Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 126

The moment Edric arrived at Denkart, he went straight to wait for Lobel.

He already knew that she hadn’t gone to sleep.

If she came to him first and confessed the truth, then he was ready to do the same—to tell her everything honestly.

But even as he stayed up all night, waiting with open eyes—

Lobel never came.

“…So, in the end, you’re not coming to me.”

That was when Edric finally understood.

That was her answer.

The answer he had been waiting over seven years for.

No matter what he did, Lobel would never change.

For a moment, it felt like something deep inside him cracked.

If he let this night pass—

It would be over.

This would be the last time he ever saw her.

Because that was what she wanted.

But he refused to let things go her way.

So when he caught up to her, his voice came out far from pleasant.

“Lobel. Where do you think you’re going?”

The only light came from the moonlight spilling through the glass windows, but Edric had always had sharp vision in the dark.

He could clearly make out Lobel’s form.

And the coat draped over her tense shoulders—one he had never seen before.

Not just the coat.

Every piece of clothing she wore was unfamiliar.

They weren’t Denkart servant’s attire.

They weren’t the clothes he had gifted her.

Edric was willing to bet everything.

Even the glasses she wore—the ones he had specifically ordered from a master craftsman after his return—were nowhere to be seen.

She never wanted anything he gave her.

“Ah… ahaha… Young Master.”

Lobel laughed awkwardly, but her gaze kept flickering toward the window.

As a child, her eyes had always been on him.

Now, she was only looking for ways to escape.

Edric, who had never even resented the father who abandoned him, couldn’t help but resent Lobel in this moment.

If she had just lied, saying she was sick—if she had yelled at him in anger—

At least then, he could have felt relieved.

Because Lobel had been the one to teach him.

She had taught him how to read and write—but she had also taught him how to live.

People who grew up differently were bound to misunderstand each other, she had said.

But problems could be solved with conversation.

And yet—

She refused to use that method with him.

Even now, she was only thinking about leaving.

“Young Master, you’re awake early. You should rest more—you must still be tired from your travels.”

Lobel was so flustered that she started saying all sorts of nonsense.

And that just made Edric’s mood even worse.

Lobel was never someone who fumbled over her words.

If she had thought for even one second, she wouldn’t have said something so ridiculous.

Edric always woke up early for training—he never suffered from travel fatigue.

Lobel knew that better than anyone.

It was obvious she was just trying to talk her way out of this.

Which only made Edric angrier.

Without thinking, he spoke impulsively.

“I couldn’t sleep without you next to me. You know that, right? I can’t fall asleep unless you hold me.”

“…That was only for a short while when we were younger. Even if it’s uncomfortable, you should endure it. You’ve already overcome worse your insomnia will pass soon too.”

…So she wouldn’t hold him anymore?

Fine. Then he would have to be the one to hold her.

Edric stepped forward and draped an arm around her.

Lobel’s entire body tensed.

But she didn’t push him away.

“…So it’s not that you hate it.”

Just as Lobel knew his bloodline’s secret and other truths about him,

Edric also knew her.

Lobel never did anything she didn’t want to do.

So this meant… she didn’t mind.

But he wasn’t ready to relax just yet.

Lobel had been planning this escape for a long time.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Where were you going?”

“…For a walk. The moon is bright tonight, and I wanted some fresh air in the garden.”

Again.

Another lie.

“A night walk. Sounds nice.”

Edric clenched his teeth.

He had never hated her voice so much before.

“With all that luggage?”

Lobel was so focused on leaving that she didn’t even realize what she was holding.

Her mind was entirely elsewhere.

And Edric knew exactly where.

He didn’t even have to ask.

But when her gaze followed his—when she looked down and saw the bags—her entire expression shifted.

She was doomed.

He didn’t need words to know what she was thinking.

And that only plunged his already foul mood even lower.

Yet even now, Lobel desperately tried to make up an excuse.

“Ugh, what a hassle. A servant on leave forgot his things, so I was asked to return them.”

Lobel was not someone who found helping others annoying.

She was the type to smile as she helped.

She was the type to ask if there was anything else she could do.

Edric had always admired that about her.

But now—

It infuriated him.

Was she planning to stay in contact with someone after she left?

“Who was it that asked my servant for a favor without my permission?”

“Fedric.”

Lobel had asked Fedric for something—

Not for these bags, but for the letter she had sent.

Remembering that fact rekindled Edric’s fury.

If she had something to say, she should have said it to him directly.

Why did she have to send it through someone else?

And worse—

His subordinates had reported something else.

They had seen Lobel patting Fedric’s back.

Comforting him.

Touching him.

The way she used to touch Edric.

That was something she had always done for him alone.

Lobel had always been focused only on him.

But why?

Why had it changed?

Why did she act like that back then… but not now?

But the past wasn’t as important as the present.

Right now…

Edric was worth less to Lobel than the bags in her hands.

At the very least, she would feel something when she put those bags down.

Maybe a little guilt.

Maybe a little regret.

But Edric himself?

She wouldn’t even spare him a thought.

She had already discarded him.

She was tired of him.

Even though Edric knew that these thoughts were pathological, he couldn’t stop.

“Were you taking care of that guy as my substitute because I wasn’t there?”

As he spoke, for the first time, Edric regretted his decision to go to the three northern strongholds.

If he hadn’t gone, Lobel wouldn’t have so easily tried to abandon him like this…

Instead of spending time laughing and chatting with others, he would have spent more time talking to Edric, growing closer to him, and taking care of him more than that damned dog of a bag…

“Ah, right. That could be it. If Lobel, who liked me so much, missed me, it would make sense. So, what did you do for him? Licking. Hugging. Touching. Washing him… Don’t tell me you did everything for him that you did for me?”

As he absentmindedly fiddled with the collar of the nervous Lobel, a strange thought crossed his mind.

A bizarre delusion—he wished there were a collar with his name on it around Lobel’s neck.

“Lobel.”

As if trying to rid himself of the boiling emotions inside him, he lowered both hands, then completely covered the back of Lobel’s hand with his own.

But now, even the act of simply holding hands made Lobel flinch and try to pull away.

Edric recalled the sight of Lobel smiling at the noble children wandering around the imperial city, and his insides twisted again.

He knew well that Lobel had a particular fondness for things that were exceptionally cute and dainty.

They were “cute” to him… and now that I’ve grown up, am I disgusting?

Then what about that bastard, Pedric?

Why do you pat his back and comfort him, but not me anymore?

Edric used the last remnants of his patience to wrap his words in a careful tone.

“So, have you started liking someone else more than me?”

“…That’s impossible. Serving you is the greatest joy in my life, Young Master.”

“Right. I remember. You told me I was your breath.”

Thinking back to the night he had made Lobel take a truth serum, Edric felt ashamed, guilty… and happy.

Yes, even in the midst of crushing guilt, happiness reared its head.

Because although he had known that Lobel cherished him, he had never imagined that Lobel thought of him to that extent.

So then why?

Why would Lobel say something like that and now try to leave?

If he was going to do this, he shouldn’t have made Edric so happy in the first place.

He shouldn’t have clung to Edric first, giving him hope.

Did he really think Edric would just let him go?

With his eyes burning red, Edric spoke with force.

“You say you like me so much, so where do you think you’re running off to? You said you’d die without me.”

 

 

****

 

 

The young master was smiling as he expressed his anger.

But if I thought about it, I also had every reason to be upset.

I could have easily picked a fight, pointing out that he had lied about my injured hand or other things.

However… perhaps because I was overwhelmed by the young master’s intensity, I couldn’t even get a single word out.

He stared at me in silence for a long moment before picking up my suitcase himself and quietly heading up the stairs.

His steps were slower than usual, as if commanding me to follow.

…Now that I’ve been caught like this, I can’t even leave.

I glanced between the window and the young master’s back before reluctantly trailing after him.

The place where his shoes finally stopped was in front of my room.

As if it were the most natural thing, he set my suitcase down in front of the couch.

His next actions were just as seamless.

Pouring a glass of water from a bottle that hadn’t been there earlier, he placed it on the bedside table.

It was a routine I was familiar with.

Because it was exactly the same as the service I performed for him every day in his room.

The young master cast a brief glance at me, still standing awkwardly by the door, before stepping out.

It was clear from his demeanor that he was telling me to sleep, since it was already late.

Left alone, I clutched my head in both hands.

…I can’t even escape through the window.

Peering outside, I saw that the carriage was already gone.

Right. I had failed again—clumsily, carelessly.

Pressing my tired eyes with both hands, I muttered under my breath.

“You idiot, Lobelia Flor…”

The young master’s icy expression and his voice, tinged with fury, flashed before my eyes.

And yet… I was certain of one thing.

Given his personality, he wouldn’t harm me or punish me.

Leaning against the bed, I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my forehead on them. I must have drifted off like that, cursing myself over and over.

The next morning, I was vaguely awakened by a sound.

“La la la la la… Saying you love me….”

…What is that sound?

I blinked in disbelief at the strange yet pleasant melody.

Was I so startled yesterday that I’m hearing things?

Or… was I still dreaming?

But it felt too real to be a dream.

Perhaps I had shifted in my sleep before passing out from exhaustion, because I was now lying flat on my back.

I saw the familiar ceiling of my room… and felt the soft texture of the blanket.

It was the same kind of blanket the young master used.

Originally, the bedding in my room had been made of a cheaper material, but ever since the young master started visiting, everything had been replaced. No doubt, he had ordered it for my sake.

Thinking about it, our young master’s personality isn’t all that bad…

But just as I let out a sigh and turned my head, I nearly screamed.

Because standing by the long-curtained window—like it was the most natural thing in the world—was the young master.

Considering we were on the same second floor and his room was next door, it shouldn’t have been anything unusual. But he was standing there as if he were observing something intently.

What the… Is this really my room?

Why is he here at this hour…

As I frantically scanned the room, something caught my eye.

The young master was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

…Did he stand there like that all night?

At that moment, perhaps sensing my gaze, the young master turned around.

And then, a dazzlingly bright smile—almost terrifying in its intensity—spread across his face.

“Lobel, good morning, isn’t it?”