Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 164

Edric, who shared the Fruit of Life with me, regained more than half of Dif’s power.
Thankfully, his recovery was also happening quickly.

Unlike him, I didn’t feel much change.

I had already received Dif’s power from Edric, so I could use it freely, and my health was nothing to worry about.

Edric might have felt it was a bit unfair, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

He was just focused on something else.

“I’m thinking of using Dif’s Forest from now on.”

It was unexpected.

Edric had several grand estates, islands, and villas, yet never seemed very interested in them.

Could it be that even he was drawn to Dif’s Forest?
Well, it is such a mysterious and beautiful place that anyone would want it, so it’s not that strange.

‘I was a bit sad too, thinking I couldn’t go back…….’

But with what he said next, I realized my guess was completely wrong.

“There are a lot of herbs there you can’t find anywhere else on the continent. If we take them and use them well, we’ll get better results. I really won’t join any more experiments.”

I looked at Edric in surprise, but on the dark deck without even a small lantern, I couldn’t see his face clearly.

Still, I could hear his breathing tremble slightly. Edric was deeply afraid of something.

“I don’t want to do anything that would make you worry… and I want to live with you for a long time.
Just thinking about dying now… it’s too scary.”

Edric kept his back turned to me, still staring out at the night sea, trying to hide his vulnerable expression.

“I can’t leave you behind, Robelia. Even the thought of that makes me hate it.”

Even the gentle sea breeze made my heart race.

I love every side of Edric that I’ve seen,but I love him most when he’s being honest.

No matter how irritable or weak he may seem, I couldn’t help but love him.

Trying to hold back a ticklish laugh, I hugged him tightly from behind.

Then I spoke like I was doing him a big favor.

“Then if you die, I’ll die with you.”

“…That’s even worse. Don’t.”

Why?

I looked at him curiously, and Edric let out a long sigh.

Then he turned around to face me, grabbed my shoulders firmly, and said,

“Your mother and father would be heartbroken.”

“……”

“Even as a joke, don’t say things like that.”

…Honestly, I thought that was the joke, but his face was still incredibly serious.

I couldn’t help but laugh—Edric was being such a fool, it was ridiculous.

And that laugh was quickly passed on to the lips of the man I love.

 

 

****

 

 

When we returned to the port even more smoothly than when we left, I spotted some familiar faces.

‘What? Why are those people…….’

Manellano, sure, but even the diligent and serious Evo—why was he acting like that?

In the original story, around this time, he was busier than anyone else expanding the merchant group……

I glanced at Edric, whose mood was turning gloomy, and said quickly,

“I didn’t tell them to come. I swear.”

“…But you did tell them you were coming here.”

You didn’t even tell me honestly……

Edric shot a cold look toward the port.

I knew this already… but even though Edric was cute and lovable, he could be secretly quite petty.

As I anxiously followed Edric while he unloaded the luggage, the two people spotted me.

It would’ve been better if they just left, but of course, that wasn’t going to happen.

Especially Manellano—he was the loudest.

“Lobelia!”

I flinched at that name, and Edric’s expression turned grim.

“…Lobelia?”

“Well, um, it’s just that Lord Manell happened to meet Brother Rober by chance.”

I quickly blocked his path and gave an awkward smile.

“Ah, haha. Hello. What brings you here……?”

He looked thrilled to see me—almost uncomfortably so—but the moment he saw Edric, his face turned sulky.

“What do you mean, ‘what brings me’? I came to meet you, of course. What the—you’re still not dead, young lord?”

“……”

“Lobel. You’re back.”

“…H-hi?”

I gave a hesitant greeting to the two of them while watching Edric’s reaction.

After all… I was the one who disappeared after receiving their help, so I couldn’t just ignore them.

While I was caught in that awkward moment, someone unexpected appeared, slicing through the tense mood.

Alexis approached, his black cloak billowing behind him.

…Wait, what’s he doing here?

Either way, it worked.

Startled by the overwhelming presence, Manellano took a step back, and Alexis looked down at me and said,

“It’s ready.”

I spotted Brother Rimson waving cheerfully from the carriage. Judging by his yawn, he must’ve been waiting a while.

Even a father gets worried about his son, huh……

Feeling a little touched, I tried to shield Edric’s luggage with my body.
We had a gift for Brother Rober, but nothing for the Duke, so I felt a bit guilty.

Thanks to the Duke’s arrival, the standoff between Manellano and Edric didn’t happen.

No matter how reckless Manellano could be, he wouldn’t act like a wild horse in front of the head of House Denkart.

“Th-that’s our carriage, right? Let’s go. I’ll greet you both properly another time.”

Even I could hear how flustered my voice sounded as I grabbed Edric’s hand and led him to the carriage.

As we rode off, I glanced out the window and locked eyes with Evo.

It was Evo, after all.

From far away, he gave me a gentle smile, trying to comfort me instead.

I pretended not to see Manellano’s upset face and gave a small wave only to Evo.

Then suddenly, my vision was blocked.

‘…Huh?’

Edric, who had sat close beside me, covered my eyes with his hand.

It wasn’t until a little while after the carriage started moving that he lowered his hand.

But his cold, hardened expression melted right away with a kiss.

And with a second kiss, it completely softened.

Relieved by that, I didn’t give much thought to anything else.

The Duke’s words—“It’s ready”—clearly had a deeper meaning.

But I assumed it just meant he had prepared the carriage for us and brushed it off.

Until we arrived at the mansion, I had no idea what it really meant.

 

 

****

 

 

“Congratulations on your wedding, ma’am!”

So the old saying can be wrong.

They say couples start to resemble each other, but that wasn’t true at all.

As soon as it became known that I was a woman, Rimson-hyung started avoiding me little by little, but Tilly unnie became even more active in approaching me.

Sometimes she would joke that she had to stay on good terms with the future duchess, but somehow it didn’t feel like a joke.

It was a bit overwhelming…

“When it’s just us, you can relax like before. We haven’t even had the ceremony yet!”

“How could I? But since it’s the lady’s command, I’ll follow it just for today.”

“Haa…”

Her teasing tone made me sigh automatically.

Still, I was really grateful to her for worrying about me enough to come all the way to my room.

To be honest, I was worried people might start avoiding me.

After a short hesitation, I carefully asked,

“Were the others… really shocked?”

“Wouldn’t it be stranger if they weren’t? You’re becoming a duchess.”

“Sigh… I guess they’re pretty upset…”

“Why would they be?”

“Well… I hid the fact that I’m a woman for years…”

I thought anyone would feel betrayed.

After spending so many years together, and then finding out I wasn’t a man, but a woman…

There might be people who felt uncomfortable or weird about it…

I had gotten along with everyone in Denkart, so just imagining the awkwardness made me feel bitter.

Of course, it was my fault, so I couldn’t really complain…

But Tilly unnie spoke in a light voice.

“Who said they’re upset? Everyone already knew.”

“…What?”

According to Tilly unnie, the other maids had already guessed I was a woman.

“Hey, do you think noble household maids have poor intuition?”

Apparently, they’d even badmouthed Wayne, the newbie butler, for not noticing.

They used to discuss when I’d finally reveal it, and how to get the duke’s permission when I did…

“So we were just waiting to step in if you needed help.”

“Help?”

…What kind of help could they even give?

Tilly unnie, wearing a sly smile, suddenly winked and clapped her hands together.

“The lady has requested everyone to come in!”

As if on cue, the door to my room opened.

Then, the maids and attendants I was close with hurriedly rolled in what looked like giant clothes racks.

After greeting them, I looked over the contents.

Wedding dresses, shoes, accessories… all sorts of extravagant items that sparkled just from being in the room.

They were everything needed for a noble’s wedding. Seeing them made it feel real.

‘I’m really getting married…’

Of course, I had made up my mind, but I didn’t expect things to move so fast.

Once again, the duke’s decisiveness was on full display.

‘I mean… he didn’t even give me a heads-up before preparing the wedding dress, tiara, and wedding shoes…’

Sure, they were all masterpieces worthy of praise, but it still felt like I was being ripped off with my eyes wide open.

That’s how overwhelming it all was.

‘Besides, isn’t this kind of wasteful?’

Shoes were one thing—they could’ve guessed the size from the ones I normally wore—but not the dress.

My old servant uniform was loose-fitting, so the dress definitely wouldn’t match my measurements. And it was too late to alter something that was already fully decorated.

Thinking about wearing that beautiful dress once and then throwing it away felt like such a waste.

If I’d known, I would’ve worn a more fitted uniform all along—regret came too late.

But surprisingly, when I put on the dress, it fit perfectly.

As Tilly unnie untied the laces from behind, I asked,

“How did you know my size?”

“I told you—we’re all pretty sharp-eyed.”

“……”

…Still, how is this even possible?

Anyway, I felt grateful toward the duke.

Maybe this is what family is all about. I hoped this occasion would help him and his son get closer too…

While fidgeting with the hem of the pants I changed back into, Tilly unnie asked as the other maids left the room,

“You’re not going to call yourself duchess?”

I nodded.

“No matter what others whisper… I don’t want to hurt him.”

The wedding ceremony was for me, but also for Edric.

It would be one of the most beautiful days we’d remember, and I didn’t want anything unpleasant to happen that day.

If anything, I was more worried that marrying as a former servant would bring dishonor.

But even that turned out to be an unnecessary concern.

Maybe the duke sent word ahead, but the Crown Prince’s extravagant gift had publicly arrived at the Denkart estate, raising the prestige.

And Princess Delilah, now Empress of another nation, had also sent a present that made an impression.

“She saved my wife. This is the least I could do.”

“Lobel, I’ll buy you ten castles in my lands, so just come to our empire, okay? We’ve got plenty of spare princes!”

…For reference, Her Highness the Princess sent me a royal court painter from her country.

According to the interpreter, she solemnly commanded the painter to sketch me in my dress.

I was touched by her thoughtfulness, but Edric brought in more painters with a strangely disgruntled expression.

In the end, our wedding was to be attended by the most famous artist in Terua, his apprentices, and the imperial painter from Milcen sent by Princess Delilah.

They had already picked out spots in our mansion for painting.

‘…Well, I was planning to have family portraits done eventually.’

“The wedding’s happening here, right?”

“Yes.”

We decided to hold the wedding in the capital so my parents wouldn’t have to travel far, then move to live in the Denkart estate.

Edric once again suggested moving our residence to Velikan altogether… but that was just absurd.

“…By the way, while you were away, the flowers at the mansion changed a lot, didn’t they?”

Standing by the window, I pointed toward the wide-open grand garden as I asked.

The scenery was still beautiful, but the flowers were different. Specifically, there were noticeably more purple ones.

Denkart’s first mistress had loved flowers dearly, so many rare blooms decorated the estate.

The grand garden, the back garden, even the glass greenhouse I’d visited once.

But among them, lobelia flowers had rarely been seen. They weren’t especially beautiful or rare enough to be worth the effort.

I remembered once barely managing to find some even in a much larger estate, just to tell the young master their name. That’s how rare they were in Denkart.

They were more for “completeness,” like saying “we have one of every flower”…

‘But now the lobelia flowers have increased…’

I wondered if Edric had ordered it in advance, but Tilly unnie laughed.

“Lobelia must be lucky. Becoming such a beloved daughter-in-law.”

“…Did the duke give the order?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Eh… No way. The advisors must’ve persuaded him.”

Maybe it was just Tilly unnie’s way of comforting me since I was nervous and had so many worries ahead of the wedding.

As I started packing again, she asked where I was going in the middle of all this.

I smiled brightly at her and said,

“To become a beloved daughter-in-law.”