Surviving As An Obsessive Servant – Chapter 118

Author: Asternkm

I walked across the imperial palace hallway, feeling a little dazed.

The image of the young master from earlier kept flashing through my mind.

At first, I had planned to respond with my usual playful attitude, but I couldn’t.

That mature face with such an uncertain expression…

No, more than that…

‘His eyes… something was off. His gaze looked kind of… strange…’

Wait. No. NO!!!!

I shook my head hard at the thought.

There was no way I should be using the phrase “something was off” when talking about the young master.

But still, I couldn’t shake this complicated feeling. Maybe it showed on my face because Arif looked at me with concern.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, I’m not sick. It’s just…”

I hesitated.

Even though Arif was now one of the young master’s closest aides, this was too personal to talk about.

“…It’s nothing.”

I shook my head again, but suddenly, Arif stopped walking.

“Lobel.”

I looked up at him instinctively.

As always, his sharp features looked striking under the soft sunlight.

But for some reason, he looked serious. Determined, even.

Then, his lips parted.

“Run.”

“……!”

Before I could react, Arif grabbed the edge of my sleeve with just his thumb and index finger and started running forward.

His long golden hair whipped wildly in the wind, slapping my face over and over.

No matter how silky it was, it hurt. My eyes felt itchy too…

What the hell is happening?!

I ran after him on instinct, but he kept glancing at me anxiously, as if worried I’d trip.

Why. What’s going on?!

I wanted to ask, but we were moving so fast that I could barely breathe.

Meanwhile, servants and nobles passing by gave us confused looks.

One noblewoman even raised her fan to her lips, whispering while gesturing toward us.

Wait. No, she wasn’t pointing at us.

I realized the reason a moment later.

Because a truly crazy person had just appeared in front of us.

“Huff… huff… STOP! HEY!! I SAID STOP, DIDN’T I? HUH?!!!”

His hair was a mess, his fancy clothes were completely wrinkled—Manellano had arrived, panting heavily.

“Haa… haa…”

He wiped his sweaty face with the back of his hand and glared at Arif.

His eyes practically screamed, ‘Lobel is one thing, but you knew I was coming, didn’t you?!’

Wow… seriously.

I was honestly impressed that he had figured out I wouldn’t be in the banquet hall and came looking for me instead.

This was like… a masterclass in finding loopholes.

Even if he went to the banquet hall, there were too many people there, so he wouldn’t get a chance to properly talk to the young master.

And considering the young master had been ignoring even royal letters, Manellano probably figured it would be faster to find me and ask about his schedule.

That way, he could at least secure one real opportunity.

Man, what a desperate guy.

Either way, no matter how skilled Arif was with a sword, dealing with people like this was definitely not his strong suit.

Sure enough, the moment Manellano blocked our way, Arif tensed up and swallowed dryly.

He looked like someone preparing for a major disaster.

Well… guess that means I have to handle this.

Just like how the young master had stepped in front of me earlier—though, this was a little different—I moved to stand in front of Arif.

Then, I put on my best business smile.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“A while… A. WHILE? Lobel, you seriously—!”

At my soulless greeting, Manellano practically exploded with frustration.

But since he was still drenched in sweat, his anger didn’t make him look threatening—just pitiful.

His well-tailored suit rose and fell dramatically with every breath he took.

Even the nobles around us started murmuring, probably because they had never seen him looking this disheveled before.

But Manellano didn’t seem to care at all. His eyes stayed locked onto me.

His ridiculously intense stare… no, was he a clothespin in his past life or something?

Still, they say if you don’t like someone, give them a snack.

Since I had known this guy since childhood, I figured it wouldn’t be good for his reputation if he lost his temper here.

So, I nodded toward the garden.

“We’ll talk over there. If you have something to say, follow me.”

“Lobel, do you really think I’m the kind of person who’ll just—HEY!!!!”

Before he could finish, I grabbed Arif and quickly led him past the hallway, straight to the shade of a large tree.

There were still some palace servants walking by, but overall, this place was quiet.

Most importantly, there weren’t any nobles around.

As expected, Manellano, probably worried I’d run off, came rushing after us, his face twisted in frustration.

Man… he’s really something else…

The knights running after Manellano looked just as miserable.

Unlike him, who only looked slightly messy, they were completely drenched in sweat—soaked from their collars to their sleeves.

His familiar-looking attendants gave me desperate eyes.

Their gaze practically screamed, “Please, just go easy on him! Just a little!!”

…I shouldn’t have been so nice and introduced myself to them before.

Now, just like Princess Delilah’s maids, Manellano’s knights had become acquaintances who greeted me whenever we crossed paths.

And since we were all servants in the end, I couldn’t completely ignore their struggles.

As a gesture of peace, I handed over a clean white handkerchief.

“Here.”

“…Damn it.”

But instead of taking it casually, Manellano blushed bright red and swore under his breath.

To make it even funnier, his hands were shaking as he carefully accepted it—

Like a kid afraid he might drop a fragile glass for the first time.

He was such an odd guy. I gave it to him to use, so why was he stuffing it into his pocket like it was some kind of treasure?

I wanted to tell him that our young master hadn’t even used that handkerchief, but for the sake of peace, I kept my mouth shut.

But our dear Arif didn’t.

“Sir Manellano, what exactly do you need from Lobel?”

“Stay out of it. This is between me and Lobel.”

“Yeah, Sir Arif. It’s fine.”

I whispered, “You can’t argue with crazy people,” and Arif clenched his jaw in frustration.

Well, I guess I wasn’t the only one suffering here.

Manellano constantly showing up at the young master’s door had been just as exhausting for Arif as it was for me.

I suddenly felt the strong urge to wrap this up quickly and leave.

And the fastest way to deal with someone like Manellano was to just let him say what he needed to say.

“So, what was so important that you ran all the way here?”

“You’re getting married?”

The moment I finished my sentence, he immediately shot his question like he had been waiting for this exact moment.

‘…What?’

I blinked at him in confusion.

“…How do you know about that?”

Because I definitely hadn’t told him.

There was a time when Delilah and Manellano had both suddenly shown up, making Wayne miserable.

But back then, I had been too busy deciphering stone tablets to even leave my room, and Wayne had come up with some excuse for me.

‘…Did he plant a spy in our estate?’

I stared at him like he was some kind of stalker, but he just ran a hand through his messy hair.

He didn’t look mad about my reaction—

Just incredibly restless and impatient.

“You’re not answering? I asked first. Are you getting married or not?”

“Yes.”

I thought of Rimson, who had been looking so ridiculously happy these days, and did my best to copy his expression.

Manellano’s golden eyes widened to their absolute limit.

Then, he stuttered out his next words.

“…W-When? Where? With who? Why?”

Wow. He was really going all in with the who, what, when, where, and why.

To be honest, I really didn’t feel like answering.

We weren’t close enough to be having a deep conversation about my personal life.

But at the same time, I didn’t feel like lying either.

‘…Should I just say nothing?’

But one look at him told me that if I didn’t answer, he would never let it go.

Especially with those damp-looking eyes—ugh, it made my throat feel dry.

Seriously, this guy had a talent for making people uncomfortable.

He needed to grow up already.

Hiding my complicated feelings, I answered lightly.

“Why? Because it’s about time for me to go.”

“It’s not about time! Why so soon?!”

“Most people your age are already married, Manell. I’m just one of them.”

That was the truth.

So Manellano couldn’t even argue—he just trembled slightly, his lips pressed together.

“The exact date isn’t set yet. But I have someone I promised to marry when we were younger.”

“…That was real?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Seeing how shocked he looked, I decided to hammer the nail in deeper with a more detailed excuse.

It was the same thing I always said in Denkart.

That I had been exchanging letters with my fiancé for a while, that we were officially planning to get married, that I had even been saving money for it, and so on.

By the time I finished, Manellano looked like he had been hit with a brick.

…Honestly, I was also a little shocked.

‘Wow… just how much were you planning to use me as a bridge to the young master?’

Manellano and I were the same age.

Even if I got married tomorrow, it wouldn’t be considered too early by this world’s standards.

Especially for him—a noble from a prestigious family, where engagements and marriages were mostly about politics.

He should have gotten married even sooner.

Now that I thought about it, he was kind of a problem.

Even in the original story, his stubborn personality and fiery temper had led him to cancel his arranged marriage.

And judging by how things were playing out now, his overprotective parents were probably still the same.

Which meant that he still didn’t even have a fiancée.

Manellano had grown up as an only son, receiving overwhelming amounts of love and attention.