The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 12

If I wanted to kill Ian, now was the perfect opportunity. Wouldn’t it be as simple as plunging a blade into him while he slept in his weakened state? The thought sent a cold bead of sweat trickling down my neck.

“Go on up and sleep, sir.”

“If I sleep here, I’ll catch a cold too.”

When Jade didn’t react, the soft lines of Ian’s eyes turned quite stubborn. His pupils sparkled like transparent crystals.

In moments like this, he was undeniably just a child his age. Maybe that was why he reminded me of my own childhood. I saw my past self in him—someone who was constantly reading the room and desperate for warmth. I couldn’t ignore it.

“Alright, let’s go up then.”

Jade heaved himself up with a grunt and pointed toward the upper floor.

Yeah, there’s no way a kid like that would kill Jade after only two days. I was too sick to think about it any further anyway. More than anything, it was much more comfortable for me to sleep in the room I’d scrubbed clean and moved a bed into.

The thought that this might be a breach of protocol crossed my mind for a second, but what did that matter in a villa where we were the only two people? Jade didn’t know the rules of this Empire, and Ian was young. Besides, wasn’t I the servant?

“If the master says let’s go, what else matters?”

“The… master?”

At the offhand comment, Ian’s eyes went wide. They were so large it looked like they might pop right out.

After blinking a few times, Ian’s face turned beet-red, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. Since it was the first time the cynical Ian had been this flustered, even Jade felt a bit awkward.

“Ah, well. Isn’t it true? I’m the servant and you’re the master, right?”

That’s how it usually worked in novels and games, right? Jade scratched his head, muttering to himself. But Ian looked like he’d heard something monumental; his face was red all the way down to his neck, and he couldn’t even meet Jade’s eyes. Unable to stand it any longer, Jade grabbed Ian and pulled him to his feet.

“Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

“I—I’ve got it!”

Face still flushed, Ian coldly swatted Jade’s hand away and marched ahead. Jade followed about two paces behind the boy up the stairs.

“Meow!”

Buster followed them as well, flapping his wings. This villa was freezing without any heating, but today, it didn’t feel entirely cold.

Having followed Jade up to his room as if he had no choice, Ian watched as Jade sat on the edge of the bed he’d struggled for hours to move in.

“Don’t blame me if you catch my cold. I’ve warned you.”

“I don’t catch colds. I’ve never had one.”

Ian answered firmly, as if it were a useless concern. He hadn’t been sick once in the six months he’d lived in the North? A line from the setting guide came to mind: Ian never suffered from minor illnesses.

I guess the strongest characters really are built different. That was a relief, then.

Stepping into the room, I realized how reckless it would have been to try and sleep on the first floor. If I’d slept on that wooden floor with the chill seeping through in this condition, I might not have opened my eyes tomorrow morning.

“Phew, a bed really is comfortable.”

Jade flopped onto the bed. Since the old mattress hadn’t dried properly, there was a faint smell of dust. Still, with the bed moved in and the new curtains hung, the once-desolate room felt cozy.

Jade stared at the ceiling until his dizziness subsided. He wondered if there was any other servant who would sprawl out on their master’s bed like this, but if Ian was fine with it, then whatever.

“Aren’t you lying down?”

Jade turned his head slightly and asked. He’d been bothered by Ian, who had been pacing restlessly around the bed for a while now.

“What?!”

Ian jumped back from the bed, startled. He looked just like a rabbit hopping in place. His hair even stuck up a bit like a pika’s ears. He’d been so calm when he suggested coming up, but he really was a difficult kid.

“You have to lie down to sleep.”

“That…!”

When Jade beckoned him toward the bed with a wave of his hand, Ian hesitated like someone who had received a terrible order.

Was it because he’d been cut off from human interaction for so long during the most crucial period of social development? Ian seemed exceptionally shy and bashful.

“If it’s uncomfortable, should I go back out?”

“N-No…!”

The moment Jade made a move to leave, Ian shook his head vigorously and waved his hands frantically. Then, he slid the pillow next to Jade away and placed it on the floor.

“I’ll sleep on the floor…”

“Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Jade cut Ian off before he could finish and sat up. He then pointedly laid his head down on the pillow Ian had moved to the floor.

“Wait…!”

Ian was utterly bewildered as Jade lay down before he could be stopped. His round eyes made his panic even more obvious.

“N-No… why are you… down there…”

In his confusion, he couldn’t form proper sentences, just a string of mumbled words. The clumsy display was so fresh that Jade had to suppress the urge to tease him.

Ian tried to pull the corner of the pillow Jade was lying on to take it back, but Jade stubbornly held his ground.

“Are you going to lie down together?”

Jade tilted his chin toward the bed, as if asking what he was going to do. Ian looked back and forth between the bed and Jade several times before lowering his head with a dissatisfied expression. His cheeks were still red.

“…Yes.”

Fiddling with his fingers, Ian finally answered. Even that one word took him a long time.

“Hurry and get up here.”

“…”

Jade, who had climbed onto the bed first, patted the mattress heartily to urge him on. Ian shuffled over and climbed onto the bed. His movements were so slow it was as if the distance between the floor and the bed were miles long.

“Let me know if you’re uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable…”

He said he wasn’t, but it seemed Ian had no experience sleeping with another person. He managed to get onto the bed, but he kept his head turned the other way.

Well, it had been over six months since he was abandoned in this villa, so interacting with others must feel foreign to him.

“Meow… meow…”

Buster was already on the bed, nodding off. Ian pushed Buster into a corner to make room. He’d been so slow getting onto the bed, yet he didn’t hesitate for a second when it came to shoving Buster aside.

“Meow?!”

Pushed all the way into the corner, Buster burrowed under the blankets. These were the blankets Jade had hurriedly washed before cleaning Ian’s room. They weren’t bone-dry yet, but the characteristic scent of freshly laundered fabric wrapped around them cozily.

“They’re a bit damp, but it’ll be fine if we huddle together. Come over here.”

“…!”

It was better than the first floor, but the room was still cold, and there was nothing like body heat to beat the chill. Jade snuggled up close to Ian. Ian’s body went stiff. As if seeking warmth, Buster burrowed into the space between the two of them.

“Meow, meow.”

“Goodnight, sir.”

“Yes, g-go… yes…”

In the end, Ian couldn’t finish his goodnight greeting and tucked himself under the covers, hiding his face.

Soon, Jade’s breathing slowed as he fell asleep. Buster also drifted off to dreamland, purring away.

“…”

From under the blankets, Ian stole a glance at Jade’s sleeping face. For some reason, looking at Jade always made him feel uneasy.

Should I just go down and sleep? He was used to sleeping on the floor anyway. If anything, the current situation of having someone next to him was the uncomfortable part.

But just as Jade said, lying together under the blankets made it not cold.

Had he ever felt “warm” in this villa before? Today was probably the first time. The villa, sitting all alone in the middle of a snowfield, had been freezing ever since Ian started living there, varying only in degree.

‘He seems like a useful human.’

Ian fundamentally did not trust Jade. Even if he was being kind now, since he was a servant sent by the family, there was no telling what hidden motives he might have.

But it felt like a waste to kill him. Even if his motives were unknown, he was a servant who was very good at running a household. Just yesterday, he had saved Ian. Was it because they were lying together? The scent of the forest that had wafted from the man when he embraced him was now lingering faintly.

He was worth using. Yes, that was all. That was why he’d bothered to bring him into the room. Ian repeated these justifications to himself as if brainwashing himself.

Take this room, for example. As soon as he arrived, hadn’t he scrubbed a useless room and turned it into something livable?

He seemed to be the type who was quick with both his hands and feet. He had moved all around the villa’s many rooms and quickly figured out where everything was. He had even found a bed and curtains Ian didn’t even know existed and made them clean. It was also impressive that he found edible mushrooms in a snowfield crawling with nothing but poisonous ones.

‘How does he find edible mushrooms?’

Ian had thought there were no mushrooms in that snowfield.

‘He’s definitely worth using.’

Lost in thought, sleep finally overcame him. Ian unconsciously closed his beautiful eyes.

Thinking back, he had never slept soundly in this villa. This was because the monsters that roamed at night could approach the house.

But now, his eyes were heavy and his body felt languid. Warmth spread through the villa that had been so chilly until only yesterday.

In the dim light of dawn, Jade woke up feeling something damp covering his forehead and eyes.