The Attendant in the Horror Game C54

Chapter 54

Having purchased three skewers, the three of them sat side by side on a bench at the center of the village and ate.
In front of the bench stood a tiny fountain where a small angel statue spouted water. A sparrow fluttered down to drink, and the soft sound of water made the atmosphere peaceful.

“……”

Ian looked at the fountain, at Jade, and then at the bustling crowd in turn.

There had been a fountain in the main Linwood estate as well. That one featured a large, elaborate sculpture, surrounded by an endlessly stretching garden meticulously maintained with blooming flowerbeds.

But sitting on this shabby little bench felt far more comfortable than gazing at the grand fountain from a vast garden. Jade had been right. Exploring the village was enjoyable. Rough imperfection could feel more pleasant than flawless refinement.
Ian realized this for the first time.

“Ian, the sky looks like your eyes.”

Jade said this suddenly as he looked up at the sky. Ian lifted his gaze as well.

Lately, it had always been like this. When Jade said a flower smelled good, Ian would sniff it. When Jade said something was pretty, Ian would look in that direction. Even food that had felt unremarkable tasted delicious when Jade said it was good.

“……”

Does the sky really resemble my eyes?
Ian felt no particular resonance with the statement.
If anything, it was Jade who resembled the sky—clear, free, and fleeting, like a drifting cloud that seemed ready to disappear somewhere.

“…Yesterday you said my eyes resembled the stream.”

“They resemble that too, and they resemble the sky.”

Jade looked into Ian’s eyes again as he spoke.

Ian’s eyes indeed resembled a stream, a lake, and the sky.
The sky of early spring.

Not the sharp, dazzling blue of summer, but the pale sky one could see only in spring or early winter, tinged faintly with grey.
That was the color of Ian’s eyes.

“Shall we eat these skewers again tomorrow?”

With a bright smile, Jade tossed his empty skewer stick into the trash bin. It had been a satisfying meal.

“Yes.”

“Myaang!!”

Soondol answered loudly enough to make ears ring. Ian ate the last piece of his skewer and glanced up at the sky Jade had described.
The three of them stayed at the fountain until sunset.

After returning to the inn, they washed and prepared for bed.
Even then, Jade had many tasks left—asking the innkeeper for carriage schedules, sorting the items they had bought, and counting the remaining money. It took a while to organize everything.

As Jade moved around the room folding and arranging things, he sensed something odd.
Ian was sticking so closely behind him that he could feel the warmth of his breath.

He thought back.
Ian had followed him like a shadow all day.
Walking together through the village made that natural, but this felt like something beyond that.

Even at the villa, it had been similar.
Aside from the hours he spent reading in the study, Ian had always stayed near him.

The villa’s size had made this less noticeable, but now that they shared a single room, Ian’s closeness was unmistakable.

Ian was small for his age, with features so delicate he could be mistaken for a forest sprite. There was a fragile air about him that stirred Jade’s protective instincts.
Perhaps that had been the problem.
Jade had approached far too closely without realizing it.

I didn’t expect this.

Despite his appearance, Ian was prickly and cynical—far from a child in many ways.

Jade also knew all too well how cruel Ian would eventually become.
Perhaps that was why he had not noticed how close they had grown.
He had always assumed he would leave someday.
Whenever he saw Ian’s cold side, Jade had even felt relieved.
It meant that when the time came to leave, neither of them would suffer needless emotional turmoil.

“……”

“Is something wrong?”

When Jade turned and stared, Ian instead asked him if something was amiss.
It seemed Ian himself did not realize how closely he had been following Jade.

When had this closeness begun?
At first, Ian had rejected every gesture of kindness.
Thinking back, there was no clear moment that explained the shift.

“It’s nothing. Let’s sleep.”

Jade extinguished the light and lay down.
But an unspoken gaze lingered in the dark.
It wasn’t Soondol—he was already asleep, snoring softly.

There was only one other possibility.
When Jade turned toward the table, Ian was staring directly at him.

“Can I sleep with you?”

“…What?!”

Jade blinked in shock at the bold request.
Was this truly coming from the same Ian who used to flinch away, blushing, at the slightest touch?
Something was strange about him today.

“No. What noble sleeps with a servant? Absolutely not.”

Jade refused firmly.
Within the week—two at most—he would have to leave the villa.
He could not grow any more attached.
For Ian’s sake, above all, he could not.

“……”

Ian’s eyes narrowed.
Jade’s tone today was unusually resolute.

Around two days ago—no, precisely after they encountered Victor—Jade’s demeanor had changed.
Not drastically, but subtly.
A faint distancing—a slight shift in warmth.
Ian could not pinpoint what it was, but he felt it constantly.

The room was warm, yet a cold wind seemed to brush through his chest.
Each time, a quiet anxiety surfaced and shook him.
He could not even identify what the anxiety was about, yet the unease grew.

There was no reason to care about Jade’s subtle changes.
He had spared the man only because he was useful—a tool to be kept alive.

Even so, the anxiety refused to fade.
Ian’s personality was mature for his age, but some things were still beyond what a child could bear.
The feeling rose from the soles of his feet upward: restlessness.

Potatoes taste good with salt. Onions should be kept in the shade.

I’ll buy mine next month.

Why did it bother him?
The way Jade explained herbs, storage methods, preparations for next winter—yet did not buy a coat for himself.
That contradiction stood out sharply.
Jade had recently been deflecting Ian’s questions with awkward smiles too often.

“……”

The candle flame wavered.
Each flicker stretched the shadows across the walls—just like the unease growing inside him.

Tap, tap.
Ian touched the tips of his fingernails together.
Then he remembered something.

When Soondol acted pitiful or cute, Jade always relented.
Today too, Soondol had earned a skewer that way—despite not needing food at all.

Come to think of it, Jade had even carried Soondol in his backpack the entire trip, unable to leave him behind.

“J—…”

Ian curled his body slightly like Soondol and looked up at Jade.

He had never acted cutesy toward anyone, so it felt awkward.
But it was not difficult.
Jade always said he looked like an angel.
Ian knew his own appearance well enough.

He decided to use his strengths to their fullest.
He drooped his shoulders pitifully, widened his eyes with gentle innocence, and placed his small hand visibly atop the pillow.

“Then… I’ll serve you too. I—I want to roll around on the bed with you…”

He pointed at the bed with his small, pale hand and even jutted his lip out, looking like a helpless child who knew nothing of the world.

“But, Ian…”

As expected, Jade could not refuse coldly.
He was weak to small, fragile things.
That was why he had taken in Soondol, Parang, and anything else that needed shelter.

Ian had once resented that about him.
But if he became the one Jade pitied, then the story changed.
He didn’t mind.
In fact, he liked it.
Acting like a sad, helpless child was easy enough.

“…Fine.”

At last, Jade nodded reluctantly.
Ian beamed like a blooming flower and climbed into Jade’s bed.

Earlier, Jade had praised the flower seller’s smiling face for being lovely.
He seemed weak not only to small and fragile things, but to beautiful ones as well.

“So, what shall we talk about tonight?”

Unable to resist Ian’s insistence, Jade lay down beside him and searched for a story to tell.
Ian had never acted this affectionately, and Jade could no longer reject him.

“Shall I recall one of the stories from the books we’ve read?”

“Not those. The Little Prince.”

“Again?”

“Yes…”

Ian liked that story.
Especially the part where the Little Prince leaves his planet yet eventually returns to the rose.
It was far better than the trivial stories he had heard so far.
He could listen to it ten more times—perhaps even more.

“Jade.”

“Yes, Ian.”

“I want to sleep with you forever.”

“…All of a sudden?”

Jade asked awkwardly.
He knew he needed to distance himself before he left, yet when the child lying beside him looked up with those eyes, he felt a pang of sympathy.

I shouldn’t do this…

The thought that behind Ian’s cynicism might lie loneliness made his chest tighten.
In Ian, he saw his own childhood—desperate for a single thread of warmth.

“…I want to sleep with you forever.”

Despite the soft voice, the insistence in it was unmistakable.
Ian, for all his delicate appearance, was unyielding in his desires.
When Jade did not answer immediately, Ian repeated the line with stronger emphasis.

What was he to do?

“…Yes, yes. We can.”

After much hesitation, Jade gave the answer Ian wanted.
Just once wouldn’t hurt, he reasoned.
Ian had never clung to him like this before.

“Yes, Jade.”

Satisfied, Ian’s eyes curved softly as he drifted into sleep.
At this moment, Jade did not yet know what consequences this answer would bring later.