The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 39

When the sun rose, the Shadow Wolves might start prowling again. Jade and Ian decided to leave the cave before dawn broke. To do so, they had to pack up all the supplies Ian had brought, but since everything wouldn’t fit in the sack, Ian walked while clutching the blankets to his chest.

As they walked, Ian kept glancing at Jade. It seemed he was worried seeing Jade carrying the heavy sack over his shoulder with a mangled hand.

The concern wasn’t misplaced; Jade couldn’t move his left arm at all. Because of that, he had no choice but to sling the sack over the shoulder of the arm that had been clawed by the wolf.

Ian looked like he wanted to help more. However, the sack was practically the size of Ian’s own body. Being a realist, Ian likely knew without even trying that he couldn’t carry it. Just holding the blankets was help enough.

Thanks to the lantern Ian had fetched from the villa while Jade was unconscious, they could navigate the forest path easily.

The Shadow Wolves wouldn’t be able to leave their habitat in the dead of night anyway. Thus, they didn’t have to worry about the wolves with this level of light. The glow spread just wide enough to illuminate the path directly ahead of them.

“The moon is bright. Lots of stars, too.”

The night sky was filled with stars. Moonlight poured over the snow, making it shimmer like silver. Walking along while lugging a mountain of supplies in such a scruffy state felt a bit ridiculous, but it was also fun in its own way.

Ian and Jade walked side-by-side. Unlike when they first headed into the woods, they stayed close now—close enough to feel each other’s warmth. It might have been a delusion, but Jade felt like he had grown much closer to Ian than before.

‘Maybe I don’t have to worry about dying at Ian’s hands anymore.’

It felt a bit mercenary to think it, but the thought crossed his mind regardless.

Initially, Jade had been kind to Ian solely to get on his good side—to stay at the villa until spring without being killed.

But if you asked whether he had saved Ian with those calculations in mind, the answer was no.

His body had moved before he could think. He wasn’t the type of person to be calculating or thorough by nature.

Besides, no fool would risk their life just to earn a child’s favor. The way he threw himself into danger whenever Ian was at risk, and the relief he felt seeing the boy safe—all of it was genuine.

He wasn’t sure how he’d grown so attached in such a short time. Then again, if you’re isolated in a villa with only one other human being, it’s impossible not to bond.

Plus, he was a people person by nature. Getting this close was, in a way, inevitable.

“……”

No, truthfully, he knew the real reason. The reason Ian felt especially precious, and why he wanted to protect him at all costs.

It was likely because every time he looked at Ian, he saw his own childhood. Perhaps it wasn’t just Ian he wanted to protect, but his younger self.

He saw the boy he used to be—left alone in a single room, not knowing what to do—in Ian. Back then, Jade had desperately wanted an adult by his side.

When his parents abandoned him and vanished, he would have taken anyone, even a total mess of an adult, just so he wouldn’t be alone. And that wish hadn’t come true until he turned eighteen.

Crunch, crunch.

The rhythmic sound of footsteps on the snow was pleasant to the ear. The two walked toward the villa in silence. As the snow gave way to the muddy, melted ground, the villa finally appeared through the trees.

“Myang-aa-aa-ang!”

“Oof!”

The moment they opened the front door, Buster flew straight at Jade’s chest. He hit with a loud thud—enough to make Jade’s solar plexus ache.

“Myang-aang! Myang! Myang-ack!”

He was Myang-ing away at high volume. Jade couldn’t understand the words, but he knew a lecture when he heard one. Having been left home alone for so long, Buster was a total mess, his round golden eyes brimming with tears.

“Myang-aa-aa-ack!”

Buster repeatedly batted at Jade’s shoulder.

Around evening, Ian had returned to the villa a few times without Jade. That brat had come back in tears to grab blankets and bandages, making three trips in total.

Buster had tried to follow out of shock, but Ian had blocked him every time. As a result, Buster had been left stranded for hours without even seeing Jade.

“Myang-aang!”

Buster wailed his sorrow. But it only lasted a moment; the second Buster saw Jade’s injured arm, he started franticly jumping around as if he were about to faint from shock.

“Hiss! Myack!”

Buster circled Ian, pestering him as if demanding to know what happened. He hissed at Ian and bared his claws to show off his “bravery.”

Normally, Ian would have brushed Buster off, but for some reason, he didn’t do anything. Jade’s injury seemed to be weighing on him. Seeing Ian looking as dejected as a child who had committed a grave sin made Jade worry.

“I would have gotten hurt even if you weren’t there, Ian.”

Jade spoke while looking Ian in the eye. It wasn’t Ian’s fault the Shadow Wolves appeared. Without Ian, he wouldn’t have dodged that first lunging wolf, and he never would have thought of throwing the pumpkins.

“……”

“I mean it.”

“No.”

Ian shook his head, flatly denying Jade’s words. Ian bit his lower lip. If it weren’t for him, Jade wouldn’t have been hurt. Jade was strong—strong enough to protect himself if he were alone.

“I’m right about this. You were hurt because of the wolves, not because of Ian.”

Jade spoke in a firm, steady tone, his hazel eyes fixed on Ian with unshakeable resolve. It was an expression rarely seen on his usually easygoing, pleasant face.

The stubbornness of a kind person can be more persuasive than anything else. This was one of those times.

Finally, Ian nodded. In this moment, if Jade had pointed at a log and called it a pinecone, Ian probably would have nodded.

“Oh, right. You’re going to read me a story today, right?”

“……”

“Right?”

Jade took the opportunity to renew the promise of storytime.

He had been quite hurt inside when Ian had been so cold to him yesterday. When Ian didn’t answer immediately, Jade decided to use his ultimate move.

“My arm hurts so much that I just want to read a story and go straight to sleep. Oh, it hurts, it hurts.”

“…Fine. Let’s read it together.”

Faced with Jade’s exaggerated moaning, Ian let out a small sigh and gave a nod. Satisfied with the answer, Jade sent Ian upstairs to wash up first.

When he first arrived at the villa, he had to face sharp, hostile glares. Now, Ian’s gaze was gentler than ever. Perhaps he had gained something more valuable than the pain he’d received.

After unpacking the sack, Jade first put the wood into the fireplace and started a fire.

He was sad to lose his axe, but he was glad he’d chopped so much wood. With his arm, he wouldn’t be able to go back to the forest for a while.

His clothes were a mess from rolling around the forest, and he felt grimy. To top it off, his cracked arm was swelling up more and more as time passed.

When he removed the splint and bandages Ian had applied so he could wash, the pain intensified. It was an indescribable agony—a sharp, electric sting mixed with a deep throb. The back of his other hand was also stinging.

There was no ointment or medicine at the villa. Not even a simple bottle of antiseptic. In fact, the bandages were just old rags Jade had washed and cut into strips just in case.

Thinking about the state of the villa made him even more glad it wasn’t Ian who got hurt. If a child were badly injured and developed an infection or a fever, things could have spiraled out of control.

He managed to wash while enduring the pain, though it took twice as long because of his arm. He was so exhausted he just wanted to crawl into bed, but he didn’t even bother drying his hair before heading to Ian’s room.

The book he chose today was about a village where ducks lived peacefully. Perhaps because the day had been so grueling, he just wanted to read something quiet and warm. He figured it would be good for Ian, too.

“Mng! Mng-mng!”

“Hwa-aa-aang!”

As he headed to the room with the book, Buster followed close behind. Buster had Bluey’s leaves in his mouth, which made his cries sound muffled.

“Buster. I told you Bluey isn’t food.”

“Uaang, u-aa-ang.”

Caught in Buster’s mouth, Bluey was crying while flailing its short arms. When would these two ever get along? Jade sighed and pulled Bluey out of Buster’s mouth.

However, a second later, Jade practically threw Bluey away.

“Gah! What is that?!”

“Hwang?”

Bluey went flying and landed with a poof on Ian’s bed. Luckily, it landed on something soft, so it didn’t seem hurt. Its crying stopped instantly, and its flailing limbs went limp and still.

Jade, more shocked by his own reaction than the throw, rushed to the bed. He widened his eyes to confirm the unbelievable sight he had just witnessed.

“Myang!”

“Wh-what is this?”

Bluey had a face. Literally. The white ginseng, which had previously been blank, now had eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

Jade couldn’t hide his shock. Ian, watching from the side, looked just as stunned. Buster flailed his paws as if to say that’s why he had brought Bluey over in the first place.

“How on earth did this happen?!”

“Au-uu.”

Bluey stood up bravely and started waddling around. Reaching the edge of the bed, it reached out its short arms as if asking to be held. Its eyes were fixed squarely on Jade.

Originally, Bluey had no features. It was just a short, plump, white ginseng. But now, it had a face. It didn’t look human; it looked more like the face of a stuffed animal. The eyes, in particular, looked like they had been dotted on with a black brush.

It was cute, sure. But was this really a change that could happen overnight? Even in a fantasy setting, this was pushing it.

“Buster! You—did you do this? Did you make Bluey like this?”

“Myang!”

He thought Buster might be involved since he was a magical creature. But Buster shook his head and crossed his paws into an ‘X’. He wasn’t the type to lie about something like this.

“Ian, do you know why this is happening?”

“Ah…”

A flustered Ian hesitated for a moment before going to the study and bringing back a book. It looked like a botanical guide, and on the page Ian opened, there was a description of Bluewood.

“If raised by a human, eyes, a nose, and a mouth may form during its early stages. These will naturally disappear as it begins to take root after maturing…”

Jade read the lines at the bottom of the description.

When they first found Bluey, it was basically an infant in human terms. Now, it seemed to have entered its toddler stage.

According to the guide, once features form, it can even eat soft foods. Which meant, ultimately…

“There’s another mouth to feed…!”

It meant Jade’s to-do list had just gotten longer.