The Villainess and I, her Zombie

The carriage was indeed ready and waiting for them to arrive – coupled with two domesticated monsters rained in to pull it since both of the original ones were dead.

Coincidentally, those turned out to be the exact same animals that Laura sold off four years prior.

Even after those four years it still looked like those were the best animals in the village – which was saying a lot about the penny-pinching citizens of the Greeds territory.

"The money from selling the raw materials from the other horse will be more than enough to cover for the cost of everything you did with it."

Lord Blackberry waved his hand benevolently and was about to enter the carriage before noticing a very important piece missing.

There was no coachperson.

"How is my coachman?"

The bespectacled man held back a sigh and asked.

"Old lady Apricot says he will be fine but he needs to rest. She said that concussions aren't that easy to heal and it will take him some time to recover."

One of the villagers was well informed on the matter and answered while bowing down unsure how they should act around someone so important.

"..."

Lord Blackberry raised his head and looked up into the sky.

"...why was I expecting that a high-level healer from this territory would want to settle in a village..."

He muttered to himself, making sure that neither Cranberry nor Zombie can see his annoyed expression.

"...?"

Then he flinched slightly realizing something.

"Say, Zombie... You wouldn't happen to know how to drive a carriage would you?"

The bespectacled man turned around asked with a hopeful smile.

"Daddy, no! He's staying with me!"

"Ah... of course, sweetie. I wouldn't make him leave your side... haa..."

But his smile faded as soon as he saw his red-haired daughter tightly wrapping herself around the blue boy's arm and make a very stubborn expression – she even glared at him for asking a loaded question like that!

"Truth to be told, I never held reins before, but I'm a fast learner, sir. The domesticated monsters always seemed to like me so it should be quite easy."

Yet out of everyone, Zombie was the very person who seemed to be okay with becoming the emergency coachperson.

"Ha?! But we won't be able to sit together if you'll do that!"

Cranberry cried out a complaint and clenched her hand on Zombie's palm, suddenly looking really sad.

"No, no. It's alright. I was just asking. I do that. You kids should just go in the carriage already."

Lord Blackberry shook his head and already grabbed the handle to pull himself on the coachperson's seat.

"No, sir, it's alright, you should be the one in the carriage with your daughter, I'm merely an undead so..."

Zombie tried to stop him but...

"You don't want to sit with me...?"

Cranberry tugged on his arm and asked with just the tiniest pout.

"!!!!!!"

Zombie nearly had a heart attack from the unexpected cuteness – even though his still heart was already getting cold as his body temperature finally was dropping to an undead monster level.

"Perish the thought! But please, understand it, princess, isn't it a knight's job to make his princess's life easier?"

The blue boy jumped to the explanation so fast that he almost bit off his tongue while talking, assuring the little girl and coming up with the best way to appease her.

|Oh, come on...! Zombie! Don't get fool by that girlie! Look! Look at how she's smirking seeing that her scheme has worked!|

Patience roared furiously in accusation, sounding as if she was pointing her finger at the red-haired girl nuzzling against the blue boy's shoulder.

"Stay with me... please...?"

The little girl fidgeted and asked cutely.

"..."

|Ah... you're right.|

Zombie flinched and admitted in realization.

|Whew, I was this close to locking her up all for myself, huh... She's dangerous for my sanity...|

The boy breathed out with relief.

|You what...?|

Patience gasped in disbelief at the thoughts she just read.

|Nothing, only that making her dependent on me would not save her in the end... As much as it annoys me...|

Zombie shrugged internally while on the outside he tilted his head and smiled gently.

|Again... WHAT?!|

Patience still had a hard time taking a confession like that in.

"Oh, but none of what was said here excludes the rest."

The blue boy raised Cranberry's hand locked with his own and closed it with his other one.

"Ha...?"

The red-haired girl gasped in confusion, furrowing her brows but didn't back off and instead waited for the boy to continue.

"..."

Similarly, Lord Blackberry had frozen with one leg up on the carriage's step waiting for the resolution.

"All of us can simply ride sitting on the driver's seat, right? It is more than wide enough."

Zombie simply pointed out a rather obvious thing.

"Yes, it is. But at the same time, it isn't as comfortable as the seats on the inside."

Lord Blackberry nodded but also made a counterpoint...

"Sir, your daughter probably doesn't leave the mansion grounds all too often, what's a little bit of discomfort when she will get to experience something fun and new."

...that was counter-countered right back at him by the little blue undead.

"...huh... well... for a child, driving a carriage might seem like good fun..."

The bespectacled man furrowed his brows, leaning to the side.

"Ah, fine. Sweetie. You'll be a tiebreaker. Do you want to spend the rest of the way up there with me and your familiar, or in the cozy inside with only the two of you?"

Lord Blackberry gave up and asked his daughter.

"Haa..."

Cranberry breathed out and mirrored the side-lean that her father did, contemplating her choices.

"You can see more things from up there you know. And you won't fall or anything because your father and I will be keeping you safe."

Zombie encouraged her from the side.

"I am not afraid of falling down!"

|Ah, she most definitely is afraid of falling down.|

Still, his whispers only made the red-haired girl blush and shake her head, and Patience smirked inside Zombie's head.

"I want to ride up there with you two!"

In the end, she pointed up at the driver's seat and declared doing her best to act prideful and confident.

…

Soon enough the Pride family's carriage left the prosperous village and drove towards the Prides territory with a very happy little girl seating between her father and her blue familiar on the coachperson's bench, holding onto them both and looking around with a face blushed from excitement and joy of the travel.