Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

Something was off.Lobel was supposed to be at the Denkart estate right now…Rather than feeling relieved, Edric was overwhelmed by a sense of unease. He turned to the aide.“Don’t follow me.”“Yes, young master. I will wait here.”The duke’s aide bowed his head calmly, as if he had already expected Edric to act alone.Edric quickly pulled up his hood and slipped out, hiding behind a large tree.He had already learned how to conceal his presence from Arif and the other knights.Holding his breath, he carefully listened to their conversation.“Lobelia! How could you do this? Do you have any idea how much mom and dad worried when you disappeared? They couldn’t sleep at all. Not for a single moment!”“…I’m sorry, brother.”Edric felt genuine relief.Even from this short exchange, he could tell how close they were.He wasn’t entirely certain yet, but at the very least, Lobel hadn’t grown up in a miserable home like he had.And her parents seemed to love her even more than he had imagined.“We even put in a request at White Shadow to find you… Just tell me, where have you been all this time? What could possibly be the reason?”Edric focused all his attention on their conversation. He was deeply curious himself.Why had she hidden her identity and willingly put herself in danger just to serve him?She had such a loving family… so why?But even as Rober gripped her shoulders and demanded answers, Lobel remained silent.“…I had an important reason.”“More important than family?”“At the time… yes.”“You… really… how could you do this to us…?”Rober couldn’t finish his sentence and ended up breaking into sobs. Lobel immediately stepped forward and embraced him.But as Edric watched her shoulders tremble, he knew she was crying too.He wanted to rush over and comfort her.But he couldn’t interrupt their reunion.Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stay put, waiting in silence until their sobs subsided.“Hic… Huff… Mom and… Dad… they’re healthy, right?”“Of course they are! They’re at home. Let’s go. Come on, hurry. I have good news too.”The two of them soon walked away.Edric remained frozen in place, watching them until they disappeared completely.Then, he covered his face with his hands.Before coming here, he had assumed Lobel must have left home due to severe financial troubles or family issues.But that wasn’t the case at all.‘Then… why? Why did she go so far as to hide her gender just to stay by my side…?’With a tangled mess of emotions swirling inside him, he returned to his room.But the moment he stepped inside, his mood plummeted completely.The duke’s aide was waiting for him, smiling as if he had been expecting this.“I will now deliver the duke’s proposal.”That unsettling grin was as cold and calculating as a snake’s   *****   “Oh my goodness… Lobelia! My daughter!! My beautiful daughter!!!”Mom tried to run toward me the moment she saw me but collapsed to the floor as her legs gave out.Dad, supporting her urgently, stared at me as if he had seen a ghost.They were the family I had missed so much.I looked at the two of them, tears welling in my eyes, and barely managed to speak.“Mom, Dad…”Who would have thought such simple words could be so hard to say?As I stammered, mom broke free from dad’s support and staggered toward me.“Where… sniff… where have you been, Lobelia!”Mom reached me in one stride, embraced me tightly, and wept.She touched every part of my face — my shortened hair, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, and lips — as if she still couldn’t believe it was me.“Oh, heaven… I truly thought I had lost you forever… Thank you, God! Thank you!!”“I’m sorry… sob… I’m so sorry.”After that, the house became a sea of tears.As I was held in my parents’ embrace, memories of my past life came flooding back.They had held me and wept like this when I couldn’t get out of bed.‘But it’s different from the past.’Now, our family wouldn’t face ruin, and I had fully regained my health.Now… only happiness awaited us as a family.That thought eased the heavy weight on my heart as I recalled the young master.“Where on earth have you been running around? You’re so reckless!!”Rober, who was sniffing beside me, scolded me.But even while scolding me, he worriedly eyed my now shoulder-length hair.He seemed curious and concerned about why my long hair, which used to reach my waist, was suddenly so short.After hesitating for a moment, he asked,“What happened to your hair? And… whoa, you’ve gotten taller, haven’t you?”Apparently, I had grown noticeably taller, as Rober spread his hand to compare our heights.Seeing my parents’ curious looks, I quickly made an excuse.“It was just uncomfortable, so I cut it. But more importantly, Rober, let’s check our heights properly since it’s been a while. I’m curious too.”We stood side by side against the living room wall where we had recorded our heights since childhood.Both of us had grown significantly taller than the marks we made at the beginning of the year.Especially me — it was evident that I had grown by about a hand’s length.As I looked at the record, I felt strangely emotional.Maybe I hadn’t realized how much I had grown because I had always been surrounded by tall people my age.‘…This is the first time I’ve grown this much. Is it because my body recovered?’The young master, who had been around my height, had grown so quickly that it might have made my growth seem minor in comparison.‘…I wonder if the young master will grow as tall as the duke.’I tried to imagine him like that, but I simply couldn’t picture it.Still, I had a feeling that no matter how tall he became, his pure green eyes would remain the same.I only regretted not being able to see it for myself.As I got lost in those gloomy thoughts, familiar smells of spices wafted from the kitchen. They were all my favorites.It seemed my parents were cooking for us today.The hazy sense of reality that had felt like I was drowning became a little clearer. Yes, this was where I belonged.“Lobel, come here! Quickly!”The familiar voice calling me by my affectionate nickname tugged at my heart.Wiping my eyes with my sleeve, I joined my family for the meal prepared in the living room.By nightfall, the house was bustling with merchants who had rushed over upon hearing the news.In particular, Rober, whom I had seen in the capital, questioned me relentlessly.“Why did you pretend not to know me back then? And what happened to your hair?”“I wanted… a real adventure.”It was an excuse I had prepared beforehand, but it still sounded ridiculous coming from my own mouth.Still, I added as boldly as I could,“I was so inspired by the life stories of great adventurers.”Everyone made dumbfounded expressions at my words, and some even pretended to smack me playfully.But Mother’s gratitude for my safe return silenced them all.As night fell, I returned to my room.‘…My room is still spotless.’The bed, the desk, even the windowsills — all were immaculate.My heart ached again.My parents must have cleaned it every day, hoping I would return.Wiping my eyes, I lay on the bed, but something felt off.It was less comfortable than the shared servant quarters or even the young master’s room. It felt like I was lying in a stranger’s bed.Above all, I couldn’t stop thinking about the young master.‘…I wonder if he’s doing well.’He would be shocked to learn I had suddenly left.Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned countless times.And with every thought, I kept drifting back to him.‘I keep thinking about him… I need to forget him. He doesn’t matter anymore….’I repeated that to myself, squeezing my eyes shut.But sleep wouldn’t come.In the end, I got out of bed.‘…I should check the merchant group’s affairs.’Mother and Father must have been exhausted, so it was only right for Rober and me to handle the merchant group for a while.I entered the ever-lit study and reviewed the documents.As I looked through the merchant records, forgotten memories resurfaced.‘These transactions were in the past too. And these… are completely new.’There were more unfamiliar transactions than I had expected.Then again, in my previous lives, our family was usually on the verge of bankruptcy by this time. Now that we had ample funds, it made sense to receive new orders.‘Rober did better than I thought.’Despite his tendency to make mistakes, Rober had taken over on behalf of our parents, which had initially worried me.But now I realized he had every right to boast about doing better than me.One by one, I read through the documents until I had reviewed more than I hadn’t.By the time dawn broke and the office was bathed in sunlight, my face had darkened completely.“Yawn… Lobelia, what are you doing here?”“……”“What are you reading…? Oh? The Benes contract. That’s the most important one, right?”He scanned the document and puffed up proudly.“Haha! Surprised, right?! I didn’t think I could pull off something this big either… What? Why are you making that face?”“Rober.”As I gritted my teeth, Rober’s voice grew uncertain.I clenched my fists, barely suppressing the urge to curse, and grabbed his collar.“Go get mom and dad. Right now.”