The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 29

“Uh…?”

A heavy silence followed Jade’s panicked voice. For a moment, everyone froze, as if time itself had stopped in the kitchen.

Even Bluey, who had been constantly swaying its body and leaves, sensed the unusual atmosphere and went still. Buster actually stopped flapping his wings; it was the first time Jade realized Buster could stay afloat without moving them.

“U-uh…?”

In a situation where everyone was frozen like statues, only the flour continued to scatter through the air. The pure white powder drifted down slowly, like a scene in slow motion. It looked like a frame from a movie where popcorn flutters through the air.

The flour spread around the table, settling on the floor, on top of Buster’s and Jade’s heads, and even falling over Ian.

“Are you okay?”

Jade quickly hurried to Ian and started dusting the flour off. Ian was squeezed shut, eyes tight, covered in flour. With the white powder sprinkled over his golden hair, he looked like a bundle of silk thread coated in sugar.

“I-I’m fine.”

As Jade’s hands touched his shoulders, hair, and cheeks in succession, Ian flinched in fright and swatted Jade’s hands away. As Ian took a step back, another shower of flour fell from him onto the floor.

“Ah, no, I mean. Pfft… Ah, I’m sorry. Pfft…”

Unfortunately, since Ian had been standing closest to the mouth of the sack, he had taken a direct hit. The flour sat in thick piles on his rounded shoulders. Though Jade had tried to dust it off quickly, the flour on the boy’s face had smeared, making him look pale white, as if he were wearing heavy makeup.

“You’re so fair, you look just like a blushing bride.”

“A-a bride…?!”

At the word “bride,” Ian was so startled he actually stammered. His voice even rose in volume. It was a rare sight for the usually cynical Ian.

Jade figured that despite his young age, being called a bride must have hurt the boy’s pride as a male. His cheeks and the corners of his eyes were flushed red, likely from embarrassment. Looking at the blushing Ian, Jade felt a strange illusion that he had become a villain making a young bride cry.

However, it wasn’t just a hollow joke; Ian really did look like a finely adorned bride. His already pale skin, now coated in white flour, made him look like nothing less than a porcelain doll.

“Myaaaang…”

Buster also cried out mournfully, covered in white. When Buster flapped his wings once to shake the flour off, the powder scattered in every direction. The flour tickled Jade’s nose, making him sneeze. Buster seemed to feel the same way, as he gathered his two front paws to neatly cover his nose.

“A-choo! Buster, wait, don’t move. Let me brush you off.”

“Miyaaaack…!”

Knowing Jade’s clumsy touch, Buster tried to escape the kitchen the moment he heard those words. But Jade wasn’t about to let the flour spread all over the villa.

He firmly caught the fleeing Buster and gently brushed out the flour tangled in his fur. The flour falling from Buster’s body piled up in a small heap on the dining table.

“Oh!”

Jade’s eyes suddenly sparkled. Who cared about hygiene at a time like this? Even a single grain of flour was precious. He couldn’t let his long-awaited flour go to waste like this. He had to use it, even if it meant gathering the scattered powder.

Half-crazed, Jade grabbed Buster’s body and started shaking him thoroughly. Like a powder puff saturated with makeup, the flour that had seeped deep into the fur came puffing out.

“Myaaaa…!”

“Let’s shake out just a little more. Every grain is precious, I told you!”

Jade shook Buster as if he intended to rattle the cat’s very soul loose. Every now and then, he carefully brushed off and collected the flour that had stuck to his own clothes. A small pile of white flour gradually grew on the table.

“Jade. You aren’t pretending not to see that, are you?”

Beside Jade, who was busily gathering flour, Ian pointed to the small white mountain.

As Jade stopped, black hairs shed from Buster’s body drifted down like dancing feathers, settling on the pile. Looking closely, several strands were already mixed in.

In his original world, Jade was never one to ignore hygiene. But given the circumstances, he really wanted to turn a blind eye to a few of Buster’s hairs. However, black fur on white flour wasn’t something that could be fixed just by squinting.

“Oh dear…”

“Here.”

“Kieee.”

Ian grabbed the mop ghost and shoved it toward Jade. The mop ghost squirmed while being held by the small hand.

“I guess I have to throw this flour away, don’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Sigh…”

The villa was still full of old dust. The flour that hit the floor was obviously unusable, and the same went for the flour shaken off Buster. Buster was the type to spend his free time rolling around and playing all over the villa.

“Ugh.”

Jade let out a despairing sound as he gathered the flour on the table to toss it. The sense of loss from losing his ingredients was indescribable. And it wasn’t just any ingredient, was it? It was a rare carbohydrate—the very “flower” of carbohydrates: flour.

“Myang?!”

Buster, who had been rattled in Jade’s hands as if his soul were being shaken out, stumbled for a moment. With his vision spinning, the dizzy Buster pointed at Bluey as if to say, Gotcha.

“Eh?”

Bluey, who was wailing while trying to crawl out of the sack with its stubby limbs, flailed. Even if it didn’t understand the words, it seemed to sense the threat.

“No, Buster. I told you, he’s not for eating.”

“Myang…”

When told once again that Bluey was off-limits, Buster’s ears drooped low. He looked disappointed. Honestly, for someone with the palate of an elementary schooler who hated vegetables, he was remarkably persistent in eyeing Bluey like a snack.

“Kieee. Kie.”

The mop ghost moved its body back and forth, wiping up the flour spilled on the floor. But it seemed to only be smearing it further, so Jade eventually had to bring a different cloth and wipe it all up himself.

“If only the broom were in one piece!”

While cleaning the floor, Jade tapped his lower back and glared at the mop ghost. Regret for the broken broom would surge up like this every now and then.

“Heave-ho! Well, at least about half is left.”

Having finished the rough cleanup, Jade checked the remaining amount. About half the flour remained in the small sack.

Since vegetable pancakes only required enough flour to coat the pieces, he didn’t need much. It would be enough for a meal today and maybe another tomorrow. The disappointing part was that he couldn’t make anything else. Having found the flour, he had intended to gather more ingredients soon to show Ian his baking skills.

“Alright, the cleaning is done, so let’s make those vegetable pancakes. No use crying over spilled milk—or spilled flour.”

Jade spoke while dusting off his hands, though his face and voice looked more full of regret than anyone’s. Moping for too long would only hurt him. Besides, he had the carrots and potatoes right in front of him.

Jade found a large bowl and mixed the flour with cold water. As he poured the flour, his hands trembled as if he were afraid of spilling it again. After a light mix with a fork, a thick batter was ready.

“Now, to pour the oil…”

He poured oil into a pan and set it over the fire. While the oil heated, he dipped the julienned Shade Carrots and star-shaped potatoes into the batter. He wished he had chopsticks, but using two forks worked well enough to shape them.

“Myang! Myang!”

“Kieee?”

“…”

As the Frost Lizard oil heated up, a savory aroma began to spread. Buster, the mop ghost, and Ian all crowded around.

Jade carefully placed the mouth-watering clumps of vegetables into the oil. He spread several of them out into thin, palm-sized pancakes.

Sizzle—

A delicious sound rose cheerfully, and shallow bubbles of oil formed like seafoam. Crackle, crackle. The pancakes turned a golden brown as they cooked, making everyone’s mouth water.

“That should do it.”

He removed the pancakes and placed them on a plate lined with thick paper. He planned to use the oil-soaked paper as kindling for the fireplace later. Jade had always been thrifty, but his survival skills were truly shining now that he was here.

“Myang!”

“Not yet.”

Buster couldn’t wait and reached out with a front paw. Jade tried to stop him, but it was too late. The pink paw pad touched the vegetable pancake and turned a darker shade from the heat.

“Myaaa…”

Buster whimpered, wiggling his foot.

“It’s still hot, so you have to be careful.”

After blowing on Buster’s paw, Jade lightly sprinkled salt over the steaming vegetable pancakes. It would have been a better match if they had soy sauce, but he was grateful just to have seasoning.

“Try some.”

The plate, piled high with vegetable pancakes, was placed on the table. Jade handed a slightly cooled pancake to Ian. As Ian bit into the edge, a crisp crunch sound was heard.

“Myang—”

He gave one to Buster as well, and Jade put a well-cooked piece into his own mouth. Perhaps because it was his first pancake in a long time, it tasted far better than he had imagined. He had worried because they were “Shade Carrots,” but the texture was actually superior. The star-shaped potatoes also tasted just like the potatoes he knew.

“Wow, this is delicious. Right? Right?!”

“I suppose…”

“Myaaaang, Myang!”

At Jade’s excitement, Ian nodded. He was poor at expressing himself, but seeing him finish one and immediately reach for another, it was clear he liked the taste.

Buster, who usually hated vegetables, also found the pancakes delicious and circled the table with an enchanted face. The plate that had been piled with vegetable pancakes was empty in no time.

“Ian, do you like cake?”

Jade asked as they shared the last pancake, cut into three pieces. He hadn’t attempted it yet due to the lack of eggs and baking powder, but the first thing he’d thought of when he saw the flour was a carrot cake recipe. The taste of the Shade Carrots was surprisingly good, so he thought it would be nice to make one later once they had enough ingredients.

“Ian?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never had it.”

Ian replied, turning his gaze away as if hesitating.

“Oh…”

Jade bit his tongue. He had made a mistake. Ian was a character who had been neglected since he was five years old, and after his father, the former Duke Linwood, passed away, he was not a welcome presence in the family. There was no way a party would have been held for his birthday.

Jade himself had never received a cake from anyone, yet he had asked Ian such an insensitive question. Giving a bitter smile, Jade spoke slowly.

“Ian, when is your birthday?”

“May, I think. I don’t know for sure.”

Ian shrugged and spoke calmly. It was the end of spring. Since it was currently the end of February, there were about three months left until his birthday. Unlike Jade, who had fallen into deep thought, Ian looked up at Jade as if it were nothing.

“What about yours, Jade?”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t tell me your birthday, Jade.”

“Ah.”

Ian had asked. It was so rare for Ian to be curious about something regarding Jade that he felt moved. Jade answered with a gentle smile.

“August. The middle of summer.”

“…That sounds about right.”

“What does? My birthday?”

“…Yes.”

Ian gave a vague nod and looked away. He had always thought Jade resembled summer. He was energetic and bright, like the hot sun. In the cold, dry North, he was the only one who carried summer with him. But saying that felt a bit embarrassing. Ian chose to change the subject.

“…This is the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

“Really?”

“…”

Ian, who never left long reviews of food, had given quite a sincere compliment. Usually, a nod was the maximum evaluation Ian would give. Jade, having received the ultimate praise, felt his shoulders swell with pride.

“I can make it again. Shall we have it tomorrow, too?”

“Sure.”

Suddenly, Jade felt excited for the coming spring. Since he would be able to get more ingredients then, he might actually be able to make a cake for Ian.

Even though he had lost half the flour, it was a happy feast. A warm atmosphere and cozy emotions filled the kitchen, layer by layer.

And a few days later, someone came from the Linwood family.