Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 136

“You came without notice. I hope this isn’t an inconvenience.”

“Not at all. It is an honor to see a familiar face. A rare delight for a morning in Rezendar.”

Edric gazed at Heaz Rezendar, who showed not the slightest sign of disturbance, and solidified his suspicions.

The group that had been lurking near the Denkart estate recently—spying, watching—they were undoubtedly this man’s underlings.

The reason was obvious.

‘…Lobel, of course.’

Edric clicked his tongue internally.

Lobel had a strange way of attracting troublesome people.

He hadn’t even needed to ask Lobel; he knew that Heaz Rezendar would have taken an interest in him regardless.

‘How did he end up catching the attention of someone like this?’

But there was no need to provoke anything before getting what he came for.

Lowering his gaze, Edric took a slow sip of tea, as if savoring the moment.

He was already aware that the Hornet Guild had been purchasing large quantities of enchanted stone tablets.

‘…Lobel must be behind it.’

If Evo Martin, the Hornet Guild Master, had left his post just to handle this matter personally, then it was certainly related to Lobel.

That meant Edric couldn’t sit idle either.

If Hornet was only obtaining the enchanted tablets available on the market, then Edric could track down the ones hidden away.

Even the secret stockpiles that nobles had stashed away, lying to their own families and kin to keep them secure.

Because Edric possessed not only the blood of Denkart but also the blood of Diff.

For that reason, he had been tracking individuals who hoarded wealth and artifacts—people who hid them within their estates.

Rezendar was one of those targets.

‘Not that I intended to visit like this.’

Edric traced his fingers along the smooth surface of his teacup, lost in thought.

‘This estate carries the energy of an enchanted stone tablet. The power is flowing from below… the basement, then.’

With confirmation in hand, there was no need to delay further.

Edric slid a contract across the table toward Heaz Rezendar.

“Sign this.”

The contract listed a price dozens of times the market value—something he always carried to present to any noble he came across.

Whenever and wherever an enchanted tablet was available, he was ready to make an offer.

He had already signed it. Only Heaz’s signature was needed now.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I want to purchase all the enchanted stone tablets in your possession.”

“…….”

For a brief moment, a glacial chill passed through Heaz Rezendar’s expression.

That reaction confirmed it—he had been hiding them, even from his own family.

Or perhaps… he had stolen them himself.

‘When he’s enraged… the black smoke rising from his palm.’

That eerie sight wasn’t a hallucination—it was proof that he was descended from the vanished black mages of history.

The last heir of the black mages would have inherited the power to conceal anything, even through illusion.

According to the records of Diff, they could cast powerful hallucinations.

With the situation assessed, Edric calmly set his teacup down.

“Given the nature of this deal, I thought it best to come in person.”

“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard… but I’m afraid you’re mistaken. You’ve come for nothing.”

Edric saw no point in arguing further. Instead, he stood up.

He stopped in front of a glass vase resting on the table.

The flowers, meticulously arranged by skilled servants, decorated the vase beautifully.

Reaching into his coat, Edric pulled out a single, withered flower and placed it at the front.

Heaz Rezendar, watching the scene unfold, narrowed his sharp eyes.

The flower was wilted and crushed, completely out of place.

‘…Is he mocking me? Suggesting I am less suited for this position than my brother?’

But how had he known about the enchanted stone tablets?

Everything about this was a mystery.

And then—

‘…!’

Heaz’s eyes widened.

As Edric’s fingers lightly brushed over the petals, an unbelievable sight unfolded before him.

A warm glow blossomed, and the darkened, lifeless petals regained their vibrance, as if the flower had never withered at all.

As a descendant of black mages, Heaz recognized what this meant.

Edric was a Diff.

“Your brother is right upstairs. Shall I go see him?”

“…….”

It was a threat.

If he didn’t sign immediately, Edric would revive his brother—claiming his position in the family for himself.

And Edric Denkart had the status and ability to do just that.

For the first time, cracks formed in Heaz Rezendar’s composed expression.

‘…That damn Diff bastard.’

Even as black smoke coiled more aggressively from his fingertips, Edric remained unmoved.

Coming to this estate had been the right decision.

The very idea of a man like this taking an interest in Lobel disgusted him. He couldn’t allow them to exchange even a single word longer.

Revealing himself as a Diff had been intentional. It was meant to make Heaz abandon his greed from the start.

Edric understood—he, too, was not an ordinary human.

Just as he couldn’t reveal his own identity carelessly, Heaz Rezendar wouldn’t dare expose himself either.

Because doing so would mean proving Edric’s existence as well.

With trembling hands, Heaz picked up the pen, gripping it as if he might snap it in half.

 

 

 

****

 

 

The young master remained unchanged after that.

He was so overwhelmed with affection for me that he didn’t know what to do with himself, and the frustration of not being able to show it only made him more restless.

He looked clumsy, like a boy experiencing his first love.

It was adorable—so much so that I had to hold back my laughter—but it wasn’t entirely pleasant.

The young master, constantly anxious that I might disappear, didn’t seem to know how to truly trust someone.

I couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness.

‘…Because I’m the reason for it.’

No matter how deep his affection was, I was the one who had shattered his long-standing trust.

And from that, I learned a valuable lesson.

The longer I hid a lie, the worse the consequences would be.

“Brother, I have something to tell you.”

Originally, I had planned to tell the young master about my illness first.

But he had been too busy with the Denkart merchant guild’s affairs lately, so it was impossible.

So before revealing my condition to him, I decided to confide in Rimson first.

At the very least, I wanted him to know that I was a woman.

But as it turned out, Rimson was an even better person than I had thought.

“I—I’m sorry! About back then… I really had no choice…!”

I was the one who should have been apologizing, yet he was the one bowing his head and saying sorry to me.

Seeing such a large man flustered made me want to laugh, but at the same time, it hurt a little.

“…Things are fine between you and the young master, right? They are, right?”

He had been worried about us all this time, and yet I had deceived him.

“…I’m the one who should be apologizing. I was wrong, brother.”

When I spoke my apology in a quiet voice, Rimson looked at me as if wondering, ‘What’s gotten into you today?’

Then, as if he had come to some realization, he suddenly looked determined and firmly declared,

“…I’m sorry. No matter what, I can’t vouch for you.”

“What are you talking about? You know I’m a decent person. Stop imagining weird things and just listen to me for once.”

“It was a joke. Alright, speak up.”

A joke, my foot.

The way his eyes darted around like he was ready to bolt at any second made it obvious that he was serious.

…How should I even say this?

Scratching the back of my neck awkwardly, I carefully spoke.

“Actually… I’ve been hiding something for a long time. I… I’m a woman.”

“…Yeah. I heard.”

…What?

I snapped my head up in shock.

Rimson was looking at me seriously, his eyes filled with both sympathy and concern.

‘Did the young master tell him? No, he’s not the type to reveal things about me to others…’

For a moment, I wondered if, despite my words, I had actually trusted Rimson deeply all along.

And then he continued.

“I heard that lately, in Elkatan, they’ve been making all sorts of medicine. They say they can cure even the most incurable diseases… and there were even rumors about them developing a drug that could change someone’s gender.”

Since I was always interested in medicine and health, I listened attentively.

Was there anyone in the Terua Empire who didn’t know about the good work Elkatan did?

But I had no idea they were creating such outlandish medicines, just as Rimson had said.

“You… You’d do anything for the young master. So, of course, you’d have spent your entire fortune to buy and take it… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just feel bad for Tilly, your future wife, having to put up with you for a lifetime.”

How could someone be this dense?

Leaving behind Rimson, who was now roaring like an enraged bear, I walked away.

 

 

****

 

 

 

In the afternoon, I was summoned by the Duke for the first time in a long while.

‘…What does he want to talk about, calling me in like this?’

With the curse already lifted, I had assumed there would be no more private meetings like this.

My footsteps felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton on the way there.

For some reason… I felt an odd sense of guilt, as if I had wronged the Duke.

Even if he hadn’t raised the young master with much affection, he was still his father…

And no father would be thrilled about their son becoming obsessed with someone like me.

‘Especially since that son even managed to break the lifelong curse he suffered from… He must be incredibly proud. Even if he doesn’t show it, I doubt I meet his expectations.’

Even if he didn’t hand me a bag of money, he could still offer something else as a quiet way of telling me to leave.

Feeling tense, I arrived at the Duke’s office.

But when I finally saw him again, he treated me with little concern.

“Sign this.”

His tone was so indifferent that it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had been discussing the underground stone tablets just yesterday.

‘…Does he really not know yet?’

The truth should have spread by now. Even Tilly had asked me if I was going to be okay.

The servants had also been giving me strange looks.

Most of them, whenever they saw me, would say a few words of encouragement, telling me not to let it get to me…

Lost in thought, I didn’t realize he was watching me, staring as if I were being ridiculously slow.

Snapping back to reality, I picked up the pen.

But the moment I looked at the document, I froze, my mouth slightly agape.

Edric Denkart’s Inheritance Agreement

The young master’s words—how he wanted to give me everything—had not been a lie.

“…Why are you giving this to me?”

“Since the brat has accumulated too much wealth, I had to rewrite the contract.”

His voice, thick with disinterest, carried no emotion.

Not even as he handed me the inheritance papers of his only son.

“If he dies, the inheritance tax will be deducted accordingly. Keep that in mind when you claim it.”

…What an absolutely terrible man. Was he actually praying for his son’s death?

With reddened eyes, I glared at the infuriating Duke before slowly running my fingers over the document.

An endless list of estates, assets, and mineral veins…

I had the sudden thought that even the young master himself might not know the full extent of it.

‘Not that he ever needed to know.’

For some reason, the realization made me bite my lip in frustration.

‘Because he intends to leave it all to me when he dies.’

Then, beneath that document, there was another page.

Though it had been well preserved without a single crease, the texture was that of a document that had gone out of style seven years ago.

The list of assets under the Denkart heir’s name was shorter than the one above.

[ Inheritor: Lobelia Flor ]

Next to the familiar signature of the young master was my fingerprint, stamped in red.