ORCA 11

Thanks to observing what he was doing after putting down the book midway, he had expected this, but it was still a bit much. However, the goldfish, perhaps relieved after seeing him drink, let out a small sigh of relief. It wasn’t the time to be relieved, which was absurd.

“Young master. In that case, I will… uh…. go outside and, wait.”

To think he would make a poisonous substance and then say he would go out.

“Where are you going. Stay there.”

Niah stopped backing away and obediently listened. He just stood neatly and waited for Orca.

Should I take it out when he’s finished? Does Bailey do this?

He became curious, but he didn’t ask. He decided to just continue looking around the room. He had to do garden work for the amount of time he rested yesterday, go to the greenhouse, and check if there was any work left for him in the vegetable garden, but strangely, his mind was at ease. It seemed to be because the young master had told him to stay here. The young master’s room was spacious and wonderful, and it had a fresh, green scent.

Niah, who was secretly smelling the scent, momentarily held his breath. It was because not only a good scent but also the delicious smell of the tea food had caught the tip of his nose. The hunger that had been pushed to the back of his mind while brewing the tea returned. Saliva pooled in his mouth.

Niah pressed his tongue firmly against the roof of his mouth and rolled his eyes. He deliberately held his breath and exhaled only occasionally. He frantically thought of other things so as not to be caught being hungry. He randomly recalled things like the koi in the greenhouse pond jumping to the surface whenever they saw him, or the lovely appearance of tulips that had just begun to bud.

Belying these efforts, a rumble sound soon came from his shrunken stomach. It was a loud sound that boisterously flaunted its emptiness.

“Oh, ah… uh….”

Niah’s eyes shook as he awkwardly trailed off his words in embarrassment. Orca’s gaze, which had been alternating between the book and Niah without touching the teacup after the first sip, was now completely fixed on Niah. He closed the book he had been pretending to read and pushed it to one side. He had a strangely displeased expression.

“Niah. Come here and sit.”

Niah, who had been fiddling with his fingers around his navel, flinched. The face that had been filled with pride was now quickly tinged with a dejected air. Even in the midst of this, a rumble sound was heard. The good mood completely disappeared with the worry of what he would do if he were scolded for being a useless thing that only wasted food.

He suppressed the desire to run away and took small steps forward. It was a sluggish movement, enduring the gaze that was staring intently at him.

Niah stopped at Orca’s feet. He knelt on the floor, sitting neatly, and only slightly lifted his eyelids. His constantly fidgeting hands came to rest on his thighs. He felt intimidated even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. He bit the tender flesh inside his mouth as if punishing himself and only watched his expression. In doing so, his gaze fluttered back and forth, touching Orca and then falling away.

On the other hand, Orca looked straight at the goldfish that had come closer to him diagonally. After doing so for a while, the goldfish pressed its knee against one of his shoes on the carpet. It seemed to be in his nature to cling first, even without being told. Orca watched Niah, who seemed like he would soon be clinging to his leg as he did the other day if he waited just a little longer, and laid out his leisurely thoughts.

Various assumptions popped into his head, such as whether to pick up the body, which was cowering in fear, and place it on the opposite chair, or whether it would be more fun to just leave it as it is, feigning ignorance, and open the book again to make him keep watching his expression. Seeing him kneeling on the floor so naturally also made him want to make him beg for no reason.

But he couldn’t act on any of these.

“Young master….”

Niah, growing anxious about what would happen if he really got scolded, couldn’t hold back and reached out his arm. He called him, pinching Orca’s trouser hem very lightly with his thumb and forefinger. The small voice was swallowed by the thick carpet as soon as it escaped his lips. Instead, the hungry sound from his stomach filled the void even more loudly.

Niah, who had been looking up at Orca, bowed his head deeply. His chest caved in. The expression hidden underneath was on the verge of tears.

Orca sat up straight, lifting his back from the backrest, and adjusted his posture. At the unannounced movement, the hand fell from his trouser hem. The face that turned back to him looked both afraid and surprised. The expression, as if suffocating from something, was quite a sight, so he considered watching for a moment, but he gave up, thinking he might faint again. It was extremely cumbersome to have a living creature that required such effort just to keep it breathing.

“Come here.”

Orca pulled Niah by the forearm. Niah, who was obediently led on his knees, soon sat between his thighs. After pulling the goldfish to a position he liked, he let go of his arm and turned his eyes to the table. He chose the sandwich that looked most suitable among the appetizingly arranged tea food.

However, before he could even pick it up, his gaze returned downward. It was because the goldfish, which he had made to sit in that spot, had pressed its body even closer and had softly begun to speak.

“Um…. Young master.”

Orca withdrew the hand that had been hovering over the table and responded to the call. Niah hesitated and carefully opened his mouth. For some reason, he felt like he had to say this before he was scolded. Since he didn’t think he could say it after being scolded, this was his only chance.

“Um, you know…. Young master…. Yesterday, thank you. For saving me yesterday…. I slept a lot, and rested a lot, so I’m all better. I’m not sick anymore. Thank you so much….”

Orca almost burst out laughing. It was impossible not to find it funny that the only thing he managed to say after fumbling so much was this. He gently caressed under the chin of Niah, who was looking at him with his upper body lowered. The skin his hand touched was soft. It seemed as if it would easily split and drip blood if he drew a line with his nail.

“It was the day before yesterday, not yesterday.”

“Yes?”

“You slept like the dead for two days, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know.”

“Yes…?”

Niah’s lips parted at Orca’s correction. Only then did he realize that he had been sleeping for two whole days, not one. On top of that, he had woken up in the afternoon today and hadn’t done any of the other work he was supposed to do. But he wondered why no one had come to wake him up. It was strange, as they would not have left him alone knowing he was being lazy.

Niah tried to retrace his memories, wondering if he had forgotten something again. He kept rummaging through his mind. But no matter how much he thought and thought, no one had come to scold him. Neither Andrian nor Pepe had come chasing after him in anger, and the other servants were the same. It was really strange. So strange that a bad thought came to him.

Could it be that I’m being kicked out of the mansion?

His heart pounded with anxiety, wondering if that was why they didn’t care whether he slept all day or not. He felt foolish for being so proud of serving tea well to the young master. He was indeed a stupid goldfish. He had completely forgotten that a happy and good memory could never happen to him.

The fact that the distillery servant had smiled and spoken to him, that the young master had protected him, had caressed him gently, all the things he had done for him, all turned into a terrible sorrow and welled up inside him. It was all useless if he was kicked out.

As he became convinced that he had been called to be kicked out, his vision blurred. He regretted not enduring the pain even if he was sick.

Niah rubbed his eyes until the corners turned red and tried hard to swallow his tears. Then he moved his legs restlessly to get closer. The fingers of Orca, which had been stroking under his chin, were pushed back by this movement, but soon they slowly traveled up his jawline.

This time, he cupped his cheek and caressed the area around his earlobe. The skin, like the surface of a smooth pudding, wrapped around the tip of his thumb. He moved a little higher and rubbed the reddened corner of his eye as if to soothe it. The goldfish’s eyelashes trembled, but he did not run away. He only moved his lips with a tearful expression. It was obvious what he was afraid of.

Niah was so worried about being kicked out of the mansion right away that he was in a complete daze. He had to do something before that. As Pepe had said, there was only one thing he, a stupid person, knew how to do. He didn’t know any other way but to rely on the young master’s touch, who was touching him here and there, and beg.

“I didn’t, I didn’t know. I, that…. I was wrong…. I really didn’t know. It’s true, young master…. I’ll work hard. And I won’t forget anymore, and I won’t be sick, and, I won’t cry either. Now, now I’ll really… listen well. So don’t kick, don’t kick me out, young master…. Please? I’ll do better….”

“Better?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll do better. I’ll do better….”

Orca’s mood turned slightly sharp. He was the one who had ordered not to touch him, but for them not to have taken care of his meals even once for two days was a nasty disposition. He recalled a few servants who had answered that he was still sleeping every time he asked if he had woken up. Even if they hadn’t lied to him, it was still impudent.

He could clearly feel the treatment the goldfish usually received. Then again, there was nothing more to gauge, considering he had jumped into the lake in the middle of the night, unable to bear his hunger.

However, Orca did not explain any of the reasons why Niah had been asleep for two whole days was not his fault, or why he could sleep for so long that he mistook it for one night, or why no servant had tried to wake him up forcefully. He had no intention of correcting him.

He hadn’t intended to tell him in the first place, but seeing the goldfish, who didn’t care about the circumstances and just started pleading, made him feel even more so. The heart he originally didn’t have had dried up completely. He just stroked his flushed eyes and nodded his head. The goldfish, which had become teary-eyed at some point, pressed its cheek against his palm. It bit its lip tightly and sniffled, perhaps in an effort not to cry. It was a pathetic sight that made him feel like he should praise it for being commendable. His whole body trembled.

Orca’s thumb, which had gone down across his cheek, pressed gently on his lips. At this, the plump lower lip that had been bitten was pushed out. It was bright red from how hard he had been biting it. Orca rubbed it slowly, as if teasing.

“You didn’t forget who I am today.”

“I was, wrong….”

Each time a syllable was pronounced, his lips touched and parted from the tip of his finger. The sensation was raw.

“I thought walking around n**ed was your hobby, but you’re dressed well.”

“No, that’s not it…. It’s really not like that….”

Niah lowered his gaze and blushed. He felt a little wronged that he didn’t seem to believe his denial.

“Really?”

At the meaningless question, Niah nodded his head weakly. It was a shame he couldn’t nod more vigorously because his chin and lips were being held.

“It’s true. Please believe me….”

He added in a faint voice, but Orca did not give Niah the answer he wanted. The finger rubbing his lips only became more persistent. However, Niah’s expression became much calmer. Thanks to the conversation shifting elsewhere, his trembling also gradually subsided.

Orca recalled what he had originally intended to do. He straightened his upper body and reached for the table. Even so, the hand holding his chin did not stop toying with his lips. Even though he was a shriveled thing, this part alone was plump, making it strangely satisfying to touch. It was so plump it seemed like it would spurt out sticky juice if he bit it hard.

He became curious about what it would taste like, but he gave up, thinking the goldfish would start crying again if he satisfied his curiosity. He had slept like the dead for two days just from being in the cold wind for a bit, so if he bit him to see what he tasted like, he might be unconscious for three or four days, or even die if it was severe. It was truly amazing that he had survived until now, being so weak.

He plunged two joints of his index finger into the honey in the glass jar on the table. It was an impulsive act. It had completely deviated from his original plan to feed him a few pieces of sandwich and send him back. It was all because he had acted while thinking of ‘sticky juice’ and the like.

“This much should be fine.”

At the low mutter, Niah lifted his eyelids again. He moved his eyes along the contours of the face illuminated by the yellow sunlight. Even while he was secretly watching, the young master pressed on his lips. The sensation on his cheek was warm and felt good. The young master was scary, but he was a good person. It seemed that if he just listened well, he would not break his promise to protect him.

As his fearful heart was gently set at ease, the young master bent down and came closer. The warmth that had been lingering on his lips and chin enveloped his cheek, and at the same time, the other hand reached out. That finger did not stop at his lips but pushed into his mouth. A sweetness spread across the tip of his tongue.