The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 47

“No, but is that all there is? If he was the head of the house, shouldn’t there be heaps of jewelry, brooches, or, you know, stuff that’s actually worth money?”

Jade smacked his lips in disappointment. To be fair, there were a few things in the villa that looked like antiques, but Jade, having no eye for such things, couldn’t tell for the life of him if they were valuable or not. Unperceptive and blunt as he was, an object had to be overtly expensive—like a diamond—for him to recognize it.

“Wouldn’t things like that be at the main estate?”

True enough. After the first head died, they probably cleared this villa out once. That was likely why the uncle sent Ian here in the first place.

More importantly, the Linwood family’s prestige wasn’t that high in the beginning. Though the Empire now possessed a vast territory stretching from the North to the South, long ago, they had struggled to build a nation using only the useless Northern lands.

So, it stood to reason that there weren’t many valuable items in this villa.

“Still, if we look carefully, we might find something related to the puppy.”

“Maybe.”

Ian shrugged. Unlike the indifferent boy, Jade’s eyes sparkled with renewed resolve.

It was the first actual benefit of the villa, a place he thought had zero advantages: because it had been neglected by everyone, truly ancient items might still be lingering around.

Jade decided to search for anything related to the dog.

“Buster, mate, you’re going to help, right?”

“Myang…!”

Buster, who had been fluttering around the room knocking off dust, answered vigorously.

“You don’t have a choice. Search with us.”

“Kieee….”

The mop ghost, who was habitually wiping the floor, also responded. The reply was a bit lackluster, but Jade didn’t care. The creature had no choice but to follow his orders anyway.

“You’re helping too, right, Ian?”

“I guess….”

With a casual nod, Ian began rummaging through the cabinet. With that, everyone took a section and started searching for puppy-related items.

All of the first head’s belongings were abandoned in this one room anyway. Since the area was small, they figured they would find something quickly if they just moved a bit.

Or so they thought. Five hours later…

The four of them, Ian and Jade included, had found absolutely nothing. Outside the window, the sunset was already dipping low, staining the ground in shades of orange.

“What if we just show him that portrait? Wouldn’t that resolve his grudge?”

“You said he’s lingering because he wants to see the dog. Wouldn’t that just make him linger more?”

A weary Jade picked up the portrait. But as Ian said, it seemed more likely to give the wraith another reason to stay. He had to let the wraith know that the puppy he was looking for was no longer in this world.

“Myang!”

“No, that’s just a ribbon.”

“Myang?”

“Kie?”

“This is a shoe, and this looks like a torn piece of sheet music. Are you guys just going to keep bringing me random junk?”

As time passed, the mop ghost and Buster started bringing back anything they could find. Everyone seemed exhausted.

Buster, in particular, had been rubbing his belly for a while now, clearly wanting something to eat. However, mindful of Jade’s mood, he didn’t speak up and was just hovering nearby, subtly making his appeal.

“I think I found it.”

It was right when Jade was strongly considering giving up. Ian’s voice rang out especially clear in his ears.

There was a small built-in storage space in the room, and Ian was standing in front of it. Jade rushed to his side. Buster and the mop ghost followed suit.

“Seriously?”

“This looks right, doesn’t it?”

Ian pointed toward a small shelf. On it sat a tiny, palm-sized urn.

On the lid of the ceramic urn, which had a faint pearly sheen, the name ‘Mary’ was engraved in cursive. Judging by the size and the name, it wasn’t a human urn. And next to it, a worn, frayed leather cord necklace was laid out neatly.

“Ah…”

In the center of the necklace, on a silver pendant, were faint teeth marks. It felt as if the warmth of a beloved life was still slumbering within it.

His heart gave a strange flutter. Surely, if he showed this to the wraith, the spirit would be able to accept reality.

“Let’s take it.”

Jade brought a box and carefully moved the necklace. Then, cradling the urn, he headed back toward the underground passage.

Uuuggghhh—

Fortunately, the Wraith of the Blind Servant was still in the underground passage. He seemed to have been waiting for Buster, because the moment he saw him, he dragged his feet forward, shiiik, appearing glad.

Jade stepped in front of him, swallowed hard, and spoke.

“Was the puppy’s name Mary?”

“Uuuggghhh…?”

He had worried about what to do if it wasn’t, but it seemed he was right. The blind servant approached with a hunched posture, his neck drooping low. As he drew closer, the stench of rot was overwhelming.

“Mary is dead. You have to go, too. You’ve been wandering this place for too long.”

At Jade’s words, the wraith stopped moving. Jade, watching him steadily, quietly held out the urn. The black, hollow eye sockets turned toward the urn.

“Uugh.”

The wraith’s moans grew quiet. His frozen body soon began to clatter and move. His joints, creaking in different directions, were grotesque to behold even a second time.

“Uuuggghhh—”

“Mary died a long time ago. So you don’t have to search for her anymore.”

He seemed unable to believe Jade’s words. The wraith’s head slowly shook from side to side. It was a gesture of denial.

“You have to go. Mary will be waiting for you. For as long as you’ve wandered this place, Mary has been waiting for you, too.”

Jade carefully reached out the box to show him the leather necklace inside.

An arm that was nothing but bone moved toward the necklace. Gray hands preciousy cradled the urn and the necklace. The hollow eyes looked down at the name written on the urn’s lid. Would it look strange if this zombie-like, bizarre wraith simply felt incredibly pitiable?

“Uuuggghhh— Aaaaah—”

The joints that had been clattering for a while collapsed. The hunched body curled inward even more as he held the urn.

A sound like it was being squeezed out of his throat emerged. It was a bone-chilling noise, like metal scraping against metal, but it was unmistakably a cry. Though his throat was rotted and he couldn’t make a proper sound, the wraith was saying something.

“You can rest now. Maybe Mary hasn’t been able to go to heaven either because she was waiting for you.”

The wraith lifted his head while clutching the urn tightly. The empty eye sockets faced Jade. Then, as if breaking apart, the clothes he wore began to crumble into dust.

[ >> System <<

Reward for Defeating the Wraith of the Blind Servant: Healing Potions (3) ]

The system window that had urged Jade several times popped up again. It was a prompt Jade had ignored many times. And this time, he had an intuition that it was finally time to follow it.

“…….”

Jade turned around to check the positions of Ian and Buster. Perhaps because of the rotting smell, the two were standing quite a distance away.

Jade used his own body to block their view. Then, he looked at the wraith kneeling before him.

Even if the wraith burst into flames, those behind him wouldn’t know it was because of Jade’s skill. They would just think it was part of the process of a wraith disappearing.

‘Fireball.’

As he turned the skill name over in his mind, he felt a warm energy filling his palm. Soon, a small flame flickered to life. For an attack skill, it was a surprisingly soft and warm light.

Jade reached out toward the wraith. Three small flames flowed out from his palm and transferred to the spirit.

“Uuuggghhh—”

The Wraith of the Blind Servant accepted the approaching flames as if he were ready. The wraith began to burn under the small sparks. The flames grew larger, enveloping him.

Soon, fire began to blaze from the wraith’s body. He did not look like he was in pain. He simply stroked and stroked the urn with his hands. Light seeped into his gray skin, and his old, tattered clothes were dyed in gold.

“…….”

The wraith gradually crumbled away. The urn and necklace he cradled burned along with him. For a split second, the image of a young man smiling brightly while holding a fluffy black puppy appeared in the flames and then vanished.

‘Thank you.’

He heard those words faintly within the fire. It wasn’t the bizarre voice from a rotted throat, but a young, clear voice. Soon, the crumbled particles of light floated upward, penetrating the ceiling and disappearing.

“I guess that was the right dog. Since it was black.”

Ian, who had approached at some point, murmured. It wasn’t a hallucination. The sight of the young man holding the puppy really had been the blind servant’s past.

“Oh? You saw it too, Ian? I didn’t see things, did I?”

“No.”

“Myang!”

Watching a few fragments of light fluttering in the air, Buster burrowed into Jade’s arms. A strange feeling washed over him. A peculiar sense of pride mixed with a heart-tugging warmth.

[ * The wraith’s grudge has been extinguished. ]

Before he could even fully process the emotions rising in his heart, a system window appeared.

‘Grudge?’

At those two words, Jade recalled the setting guide he had read previously. After reflecting for a while, he could remember one inferred setting. it was a part that had passed by very briefly in the guide.

In the game, Ian incurs the grudge of a certain wraith. That wraith was already a being with a deep resentment toward the Linwood family, but because of Ian, that grudge reaches the heavens.

The details of that process weren’t described, but because of it, Ian suffered from nightmares and insomnia throughout his time at the villa.

Since Ian endured the villa until he reached adulthood, he likely lived with insomnia the entire time he was growing up. Of course, Ian’s innate disposition played a part, but that terrible insomnia influenced his sensitive and cold personality.

Looking at it now, it seemed the Wraith of the Blind Servant was that very wraith.

Jade looked down at Ian. Certainly, the current Ian was cold and unlike a child. But he wasn’t a cold-blooded person like the setting in the game. If he could just grow up like this, wouldn’t he have a less difficult time?

“Ian.”

“Yes?”

“I think you should be thankful to me.”

Jade gave a bright smile. It was a stroke of luck, but he had removed an element that would have caused the future Ian pain. Even if he was the only one who knew the truth, he felt a sense of pride.

Ian, not knowing the reason, blinked his round blue eyes. The sight was so cute that Jade’s lips curled up in spite of himself.

“Uh….”

“Because dinner tonight is going to be absolutely delicious.”

With a wide grin, Jade led the way. He felt like he could eat dinner with a peaceful heart tonight.