The Attendant in the Horror Game C69

Chapter 69

He had changed residences more times than he could count. The first two years were spent in Ardel, the next four in the East, and afterward he drifted again—traveling through various southern villages. Then, only three months ago, he returned to Ardel once more.

For ten years, Jade had managed to elude Malderic Linwood’s grasp. It had required relentless vigilance.

In the early years especially, he lived in constant tension, changing inns every two weeks. When he walked outside, he kept his gaze fixed on the ground to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes. Even in sleep, the anxiety made him wake several times a night. He had used over five different aliases by then. His jobs were always temporary—day labor wherever he could find it.

As time passed, however, he gradually relaxed the tight reins on his fear. With work being constant and his routine repetitive, he had saved quite a bit of money.

Even so, at unexpected moments, his heart would drop as though someone were reaching out to seize him. The fear never left entirely. He never stayed in one lodging for more than a month, even after things marginally improved.

The reason he had returned to the port town of Ardel now was because he finally wished to settle down.

He was nearing the end of his twenties. He could not live as a wanderer forever—constantly carrying only what little he could, constantly adjusting to yet another new place. He was tired of it.

Sometimes he had imagined returning to his original world, but that had never happened. Now, Jade had grown accustomed enough to the Bileheim Empire to call it home.

One year after he fled the North, Malderic rose safely to the position of Duke. As head of the Linwood family, he carried himself as if he owned the world. The extravagant parties he hosted were talked about even in the South.

Back then, Den—who often traveled between North and South—sent letters with whatever news he gathered. The detail he always checked first was whether the Linwood family was still searching for Jade.

According to Den’s reports, Malderic had not issued any additional mercenary requests beyond the initial one. Though payment had continued to be distributed periodically, the search area had not expanded.

Perhaps Malderic believed Jade dead. If Jade had kidnapped Ian and hidden him for ransom, he would have surfaced long ago to demand payment.

Besides, once Malderic became Duke, he drowned himself in pleasure and luxury. Jade’s impression of him had always been that he was greedy but incompetent, prone to indulgence.

Such a man might easily assume that even if Jade or Ian resurfaced someday, neither could truly threaten him.

Still, the search had not been called off entirely, so Jade continued to live carefully. Den’s information could be incomplete, and it was always possible there were other hidden trackers he didn’t know about.

Yet the reason Jade had grown confident enough to consider settling in one place was simple.

“Missing…”

Four years ago, Malderic Linwood disappeared.

The Linwood family was embroiled in constant scandal at the time. After assuming leadership, Malderic had run the Linwood Trading Company into the ground. Businesses that had flourished suddenly failed under his touch. Trade with nations they had worked with for years collapsed. Meanwhile, he held grand parties every few days, displaying his decadent lifestyle without shame—behaving as if his failures were insignificant.

Of course, the Linwood family possessed vast wealth and honor accumulated over generations. Even Malderic’s repeated blunders were not enough to topple the family. But the rumors were vicious.

The problem was the family’s political influence. The Linwood collapse would shake the Empire itself. People whispered that their glory was nearly spent, that the end of their era was coming.

Then, Malderic vanished.

Speculation exploded.
“The branch families must have had enough and killed him.”
“He ran away out of shame from his failures.”
“As if that man even knows shame.”

Regardless, the ducal seat became vacant once more. The branch members of the Linwood family took turns acting as temporary representatives. For four years now, they had been fighting over the successor position.

Then things grew stranger. Two more key figures serving as acting heads went missing.

Both cases had “logical” explanations—one was robbed and killed by bandits, the other drowned in a lake while drunk. But for a single family to repeatedly suffer deaths and disappearances, something was undeniably off.

‘It has nothing to do with Ian… right?’

Malderic disappeared the same year Ian reached adulthood—the same year Ian’s period of asylum at the temple ended.

Could it be related?

Jade shook his head.

If Ian had intervened, he would have eliminated Cain—the legitimate heir and Malderic’s son—first.

Cain had been the leading candidate for the successor seat ever since Malderic vanished. However, due to the former Duke’s disastrous tenure, trust in the son had also plummeted. Cain himself lacked the decisiveness to step into the role.

‘No… that wasn’t Ian.’

And Ian was not meant to become Duke until age twenty-six. In the original story, that was the year he eliminated all the branch families—including Malderic. Ian still had three years before that point.

‘Was Malderic originally supposed to die after disappearing?’

The world’s “setting notes” had not explained this part clearly. Yet something felt wrong.

Because Malderic’s body had never been found, it was unclear whether he had run away or died. The consecutive deaths in the Linwood family made Jade uneasy. Perhaps the storyline had shifted.

Still—

‘Whatever the case, it’s fortunate for me.’

Someone who had vanished certainly wasn’t focused on hunting down one runaway servant. Malderic’s disappearance was good news for Jade.

Den had also urged him to move back to his village now that the threat was gone. To Jade—who had no other connections—Den was a precious source of comfort. Even Cali, after ten years, no longer treated Jade with suspicion.

Jade believed this was the moment to finally pursue his long-held dream. By some coincidence—or fate—Ardel still had no bakery.

He had settled in Ardel and, starting a few weeks ago, began baking bread and selling it at the port. The response had been overwhelmingly positive; his bread sold out every day.

Knock, knock—

A rapping on the door broke his thoughts. Jade stretched and rose to his feet. He had spent too much of the morning lost in memories.

“Hey! It’s your hyung!”

“Den…!”

Den burst in before Jade even reached the door handle, carrying a bag of fruit.

“That hill of yours is ridiculous! Walking to your place is like endurance training!”

“You worked hard. What’s this?”

“Apples.”

“Southern regions really are great. Even in winter, you can get apples.”

“Myang!”

Jade laughed warmly and took them.

He washed the apples thoroughly, sliced them neatly, and handed some to Den, then shared pieces with Soondol and Parang, finally placing one in his own mouth. The crisp crunch filled the room with a fresh, sweet aroma.

Food had been scarce in the North; here, even in winter, abundance surrounded them. Moments like this made him think of the North again—specifically the winter villa, and Ian.

“You really are something. How do you still not have furniture?”

Den grumbled, patting the floor as he sat.

“I spent everything on baking tools first. Once I finalize the house contract, I’ll start buying things.”

The first thing Jade did upon returning was find a home. With Malderic gone for over four years, he finally felt it was safe to stop living in inns.

He had chosen a quiet house away from the noisy port. After ten years of saving, he could easily afford a small home.

Though technically he was only renting it for a month on trial before signing formally, Jade already liked it. Unless something unexpected happened, he planned to take it.

“I thought you’d leave the Empire entirely.”

“And you told me to settle in the South.”

“Which is why I’m glad you stayed.”

With enough savings to buy a house, leaving the Empire was no longer difficult. He could even forge new identity papers.

But somehow… he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Even though leaving the Empire would be safer.

‘Ian…’

Deep down, he knew exactly why he hesitated.

He couldn’t let go of Ian.

Whenever Den talked about the North, thoughts of Ian surfaced. But there had been no news about Ian—none at all.

Not through Den, and not through any rumor about the Linwood family. Their influence was so great that news of them reached everywhere he went. But in all those stories, Ian never appeared.

As if he had never existed.

“Oh, right, Jade.”

“Yeah?”

“I went to the North this time.”

Den had succeeded his father’s herb shop and still traveled occasionally to the North for rare herbs. He had returned only two days ago.

Jade nodded absentmindedly—until Den’s next words dropped like a stone.

“You know someone named Ian Linwood?”