Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 177 - Side Story Chapter 12

‘…So in the end, it goes to Edric Denkart again.’

Emperor Louis glanced between Edric and the silver stag on the platform.

The silver stag, its blood thoroughly wiped away and now wrapped in black cloth, looked more mystical than grotesque.

But to Louis, it symbolized obsession.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Edric still harvesting silver stags just to give his wife a dagger, even though he knew how precious they were to the imperial family.

‘…Honestly.’

A few years ago, when Lord Denkart inherited his title and showed yet another miracle, the nobles whispered among themselves.

Marnellano still glared at Edric with a bitter expression, just like back then.

Putting on a somewhat dignified face, Emperor Louis placed a laurel crown on Edric’s head.

“To the winner of this tournament, Duke Edric Denkart, I bestow the Sword of the Sun.”

Then he handed Edric the dagger from the half-open golden box.

Edric’s eyes sparkled as if he had never been bored in the first place.

Unlike the Moon’s Dagger, this one had a golden edge and an alluring, mysterious charm.

‘Lobel will definitely love it, right?’

Of course she would—she had shown interest even in Delilah’s dagger.

Edric wanted to give this dagger to Lobel as soon as possible.

So even as the emperor continued his congratulatory speech, he remained expressionless.

‘…Isn’t this a bit much?’

The emperor seemed irritated by the lack of reaction, but still finished the speech with a smile. That’s what made him emperor, after all.

But Lobel didn’t respond the way he had hoped.

Instead, she seemed more fascinated by the silver stag she had never seen before, and even asked if perhaps these kinds of tournaments should be canceled because they were cruel.

Then, without looking too closely at the dagger, she placed it into Denkart’s glass collection cabinet.

Of course, she stored it carefully to avoid damage or moisture, but Edric was still in shock.

‘…Does she not like it?’

It didn’t seem to be her taste.

She often looked at the Moon’s Dagger with its cool, elegant curves, but barely glanced at this one.

So Edric returned to the mansion thinking he needed to find another dagger.

The whole time, Lobel still didn’t seem very happy.

Edric felt deflated.

‘……’

He felt pathetic for having childishly gotten his hopes up without even preparing a gift Lobel would like.

But that night, while Edric was quietly changing into his nightclothes, Lobel, already in bed, spoke up.

“Hey, honey. Can I talk now?”

Her tone made it sound like she had been holding it in for a while, and Edric suddenly came to attention.

No wonder—he’d been away from home since just before the hunting festival and hadn’t had a chance to talk to her.

He’d had to gather the kinds of herbs that silver stags liked in advance, for a successful hunt.

Of course, he could’ve gone out and found the stag himself like before, but he wanted to finish the hunt quickly and return to see Lobel, so he searched for a different method this time.

And after the festival, he was lost in thought about finding a new dagger.

Thinking about it now, maybe his actions had made Lobel feel frustrated or neglected, and Edric felt sorry.

He spoke in the most heartfelt voice he could muster.

“Of course. You can talk anytime.”

“Mm. Okay.”

But for some reason, Lobel seemed nervous. She even fiddled with the bedsheet.

…Why is Lobel acting like this?

Edric looked at her curiously, and she scratched her cheek with her index finger before saying,

“Um. I have a gift for you too.”

“Thank you.”

“…Do you even know what it is? What if it’s something you don’t like?”

Lobel asked teasingly.

She often joked like this.

And every time, Edric would reply with a soft smile.

“Silly. How could I dislike anything you give me?”

But today, Lobel reacted strangely.

She put her hands on her hips like she’d heard something ridiculous and scolded him.

“Hey. Don’t say such rude things from now on.”

…Rude?

The only thing he’d said was “silly,” and Edric looked puzzled.

Lobel had used even rougher words in front of her brother Robert.

And when Edric cursed at Alexis during their time as attendants, she said it felt satisfying and even praised him for it…

So maybe she was just saying that, as a duke now, he needed to act more appropriately…

As Edric nodded, accepting that explanation, Lobel frowned slightly and said,

“What if the kids hear and repeat it?”

“…Kids?”

Edric blinked, confused.

There’s only the two of us here…

Unless she meant the gift was something she was calling “kids.”

Some nobles did refer to things like carriages or necklaces as “babies,” after all.

Anyway, Edric waited silently for the gift. If Lobel was giving it, even a rock would be fine.

In fact, even that rock-like cookie she gave him had made him really happy.

Looking at her with hopeful eyes, Lobel shyly smiled and pointed to herself.

“Here, this is the gift. Congrats on becoming a dad, honey.”

“…?”

Even though he heard her, Edric didn’t immediately understand what she meant.

A gift… Dad… Congratulations…

Could those words even apply to him?

He had, of course, imagined a future with Lobel and a child who resembled her—but now that it was real, it was hard to accept.

It felt more believable to call it a dream.

So as Edric stood there stunned and unresponsive, Lobel began to feel a little hurt.

She had suspected she was pregnant when she missed her period, and a physician had confirmed it.

Even some of the other staff had quietly figured it out, but she’d asked them not to say anything so she could tell him herself.

She had waited, holding back the news, because she thought he was enjoying the rare hunting festival—and now, this was his reaction…

Lobel was about to voice her disappointment, but then closed her mouth.

Tears welled up in Edric’s pretty eyes, and suddenly, they began to fall in big drops.

“Why are you crying?!”

Lobel was utterly startled and panicked.

She quickly got down from the bed and stood in front of Edric.

“Don’t tell me… you hate that I’m having a baby that much?!”

Edric quickly shook his head.

Even that simple movement made thick tears fall.

Lobel, who had been staring at him in a daze, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Then the reason he was crying was obvious.

‘…Seriously. You’re that happy?’

As if she hadn’t been upset moments ago, Lobel brought a handkerchief and wiped his tears.

But Edric’s tears didn’t stop, soaking the white cloth completely.

‘Should I bring another handkerchief? What do I do?’

While she was debating, the fireplace suddenly flared up—whoosh!—and then died out.

…It seemed he lost control of his emotions.

He was good at everything else, yet still got shaken just by Lobel’s words.

That too was so Edric-like, and Lobel couldn’t help but laugh again a few more times.

“Ahhh! Fire suddenly burst out!”

“It’s a ghost!”

After hearing the commotion outside, she couldn’t laugh anymore, but…

‘…There’s not really a fire somewhere, is there?’

As happy as he was, it was still a bit worrying.

As Lobel anxiously glanced out the window, Edric hugged her.

“There’s no fire. I checked everything. And I calmed it down too.”

“Oh… well, that was quick of you.”

“Lobelia.”

Edric gently took both of Lobel’s hands in his.

Maybe it was because of the pregnancy or something else,

But these days her hands were always puffy in the mornings, and she didn’t want anyone to see them.

Still, Edric held them like they were the most precious things in the world and pressed his lips to them like a stamp.

“I’ll do my best.”

“You’re already doing great. You’re going to do even better?”

“I have to. Now that our family is growing, I have to be twice as good.”

Like they say—people resemble those they love. Edric had grown more and more like Lobel.

And even with tears still on his face, he spoke boldly.

Lobel, touched by his sweet and admirable heart, hugged him the way he liked best and said,

“I love you, Edric. I’ll do my best too.”

From that day on, Edric had two new dreams.

He wanted to be a better husband to Lobelia.

And he wanted to be a good father to their children.

The dreams were so sweet that Edric felt like he breathed honey-scented air every day.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Edric knew well how to be a good husband.

In the morning, he woke up with Lobel, gave her a kiss, offered her a glass of water, and helped her get ready.

During the day, he thought of her whenever he had a spare moment, planned conversations to share at dinner, and thought hard about what might make her happy.

At night, they enjoyed a proper dinner together, and he listened to everything she wanted to say, bringing up the topics he had prepared to keep their conversations flowing.

The two had gone through many ups and downs to understand each other, so once they became husband and wife, they cherished one another even more.

Especially Edric, who focused entirely on Lobel.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he observed her with his full attention—and for Edric, that wasn’t even hard.

But there was one problem.

Edric wanted to be a good father, but he knew nothing about children or how parents were supposed to love them.

This kind of thing hadn’t been covered even in Lord Atherton’s lessons.

And besides, didn’t people say children were mirrors of their parents?

He worried that, just like that saying, he might end up being a bad father.

—So he stayed up at night in worry, and Lobel told him to stop thinking unnecessary thoughts and just go to sleep.—

When morning came, Lobel told him gently that he didn’t need to feel so burdened, and that they could prepare together little by little.

But Edric couldn’t agree.

Being prepared ahead of time was crucial.

Especially since children, unlike adults, are delicate, and their early years would affect them deeply even as adults—he couldn’t afford to take it lightly.

So he searched for parenting books again and again and read through them, but they didn’t help much.

They only had basic, general advice.

Like patting a baby’s back after they drink milk.

Edric made sure to memorize all those things carefully, but he still wasn’t satisfied.

After all, there were capable nannies at Denkart who could help at any time, and even if he wasn’t there, the baby would be well cared for.

Still, Edric wanted to fulfill his role as a father himself.

So after much thought, he decided to visit the one person he knew who was the most exceptional father—his father-in-law.