The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 32

Jade peered into the sack and muttered grimly to himself. He’d had a bad feeling ever since he saw the four small bundles, but the supplies were even more pathetic than he’d imagined.

The first sack contained a few pieces of clothing and a pair of combat boots. The clothes were so worn they were practically falling apart, and the soles of the boots were completely sanded down. How long had someone worn these for holes to be forming in heavy-duty treads? To make matters worse, there was nothing for Ian; the single pair was adult-sized. Even for a high-ranking Ducal house, it must have been a struggle to find junk this bad.

Still, the first sack was the “good” one. Clothes could be patched with scrap fabric, and the boots could be fixed by carving and attaching wooden soles. There was also a small hand axe tucked under the clothes, which would be useful for a dozen different things. The second sack was the real disaster.

“Gah! What is this?!”

Inside were slabs of dried meat. However, the surface was thick with blue mold, and the moment he opened it, a sour stench wafted out so strongly he had to air out the room.

Since it was whole-muscle meat, he briefly considered trimming the edges to see if anything was salvageable, but it was so utterly rotten that it was inedible. At best, he’d have to save it for bait the next time he went out hunting.

The third sack contained maintenance supplies like sealant and hinges for winterizing the villa, along with oil for the lanterns. These were useful compared to the previous items, but the timing was off.

Winter was ending and spring was on its way; plus, Jade had already repaired most of the villa on his own. They also had plenty of whale oil, so it wasn’t exactly a high-priority necessity.

“They could’ve at least sent a broom.”

Delivering winter essentials a full season late was just malicious. To receive these now, after he’d already finished most of the repairs for the spring, was draining. Their methods of harassment were subtle and cruel.

Fortunately, the fourth sack contained food. He was thrilled to see potatoes sitting right at the top. Having acquired the [Go for it, Root Vegetables!] skill, Jade could technically find potatoes whenever he wanted, but a gift was still a gift. The more ingredients, the better. Not having to dig them up himself meant less manual labor, after all.

“Mm-hmm, let’s see what else we have.”

“Me-ow—”

The sight of ingredients had Jade humming a tune. He took the potatoes out one by one and moved them into a basket. Buster hovered around the sack with expectant eyes, his front paws tucked neatly together.

“Onions!”

He had pulled out about ten potatoes when a new ingredient revealed itself.

Onions. What a glorious name. As a Korean who grew up on dishes flavored by onions, he couldn’t contain his joy. Onions were sweet and added so much depth to cooking. Jade excitedly rummaged deeper into the bag. But then…

“Potat…oes…?”

Jade’s hand faltered. After pulling out about six onions, his hand hit another firm potato.

“Is the rest at the bottom?”

Jade pulled out four more potatoes. It was common for contents to get mixed up while being rattled around in a carriage.

“Potatoes…”

But the next thing he grabbed was another potato. The sack was looking thin now. Jade reached in desperately, but his fingertips immediately hit the bottom. He felt around every inch of the base. Unable to help himself, he finally just flipped the sack upside down.

“More potatoes?!”

“Myang?!”

Five more potatoes tumbled out and rolled across the floor. A bit of dirt puffed out from the empty bag.

He’d heard that the previous supplies at least included rye bread, but there was no bread here—not even a single other ingredient. Since they said this was the final shipment, they were clearly using food to pressure him. It was a sign to finish the job quickly.

“Unbelievable!”

Jade brandished a potato in the air. But he couldn’t bring himself to throw it. In a situation where every scrap of food was precious, he couldn’t dare waste a single potato.

In the end, Jade sat down at the table and accepted this lamentable reality.

Since the food was only in one sack, it didn’t even fill the large basket he’d brought from the storage room. Nineteen potatoes and four onions. That was the sum total of the food in their final supply drop.

“Myang? Myang?”

Even Buster tilted his head as if asking, Is this it? He tapped a potato with his paw as if it were a toy. Jade felt dismal. He’d only just escaped the nightmare of the mushrooms, and now he was facing a potato nightmare.

“They could’ve at least given me sweet potatoes.”

He hadn’t found any sweet potatoes near the forest. Since he had sugar, he could have made candied sweet potatoes.

“Meat…”

His eyes kept drifting to the sack of rotten meat. He was so desperate that he actually felt a lingering regret over spoiled meat. That was likely why they sent it—to make the craving for real meat even more agonizing.

In his old life, he’d preferred seafood over meat and loved his vegetables, but in this isolation, he was starved for protein. Especially since he did all the heavy lifting around the villa, his stomach emptied out the moment he ate. Then again, the portions were so small they were bound to disappear instantly.

“Myang.”

Buster shook Jade’s shoulder as he sat staring blankly at the basket. Looking at the time, it was almost lunch. Without a doubt, today’s menu was potatoes.

“Fine, let’s just steam some potatoes.”

For today, he chose the easiest cooking method possible. It looked like potatoes would be their primary fuel not just for today, but for the foreseeable future. He was going to need a lot of different recipes.

Having been traumatized by mushrooms before, Jade’s mind worked fast. Still, potatoes were carbohydrates; they were filling and felt more like a “real meal” than mushrooms did.

“We’ll steam them today, and maybe roast them tomorrow?”

“Myang!”

Buster nodded, clapping his front paws together. He used to be such a picky eater, but after the vegetable pancakes they had last time, his guard against potatoes seemed to have vanished.

Jade crossed his arms and looked at the fireplace in the first-floor hall. Roasting whole potatoes in a pile of embers was a real treat. His head spun with culinary possibilities.

However, there wasn’t much firewood left in the stack by the hearth. Come to think of it, the last time he’d gathered wood was a week ago.

“A-choo! Myang!”

“Watch the spit, Buster.”

“A-choo! Myang!”

“Are you giving me attitude because it’s cold?”

“Myang!”

Buster, who had purposefully sprayed spit while coughing right in front of Jade, nodded vigorously.

“How can a guy covered in fur be cold?”

“Myack!”

When Jade nagged him, Buster pulled his wings forward and huddled, shivering dramatically. He was acting like royalty.

Well, they did need more firewood. He hadn’t gathered much because he thought spring was here, but spring in the North was significantly colder than Jade had anticipated. It looked like they’d need to keep the fire going for a while.

“Fine. I’ll go get plenty of wood tomorrow.”

He needed the extra wood specifically for the roasted potatoes anyway. And hadn’t he just gotten a hand axe today? It was too small to fell a massive tree, but he could certainly handle thick branches or younger saplings.

He planned to look for more ingredients while he was out. Nineteen potatoes weren’t enough to sustain three mouths for a month.

Having set his plan for the next day, Jade rolled up his sleeves and started washing the potatoes.

∞ ∞ ∞

After spending the night hammering away at some wooden boards, Jade tried on his modified boots.

They were a tiny bit big, but once he tightened the laces, they fit well. Now that he was actually wearing them, he realized the boots were basically brand new aside from the soles. It seemed they’d been intentionally sabotaged because the house didn’t want to give him anything decent.

“Not bad, right?”

The flat wooden soles were a bit slippery, but after carving some grooves into the bottom, they weren’t half bad. As Jade hopped around to test the shoes, Ian came down the stairs.

“Ian! You’re up?”

“……”

The look Ian gave Jade as he hopped about wasn’t exactly friendly. For some reason, Ian had been incredibly cold since yesterday.

He’d gone to bed alone, saying he didn’t need a fairy tale, and he hadn’t come out for breakfast despite Jade knocking on his door several times.

Jade thought they’d built up some rapport over the last three months, but maybe it had all been in his head. Just when they seemed to get closer, the boy would pull away. He was not an easy person to read.

Still, seeing as he came down just as Jade was heading out, he didn’t seem truly angry.

‘This is tough.’

Jade, being someone with a personality that was either “simple” or “refreshingly straightforward” depending on how you looked at it, tended to forget things quickly. Any stress usually vanished after a good night’s sleep.

Because of this, Jade couldn’t figure out why Ian was in a bad mood. He wasn’t sensitive enough to realize that a visit from the Linwood family might have an impact on Ian’s emotions.

“You should eat breakfast, Ian.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat anyway. You can’t skip meals during a growth spurt.”

“……”

When Jade forced a steamed potato into his hand, Ian gave in and took a bite. His cheeks puffed out as he chewed. Ian’s hands were so small that a single potato took up both of them.

“It’s good, right?”

“……”

There was no specific reply. Jade hadn’t expected one, so it didn’t matter. Just seeing him eat was rewarding enough.

Now that he looked, Ian was wearing the shirt and pants Jade had given him this morning. He’d repaired the clothes that arrived yesterday and left them in front of Ian’s door; the boy must have liked them. Ian was so naturally striking that even the patched-up clothes looked like a brand-new custom suit on him.

“I’m going out to get some firewood. Want to come along?”

“……”

“If you’re tired, you should rest. I’ll be back soon then.”

Since he’d only asked out of politeness anyway, Jade grabbed his sack and axe and left the villa, leaving the silent Ian behind. It was cold for spring, but compared to the blizzards, the weather was fine. There wasn’t any brilliant sunshine, but he could feel the light filtering through the clouds.

He’d walked for a bit and reached the edge of the forest when he heard the sound of small, pitter-patter footsteps following him.

“Oh? Ian.”

It was Ian. He was fully dressed in his coat and outdoor boots. The pace difference between an adult and a child was significant, so Jade was impressed that Ian had caught up so quickly. He looked fragile, but he had a surprising amount of stamina.

“I thought you weren’t coming?”

“I never said I wasn’t coming.”

Ian snapped back, avoiding eye contact. The tips of his ears were flushed a deep pink, looking just like peaches.