Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

The Young Master didn’t show it to me, but he was anxious.

Because that person is also someone who can disappear without a word, it will be difficult to see him again.

Knowing that he visited the Duke with the feeling of grasping at a straw.

“That’s why I went there first. I provoked him not to run away cowardly like last time.”

Clearly, he was trying to protect me from being severely abused by the Duke.

“Then…The Duke said there was only one test left. That… I will do everything I can to make sure I finish well….”

The Young Master could not finish his words.

I hugged him tightly because I couldn’t overcome the overwhelming emotion.

As soon as he came to his senses, he shook his arms without immediately recognizing the situation.

“What— What are you doing!” 

“Just for a second. Please stay like this for a second.”

Apart from everything, I wanted to hug him.

The way this little child endured a disease that even an adult couldn’t bear and how he tried to overcome adversity was extraordinary.

This time it wasn’t a desire to heal my body.

I also wanted to heal his wounds that he did not reveal. If I really had that kind of ability, how great would it be—.

Even though I knew my wish was foolish, I still felt that way, which was sad and regrettable.

“Good job.”

“….”

But I covered all my emotions with a soft voice.

I wanted to give stability to the Young Master, who had lived his whole life in anxiety.

But, as if he had never expected my compliment, the Young Master held his breath.

He must have been very afraid of receiving resentment. He’s definitely a kid at times like this.

“You did really well. Our Young Master is the best.”

I said while holding him, gently sweeping down his stiff back with one hand.

“You’re so cool. I couldn’t possibly say such a thing in front of the Duke, you know?”

“…Lie. Lobel, you acted strangely to distract the Duke that time.”

The Young Master said that and slightly pushed me by the shoulder. It felt weak, like a feather.

Well, he hates contact with other people. It wouldn’t be pleasant no matter how much I dress up as a man.

Even though I was disappointed, I moved my body further back.

The Young Master stared at my movements and lowered his eyes. His eyes fluttered as if he was still anxious. 

So I spoke in a more cheerful tone than usual.

“But next time, will you give me a hint? You will let me know, right?” 

“…Yes.” 

The Young Master gave a brief, but clear answer. There seemed to be a lot of emotion in it.

Pretending not to know, I brought up other conversational topics, such as the sights in the capital, and then the meal arrived.

I put the food plates one by one on the simple table on the bed.

However, there was a bean dish that the Young Master didn’t like. To be exact, it was beans topped with chicken dishes.

I was thinking of taking it as an excuse.

It’s just the two of us eating together anyway.

The Young Master first picked up the chicken pieces that were deliciously grilled and cut with a fork. Then he put one bite in my mouth first. 

After that, the Young Master picked up the spoon. Then he scooped out chicken and beans on a spoon.

I figured out his intentions.

‘Ah, there are signs this time as well.’

Because the Young Master doesn’t put it in one bite so ignorantly.

And usually, it’s one bite for me and one bite for the Young Master, but the order seems to have changed a little today.

I prepared to open my mouth wide. First, I chew what’s in my mouth diligently—.

But my prediction was wrong.

The moment he hurriedly passed the food down to my throat, the Young Master put the spoon into his mouth.

Even with my eyes, it was hard to believe, so I looked blankly and asked.

“…Did you eat beans?”

The Young Master frowned but nodded his head.

Then he mumbled and frowned more and swallowed— really? 

‘The Young Master hates beans so much that he can call them the food of the Duchess—’

I looked at it strangely, but the Young Master put bread with butter and jam in my mouth this time.

I opened my mouth wide and took it again, and the Young Master ate the same in one bite.

What’s wrong with the Young Master, who usually cuts a piece of that size in half?

‘Was he really hungry—?’

While wondering, I diligently took what he was giving.

The plate soon emptied for the two of us, who were tough at first glance.

I drank half of the medicine and gave it to the Young Master.

But the Young Master, who was staring at the empty plate, asked.

“Can’t we eat more?”

…Is it a period of growth?

It was the first time that the Young Master, who always left food, felt that it wasn’t enough.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad thing, so I happily nodded my head. It’s because I’ve always thought that it would be good if the already skinny Young Master gained more weight.

Furthermore, Robert Oraboni ate twice more than the Young Master, while Crimson ate four times more.

I thought there would be no problem if he ate a little more since they were growing up.

So they soon prepared the additional meal, and the Young Master continued to eat to the extent that I was astonished. 

But that night, the Young Master suffers from a severe stomach ache.

******

“Are you okay, Young Master?”

“…Ung.” 

He feels sick after throwing up all night.

Edric managed to reply, enduring nausea.

It was because he didn’t want to cause any more trouble to Lobel, who had stayed up all night nursing him after suffering so much yesterday.

But his pale face and cold sweat clearly proved his words to be false.

Beside him, Lobel was worried and had to wipe his forehead and cheek with a handkerchief.

Edric tried to say it was okay, but he couldn’t even get the words out.

‘…I feel like I’m going to vomit just by breathing.’

Since birth, he has been weak and sick, but he has never had such a serious stomachache. 

Even his aide, who came to announce the final test, looked at him anxiously.

Still, Edric didn’t make a single sound of pain. Because he knows this is really his last chance.

“This time, the Duke….”

He thought he could make it enough until he heard the next word.

“He told me to inform you that you must identify and write down all the objects in this place. All in quantity—”

The aide glanced at the annex, which is now only used for storage purposes.

On a scale as great as any warehouse in the Imperial City, they strictly managed this place every day.

And they filled it with all kinds of rare items from the continent that were unimaginable. All of them were gifts from previous emperors.

Perhaps it was the second most valuable place in this empire after the Imperial City.

But Edric didn’t feel admiration or pride.

He had a blank expression on his face.

‘…Do you want me to do everything here?’

Compared to other tests that have been nearly impossible, this test felt incomparably forceful.

There were more than a hundred rooms to see from the outside without going inside. And the size will be considerable.

His vision, which had been cloudy due to the previous sickness, became much more blurry with the darkness.

But Edric tried to calm himself down.

‘The Duke is not a great man to change his words—he told me to do it, so I need to do it no matter what.’

While he was making a promise, Lobel asked the butler to open the door quickly.

The butler, who had been looking anxiously at Edric like Lobel, approached the front door.

From his arms came a bundle of keys with dozens of gold keys woven together. 

This package of keys was also one of the Emperor’s gifts. Large jewels were embedded in large pieces.

The butler unlocked the door locks one by one with it.

The door of the annex opened.

Indeed, it was huge and beautiful, like a warehouse that only stored the most precious things in Denkart.

If there is a difference from the large mansion, it is the white wallpaper with a slightly cleaner and more calm feeling.

Other than that, it was an exhibit hanging on the wall, and the cleanliness without single dust was the same.

He tried to look further, but Edric couldn’t. Just sitting in a wheelchair right now was a struggle.

Despite the master, Lobel did his job calmly.

“Aide. Is it okay if only me and the Young Master stay here?”

“Yes. He said it would be okay if there were just the two of you today.”

As he managed to raise his head, which was bending downward, he saw Lobel receiving things from the aide.

He also had a leather bag with writing instruments in his hand.

The butler and aide said they would wait outside with the doctor. Their eyes also showed concern. 

But Edric couldn’t even afford to be conscious of the eyes of others. 

He was just desperately focused on examining the structure of this place.

“Young Master, I’ll look around first, so can you lie down here for a second?”

“I don’t want to.”

Edric, who had been dying, shook his head hurriedly as if he had gained strength.

He couldn’t let Lobel suffer alone after all that talk yesterday.

Besides, even though this place was wide, it was unreasonably wide. There was not enough time for the two of them to run around and look.

‘Let’s work together somehow….’

But at that time, Lobel suddenly pushed the wheelchair forward without notice.

‘Ugh…’

Just having the wheelchair he was sitting on moved a little bit made him nauseous, so he covered his mouth with both hands.

He regretted eating ignorantly. While holding back the moan, the ceiling suddenly turned around.

‘Ah…’

When he came to his sense, he was lying on his back on the sofa.

And next to him, Lobel took off his vest without hesitation.

The sunlight through the big window passed through Lobel’s shirt.

Edric’s dizzy vision is brushed by the bandage tied inside it.