ORCA 54

The interior of the greenhouse was noisy, with servants busily moving about. One was pruning, one was hauling soil, and one was busy scooping up something like seaweed from the pond. Orca’s eyes scanned every corner of the greenhouse impatiently.

The servants who spotted him each bowed their heads. They exchanged glances, flustered. They hadn’t expected him to come all the way here. He was someone who hardly ever went out, and they could count the number of times they had seen him in person on their fingers. Yet, they didn’t need to ask why he was here now.

Niah’s answer from when he arrived late at the dining hall suddenly came to mind. It was what he had hesitantly offered to an Adrian who was neurotically questioning him.

“I was at the young master’s room… I’m sorry…”

This was enough to shock the entire dining hall. His vaguely brightened complexion followed like evidence. Everyone was so busy whispering that their meals took a backseat. Since they had all collectively wished for Niah to fall out of the young master’s interest, it was an unwelcome situation.

Not a single servant knew that the young master had called Niah back. There was no way they could know news that even the chatterbox Bailey didn’t know. So, they half-didn’t believe it. They assumed he had lied to hide the fact that he was late. Even so, they couldn’t press him.

Luan tapped the table. It was only after his grumbling to just eat that everyone lowered their voices and picked up their utensils. Even Adrian grumbled as she pulled up a chair and sat back down. Luan placed a plate of new food on the empty table and signaled to Niah. Harriet took care of Niah.

That series of events proceeded calmly, as if it had been promised. Pepe, who had been listening to the conversation silently, threw his plate into the sink and dashed out. Adrian bit her nails—click, click—as she watched the doorway.

The young master who appeared in the greenhouse paid no mind to the likes of them. He just strode deep inside, scanning here and there. Not a single flower, tree, or pond caught his attention. It took only a moment for the fact they had hoped was a lie to appear as reality. While there was no way to know the detailed circumstances, it appeared true that Niah, that stupid goldfish, was the target of the young master’s “special treatment.” It was fortunate that they had assigned him easy tasks.

Pepe took off the hat he was wearing and bowed politely. He bowed deeply to hide his sour expression. He didn’t run to greet him as he had in the vegetable garden. He simply kept his mouth shut, fearing he might fall out of favor once more. Orca stopped for a moment and looked down at him. Pepe’s head was tilted halfway up by the shadow towering over him. Cold sweat dripped down.

“…”

Orca just looked at him silently for a while before moving on. Pepe exhaled the breath he had been holding without realizing it all at once. He repeated his plan to leave the mansion as soon as possible using the party as an opportunity. He felt that would be a more certain method than waiting for the young master to leave or hoping he would survive unscathed.

Finding Niah was easy. As he listened, he could hear the sound of someone puttering about alone in a corner of the greenhouse. The occasional hum mixed in acted as a compass, leading Orca. Niah was shrunken in on himself, carefully filling in the gaps between the gravel in the flower bed. He was even muttering, “Prettily, prettily.”

“Uh, oh…? Young master…?”

Orca, who had gone to the bench, waved his hand indifferently.

“Keep doing that. I just came to drink tea.”

Niah smiled faintly and said, “Okay.” Then, he crouched down and moved sideways, little by little. Orca watched that, and just when Niah had almost reached his vicinity, he got up for no reason. He pretended to admire plants he didn’t even like to lose Niah.

“Young masteeer…”

Niah, who had risen to follow him, stood glued behind his back. The exceedingly peaceful season was flowing slowly.

Orca followed Niah around everywhere. Wherever Niah went, he would suddenly appear and make all sorts of excuses. Obvious excuses like walks or tea time naturally lost their effectiveness over time. It was reasonable for them to think it strange since he was doing things he usually never did. He had no choice but to think up other excuses.

Contemplating something plausible, Orca now cited abstract reasons. If he wasn’t saying the weather was nice or he wanted some air, and when those didn’t seem to work, he would intimidate him by saying he had come to check if he was being lazy. Niah would flutter about, meaning he was absolutely not. A side effect of this excuse was that Niah was running here and there, so he wouldn’t come over to grin foolishly for no reason.

When Niah started to tilt his head in confusion despite these efforts, he gave the most powerful reason of all.

“Just because.”

And on days when Niah’s puzzled look wouldn’t vanish, he would point it out directly.

“Do you hate it?”

Niah would be startled and shake his head violently.

“No. No, I like it.”

Fearing that the young master might be angry with him, Niah would quickly look like he was about to cry. Hesitating, he would grip his sleeve and add, “It’s the truth.” If Orca stared at him blankly instead of answering, he would instantly become gloomy. In the end, he would drop tears, saying, “I’m sorry.”

Then, Orca would gently stroke his reddened eyes as if forgiving him. Even while feeling self-loathing for doing so, his brazen attitude grew more skillful as the days passed.

Thanks to this, only the other servants spent their days in misery. For a day or two, it was possible to run away from Orca, but they couldn’t do that every day. If they kept neglecting their work, it was they who would have a hard time anyway. Because of the party preparations nearing their end, they didn’t even have the luxury to slack off moderately. Even when they tried to use their wits, there was a limit.

Moreover, after overhearing the comments about being lazy, they had to work until they suffered from muscle aches all night. The servants reached the point where they wished he would just take Niah away entirely rather than this.

Unfortunately, that wish did not come true.

“Young master. Young master.”

“What, again.”

“Look at this. It wasn’t like this yesterday. I came to see it today, and it’s split like this, and a pattern appeared. It’s cute. It’s the color of a cosmos.”

“…Yes. That’s true.”

This was because Niah, fully excited, was enjoying himself, boasting about all the things he liked. Niah had come to call Orca often and chatter away. Though limited to the plants he took care of, he would whisper about new stories every time. Whatever Orca’s reaction was, he enjoyed himself.

Orca would fold his large body and sit beside him. Then, he would look down at Niah, who chatted away while using hand gestures. It was quite cumbersome as he had to bend his back and waist sharply to look closely. He had little interest in the cacti or lithops that Niah’s fingers pointed to. He just listened because Niah made boring stories sound so interesting.

Within a few days, the garden servants prayed not for the young master to leave, but prayed earnestly for him to take Niah and go to his room. They could do Niah’s share of the work as well. No, they wanted to do it.

Pepe’s complexion grew increasingly hollow, to the point of being pale. Watching the excited Niah and Orca following beside him, he was on pins and needles all day. He would shake his legs and fumble his tasks. There was even an incident where he fell off a ladder and tore his forehead. He couldn’t even go near Niah. As such things were repeated, the face that had been pale turned dark at one point and became somewhat eerie.

It was hard to watch his whites, bloodshot to a grotesque degree, and his dim, murky eyes that gave no hint of what he was thinking. His sturdy body had lost weight and become gaunt. He walked around staggering, as if high on drugs. He didn’t walk because he had strength in his limbs, but as if he were being swept away. Even then, he was endlessly obsessed with something. His fellow servants worried about the changed him, but eventually, they began to avoid him.

Adrian was no exception. She had come out to the garden knowing nothing, only to encounter Orca suddenly. She fled, turning pale as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have. Afterward, she stayed holed up in the kitchen. She lived as if she didn’t exist, only moving between the basement dorms and her workplace. Nothing had gone right since the young master arrived.