Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 119

I nodded at his unusually anxious and tense voice.

Manellano’s face immediately brightened.

Don’t do that. Just get mad instead.

He was making me nervous for no reason…

As he looked me up and down, his expression suddenly twisted, as if something was bothering him.

“…What the hell.”

Then, out of nowhere, he dropped to one knee on the ground.

I was startled.

No matter how messy his clothes had gotten from running, the ground was still covered in dirt and grass.

And his clothes were gray—not black—so stains would be really noticeable.

But even so, Manellano didn’t stand back up.

“The palace floors are slippery, you know.”

Even Arif, who had been looking like he wanted to argue the whole time, was so shocked that he completely shut his mouth.

Manellano frowned at our stunned expressions and snapped,

“What are you gonna do if you trip and fall while running around like this, huh?!”

His long, straight fingers started tying my shoelaces.

He was clumsy, like it was his first time doing it, but he was oddly thorough about it.

Even though I was only seeing the back of his head, I could tell how serious he was.

“You’re usually more careful. Why are you being so careless today?”

This was… a bit much.

But since he was just trying to be nice, I didn’t complain and let him do it.

And then, of course, he had to go and cross the line.

“Look at this. Your ankles are as thin as twigs.”

“Hey! Where do you think you’re touching?! Let go!!”

His big hand suddenly grabbed my ankle, making me jump.

I didn’t make a big scene, but I did pretend to kick him.

Not that it stopped him—he was too shameless for that.

In the end, it was only when Arif put a hand on his sword that he finally backed off—though he only pretended to get up.

His sharp gaze stung my cheek.

“Why are you overreacting? You let the young master do all sorts of things.”

“Maybe compare things that actually make sense. You and our young master are not the same.”

“Have you gotten dumber since I last saw you? Didn’t I tell you not to call him ‘young master’ when you’re with me?”

“Don’t try to shift the blame. You were the one who brought him up first.”

We weren’t kids anymore—why was he acting so immature?

This conversation didn’t seem all that important, so I decided to just leave.

And honestly, if the young master showed up and saw this, things would just get even noisier.

But before I could step away, Manellano suddenly stared down at me.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…You seriously still don’t have a single strand of facial hair?”

His tone was oddly fascinated, like he had just discovered something new about me.

Even Arif, standing beside us, looked at me with a surprised expression, as if thinking, ‘Huh… that’s true…’

Feeling a little caught off guard, I quickly responded with a straight face.

“I actually feel grateful to my parents every morning because shaving is a hassle. But I’m not the only one, right? You don’t have much either, Manell.”

I wasn’t just saying it to be nice—it was true.

Even on his sharp jawline, there wasn’t a single blemish.

And his facial hair? Completely nonexistent.

Even after taking a closer look, I was sure of it.

Honestly, he really did have a good-looking face, personality aside.

“…I am handsome, huh?”

Manellano smirked and then, without warning, leaned in closer.

“Go on. If you wanna take a good look, do it up close.”

I already knew he had insane levels of self-confidence, but today, he was being extra.

Was this because we hadn’t seen each other in a while?

I grimaced in disgust, but since he knew how good-looking he was, he just grinned arrogantly.

“You’re the only one I’d let touch all you want.”

A wave of his fancy cologne hit my nose.

To him, he had probably applied just the right amount, but for me—whose sense of smell had become overly sensitive lately—it was overwhelming.

I instinctively covered my nose and stepped back a few more paces.

“Ugh. Are you seriously okay in the head?”

But instead of backing off, Manellano playfully stepped even closer.

Meanwhile, Arif’s expression turned twice as stiff.

So before he could say anything, I spoke first, keeping my tone light.

“We really don’t have time to joke around anymore. If you don’t have anything important to say, I’m leaving.”

“…You keep talking like that, and it’s annoying, Lobel. Do I look like some beggar, desperate for your attention?”

That was confusing.

He was the one joking around, so why did he look so offended?

He even sounded kind of… pathetic.

“You’d better remember this. You’re the first and last person who’ll ever treat me this way and still walk away fine. This is an experience money can’t buy.”

‘Wow… Even now, he still hasn’t changed at all.’

Every other sentence was just bragging about money.

And this was why, both in the original story and now, he was nothing compared to the Crown Prince.

If he had a little more maturity, would the young master have been this repulsed by him?

I gave him a very unimpressed look, but since we had known each other for so long, I decided to give him a bit of advice.

“Not everything in life can be solved with money, you know.”

“…I know.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

If he knew that, why was he still acting like this?

The moment our eyes met, his thick, straight brows twisted slightly.

“There’s only one thing in this world money can’t buy… and you were the one who taught me that.”

As if admitting it hurt his pride, Manellano turned his head away and cursed under his breath.

He seemed oddly deflated, which made me feel a little bad.

Honestly, Manellano was only lacking compared to our young master.

Anywhere else, he was still someone who never had to feel small.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t properly greet you when you visited before… but that was only because the young master wasn’t around. You understand my situation, don’t you?”

“Hey, Lobel.”

He bit his lower lip hard enough to look painful, then spoke in a low voice.

“Let me make this clear. I didn’t come here today to see the princess or the young master. I came to see you.”

So he was embarrassed to say it outright, huh?

“It’s always like this. That’s why…”

But before he could finish that serious sentence—

A group of nobles his age appeared, probably after hearing the commotion and coming to find him.

“Yo, Manellano.”

“There you are! We’ve been looking for you.”

…Figures. Birds of a feather flock together.

At first glance, they all looked arrogant and rowdy.

The moment they spotted Arif and me, their eyes lit up with curiosity.

Especially after noticing Arif’s uniform, some of them adjusted their expressions to appear more polite.

Yeah, of course they’d want to make a good impression.

Thanks to the young master, the reputation of the Black Chain Knights had risen even higher than before.

I felt a little smug about that, but then one of them glanced at me and asked who I was.

Manellano answered simply.

“Lobel.”

“…Lobel?”

The noble looked puzzled, rolling my name around in his head.

It seemed like he was trying to figure out which noble house I belonged to.

But after glancing at my vest and shoes, he must have realized I was a servant, because he made a small sound of understanding.

“Oh, so your new attendant?”

“No, not my attendant.”

I figured Manellano would just say I worked for some other noble house.

He was clever enough with words to handle it smoothly.

And then I could just give a polite farewell and leave…

Or maybe I’d just quietly slip away.

But then, he curled his lips into a smirk and said in a sharp voice—

“My Lobel.”

“…..?”

“……?”

It was short, but the way he said it sounded off.

And the meaning? Even stranger.

…My Lobel?

If these guys weren’t here, I would’ve told him to quit saying weird stuff.

Manellano wasn’t stupid—he could’ve just not introduced me at all.

“Oh, I see. You two must be close.”

The nobles exchanged glances, then looked at me with strange smiles.

I didn’t like the way their eyes lingered—there was something dismissive about it.

And surprisingly, Manellano didn’t like it either.

“Take your eyes off him. Lobel isn’t someone you can look at like that.”

His voice was completely devoid of laughter, echoing across the garden.

His already sharp features looked even more menacing.

The nobles must have felt it too, because they quickly made up excuses about remembering urgent matters and hurried away.

I made sure to note the fabric color and embroidery details of their clothing as they left.

Deep crimson with gold embroidery… They’re not just regular nobles.

Would he be okay talking to them like that?

I didn’t want him getting into unnecessary trouble because of me.

Then again… if Manellano hadn’t insisted on following me in the first place, this whole situation wouldn’t have happened.

He’s seriously like a disobedient kid.

I sighed and said,

“Shouldn’t you go after them before this becomes a misunderstanding?”

“…Are you worried about me?”

…Why did he look so happy?

His eyes sparkled like he had completely forgotten he had been sulking just moments ago.

This guy’s personality is seriously something else.

Still, I managed to wrap up the conversation with a simple, “Let’s have a meal together sometime,” and that seemed to satisfy him.

Thankfully, he agreed and didn’t push further.

At least he had some awareness.

As I turned to head back, Manellano naturally followed me.

When I asked why he was coming along, he just scoffed and said he had been planning to go this way anyway.

It was a lie so obvious even a fool wouldn’t believe it.

But I let it slide.

It was annoying, sure, but also kind of pathetic.

When we arrived at the door—

The young master was there.

…Huh?

He wasn’t inside.

He was leaning against the wall outside, arms crossed.

Then, slowly, he turned his gaze toward us.

…..!

His deep green eyes had an eerie, heavy stillness to them.

I flinched without realizing it.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, but his stare made me feel guilty for some reason.

Then, beside me, Manellano let out a dry laugh.

“…Ha.”

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t even need to look at his face or hear his words.

I already knew what he was about to do.

‘Here we go again…’