I Became The Servant Who Received The Crown Prince’s Obsession

Chapter 46

“I wonder if Clyde and Adrian would end up together as in the original story if I
disappeared.”

It was something she quietly hoped for if possible, as both men were good and decent
people. They would probably be shocked to hear her say it, and she felt a bit petty for even
thinking it herself, but that was how she felt nonetheless.

Clyde made her heart flutter in subtle ways, while Adrian was truly a beautiful friend.

Though there was a difference in her feelings for them, neither could completely capture
her heart enough for her to stake Edith’s fate in the novel on them. She had no choice but to
accept this. She prayed that a happy ending awaited them.

The imperial festival was fast approaching.
After a few days’ break, Edith reported to work not at the palace but in the city. It was in a
hidden slum behind the bustling streets. Before hosting the banquet for the nobles and the
imperial-strengthening jousting competition, they were first holding an event to aid the
poor.

In a spacious clearing, palace staff and many others were gathered, preparing food. A large
pot was boiling over with soup. Soldiers were even deployed, loading bread and meat onto
carts. Edith hovered around the serving tables, where the staff was busy, with no time to
spare, to distribute food in time for lunch.
Attendants from the Crown Prince’s palace recognized her and waved.

“This way, Lady Ketsmorris.”

An apron was immediately handed to her. No one paid much attention to formal greetings

in the bustling scene.

She found herself nudged forward to the serving station, where she was to hand out bread,
the simplest task among the food to be distributed. No one asked Edith to carry the heavy
food containers, nor was she assigned sweeping or cleaning duties. A servant friend of
hers, standing beside her with a ladle, joked playfully.

“You won’t mess up giving out bread, right?”

“What? Who do you think I am?”

“I’m saying it because I know you well. Everyone says your brain is a bit one-sided.”

“No way. Do you think I can’t manage putting a single piece of bread on each plate?”

“Of course. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Just before it was time to start distributing food, Clyde arrived. He looked around the
clearing and met Edith’s eyes. As the Crown Prince approached with his long strides,
everyone’s attention was drawn to him.

“Edith, here you are.”

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t strain yourself with serving. How about joining me for an inspection?”

Edith gripped the edge of the large bread basket tightly. What did these people take her for?
She was a character as intelligent as anyone else, so how had she gained this image?

“I can do it!”

“Really?”

“Unless Your Highness commands me to accompany you on your inspection, I’ll continue
working here.”

The event to distribute food to the poor was being held simultaneously in multiple parts of
the city. Clyde was expected to make the rounds to ensure the distribution centers were
operating smoothly.

Originally, he had wanted Edith to accompany him on the inspection. But as the Crown
Prince, he needed to show his face to the public, meaning that those accompanying him
had to be well-known figures rather than just practical staff.

A little way off, a group of nobles dressed modestly but suitably were waiting for the Crown
Prince. Among them, she could see the half-bald head of Count Dietrian, who loved to irk
others.

To avoid being dragged along on the inspection, Edith busied herself with bread that didn’t
actually need any attention yet.

“Please go ahead, Your Highness. Isn’t Count Dietrian waiting for you?”

He lingered, hesitating and shuffling plates that were perfectly fine as they were.

“People might want to see the new Duke of the Ketsmorris family. In terms of rank, a duke
certainly outranks a count.”

“As if! I’m sure everyone knows our family has fallen.”

Standing her ground at the serving table, she gave Clyde a look, urging him to go. She
watched him depart with a look of regret on his face.

Staying here wasn’t just about avoiding the awkwardness of accompanying the aristocratic
officials around the distribution centers. She would have to meet them frequently anyway,
so there was no point in avoiding them now.

In truth, she wanted to reduce the amount of time she spent with Clyde as much as
possible. Once this festival was over, she planned to resign from her role as his attendant.

As her heart needed to grow distant, she thought it best to also maintain physical distance.

As the bell rang to signal the start of food distribution, a seemingly endless line stretched
out before her. From that moment, Edith became fully absorbed in handing out bread. With
the constant stream of people, she barely had a moment’s rest.

Since the time and location had been announced a few days earlier, many had come from
afar. The clearing was packed with people, leaving no room to move. Exhausted from
poverty, some even argued to get as much food as possible to fill their stomachs while they
could.

Most people took their plates and bowls piled high. The rule was that each person was
allowed only one meal, so those who had passed through the serving line had ink applied
to the back of their hand to prevent them from returning for seconds.

Because of this rule, even toddlers lined up with their families. A little child, unable to hold
a plate alone, was brought forward by his mother to Edith’s station.

“Food, please!”

With a lisp and bright enthusiasm, the toddler cheerfully shouted.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re so cute.”

As soon as she handed him a piece of bread, he took a big bite, his cheeks puffing up as he beamed, looking like he had the whole world in his hands. His little hands were grubby, and
his clothes were dirty, but he was absolutely adorable.

“Would you like one more?”

“Yes!”

She was about to put another piece of bread on his plate when her friend, the attendant
serving soup nearby, looked alarmed.

“No, Edith, don’t!”

“Why not? It’s just one more piece of bread.”

“Look over there. If you give one more to this little guy, everyone else will expect the same.”

The people lined up were watching Edith with hollow-eyed stares, clearly hoping for extra portions.

The amount of bread was limited. They had calculated the portions of soup, meat, and
bread to match the expected number of people coming to the clearing. Giving everyone two
pieces would mean that later arrivals would get nothing.

Still, Edith had thought there would be a bit of surplus bread, but clearly, the situation
wasn’t that forgiving.

The toddler reached out, wiggling his fingers in eager anticipation. Since Edith had already offered, taking it back now might make him cry.

The line was pushing forward. She had to decide immediately whether to give the child the
extra bread or not.

“Then I’ll give you my lunch,” Edith said loudly enough for others to hear. “This is my bread. Enjoy it, sweetheart.”

Thanks to her quick thinking, the tense situation at the serving table eased for a moment.

The delighted toddler, with one piece of bread in his mouth and another clutched tightly in
his hand, toddled off, looking adorable.

However, a new realization struck her. It seemed that helping the poor wasn’t something
that could be done on pure compassion alone. No one could be left feeling dissatisfied,
and somehow, everyone needed to leave with full stomachs and a sense of contentment.

She had once briefly considered the issue of helping the poor. Among the documents Clyde
had neatly arranged on his bookshelf was a proposal similar to this event, which she’d read. The proposal mentioned that the most urgent need among the impoverished was
food, followed by healthcare, with jobs also being crucial.

Efforts to help the poor had rarely been carried out. They were always postponed and
eventually discarded in favor of other matters. Distributing bread and meat didn’t
constitute a full-fledged project, but it had been so long since something like this was last
done that one would have to dig through the royal history books to find a precedent.

Clyde had declared this event as the beginning of the festival, aiming to create a
celebration where everyone could enjoy shared food together.

The process of organizing this event hadn’t been easy, either. Clyde had fierce disputes with
the aristocrats who brought up the budget at every turn.

“Everyone seems to be enjoying the food. It’s a nice sight.”

The food distribution was nearly complete. Exhausted, Edith looked around the clearing.

The line was still long, and it seemed unlikely that the people who had joined it late would receive any food.

“Edith, aren’t you hungry?” her friend, who had managed to grab a quick meal, asked with
concern.

“Yeah, I’m hungry. But I can’t break my promise, can I?”

Whether others were watching or not, she wanted to keep her word to the child.

It was late afternoon by the time the food finally ran out. Right on cue, Clyde and his party returned, looking visibly tired from touring various parts of the city.

Edith intended to help with the cleanup, but the palace staff stopped her, noting that Clyde
was watching with a piercing gaze from across the clearing. They nudged her to go attend to
the Crown Prince, forcing her to untie her apron first.

Clyde, who had returned alone, leaving the nobles behind, stood with his arms crossed,
watching her busy herself around the clearing.

She approached him in her disheveled state, still smelling of food.

“Why do you look so pale?” he asked abruptly.

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“Was it hard?”

“I managed. It’s something everyone does.”

“You had lunch on time, right?”

“…more or less.”

“What does that mean? What did you eat?”

Did she look different from usual? She hadn’t really paid attention to her own appearance,having spent the whole day focused on handing out food at the serving line.

“Well, I… the distributed meal…”

“So you haven’t eaten this whole time.”

How did he know? His perceptiveness was impressive, and she couldn’t help but close her mouth, cutting off her attempt at a lie.

With a dissatisfied tilt of his chin, Clyde glanced around, clearly intent on arranging a meal for her. When he looked as if he was about to call one of the busy palace attendants still
wrapping up the event, Edith hurried to speak.

“Your Highness, I’m fine.”

“Fine? You look like you’ve lost half your face in a day.”

That couldn’t be true. Her plump cheeks never slimmed down that easily.

“Everyone’s busy wrapping things up, so I can take care of myself.”

He raised his hand as if to touch her cheek but, noticing the people watching, paused
midway. With a slight hesitation, he clenched his hand into a fist and returned it to his side
reluctantly.

“Then shall we head back to the palace?”

“Have you finished inspecting all the places you needed to?”

If he was planning to cut his schedule short just to get her fed, she wanted no part of it. She
was already uneasy about Clyde’s attentiveness toward her and didn’t want to make a fuss
over a single meal.

“Almost done,” he replied.

The way he said it had a ring of the same kind of evasion she’d used.

“Really?”

“Today’s focus was on the food distribution. We can handle the rest on another day.”

“May I ask where else you were planning to inspect?”

As Clyde arranged for the carriage, he turned his head away, avoiding a direct answer. It
seemed she wouldn’t get a straightforward response from him.

In her mind, Edith mentally mapped out the Crown Prince’s schedule. The priority was to
oversee the various food distribution points set up across the city, and next would be
checking on the street market where booths were actively being prepared.

“Ah, the street market.”

His gaze sharpened instantly.

“Edith.”

“That was where you were planning to go, wasn’t it?”

“The market doesn’t need to be today. The street festival won’t start for a few more days,
and right now, they’re likely still in the middle of construction.”

“And Your Highness wants to ensure the construction goes smoothly.”

Falling into her role as his attendant, Edith followed behind him, close on his heels. Just in front of the carriage, she raised her voice to announce their destination.

“His Highness wishes to go to the street market.”

Clyde shook his head, reluctantly accepting the inevitable.