The Attendant in the Horror Game C36

Chapter 36

Jade and Ian crashed onto the cold stone floor. Jade hit the ground first, wrapping Ian in his arms to cushion him. A heavy jolt spread across his back and shoulders, but it was bearable.

“Haa… huff… ugh.”

“Hah… ha…”

Both of them gasped for breath. After running without rest, the taste of iron rose in their throats. Ian was surely the same—his chest heaved sharply, rising and falling even after several moments of trying to steady his breathing.

“Grrrk… grrr…!”

There was no time to rest. One Shadow Wolf had chased all the way to the cave entrance.

A pair of gleaming white eyes glinted just outside. The rest of the pack gathered one by one, prowling near the cave mouth. It didn’t feel like they had found a refuge—more like they had rolled themselves into a trap.

“We should move deeper.”

Jade pushed Ian behind him and led them further into the cave. They needed darkness. The entrance was too dangerous.

“I can’t see anything.”

“That’s good. It’s safer this way. You’ll adjust in a moment.”

They crouched deep inside the cavern. Thankfully, there seemed to be no other monsters or beasts within. Bursting inside had been reckless, but at least they hadn’t leapt into another trap.

“Will they come in?”

Ian stared anxiously toward the entrance. The blurred shapes of the wolves prowled outside, growling low. They raised and lowered their front paws as if testing the boundary, threatening to lunge in at any moment.

But they did not cross the threshold. It was as if an invisible wall held them back. Finally, Jade exhaled deeply and even managed a grin.

“They won’t come in.”

“…How do you know?”

Ian asked with a faint note of suspicion. Jade realized he had spoken with too much certainty.

“Ah, well…”

He couldn’t exactly say, ‘Oh, I played the game.’ After scrambling for a believable reason, he found one.

“When they surrounded us earlier, remember? They stayed away from the shadows. Parts of their bodies disappeared when they overlapped with them.”

“Oh…”

“I think they’re afraid of darkness.”

“Then… when it becomes night, will they disappear?”

“Yes. If we hold out until nightfall, we’ll be fine. Once the time passes, we can return to the villa.”

Not only were they blocked from escaping, but Jade worried that the wolves might discover the villa’s location.

Monsters usually stayed deep inside the forest. The villa was close to the woods, but the open space between them had made him careless.

But what if monsters really could approach the villa?

Starving monsters only grew more aggressive. Hunger washed away reason. There was no guarantee they would remain confined to their territory.

What if Ian’s uncle had intended this? Leaving Ian in this remote villa to eventually be targeted by monsters?

Jade had believed spring would improve things—he’d planned to visit town, buy supplies, replace their broken broom, brighten the villa. Eat different meals. Enjoy a small taste of life again.

But after meeting the man who brought supplies, that confidence had cracked. Everything felt like it was being arranged to force him out of the villa—to push them back toward danger.

“Ian… may I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Has a monster ever come near the villa before?”

The north spent more than half the year in winter. Ian had lived alone for nine months before Jade arrived, and Jade had been here for three more months—so nearly a year in total. Ian would remember what last spring had been like.

“I don’t think they can enter the villa. There’s a barrier. Or so I’ve heard.”

Ian paused in thought before answering calmly.

“A barrier?”

“I heard the first Lord cast one around the villa. Not sure about the details.”

“How wide is this barrier? Does it cover the yard too?”

“No. Only the building. Outside the door isn’t safe. Last year, nothing came down… but this year… who knows.”

So it was not completely safe, after all.

They couldn’t enter—but they could come right up to the villa and attack through windows.

“If the interior is safe… at least that’s something.”

A weight lifted. As long as the villa itself couldn’t be breached, their chances improved.

“But that’s only for things outside the villa.”

“…Sorry?”

Jade froze mid-breath. Things inside?

He darted his eyes nervously.

“You mean… Soondol? And the mop ghost?”

“No. Not them.”

“If not them, w-what are you talking about? What else is there?”

He stammered despite himself. Still breathless, he grabbed Ian by the shoulders.

“A servant without eyes. Monsters that lived in that villa long before us. Spirits, I guess.”

He meant ghosts.
And Ian said it as casually as if discussing the weather.

Of course. Ian had shown no fear when ghosts were mentioned. It meant he’d been living alongside them before Jade arrived.

Suddenly, everything felt chilly. The cave walls, the shadows, even the air brushing his neck.

Jade wasn’t normally scared of incorporeal things. But this world had given him too many threats already. Every unexpected encounter was another crack in his sanity. Even now, their lives were hanging by a thread.

“Ahem. W-we should… start a fire.”

Jade forced himself to sit up straight. If a twelve-year-old wasn’t scared, he refused to be the coward here. His eyes were adjusting now—shapes were faintly visible in the dark.

“Since it’s pitch black further in, the wolves won’t come this far.”

Even with fire, the middle of the cave would remain dark enough to form a barrier. That was the hope.

“But how do we start a fire? We only have firewood.”

“I brought matches. Not many, though.”

Jade took out a matchbox from his pocket—something he’d found in the storage room and forgotten to remove from his clothes earlier. He flipped the box open proudly.

“…”

“There’s… only one.”

Inside the box was a single matchstick. When he found it earlier, he’d shaken the box, heard something rattle, and assumed there were several. But no. Just one.

He clicked his tongue, staring at the lonely match.

“You said we just have to hold out until night.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Here.”

Ian rummaged through the sack and handed Jade the pieces of wood they had broken earlier. Despite the chaos, Jade had somehow grabbed the sack on the way in—his dedication to household matters was truly unmatched.

“Good thing we gathered dry wood.”

Jade bunched the drier branches together and struck the match. There was only one, so he moved carefully.

“Oh…”

The flame caught, slowly transferring to the firewood. Jade fanned it lightly, increasing speed once the embers grew. Before long, one piece caught fully aflame. He stacked a few more on top—slowly but steadily, the fire would spread.

“Ian, come closer. You must be cold.”

“I’m fine.”

The cave air was damp and frigid. Outside, the sky hadn’t darkened yet. A few more hours until sunset.

We won’t be able to gather food in the forest anymore…

Jade had been excited for spring. Now this—Shadow Wolves waking with the season. Danger hidden beneath the thawing snow.

And I just got the mushroom skill to level 2…

And the root-vegetable skill hadn’t leveled at all. Misery.

“Ow!”

Lost in thought, he flinched as pain prickled across his knuckles. Ian had come closer without a word and gently touched the wound where the wolf’s claw had grazed him.

“Oh…”

Now that the adrenaline was fading, the pain returned sharply. The gash was deep. Blood still seeped out.

“Here.”

Ian removed the scarf Jade had tied around his own neck and handed it over. The same scarf Jade had given him earlier. Ian wanted him to wrap the wound with it.

“Ah… thank you.”

Jade tore the stitched portion open to make a strip. He could always make another later. But wrapping the wound with one hand was clumsy.

“…”

Ian wordlessly took the cloth, wrapped it around Jade’s hand, and tied it neatly. His small, soft hands moved with surprising steadiness.

Now that the immediate wound was tended, Jade noticed the rest of him was a mess. His clothes were filthy from falling. He rolled up his pant leg; the fabric stuck to dried blood and peeled away painfully. Ian glanced at his scraped knee.

“It’s fine. Once it scabs, it’ll heal quickly.”

“Nobody said anything.”

Jade awkwardly wiped the dried blood and looked at Ian. Ian was sitting with his knees hugged to his chest, toes curling inside his boots. Jade urged him toward the fire. His feet must be cold after running through snow.

“Ian, take off your boots and warm your feet.”

“I-I’m fine.”

Ian rejected the offer far too strongly.

But Jade refused to let that pass. Ian was the type to hide his discomfort, even with freezing feet. If left alone, he’d definitely get sick.

“Fine, my foot. Come here.”

Jade grabbed his ankle and pulled him closer, removing the boots despite Ian’s protests. What emerged was a pair of icy bare feet.

“You didn’t even wear socks?”