The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 19

Ian didn’t wake up until well into the afternoon. Jade stayed glued to the side of the bed, constantly checking on him. He looked over the boy meticulously, worried that the Mop Ghost’s filthy water might have caused some adverse reaction.

He wiped Ian’s face with a damp cloth and changed his clothes. Fortunately, no fever developed, nor were there any rashes on his skin. He simply breathed with the steady, rhythmic rise and fall of someone peacefully asleep.

While Ian lay there, Jade followed through on the vow he’d made that morning and scrubbed the Mop Ghost over ten times. The unconscious ghost couldn’t offer the slightest resistance.

He had thought it was naturally born that way, but the more he washed it, the more the grime bled out and it became clean. By the eighth scrub, it turned a snowy white, as if its previous filthy state had been a lie.

Jade hung the thoroughly laundered ghost up with a clip. He’d hung it there to dry, but it somehow felt like a trophy. And right beneath it sat the broken broom.

“Sigh…”

A heavy sigh escaped him at the sight of the broom snapped cleanly in two. Jade stared blankly at the experience points in his skill window.

[ Lv 1. Cleaning Apprentice’s Handiwork

>> EXP <<

1,620 / 2,000 ]

‘I only needed 380 more…!’

He felt all the more drained because he had expected to level up today or tomorrow. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the loss. He was right on the verge of reaching ‘Lv 2. Cleaning Expert’s Movements’!

Since experience wouldn’t increase unless he used an exclusive item, the points he had racked up so far had become useless numbers.

The skill had been a disappointment at first, but the fun of gaining experience had eventually made cleaning more enjoyable. Perhaps that was why the regret felt so much heavier.

[ ※ Warning: Requirements for increasing ‘Lv 1. Cleaning Apprentice’s Handiwork’ skill experience are not met. New exclusive item required. ]

Had his repeated sighs finally reached the system? A new message popped up in the skill window. However, it offered no comfort.

‘Exactly. Where am I supposed to get one? An exclusive item.’

It had been ten days since he arrived here. Jade knew the inventory of the villa inside out. There were no other cleaning supplies besides the broken broom. The system, having displayed its irresponsible message, remained silent.

“Haaa.”

“Myaaaa…”

Just as Jade was shrouded in gloom, Sundol was also lost in deep thought. Sundol still didn’t understand how the Mop Ghost had been neutralized. Jade had repeated some ridiculous words three times, and after that, the Mop Ghost lost its strength. No matter how much he thought about it, it was strange.

“Myang? Myang?”

Ultimately unable to solve the mystery, Sundol hooked his claws into Jade’s sleeve and tugged.

“What’s up?”

“Myaaa? Myang?”

Buster pointed at the Mop Ghost and mimicked falling over dead. He was asking how Jade had done that. Fortunately, Jade understood Sundol’s intent immediately.

“Haha, well, I guess that thing heard me and changed its mind. Maybe it was a good ghost all along?”

“Hiss!”

“Not that? Then maybe it was just scared of us. Buster, you look so tough that it probably surrendered to you.”

Jade scratched his head awkwardly as he answered.

“Myaaaa?”

Sundol’s golden eyes sparkled like jewels. Scared because he looked tough? That was the ultimate compliment for a monster.

“Myang?”

‘Maybe it was me?!’

Buster, who had been circling the ghost, brought both front paws to his cheeks.

Actually, the moment he saw the Mop Ghost, Sundol had tried to use his own ability as well.

However, Sundol’s power worked on humans but didn’t affect ghosts or monsters very well. His power was also unstable since he had only recently hatched from his egg.

Knowing that, he had still tried it just in case, wanting to suppress the ghost.

‘Did my power actually work?’

Sundol’s shoulders puffed up toward the sky. Since he was a great, terrifying, and strong-looking monster, it might have been possible.

Buster, now filled with confidence, brushed off the ridiculous words Jade had shouted as if they were of no consequence.

“Haha.”

Jade secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that Buster, who had been lost in thought, was back to his usual self.

“But Sundol, is that thing going to stay like that? I can’t put it to work if it’s dead to the world.”

“Myaaaa, Myang Myack.”

Counting on his short toes, Buster explained that the ghost would probably stay in that state for a day or two. Being a monster, he grasped the ghost’s condition well. Jade nodded and decided to focus on nursing Ian for now. He felt too much guilt to just sit still.

Ian had said he’d seen the Mop Ghost a few times before. Given that he hadn’t cared much, nothing must have happened during those encounters. Therefore, it was entirely Jade’s fault that Ian had gone through this today.

“I’m sorry,” Jade muttered, looking at Ian lying peacefully in bed. Ian was breathing steadily, his face looking as tranquil as a forest elf.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that Ian regained consciousness. The moment he opened his eyes and made eye contact with Jade, Ian almost hid under the covers instinctively.

“Are you awake?”

“Jade?”

Jade supported him as he tried to get up in surprise, helping him lean against the headboard.

“You were unconscious for a while. It’s night now.”

“Ah…”

Ian turned his head toward the dark window. It had been morning earlier, but night had truly fallen.

“Now that you’re up, would you like to try some of this? I just brought it over.”

Jade held out a hollowed-out bowl and a spoon. Inside the bowl was something like corn stew—wherever he’d found the ingredients—and steam was rising from it.

“This is…”

“I found some dried corn in the corner of the pantry. There was a bit of starch too.”

“Oh.”

It seemed to be food hidden by the second servant who had come here. That servant had arrived by carriage when the Linwood family sent over supplies. Immediately upon arrival, he had hidden all the food so Ian couldn’t eat it.

After killing him, Ian had found a few raw potatoes and three loaves of rye bread. But it seemed something like this had been hidden in a place out of his reach. Ian stared blankly at the bowl.

“Have a bite. It should be fine.”

“Okay…”

Ian took a cautious spoonful. A warm, savory aroma wafted up, stimulating his hunger.

“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

Jade asked before Ian had even swallowed. Ian quickly nodded.

“Ahaha, is it really that good?”

Jade laughed as he watched Ian taste the food only after giving his answer.

Jade had a bold, bright smile. The curve of his lips was exceptionally soft. For some reason, Ian couldn’t take his eyes off him.

‘It’s delicious…’

He took another spoonful. It had been a long time since he’d eaten something that felt like actual food. Ian didn’t have much of an appetite usually, but he emptied the bowl of stew in no time.

“Myaaaa.”

Sundol must have already finished a bowl as well, as there were stew marks on his whiskers. His belly was so round he could hardly fly.

“Is anything hurting? Anywhere?” Jade asked as he watched Ian finish.

“No.”

Truly, nothing hurt. He was just a bit startled. More than anything, he felt embarrassed about the fact that he’d fainted right in front of Jade.

“Now that you’ve eaten, get some more sleep. You need to rest.”

“I’m fine, though…”

Despite Ian’s protest, Jade forced him to lie down and pulled out a picture book. Ian wondered where he’d found it, as it was a book he’d never seen before.

“I’ll read you an interesting fairy tale. You’ll fall asleep even if you aren’t tired.”

Ian had no interest in fairy tales. He hadn’t read them even when he was younger. Fairy tales were just books filled with empty stories that offered no emotional resonance or practical help.

“…Alright.”

Yet, Ian pulled the blanket up to his neck like an obedient child and answered. Normally, he would have rejected it sharply, but right now, he didn’t really want to. He had already been saved twice by this servant. It was annoying, but he could humor him once.

“Oh, really? I thought you’d tell me to get out.”

Jade showed a hint of surprise and then began to read the book. The fairy tale was a cliché story about a hero making friends and going on an adventure. It was a common tale where one could guess the ending after just a few sentences.

“…The hero said, ‘If we become friends…'”

Contrary to the adventurous content, Jade’s voice as he read the book was dry. It seemed he didn’t have much experience reading fairy tales either. His voice lacked the usual ups and downs of his normal speech.

“…”

Ian watched Jade, listening to a voice that sounded more like he was simply reciting letters rather than reading a storybook. Deeply focused on the book, Jade didn’t even notice Ian was watching him.

‘He has two moles.’

Just below his eye, on his left cheek, two moles were aligned diagonally. His skin tone was slightly brighter than average, which made it look even fairer in contrast to his black hair.

Ian was also fair-skinned, but it was different from Jade. Jade’s skin had a glow to it and looked firm. His straight posture and healthy skin combined to give off a vibrant impression.

His indifferent hazelnut eyes and the faint double eyelids made his impression soft, while his square shoulders gave him a neat appearance.

“Reading really helps you sleep, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, yes.”

Jade asked with a face that was practically dripping with sleepiness. Ian, who had been staring intently at Jade, was startled by the sudden question.

“Yaaaawn. They say sleep is the best medicine.”

The one who truly looked sleepy wasn’t Ian, but Jade. Perhaps because so much had happened, he looked exceptionally tired today. His sweat-dampened hair was more disheveled than usual.

At first glance, Jade’s hair color seemed common, but it wasn’t when viewed up close. It wasn’t dark brown, but a hair color as black as obsidian. Even in bright light, it appeared purely black, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

“Go to sleep now.”

Jade said that children need to go to bed early and covered Ian’s eyes with his palm. Ian felt a strange sense of regret.

Was the spot with the moles on the left cheek? He’d just seen them, but he was already confused.

With his eyes closed, Ian began to trace the face of Jade he had been looking at in the darkness of his mind. He kept doing it until he fell back into a deep sleep.