The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 63

The night wind brushed through the corridors of the temple. Ian inhaled slowly. The lifeless, dry air seeped deep into his lungs. Not a single trace of vitality remained on Ian’s face, either.

With a cold expression, Ian stared blankly at the hollow corridor beyond his room’s open door.

He hadn’t closed the door after Jade left for the infirmary. He just felt like he shouldn’t. He felt as though if he closed it, Jade might not be able to come back inside. Even though the man wasn’t a child.

“…”

Two hours had passed since Jade left. Neither Jade nor Buster had returned. And in Ian’s hand was a single note.

He had found this note in the basket not long after he sent Buster out. Since then, Ian had been standing in the same spot, in the same posture, staring down at the paper for over an hour.

Seven words were written on the note in neat handwriting. There was only one person who would leave a note like this: Jade. Even the script was clean and orderly; it was definitely his hand.

“Ha.”

Ian let out a hollow, dry laugh that sounded more like a sigh and crumpled the note. But he immediately smoothed the paper back out. He couldn’t bear to let that neat handwriting stay ruined. His small, pale hands gently rubbed away the creases in the paper.

Once, back at the villa, he had spent a long time looking at a memo Jade had written.

It was just a list of items to buy in town, but even that simple string of words resembled the man so much that Ian’s eyes kept returning to it. He liked that unadorned, clean script.

Ian had put that memo in his pocket that day. He had feigned ignorance while Jade searched everywhere, complaining that the paper had disappeared.

“…”

Even as he looked at the note now, he couldn’t wrap his head around the content. Please take good care of him. What did that mean? Why was Jade entrusting him to a mere magical beast?

Ian’s attendant was Jade. Therefore, the person who should look after Ian was also Jade.

He had certainly sensed that Jade’s aura was different than usual. His expression when he said he was going for more treatment had been strange, and his voice had been heavy and low. That fact had made Ian uneasy.

Watching the man’s back as he moved toward the end of the hallway, Ian had wanted to follow. The sight of those shoulders growing more distant felt like they might vanish at any moment, and before he knew it, his feet had moved. His heart pounded with a sense of foreboding he could hardly endure.

But even then, reason had held his feet in place. He wasn’t a three-year-old child who had lost his mother. Hadn’t the man said he was just going for treatment?

Besides, what would he even say if he followed? That he followed because he was anxious the man might leave? Jade already viewed Ian as nothing more than a child. He couldn’t show such a pathetic side to him.

“The money…”

Ian toyed with the coin pouch before opening it. The sweat on his palms transferred to the fabric. He didn’t know how many times he had repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists since Jade left for the infirmary.

The amount inside the pouch was the entirety of what they had left. He felt a strange sense of relief. Since all the money was with Ian, Jade wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. He’d need money even to catch a carriage.

It wasn’t just the money. Everything Jade had bought was still here. The knife Jade said would be good for slicing vegetables because the blade was sharp, and the flour he needed for carrot cake—it was all still there.

The content of the note was probably just because Ian and Buster bickered so often. Jade had always worried about Ian, after all. But his heart, beating with a dark premonition, refused to calm down.

“Ah.”

The Bluewood. That little guy was gone.

Jade had definitely been empty-handed when he headed for the infirmary. That was one of the reasons Ian had been able to suppress the urge to follow. Jade wasn’t the type of person to abandon the little creature that clung to him every day.

But the Bluewood was nowhere to be found. The moment he realized that, a crack began to form in the corner of his mind.

“Hey, you.”

Ian nudged the Mop Ghost with his foot. The Mop Ghost, which had been sprawled out next to a sack, jerked its body up.

“Where did the blue guy go?”

“Kkie? Kkieee?”

When Ian asked, the Mop Ghost looked around. It seemed the creature didn’t know either.

Since Jade had left empty-handed, Buster was the only one who could have carried the Bluewood off. And there was no sign of Buster coming back.

Finally, Ian stepped out of the room. The corridor Jade had walked down earlier looked exceptionally long and dark. Just then, a priest passing through the hallway caught his eye. Ian ran over and called out to him.

“Where is the infirmary?”

“It’s in the eastern temple. But why are you looking for the infirmary?”

The young priest tilted his head and asked back. At those words, Ian’s eyes shook slightly. His lips felt parched, and a chill settled in his chest.

“My companion went for treatment and hasn’t returned yet.”

“That’s strange. Your companion finished his treatment a while ago. The infirmary is closed now.”

In an instant, Ian’s eyes went cold and hard. The priest added some other words, but Ian didn’t hear them. The anxiety that had been growing like a snowball inside his throat shattered into pieces and scattered beneath his feet.

“…!”

Ian ran blindly in the direction Jade had disappeared. At first, he didn’t even realize he was running. Only after noticing the scenery changing rapidly did he realize it. He heard the priest shouting from behind, but he couldn’t stop.

“Ugh.”

He tripped on the slippery corridor and scraped his knee. But he felt no pain. All his senses were elsewhere. Ian got up immediately and started running again.

His foot wouldn’t cooperate, perhaps because he’d sprained his ankle. He had to catch up to him, yet he still hadn’t made it out of the corridor. That fact made Ian desperate.

“Pant, huff…”

He should have gone with Jade when the man said he needed more treatment. He should have asked more questions the moment he heard the man say he’d buy his own winter coat next year. He shouldn’t have ignored the anxiety filling his heart. Regrets followed one after another in an endless loop.

“Huff, huff.”

After running for a long time, Ian managed to get outside the temple. He was out of breath. The cold wind clawing at his cheeks felt exceptionally desolate. Where had he gone? Since he had no money, he wouldn’t have been able to catch a carriage, and he wouldn’t have gone back to the villa.

Ian’s feet hovered in place, unable to head in any direction. He had no idea where the man might have gone.

Ian’s head whipped back and forth. Because it was night, there were few people passing by. And Jade was not among them. He was so frantic now that his vision was starting to blur.

“Did you happen to see a man? Black hair…”

“I haven’t.”

Ian began to grab passersby and ask them blindly. But no one knew of Jade’s whereabouts. Despite the chilly weather, cold sweat ran down his back. His hair fluttered messily in the wind.

It was certain that Jade wasn’t nearby. If he were, he would have run over immediately to fix Ian’s messy hair and button up his collar, saying the weather was too cold.

“Sir Ian…!”

Someone grabbed Ian’s arm. Wandering in the middle of the street, Ian turned around. The person holding his arm was Priest Gregor. The hope that had briefly surfaced on Ian’s face turned into despair.

“You must go inside…!”

“Let go.”

Ian shook off Gregor’s hand. Then, biting his lip, he turned his gaze back toward the pedestrians.

The man had definitely said he’d be right back. Maybe he was looking for an inn so they could move somewhere else together tomorrow. Since Ian had the money, he’d return after finding a suitable place.

Ian stood still and waited for Jade. Since he didn’t know where Jade had gone, waiting was the only option.

Right. If he waited, he would come. He always did. Whenever Ian stood waiting in front of the villa, the man would come running at full speed to warm Ian’s cheeks. He did that even though his own body was much colder from searching for food in the snow.

“It is late. Please, come inside.”

“I’m not going in. Don’t worry about me. I’m leaving tomorrow anyway.”

He would leave this place tomorrow. The amount of time an outsider who wasn’t a noble could stay in the temple was one day.

Gregor sighed as he looked at Ian’s back. After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke.

“Your attendant asked to place you under the temple’s protection.”

“Protection…?”

Ian frowned and asked back. Suddenly, a past conversation flashed through his mind.

‘So people also seek protection at the temple?’

‘Protection is only possible if you have divine power or a family lineage.’

Don’t tell me… was that the reason he had been interested in protection?

“Who gave him the right to place me under protection?”

Ian’s voice trembled as he muttered coldly. Could the priest in front of him be making this up? It was possible. After all, there was no human in this world who could be trusted.

Perhaps reading the distrust in Ian’s eyes, Gregor reached into his robe and pulled something out to hand to him.

“He entrusted this precious sword to me while asking me to look after you. And I intend to care for you until you reach adulthood.”

In an instant, the color drained from Ian’s face. His body froze, unable to move. He wanted to deny the priest’s words, but he found he could do nothing but bite his lip. No matter how he looked at it, it was definitely his sword. He could taste blood where he bit down.

“…”

Ian couldn’t even reach out to take the sword Gregor was holding; he just stared at it blankly.

What had been in his heart when he gave this sword to Jade? For the abandoned and neglected Ian, this sword was the only thing he had left. From the moment he arrived at the villa, he had always kept the sword by his side. Believing that this blade was the only thing that would protect him.

But at some point, he had begun to hope that might not be the case. If he lived with Jade, maybe he wouldn’t need this sword. With that thought, he had handed Jade the only thing he owned.

And now, that sword had come back to him.

“Ha.”

A hollow breath dissolved into the air. Strength drained from his entire body as if the ground beneath him were giving way. His ears felt muffled, and the back of his head felt numb. He had to give Gregor an answer, but something hot kept surging up in his throat. No matter how much he exhaled, that something wouldn’t leave his throat.

Ian looked down at the note he was still holding. Because of the sweat on his hands, the neat letters were blurred. He couldn’t describe how much he regretted that.

Air colder than a Northern night swirled inside Ian’s heart. The cold wind continued to claw at his chest.