ORCA 10

Orca remained silent until Niah had completely disappeared from his sight. It took a long time for him to vanish as he walked, clinging to the wall. He himself was partly responsible for his physical condition, but he felt no particular guilt about it.

On the contrary, he just found it amazing that such a naive goldfish had managed to stay alive and become a mansion servant. A curiosity arose as to whether he was a creature who, despite being sickly, possessed a surprisingly tenacious life force. It was a question that could never be resolved, as he would surely say he didn’t know if asked.

After indulging in such trivial thoughts, he soon lost interest. Without paying any mind to Pepe and the other servants who were still bewildered, he turned his steps toward the center of the mansion. He walked past Pepe, who was still in a bowing posture, toward the servants who were gathered in a huddle.

Then, Orca, who had suddenly stopped, looked back at Pepe. Pepe, who had been staring blankly, was startled and his bulky body jumped. It was the movement of a wild boar that had encountered a hunter.

“You said it’s customary for the family to bear the funeral expenses. Then it’s a relief that we don’t have to worry about funeral costs. But, wouldn’t it be best if no corpse came out of the mansion?”

Having reached a refreshing conclusion, Orca left only the words he wanted to say and turned back. After that, he did not hesitate for a single step. The remaining Pepe swallowed hard. He was confused as to whether he was being told to ensure Niah’s corpse didn’t appear, or to be careful on his own so that no one else’s corpse would appear.

It was natural that nothing good would come of an unfortunate incident occurring in the mansion, especially in the ‘Ware family’ mansion. But if you were to ask if the young master was someone who would particularly care about such things and offer his words, that wasn’t the case either. As far as he knew, that was how it was.

“Pepe! What on earth is going on?”

“Why did the young master come? Huh?”

“And Niah, why did you send Niah away?”

“Say something, Pepe!”

Pepe, who had been out of his mind, finally managed a single word.

“Sheesh. Go and do your work.”

He had nothing else to explain since he didn’t know anything either. He had a strong premonition that a huge change was about to occur in his future life at the mansion.

The sunlight shining through the distillery window illuminated every corner of the interior. It was a lazy afternoon. Niah glanced at Bailey, who was sending him a disapproving look. The two stood facing each other with a large table between them. Silence flowed for a while.

On the checkered tablecloth, the tools used for brewing tea were neatly arranged. Niah bit his lip gently and took them in with his eyes. A sense of tension was already creeping in.

Thanks to being able to sleep for a whole day, his cold was all gone, but he had never dreamed that he would be assigned such a task. He was told he had to go to the young master as soon as he woke up, so he hadn’t even properly grasped the situation yet. He had never attended to the masters, let alone the young master. On top of that, Bailey, who had come to teach him the job, seemed to be in a bad mood, which made him needlessly scared. He wondered what all this was about.

“I’m only going to show you once, so remember it well.”

Bailey rolled up his sleeves and began to demonstrate. He had a sullen expression.

First, he poured hot boiled water into one of the two teapots that had been taken out and warmed it for a short time. Then he transferred the water he had poured into the other teapot. After waiting for both teapots to warm up, he finally poured it into the teacup, and while the cup was warming, he began to brew the tea.

“I’m really only going to show you once. Watch carefully.”

“Okay!”

Bailey, who had spoken spitefully, put a moderate spoonful of tea leaves into the first teapot he had warmed. He poured new water into it and closed the lid. While waiting for the tea to brew, he threw away the water in the other teapot and the teacup into another bowl.

His hands, performing the set series of steps, were without any unnecessary movements. It was understandable that he was familiar with it, as it had been his daily routine to serve tea to the madam several times a day even before Orca came.

Niah watched Bailey’s hands intently. He was worried whether he could remember all of this and follow it exactly. Since he had said he would only show him once, he would surely fly into a rage if he asked again.

The bigger problem was that his head was already a jumbled mess even when trying to retrace the steps on his own. Niah just moved his lips, unable to say anything.

“Now, when it’s all done, you just put this on top and pour it out, and that’s it.”

Bailey said indifferently as he poured the brewed tea over a strainer placed on the empty teapot. His demonstration became more and more half-hearted. He didn’t hide his annoyance and roughly filled the teacup. On the other hand, Niah nodded his head eagerly.

“This is a sugar bowl. Move the sugar cubes into here, and for the creamer, take some of the pre-made cream, and that’s really it. The young master doesn’t have either, but take it just in case. Now what…. You just have to imitate exactly what I did in the young master’s room. Got it?”

Bailey shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Niah, who was making a face that said he didn’t understand at all. Then he immediately left the distillery. He didn’t even think of hearing an answer. At the sight of his quickly retreating back, only Niah looked crestfallen. It seemed much easier to do the dishes instead of Andrian, or to spend the whole day squatting and pulling weeds. His body would be tired, but his mind would surely be at ease.

Niah bit his lip hard, trying not to cry. It was too cruel to be forced to do something he was sure to make a mistake on.

To delay the departure time even for a moment, he deliberately wiped the just-used utensils slowly. Just then, the door swung wide open. Niah was startled and quickened his hand movements. His heart even pounded, afraid he would be scolded for being lazy.

“Hello.”

Contrary to his worries, a greeting was heard. It was Harriet, the distillery servant. Niah just rolled his eyes and glanced at her. Harriet took a three-tiered tray from the cupboard. She not only took care of the pre-prepared tea food but also the tea leaves, cream, and sugar cubes. Various tasks were finished in an instant. Niah felt a little sad at the swift action that seemed to be pushing him out.

Harriet also pointed to the foods and told him their names. She added that he should answer well if the young master asked.

Niah repeated each name in a small voice. Just that made his mouth water. From the roast beef sandwiches on the bottom tier of the tray, to the scones with clotted cream and honey, to the tart topped with pickled peaches, everything looked delicious. When he sniffed the air without realizing it, a smell so incredibly delicious it made his spine tingle filled the air.

“You can eat it if there’s any left. The young master hardly eats and sends it back.”

“Yes…?”

She said that, giggling for some reason. She was the first person to tell him it was okay to do something. Moreover, he couldn’t believe she was smiling at him with a pleasant face. A subtle, nameless suspicion arose. It was natural. The other servants were always busy teasing or mocking him if they weren’t being angry.

But from her lips, the same words, that it was okay to eat, flowed out once more. It seemed she wasn’t playing a mean trick. His head nodded as if possessed.

Although he hadn’t had a chance to memorize her name since he had recently come to the mansion, she seemed like an angel. He resolved to himself to be sure to ask her name later and memorize it well. For now, going to the young master’s room was the priority.

He loaded the tea set and tea food onto a trolley and left the distillery. It was quite a walk to get from the third floor of the west wing, where the distillery was, to the fourth floor of the central wing, where the young master’s room was. Even he didn’t get lost in the mansion. Sometimes, on days when he was not feeling well or had been severely scolded, he would get lost, but today he was fine. He had slept soundly, so he was no longer sick, his mind was clear, and he was in a relatively good mood.

The problem was that he was very, very hungry from having starved since before he fell asleep yesterday, but since ‘she’ had said it was okay to eat the leftover food, he just had to endure a little longer. He was thinking of eating just one and returning the rest. He felt that if he got greedy in his position, he would get into trouble.

As he was contemplating what to eat, he soon left the west wing and entered the central hall. The mansion was divided into the west wing, central wing, and east wing, based on the hall on each floor. After passing the reception room on the third floor of the central wing and going up the ramp, he could see the young master’s room at the end of the corridor. For some reason, his steps gradually slowed. The only times he came to the central wing were when he was assigned to clean carpets or windows, and he had never been inside a room, so his heart pounded.

Even at a crawling pace, Niah eventually reached Orca’s door and hesitated to knock. Doing something he had never done before was, as expected, scary. If he made a mistake, he would surely be scolded, and it was even scarier because he had not yet received the punishment he was told he would get at that time. If he made the tea strangely, he might receive double the punishment. As these thoughts repeated, it became more and more daunting to go in.

But he saved me yesterday…. And also….

Come to think of it, not only ‘she’ but also the young master was someone who had told him it was okay to do something. It was foolish of him to have forgotten something so important. The young master had said he would keep his secret, he had let him rest from work yesterday, and he had even protected him from Pepe. No matter how many apologies he offered, everyone pretended not to hear, but the young master had even answered, yes.

Niah raised his hand and carefully touched his forehead. The wound, hidden by his hair, had formed a scab overnight and was bumpy. It was still sore and painful, but if it weren’t for the young master, it might not have ended with just this. He could have really died.

Come to think of it again, it also seemed like he had said he wouldn’t punish him. At this, Niah somehow felt a surge of courage. He brought the hand that had been touching the wound near the door and balled it into a fist. Before knocking, he took one last small, deep breath.

But before Niah could even attempt to knock, the door burst open. The person who opened the door and came out was, of course, Orca. With one hand stuck in his trouser pocket, he tilted his head and looked down at Niah. He couldn’t stand the rustling noises that had been constantly tickling his ears from beyond the door, so he had come out himself.

“What are you doing, standing in front?”

Niah was so surprised he almost sat down. He quickly pulled back the hand that had been dangling in the air and hid it behind his back. Then he mumbled his lips, choosing his words for an excuse. He was about to say that he was just about to go in, but Orca, who had turned first, disappeared inside.

“Uh oh?”

Niah quickly followed, pulling the trolley. He didn’t forget to close the door tightly.

It was the first time he had been in such a large room. The luxurious, thick carpet on the floor swallowed all the sounds in the room, making the surroundings quiet. The sound of the trolley’s wheels was not heard at all.

Inside the room, there were several doors, and he didn’t know where they led. The ceiling was also incredibly high, and there was a lot of furniture. On the walls, long windows with clean curtains were lined up. Sunlight poured in warmly through the well-polished glass.

A large, plush-looking bed and sofa also caught his eye. The bed had posts at all four corners so that a canopy with a subtle sheen could be drawn.

Entering the young master’s room, which seemed like it would take all day to look around, made his own room feel a little, just a little, shabby.

Orca walked straight to the tea table by the window. He sat down, picking up the book he had been reading until just now. He crossed his legs, leaning against the back of the chair, and assumed a comfortable posture. Niah was still standing at the entrance, his gaze darting around. Orca glanced at Niah. His gaze, moving back to the book, was slow.

Niah, who had been gaping at the room, thankfully came to his senses not long after. He hurried to the front of the tea table and locked the trolley’s wheels before he could be scolded. After that, he arranged the tea set he had brought on the top shelf of the trolley and also placed the pre-boiled water on it.

Orca’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the kettle, from which steam was billowing.

Niah moved his hands cautiously. He desperately tried to recall the order Bailey had taught him. The back of his hands, like powdered sugar, moved hesitantly over the trolley. He began to brew the tea as he remembered, but he was not confident.

Still, he somehow succeeded in brewing the tea and confidently poured it to the brim of the teacup. In Niah’s own eyes, it seemed quite well done for a first time. He had only managed to use one of the two teapots, and he had forgotten to warm the teacup, but it was the result of his best efforts.

Niah, with a proud face, took it and placed it in front of a Orca as if showing off. The tea had been filled so much in the teacup that it trickled down the surface and onto the saucer, but he didn’t notice. Instead, he didn’t forget to bring the three-tiered tray, the creamer, and the sugar bowl.

Thanks to constantly thinking about what to eat later on the way here, he also perfectly remembered the names Harriet had told him. He had been secretly hoping he would ask, but Orca just picked up the teacup without a word.

He willingly took a sip of the tea, which looked crude even at a glance. It was so astringent, it was all he could taste, as if he had put in too many tea leaves. He wondered if he had ever drunk such tasteless tea in his life. The color was also murky and dark.