arit, who had cautiously approached him, spoke up.

“It’s been a long time. Lady Arit.”

Lanit greeted Arit with a polite smile, successfully fulfilling his duty as a butler this time.

“I’m sorry. I got so focused on Lady Esmela that I temporarily forgot about you, Lanit…”

“Haha. I’m fine, so no need to worry.”

“I’m really glad to see you safe, Lanit. If anything had happened to you two… ah…”

As she engaged in conversation with Lanit, Arit’s emotions swelled again and she began to well up.

‘Looks like Esmela managed to calm her down just in time.’

“But hey, both you and the Young Lady are back safe, right? Let’s stop dwelling on the past and enjoy this happy moment.”

“…Yes! You’re right, Lanit. We should offer prayers of gratitude to Mitri for allowing us to reunite like this.”

She made an effort to show a bright smile at Lanit before clasping her hands in prayer as always.

Lanit looked at her with a warm smile.

“Thinking about it, it’s frustrating. Lopez, you knew I was trapped in the royal capital all this time and you did nothing?”

“No, which noble would daresay they could lift the royal order of quarantine… Furthermore, how could I break the barrier installed in the magic tower? I suffered tremendously trying to keep the zombies at bay, supporting the royal family, while looking for ways to enter the royal capital…”

In the midst of their conversation, Esmela began to jab her finger at Lopez, while he gradually retreated under the pressure, desperately making excuses.

“Um… guys?”

Peltion, the mayor, appeared as if he were a forgotten ordinary sack of grain, turning his head this way and that, unable to insert himself into the conversation.

“Ahem. Finally, after a long time of waiting, I am genuinely pleased to be a witness to this momentous occasion of the three of you reuniting.”

As the atmosphere in the bedroom finally calmed down, Lord Peltion coughed loudly to capture everyone’s attention.

“Please, take your time to catch up. I’ll excuse myself as a third party. If needed, I can clear the reception room at the mayor’s residence.”

“No need for that, my lord. It would be better to stay here and talk. Just prepare some refreshments. Ah, it seems we might be short on chairs too.”

“Understood. I’ll bring whatever is needed right away.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry for dropping by suddenly without notice.”

“It’s nothing. Then, I’ll take my leave…”

With those words, the mayor gave a respectful bow to Lopez before leaving the room.

A few minutes later, a trolley with a simple assortment of snacks and a tea set, along with two chairs, was delivered to the bedroom.

Lopez first suggested that Lanit join him to sit, but Lanit politely declined.

As Esmela’s personal butler, it was more important for him to host guests without bringing disgrace to the House of Herta.

*whoosh-*

Lanit elegantly poured tea into three cups with graceful movements and carefully placed them in front of the three without making any noise.

After bowing politely to Lopez and Arit, he stepped behind Esmela, causing the gazes of the two, who were looking at him, to shift toward her.

Ahem. Clearing her throat softly to gather everyone’s attention, Esmela began to speak.

“I’m really glad to see both of you like this. There’s so much I want to say, yet I don’t know where to start.”

“There’s no need to overthink this. Let’s just talk about what’s happened in our lives,” Lopez replied with a grin.

“Honestly, I’m dying to know. How on earth have you two survived in the royal capital?”