Surviving As An Obsessive Servant

Elkatan was a merchant group that rivaled Hornet but was shrouded in mystery.Aside from the fact that its base was in the capital of Terua, little else was known.As a result, rumors ran wild — some said it was a coalition of foreign nobles, while others claimed it was a subsidiary of the White Shadow.Edric also showed interest in them while establishing his own merchant group and had plans to form trade relations in the future.However, he never imagined that its true identity was a merchant group Denkart had long concealed.“You were bound to inherit it soon enough, yet you played around by starting your own little venture.”“……”“Well, I suppose it’s good that you seemed to enjoy your childish games.”At Alexis Denkart’s words, the hidden leader of Elkatan, Edric’s eyes gleamed fiercely.It wasn’t the fact that his father had hidden the truth that angered him — it was something else entirely.The Duke had known from the beginning that Lobel’s merchant group would end up in chaos.He had watched without lifting a finger.Or perhaps he had even intervened directly.If so, there had to be a reason.Instead of lashing out immediately, Edric focused on reading his father’s intentions.Meanwhile, the Duke, having set down his teacup, spoke.“My grandfather, who secretly founded this merchant group without even informing his retainers, taught me something: before making a deal, figure out how much the other party can give and take even more from them.”Edric had no interest in such dusty tales of the past.Especially when it came to stories about the former dukes, who had all died early.What mattered now was Lobel and the safety of her merchant group.“Lobel is…”“The matter of that head servant is something you’ll figure out in due time. It’s not a topic that concerns us at this moment.”The Duke placed a cigar between his lips and lit it.It was an absurd thing to do in front of his child.Yet Edric stared at his father without a single change in his expression.The Duke sneered at his son’s composure, curling one side of his lip.“They were utterly foolish. No matter how urgent it was, handling matters that way was inexcusable.”“No parent remains unshaken when their child disappears. At least, not a parent with proper common sense.”Edric’s voice was filled with raw emotion as he defended Lobel’s parents, taking their insult more personally than his own.The Duke frowned, seemingly displeased by his son’s immaturity, though it was something he had anticipated.“For someone who claims to be well-educated, you don’t seem to have learned the proper attitude for asking for help.”“Get to the point.”“The servant’s merchant group is finished. Their eldest son is as reckless as you are and far less capable than his sister. Yet he managed to take on numerous ventures.”“……”“If left alone, they’ll all perish. They’ve incurred a debt so massive it couldn’t be repaid in a lifetime.”Edric exhaled slowly.His father’s demeanor confirmed that he hadn’t directly interfered in Lobel’s affairs.But this was by no means a situation to be taken lightly.He recalled the pale face Lobel had when he last saw her that morning.Upon hearing the news from his father’s confidant, Edric had hurried back to Lobel’s merchant group.From his carriage near the building, he saw Lobel’s face drained of all color. Her family members were in a similar state.Her older brother, who resembled Lobel the most, had looked utterly devastated, as if foreseeing the hardships ahead.Despite his growing unease, Edric shook his head inwardly. Nothing was set in stone yet.“If it’s about the Benes trade… even if there were losses, there’s a way to smooth things over.”“Do you really think that’s all there is?”At the Duke’s pointed question, Edric fell silent, unable to refute him.His father had already uncovered Lobel’s true identity and completed all investigations.He likely knew all about the dealings between Lobel’s merchant group and Benes.And perhaps, he was even aware of other critical transactions Edric had no knowledge of.“Edric Denkart. You want to protect her, don’t you?”The Duke extinguished his cigar in a high-quality lamp gifted by the imperial family.“If so, how much are you willing to give up to save them?”  ****  A great crisis strikes our merchant group.While I was away, an enormous crisis befell our merchant group.It was something that had never even shown a hint of occurring in the past. Because of that, I foolishly hadn’t prepared for it at all.That fact alone was enough to drive me to the brink, but Rober didn’t keep his mouth shut for even a second.“Hey, little sister, listen up. You probably don’t know because you’ve been gone for so long, but you’re just overreacting right now.”As he rambled on, Rober glanced at my icy silence and grew wary.“Rober, haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘Even when crossing a stone bridge, check it thoroughly first’? It’s not a bad idea to confirm things as Lobelia said,” Mother interjected.“But… if we show up unannounced, they won’t like it. This particular client is really picky. When I visited last time to finalize the contract, they clearly hated me coming in person…”“Look at you. Are you suggesting we risk the merchant group’s safety just because you’re worried about appearances?”“Rober, your mother is right. Wait here. I’ll prepare the carriage.”Under our parents’ stern words, Rober had no choice but to fall silent.Our family boarded the carriage and headed to the residence of the client with whom Rober had personally dealt.The location was a wealthy tourist city not far from our own.Yet, throughout the journey, Rober kept pouting.“They’re going to hate this… I swear, I saw such luxurious genuine artifacts at that mansion the last time…”“Rober, let’s confirm it ourselves when we get there,” Mother said firmly.Unfortunately, my ominous feeling — and Mother’s concerns — proved correct.When we arrived, the mansion was completely empty.More precisely, the mansion was there, but every item inside had been cleared out.“Wh… what…? This is strange… Why… why is there no one here?”Rober was more shocked than the rest of us, who had already expected this to some degree.He wandered the mansion repeatedly, mumbling in disbelief.“Here too… and here… it’s all… all gone? Why… why did everything disappear?”“Honey, what should we do now?” Mother asked Father anxiously.“We still have the partial payment left. Let’s return home and think it over carefully,” Father responded.I nodded in agreement, listening to their conversation.This wasn’t a hopeless situation. It was too early to give up.‘…Stay calm. We’ll figure out a solution back home.’But as the saying goes, misfortune never comes alone.The troubles Rober had caused went far beyond our imagination.“You even held an additional black magic stone auction without telling anyone? Why are you only bringing this up now?!”“Well… the last deal went so well that I thought it’d be smart to buy a bit more… identical to the previous ones. You saw them too, didn’t you?”“So you bought them on credit?!”“Whoa, whoa! Why are you getting so worked up, Lobelia? Calm down! There’s no problem here, really. I’ve dealt with these people multiple times. They promised to supply the same items!”Rober even had the nerve to scold me for my reaction.But the black magic stones Rober purchased were cleverly crafted fakes.They were from a merchant who had supposedly grown close to Rober after the initial auction.Naturally, that merchant had since disappeared. There was no point in searching — the outcome was obvious.“Are you stupid, brother? Just because a deal went well before doesn’t mean you’ll get the real thing next time! How can you handle business like this?!”I tried to hold back in front of my parents, but I couldn’t suppress my anger anymore.We had been scammed not just once but multiple times, even on trivial matters.Under my glare, Rober nervously examined the documents he had signed. Eventually, he confessed that he had signed some in a drowsy state, making mistakes.Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, Rober turned pale and stammered,“It… it’s all my fault. I ruined everything.”“No, I’m sorry for yelling. This is my fault too.”As I consoled my sobbing brother, I reflected on my own mistakes.If I hadn’t left like that, our parents would have managed the merchant group properly.If I had visited more often or sent more letters, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.So now, I had to take responsibility and fix everything with my own hands.First, I filed a case with the guild and the knights to catch the scammers.Then, I tirelessly visited various contacts with my parents to address the merchant group’s financial issues.However, rumors about our merchant group had already spread throughout Velikan.“Ah… I feel so bad about this,” some merchants muttered.Even those who had traded with us for generations began turning their backs on us.Moreover, several individuals, including Rober, had been scammed over the black magic stones.The swindlers had delivered genuine products two or three times before running off with everything.There were even merchants who had lost everything and fled. Among them were friends of my parents, Rober, and me.The atmosphere in Velikan grew increasingly somber. By this time of year, the city would usually be bustling with festivities for the Harvest Festival, but now it was silent.‘…I never imagined something like this would happen after I left.’Despairing, I buried my face in my hands.‘Should I ask Ivo, who returned to Hornet, for help? Or… the young master… No, that’s insane. Absolutely not.’I shook my head vehemently at the thought that had crossed my mind.It would be shameless of me. I could never do that.And it was a relief that the young master hadn’t come looking for me yet.If it were revealed that I, a woman, had worked as his servant, the compensation might be even more severe than this crisis.Finding solace in that thought, I forced a bitter smile and recalled the young master.‘How is the young master doing now? He must have realized by now that I’ve quit.’This wasn’t the time to worry about others, but I couldn’t help being concerned about him.Suppressing the bitterness, I stood up.‘I can’t just sit here helplessly.’Grasping at straws, I decided to visit the bank once more.On the road, I unexpectedly encountered the young master.To be precise, I stood before Denkart’s carriage, which had come to a stop.The massive, ornate black carriage, twice the size of ordinary ones, was a symbol of Denkart.“…What?”I froze in place.