The Attendant in the Horror Game C66

Chapter 66

There was no way to know whether the broom in Den’s house could become his personal item. He had tried plenty back in the northern village, and none of them had worked.

Jade scanned each broom in the shop with sharp, intent eyes. There were yard brooms, small hearth-cleaning brooms, and all kinds in between.

“Is it this one?”

He lifted a broom with a long handle—no reaction. A smaller one—still nothing. He even swept the floor experimentally, but the status window remained utterly silent. His impatience grew.

Truthfully, the cleaning skill wasn’t some grand ability. He was attached to his former personal-item broom, but it wasn’t as though he needed one to survive. Still, the broom breaking right before his level-up had been deeply frustrating.

And during the entire monthlong journey from the North to the South, the system window hadn’t appeared even once. When it did appear, it annoyed him; now that it stayed quiet, he felt uneasy. Maybe, if he could just get another broom, the system would wake up again.

“Hey, young man. Are you going to buy something or not?”

After watching him pick up and set down broom after broom, the kindly-looking shopkeeper’s expression gradually tightened. Jade anxiously wetted his lips.

Could it be that the broken broom had been the only personal item he could ever obtain? The thought brought tears to his eyes.

“Excuse me, do you have any other brooms?”

“If it’s not out there, then there aren’t any!”

Her tone was prickly. Den tugged him away, saying if he wasn’t going to buy anything, they should leave.

“Come on, let’s go!”

“W–wait! This! This one is for sale, right?!”

Just before being dragged out, Jade desperately scanned the shop and spotted a broom tucked into a corner.

Its handle was sky-blue, its bristles thick—almost identical to the one he had used in the villa. In fact, aside from being newer, it looked nearly the same.

“We sell everything in the store.”

The shopkeeper replied flatly; she clearly already viewed him as a troublesome customer. Jade shook off Den’s hand and slowly picked up the broom from the shadows of the corner.

Somehow—it seemed to glow. Perhaps an illusion. Jade swallowed hard.

The moment he did—

>> Personal Item <<

You have acquired Novice’s Cleaning Tool (1)!

“Ahhh!”

The system window—finally.

Jade cried out in joy before he could stop himself.

“This is it!”

Not only did he shout, his voice broke into something close to a scream, and he hugged the broom as if it were a long-lost lover. People nearby stared, baffled. But Jade was far too overwhelmed to care.

“Is he insane?”

“Myaaoo…”

“You poor kid… just take it and go.”

Even Den clicked his tongue, and Soondol followed suit. The shopkeeper ended up pushing the broom toward Jade for free, eager to get him out. Other customers eyed him strangely.

But Jade couldn’t have been happier. After months, he had a personal item again—and after an entire month, the system window had finally appeared.

After a short tour of the village, they boarded the cart again and headed toward Den’s home.

Den lived not far from the town square. The cart halted on a hillside with a good view of the southern region.

“We’re here.”

Den hopped down from the driver’s bench and pointed to a modest two-story house. A slightly peeling painted wooden door and two pots placed neatly beside it gave the home a warm, lived-in feeling.

“It’s a nice house.”

As they prepared to step inside, the front door opened. A young woman, with an abundance of dark brown hair and a face resembling Den’s, greeted them.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah. Come say hi. This is my little sister, Cali. And this is Jade—the one I mentioned.”

“Hello. I got your letter saying you’d be bringing a friend.”

Cali extended her hand first. Jade, who had still been clutching the broom, hurried to hide it behind him as he shook her hand. Den had gone on so much about introductions and such that Jade worried it would be awkward—but Cali seemed unfazed.

“Hello, I’m Jade. I’ll be in your care for a while. Thank you for having me.”

“If you feel guilty, just help around the house.”

“I’m good at housework.”

Her easy grin and playful manner showed a bright, lively personality. Though she resembled Den, she looked more like a mischievous girl than someone with his intimidating air.

“Where’s Dad?”

“At the apothecary. Come on in, Jade.”

“Thank you.”

Jade bowed politely and stepped inside. The interior was just as cozy and warm as the outside—truly a home.

“Your room is on the second floor. Want to have some tea first and then take a look around?”

“Yes, that sounds great.”

Jade sat at the table and set Soondol beside him.

Cali placed a kettle over the hearth. Soon the water boiled, and as she added herbs and poured hot water over them, a gentle fragrance filled the air.

Handing them the tea, she suddenly spoke.

“Oh, right. Brother—do you know the Linwood Ducal House? You know, the famous Linwood Trading Guild?”

Jade’s shoulders twitched. Soondol, seated beside him, stiffened as well. Though Jade had never explained everything, Soondol clearly understood that Jade was being pursued.

“Of course I know them. Who in the empire doesn’t?”

Den replied casually while sipping. Jade swallowed instead of drinking his tea—his throat tightened just hearing the name Linwood. He raised the cup to look natural.

“I heard the Linwood family is secretly searching for someone.”

“……!”

The next words nearly made him spit out his tea. Somehow, he swallowed it, though he couldn’t taste a thing.

He had known Malderic would search for him and Ian. But hearing it with his own ears made his chest pound and cold sweat break across his back. Jade blinked rapidly, torn between wanting to disappear from this conversation and wanting to hear the rest.

“Someone?”

“Yep. Sounds like they did something bad. They even hired mercenaries to find him.”

It might not be him. Plenty of criminals were always on the run. Jade desperately hoped the story wasn’t about him.

“Didn’t you hear? It’s a rumor circulating quietly in the North.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Nina told me. She came back from the North last week.”

From the sound of it, the search had begun immediately after Jade and Den left the North. The timing matched perfectly.

“That’s too bad. They even put up a bounty. Should’ve caught the guy instead of just bringing herbs back.”

“How would news like that get to me? Nina’s the one traveling around as a mercenary.”

“Tch.”

“So how big is the reward?”

“Don’t remember exactly, but it wasn’t small.”

“……”

A bounty. His vision darkened. Jade set the teacup down carefully. His hands were trembling.

“What would a grand house like that go this far for?”

“He was a servant, apparently—and stole something valuable before running away.”

The word servant slid like a blade into Jade’s ear. His own status had been exactly that. But Jade had never stolen anything. So perhaps it was someone else—

—but his bad premonitions had never once been wrong.

“How valuable must it have been? Who steals from the Linwood family and runs?!”

“Guess they’ve got guts. I think his name was… Jay…? Jayden…?”

“……!”

The room froze.

Not just his imagination—even time itself seemed to halt.

A heavy silence fell. No one dared speak. Even the tea in the cup sat perfectly still.

Cali and Den stared directly at Jade. Sweat ran down his forehead.

“Black hair… and a likable face…”

Cali listed the features she had heard, eyes moving over Jade. Every detail matched him. Both siblings’ gazes fixed on his black hair.

It was now certain. The fugitive sought by the Linwood family was Jade.

Of course they couldn’t publicly announce that they had hired assassins—so they had fabricated theft instead.

“Haha… it’s not him. I’m good at reading people. We traveled together for a month!”

Den thumped Jade’s back, though his face was stiff with unease.

“Where did you two meet?”

“Well, in the Nor—”

Den stopped. His lips smacked together several times before he forced a cheerful tone. But the slight tremble in his mouth betrayed him.

“Anyway, it’s not him. Right? …Right?”

He was nervous. His wide eyes and lifted brows gave everything away.

Jade squeezed his eyes shut. Black hair was common enough. But his name was too close to deny. He should have used an alias. He cursed himself for the oversight.

“Get out! Get him out of here right now, you lunatic!”

“W–wait! Jade, say something!”

“There’s nothing to say! You traveled for a month with someone the Linwood family is hunting down? Do you want trouble falling on us?!”

Cali shoved both men toward the door with startling force. The teacups spilled, tea dripping onto the floor. And just like that—barely thirty minutes after arriving—Jade was thrown out into the yard.

And so, Jade became a true fugitive.