Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

‘Just once more, for the last time…’Ignoring the shouts trying to stop me, I ran. I ran with all my strength.Thankfully, the carriage hadn’t picked up full speed yet. So I barely managed to catch up.Even then, I still couldn’t see Young Master clearly. He was staring straight ahead, so all I could see was his side profile.I wanted to see his face a little more… but there was nothing I could do.Still, to make this moment last even a little longer, I kept running, gasping for breath.Then, at that moment—maybe by chance—Young Master turned his head toward me.Our eyes met.“…..!”“…..!”The group started speeding up, and my heart pounded painfully as I chased after the carriage.Young Master, who had been staring at me in disbelief, suddenly jumped to his feet, opened the carriage window, and reached out his hand.“…Lobel!”It was just a fleeting touch, but our fingertips met. His hand was warm and smelled just like him.I suddenly realized—this was really the moment of our farewell.I opened my mouth wide and smiled.And Young Master… it seemed like he knew this was truly the last time too.Even as sweat dripped down his face, even as he panted, even as he looked at my ridiculous, messy state—he smiled beautifully.But this time, he couldn’t hold back.A single tear slipped down from his curved eyes. Then another. Then another.Even so, he never lost his smile. For me.So, I didn’t cry either. Even though my vision blurred with tears, I forced myself to smile.“Have a safe trip!”Even though I was out of breath, I shouted as strongly as I could. So that he wouldn’t worry.And then, the carriage wheels turned so fast that it was impossible to keep up anymore.Unlike the well-paved road for carriages, the side path I was running on was rough and filled with stones.Young Master bit his lip anxiously as he watched the narrowing path and me. Then, he shouted urgently.“It’s dangerous! Move back!”At his words, I stepped away from the path.And I stood there, unmoving, until the line of carriages completely disappeared into the distance.I saw him off, at least with my eyes.Only then did reality slowly sink in.“…He’s really gone.”Maybe because I had pushed myself too hard, even breathing hurt. It felt like I had been beaten with a club.The walk back to the mansion wasn’t easy either. My shoes were worn out, and my heels were scraped raw, so I had to limp all the way.But I didn’t have time to sit around like this. I had to finish my work and bring Young Master back.So, I put on the glasses Manelano had given me and headed straight for the duke.But then…“…What’s that?”There was something on my bed that I hadn’t seen before.It was the most beautiful box I had ever seen in my life, and it was quite large.As I stared at the heavy metal box taking up a significant portion of my bed, a thought hit me.Maybe Rimson was in such a hurry that he left behind some of Young Master’s belongings…That was entirely possible. If so, I needed to catch up quickly and return it.First, I had to figure out what it was. That way, I’d know how to carry it properly.I hurriedly placed both hands on the lid and opened it. Creak. The sound of it opening was heavy.But inside, the first thing I saw was something unexpected—a pale, slender, and elegant dagger.At first glance, the plain sheath made it seem ordinary, but I could tell it wasn’t just any dagger.I tried to recall what little I knew from the times I handled decorative daggers at the shop.That’s when I noticed the eagle emblem engraved at the tip of the blade.The moment I realized what it was, I almost dropped the dagger in shock.‘…This is a royal dagger.’But… something felt off. Rimson wouldn’t have something like this.And if I remembered correctly, the prize for winning the hunting festival this time was a dagger.‘Then… is this Young Master’s? Did he leave it here on purpose?’I still wasn’t sure.Holding the dagger carefully in both hands, I looked down.Beneath the dagger’s resting place were countless luxurious items, far beyond what I could ever afford.A top-quality fountain pen, mysterious blue ink, the rare books I had always wanted…‘…Ah.’That’s when I finally understood.These were things Young Master had left behind for me—because I would be alone.With sunken eyes, I gazed at the gifts, then carefully took them out one by one.Among them were small notes placed on the velvet-lined bottom.I gently picked them up and read them in order, starting from the top.Each letter was written with great care.Even though Young Master had recently gotten better at writing, there should’ve been at least one small mistake. But every stroke was perfect.The notes were filled with words celebrating a birthday I hadn’t even had yet.“Happy 14th birthday to Lobel, happy 15th birthday to Lobel…”My voice trembled as I read aloud.There were notes all the way up to my 22nd birthday.“…Seriously? Was he planning to stay away for over ten years?”These were probably the best gifts I had ever received in my life—and would ever receive.After all, they were gifts from the heir of Denkart himself. And some of them were things I had wanted.Maybe this was the moment I had always longed for—the time I had dreamed of so desperately.To be healed, to turn fourteen, fifteen, sixteen… to have my future birthdays celebrated.But now that the moment was here, I didn’t feel happy. Not even a little.Thinking about how Young Master must have prepared all this for his runaway servant, despite the dangers he faced… made me angry.How could he be so foolish? What was he planning to do now?I felt both worried and suffocated.I gripped the letters tightly, then put them down.As time passed, my tangled emotions calmed, and I noticed something I hadn’t seen before.At the bottom of the box, resting on the bed sheets, there was a golden padlock and a golden key.Engraved on the key were simple words:To my most precious servant, Lobel.

I stared at it for a long time before mumbling to myself.“…Young Master, you’re such a fool. I’m not even really a servant.”I let out a meaningless remark into the air and slipped the key into my pocket.One hand clenched the key inside my pocket, while the other wiped my tear-streaked face.I had to go to the duke as soon as possible.That was the only way to bring Young Master back quickly—the best thing I could do for him.    ****   “He has departed safely.”“I see.”Denean sighed inwardly at his lord’s calm reaction to sending his own son into danger.But when he looked closer, the duke wasn’t holding any documents as usual. He wasn’t even wearing his glasses.That was a relief in some way. Even if he didn’t show it, he must be worried about sending his son to such a dangerous place.However, contrary to his aide’s assumptions, Alexis hadn’t stopped working because of concern for Edric.In fact, Edric wasn’t even on his mind.Instead, he was thinking about Lobel, who had come to see him not long ago.He was quite pleased.The sharp gaze, the bold tone—it was all still vivid in his memory.‘…As expected, a useful one.’He had known it from the very first moment of that ridiculous performance.Just as rare and brilliant as Crown Prince Louis, who was expected to be the greatest ruler in imperial history.“Your Grace, Lobel is here.”Right on time, the trusted aide who had been informed earlier brought Lobel in.Her eyes were red from crying as she looked at Alexis.It wasn’t the usual gaze of admiration, awe, or jealousy.It was pure, unmistakable resentment and hatred.But Alexis liked that even more. After all, hatred was one of the greatest forces that drove people.He stood up.“Let’s go.”The two of them headed for the basement.There was no conversation along the way, but Lobel kept sniffing.‘…This is getting annoying.’Alexis, watching her closely, took out a handkerchief from his coat.“Take it.”“……”Lobel looked reluctant but still snatched the handkerchief.Then, she held it roughly to her nose and blew loudly.Sniff, sniff!She had no grace whatsoever.Denean narrowed his eyes, about to scold her, but Lobel ignored him completely.And Alexis didn’t say anything either.Finally, they reached the underground chamber through a hidden passage, and Lobel’s lips parted in astonishment.She had never imagined such a place existed beneath Denkart.The vast underground space was filled with massive stone tablets, each tied with thick ropes and propped upright.Dozens of top scholars were already working on them.“What… is this…?”So the rumors about the scholars running away were false?Lobel had expected the work to take a long time, as the duke had said, but the sheer scale of it was overwhelming.Then, she froze at the duke’s next words.“We’ll keep bringing in more.”“….”“You’re not thinking of running away now, are you?”It was such an obvious provocation, but Lobel didn’t react.Instead, she simply pulled out her glasses and put them on.Through the round, lens-free frames, her red-rimmed eyes burned with determination.Watching her, Alexis raised an eyebrow in surprise.‘…She actually got her hands on that?’That was an item highly valued by the Stel family.Even he had wanted to obtain it but had no way to do so.‘…So she built that much trust with them?’He already knew that the young master of the Stel family had taken a liking to Lobel, but he hadn’t expected it to be this deep.That meant she was even more useful than he had thought.As Alexis considered the various ways she could be of use, Lobel, who had been scanning the surroundings, spoke up.“Where do I start?”“Follow me.”Alexis took a long stride forward.Lobel quickly caught up and began asking questions non-stop.Denean quietly followed behind them, lost in thought. It was rare for his lord to personally guide someone like this…“If I finish early, will you agree to bring Young Master back sooner?”“Talk after you’re done.”Petty jerk, absolute nightmare of a man…Lobel muttered loud enough for him to hear as she slipped into the crowd of scholars.The miserable girl from earlier was nowhere to be seen.She was moving with ease, filled with energy.Duke Denkart leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, watching her.A barely-there smirk rested on his lips.And just like that—ten years passed.