Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 122

“…My lord!”

“This may just be a rumor for now, but if—by any chance—it turns out to be true…!”

Denian, who had watched over Edric for years, was the most concerned.

He could understand why Edric had left his entire inheritance to Lobel before departing for the northern strongholds.

After all, he had lost his mother in such a tragic way, and Lobel had been the first person he could truly call his own.

Back then, Denian had dismissed it as childish devotion—nothing more than fleeting attachment.

But now, things had gone too far.

Edric had been warned about this countless times before.

Yet, seeing how he had deliberately kept this going, it was clear—he knew exactly what he was doing.

Denian felt a deep, ominous sense of foreboding.

Edric had never caused trouble for the family.

On the contrary, he had been nothing but diligent, obedient—even overly compliant—when handling family affairs.

And yet, this was the one issue he refused to back down on.

Perhaps… this wasn’t just some misunderstanding.

Perhaps… it was truly how Edric felt.

Edric was not a fool. In fact, he was far sharper than most his age.

For him to behave that way in the imperial palace—of all places—meant one thing.

It had been a declaration. A warning to everyone watching.

Regardless of whatever affection or attachment Edric had toward Lobel, this situation had to be dealt with properly.

“It will resolve itself with time.”

The advisors could barely contain their frustration.

Even Benjamin—who almost never showed emotion—visibly stiffened.

But the duke remained as indifferent as ever.

“Don’t waste manpower on nonsense. Get back to your work.”

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Even after Young Master dropped a bombshell at the imperial banquet, Denkart remained eerily quiet.

The only place where an all-out war was still raging was inside my head.

“Uh… Lobel.”

Curled up in the corner like a defeated soldier, hugging my knees against the wall, I looked up.

There stood Fedric, awkwardly scratching his head.

He was a new servant, a quiet and somewhat clumsy young man. Since he often fumbled through his tasks, I had helped him out a few times, and we eventually started talking. Being the same age, we naturally grew closer.

Thankfully, he had adjusted well to his work, and now he was the one looking after me.

He would ask if I needed anything and even drop off supplies in my room before I could ask.

I thought he was here for the same reason today, and I was ready to politely refuse.

Right now, I needed to reduce the amount of stuff in my room, not increase it.

If possible, I wanted to disappear entirely.

But after hesitating for a while, he unexpectedly asked something different.

“Uh… Lobel. Can I talk to you about something?”

If he had come all the way to this hidden corner of the garden for advice, then it had to be something serious.

I hesitated for a moment but nodded.

I mean, I was drowning in my own problems, but…

“Have you… ever dated a lot?”

“…Well. I wouldn’t say a lot, but I have some experience.”

I hadn’t had any relationships here in Terua yet, but back in Korea? Dating was practically a hobby.

If there was anything unusual about it, it was that I never felt the need to cling to anyone.

Which meant my relationships never lasted too long.

…Wait, why does he look so sad?

Does he envy me or something?

Anyway, he let out an awkward laugh and sat down next to me.

“So, um… This is actually about a friend of mine.”

Fedric made sure to emphasize the friend part.

“My… friend is struggling with something and doesn’t know what to do. So I thought I’d ask around and get different opinions.”

“…What is it?”

“Well… it’s kind of a, uh, unique situation.”

“A unique situation?”

Fedric suddenly had the expression of a man about to make the biggest confession of his life.

“Yeah. He’s… a guy. And he likes guys.”

…Oh.

I blinked.

Back in Korea, I was an omnivorous reader who devoured all kinds of novels, including BL.

Then I somehow ended up inside a BL novel.

And now, for some reason, BL tropes seemed to be everywhere around me.

“Hmm, I see…”

I answered, but inside, I let out a tired laugh.

I couldn’t help but think back to the absolute chaos at the imperial banquet a few days ago.

At the time, I thought I was dreaming.

Young Master was not the type of person who would say—or do—those things in front of a crowd.

We weren’t kids anymore.

But it had happened.

The murmuring nobles, the wary stares, Arif’s visibly pained expression, Manellano’s look of pure rage, and Delilah’s frantic whispering to her fiancé…

And amidst all that madness, the most vivid thing was Young Master’s green eyes.

That look…

Like a predator who had finally found prey after years of starving.

Just thinking about it again made me want to curl up even tighter.

‘…I’m screwed.’

That night, I knew I had made a huge mistake.

All of Young Master’s recent actions started fitting together like pieces of a puzzle.

He had been treating me in ways no close friend would.

And the way he looked at me…

That was not how you looked at a servant.

You reap what you sow.

Even now, that phrase echoed in my head.

Lost in thought, I forgot to respond, and Fedric must have taken my silence as deep contemplation.

“…You’re not surprised, huh.”

He sighed, sounding relieved yet somehow defeated.

I tried to reassure him with a warm tone.

“Why would I be? There’s nothing surprising about it. Liking someone is just… liking someone. It’s not weird at all.”

“Yeah… I thought you’d say that, Lobel.”

At that moment, I finally understood why Fedric had come to me for this conversation.

Of course, he must have heard about the disaster at the imperial banquet.

And naturally, he must have assumed something about me and Young Master…

Fidgeting with his fingers, he let out a heavy sigh before asking:

“But… the problem is with the person my friend likes.”

Now I was curious.

Just how bad was it?

Wanting to get a clearer picture, I said:

“This friend of yours… Let’s call him Pepe.”

“Oh! Yeah! Let’s go with Pepe!”

The way Fedric’s eyes lit up was… almost comical.

He was practically begging me to believe this was about someone else.

…Sure.

If it makes you feel better.

I let out a small chuckle and started asking questions.

“So, does Pepe not into guys?”

That seemed like the most obvious issue.

Not every man in this BL-infested world had to be into men, after all.

But Fedric immediately shook his head.

“No, no! That’s not the problem. The person Pepe likes… also likes guys.”

“…Well, I guess that’s good?”

Fedric, who was desperately trying to fabricate an imaginary person, sneakily added something.

“But… the guy Pepe likes also has someone he likes.”

…..?
…..??
…..???

I was utterly confused.

It was a relief that the guy Fedric liked also liked men, but…

Wait. Why did that sound so normal?

Still, I didn’t want to hurt Fedric’s feelings, so I calmly tried to summarize the situation.

“So, let me get this straight… Pepe likes someone, but unfortunately, that guy likes another man instead… Is that it?”

“Yes, yes! That’s exactly it! Pepe is in love with a man who’s in love with someone else!!”

…What is this.

I was about to witness a love triangle even messier than the one at the imperial banquet.

‘Wait, isn’t this just a situation where Fedric needs to give up?’

Judging from his expression, it seemed like he hadn’t confessed yet.

If the person he liked was already in love with someone else, wouldn’t it be better to let go before they found out?

Still, I didn’t want to be too blunt and hurt his feelings.

I carefully tried to reason with him.

“That means your friend has feelings for someone who’s already in love with someone else… As painful as it is, wouldn’t it be the right thing for them to let go?”

No matter how close I was to Fedric, there were things I could support and things I couldn’t.

If the person he liked was already committed, wasn’t it only right to respect that?

Of course, he could wait for them to break up, but…

If that was his plan, he wouldn’t have come to me for advice in the first place.

“But… there’s a problem! The guy Pepe loves… will never, ever, EVER be with his crush!!”

…Huh.

I hadn’t realized it before, but maybe Fedric’s personality wasn’t as great as I thought.

How could he look so excited while saying that the person he loved would never be happy?

Suppressing a sigh, I asked,

“Why? Is the person he loves already married or something?”

“Oh, no, not yet! But he’s going to be. He’ll probably have a new fiancée soon.”

Fedric fumbled with his words but made his point clear.

So… was his crush in an arranged marriage or something?

“Well… if things go the way you say, then Pepe’s crush will end up alone. In that case, I guess it wouldn’t be wrong for Pepe to like him.”

At my response, Fedric practically made the sign of the cross and whispered, Thank the gods!

…Was it really that big of a deal?

I hid my confusion and continued in a neutral tone.

“But… I don’t think it’ll be that simple.”

“…Huh?”

“Feelings don’t just change overnight. And if the two of them were friends to begin with… his crush might only want to stay friends.”

By the time I finished my sentence, Fedric looked like he was about to cry.

Feeling guilty, I softened my words.

“But at least neither of them has any issues with same-gender relationships. That’s one good thing.”

As I spoke, an image of Young Master’s calm, unreadable face surfaced in my mind.

That ‘Why? Is there a problem?’ expression of his…

Unlike Fedric’s situation, his attitude was a problem because he thought it was completely natural. Damn it…

I swallowed a sigh and continued.

“If I were Pepe… I’d take things very slowly. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm a heartbroken friend.”

“A-ah, yeah!”

As expected of a genuinely kind-hearted guy, Fedric nodded earnestly.

But then, after a brief hesitation, he asked me something.

“Uh… But how did you know Pepe’s crush was his friend?”

“…Just a feeling. You know I have good instincts.”

Thankfully, he simply laughed shyly and let it go.

At least he looked much better than when he first arrived.

And thanks to him, my own tangled thoughts felt a little less suffocating.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder—what if Young Master had been as easy to convince as Fedric?

‘…That’s impossible.’

The look in his eyes that night was stronger than anything I’d ever seen—even from the worst kinds of lunatics.

And our conversation on the carriage ride back to Denkart…

That had been just as dangerous.

Suppressing another heavy sigh, I turned to Fedric.

“If you’re really grateful, Fedric.”

“Yeah?”

“…Can I ask you for a favor?”