Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 149

“Lobelia.”

Manellano, who had no idea what I was thinking, didn’t seem to like being ignored.

After what felt like a long enough silence, he started picking a fight, sounding more irritated than before.

“Lobelia-noona. Can’t you hear me?”

“I can hear you just fine! So stop calling me that!”

He flashed a crooked smile, clearly pleased by my reaction.

“That stone slab. Is it okay to just touch it with your bare hands?”

“It doesn’t matter. Edric gave it to me.”

“…Edric?”

Honestly… I wasn’t sure if I should have said that.

But from the way Manellano was acting, it was only a matter of time before he found out about us.

It was better to say it myself rather than let him hear it from someone else and cause unnecessary problems.

“We’re officially dating.”

The smile that had been hanging on his face slowly faded.

I flinched at the unexpected change.

Recently, he’d always kept his smile on, even while furrowing his brows or slightly narrowing his eyes. I’d almost forgotten how sharp and fierce his expression could be.

My heart pounded uneasily.

‘…Is he really angry?’

But my worries were unfounded.

Before I could get more anxious, Manellano relaxed his expression and spoke.

“There’s something better about the Count of Stell compared to the Duke’s House.”

His voice was noticeably softer, as if he was trying to be considerate.

It reminded me that, despite everything, Manellano wasn’t entirely a bad person.

“Unlike the Denkart family, we don’t swear absolute loyalty to the imperial family. That’s why we have an unimaginable number of hidden relics and treasures.”

“Are you asking me to report you to the imperial family?”

The mood had lightened enough for me to joke, and he scoffed.

“If the thing you’re looking for is with me, what are you going to do if the imperial family takes it first?”

‘…How does he know what I’m looking for?’

From his confident tone, it was clear he wasn’t just making a guess.

I narrowed my eyes at him, making my suspicion clear, and Manellano snapped in irritation.

“You think I wouldn’t notice the duke running around, sucking up to nobles just to collect those stone slabs? The guy who used to treat diamonds like pebbles was suddenly desperate to find them—of course, it had to be because of you!”

So Manellano was offering to provide me with more magic stone slabs?

But that wouldn’t be helpful right now.

I couldn’t even read the ones I already had. Getting more would be pointless unless I found a way to restore the surface of the damaged slabs.

‘…The real problem is that the surface of the slabs won’t restore itself.’

That was the biggest obstacle.

I couldn’t just pull a sunken kingdom out of the depths of the sea…

As frustration weighed on me, Manellano continued speaking, as if having a conversation all on his own.

“My grandfather left me a family heirloom just for me. He passed it down, even though he warned me never to use it.”

…What kind of grandfather leaves an heirloom but tells you not to use it?

And why was Manellano offering it to me? His logic never made any sense.

I didn’t bother to hide my skepticism.

“You want to give me something that dangerous?”

“I don’t know if it’s dangerous. But if you get involved with it, things might get messy. My grandfather told me that himself when he passed it down.”

“…”

“He said not to get involved. That was his last will.”

…Was he being serious?

I hesitated, unsure whether to believe him.

Manellano wasn’t the type to go back on his word once he made up his mind.

As if intentionally trying to pique my curiosity, he grinned.

“There’s a powder that can restore the surface of the magic stone slabs.”

“…!”

“That’s what you need, right? Come with me to my estate. I’ll give it to you.”

It was tempting, but I couldn’t accept it so easily.

If his grandfather had left it to him alone, it must be incredibly valuable.

And knowing Manellano’s feelings, going to his estate with him would be inappropriate—not just for Edric but for him as well.

I had no choice but to politely refuse.

Manellano, however, simply smirked, as if he had expected it.

“I knew you’d say no.”

“Do you have to say that out loud? You’re making me feel guilty.”

As I grumbled, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small pouch.

It was wrapped in a white cloth, concealing whatever was inside.

But from the way he looked at me… I had a good guess.

“That’s why you don’t need to go. I brought it with me.”

‘…Should I take it or not?’

If he had gone through the trouble of bringing it, then he was serious about giving it to me.

There might be other noble families with hidden supplies of this powder, but there was no guarantee I’d be able to find them.

If Manellano asked for a price, I would’ve been willing to pay it.

But if I said that, he would definitely hate it.

‘For Edric’s sake, I should take it. But Manellano…’

As I wrestled with the decision, he grabbed my hand and forced the pouch into it.

“Take it. I was going to give it to you anyway. I already feel like I lost, so this is the least I can do.”

I stared at him, feeling uneasy, and he sighed.

“If you took me with it, that’d be even better.”

He looked slightly embarrassed, which didn’t suit him at all.

The atmosphere was starting to feel strange, so I deliberately lightened the mood.

“Keep dreaming. Edric is coming to meet my family soon.”

“Let him. We can stand side by side, and you can judge who’s better looking. Or I could just challenge him to a duel—want to watch?”

He sounded way too excited. I let out a sigh.

I had heard about how Edric had utterly destroyed the men who tried to pick a fight with him before.

Yet Manellano was still this confident.

‘They’re acting like children…’

At the same time, I felt both grateful and guilty.

The pouch in my hands felt heavier than it should have.

“No matter what you do, my feelings won’t change. Don’t waste your effort. Just have some tea and head back.”

“You still don’t get it, do you? My feelings don’t change easily either. And I don’t mind wasting the effort.”

He pulled up a chair and settled in beside me, propping his chin up with one hand as he gazed at me.

His stare was so intense it made me uncomfortable.

“Think about it. Wouldn’t it be better to struggle for a while than regret it for the rest of my life?”

“…”

“Your parents told me that the first head of the Flor Trading Company entered the Forest of Gods and saw the World Tree. Shouldn’t a son-in-law of your family at least have this much of an adventurous spirit?”

He knew about the founder of our company now, too?

So he had been talking about all sorts of things with my parents.

Well… that was Manellano’s talent.

As long as he kept his mouth shut, he was naturally likable.

‘Still… he has his own responsibilities. He’ll have to leave before Edric arrives.’

I let out a deep sigh.

Manellano, unaware of my thoughts, hummed happily beside me.

‘He looks way too pleased with himself.’

If anyone saw this, they’d think I was the one who confessed and got rejected.

 

 

****

 

 

Evo stared at his right hand, now dusted with white powder.

The powder he had obtained to decipher the magic stone tablet was as potent as its astronomical price suggested.

The fingerprints on his left thumb and all five fingers of his right hand had completely disappeared.

He briefly considered how he would no longer be able to stamp his seal on any contract.

If the deputy merchant lord found out, he would surely throw a fit.

Even with the trade guild’s insignia, there were still stubborn old men who insisted on fingerprint seals.

But that wasn’t the most pressing issue right now.

Evo Martin closed his weary eyes and reflected.

‘…Was Lobelia searching for information on the Dif?’

The records he had read so far all pertained to the ancient magic kingdom, with one exception—information about the Dif race.

The magic stone tablet he had uncovered contained detailed records on the Dif race.

Even the circumstances of their extinction were documented in full.

According to the records, the Dif, once regarded as symbols of eternal life, all suffered and perished with the same symptoms.

“…The black blood-like spots that spread across their bodies… That’s eerily similar to Ferus, the disease the young lord suffered from.”

Evo Martin crossed his arms, sinking into thought.

The symptoms that afflicted the Dif at the time of their extinction were strikingly similar to those of the young lord’s illness.

The fire at the hunting festival cave, which mysteriously extinguished itself and aroused suspicion.

The purification of the northern forest, once declared uninhabitable for a hundred years…

As these fragments of information converged in his mind, Evo’s long eyelashes quivered.

‘Could it be… that the young lord is a Dif?’

It was a wild theory, but not entirely baseless.

And if Lobelia was as sharp as he knew her to be, she would have already figured it out.

Evo narrowed his eyes behind his glasses.

‘It makes sense… That’s how he survived that hell unscathed.’

But even if that were true, something still didn’t add up.

The young lord’s health had been fully restored a long time ago.

Then why had Lobelia continued searching for information about the Dif?

She was never one to act without reason.

Yet Evo couldn’t find any logical explanation for why she had infiltrated Denkart as a servant for years, nor for why she persisted in this research.

‘No… I have to ask Lobelia directly.’

Sitting idly here wouldn’t solve anything.

An inexplicable unease made the usually composed Evo feel strangely restless.

Quickly pulling on his gloves, he rose from his seat.

At that moment, one of his attendants burst into the room, panting.

“You must hurry! The Duke of Rezandar has been waiting for quite some time!