Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

“Lobel. Are you done?”

As I tried to apply for the medicine in front of the mirror, I was lost in thought, and the Young Master asked me from behind.

I rubbed the ointment on my index and middle fingers roughly on my cheeks and went to see the Young Master.

In the middle of the drawing-room, the eyes of the Young Master who was sitting in a wheelchair turned to me.

It was exactly around my knee.

“I can apply for it later.”

“….”

“That— my pants are crumpled.”

As I made excuses, he bit his lower lip and gave me a fierce look.

It was a very familiar feeling to me. A look that shows more concern for me than I do for myself.

My family always looked like that after I was sick.

And I’ve always been weak around such families.

“…I’ll apply for it.”

I thought that it would be difficult to see the Duke right away anyway, so I said so without being stubborn. Then, the Young Master’s expression straightened out.

I sat on the sofa and gently raised the hem of my pants. My messed-up knee was revealed.

I thought it only hurt when I was taking a bath earlier, and it was my first time seeing it like this, but it was very chaotic.

I thought it only hurt when I was taking a bath earlier, and it was my first time seeing it like this, but it was very chaotic.

Blue, purple, and—. The blood clot was larger than the thumb.

Seeing this, the Young Master’s complexion hardened again, as if it had never straightened out.

‘…I should have turned my back and applied it.’

I’d better finish it soon.

I applied a large amount of ointment to my fingertips.

I did the same on the other leg, but the Young Master’s expression didn’t get better.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve paid for food, too.”

When I said it as a joke, the Young Master asked with a serious face.

“How much does your meal cost, Lobel?”

Uh— so he can take this story like this.

“I don’t mean to say it’s a real meal cost. To be honest, I haven’t said anything right since I became a servant. I think I’ve just done it.”

“Why are you saying that you haven’t done anything right?”

The Young Master refuted this as if he had heard nonsense.

Normally I would say a few more jokes, but today I can’t afford to do that.

“Young Master, please wait for a moment.”

This is because I heard a cart moving outside.

Standing in a hurry by the window, I looked out.

The servant Hyungs were moving the ancient stone slabs to an exclusive cart.

“I think— from now on, they are going to ask you to interpret all the stone slabs we found earlier.”

“…What?” 

I approached the Young Master again and continued.

“I don’t think they’ll let it go just by looking for it. I’m sure there’s a reason for it, but I don’t think there’s any other interpretation for it.”

However, rather than thinking about interpreting, the Young Master frowned with the expression, ‘Do I have to read everything in front of those people?’

Is this what a talent spoon is?

Even with a brief taste yesterday, he seems to have recognized that he has a talent for stone slab interpretation.

It feels like yesterday when he asked if I could read stone slabs or something, but when did he feel so reassured?

Of course, I feel envy for achieving results only through hard work, but the Young Master has suffered greatly because of that bloodline.

Instead of falling into foolish envy, I brought up a serious point.

“He wouldn’t ask you to read it yourself. That person hates wasting time.”

In silence, the Young Master agreed.

Even his father, who had only met him once, seemed to feel something.

However, the Young Master was curious about how to prove it.

I held a fountain pen in the air and moved my hand as if writing to him.

“Earlier…. Do you want me to write everything myself?”

Knowing what I meant, he already had a tired expression on his face. 

Besides, it was too much for the Young Master who had only just learned the word to handle it all by himself. To be exact, it was close to impossible.

Still, I expressed my confidence. I straightened my posture and tapped my clenched fist on my shoulder.

“You have me, Young Master,”

“The Duke is making me his heir. No matter how much you help… If the amount I do myself is small…”

The Young Master couldn’t finish his sentence and closed his lips tightly. It seems that negative consequences have been imagined.

I didn’t comfort him.

However, I pulled a piece of paper out of the desk drawer and picked up a fountain pen.

“Actually, I don’t forget a single word when it comes to the Young Master.”

I took the used paper and showed it to him.

[Let’s go to the capital and have fun every day, Lobel!]

His eyes slowly widened as he faced the fluttering piece of paper.

“….!”

He must be familiar with the clumsy curving strokes and shaky spots.

Because this is the handwriting of the Young Master, not anyone else.

“I have already seen all of the Young Master’s letters and memorized them. Everything from strokes to the habit of making dots.”

Of course, in order to avoid being discovered later, the Young Master should practice writing more diligently.

The shocked Young Master was going to say something to me when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

He quickly erased his expression and spoke lowly.

“Come in.”

The aide who crossed the doorway as if waiting for it bowed politely.

“I have the Master’s order for you to interpret all of the stone slabs. You don’t have to read it yourself, you can just transcribe it in writing.”

Through the closed door, the loud noise of a cart being pulled was heard.

It looks like it’s already ready. It’s not surprising.

Fortunately, the Young Master was calm, perhaps because he had heard from me first.

“I’ll get it ready soon, so please wait.”

The aide who had delivered the information left. The door remained open.

I heard a voice asking the servants to be more careful when they were moving things.

At that moment, the Young Master said hurriedly.

“Lobel. No matter how much you help, if that aide watches over us like before—”

“Ah, about that.” 

After speaking casually, I picked up a vase that was on the desk.

‘Hyungs, I’m sorry…  I’ll buy all of you something delicious next time…’

I apologized inwardly and threw the vase on the floor.

Clank! 

A loud noise echoed through the bedroom.

Of course, it would have leaked out into the hallway as well.

“What’s going on!” 

The aide, who was directing the servants from the hallway, came in hastily.

Soon, his eyes reached the broken vase on the floor, and his worries soon turned into a look of “As expected.”

Yeah. If he had heard of the Young Master’s bad reputation, he would have expected this.

On the contrary, he had a strange expression on his face earlier. Because the Young Master he had heard and imagined was completely different from the gentle master he is now.

So, should he live up to the expectations?

I lowered my shoulders and glanced at him with a timid look on my face.

“O, our Young Master says he doesn’t want to be disturbed anymore. W, what you have to do is… Can the Young Master and I be the only ones left to sort it out?”

So I glanced at the door. It meant that I wanted to close the door and do it because I was afraid of the sensitive Young Master.

Of course, the Duke of Denkart’s trusted aide quickly understood.

He couldn’t answer immediately. There were signs of conflict.

But there were no worries.

‘The Young Master’s legs are uncomfortable, so he’ll understand this much.’

Unlike the master, the aide was a person with a little bit of humanity.

Even when he delivered the unexpected news in the morning, he hesitated with a more apologetic look.

Still, just in case, I was going to add a few more words, but suddenly the Young Master stepped in.

“Get out. You just have to do what the Duke told you to do.”

“….”

“Did you not understand what I said? Don’t disturb me.”

“…Yes. I understand.” 

—Somehow, that aide seems to be particularly weak towards the Young Master.

I can’t believe he changed his mind as soon as he said a word.

‘…Have you nagged the Duke a lot? So I don’t think he’ll be interested in the Young Master who resembles a Duke.’

Well, considering that, he stepped down easier than expected.  Anyway, will he recognize the handwriting just by looking at it? 

Well, can he imagine that a child would memorize someone else’s handwriting? Besides, I’m just a servant.

As soon as the door closed, the Young Master grabbed my two wrists and dragged me. Then he looked from my fingertips to my wrists.

It was a careful and attentive look that I had never seen from any sharp merchant. 

Somehow, the back of my hand was itchy, so I smiled a little.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t interfere with my writing at all.”

The Young Master didn’t respond to the words I tried to reassure him. It’s a serious situation, but I feel great.

It feels like the blood vessels are being purified.

‘This… I will become addicted to this.’

Somehow, I feel that purification has become more powerful than before.

Is it because the Young Master is close to me? Or is there some other effect I don’t know about?

If not…maybe I’m almost fully recovered?

“…Don’t ever do this again next time. It’s dangerous. Why don’t you ask me? I’ll do it.”

The Young Master tried to persuade me that he would do it.

He seems to have changed in so many ways.

I was surprised when he became so gentle and enthusiastic.

But I thought it was a good thing. Even enthusiasm is a luxury for sick people.

Furthermore, if he were to learn in this harsh world, especially under the harshest Duke, he would do better to be enthusiastic.

It’s good to be as vicious as yesterday.

‘I must correct his tone before they meet in person, but—’

I can’t speak informally in front of the Duke like I used to.

‘But it was refreshing, though.’

As I was thinking to myself, the Young Master suddenly said something strange.

“I… I! I’ve thrown it so many times that I’ve got the hang of it! I’m better at it. I might break it even louder.”