ORCA 21

Niah hurriedly shoveled dirt into the new pots. If he finished his daily chores early, it was fine to leave the greenhouse without helping with other tasks. It wasn’t usually allowed, but if he used the young master as an excuse, they would swear at him but eventually let him go as if doing him a favor.

The difficult part was Pepe’s attitude. Every time, Pepe would follow him to the greenhouse entrance and glare at him. With a suspicious face, he would narrow his eyes, poke Niah in the ribs, and interrogate him.

“You really found out the young master’s weakness, didn’t you? Right? It has to be that….”

Ever since the incident in the vegetable garden, he received the same question several times a day. No matter how much he said he didn’t know, Pepe wouldn’t believe him and would threaten him even more fearsomely. On top of that, the poking hurt so much. It was enough to leave bruises. Still, because he liked going to see the young master, he could endure it.

Suddenly feeling impatient, Niah glanced at Pepe, who was pruning branches in the distance. He had to finish repotting quickly and go prepare for the afternoon tea time. That way, he could see the young master sooner and for longer.

Even so, he couldn’t handle the cute little succulents roughly, so he replanted them step by step with gentle hands. He collected only the young sprouts separately in the prettiest turquoise pot. His heart was fluttering with excitement.

Before heading to Orca’s room, Niah stopped by the basement bathroom first. It was to tidy himself up. Every time he went to the garden or the greenhouse, his hands and face would end up covered in dirt. Even when he tried to be careful, it always ended up that way. That was why he absolutely had to visit the bathroom.

Niah scrubbed every spot he could wash without taking off his clothes until they were squeaky clean, then quickly slipped out of the bathroom. When he got too dirty, he would change his clothes, too. Fortunately, he didn’t look too messy today.

“Fishy smell.”

A servant passing through the hallway caught sight of Niah coming out of the bathroom and spat those words out. Then, he held his nose and walked away, cackling. Niah stood frozen in place. Because he always chose times when no one was around to sneak about, it had been a long time since he’d heard words like that. At least, as far as he could remember. During the day, everyone was busy with their own work, so he hadn’t encountered anyone, but he had been caught at the worst possible moment.

Niah fiddled with the towel he was holding, then brought his arm to his nose and inhaled. He sniffed his other arm, alternating between them. He even sniffed the backs and palms of his hands. There was only the familiar scent of soap; there was no fishy smell.

Niah knew what a fishy smell was. Sometimes, when fish were brought in from the market shops, it would fluctuate violently in the kitchen. If it was grilled or steamed, it might be fine, but the smell coming from dead fish wasn’t very pleasant. It wasn’t a smell he wanted to encounter.

His excited mood sank low. He worried if he, who was alive, perhaps gave off that kind of smell.

Niah, who had gone to his room to change his clothes for no reason, hurriedly moved toward the distillation room. There was no reward for having come out of the greenhouse early.

Harriet was already waiting inside the distillation room. She had everything ready—the tea sets and the three-tier tray—so he could leave immediately. She stood up from her chair to welcome Niah.

“Hello, Niah. You’re late today?”

“Yes…. Thank you, Harriet.”

He had been getting along quite well with Harriet. They had only met for a very short time, but Niah liked her. Unlike the other servants, she treated him kindly, and even when they happened to meet outside the distillation room, she would say “hello” naturally, which made him like her even more. It was a shame she had only just arrived at the mansion.

“Say, Harriet. You know….”

“Yes? Why?”

“Oh… um… ah, it’s nothing. I’ll be going now, then.”

After pondering for a moment, Niah shook his head. If he heard from even this kind person that he smelled fishy, it would be the truth. He didn’t want to know. No, actually, he did want to know. But he decided he would ask later, just later, not today. If he really did have that smell, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to go see the young master ever again.

A lovely fragrance always lingered around the young master. It felt like being in a forest, or like the wind blowing from the mountains, or like leaves dampened by rain. It was a scent he wanted to smell forever. But that he smelled fishy—it was horrifying. He was afraid the young master might think so too.

Imagining the young master telling him that he smelled fishy made his vision blur immediately. Whenever he went to the young master’s room, he always felt like he was flying, but not now. He wanted to hide away somewhere deep.

“Niah? Why are you suddenly like this? Did something happen?”

Harriet asked with concern, stepping closer. Niah quickly shook his head.

“No. I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

Niah, having run out of the distillation room, hurried across the hallway. He bit his lip and dabbed at his tears with his sleeve. If he cried, the fishy smell might get even worse. He knew that, but the sobs burst out anyway. It wasn’t until he reached the path leading from the West Wing to the center that his whimpering subsided.

From then on, until he reached the fourth floor where Orca’s room was, Niah couldn’t stay still. He kept bringing his arms and hands to his nose to sniff them. The new clothes he’d changed into smelled like sunlight, and his skin smelled of soap. It had faded a bit with time, but it was definitely not a fishy smell. Even as he thought that, he felt no confidence.

Niah arrived in front of the door and sighed softly, hesitating to go inside. Then, he carefully knocked. He wanted to just leave the trolley and run away, but he couldn’t help it. He knew the young master would have known he was here already anyway.

He didn’t know how the young master knew, but even if Niah delayed for just a little while, he would burst open the door and ask what he was doing. Every time he stood in front of the door, straightening his clothes that had become disheveled on the way or checking his appearance late, the same situation unfolded.

‘What are you doing not coming in?’

‘I was just about to go in. I was just about to knock….’

Having visited every day for a week, and several times a day at that, he had naturally come to know the young master’s abilities. The young master was a remarkable person who knew everything without even needing to see it. Just as he was a goldfish and felt stupid, the young master was an orca and seemed grand. So, there was nothing to be gained by just running away like this.

On the contrary, he was certain to get a severe scolding for failing to serve properly. He didn’t know exactly who would punish him, but he didn’t want to be scolded by the young master. Being harshly punished by Adrian, Pepe, Bailey, or other servants would be fine. He could even endure being forced to smash his forehead into the floor like last time.

But it made him sad to think the young master would no longer pet him. He didn’t want to do anything that would make him be hated.

“Young master….”

Niah called out to Orca softly as he stepped inside. Orca was in a position where they made eye contact immediately. As soon as Niah saw him, he lowered his head. He scratched the bridge of his nose as if it were itchy while secretly holding his breath. He was so scared that the young master might kick him out that cold sweat was pouring down. Still, he didn’t smell fishy.

Orca sat on the sofa in the middle of the room and frowned. The goldfish was always looking for signs without any particular reason at every moment, but even so, he couldn’t take his eyes off him. If Orca just left him be without saying anything, Niah would indulge in admiring his face to his heart’s content.

Yet, that same guy was now trying his best not to look at him, which was deeply annoying. It also made his temper flare to see him clumsily trying to hide the face that clearly showed he had been crying.

What the goldfish was supposed to do was come in timidly, brew a cup of tasteless tea, kneel on the carpet, and honestly give simple answers to his questions. After being fed tea food and milk tea, he was supposed to beg for his cheek to be petted with that idiotically happy face.

That the goldfish brought in for that very purpose was acting like this—a surge of unpleasantness spilled out.

Niah brewed the tea with an even stranger order and method than the past few days. Orca, who had his arm resting on the back of the sofa with his chin in his hand, watched the scene. He looked ready to reveal his sharp teeth and tear everything to shreds at any moment. For Orca, tearing Niah apart was easier than drinking tea. His eyes, which were on high alert, flashed viciously.