Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 179 - Side Story Chapter 14

Edric stared at a light purple wool hat with a cute ribbon—something Lobel might have worn—and spoke softly.

“I’ll make something for Lobelia and the children every year, too.”

At that, Lobel’s father suddenly realized something.

This young man wasn’t a commoner—he was a noble.

No matter how meaningful a handmade gift might be, many eyes would be watching.

Doing that every year—not just once—might come across as undignified. Nobles were the kind of people who lived to find fault, after all.

‘…Was I being too careless?’

Feeling awkward in many ways, Lobel’s father subtly asked,

“Aren’t you… rather busy?”

“You were busy too, weren’t you, Father-in-law?”

“…Well, yes, I suppose. Ahem.”

Now, even when Edric looked at him with respectful eyes, it didn’t feel rewarding—it felt burdensome.

But the next thing Edric said made him laugh before he even realized it.

“And actually… I’ve been making snacks for Lobelia every day at 3 p.m.”

…It seemed he already had the makings of a good husband and father.

Looking at the very serious Edric, Lobel’s father realized something else.

“So that’s why my girl kept gaining weight every time I saw her.”

“Lobelia has always been too thin. As long as it doesn’t strain the pregnancy, she needs to stay healthy.”

When Edric refuted him for the first time, the father-in-law let out a dry laugh.

Still, a question popped into his mind.

Even if she didn’t seem like it, Lobel could be surprisingly picky in subtle ways.

So he asked what Edric was making to so perfectly suit her tastes.

“What kind of snacks do you make?”

“Usually cookies or scones… something to go with tea.”

“Scones?”

Lobel’s father frowned slightly and repeated the word.

As if wondering, Why would Lobelia eat scones?

That made Edric even more puzzled.

Lobel liked bread, but when proofing time didn’t work out, she’d happily eat scones since they were quicker to make.

He had tried using Dif’s power to control fermentation time for other breads, but Lobel insisted it wasn’t necessary—she preferred scones…

‘…Ah.’

Suddenly, a theory came to Edric, and he furrowed his brow.

He could only blame his own foolishness.

‘…She chose them because she thought I might be too busy.’

And Edric wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Lobel’s father also realized it and spoke quickly.

“Ah, no, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like Lobelia can’t eat scones. She still likes plain ones.”

“…”

A quiet gloom came over Edric’s elegant face. He tried to manage his expression but failed.

Until now, he’d always wanted to make special scones for Lobel, so he’d filled them with all kinds of things.

Thinking about her eating them just to be polite, despite not even liking them… it made his chest ache like a weight was sitting on it.

And even after returning to the estate, Edric’s heart remained unsettled.

“Here’s Lobelia’s delivery schedule.”

Alexis appeared out of nowhere, and next to him, Denian handed over a stack of papers that looked like an entire encyclopedia.

Without even glancing at the documents, Edric glared at Alexis and said,

“I don’t need it. I’ll handle everything myself.”

“Handle what, exactly?”

Alexis looked at him as if he were pathetic.

Then he said something that would go down as one of the most shocking sentences in Edric’s entire life.

“You didn’t even know Lobelia used to work underground—so what exactly have you been handling?”

 

 

****

 

 

 

I lightly touched my belly.

‘…I guess being pregnant makes you crave things you normally hate.’

For some reason today, I kept thinking about the scones Edric had made.

It was something I hadn’t even looked at since I was a child, yet now I kept salivating just thinking about it—how strange.

Come to think of it, since it was something Edric could make relatively quickly even when busy, I got used to eating it and ended up liking it.

‘…Do the kids already know how much their dad loves them?’

More than anything, even the servants—everyone except me—kept saying they were the best scones they’d ever had in their lives.

Still, I’d get to eat some soon.

Once Edric came back—it was the day of the week when he made scones—he’d surely make a generous batch.

‘I hope he gets back soon. Maybe tomorrow or the day after?’

Just as I thought that, I saw a carriage outside the window.

It was Edric’s black carriage.

As soon as I spotted it, I stood by the window watching it, then hurried to go out and greet him—but changed my mind.

‘Wait, wait. He said he didn’t like it when I did that.’

He’d always say things like, don’t go out in the cold air, don’t walk so fast because it’s dangerous…

As if he were scared that even breathing too hard might harm me. So maybe it was best to just wait here.

Besides, he’d come inside soon.

I’d watched Edric since his first year walking, so I could tell when his footsteps sped up more than usual.

Just as I predicted, his presence drew closer rapidly. My favorite scent of flowers lingered at the tip of my nose.

‘I hope he just opens the door and walks in quickly.’

I sat on the sofa, staring holes into the closed door.

But then something strange happened.

‘…Why isn’t he coming in?’

I could feel Edric’s presence just outside the door—but no sound, no movement.

Normally, I’d think he was discussing work with someone. But not this time.

What’s more, his presence was fluctuating—hot, then cold, over and over.

As if mirroring his restless emotions.

‘…Did something happen outside?’

Though he’d made a mistake once before, Edric was never someone with wild emotional swings.

Worried, I stepped outside—and ran into him right away.

At that moment, I was completely taken aback.

His eyes were red, welling up with tears… even the tip of his nose was pink.

It looked like he’d been crying for a while.

…Sure, he cried when I first told him I was pregnant, but is it something to keep crying about this long?

As I stared at him, blankly, Edric suddenly blurted something strange.

“I’m sorry, Lobelia. I’ve been useless and stupid… all I did was make you suffer in this house.”

…I literally just spent all day napping in the house.

For a second, I wondered if my husband was doing some high-level reverse-criticism of himself.

But no—he was way too serious for that.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“…Uh. Um. Honey, I’m fine?”

“No, no… because of me, you’ve only suffered.”

“…”

I was genuinely confused.

I’d heard that sometimes husbands get morning sickness instead of their wives—but I’d never heard of them being affected by hormones too.

…Could it be because of Dif? Maybe the bond made him feel more connected somehow?

Even just holding bark from the World Tree still left in this world had allowed me to receive Dif’s power—so I couldn’t rule out the possibility entirely.

Worried, I studied him. Edric, with his head hung low, murmured again.

“I’m sorry, Lobelia.”

“Hey… you didn’t drink or anything, right?”

“No! Of course not. You’re carrying our child—how could I drink? I might be stupid, but I’d never do that.”

…It’s not like I asked him to drink with me or anything.

Wait, is swearing off alcohol entirely just because your wife is pregnant normal?

As I stared at him, baffled, Edric covered his face with his hands.

His broad shoulders slumped—it was like something had really crushed him.

‘…Is work outside that hard?’

Just how bad had things gotten…

Maybe Emperor Louis had been pushing him hard over the Dif Forest issues lately.

Feeling sorry for him, I patted Edric’s shoulder.

But even that seemed to make him feel worse, and he nearly sobbed as he spoke.

“I’m sorry. I’m always wrong. I’m so sorry. I don’t… I don’t even deserve to love you.”

As he sniffled, Edric buried his face deeper in his hands, clearly embarrassed.

Whether out of shame or despair, his hands trembled. I gently placed my hand over his.

And then he started mumbling again, as if trying to tear himself down.

Did he take something strange out there or what?

I frowned slightly, but I knew he wouldn’t—Edric had stopped drinking voluntarily ever since I got pregnant.

“Honey. You said you messed up, right?”

“…Yeah.”

He nodded with his face still buried.

“Then I’m gonna get mad.”

“…!”

The moment I finished saying it, Edric flinched hard…

Which honestly startled me more.

Wait, what did I even do?

‘Is this how I come across normally? I tried so hard to be kind and gentle, though.’

Still, I had a reason for saying that.

I deliberately kept a stern face as I continued.

“But to get mad, I need to know what I’m mad about. So explain it. Or I’ll get even madder—through the baby.”

Even to me, I sounded like I was about to genuinely blow up.

Especially since I’d been trying to stay calm for the baby’s sake—this wasn’t like me at all.

Caught off guard, Edric muttered in a voice half sigh, half whisper.

“Lobelia… because of me… you suffered in the underground all that time… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Gone was his usual composure—Edric looked completely defeated.

I blinked.

Okay, sure, that was something people who knew me well might already know. But still… he only just found out?

So I picked the part I couldn’t understand the most.

“Why do you think that’s your fault?”

“B-Because of me! If it weren’t for me, you…”

“No. That was my choice.”

With my firm answer, Edric’s green eyes widened beneath his messy bangs.

I slowly brushed his hair back behind his ear and spoke.

“I don’t know how much you heard, but since I’m the one involved, I’ll tell you straight. No one forced me to do it. I wanted to.”

“…But still. It doesn’t change the fact that you suffered because of me.”

“Edric, think carefully.”

I paused for a moment and continued.

“Taking me all the way to Bellican just to see my parents isn’t easy, right? It’s over 30 hours on the road.”

“…”

His silence was as good as a yes.

I gently cupped his flushed cheek and went on.

“Still, it was something you did for me, so you were happy. You didn’t regret it. You’d do it again.”

“…”

“I feel the same, Edric. If there’s something hard for you, I want to help. That time was tough, yeah, but I don’t regret a thing. I love you.”

“…Even though I cluelessly made food you didn’t like?”

“Yeah. I love you. I really do.”

“I love you too.”

“Then, honey…”

I smiled softly.

Then, looking at his eyes—red and ready to tear up again—I added gently,

“I hate to ask right when you got back… but I’m a little hungry. Could you make me some scones?”