The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 11

“Cough, cough! Sigh.”

I missed my original body, the one that boasted lean, solid muscle from years of hard labor. If I’m bedridden after just two days of work, how on earth am I going to survive in the harsh North?

“…”

I felt a gaze on my cheek and turned my head. Ian was there. He had been keeping a wary, calculated distance until now, but perhaps because I was sick and no longer seemed like a threat, he had moved closer. It felt like his guard had lowered a bit since yesterday.

‘I’m pathetic, really.’

When I moved to save Ian yesterday, it had been pure instinct. I couldn’t be more relieved that he was unharmed.

But on the other hand, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope to gain a bit of favor with him. One way or another, I had to avoid dying at his hands.

‘Will he really kill me?’

I’d spent two days at the villa, which meant I had five days left. If things went according to the original story, Ian would kill me in five days.

But looking at him sitting right next to me, Ian seemed just like a puppy. Watching him stare at me with those innocent eyes, I couldn’t imagine him killing anyone.

“I’m fine, achoo…! Sniff.”

The sneezing wouldn’t stop even while I was speaking. Fever burned in my forehead, and my entire head throbbed. The fatigue of the past few days hit me at once, making my body feel as heavy as lead. Even the spaces between my muscles ached.

“I didn’t ask.”

“Haha, I know. I just didn’t want you to worry, young master.”

Jade laughed sheepishly. To say he wasn’t curious when he’d been hovering around for a while—the way the kid feigned indifference was adorable.

“Cough, cough.”

It looked like I’d come down with a proper flu. After two days of trekking through frozen snowfields and taking charge of all the cooking and cleaning, it was a natural consequence.

My head started to spin, and a faint dizziness began to set in. My blinking slowed down significantly. If only the inside of the villa were just a little bit warmer.

“…”

As Jade’s coughing fits continued, Ian leaned his small face in, staring intently. Then, he briefly pressed his fingertips to Jade’s forehead before pulling away. His hand was so impossibly small that Jade forgot his pain for a moment and laughed.

“Haha.”

How could he be so cute, like a squirrel straight out of a fairy tale? If I hadn’t known Ian’s future, I might have just picked him up and taken him home to raise him myself.

His blonde hair, bright enough to recall a summer wheat field, shimmered softly even inside the dark villa. The slight curls were as fluffy as clouds, sparking an impulse to reach out and ruffle them.

If he had been born a girl, he surely would have grown into a beauty that would move the world. His small, fair, elegant face was perfectly set with delicate features, and even his eyelashes were long.

Jade knew exactly how much the future Ian would flaunt that stunning appearance. Ian would grow up exactly like this. He would become a man with a noble, sophisticated, beautiful face and a towering height of 190cm. As an adult, he exuded a sacred aura like a god from myth, which made the gap all the more jarring since he committed all sorts of atrocities with that face.

Of course, looking at the current, tiny “crumb” version of Ian, such a thing was unimaginable.

“Cough, cough. Sir, once I’m over this flu, would you like me to trim your hair?”

“My hair…?”

Ian blinked his teardrop-clear, blue-gray eyes. It was a shame that his long hair was obscuring those beautiful eyes. It seemed to have grown long because no one had trimmed it since he was abandoned at the villa. Looking closely, it was a bit patchy in places, suggesting Ian might have tried to cut it himself at some point.

“It keeps poking your pretty eyes. Doesn’t it sting?”

“What…!”

At the word “pretty,” Ian huffed in annoyance, his face flushing. A rosy tint spread over his porcelain-white skin. Ian’s eyes wavered as he fiddled with his own hair.

“It doesn’t sting.”

“Then let’s agree to cut it once my cold is gone. I’ll trim it nicely for you.”

“…Do whatever you want.”

Ian nodded, giving a reluctant answer. His curly hair swayed with the movement of his head. The soft curls formed even prettier ringlets toward the ends.

Unable to help himself, Jade lightly stroked the tips of the hair, causing Ian to whip his head away to avoid the hand. His face grew even redder, looking like a well-ripened sweet potato.

Jade’s heart was heavy. It was because the childhood Ian he’d actually met was so different from what he had imagined.

He had assumed Ian would have had a cold, cruel temperament from a young age, but it was quite the opposite.

He tried to hide it, but he seemed to crave warmth, and he got embarrassed easily. Since Jade had also spent his whole life longing for warmth, Ian’s loneliness was easy to see. Even when he tried not to look, he kept noticing it.

How did such a fragile child end up becoming so cruel? Did the other servants die because they let their guard down while thinking the same thing?

‘How long can I stay here?’

The Linwood family sent supplies once a month and dispatched a servant every three months to check on Ian’s status and survival.

However, since all the previous servants had gone missing, Ian’s uncle must be feeling frustrated. That was likely why he’d reached the point of hiring Jade to kill Ian directly.

If news didn’t get back that Ian had been successfully killed, another servant would surely come with the same mission. Or, before that, a message might be delivered through the coachman who brought the supplies. And he would report the current situation exactly as it was to Ian’s uncle.

Whatever the case, it was certain they wouldn’t want Jade cleaning the villa and cooking for Ian.

It might be easier for everyone if I left before someone from the family showed up. If Jade disappeared, the Linwood family would probably just assume he went missing like the others. The northern cold and monsters claimed many lives, after all.

‘What will happen to Ian?’

It was funny. It had only been two days, but it seemed he’d grown fond of him; he was worried about Ian. He would survive and eventually become a Duke, but the child looked too frail to find comfort in discussing a distant future.

Watching a child be left all alone was difficult. It might be because it overlapped with his own childhood, or perhaps it was just a meager sense of pity.

‘No, I’ve got enough problems of my own.’

Currently, Jade didn’t have a penny to his name. It was more sensible to worry about what would happen to himself after leaving the villa than to worry about Ian, who would one day hold the world in his hands.

This villa was far from the village. Especially in winter, the path to the village was blocked by walls of snow. It was impossible to get out without a horse. I might get there if I walked all day, but the weather was the problem. There was a high chance I’d be buried in snow and die before arriving.

Even if I somehow found the village, it was still a problem. What could I do for a living right now when all I had was a broom? Skills like cleaning and identifying poisonous mushrooms didn’t pay. It would be hard to find a job in the winter. I had to leave at least after I’d adapted to this world.

“Are you sleepy?”

Ian tapped the back of Jade’s hand with his index finger, seeing him lost in thought. Then, he sat even closer to Jade.

“Don’t come close. You’ll catch my cold.”

“Ah.”

Jade scooted over to distance himself as much as Ian had approached. Ian looked flustered. He didn’t seem flustered because Jade told him not to come close, but rather because he realized just how close he had been to Jade.

How cute. Jade chuckled at his restless behavior. But he couldn’t help it. There were likely no proper medicines in the villa, and it would be a disaster if a young child caught the flu.

“Go on in and get some sleep.”

Jade reached out and lightly pushed Ian’s back. But Ian didn’t budge an inch, remaining seated. It was strange how someone who looked so small and soft didn’t move even under an adult man’s strength.

‘Is it because of the flu?’

He tried pushing one more time, but Ian stood firm. Instead of going up to his room, Ian asked Jade’s intention.

“What about you, Jade?”

“I haven’t cleaned the place I’ll use as my room yet. I’ll sleep here for today.”

“…”

“Hurry and go up. A ghost might eat you.”

“You’re a grown-up, and you’re actually scared of ghosts?”

Jade put both hands over his head, imitating a ghost. However, Ian glared at Jade with a face full of slight mockery. There wasn’t a hint of fear on that face.

Don’t children usually fear things like ghosts? But far from being scared, Ian looked like he found Jade pathetic. As if wondering why anyone would fear a ghost.

‘Well.’

Jade smacked his lips awkwardly. Between Ian, who firmly stated ghosts weren’t real, and himself, who was imitating one, who was really the adult here?

“Myang? Myang!”

“Sundol, you shouldn’t push the young master with your feet like that.”

“Myaaaa!”

In the meantime, Buster was busily pushing Ian with all four paws. At Jade’s scolding, Buster let out a long meow as if it were unfair.

“Let’s go up together. It doesn’t look like there are any ghosts in that room.”

He was a puzzling child. He trembled just from having the tips of his hair stroked, yet now he was asking to go up together.

“That’s your room, sir. I’m just a servant.”

“The servant needs to get better quickly so he can work.”

“Aha.”

So that was it. Quite practical.

“Still, I can’t. You’ll catch my cold. And I can get better quickly no matter where I sleep. E-E-achoo!”

“…Then I’ll sleep here too.”

Seeing Jade remain unmoved despite all his persuasion, Ian fiddled with his fingers before lying down on the floor in protest. He laid his back right on the cold, bare floor and kept glancing at Jade to gauge his reaction.

‘Surely he’s not planning to kill me tonight, is he?’