Surviving as an obsessive servant

Chapter 68

Before Ibo left Denkart, the prince called for him. Edric, with his long and elegant eyelashes lowered, seemed displeased. Even the scent of the fragrant tea didn't seem to improve his mood. His voice, too, did not hide his annoyance.

"As I mentioned before, Denkart will sponsor your orphanage, and those children will eventually have the opportunity to work for the trading company."

But Ibo wasn't displeased at all. Even if it meant being the lowest member of the trading company, it was a blessing. Thinking of his siblings at the orphanage, he bowed deeply.

"Thank you for your generous grace. I will make sure to repay it."

"But," the prince narrowed his eyes and asked, "What have you done for Lobel?"

It was as if he was asking what Ibo had done to make Lobel treat him so well. Ibo wondered about that too. Why was Lobel so exceptionally kind to him, a nobody wandering the capital...

Then, Edric looked at him with suspicion-filled eyes. "Don't tell me, Lobel asked you to slap him too?"

Ibo paused at the question.

'You too' meant that the prince himself had slapped Lobel. Ibo recalled the time when Lobel had torn off a button from his jacket. What briefly showed through his white shirt was a thick bandage.

And throughout his stay in the servants' quarters, he remembered the times Lobel went out at dawn. Though Lobel thought he was asleep, Ibo, used to living under constant threat, never fell into a deep sleep.

So, he had inadvertently observed Lobel returning from his early baths, the moonlight revealing his shirt, the slender waist beneath, and the thick bandages...

"Why don't you answer?"

"......There was nothing to worry about."

Lost in thought, Ibo slowly responded. Now everything made sense. The reason a healthy boy wore bandages every day... and why Ibo chose to remain silent about it.

But wearing the glasses Lobel had given him and looking at the prince, Ibo couldn't keep silent.

"I have one question. Aside from the slap... did you hit him anywhere else?"

"Of course."

Edric's face, which had been marked by displeasure until then, suddenly brightened, and he readily answered. Ibo was astounded. Such confidence meant he felt no guilt over his actions... planning to keep it a secret from the master before quitting.

If he had to wrap thick bandages around himself every day, how much had he been beaten?

Though Ibo wanted to delve deeper, he kept his mouth shut. His survival instincts, honed from living in a house full of people who wanted to kill each other, on the frozen streets of the capital, and wandering through filthy sewers, told him any further involvement could endanger his life.

But unlike his closed mouth, his eyes could not hide his feelings. So, Ibo looked down to hide his emotions.

Edric, sensitive and perceptive by nature, noticed Ibo's emotional shift. He looked at Ibo coldly and then extended his palm.

"The buttons."

"....."

"You'll have to hand them all over before you leave."

Ibo had no choice but to comply.

He had been carrying the buttons in his pocket, intending to give them to Lobel before leaving. If the guards decided to search him or his room, they would surely be found.