Surviving As An Obsessive Servant Chapter 202 - Side Story Chapter 3 - End

“One last time—are you sure you won’t regret this?”

At my brother Robert’s words, I nodded without hesitation.

There was no need for further talk.

He had already offered several times before, and I’d refused every time.

Right now, the Flor Merchant Guild was thriving like never before. That was thanks to my brother, the guild master, and his two capable vice masters, who ran things flawlessly.

Above all, Robert himself had learned from his past failures and was managing the guild more carefully than ever.

‘But really, there’s no need for me to step in.’

Unless I were to become one of their trading partners, that is.

Letting out a sigh at my firm refusal, Robert suddenly jumped to his feet.

“E–Ellia! You can’t just touch something that valuable like that!”

I turned my head.

There stood Ellia, laughing brightly, holding a black tile and a green tile in her little hands, her violet eyes sparkling with mischief.

Quite the skillful one.

She must have secretly taken them out of Robert’s pocket.

Well, to a child like Ellia, the tokens of the Denkart and Elkatan guild masters probably just looked like toys.

I smoothly retrieved the tiles from her hands and tucked them safely back into my pocket.

Seeing that, Robert, who had been nervously standing nearby, sat down again and gave a bitter smile.

“…You’re right. Even for you, running two guilds at once would be hard enough. Adding ours would be impossible.”

Yet, the way he trailed off showed his real feelings.

He was still hoping I’d give up either Denkart or Elkatan and help run the Flor Guild with him.

“There are plenty of people who can manage Flor just fine.”

But Elkatan and Denkart were different.

Merchant guilds might exist to chase profit, yet both Elkatan and Denkart donated most of theirs.

Their sponsorship went to a guild researching cures for rare diseases.

And the three major supply bases we managed produced resources of incredible value.

Studying and monitoring them required Dif’s abilities— so I had no choice but to assist Edric.

Even if I could explain the sponsorships, I couldn’t tell my brother about Dif’s situation.

So instead of refusing again, I spoke as the head representative of the two guilds.

“Flor needs to step up. Otherwise, there’ll be no future contracts with Elkatan or Denkart.”

“We’re family… You’d really do this to me?”

“No exceptions. Guild business runs by guild rules. Isn’t that right, Ellia?”

“Uh-huh!”

That was as far as Robert’s pleading eyes could go.

I left to return to my office to finish my work.

It piled up, and I couldn’t go home until two days later.

But when I arrived, Edric still wasn’t back.

For someone who never left unfinished business at the guild, the reason for his delay was obvious.

‘Again… Emperor Louis must have summoned him.’

The Emperor and we shared the same goal.

Louis cared deeply for his people— he wanted a nation where no one suffered from illness.

And he acted on that belief.

One of his efforts was his unwavering support for Denkart’s sponsorships and new drug development.

Edric might not have any ambition for power or politics, but he was always diligent when the Emperor called.

Because of that, Louis had entrusted us with important duties, and I, too, had been granted access to the Imperial Palace.

That was the very year Ellia had begun to toddle on her own.

After reading the letter Edric had left behind, I turned to my daughter and said,

“Ellia, Mommy and Daddy will be going to the palace for a few days. You can stay with Grandpa and be good, right?”

“…Mhm!”

A bit of a late reply.

Unlike Ethan, who adored his grandfather and handled him well, Ellia seemed a little intimidated by him.

Well, with that stiff, stern face of his, who wouldn’t be?

She much preferred her grandmother instead. Even the former duchess had tried inviting both children to her villa.

Of course, I politely declined, but it was strange nonetheless— the woman who had once tried to kill Edric now doted on our children.

“I want to go too.”

Then, in an unusually serious tone, Ethan spoke up.

Normally, he’d be spending this time sitting on his grandfather’s knee. I looked at him curiously, and he added, with quiet determination,

“Because Her Highness the Princess is waiting for me.”

“So you’ve become close with Her Highness, then?”

That was just like Ethan—naturally sociable.

I knew he received letters from the children of noble families, and even from the princess herself.

Ethan gave a small, hesitant nod.

…Could it be that the princess had been insisting he come play pretend or something?

‘Well, Ethan will handle it wisely.’

Even though he still acted like a child with us, he was far more mature than others his age.

He’d proven it—never once throwing a tantrum in lessons with Count Clant or any of his tutors. The same went for the household staff.

Edric often said Ethan was already better than he’d been at that age.

So, there was no reason for us to worry about bringing him to the palace.

“…Ah, I was just walking this path, and here you are.”

But it turned out that the friendship between the two children was even deeper than I thought.

The princess’s eyes sparkled brightly as she approached us with a cheerful smile.

She looked like she had been waiting here for us all along. How adorable.

“Your Highness, the Princess.”

Hiding my true thoughts, I greeted her politely. The princess’s face brightened even more.

I stepped slightly aside, just as she seemed to want, and she quickly slipped between us, saying she would guide us through the Imperial Palace.

As we walked across the palace grounds, we happened to meet Edric—together with Emperor Louis himself.

But the Emperor’s brow twitched ever so slightly.

He was smiling… yet somehow, he looked displeased.

I paused in the middle of greeting Edric with my eyes.

What’s with him?

Who knows.

Strangely, Louis’s expression stayed stiff throughout the entire meeting.

That was very unusual.

I didn’t know his personality in great detail, but Louis was not someone who normally revealed his emotions so openly.

That was why— I suddenly recalled the original story, one I had nearly forgotten.

“Louis only ever looked that shaken when Uriel died… or when Edric caused a commotion by hurting himself in the palace.”

In other words, whenever Louis, the protagonist of the original story, lost his composure, it was always because of someone he loved.

“Could it be… that he had a fight with Uriel or something?”

A bit disrespectful, sure, but I couldn’t help thinking it.

Perhaps that was why even the ministers around him began acting cautiously. Louis himself seemed to realize his slip and soon composed his face.

At any rate, the meeting ended without incident.

Even if Louis had shown some emotion at first, his decisions and reasoning were sound and fair— he ruled without favoritism, always for the good of the Empire.

Seeing and hearing it in person, I couldn’t help but think Louis truly was the perfect emperor, just as he was in the original.

Of course, unlike the original story, the perfect man was no longer mine to have.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Edric frowned, as if wondering whether he’d done something wrong.

I folded my arms and began leading him somewhere.

“Lobel, where are we going?”

“There’s somewhere I’ve been wanting to see.”

“Where exactly?”

“A famous spot for… kissing.”

I focused, trying hard to recall the blurry details in my memory as I guided him along.

Edric followed, flustered and blushing.

‘If you press the protruding stone on the west garden wall of the old palace…’

The guards—recognizing Edric, not me—allowed us to pass freely.

Even the western wing of the old palace, now practically abandoned and unguarded, was no exception.

Found it.

After a bit of searching through the overgrown garden, I smiled brightly as I pushed the slightly protruding stone on the wall.

A small archway appeared—just large enough for one person to slip through.

I took Edric’s hand and led him inside.

He looked around the garden, his eyes catching on the central fountain.

“So this place existed in the palace all along,” he murmured.

I felt a wave of nostalgia.

‘That’s the very fountain where the two of them first kissed…’

And there—it was still there— the old, elegant bench where they had sat and talked.

When we sat down, Edric joined me quietly and asked,

“How did you even know about this place?”

“I read about it once. In a book.”

“…A book?”

“Yeah. It was a love story that once set all of Terua aflame— and the lovers shared their first kiss right here.”

I couldn’t help but giggle, thinking of that.

Edric looked puzzled— as if wondering ‘Lobel’s into romance novels?’ or ‘Where did she even find a book like that?’

If I told the truth, it would take forever to explain.

‘Edric, actually… you were dating the Emperor in the original story!!!’

…Yeah. Not something I could ever say out loud.

To divert his curiosity, I quickly changed the subject.

“Look—don’t you think this is the perfect place to share a kiss with someone?”

And the moment those words left my mouth— smack!—Edric kissed me.

I blinked in surprise.

“That’s… not quite what I meant.”

“That’s how it sounded to me.”

“…Well, I suppose you didn’t hear wrong, then.”

At my quick recovery, Edric laughed softly, then gently closed his eyes, clearly waiting.

Even his breathing held a quiet expectation.

Just before I granted that wish, I paused— memorizing every detail of this moment.

The calm sky, the slow-drifting clouds, the gentle scent of spring in the breeze, his hair and clothes fluttering softly, his flushed face and faint smile.

Unlike the fading memory of an old story, Edric was real— the very center of my life.

And I would carry this moment, and every piece of our story,  with me to the grave.

“I’ll tie your hair again.”

After our long kiss, Edric offered to tend to me himself.

“Get on.”

He even carried me when my legs gave out, his face bright, never weary— as if it were the most rewarding part of his day.

I felt a quiet ache in my chest.

He’d served me longer as my helper than I ever had as his attendant.

He’d carried me far more times than I’d ever carried him.

Yet he was always happy—always smiling.

So I couldn’t help but believe that even within the story of our lives, he would always wear that same joyful smile— even until our very last moment together.

 

 

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