The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 31: Thirty

"Countess!" A knight with a blonde hair exclaimed with a cheerful yet worried smile on his face, "You’re okay! How are you feeling? Are you feeling weird? Tired? Sleepy? Are you hurt anywhere—"

Jannah blinked slowly as her eyesight adjusted to see through the thing in front of her face. She squinted her eyes towards the knight and held a hand up which made him stop speaking.

"Hold your horses." Jannah cut him off and slowly stood up from step of the stairs.

"Yeah, shut up, Dante." Duke Eulicies smiled menacingly towards his knight and backed up Jannah as he pushed him aside, "Don’t mind him, my lady. Just to be sure though, are you really feeling okay?"

Jannah nodded her head reluctantly, not liking how overly worried the Duke is to her, ".. I am."

She looked around, noticing the knights have gathered around her and each have a worried expression one way or another.

It was a weird feeling because she only met them today and that was barely before nightfall. How could they show concern on someone they barely know? Hell, Jannah doesn’t even feel any once of crap about them.

She only suggested to wear something else because she can’t have them freezing on the way to Rye, nor get infected, and add more zombies to the horde.

"I’m really fine." She pushed Duke Eulicies away since he was a little too close for her liking, "Let’s go, we really need to go this time. I don’t know how many minutes we have wasted because of me."

Because of this damn thing in front of my face. Jannah wanted to add to her statement as she shoot a discreet glare at the weird square.

[System scanning player’s status...]

[45%..] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[48%..]

It is also taking too long on whatever it is doing. Scanning her status? To hell with the status! Jannah don’t want that thing to be in her face until morning, she’s afraid that it might hinder her movement.

"You heard her." Duke Eulicies straightened his posture and turned to his knights, "Remember what she said earlier and don’t get bitten."

"Yes, Duke Zacharias!"

"I said no screaming." Jannah gave them a deadpan look which made them sheepishly look away and rub the back of their neck.

They were quick to get out of the town, closing the large, heavy, and wooden gates before locking it from the outside. Jannah doesn’t know how they did it, but the way they locked the gates? She is impressed because it looked secured.

She took a mental note to praise their handiwork once they’re safe.

That’s how they started their journey to Rye.

They have gathered water for everyone and have those hanging over their body. The journey on Rye are on foot so they need to replenish their energy with the water.

Jannah gave them a warning regarding the meat and food that they found on the houses, saying that those might be contaminated with the illness.

Cannibalism was a thing before. She thought as she remembered encountering a small group of survivor who got infected when they cooked a lone survivor’s arm.

She got kidnapped after a year in the apocalypse, right before she found the Duke of the east. That was when she found out another way to pass the infection to the other person.

Those cannibal survivors turned into a zombie after eating the dish they cooked with the bitten survivor’s arm. If it were not for Jannah escaping from the binds then she would have been the first meal of the newly turned zombies.

Thinking about it now.. The infection can spread through the other person if they had a direct contact into an infected’s blood. Jannah thought as she lead the knights out of there.

She did not have anything to mind after recalling the memory about the cannibals.

[System scanning player’s status....]

[60%..]

[63%..]

[67%..]

[69%..]

She kept staring at the transparent square, watching the agonizing rise of the percentage which made her blood boil along the pace of the percentage.

"Countess, do you mind if I ask you a question?" The blondie from earlier catched up to her and tilted his head.

They have walking for almost half an hour, their footsteps light and quick since all of them are knights. Their stamina are not the same as the average person and their strength are on par with each other— the Countess is on another level though.

It has been a good while since one of them have talked so Dante thought it would be good to strike up a conversation with her. However..

"I do mind." Jannah didn’t look at him, but she can see him from the corner of her eye.

She cannot be bothered right now, especially when she’s eyeing the weird thing in front of her and using the journey to Rye as an excuse so she can watch the percentage go up.

"Dante." The Duke called his knight with an underlying warning tone in his voice, "Why don’t you stay at the back and guard over the group’s rear? You know? Make yourself extra useful?"

The knight didn’t say anything to his commander, staring at him for a good few seconds before doing as what the Duke suggested, not wanting to aggitate him for no reason.

The Duke’s smile got a little wider as he watched Dante slow his pace until he came into a stop. Waiting for them until they are farther in the front, making him walk with the others at the back.

Was that a childish move? Yes. Was he an asshole to his knight? Yes. Did he care? No, he didn’t. Does he feel bad?

A little. Duke Eulicies thought with a smile, eyeing the lady beside him from the corner of his eyes. He tried to be discreet and he felt like Jannah have not caught on yet so it is good.

In the actual truth, Jannah have not caught on what he is doing because of the thing in front of her.

[System scanning player’s status..]

[89%..]

[91%..]

Seriously? Why is it taking so long? She glared at the weird square thing, staring at the numbers with nothing, but frustration.

A while have passed since she last saw the numbers go up and it’s starting to get in her nerves. She cannot understand how such thing can be slow and agonizing to wait for, she always get what she needs and wants at her beck and call so waiting like this is new to her.

She can’t focus on the path ahead because the thing is blocking her view.

It’s the reason why she settled herself beside the Duke just in case something happens. He’s the second person that can protect her beside herself— yes, she is confident enough to say that she is stronger than him.

Why? Well..

I have beaten him a few times in a sparring match during our time in the battlefield. Jannah remembered the time when the war ended and the two of them needed to let out their frustrations regarding the outcome of the battle.

They have clashed swords over and over until the Duke had fallen to his knees, panting and sweating, a defeated look on his face.

They were strictly comrades in the battlefield. No romantic relationship nor skinship happened between them which is why Jannah felt bad when he died while luring the zombies out of the unfinished base in her first life.

He was hoping for more, but she refused him because all she could think of at the time is how to keep her people safe.

He is one of her people, but being romantically involved with someone was not part of her plan. Especially not before she could finish the base and lead her people to safety.

He reassured her that he was alright with it, but seeing him smile from the bottom of his heart before he run out of the unfinished base? She knew that he regretted that he did not do anything to make them be together.

"I love you." Were the words he mouthed as he lead the zombies out of the area.

She had mixed feelings about Duke Eulicies at the start, but after his sacrificial death, she became more wary around Juan. The Duke warned her about him so she did her best to not be in the same room or space with the Baron.

That’s why, even if he did betray her in her past life, she did not pay any mind to him and focused on her people.

Duke Eulicies had been one of the people who solely stayed loyal and faithful to her.

Jannah let out a sigh through her nose, shaking her head slowly to shake off the unwanted thoughts about the past. It was one of the reason why she approached him to let him know she will open her doors for him and his people— she will return the favor.

[Ding!]

She perked up when she heard a sound echo in her head, all the dark thoughts that were looming in the back of her mind vanished in an instant.

Her eyes went wide as a rush of energy creeped all over her body.

[System scan complete!]