Zombie Queen transmigration into a book
Chapter 77: At least I have food

Chapter 77: At least I have food

Selina shrank away from him as soon as he let go of her hands, a chill ran down her spine at his words. Her gaze fixed on the door, desperately searching for an escape.

"You will follow me to the dungeon tomorrow. You may leave now." Selina didn’t hesitate; she hurriedly opened the door, but just as she was about to dash out, Caiden’s final words made her legs buckle in fear.

"I will find you. By then, make sure you’ve thought of your answer." Caiden gestured toward her hand with a slight nod.

The driver closed the door, and they drove off, leaving Selina’s trembling form behind.

She collapsed onto the cold floor, clutching herself as tears streamed down her face.

She never wanted to see that man again, but deep down, she knew it was impossible—she had already caught the devil’s attention.

In a dimly lit room, ten people gathered around a round table, their expressions serious as they waited for the meeting to begin.

"We are gathered to discuss the next actions we take concerning the breathforge." The leader began and the room fell into a tense silence for a second before everyone started talking all at once.

"That Administrator Grace doesn’t know what’s good for her. We are doing this for the masses." One added with an angry slam on the table.

What was so bad in reducing the masses and conserving enough air.

"The faster we reduce the number of people, the longer the breath forge will last till a solution is found." Another person added.

"But she has put a stop to our plans; every city checkpoint is being guarded by her people. How are we going to act?" One asked the question weighing on everybody’s mind.

The room grew quiet, everyone deep in thought until a man suggested a plan which was so sinister and dangerous.

"Why don’t we spread the news about the Breathforge failure to the public? Incite them by telling them that the fewer people breathe, the more air will remain in the Breathforge." His words echoed eerily through the room.

Their eyes brightened at that thought; they wouldn’t waste any manpower, letting the lower class do the work.

"Excellent plan. Inform the other noble clans in the city. It must be executed perfectly and immediately. Don’t leave any chance for Grace and the others to recover," the leader said, his voice trembling with excitement.

’If this plan succeeds, we noble clans will have a better chance of surviving until the scientists find a solution,’ he thought. His true feelings and their real goal were hidden beneath the hypocritical guise of saving the masses.

They would come to deeply regret this once things escalated beyond the point of no return.

The meeting came to an end. They left the room to quickly inform the others about the plan.

Various letters were sent across the cities by train or through speedsters.

As undercurrents brewed silently, the city remained unnervingly calm, with dungeon raiders entering to claim their beast eggs.

Meanwhile, in space, Eva was sprawled on the bed, her legs dangling at the edge as she yawned in boredom.

The food on the sofa was reduced by half, Ethan was finishing up the remaining field, and Julian was practising his powers with his beast.

Eva missed her novels. She didn’t even know if this world had anything like them. Turning to the other side, she called out to Ethan, breaking the silence first.

Ethan dropped his rake at her call, relieved that she had finally stopped ignoring him. He sat in the empty space on the bed.

Eva moved close, propping her hand on his shoulder, "Is there a place they sell novels, storybooks?" She asked, impatient for his response.

Ethan thought hard, but he couldn’t remember the city having storybooks or novels as she said only school books which were rare because of the lack of trees.

Eva’s hopeful gaze dimmed as he shook his head. She flopped back onto the bed in disappointment. ’What did I expect?’

Everyone here is either busy with dungeon raids or struggling with menial jobs just to survive the high cost of living. Who would even have the time to write a novel?

"Haa.... I’m so bored, what do you do for fun?" She turned to Ethan and asked, shifting to give him space to lie beside her.

"Hmm, I spar with Julian or raid dungeons," Ethan said before falling silent, realizing there was nothing particularly fun about his routine.

He wasn’t interested in socialite parties. He and Julian had been living like this until Eva arrived.

His lips curled slightly, and he ran his hands through her hair, pushing her strand between her ears.

Eva waited, but when he didn’t continue, she turned to him in surprise. "Don’t tell me you’re done." Her eyes widened as he nodded, and a sense of doom settled over her.

She imagined living like them—sparring, dungeon raiding (if they would ever be one)—just repeating the same routine over and over again.

She shuddered, but when her gaze landed on the remaining food, she relaxed slightly. ’At least I have food,’ she thought.

Her gaze lingered on Ethan’s handsome face, and added, ’And my husbands. It wasn’t so bad.’

She lay her head against his shoulder and stared at the cloudless blue sky of her space.

"I never asked—when will I meet your parents? We’re married, you know. Or are you orphaned like me?" She asked, her playful expression shifting.

Now that she asked what came to mind, she suddenly realized she knew nothing about both of them. They married too fast, but she doesn’t regret it.

Ethan froze at her words, the mention of his family causing his mood to sink. "They don’t matter—only Uncle Stone," he muttered, his tone devoid of warmth, though his hands remained gentle as he caressed her hair.

Eva straightened slightly, looking at his expression. "How bad is your relationship with them? On a scale of one to ten?" Eva asked seriously, wanting to know.

"Hundred," Ethan said in a whisper and watched her face scrunched up in thoughts. He couldn’t help but pinch her cheeks.

Eva mentally noted it down, crossing his parents bad in her mind. "Is it the same for Julian?" she asked, her words muffled by Ethan pinching her cheeks.

"Julian grew up with me. Though he’s an orphan, he’s my sworn brother," Ethan said, his voice softening with warmth.

Eva was taken aback but nodded, settling back into his arms. She didn’t ask anything else about his family, which surprised him, and he couldn’t help but ask.

"Don’t you want to know why my relationship with those people is so bad?" Though he really didn’t want to open old wounds.

"Do you want to tell me now?" Eva asked staring into his eyes. Ethan grew mute and Eva nodded calmly, "When you’re ready to tell me, I’m all ears."

Ethan was enthralled by her serious demeanour, but it was short-lived by her next question.

Eva straightened up slightly, her gaze darting around for Julian. Noticing he was out of earshot, she relaxed—but the moment her eyes left him, Julian crept closer, curiosity piqued by her suspicious behaviour.

She turned to Ethan, clearing her throat to hide the curiosity in her eyes. "Have you had feelings for Julian other than brotherly love? You can tell me your secret is safe—" Her words were interrupted by a loud thud.

She looked over to see Julian face down on the ground.

"???"

Ethan was dumbfounded, speechless at her words, his face contorting in disgust at the thought of him and Julian together.