The Attendant in the Horror Game C26

Chapter 26

“Myang…!”

“You’re quite fast with your hands.”

“Haha, right?”

Thanks to his part-time work experience, Jade was confident with a knife. The radish was sliced evenly at regular intervals under his quick hands. Though his specialty was baking, Korean dishes were also among his strengths.

If only I had some rice.

Just the thought of freshly steamed, hot white rice made his mouth water. With a faint sigh, Jade poured water into the pot and began seasoning the radish soup with salt.

He planned to stir-fry the radish greens as a side dish and make the soup mild since they had no rice. The kitchen soon filled with the fragrant smell of cooking, and Soondol’s meows of admiration followed. Despite all the trouble, dinner was another success.

If there was one person busiest in the villa, it was undeniably Jade. And from today, his daily routine had one more addition—helping the Bluewood drink fresh morning dew. Because of that, he had to wake up twenty minutes earlier than usual.

“Hueh?”

When he carried the flowerpot outside and let it bask in the dew, the Bluewood, which had been still all night, began to stir and move slightly.

“They said you drink dew, so I brought you out.”

The dew was practically frozen, more like ice crystals, but since the plant had once lived in the Ellovan Forest, he figured it would like it. Still, he couldn’t help but worry—could it really survive on dew alone?

“Oooh.”

Since it wasn’t crying, Ian’s claim that dew was its main food source seemed correct. Its leaves swayed rhythmically, almost like a dance. What had seemed eerie at first was now undeniably cute.

“Hey, you know…”

“Hueh?”

When he spoke, it made a sound in response. It probably didn’t understand his words completely, but it didn’t seem entirely clueless either.

“I think you need a name too.”

If they were going to live together, it needed one. Bluewood was too long anyway. Having lived all his life in Korea, Jade preferred names with two or three syllables—simple and easy to call.

“Hmm…”

He set the pot down on a stone and folded his arms, thinking deeply. After a while, he rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers.

“Parang!” (¹)

As always, Jade’s naming sense was… simple. His method was straightforward and instinctive.

“Uweh?”

“Yeah, Parang! Perfect name, right? You’ve got blue leaves too.”

The Bluewood tilted left and right inside the pot as if reacting to its name. Each time it moved, the pale blue of its inner stem shimmered faintly. The name Parang really did suit it.

After all, Bluewood literally meant “blue tree.” When it grew up, its trunk would darken into a blackish-blue hue. There could be no more fitting name than Parang.

“Haah?”

The Bluewood stretched its tiny stubby arms as if trying to express something.

“Yeah, that’s you—Parang. I’ll call you Parang from now on. You like it, right?”

“Uwaaahhh!”

He had expected a happy reaction, but instead, Parang burst into tears. Jade simply assumed it hadn’t understood the meaning of its new name yet and smiled proudly, satisfied with his accomplishment.

“Myang…”

Behind him, Soondol sighed and shook his head at Jade’s unchanging talent for naming things. Still, he thought his own name wasn’t so bad compared to Parang.

After only harvesting one radish yesterday, Jade returned to the Ellovan Forest again today.

Ian wanted to come along as usual, but Jade firmly refused. After accidentally bringing back the Bluewood, he had no idea what might emerge next from that forest.

He’s not waiting outside again, is he…?

The thought of Ian waiting in the cold made his chest tighten. Having someone waiting for him at home was such a new experience that it unsettled him.

“I should hurry back today.”

Now that he thought about it, that had been the second time. The second time Ian had waited for him outside in the cold wind. Whenever Jade was late, Ian would come out and wait by the door.

He still remembered the shock of finding Ian’s hands chapped and raw from the cold the first time he came home late. Since then, even when he wanted to gather more mushrooms, Jade would stop halfway and return early.

Of course, the northern nights fell quickly, and the risk of getting lost increased after dark, so it was the safer choice anyway.

But the real reason—the only reason—was Ian waiting for him.

Whenever he saw the boy standing by the door, he was reminded of himself as a child, sitting outside the tiny room at the end of a back alley, waiting for his mother who only came every few days. He knew too well how long and lonely waiting could feel.

“I guess… we’re getting closer.”

The fact that Ian waited for him meant the boy was starting to rely on him. Sometimes Ian seemed completely impenetrable, but in moments like that, it felt as though the distance between them had shrunk.

Is this really okay?

The closer he grew to Ian, the safer he was—because it meant the boy was less likely to kill him.

But sometimes, when he thought about leaving the villa someday, the question crept up: what would happen to Ian afterward?

He knew Ian would survive—grow stronger, eventually rise to the rank of duke. But recently, Jade couldn’t stop wondering how he got there.

How did he survive? How did he find food? How did he endure the cold?

He kept telling himself to stay detached, but every time he saw Ian waiting alone without a guardian, his resolve crumbled.

“Well, I’ll think about that later.”

Jade shook off the thoughts with a small gesture, brushing the air as if to scatter them. For now, food was the priority. He focused and activated his skill.

Exclusive Skill <<
Lv.1 ‘Root Vegetables, Here I Come!’ activated.

The active skill pointed him toward the direction of root vegetables. With renewed purpose, Jade dashed off, looking forward to showing Ian and Soondol their next meal.

To Jade’s relief, today’s harvest was excellent. He had dug up not only radishes but also carrots and potatoes.

The carrots were purple, and the potatoes oddly shaped like stars—but food was food. Once cooked, everything went down the same.

“At least it’s edible, right?”

If not for the system’s notification, he wouldn’t have recognized them at all. They looked nothing like normal crops.

“Well, the system did say ‘root vegetables,’ so they must be safe to eat.”

Jade cheerfully filled his sack with everything he found and made his way back. When he returned, he saw Soondol and Ian waiting for him by the window.

“Waaahhh!”

“Kaaahk!”

Apparently, Parang had spent the entire time crying. Jade could hear it wailing even before he opened the door.

“Welcome back,” Ian said, hurrying to greet him.

“Haha, I’d ask if everything was fine, but… I guess not, huh?”

Even as they spoke, Parang’s exhausted sobs echoed faintly. It must have cried nonstop the whole time he was gone.

“Uwaaahhh!”

“Myang! Kaang! Kaaah!”

The moment Jade stepped inside, Soondol began an impassioned tirade, waving his paws and pointing repeatedly at Parang. Jade quickly understood the situation.

“This is a problem…”

Parang had climbed out of its pot, leaving clumps of dirt scattered around it. It now sat beside the pot, crying miserably.

Jade set down his bundle and lifted Parang gently into his hand. Once he tickled its leaves, the crying stopped almost instantly.

“Did it cry the whole time I was gone?”

“Yes,” Ian replied.

“Myang!” Soondol confirmed with a disgruntled flick of his tail.

“Maybe I’ll have to take you with me next time…”

This couldn’t go on every time he left the villa. Parang was still small enough to carry around, but ideally, it should learn to stay behind.

“Hmm, maybe next time if Parang starts crying, you two could try comforting it instead? Don’t just ignore it, Soondol—try soothing it.”

It did quiet down when comforted, after all. That seemed like the best plan.

“……”

“Myang.”

Neither looked thrilled by the idea.

Ian’s gaze was fixed on the window, as though he was seconds away from throwing the plant outside. Soondol, baring his teeth, looked equally tempted to bite it.

“This won’t do…”

Honestly, Jade didn’t trust either of them with Parang. Soondol could drop it while flying, and Ian—well, Ian was still a child.

“Oh!”

An idea suddenly struck him—something perfect.

“Hey, ghost! Come here a sec.”

“Kkyaee?”

The mop ghost, who had been slowly wiping condensation off the windowpane, froze midair. Somehow, it seemed to sense trouble.

“Come on, hurry up!”

“Kkyaaa!”

Reluctantly, the mop ghost drifted down until it hovered before Jade. Jade picked it up and placed it carefully on the windowsill, then set Parang on top of it.

“Alright, now rock it gently. Like this.”

“Kkyae?”

The ghost tilted its mop strands, scratching its head as if to say it didn’t understand.

“Rock it! You know, like this—”

Jade hugged Parang to his chest and began swaying side to side, demonstrating.

At last, the ghost seemed to get it—but its reaction was less than enthusiastic. Its mop strands drooped limply as it flattened itself against the sill.

Clearly, the mop ghost wasn’t thrilled about its new babysitting duties. But what choice did it have? A ghost couldn’t disobey Jade’s orders.