Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 201 - Special Side Story Chapter 2

On Lobel’s face, as she handed over the medicine, a raw greed for it was clearly visible.

But even after Lobel brought the medicine, there was still a problem.

Edric hesitated.

He couldn’t bring himself to…

pour the medicine on her face.

Yet, he couldn’t act fiercely like before either.

Meanwhile, he saw Lobel licking her lips.

“You clean it up!”

In the end, Edric threw the bottle—still untouched—safely onto the carpet.

Then, he dropped the lid neatly beside it, as if placing it there on purpose.

Not a single drop of the liquid spilled from the lid.

Edric didn’t miss the sparkle in Lobel’s eyes as she caught sight of that.

She looked genuinely delighted.

‘…So that’s the kind of face she makes.’

It was so pitiful yet unbearably cute that Edric’s face flushed bright red.

But Lobel and the other attendants misunderstood, thinking his anger had reached its peak and that the heat in his face came from rage, so they became even more cautious.

Even after that, Edric couldn’t break free from the illusion.

He grew anxious.

‘The longer I stay here, the more Lobel will worry back in reality…’

His heart grew restless.

But he couldn’t move carelessly either.

‘…I can’t risk changing the future.’

One wrong move, and it wouldn’t just be him in danger—Ethan or even the child Lobel carried could be affected.

Meanwhile, Lobel kept touching his hand or the back of his neck, trying in every way to stay close to him.

Edric realized one more thing.

‘Wait, then those “trends” she made up… were for that reason too?’

He had thought she’d just made excuses to get closer to him—but even that wasn’t the case.

Knowing her circumstances, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed. And he felt pathetic for being disappointed over something like that.

To clear his tangled thoughts, Edric got out of bed.

He could now balance his body and control his strength enough to stand awkwardly. That’s how he made his way to the terrace.

‘…Haah.’

Even doing just that made sweat trickle down his forehead.

He couldn’t believe how he had lived before—it was so uncomfortable now.

But then, in the distance, he spotted a shiny head, and his tense expression instantly brightened.

‘Lobelia.’

However, his face stiffened again just as quickly, as though that brief joy had never been there.

Lobel had always been good with people.

He thought at least here, she wasn’t being bullied—but maybe he was wrong.

The man standing beside her tapped her arm repeatedly—far beyond what could be called friendly.

As a child, he wouldn’t have even noticed something like that.

Lobel, looking uncomfortable, shook her head or smiled awkwardly as she tried to move aside.

But the man persistently followed and even gave her light punches.

Edric’s expression grew colder and colder.

‘That bastard—how dare he touch her?’

If he remembered right, that man was a servant.

One who still worked in the mansion at this time.

‘…Someone like him—I could easily throw out.’

And it would be simple to do.

Maybe not in the past, but now, Edric was well aware that even as an illegitimate son, he was still a Denkart by blood.

So, he took the proper steps.

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Edric scanned the room with a cold voice.

“Who cleaned this mess up? At this rate, your hands are just for decoration.”

“……”

“Maybe you don’t need hands at all.”

Sensing something off, the attendants swallowed hard.

Edric had always been sensitive and sharp-tempered, but today, he was different— his mood was downright chilling.

At the call of the attendants waiting by the door, the butler soon arrived.

The moment he saw the scene, the butler realized Edric was picking a fight over nothing. But he also remembered the lady’s order: “Assign the servants as the young master wishes.”

In fact, many attendants had already been replaced. Though this was the first time it involved a household servant.

To avoid further anger, the butler spoke quickly.

“My apologies, young master. I’ll dismiss that servant immediately.”

“I don’t even want to see your faces. All of you, get out.”

Edric was already someone used to giving orders.

At his command, the servants wilted and began to leave quietly.

And among them was Lobel.

Edric stopped her as she tried to slip out with the others.

“And you, attendant. Stay and finish cleaning this up.”

“……Yes, sir.”

Lobel looked as if she’d just received a death sentence.

But only for a moment.

Soon, her expression brightened again, as if she had found something positive to think about.

‘Well, since it’s come to this, I might as well use the chance to recover.’

That seemed to be what she was thinking.

So Edric pointed toward his side and ordered,

“Clean here too.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Lobel was good at cleaning.

But that wasn’t all.

Watching his mood, she brought fresh water, replaced the flowers in the vases, and after hesitating, even opened the window for some air.

She looked nervous—half expecting something to be thrown at her— yet she still worked diligently.

Edric crossed his arms and watched her with a look of forced irritation, but his cheeks warmed faintly.

‘…Right, this was what she was like.’

He felt himself falling for her all over again.

Unable to keep his expression under control any longer, Edric hurriedly pulled the blanket over his head.

But then, from inside the blanket, he heard Lobel’s voice draw closer.

“All done. I won’t make any more noise, so please rest well, young master.”

Edric’s eyes widened.

‘…Even her breathing sounds like she’s smiling.’

Lobel was smiling softly even though he wasn’t looking at her.

There wasn’t a trace of resentment in her expression. Her voice held only warmth.

‘…Lobel had already forgiven me, hadn’t she?’

Edric realized—he didn’t need to regret anything after all.

Lobel had already forgiven him.

That thought settled in his heart, and his eyes slowly closed.

Then, as if by magic, they opened again.

“You’re up late today.”

“……Why didn’t you ever hate me?”

“……Hm?”

“Lobelia, you never hated me. Even before. Why was that?”

Lobel looked puzzled at the sudden question.

“I acted like I hated you a lot…”

She watched him for a while, noticing how unusually serious he looked, and then she answered.

“That’s because… you never truly hated me.”

“…What?”

“You didn’t hate me. I’m still a person, you know. No matter how pretty or pitiful someone is, I wouldn’t be kind to a person who really hated me.”

“When did you realize that?”

“Pretty early on.”

“How?”

It surprised and confused him that Lobelia had noticed something he himself hadn’t understood.

He thought he’d been showing plenty of dislike back then. At that time, he couldn’t even identify his own feelings.

When he pressed her persistently, she smiled and said,

“You went through so many attendants before me, but I stayed. That means you never truly wanted to drive me away.”

“……”

“Later, I could tell you were waiting for me. There were crutch marks on the terrace and everything… But why are you suddenly asking about this now?”

“…Because I regret it.”

“…Regret?”

“I tormented you.”

He wanted to apologize— even if Lobel had been kind and understanding, it was still the right thing to do.

But before he could, Lobel smiled and said,

“It’s fine. They say winning a beauty’s heart comes with hardship, after all.”

Edric could never quite understand why Lobel sometimes called him “beautiful.”

But she said it proudly, as though she’d won the heart that even a crown prince couldn’t win.

“Honestly, people who fall for our Ethan and Ellia are going to have a tough time.”

Though Lobel spoke playfully, her words struck Edric deeply.

If someone had told them the reason for all that waiting, maybe both he and Lobel wouldn’t have suffered so much.

So Edric made a vow.

As a parent, he would make sure his children understood the reason.

 

 

****

 

 

Princess Rasselin of Terua remembered her father’s words.

[ We owe a great debt to the Denkart family. So even if it costs us, we must strive to maintain good relations with them. ]

[ How should I do that, Father? ]

[ To keep good relations, you must have good conversations. ]

She was clever for her age— so clever that she had already surpassed her siblings and had become the pride of Emperor Louis.

Perhaps because of that, she wanted to become a wise ruler like her father.

So she kept his teachings close to heart— especially those he’d said with extra weight.

Fortunately, Ethan Denkart was someone she could talk to easily.

Unlike other children, he didn’t covet her jewelry, show off, or throw tantrums.

But then, one day, a problem arose.

“I’ve been waiting for you for such a long time.”

Princess Rasselin greeted Ethan warmly after not seeing him for a while.

But the moment she spoke, his green eyes trembled sharply.

His face looked so shocked that she felt uneasy.

And his next words made her even more so.

“Then, does that mean Your Highness likes me?”

“…Huh?”

“You said you’ve been waiting for me every day.”

Well, yes, but…

Did that mean she liked him? Probably not…

Being as thoughtful as her father, the princess took her time to choose her words carefully.

Her father had always said that a slow but careful answer was better than a fast, careless one.

But before she could answer, Ethan gave her a strange, troubled look— then sighed deeply.

“Sigh… Your Highness. What are you going to do with me?”

…What does that even mean?

Her pink eyes widened in confusion.

Wait.

Perhaps this was what her father meant when he warned her about how nobles spoke indirectly.

[ Nobles are good at speaking in circles, so be careful when you talk to them. ]

She perked up her ears nervously, and soon heard something curious.

“My father struggles with that too.”

“…The Duke of Denkart?”

“Yes. He waits for my mother every day.”

If it was about the Duke of Denkart, that was always an interesting topic.

Despite their power, the Denkarts rarely appeared at the Imperial Palace, so she listened even more intently.

“My father loves my mother very much. He says when you love someone, you wait for them. And my mother said she loved him too, so she waited for him for a very long time.”

The princess nodded wisely, even if she didn’t understand everything.

After all, one couldn’t easily deny the Duke of Denkart’s words.

And, in truth, her own mother did the same— she waited every day for the Emperor to bring her medicine, even though she always complained that it was bitter.

“Father said there are many people in Velican waiting for Mother too. But he’s going to fix that someday.”

“I see.”

Learning about noble families was a princess’s duty, so she assumed he was talking about his maternal relatives.

Though… many seemed like an exaggeration.

As she pondered that, Ethan suddenly asked,

“Will Your Highness keep waiting for me too?”

That, she could answer confidently.

After all, he was the heir of the Empire’s most powerful family.

“Yes. Of course.”

She nodded firmly, but Ethan’s eyes only grew sadder.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“The truth is… I never waited for Your Highness. So please don’t wait for me either.”

The princess blinked in disbelief.

How dare he, of all people— a child who seemingly lacked nothing— look at her with such pity?

Even as a polite lie, she was about to say she hadn’t waited either— but she didn’t get the chance.

“Ah! Grandfather!!!”

From afar, a tall man with long strides approached swiftly and firmly.

A large, dark shadow fell over them, and the princess instinctively stiffened in fear.

But she quickly straightened her shoulders, reminding herself of her dignity as a princess.

“Duke Denkart, the former head. It’s been a while.”

But—

‘…He completely ignored me!’

Alexis Denkart didn’t even spare her a glance.

He had already lifted his grandson into his arms with ease. He didn’t even seem to find it heavy.

His effortless grace left the princess gaping in admiration— hardly a royal sight.

The two spoke as though she weren’t even there.

“Ethan. What did I tell you to do when meeting royals?”

“You said not to learn from His Majesty, not to listen to him, and not to get close to any of the royal family.”

“Good. Then why are you disobeying me today?”

“That’s because…”

“That’s because I was the one waiting for the young lord, Duke Denkart.”

The princess felt a sting in her chest.

Alexis’s sharp gaze seemed to ask, ‘And who told you to talk like that?’

Her mother had once asked her to soften her speech, but no one had ever looked so openly displeased by it.

And hostile, even.

“Why were you waiting for my grandson?”

The princess swallowed hard.

She knew Alexis Denkart’s reputation— his disdain for the royal family was legendary.

If she spoke the truth, he might scold her harshly. Even if she knew it was unlikely, she couldn’t shake that feeling.

“Oh, come on, Grandfather! You shouldn’t ask a lady something like that!”

Thankfully, Ethan stepped in to help.

He scolded Alexis gently, then climbed down and bowed politely to the princess.

“Your Highness, I apologize for my grandfather’s rudeness. We’ll be taking our leave now. Come, Grandfather.”

He offered a perfect formal bow, then took Alexis’s hand and led him away.

The princess watched their backs and covered her mouth with both hands—

and a quiet gasp of admiration escaped her.

“Ethan Denkart… To handle even the great former Duke, whom Father himself can’t control… He’s more impressive than I thought.”

Then she made up her mind.

I must make him my loyal vassal, no matter what.

With uncharacteristic haste, the princess hurried back to her chambers.

There was no time to lose.

She needed a plan— a way to befriend Ethan Denkart, and survive his terrifying grandfather, Alexis.