Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 133

Evo Martin wasn’t there.

The moment Edric arrived at the Merchant Guild Assembly, he steadied his pounding heart and confirmed that fact first.

At least with Manellano, Lobel made it very clear how much she disliked him. But Evo Martin… that was a different story.

He was someone Edric needed to be particularly cautious of.

And yet, despite Evo Martin’s absence, Lobel’s gaze lingered on something for an unusually long time.

Edric naturally followed her line of sight.

At the end of it stood a young man with long, red hair, exuding a decadent air.

Though he wasn’t particularly tall and was partially obscured by the people surrounding him, Edric recognized him immediately.

He had memorized the key figures of today’s gathering in advance.

‘The second son of the Rezendar family… Heaz Rezendar.’

His features were delicate—handsome in a soft, refined way—but his dark crimson eyes and the shadows under them carried an ominous weight, as if revealing the dark secrets of his lineage.

Edric had once investigated the major noble factions of Terua, and even he had found the truth about the Rezendars deeply unsettling.

Despite his noble appearance, Heaz Rezendar had likely grown up in an even harsher environment than Edric himself.

If there was one thing about Denkart’s many unpleasant traditions that Edric was actually grateful for, it was that he had never been given a whipping boy.

A whipping boy was a child who took punishment in place of a noble or royal whenever they made a mistake.

The first time Edric had learned about them, he had been shocked.

If anyone had ever suggested he needed one, he would have refused at any cost.

But Heaz Rezendar…

He had reportedly spent half his daily routine serving as his own brother’s whipping boy.

A punishment that had essentially been a form of torture.

At that moment, Heath—who had been engaged in conversation with others—shifted his gaze.

His dark red eyes locked onto Edric and Lobel, tracking their movements.

Unlike before, his expression now carried an odd intensity.

‘…Why is he looking over here?’

Edric had grown accustomed to being the center of attention lately, but this… felt different.

Especially because Heath’s gaze wasn’t focused on him, but rather on Lobel, who walked slightly behind.

‘Not me, but Lobel… Could they possibly know each other?’

…Even he had to admit that sounded like a stretch.

But knowing Lobel—who had even managed to charm the imperial princess into fighting for time with her—it somehow wasn’t so far-fetched to imagine she had some connection to the second son of the esteemed Rezendar family.

However, before Edric could dwell on it, Lobel smiled and asked the guide a question.

“Excuse me, I was curious about this path. If the halls are connected, would it be alright to take this way?”

As they moved toward the designated hall, Edric’s gaze lingered on Lobel’s hair, which had grown slightly longer.

Her silver strands shimmered beautifully as they swayed with each step.

‘…I wonder how she’d look with longer hair.’

But he didn’t voice the thought.

More than anything, he wanted Lobel to feel comfortable.

Whether she kept her hair short, wore dresses or pants—it was her choice.

As long as she was free and at ease, Edric was happy with anything.

But, as usual, Lobel seemed oblivious to his feelings and suddenly asked something strange.

“Young Master, you’re familiar with the Pellaea Merchant Guild, right? And, of course, its guild master?”

Of course, he was.

The Pellaea Guild wasn’t as renowned as Hornet, but it was still a highly influential merchant group.

And its guild master was well-regarded for her bold investments and sharp decision-making.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

Why was Lobel bringing up someone else…? Who even was this person…?

Edric felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.

Lobel, seemingly unaware of his mood, looked slightly uneasy at his lack of response.

Choosing her words carefully, she asked again.

“You know, she’s truly impressive. She’s been incredibly successful in trade.”

That much was obvious.

But Edric had zero interest in praising or agreeing with her.

If he entertained this conversation, it would only encourage more of the same in the future.

So, instead, he remained silent.

Growing impatient, Lobel asked again, her voice edged with urgency.

“You do know, right? I’ve always respected her a great deal. And as your servant, I just thought… you should know.”

…Why was he being forced to listen to someone else’s praises?

He wasn’t here to discuss other people.

Whenever he had the rare chance to be with Lobel, he wanted to talk about each other.

Not some random merchant.

Besides, lately, he hadn’t received a single proper compliment from her.

Feeling a surge of irritation, he finally snapped.

“Why the hell should I care about that? Things were going well in the carriage, weren’t they?”

Edric made no effort to hide his displeasure as he pressed on.

“Or do you actually prefer women? Was that nonsense about liking women more than men actually true? If not, then why do you keep bringing her up?”

At his words, Lobel let out a deep sigh.

Her trembling eyes seemed to be silently saying, ‘Because that woman is standing right there next to you, Young Master…’

It was only then that Edric finally noticed the woman trailing beside him.

‘…The Pellaea guild master?’

Lobel had been trying to speak highly of this person the entire time.

Perhaps she felt a sense of kinship with the woman as a fellow merchant family member—just like she did with Evo Martin.

For a brief moment, Edric silently praised himself for establishing the Denkart Merchant Guild.

But that didn’t mean he could let his guard down.

His sharp eyes scrutinized the woman.

Yet, to his surprise, she was gazing at the two of them with overwhelming emotion.

“Oh my goodness!…”

Her long, wavy hair swayed as she lifted a fan to cover her mouth.

“I never realized your love ran this deep! I wholeheartedly support you two!!!”

 

 

***

 

 

 

Only invited guild masters were allowed into the meeting chamber.

Edric had expected to leave behind swords and other dangerous items, but he hadn’t realized there were additional hidden rules.

Yet, he didn’t seem all that surprised—he must have already known.

What did bother him, though, was that I wouldn’t be allowed to enter with him.

He looked visibly displeased by that fact.

But when I simply said,

“I like men who are good at their work.”

…he wordlessly followed the rules and entered the chamber.

That gave me a much-needed moment to breathe.

Haa… I’m so exhausted.

I stretched and massaged my stiff shoulders.

It was already a nerve-wracking event, but what had rattled me even more was the unexpected encounter with Heaz Rezendar, the final sub-male lead of Twilight Empire.

Even the brief moment our eyes met had sent chills down my spine.

Because in the original story, his role was…

He was a sub-male lead who harbored an obsessive love for Edric.

But unlike the others, he was a complete psychopath who tried to kidnap and imprison him…

Eventually, he murdered his own brother, driving a wedge between the imperial family and the Rezendar household.

Just thinking about his story arc was enough to make my blood run cold.

But I reminded myself—I didn’t need to worry.

The situation was completely different from the original.

…The young master may be naïve, but he’s grown into a strong, capable man.

In the novel, Heaz Rezendar had used Edric’s weaknesses to manipulate and blackmail him.

But now? That was no longer possible.

And if they were to fight… there’s no way Heath would win. Our young master has even awakened his power over Dif, so there’s barely anything that could stop him.

Even if he were to be imprisoned, he could just destroy the door with the power of wind.

As I recalled all these objective facts, I finally felt at ease.

Turning away from the entrance, I gazed toward the garden.

The meeting is supposed to last at least two hours… Maybe I’ll take a short walk.

The garden stretched just a little beyond the path, making it perfect for a brief stroll.

And since most of the knights and servants were stationed at the entrance, the area was likely to be deserted.

After getting permission from Arif, I made my way toward the garden.

…There are a lot of merchant statues here, too.

The only difference from the entrance was that these statues also held swords.

But the weapons were purely ornamental—blunt, unsharpened blades meant to showcase the intricate gemstones in their hilts rather than serve any real function.

Since I had seen my fair share of actual weapons thanks to the young master, these looked more like children’s toys to me.

Unlike the entrance, where not even a single ant was in sight, I soon spotted a group of nobles after walking for about ten minutes.

The moment I saw them, I clicked my tongue.

…Seriously? They’re smoking pipe tobacco here? Couldn’t they have chosen a better spot?

Clearly, they weren’t merchant guild masters.

They were probably just here because they had connections with someone inside.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

The nobles, who had been casually puffing their pipes, also noticed me.

Immediately, they exchanged glances and started whispering among themselves.

…This is going to be a pain.

Sensing trouble, I turned to leave.

One of them called out in a mocking tone,

“Hey, you! Silver hair!”

I ignored them and kept walking.

They were only acting like this because no one else was watching.

If they tried to make trouble later, I could always play dumb and pretend I hadn’t heard them.

But they didn’t just leave it at that.

One of them threw his pipe onto the ground and grabbed my shoulder with an unnecessarily strong grip.

“Hey. You’re that servant from the capital, aren’t you?”

As soon as I got a proper look at him, I recognized his face.

He had been with Manellano before.

Had they fought or something?

His face was flushed red with irritation, his breathing heavy.

“Yeah, it is you. Why aren’t you answering?”

“It’s true that we crossed paths in the capital,” I replied evenly, “but Lord Manell is not my master.”

I figured it would be best to end this quickly, so I answered as vaguely as possible.

But they didn’t like that.

They clearly saw through my attempt to brush them off and narrowed their eyes in displeasure.

“Then who is your master—oh. Wait a second.”

The noble who had been grabbing me suddenly froze.

Then, realization dawned on his face.

“You’re with Denkart? You’re his servant??”

“…Yes.”

At my confirmation, he immediately turned to the others.

“See? I told you! The one Manellano was playing around with and the one he keeps are the same person!”