Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 171 - Side Story Chapter 6

One week before attending the debutante ball.

I couldn’t help but be filled with questions.

‘…Why is Edric acting like this?’

He used to try to stay close to me no matter what, but suddenly he said he wanted to use a different room.

At first, I thought he brought work home because he was so busy, but when it kept going for several days, I started to feel something was off.

He even skipped doing my hair. He always silently enjoyed putting scented oils and the latest accessories in my hair, so I was seriously worried.

‘…Did something happen?’

The Forest of Dif is full of plants I’ve never seen before.

Unexpected things could’ve happened there, or something difficult that Edric couldn’t handle might’ve occurred.

So I asked him.

“Did something happen in the Forest of Dif?”

But he just replied shortly with a no and disappeared.

He walked so fast… I didn’t think I could catch him even if I ran.

‘…He’s trying to avoid me.’

I tried to think it was for my own good, even though I was hurt.

But I couldn’t just leave it like that.

After thinking it over, I tried to find a way.

‘First of all, Edric is avoiding even just running into me…’

If that was the case, I decided to meet the person closest to Edric first.

“What exactly are you hiding?”

When I called him, Sir Arif came out, avoiding my gaze.

The gentle knight’s face was filled with discomfort.

Just like someone not good at lying, he couldn’t even pretend he didn’t know.

And yet, he didn’t outright deny anything either… So there definitely was something going on.

“Tell me.”

“…It’s nothing bad like before.”

After my repeated pushing, Sir Arif finally broke his silence.

But his response was lukewarm, and I couldn’t get a clear answer.

It seemed he really didn’t plan to tell me.

What on earth could it be?

“…So this is how we’re doing things, huh.”

I was frustrated, but rather than waste more time, I stood up.

And I went straight to the second person Edric kept close.

He was a man who still had the reliable presence from his mercenary days.

‘There he is.’

He was walking down the corridor with a stride too bold to be called that of an aide.

I hesitated and then clapped my hands together and called out.

“…R-Crimson!”

“…”

Brother Rimson came to a sudden halt.

“R-Rimson, could you please stop for a moment?”

I felt awkward saying it, and I’m sure Brother Rimson felt awkward hearing it.

But we both tried to fix our speech out of consideration for the nearby staff.

“…Haha. Lady. Did you call me?”

Brother Rimson turned around slowly, like a broken machine.

And yet he still couldn’t make eye contact—it seemed he was still awkward.

He had once seriously asked me at my wedding if I had really become a woman and got pinched by Sister Tilly for it.

Then, when he realized I actually was a woman, he turned pale…

They say he fought monsters back in his mercenary days, but it must’ve been all bluff.

I mean, is it really that hard to accept I’m a woman?

‘It’s better than before, but… why do you only stare at the top of my head when I talk?’

It was a bit sad, but not something I couldn’t understand.

Even though we were kids, we had once shared a room and gone through a lot together…

Lately, everyone’s been treating me like I have the plague, so I was just feeling a little left out.

But of course, he was loyal as always.

As soon as I looked troubled, Brother Rimson came close like he’d never avoided me and asked,

“Why, is there a problem…?”

“…There is.”

Brother Rimson stared at me like he was trying to figure something out.

Then, as if deciding, ‘There’s no way something’s wrong with her,’ he suddenly asked,

“Don’t tell me you two fought?? …Ack.”

He asked casually in informal speech and then got flustered himself.

He quickly covered his mouth with both hands and looked around.

“Don’t worry. The maids already took the laundry in and left.”

“…Ahem. Did you two have a fight?”

“Let’s talk over there.”

“…”

I guess it was still uncomfortable for him.

He was looking around for an excuse to escape, but in the end, just followed me.

“It’s not that we fought, but… we might.”

“…Why? You two are always so sweet to each other??”

When I gave a bitter smile and nodded toward the back garden, Brother Rimson followed behind me, grumbling the whole way.

He mumbled about how the Duke shouldn’t have left for work right after marriage, how he still couldn’t understand nobles and their ways.

But it was all because he was worried about me.

Hearing that made me smile, remembering the old days. Right, Brother Rimson had always put me before Edric.

He was the one who warned me from the start not to get too involved with Edric.

“Exactly.”

“So what is it? Just spit it out.”

Brother Rimson looked at me seriously.

He didn’t care if anyone heard—he seemed ready to help carry my burden first.

It felt nice, like old times.

But first, I needed to figure out what was going on with Edric.

“Well… Edric is avoiding me. He’s never done that before.”

“Hey, let’s be real. The young master used to avoid you all the time.”

“…No. He hid under the blankets, sure, but he never actually tried to use a separate room.”

“What? You’re in separate rooms???”

“Did you just say that loud on purpose for people to hear?”

“No, Lady. But hasn’t he been staying at the estate lately? It’s not like he’s been going out or anything.”

“That’s true… Edric’s been at the estate, but he’s not trying to meet me. He just keeps… avoiding me. I don’t know why…”

If it were someone else, Brother Rimson would’ve said something like, “Maybe he’s sick of you.”

But now he was just silent.

Unlike Sir Arif, though, he didn’t seem like he was hiding anything—he genuinely didn’t know.

Still, just in case, I asked,

“Do you know anything? Sir Arif said it wasn’t anything serious.”

“Uh… I don’t know either, honestly.”

So then, should I keep pretending not to know? Or just ask Edric directly again?

But then, Brother Rimson muttered reluctantly,

“All I know is… I just helped him put on a facial pack once.”

 

 

 

****

 

 

Edric’s expression in front of the mirror was dark.

He’d been tricked.

He should never have trusted that damned Rimson.

He ground his teeth, conscious of the small pimple on his left cheek.

‘…He said it was good for the skin!’

Edric, who had never once had a blemish in his entire life, couldn’t help but feel despair.

Even if his skin would be smooth again by the day of the debutante ball, having something like this on his face was a problem.

He had applied that mud-like stuff for his skin’s sake for the debutante ball, but more than that, it was to look good for Lobel.

No amount of effort was enough to look better for her, and yet this is what he ended up with…

‘…Why? Why isn’t the power of Dif working either?’

Even though his kind was known for being heavily influenced by nature, this was too much.

No matter how hard he scrubbed the seemingly tainted mud off, his face only turned red, and the blemish refused to disappear.

It was small, but it really got on his nerves—especially since it was on the cheek Lobel liked to kiss.

Even though he’d managed to hide it until now, it was only a matter of time before Lobel noticed.

‘I want to look good for her…’

Staring daggers at his mouth in the round mirror, he swept his hand down his face.

Then he flinched again.

He’d heard touching a blemish could make it swell even more.

He gloomily resolved that he must make an ointment that was good for the skin sometime soon—when a familiar voice spoke.

“…So it was because of that?”

When did Lobel come in??

He flinched and looked around in surprise.

But no one was in the room.

“Over here, over here.”

When he turned toward the voice, there was Lobel at the open window.

Their bedroom was on the second floor, but his personal study was on the first floor, so she could see him from outside.

Edric quickly turned his body, but his flustered face was still reflected perfectly in the mirror.

In that moment, he couldn’t help but think he looked like a complete fool.

And then a clear laugh rang out behind him.

Feeling his cheeks heat up, he hung his head low as Lobel entered.

These days, she tried to act more like a proper lady and avoided this sort of behavior, so he didn’t understand why she picked now to come in.

But even that thought faded away as his mood lifted.

It was because her cheerful laugh echoed in his ears.

She looked lovingly at the small mark he’d tried so hard to hide.

“Living this long, it’s the first time I’ve seen our Edric get a pimple.”

“…”

“It’s cute.”

Edric found it harder to look at Lobel now, but for a different reason than before.

Now that he was the head of a noble house and admired by so many, countless people looked up to him with envy.

But no one in the world looked at him the way Lobel did.

For some reason, he suddenly felt unbearably shy, and mumbled a little gruffly,

“…Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not teasing. It’s really cute.”

He stared at her as she tried to hold back her laughter, then asked softly,

“Lobelia, have you ever had a pimple?”

In Edric’s memory, she’d always had smooth, fair skin.

But his curiosity got the better of him, and she replied like it was obvious.

“Of course I have.”

“When?”

Why didn’t I notice?

I want to see it too…

He felt regretful inside, and Lobel avoided his gaze as she added,

“It was a really, really long time ago.”

“…When I left?”

“No, even before that.”

Then maybe it was when she was still growing up in Velican.

But from her tone, it sounded like she meant even further back.

As he looked puzzled, Lobel smiled brightly and said,

“You’ll be the most handsome and charming one there without doing anything. So help dress me up instead.”

If Lobel had a talent, it was saying the most obvious things in a way that made them feel special.

And Edric, who had Lobel as his wife, couldn’t help but live surrounded by happiness.

“With pleasure.”

Forgetting his earlier gloom, Edric smiled brightly and helped Lobel get ready.