The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 89

Of course, the two of them couldn’t even go on a date, let alone have an outing that resembled one, until the day they left Pedina City.

It’s only natural. With the whole country collapsing due to zombies, what kind of place would there be in this ominous city for a man and woman to set a romantic mood?

On top of that, Esmela was completely focused on preparing to leave for the north after finally getting a clue about her father’s whereabouts, so Lanit was busy running around to gather various supplies for the journey without much help.

He spent an entire day making the rounds, from typical merchants to the black market where trades happened secretly for goods that couldn’t be shown in public due to various circumstances. Finally, he met up with Esmela in the evening to brief her on what had happened that day before going straight to bed.

Aside from that, he entertained the guests that came to visit: Arit (who visited Esmela almost daily, spending hours engaging her in conversation, often glancing at her with a sad look), Lopez (who occasionally came along with Arit, and after chatting with Esmela, would ask Lanit for a swordsmanship duel when he grew bored of sticking close to Esmela), and Mayor Peltion (who mostly visited with some purpose in mind, typically requesting the elimination of the dangerous zombies in the area. It seemed that after the decision to leave Pedina City, they had given up trying to keep them around, yet he still subtly nudged them to settle down every now and then with a hint of regret).

In any case, time passed quickly without the opportunity for casual chit-chat, and the only time Lanit and Esmela could leisurely drink tea and talk was on the night before their departure.

After finally checking off all the last details with the mayor and Lopez, they all had dinner together once Arit joined them late at night.

Lanit went upstairs to Esmela’s bedroom after she called for him.

Politely knocking, he entered the room to find a steaming teapot and two teacups placed across from each other on the table.

“I’m not serving snacks since it’s late.”

Lanit was a bit surprised by this unexpected situation.

After being cooped up in the royal capital for three years spending time together, the distance between them had shrunk to a point where it was hard to categorize their relationship as merely that of a servant and his master.

It was common for him to enter her bedroom at night without hesitation and for them to enjoy tea together while gazing at the dark night sky.

However, since Lanit had always prepared the tea, it felt oddly uncomfortable to him that this time, Esmela was preparing it for him.

“Why don’t you sit?”

Following her words, Lanit took a seat across from her.

Swish…

As he watched Esmela elegantly pouring the tea, he couldn’t hold back and spoke up first.

“This is a first. The Young Lady is actually preparing tea for me.”

“Today, I just had that thought.”

“What thought?”

“That I might be able to brew tea better than you. Try it.”

Feeling somewhat offended as a butler by Esmela’s usual sharp retort, Lanit picked up the steaming cup and drank it down in one go.

He almost spit it out from the heat but managed to hold it in, waiting for the scorching sensation on the roof of his mouth and tongue to subside…

“…It’s good?”

He praised without realizing it.

Annoyingly enough, Esmela’s chamomile tea was incredibly well-made—enough to extract flavor but not too much to lose its aroma, brewed at a perfect timing so it wouldn’t scald the first sip.

“Of course. I’ve been trained in etiquette to handle all situations since I was young. Naturally, mastering tea brewing— the basics of afternoon tea— came early.”

Esmela took a sip of her tea as if she expected his reaction.

“Of course, it’s nothing compared to the tea brewed by a butler who’s just crammed a few years of training.”

“…”

He wanted to argue but had nothing to say, so Lanit merely pouted and sipped her chamomile tea.

“Oh? So you at least know your place, it seems. Not speaking, I take it.”

“…Did you call me out here just to mock my tea brewing skills tonight?”

“Who knows?”

Esmela continued savoring her tea with that infuriating attitude.

‘She seemed to be treating me better lately, but today her actions keep reminding me of that arrogant side of her from the past.’

Lanit briefly pondered why Esmela was acting this way.

As Esmela sipped her tea, and Lanit lost in thought, a silence stretched between them for several seconds…

Lanit finally came to a conclusion and immediately put his thoughts into action.

“Well, I finished my tea, so I’ll take my leave.”

He stood up from the chair, making a screeching noise.

“Uhm?”

“Have a good night.”

Esmela looked startled as she saw Lanit bowing his head.

“Wait, are you leaving already?”

“You don’t have anything important to say, do you? We have to leave early tomorrow, and you should get some sleep too.”

As he turned to leave, Esmela’s urgent voice stopped him.

“Don’t go!”

When Lanit turned back with a stiff face, he saw Esmela’s baffled expression.

“…I have something to say, so sit down.”

Trying to maintain a poker face, but secretly enjoying watching her react just as he predicted, Lanit returned to his chair.

“…Ahem. Ahem…”

After finally getting Lanit to sit, Esmela hesitated for a long while to get to the point.

Lanit just sat there admiring her flustered state.

Finally, her red lips slowly opened…

“So, um…”

“Yes?”

“…Thank you.”

“What?”

“For staying by my side all this time, thank you. And…”

“…”

“…I hope you’ll look after me from now on as well.”

“…Heh.”

“Why are you laughing? What’s so funny? Are you ignoring the gratitude of Lady Esmela Herta right now?”

Esmela stood up, her face flushed, and shouted at Lanit.

“No, that’s not it. Seriously, was that gratitude really that hard for you to say?”

“Hmph.”

Esmela turned her head and crossed her arms, sitting down heavily in her seat.

The candlelight softly illuminating her sulking figure felt irresistibly lovely to Lanit.

Early in the morning, both dressed for adventure with a bag slung over their backs, the two of them began to walk towards the Northern Entrance of Pedina City.

The streets were still shrouded in a light mist as the sun had yet to rise.

As they walked in silence, the city they passed by, not yet awake, had regained its calm and peaceful original appearance rather than the usual gloomy and ominous atmosphere.

Thirty minutes after they left the inn,

“Esmela! Lanit!”

Kelya, who had been waiting in front of the entrance, spotted them and started bouncing up and down, waving her arms.

Next to her was a cart full of supplies, with two horses scratching the ground with their hooves.

Following Esmela’s request, Kelya was in charge of transporting the three of them for this journey.

Of course, she wouldn’t be going deep into the northern regions but would only take them to the border area. Still, that alone would be a great help in navigating the treacherous journey ahead.

“Good morning, Kelya.”

“Yes! Good morning, Lanit! And good morning, Esmela!”

“Yeah.”

The three of them exchanged morning greetings.

“By the way, has Arit not arrived yet?”

Lanit asked Kelya while glancing around.

“No, I’ve been waiting alone all this time.”

“That’s strange. Arit wouldn’t break her promise regarding time.”

Esmela said, puzzled.

A moment later, the sound of hurried footsteps approached through the mist, and

“I’m sorry I’m late!”

Arit burst through the fog, running alongside Count Lopez.

“It’s unusual for you to be late. What happened?”

“Well…”

At Esmela’s question, Arit stole a glance at Lopez.

“It’s my fault, sorry. I held Arit up because I was chatting with her for a bit…”

“Hmm.”

Lanit expected Arit to fire back a few retorts, but surprisingly, Esmela let it slide without a word.

Did she understand the count’s concern for his beloved preparing to leave on a dangerous journey?

“What about Baron Peltion? Didn’t he say he would come to see you off?”

“Ah… An emergency arose yesterday morning, and the mayor stayed up all night dealing with it. He probably couldn’t fight off the fatigue and ended up dozing off.”

“Well, that’s fine.”

Esmela replied nonchalantly as she unclasped her bag on her back and headed into the carriage’s rear section.

The last moment before they left.

Esmela and Lanit checked the luggage loaded onto the cart one last time.

Arit simply smiled at the worried count, who was fussing over her with loving admonitions, while holding her palms tightly together.

Kelya inspected the horses and thoroughly checked whether the cart had any damaged parts once more.

And just as that grace period ended—

“Take care, Arit! Esmela! And please take care of both of them, Lanit!”

With Count Lopez’s anxious shout trailing behind them, the cart began to dash towards the cold northern territory of House Larson.