ORCA 4

Peace would seep through his dorsal fin if he cut through that silence. Orca’s peace was derived from the fear spewed out by those who became prey before him. To him, hunting was the act of biting and killing ferocious predators that came from some foreign land. Things that could be swallowed in one bite were no fun.

In this sense, the border of the distant sea where the territorial war was taking place had quite a lot of interesting things. Even though the pleasure derived from the repeated slaughter under the name of duty was gradually diminishing, it was certainly better than the daily life of the mansion.

Orca, who had been gauging the servant’s destination with his ears wide open, got out of bed. He put on a robe over his soft silk pajamas. His appetite was whetted, and saliva pooled under his tongue.

This is not a hunt. It was a kind of reward given to him, who had been contemplating a return to the battlefield as soon as he arrived at the mansion.

The body running towards the forest was light. If it was a beastman, would it be a mere rabbit or rodent? Of course, as a gentleman who followed the name of the Weir family, he had no intention of killing without reason anymore. He also knew well that killing someone in a non-war zone would only create a lot of troublesome things.

I just want to relieve my boredom a little right now. His stomach would not be full from eating something like a small animal. This was nothing more than a sweet amusement to tease the servant who had disturbed his rest.

Orca, having left the mansion, leisurely entered the forest. He felt a bustling movement, something rustling, not far away. It was around the large lake that could be seen if one followed the path. An outing to the lake in the dead of night. He hoped it would give him a pleasure commensurate with this trouble, and his eyes gleamed.

Funnily enough, what came into view as soon as he reached the lake was not a servant but neatly arranged clothes. Orca rolled a laugh in his mouth and went to their side, bending his knees to sit. The hem of his robe dragged on the floor, but it did not matter.

To sneak out and do something like skinny-dipping…

He was just curious who this perverted servant was. His gaze, with one hand propping up his chin, mockingly touched the trousers, shirt, and underwear. It would be a shocking thing for others to find out that a pervert was living in the mansion. Separately, it was quite suitable for relieving his boredom.

Orca watched the surface of the water with bated breath. His shadow, elongated by the moonlight, was cut off without reaching into the lake. Thanks to that, Niah, who was focused only on tearing at the waterweeds, jumped up without any suspicion. Skin, instead of scales, met the cold wind. He was planning to go back soon.

Niah squeezed his eyes shut, which were hard to open due to the water, and swept back his wet hair. He caught his breath, which had become ragged from flapping around, and rubbed his eyes. It was only after a while that he could brighten his vision. The view before him blinked on and off slowly.

“……”

Water droplets falling from his hair rolled down his cheeks and jawline. Niah, with only his shoulders out of the water, moved his mouth agape. The eyes he should not be encountering right now were within arm’s reach. The gaze was sharp like a hook. No sound came out, as if his throat was blocked. His mind was dyed pitch black.

This was too harsh a treatment for him, who had only come out because he was hungry. He felt like he would lose consciousness and faint at any moment. No, he would rather that happened. The young master’s dashing face looked like a terrifying ghost.

Orca was still looking down at the ‘pervert’ he had been waiting for, with his chin propped on his hand. He had wondered who it was, and it turned out to be the moron from the morning. He acted like a pathetic puppy when being scolded by that annoying servant, yet at night, he was bold enough to go skinny-dipping alone.

The moron blinked his eyes with a stupid expression and his parted lips trembled. For whatever reason, he then suddenly went back into the water. Splash, and bubbles rose up.

Orca immediately stretched out his long arm and snatched the tail fin without difficulty. If he was genuinely trying to escape, that foolishness was worthy of praise.

The small goldfish with orange patterns twisted its body, flapping in the air. Its scales, bathed in the moonlight, glistened brightly. He held the goldfish he had caught up high. The goldfish’s struggle also intensified accordingly.

Orca turned the goldfish around as if for viewing. It was a size that could be swallowed in one gulp without even needing to beastmanize. After watching the terrified goldfish’s movements for a while, he nonchalantly let go of the fin. He was done with eating it; now he wanted to scrutinize the perverted moron’s face more carefully.

The goldfish that had fallen to the ground flopped its body on the grass. Even so, it stubbornly did not humanize. Orca, with his chin propped up again, watched it quietly. This was about the extent of the mercy he would bestow upon a pervert who enjoyed skinny-dipping. Watching it die was the best he could do. The goldfish struggled more and more intensely.

So stupid.

Orca glanced at the struggling goldfish with a pathetic look in his eyes and flicked it with his finger. The tiny body tumbled on the ground. The goldfish was now truly on the verge of its last breath.

Only then did Niah, who had given up on escaping, reveal his naked body without reservation. A jet-black shadow was cast over him.

Niah, trapped in the shadow, pulled his knees tightly to his chest and hunched his fragile back. He gasped for air, shrinking back. His water-drenched skin quickly grew cold in the night air. His pale orange hair trembled ceaselessly under the two gleaming eyes. It was not just because of the cold.

“Ugh, heueu…. Y-young master…. Young master…”

Orca stared silently at the goldfish that was trembling and shedding big tears. His eyes swept down the naked body. It was pathetic, pale and shriveled. It was to the point where he thought he could burst it with his bare hands.

The goldfish kept crying and calling out, ‘Young master…, young master…,’ making its body small as if hiding. The naked form, completely within his shadow, was insignificant.

Orca felt his appetite whetted for some reason. He found it absurd himself to have the thought of wanting to swallow the terrified goldfish.

What should I do with this stupid pervert?

“Shall I give you a punishment?”

At Orca’s words, which flowed out in an indifferent voice, Niah raised his head. The eyes they met were frightening. Tears streamed down his cheeks. If he had known this would happen, he would not have done something like sneaking out of the mansion. It was better to be unable to sleep due to hunger. He could not even dare to imagine a punishment from the young master.

The feeling of fear welled up into sorrow and kept pushing at the corners of his eyes. He tried hard to hold it back, but it was not easy. Niah looked up imploringly and pleaded in a mumble. While doing so, he rashly stretched out one hand. The five fingers resting on the nearest hem of clothing trembled.

“N-no. Sob… I don’t want to, young master. I was wrong. I was…, sob, I was wrong…”

Orca almost laughed out loud, which was unlike him. The weight of him hanging on was pathetic. The goldfish, still naked and shivering, now grabbed onto him with both hands. The feeble strength touched his forearm once more. The face, crying like a never-ending spring, was a mess. Looking down at that state, he felt quite moved.

“Young master, ugh…. I don’t want to. Being, being punished… I don’t want to. Sob… I was wrong, I was wrong, young master, ugh…”

Niah continued to beg for forgiveness, his voice submerged in water. Orca only appreciated Niah’s entire body by scanning it, and did not give any answer for a while. He just quietly licked his lips. It was too easy to be a hunt, so it did not pique his interest, but for a mere amusement, it was more enjoyable than usual.

No matter that it was the beginning of spring, the wind in the forest, tinged with the night air, was only cold. Niah curled his body, which could not be curled any further, into a ball and clung to Orca. He had cried so much that his voice would not come out properly anymore.

Niah, who was coughing from the worsening cold, slowly moved in search of warmth. The body heat he felt with his two palms was warm.

Niah squeezed his body between Orca’s thighs on his own. He was out of his mind with fear and cold, and was unaware of what he was doing. Then he looked up at Orca. The hoarse voice calling, ‘Young master…, young master…,’ was still wet.

The naked body, its moisture dried, continued to tremble finely. Orca did not push him away and just let Niah do as he pleased. He only observed the goldfish that clung to him, trapped in his embrace. It was a persistent gaze that examined each and every wet eyelash.

“Tell me what you did wrong.”

He finally opened his mouth after a long time. Niah hunched his shoulders at his calm command and held onto the soft robe tightly. After hesitating for a moment, he did his best to stumble out an answer. His wet eyes fluttered here and there.

“I secretly, secretly came out, heuu…. And, and also, I went into the lake, the lake without permission. And…. Sob, gulp…, and also…. What I did wrong, also… ugh…. I was wrong. I was wrong about everything. …Young master, I was wrong…”

The more he spoke, the less confident he became. The young master looking at him was also too scary. He thought it would be better if he got angry and scolded him like Andrian. He was worried if he had forgotten something else again. What if he had made some big mistake and forgotten about it? At that thought, tears burst out.

He bowed his head low, afraid that he would receive a severe punishment if he cried more here. His throat hurt from trying to hold back the sound. His skin, numb from the cold, stung. He thought spring had come, but it was still winter.

Tears welled up on Niah’s knees drop by drop. It was an ordeal to hold back his crying. The only thought in his mind was that he had to beg quickly. He tried to retrace the mistakes he had committed in his mind. Today, which had been chaotically jumbled, overflowed overwhelmingly. He felt like a fool for not being able to recall even a single memory of his own as he wished.

Stupid goldfish.

He felt like he had really become stupid after hearing the word ‘stupid’ every day. He bit his lip and composed his breathing. The silence of the young master, who only listened and said nothing, was like ice. Niah slowly formed a sentence again. He stopped and swallowed his breath whenever he felt a sob was about to escape.

“I ate, ate without permission, gulp…. I shouldn’t have, I should have endured… I came out secretly, I was hungry, ugh…. Sob, I was wrong. I’ll never, never do it again. Sob… Now, for food in the lake, ugh… I won’t come. I won’t come, young master…”

What kind of moronic words are these?

Orca was extremely annoyed by the goldfish that was spouting moronic words so well. He also did not like that he could not see his face because he had bowed his head.

“You should speak properly.”

His fingers, which had been propping up his chin, rummaged through Niah’s not-yet-dry hair. The hand that twisted and held it as it was caught was savage. As he pulled the hair he had grasped back sharply, Niah let out a pained groan in a completely hoarse voice.

The small scream soon subsided into crying. Tears rolled down his temples. It was difficult to close his mouth because his neck was bent. Because of that, all the sobs he had been holding back flowed out. Only Niah did not know that he had not been able to hold them back well earlier either.

“Ugh, young master…. I was wrong, sob…. I was wrong…”

Orca grabbed the small head even more tightly. The pleading and begging while crying was no longer the answer he wanted. Niah squeezed his eyes shut in the painfully overwhelming fear. Orca slowly scrutinized the face of the goldfish that was trembling right under his gaze. Then he asked again. This time, he even offered the kindness of pointing out the part he wanted to hear.

“What did you do secretly?”

At this, Niah wailed. He hated himself for not being able to endure his hunger. He resented his past self so much for why he had come out secretly, why he had not left the potato earlier, why, why he had come to the lake and run into the young master.

“Ugh… food, in the lake…, secretly, sob…. I was wrong, gulp, young master, I was wrong…”

The plan to just tease the perverted servant who enjoyed skinny-dipping had gone completely awry. Orca, who had combined the chaotically listed words, lowered his gaze past the water-soaked face to the gaunt, emaciated body.

It was a physique whose limbs could be broken right away if he was in the mood. It was not as if it would not be the same for anyone else with him, but this stupid goldfish might die with just a snap of his fingers.

“People would laugh if they heard that a servant of the Weir family is starving.”

As he let go of the hair, the goldfish’s head drooped again. Moisture remained on his palm. The goldfish mumbled that it was not a lie and barely added more strength to the hand gripping his forearm. The weight of him clinging on was as light as a feather.

Orca, while not considering it a lie, did not bother to acknowledge Niah’s words. Nothing would change just by acknowledging that it was not a lie.

His eyes slowly went down from the nape of the neck covered with pale orange hair, along the spine, to the buttocks. The goldfish was still crying, whether it had no intention of stopping on its own or it could not.