Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 187 - Manellano (IF) Side Story Chapter 2

After that, Manellano kept showing up everywhere without fail.

On the way between the dorm and the lecture hall, in the halls, during short breaks……

‘……Yeah. That can happen.’

It was a bit overwhelming, but Lobelia decided to just let it go.

Since they were fellow academy students, wouldn’t it be stranger not to run into each other?

If she felt annoyed by something like this, that would just mean she was being overly sensitive.

Besides, Manellano often gave her a sense of déjà vu, like she had seen him somewhere before.

She couldn’t remember, but maybe they had crossed paths a few times.

‘A face like that would stick in your mind even if you just glanced at it.’

But then something unexpected happened.

When she ran into him during class, Lobelia couldn’t keep her composure.

‘Seeing him first thing in the morning, no… this isn’t even his class, is it?!’

She froze when she saw the boy sitting in what was basically her designated seat in the very front row.

That rare gray hair covering the back of his head, and that air of delinquency about him despite his neat outfit—there was no way she wouldn’t recognize him.

The 2nd and 4th top students in their year, who had always sat with her in the front row since enrollment, were now quietly sitting in the row behind.

‘……Why are they acting like that?’

Usually, when Lobelia entered the lecture hall, they’d sneak glances at her as if trying to compete, but now they didn’t even look her way.

They were clearly paying attention to Manellano instead.

Well, he was the heir of the Stell family, a noble among nobles with immense influence, so of course he stood out.

That only made Lobelia more baffled.

‘That amazing heir… switched classes just to mess with me? Did he get upset because I took first place from him like the others??’

But that explanation didn’t sit right.

Manellano always kept a calm, simple attitude. He never showed resentment about losing his spot to her, nor did he mock her skills.

‘……Then again, they say true masters never show their hand.’

Since he wasn’t an easy opponent like other noble boys, she couldn’t rule it out entirely.

Glancing around at the lecture hall, which was quieter than usual, Lobelia decided to sit somewhere in the middle.

Manellano Stell was someone who drew attention.

Even now, the air was noisy enough to make it hard to study, and she didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.

‘I’ll just be as quiet as possible, so he doesn’t notice…….’

But before she could, something suddenly caught her eye.

Eyes as dazzling as a top-grade yellow diamond she had once been lucky enough to see back in her hometown.

Other merchants had gushed over it, but it had sparkled so strongly it was overwhelming, not really to her taste.

“Good morning, Lobelia Flor.”

“……Hello.”

She wanted to just ignore him and sit down, but you couldn’t ignore a noble’s greeting.

Especially not openly in a place like this……

If she did, she might be accused of insulting a noble and end up bullied.

Her already exhausting life couldn’t afford more trouble.

“Morning, Lobelia Flor.”

Luckily, Manellano gave her a polite smile.

Well, this was a lecture hall, so maybe he was trying to manage his reputation.

After all, she had heard endless chatter from classmates praising him.

Feeling relieved by that, Lobelia finally tried to take her seat.

That is, if not for the lingering tone in his voice.

“I thought you were smart, but maybe you’re not, huh? You don’t even remember my name.”

“……”

He had said his name twice now, but she hadn’t called him by name once. Clearly, he was offended.

‘……What kind of guy is this?’

He seemed like someone with a dangerously inflated ego.

Still, Lobelia decided to play along, just enough not to upset him.

“How could I not know? Manellano Stell.”

“No need to say it so long. My nickname’s Manel. Call me Manel. I’ll call you Robel.”

Lobelia’s face soured more and more.

He must have noticed the doodle on the cover of her book.

Her friends back home had written encouragements there—calling her their pride, cheering her on. They had even drawn childish hearts around her nickname.

“What are you doing? Come sit here.”

Not wanting to hear what nonsense he’d say next, Lobelia quietly sat beside him.

But Manellano couldn’t even last a moment before picking a fight.

“You walk pretty slow. I almost thought you disliked me. That would’ve made me sad.”

“It’s not a misunderstanding.”

Unable to hold back, she muttered it just loud enough for him to hear.

She had always hated being pushed around by someone else.

But it didn’t even faze him.

Manellano just chuckled like he found it amusing.

“Ha. You’re good at jokes too.”

“……”

She was about to say something when their kindly professor walked in.

He had always looked at her with trusting eyes, and today was no different.

She couldn’t cause a pointless commotion before his class even began.

So Lobelia quietly opened her book. That made Manellano smile with satisfaction.

After that, she tried her hardest to ignore him.

Same classroom as always, same seat, same professor.

When you think about it, concentration is your own problem, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to do it.

‘I can do this.’

But life never goes as smoothly as your resolve.

‘……Haa.’

She couldn’t focus on the lecture at all because the boy next to her was distracting her.

Of course, she had prepared so thoroughly she had nearly memorized the material in advance, and she didn’t miss taking notes…… but still, it bothered her.

More than anything.

‘That…… perfume smell.’

Maybe it was because he was sitting so close, but the scent of his perfume was even more noticeable.

She had felt it before too—Manellano definitely wore that kind of luxury perfume.

Even though it was the first time she had smelled it, it was fresh and clean.

She normally disliked artificial scents and perfumes, but this one somehow felt pleasant.

‘……And to feel that way about him.’

That alone was irritating, and in the end she couldn’t concentrate on the lecture at all.

When the bell tower rang to announce the break, a sigh escaped her.

A long time ago, after she had visited the temple, Lobelia often had dreams where she couldn’t walk because she was sick.

In those dreams, she would cough up blood and writhe in pain.

So just being able to live healthily had always been something she was grateful for. She had tried to live even more earnestly for that reason.

That’s why, when she couldn’t focus on a single part of today’s class, she felt nothing but guilt and self-reproach.

“……”

As if holding back, Lobelia snapped her book shut and suddenly stood up.

The chair scraped noisily behind her. Normally, she would never do such a thing.

Finally, she shot Manellano a fierce glare as he closed his book, and then left her seat.

But when Manellano followed after her, the anger she had been holding back finally exploded.

She stopped in her tracks and spun around, and he too came to a halt.

Lobelia marched up to him and began to demand answers.

“Why do you keep following me and picking fights?”

“I’m not following you.”

His tone was so calm that it made Lobelia hesitate instead.

……Come to think of it, the dining hall was this way.

And it was nearly lunchtime.

While she faltered, Manellano casually continued speaking.

“I wasn’t picking fights either. Ah, but of course there is a reason I’ve been talking to you lately—it’s all good reasons for you.”

“……Good reasons?”

“First, so you can hear my wonderful voice. Second, to keep a smooth friendship with me. Third, so you can have the honor of being in the same group as me for liberal arts class.”

……Was this guy actually insane?

Lobelia looked up at him like he was a lunatic, then just turned and walked away.

She had no patience for wasting more time.

After that, maybe Manellano had reflected a little, or maybe he’d simply lost interest in bothering her, but he was quiet for a few days.

But then, when she received a new assignment, Lobelia was crushed.

‘……A group project?’

The elective subject she had chosen was Terroir Culture.

In an academy where nine out of ten students were nobles and most electives catered to them, this was one of the few she could take without much trouble.

Most of all, she had liked that the professor usually graded through exams instead of assignments.

For someone like her, who could memorize every word of the lessons and textbooks, it was the easiest thing in the world.

But now—a group project.

In more than ten years, this subject had never once required a group project. How could it be now?

“……Was this on purpose?”

It had to be Manellano’s doing.

When she glared at him with all her suspicion, Manellano only looked back as if he were the wronged one.

“It wasn’t me.”

……There was no point arguing.

The professor was a respected scholar and an adult in many ways, but once he said something, he never went back on it.

Trying to persuade him was simply impossible, so Lobelia had no choice but to find a partner quickly.

‘Since it’s a two-person group, at least there should be a way to manage…….’

But as if they had all agreed beforehand, everyone else had already distanced themselves from the two of them.

No one spoke to Lobelia or even met her eyes.

She had tried to ask the commoner classmates she had been on decent terms with……

“S-sorry!”

“I’m too busy right now!”

……They turned pale as if she had asked them to commit murder, apologizing over and over.

Even if it wasn’t a major subject, no one could afford to throw away even a small grade.

Which meant the next step was obvious: she would have to ask the boy lounging with his long legs crossed.

As Lobelia approached with a scowl, Manellano let out a short laugh and said,

“See? I told you we’d be partners.”