Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 188 - Manellano (IF) Side Story Chapter 3

The only reason Manellano had switched classes was Lobelia.

“Just wait. I’ll make sure that commoner girl suffers.”

One day, after class in the courtyard.

On his way toward the front gate, where his carriage awaited, Manellano suddenly stopped walking.

From within a gathered crowd not far off, he heard the boastful voice of a young marquis’s son.

The moment he saw that stupid, arrogant face, he immediately recalled which family he belonged to.

‘The Lawrence Marquisate.’

And the boy’s name—Anthony Lawrence.

Shoved into the Academy after losing his place in the line of succession early on to his elder brother.

‘And not just that—he came in dead last.’

In other words, a child practically abandoned by his own family.

That alone was enough reason to hold a grudge against Lobelia Flor.

Compared to him, Lobelia outshone him in every way—except for the flimsy title of noble.

Since they couldn’t climb to her level, they tried to drag her down to the mud where they stood.

‘Pathetic fools.’

Looking at them with contempt, Manellano was about to continue on his way.

Unlike Lobelia, a commoner with no residence in the capital, he had a townhouse of his own.

There was a dormitory room prepared for him as well, but whenever he had a free period, he preferred to go home and rest in comfort. Today was one of those days.

‘And yet here they are, spouting the kind of trash you’d hear from street thugs.’

Manellano let out a short, derisive laugh.

‘Even if I let them be, nothing will change.’

In truth, Lobelia had never been beaten down by the nobles.

On the contrary, she had maintained excellent grades throughout the term, twisting their pride into knots.

Manellano often found it hard not to laugh at the sight.

But this time, the words he overheard weren’t so easy to dismiss.

“Guess who I am? I ordered the assistants to persuade the professor to assign a group project. Said it would encourage friendship and bring new changes to the Academy.”

Manellano paused for a moment in thought, then changed direction and slipped behind a tree.

The words that followed only grew more troubling.

“I already warned all the other commoners not to team up with her, so she won’t find a partner.”

“Isn’t that professor stubborn, though? What if he forces her into a group?”

“I’ve got that covered too. If, by some chance, he pairs her up, I’ll go after her partner and make sure they refuse to cooperate. Then she’ll end up with the lowest grade.”

He intended to sabotage her no matter what.

If the professor forced a partnership, Anthony planned to target her partner and ruin the project from within.

“Now that’s clever!”

“With a group project, that commoner girl won’t stand a chance.”

Sneering laughter echoed across the courtyard.

Listening to it, Manellano folded his arms and fell into thought.

‘…….’

He thought of the girl who always rushed between the library and lecture halls, sometimes even skipping meals.

‘……Didn’t she say she does it to keep her scholarship?’

And if he remembered correctly, the scholarship only covered tuition and dorm fees—meaning she couldn’t properly pay for meals.

She was already struggling that much, and if her grades were dragged down by scum like this……

Of course, Lobelia wasn’t someone who would fall so easily. But even imagining the possibility was enough to irritate him.

Eyes narrowing, Manellano lifted his gaze toward the middle-story classrooms.

“……Commoner girls are easy. You just pretend to comfort them, get close, and trick them into giving in.”

At that, when he heard another lewd voice from behind, he pulled from his pocket the gloves he had shoved in carelessly after fencing class.

Pulling them on, he began to stride forward. Perhaps sensing his presence, the boys turned their eyes toward him.

And the moment they saw Manellano, their faces lit up. He was someone welcomed everywhere.

With his striking looks, tall build, and the perfect balance of boyish mischief and noble dignity,

he was the kind of presence that made any Academy event—or any banquet—more lively and satisfying.

But he was never easy to get close to.

They might occasionally meet him at a special gathering or card game, but spending time with him privately was nearly impossible.

Especially since they were in different classes, their contact was limited to brief greetings before or after lectures.

The boys exchanged glances.

Did he overhear us? Seems like he’s interested.

The Academy was wide enough to educate thousands of students from all over the continent, but it also had plenty of open spaces.

So, many students had seen Manellano speaking with Lobelia before, and naturally grew curious.

From then on, they had assumed he was in league with her.

Sure, Manellano was sociable, but it was rare for him to go out of his way to greet someone repeatedly. Especially a commoner girl.

Whispers spread—no matter how highborn a son of the Stell family was, a boy was still a boy.

He was probably toying with the proud-looking commoner girl, only to discard her later.

And as expected, Manellano came closer with easy agreement.

“Sounds like you’re having an interesting conversation.”

The marquis’s son, secretly tense at the thought that Manellano might steal the target of his little game, forced a reaction.

Though he had greeted Manellano a few times at official gatherings, they had never spoken privately.

And no matter that he was a marquis’s son—he could never ignore the overwhelming weight of the Stell family. Around Manellano, he always shrank back.

But this time, he thought, maybe it could be an opportunity to build some camaraderie.

“As you probably heard, we were talking about that commoner girl. Soon she’ll be clinging to my trouser leg in tears—it’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

“Is that your taste?”

The young noble, about to agree happily, froze at the words that followed.

“A girl bawling and clutching at your pants… isn’t that rather disgraceful to look at? But if that’s your preference, I could accommodate it.”

The marquis’s son, who had been laughing crudely, was stunned when a glove smacked across his cheek.

Clutching his stinging face in shock, he saw Manellano jerk his chin toward the nearby building.

That day, the Academy—which had enjoyed its own version of peace—saw its first duel in years.

 

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

 

“Ah, so this is what they call black bread?”

……What on earth was he doing?

Lobelia struggled to hold back a sigh.

Following the assignment from their Culture and Refinement of Terua class, they had come out to experience the culture of the capital.

They had chosen to start at the Grand Market, where Manellano had been staring at every stall with wide-eyed fascination.

‘Well, I suppose the Stell Count’s family has so much money he’s never even tasted bread like this before.’

Reminding herself of that obvious fact, Lobelia glanced at him again.

He had thrown on a robe to hide his status, yet somehow nobility still seemed to radiate from him.

Was it because the gray fabric was of such fine quality? Or perhaps simply because of his tall, striking frame?

Either way, as he pointed curiously at the black bread, Lobelia couldn’t hide her annoyance.

“You already know what it is, so why ask?”

“It’s just that I’ve never seen it up close. More importantly, what do you usually eat?”

From beneath his robe, his eyes seemed to say, You don’t actually eat this kind of thing every day, do you??

……Annoying. Truly annoying.

At least he had the sense to keep his voice low enough that the stall owner couldn’t hear, but it still made her insides churn.

Holding back the urge to smack him, Lobelia just pointed her eyes toward a few other types of bread.

Even at that, Manellano stroked his chin as though amazed, letting out a thoughtful “Hmm.”

“I see.”

The way he said it—as if he had just gained some profound revelation—left her with an odd feeling.

……Honestly, this boy was harder to deal with than any test question.

The rest of the morning, Lobelia dragged him through every corner of the market.

Unlike her, who had grown up the daughter of a merchant, this seemed to be his very first time in a place like this.

He couldn’t take his eyes off even the smallest stalls, as though each one was fascinating.

‘That’s…… unexpected.’

Truthfully, she had been dreading this trip before they even set out.

What if he insisted on bringing guards and attendants into the already overcrowded market?

What if he complained about the filth and the smell—how would she calm him down?

What if he picked a fight with a merchant……?

Even if the assignment required them to work together, Lobelia had found it hard to trust Manellano.

She had honestly wanted to go alone, then write the report by herself.

So when she hesitantly confessed those thoughts to him—

[ ……Are you saying you’d just make up the assignment? ]

[ No, not make it up. I meant I’d go on my own, then organize everything myself. ]

[ Doing a group project alone is making it up. Are you out of your mind? Can you even call yourself a student of this Academy?? ]

He had looked at her as though she were the most shameless person in the world.

……What had she done wrong?!

Lobelia felt deeply, deeply wronged.

She knew perfectly well that many nobles had their tutors do their assignments, or dumped all the work onto the lowest-ranked member of their group.

But unexpectedly, it seemed Manellano actually did his projects himself.

She had heard, after all, that despite appearances, he was clever.

Especially skilled in swordsmanship.

‘……I wasted a night worrying for nothing.’

In fact, it was almost easier dealing with just him.

There were other boys who constantly picked fights, or even followed her to the library to disrupt her studies. – But Manellano, at least, knew the proper time and place. –

And since she was walking around with him, perhaps because of his popularity, people now only glanced at her instead of clinging on like before.

Honestly, it was convenient.

‘Maybe it’s actually better to just deal with Manellano alone like this…… No. What am I thinking?’

She needed to get her head straight.

Shaking it quickly, Lobelia tried to ward off the thought.