Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

After returning to the mansion, Edric went straight to the duke. “I want Denkart to be in charge of the production, processing, and sale of the new resources from the three disputed regions in the north.” Edric demeanor was as unyielding as his stiff posture.Perhaps it was the fact that he was standing face-to-face, without his wheelchair, that made the task easier. “To that end, I intend to organize my own, and I have plenty of time until winter.” Unexpectedly, the Duke didn’t ask more questions. He simply glanced at his son, who was still awkward with respect, and spoke low. “You will take charge completely.” “Yes. I will make full arrangements with Count Clant and report back.” With those words, Edric left the office. But even though he had accomplished what he had set out to do, his face was not cheerful. ‘… I lied to Lobel in the carriage. ‘ To be honest, Edric had been noticing that Lobel was different from the other servants lately. Whether it was blown by the wind or a small flower that had fallen to the gravel floor of the great garden, Lobel would carefully pick it up and move it to the place where the flowers of the same varieties were planted. When his eyes would light up as he read a love poem, when he tied ribbons on his crutches, which he no longer used, when he smiled at himself, as he had been into poetry since the recital… The list was endless. But to avoid being hated, he lied to himself. Rimson tried to show off his power in front of a maid named Tilly, and Arip, he had a habit of speaking in short bursts to hide his voice. As you can see from the two of them alone, men in general want to be recognized for their “rough side,” and Lobel assumes that’s what they are. He is depressed by rebuking himself who lied to Lobel, the butler followed him cautiously and said. “Master. A list of potential engagement candidates is being compiled.” Then he began to list the long and long names, the great family of the engagement candidates, and the beautiful appearance. But there was no word in Edric’s ear. This is because Lobel was seen over the hallway window. ‘Lobel.’ He could only watch as Lobel moved under the terrace. However… Next to Lobel was a boy named Evo. “…….” Unlike before, Edric muttered lowly with cold eyes. “… One week. ” The butler, misunderstanding the meaning, was stunned.He couldn’t possibly be asking for a list of fiancées in a week. “I’m afraid, young master, it will take longer than that. The Duke’s confirmation and…” Edric didn’t answer. His head was full of different thoughts. Lobel had told him that Evo learned a lot of top knowledge, and he seemed to have put it to good use. Lobel asked for time to prove it to the aides, just once. Edric promised to give him a week. The tired look in the eyes told me he’d had a long day, but I couldn’t ask more questions. Naturally, the aides had no choice but to follow his orders, and so it went. But… It was uncomfortable to see them together in person. ‘Still… I can endure a week,’ Edric told himself. Hadn’t he endured years of excruciating pain without painkillers? Surely, he could endure this. Reassuring himself, Edric turned away with feigned indifference.  * * * Life doesn’t always go as planned. Just as expected, the opportunity to make a good impression on Evo, the future head of the merchant guild, had completely slipped away. Still, that didn’t absolve me from the responsibility of managing the situation I had created. I worked hard to ensure I didn’t disrupt Evo’s future. One of my efforts included securing him a one-week stay in Denkart. Under Denkart’s protection and influence, he could hone his skills as a merchant guild leader, perhaps even surpassing what was described in the original story. “For now, you’ll share a room with me. It’s spacious enough, so I don’t think it’ll be uncomfortable. ” In fact, I wanted to give him another room, but the situation was not easy. From what I had observed in the hallways, not everyone here viewed Evo kindly. While I didn’t think anyone was outright bullying him as they had me, it was better to stay nearby just in case something unexpected happened. Especially at this age, young people are sensitive… If something bad were to happen and it pushed him off course, it would be a problem. Thankfully, my current roommate, Rimson, agreed without hesitation to the temporary arrangement Though, when he noticed Evo’s sharp jawline and sighed heavily while looking at me, I couldn’t help but feel there was more to his reaction. Evo seemed uneasy about the arrangement but didn’t reject it outright. Instead, he gave me a faint smile and agreed. Ever since he learned I was the personal servant of the young master, he had been careful not to offend me, going out of his way to be considerate. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome. Then, shall we go? ” When I returned to the room, Evo glanced at me hesitantly. It was clear he still had something to say. As soon as I closed the door, he broke the silence. “Earlier the sapphire…” “Don’t worry. I didn’t talk to anyone. I will continue to do so. ” “Hmm… Thank you for that. ” Evo let out an awkward laugh, clearly still feeling uneasy. It wasn’t a look of relief or comfort, but more like someone who couldn’t stand being indebted to others. As expected of his personality. Pretending not to notice, I grabbed some clothing I had prepared in advance and headed with Evo to the shared bathhouse After letting him go inside, I waited alone in the hallway. For some reason, I found myself reflecting on the situation. “Somehow, this feels… oddly similar to the original story,” I thought. In the novel, Evo’s performance is amazing. The resources of the three conflict areas found in Denkart were actively distributed across the continent. He even forged trade relations with the families of other sub-protagonists and monopolized high-value goods like salt. Though we hadn’t reached that point, Ivo’s current situation aligned somewhat with the original narrative. He was getting involved in the trade of new resources, albeit in a slightly different manner. Of course, unlike the original story, the young master was now in excellent health. This might alter how Evo felt about him—whether he’d still develop feelings of camaraderie, sympathy, or even love remained uncertain. As I was lost in thought, Evo suddenly returned from the bath, interrupting my musings. He looked at me with mild concern and asked, “Shouldn’t you go back to your master?” I smiled and answered brightly as if not to worry about him. “For the time being, brother Rimson and Wayne will serve him. Do you remember them from the orphanage earlier today? The tall, burly attendant and the brown-haired one around my age?” “… I remember. ” “They will do well. So you don’t have to worry. ” “Then… I’m glad. ” “Yes. You must have been tired. ” On our way back to the room, we ran into an awkward situation. Evo’s wet bangs were dripping water everywhere, drawing stares from the maids nearby. Evo was embarrassed and quickly grabbed the towel to dry his messy hair. ‘I’ll have to tidy up your hair tomorrow.’ After we returned to the room, we had a light meal and settled down for the night. Evo and I lay on separate beds with the small table in between us. … Yet, sleep didn’t come easily. While I was satisfied that I had successfully improved the young master’s future, I couldn’t shake the nagging worry that I might be disrupting Evo’s bright path. I didn’t want to be the reason his potential was stifled. And then there were the other merchant guild members I had seen earlier. I couldn’t help but think of them. Would they have returned safely? Would they still be searching for me? I recalled how desperately they had looked for me in the past, and the thought left me feeling conflicted. Still, I told myself there was no point in worrying. Returning to them now would only burden them further since I wasn’t fully recovered yet. It turned out I wasn’t the only one struggling to sleep. From the other bed, I suddenly heard Evo’s voice—low and unbroken by puberty yet rich in tone—resonating softly in the dark. “Are you awake?” “Yes.” I replied, turning over to face him. Until now, I had been lying on my side, staring at the wall. I wondered if he was about to voice some resentment, but to my surprise, his words were entirely different from what I expected. “… Thanks to you, my siblings now have a future. I’m grateful.” “Ah, but you should thanks to the young master. He was the one who decided to sponsor you.” “If it weren’t you from the beginning… young master Denkart may not come to an orphanage, and… he likely wouldn’t have helped us if not for seeing you.” Even in the dark, Evo’s awkward smile seemed to be seen. Somehow, he reminded me of the young master—different yet strangely similar. So I asked him in a more playful voice than when I treated someone else. “If you’re really that grateful, does that mean I can call you ‘brother’ from now on?”  * * * Evo could not understand Lobel, the servant. ‘Why does he keep trying to put himself at a disadvantage because of me?’ From the very first time they met, when Evo had intended to take just a single button out of guilt, Lobel had suddenly offered him all of them. And now, he’d even gone as far as persuading his master to let Evo stay in this mansion. That wasn’t all. In just one day, Lobel gave Evo a lot of kindness. Not only had he ensured Evo had access to the basic conveniences the mansion offered, but he’d also gone above and beyond. For instance, he had asked the gardener to trim Evo’s overgrown bangs so that his eyes were now visible. He’d also introduced Evo to the staff in a way that helped him fit in easily among them. Each time, Evo had smiled and thanked him, but the growing unease in his heart was undeniable. Above all, it was awkward. Having spent his life taking care of his siblings at the orphanage, he’d never experienced such considerate attention himself. It left him feeling out of place. At one point, Lobel patted his shoulder with a grin and offered words of encouragement. “Brother, you don’t have to worry about what others think around here. You’re going to be the most important person in this place someday.” … I felt it before, and I was a natural talent for flattery. Yet, his words weren’t entirely baseless. If Evo ever decided to use the hidden wealth and resources tied to his merchant guild inheritance, he could easily live a life more luxurious than most nobles. But for now, he hadn’t made up his mind. His secret inheritance remained buried deep in the mountains, hidden in a location only he knew. What puzzled him, though, was how Lobel spoke as if he knew about this hidden inheritance. It was enough to make Evo briefly wonder if Lobel was trying to gain his favor because of it. But no, that was impossible. No one could know about the inheritance—its hiding place was a secret known only to him. Then why? Why was Lobel going out of his way for him?Hi! From now on I'll be picking up this series~