Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

“Kill him.”Edric’s voice was indifferent, as if he were merely ordering the removal of a bothersome insect.He didn’t even glance up from the sword he was polishing.The assassin, kneeling before him, turned deathly pale.“Hrk… hngh, khh…”A strangled sob echoed through the once-silent tent.Despite the gag in his mouth, the assassin desperately begged for mercy, tears falling onto the dirt floor.But Edric remained unmoved.His cold green eyes looked down at the man with utter detachment.Then, a slow, twisted smile curled on his lips.Once again, the assassin looked eerily similar to Lobel—young, silver-haired, and frail.The duchess’s intentions were obvious.There had only ever been one mistake Edric had made in the past ten years.He had hesitated to kill an assassin who resembled Lobel.That hesitation had nearly cost him his life.And through that mistake, Edric had finally understood why the duke was the way he was.Hesitation and mercy were worthless.At his command, the two guards behind the assassin grabbed him and dragged him away.For a moment, Edric watched the struggling figure.‘……’With long silver hair and a small frame, the assassin’s back truly did resemble Lobel’s.But that was where the similarities ended.Even after the tent flap closed, the man’s howling cries pierced through the quiet night.Edric listened in silence, deep in thought.‘…That’s the normal reaction.’Most people, when facing death, couldn’t stay composed.They screamed, begged, wept, cursed.Even the young knights stationed here—boys barely past adolescence—were no exception.So… it was strange.‘…Why was Lobel so calm?’The flickering red lamp light cast an eerie glow over Edric’s face.When he thought about it, Lobel had always been strange.From the very beginning.A young girl had somehow become a servant in a great noble house.She had offered to taste-test poison for him without hesitation.She had faced death during the hunting festival, nearly burning alive in a cave.‘And yet… Lobel wasn’t afraid at all.’Edric recalled the day he couldn’t even celebrate catching the legendary silver stag.He had been too shaken after saving Lobel.They had barely escaped the fire, stumbling out of the cave.Rushing onto the carriage, Edric hadn’t even noticed losing one of his boots in the panic.Once inside, he had laid Lobel down, watching as she gasped for air.The moment the carriage moved, her eyes fluttered open.And Edric had felt a chill colder than death.Lobel, pale and weak, had smiled at him.[ …Thank you. ]It was the same soft, resigned expression his mother had worn before her death.Not a trace of blame.Instead, she had held his hand, murmuring as if they were saying a final farewell.And yet, even after barely surviving, Lobel’s behavior afterward had been even more baffling.Here, in the northern battlefield, many soldiers who had experienced a single ambush were so terrified they attempted desertion by the next morning.Even Edric himself, after facing death firsthand, had struggled for days.For a while, he had radiated pure bloodlust, unable to calm himself.The trauma had stayed with him.Yet Lobel…She had survived being burned alive—and still smiled at him like nothing had happened.‘…The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.’When he was younger, he had thought nothing of it.He had simply been relieved that Lobel was a cheerful and brave person.But as he grew older—as he completed missions, faced war, and matured—he began to realize the truth.That kind of reaction was impossible.Someone who barely survived a brush with death shouldn’t have acted that normal.She didn’t flinch at the sight of fire.She didn’t suffer from nightmares.That level of detachment was only seen in seasoned warriors who had endured countless battles.And yet, Lobel had been a young girl who had never even held a weapon.‘And then there’s the fact that she left the mansion… only to return later.Why?Why would she leave with such conviction… only to come back and act as if nothing happened?’There had been so many chances for her to leave forever.If she had truly wanted to, she could have escaped Denkart completely.And yet…‘In the end… why did she stay behind, all alone?’The more Edric thought about it, the less sense it made.Yes, he had urged her to stay.But why had she actually listened?Even though he had been gone for a decade, she had never tried to leave again.Edric needed to hear her answer.He had to know.“My lord, the border remains secure. The route through the central lake is also—”Edric’s thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly realized he had returned to his tent, listening to his subordinate’s report.A knight from the Black Chain Order, this man had volunteered to serve here, hoping to revive his impoverished family and secure a better future for his younger siblings.His story was common among the soldiers stationed in this forsaken land.But Lobel was different.She was a commoner, yes, but she had never lived in poverty.On the contrary, she had been raised in comfort, the daughter of a distinguished merchant family in her city.The proof was in her education—her refined knowledge, her ability to ride horses effortlessly, her skills on par with noble children.Although her family’s business had once faced hardship, they had turned the crisis into an opportunity, rebuilding it even stronger than before.So, it wasn’t about money.She had willingly given up her claim to the family business, handing it over to her older brother.And, most baffling of all—Her parents had no idea that their daughter had disguised herself as a man to become a servant in Denkart.‘What was Lobel thinking?’Edric frowned.She had to know the risks of her deception.If her true identity was exposed, she would face serious consequences.Why, then, had she taken such a reckless gamble?And why had she remained in Denkart for so long?Even setting aside his personal feelings, as Denkart’s heir, Edric couldn’t help but question her motives.But in the end, he decided it didn’t matter.Because soon—he would return.Lobel would give him the truth when they met again.And no matter her reasons, he would accept her choice and reward her generously.He had already ordered new servants to be hired for Denkart.Since Lobel would be by his side again, other attendants would handle the menial tasks.Even if others discovered her secret before she could tell him herself, it didn’t matter anymore.Edric now wielded so much power that even the emperor wouldn’t dare touch him.Having settled his thoughts, he slid his sharp, icy-blue sword back into its sheath.His knights had already lined up, waiting to deliver their reports.But just then—The entrance of the tent was flung open.“My lord!”A dark-skinned knight burst inside, red hair flying behind him.Edric’s gloomy emerald eyes gleamed sharply.Only one thing was ever important enough to justify this level of disrespect.Lobel.Any news of Lobel was more urgent than the emperor’s decrees, more valuable than the stacks of imperial orders piled on his desk.“L-L-Lobel’s news has arrived!!”As expected.A tense silence fell over the gathered knights.Because lately, any report about Lobel had become the single most important matter to their commander.Edric fixed the knight with a serious gaze, every nerve focused.Somewhere along the way, his gloves had slipped from his hands, forgotten on the floor.Then—The knight delivered a bombshell.“L-Lobel has gathered… t-ten billion gold!!!”“……!”The tent exploded into stunned silence.Edric’s knights gawked, speechless.A mere servant, in a household without its master, had somehow amassed ten billion gold?That was more than ten years’ worth of revenue for a barony.A fortune so massive that even if an entire village of commoners worked tirelessly for generations, they still wouldn’t come close.It was absurd.But Edric—Was utterly unfazed.‘So, the duke finally recognized Lobel’s value.’As he should have.If the duke had any sense, he would have realized long ago that Lobel was irreplaceable.In fact, ten billion gold barely scratched the surface of her true potential.Edric knew it better than anyone.Lobel had once licked the inside of an empty medicine bottle to avoid wasting a single drop.Her frugality was unmatched.He had investigated her past before—she had displayed brilliant business skills in her family’s merchant guild from an early age.With that in mind…‘Maybe I should entrust her with Denkart’s entire financial management.’The thought pleased him immensely.If there was anyone who could maximize profits and prevent waste, it was Lobel.But then, something felt off.Arif, the knight who had followed the messenger inside, looked strangely uneasy.Despite his refined looks, Arif was a steadfast and loyal man—even during barbarian raids, he had never looked this nervous.Edric frowned slightly.Something else was coming.The red-haired knight, still grinning, added,“Also, Lobel is using that money… to finance a marriage.”“…….”The tent was deathly silent.