Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 195 - Side Story Chapter 20 - End

Standing before the courthouse in the capital, Emily gave a bitter smile.

“So today’s the day I finally let go of the Denkart name…”

Her gaze lingered on the divorce papers she had prepared in advance before shifting to the man beside her.

“…He hasn’t changed at all.”

Alexis Denkart, unlike her—with her hair now gone silver with age—still looked as dignified as ever.

Aside from faint wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, and a few strands of gray hair, he was hardly different from the man she had once loved.

His mannerisms hadn’t changed either.

Alexis kept taking out the pocket watch he always carried and checking the time.

Then, at something his aide said, he frowned.

“…So, there’s something even more important than this divorce, isn’t there.”

Well, that was just like him.

“I have urgent business. Wait here.”

“…”

Before she could answer, Alexis was already walking away.

Emily let out a small, self-mocking laugh.

He still couldn’t even look her in the eye. He didn’t want to hear her voice, didn’t care to listen to her response.

He’s always been indifferent.

If only he had resented her for causing that woman’s death—
or if only he had shown even a trace of regret…

There was a time she’d wished for that.

If he had, maybe things wouldn’t have ended like this. Maybe they could have talked, and somehow untangled the knot between them.

But such thoughts were meaningless now.

That was why she had come here today—to finally move forward with her own life before it was too late.

Just then, a small face peeked out from behind a row of decorative bushes.

“…”

Emily froze.

The child’s face was a blend of the man she had once loved most—and the boy she had once hated more than anyone.

As she stared, stunned, the boy noticed her too. He blinked wide eyes, then broke into a bright smile.

A strange emotion washed over her.

It was the same face—and yet, neither of those two had ever smiled like that.

Well, except for that girl who used to pretend to be a servant…

Then came an unexpected greeting.

“Wow! Grandma!”

“…”

“Hi, Grandma!!”

Even at her cool, unreadable expression, the boy kept smiling and talking cheerfully.

…So, that must be the child Alexis had gone off to find.

In that case, she only had to endure a little longer.

“Yes. You must be Ethan.”

She had heard plenty about him.

Even out on the frontier, news of the new face of House Denkart inevitably reached her.

Grandma, though—
That was a word she’d never imagined she’d be called.
Still, instead of bitterness, she only felt a quiet acceptance. She was used to such things now.

But the reason for that was not what she thought.

“I was sad I’d only seen you in your portrait, Grandma. Are you all better now?”

It was easy to guess how Edric had explained her absence to the boy—
probably some excuse about being ill and needing rest.

So Emily nodded and replied vaguely, “I’m fine,” then smoothly changed the subject.

“Now that I think of it, it’s Edric’s birthday today, isn’t it? Did you prepare a gift for him?”

“Yes! I drew a picture!”

“He must like that very much.”

“Do you want to see it?”

Honestly, she didn’t.

But with those bright, eager eyes looking up at her, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

For a moment, she was reminded of her younger self—back when she first stepped into this palace as a girl.

Back then, she’d loved children more than embroidery.
During her volunteer work at the orphanage, she’d always given in to their wild requests, even if her mother scolded her later for it.

Those days had been so simple, so happy, so free of worry.

Feeling a pang of melancholy, Emily steadied herself and smiled.

“All right, let’s see.”

The boy pulled a crumpled sheet of drawing paper from his coat and unfolded it.

On it was a surprisingly good drawing of Edric’s smiling face, with flower petals clumsily stuck all over the page.

Whether it was skillful or a mess was hard to tell.

Still, Emily made sure to praise what he’d done well.

“You drew very nicely.”

“Hehe, right? And this is a secret, but I made something else too!”

“…”

“Mother said rings are something you share with someone you love.”

It was a little ring made of white flower petals.
Clumsy, yes—but it stirred a long-buried memory.

It was, coincidentally, the flower she had once loved most. The one she had carefully tended since the first time she’d gone down to their estate after the wedding.

“I’ll give this one to you, Grandma.”

To me? Why…?

Before she could react, the boy had slipped the ring onto her finger and grinned brightly.

“I have a special power! I hope Grandma gets healthier with my love!”

“Ethan Denkart.”

“Grandpa!”

At the familiar voice behind them, Ethan’s face lit up.

He spun around and ran straight into the man’s open arms.

Emily almost couldn’t believe her eyes.

That proud, stoic man—Alexis—was kneeling on one knee, holding the child close.

“You deserve a scolding. Do you know how worried Lobelia was when you disappeared?”

“But I missed you so much, Grandpa! I couldn’t help it!”

“…Ethan.”

Watching Alexis soften and smile down at the boy, Emily gave a cold, thin laugh.

So you can make that face after all.

Noticing the disapproval in her tone, Alexis’s expression quickly returned to its usual composure.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Just a moment.”

“…?”

“Child—Ethan, was it?”

“Yes!”

Before Alexis could stop her, Emily beckoned Ethan over with a subtle gesture.

She’d handled children all her life—this was easy.

Ethan trotted back to her side, looking up with bright, curious eyes.

“Do you want to grow up to be a good adult?”

“Yes! I want to be a good person like Father and Mother!”

His loud, confident voice drew glances from passersby outside the courthouse.

But Emily ignored them and smiled softly.

“Yes, your father and mother are good people. So if you just stay away from your grandfather, you’ll be perfect.”

“Emily.”

“I know. I won’t say more.”

Her grip tightened on the papers in her hand.

Then, as she turned toward the courthouse doors, something tugged at her sleeve.

“Grandma.”

“…”

“For my birthday next time, you have to come when you’re all better, okay? Promise?”

Emily didn’t answer—she simply smiled quietly.

But there was no refusal in that smile.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

“Darling, happy birthday!”

Arms full of gift bags, Edric stepped through the door—and froze.

He had gone to the capital thinking he’d pick up a few gifts that Lobel might like… but it turned out the celebration was his birthday.

Judging by everyone’s expressions, he was the only one who hadn’t realized it.
He gave an awkward laugh, and though Lobel looked slightly displeased, she still took the gift bags from him.

Holding the cake box in his hands, Edric blew out the candles and said quietly,

“Sorry for forgetting again.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

Lobel laughed, smearing a bit of whipped cream on his cheek.

“You always remember the things I forget. So if I remember your birthday from now on, we’ll be even.”

“I have something too!”

Edric couldn’t help but laugh as Ethan clung to his leg.

He really takes after Lobel, he thought.

The boy looked like his father, but his behavior was all Lobel’s.

As Edric watched fondly and began to head toward the dining room, Ethan tugged at the hem of his jacket.

“Father, there’s something I’d like your permission for.”

“…My permission?”

“Yes!”

Edric could tell this would be trouble—Lobel always wore that same angelic smile right before making a difficult request.

As he hesitated, Ethan smiled innocently, as though he had no idea.

“I want to invite someone special to my next birthday! You’ll say yes, right?”

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Our first family picnic took place by a lake somewhere on our estate.

Honestly, I hadn’t even known such a place existed, but everyone said the scenery was beautiful—so we went.

Things started going wrong as soon as we got on the carriage.

…This is the first time all four of us have ridden together.

Because Ethan had fallen asleep in my arms, we ended up sharing a carriage with Father.

And as usual, Father kept giving me that look—the one that said he disapproved of me. Then, out of nowhere, he said something utterly unexpected.

“Perhaps it’s time we built a street named after Ethan.”

“…Pardon?”

“Something like Ethan Road, perhaps.”

For a moment, I wondered if I’d misheard him.

Not that it was strange for Father to want to name things after Ethan—he’d been doing that for a while now—but…

Really, Ethan Road? My father—the epitome of noble dignity—had never lacked taste before.

He was known throughout the empire as the model nobleman, unmatched in elegance and refinement.

Maybe he was joking. Maybe he’d grown soft because of Ethan.

But then Edric, sitting beside me, nodded and said,

“I’ll submit the request.”

“…Darling. You’re joking, right?”

“I like it. It even includes a syllable from both our names.”

Edric’s expression was completely serious.

Then again, he had always complained that Ethan’s name only borrowed a letter from his.

So I supposed this was his way of balancing things.

“Submit it immediately,” Father said.

“Yes, sir.”

…Was our family always this childish?

To my surprise, my parents were thrilled when they heard the idea.

Apparently, they were delighted at the thought of a street bearing the name of someone with Flor blood.

I’d expected them to object—but they were overjoyed.

At that point, I just thought, Well, it’ll work itself out somehow.

After all, there were already a few streets named after great people of the empire.

The current emperor had once proposed naming a road after Edric himself, connecting the northern strongholds—but Edric had flatly refused.

If our Ethan took after his remarkable father, surely he’d accomplish something great enough to deserve such a name one day.

Feeling suddenly proud, I straightened my shoulders—then turned and saw Edric standing off in the distance, holding a canvas.

“Edric, what are you doing? Painting again?”

“Yes.”

I almost called him over, but stopped.

Usually, I wanted to be near him, but his expression was more serious than usual.

Well, the lake is beautiful here. It’ll make a fine painting.

Lately, his oil paintings had grown so vivid and expressive that they could rival any professional artist’s.

He learned quickly, worked tirelessly… and watching him had become one of my favorite pastimes.

As I checked the picnic basket, Ethan toddled over from where he’d been entertaining his grandparents.

“Mother, Mother! Is Father not coming to play again?”

“Mm-hm. Your father says he prefers to be on his own.”

“…?”

Ethan couldn’t understand.

How can you play alone?

Playing was supposed to be something you did together, wasn’t it?

He preferred that—being together.

Still, he decided to accept it. His wise mother must have her reasons.

A little later, after the rather lively picnic, Ethan returned home and went to look around the gallery.

There, he saw a new painting.

It was so tall and wide that he had to lean back just to take it all in.

And in that grand painting were all the things—and people—he loved most.

“…Wow.”

His father’s paintings always made him sigh in admiration, but this one more than any other.

The lake of Denkart, known as the paradise of the southeast, looked gentle and bright even in winter.

The trees were bare, the lake frozen over, yet the soft winter sunlight made it all feel warm.
His father had captured it perfectly.

And that wasn’t all.

“…”

Ethan took in every detail.

There he was—alongside his mother and grandparents—all smiling vividly.

His father wasn’t in the picture, but somehow, he was there too.

Because beneath the painting, written in his father’s favorite script, was a small inscription:

I live surrounded by happiness.

 

Surviving as an Obsessive Servant

End of Side Story