ORCA 60

“What?”

“……”

“What were you thinking about that you couldn’t even hear someone approaching?”

Hilda, leaning against a tree on the other side of the stream, waved her hand. At her grinning face, Orca wrinkled his brow. He became displeased, thinking, she uselessly remembers this place, which she’d only followed me to once as a child, with perfect accuracy.

Phrrngie, despite being a horse, snorted as if growling. He pawed the ground, crushing it. Like his master, Orca, his personality wasn’t very good. He strongly disliked strangers. Moreover, if it was a human who seemed to have ulterior motives, he wanted to give them a good kick with his hind legs.

Hilda leaped over the narrow stream and approached.

Hilda, having crossed the stream, approached with a smirk as if she had discovered something amusing. She did not seem at all embarrassed by Orca’s cold reaction, who had frowned the moment he saw her. She was simply proud of her own intuition that had correctly guessed he would be here.

The streamside hidden between the forests was a place she had followed Orca to as a child. He had never gotten along with kids his age and was always on edge, so she was the only one who ever spoke to him. One day, he had quietly left his spot, and unable to contain her curiosity, she had followed him. It was on a day like today, when a hunting competition was held at a social gathering, during the disassembly of a hunted deer to be roasted whole.

All the adults and children were watching the chef’s nimble disassembly skills. Orca, who had been standing behind the crowd gathered in a circle, turned his body. Interest sparked in her when she saw him push away the nanny who approached his side and walk away briskly. He let her follow, even though he knew she was there. The memory of his back, which showed no composure, was still vivid. It was something that had happened when he was only about twelve or thirteen.

‘This is the first time I’ve been here, …Hey, are you sick somewhere?’

Orca, hiding behind a large rock at the start of the stream, was uncharacteristically crouched down, panting for breath. When he raised his head at her call, his gaze glinted like sharp teeth. For a moment, a fear like being a beast just before slaughter washed over her. The pitch-black eyes of the deer that had been laid out in the garden came to mind. The thought that she should run away flashed through her mind for an instant, but as the eldest daughter of the Gray family, she could not bring herself to do such a disgraceful thing.

‘What’s wrong. If you’re sick, why did you stop your nanny from following you?’

‘I’m not sick, so don’t talk to me.’

‘This bastard is making a fuss even when I’m worried. You crazy bastard.’

‘Stop pissing me off and just get lost.’

Despite his ill-mannered tone, she sat down next to him as if to spite him. His panting breaths really made it seem like he was sick somewhere, so it was awkward to just leave him. No matter how much they were at each other’s throats, she wasn’t so inhumane as to abandon him to die.

Even with her consideration, Orca buried his head with a face that said there was no value in talking further. For some reason, the surroundings felt heavy and subdued. The moisture-laden air made her skin feel sticky. A faint fishy smell emanated from the mossy rock.

‘Hey. Should I call your nanny for you? If you die here, I’ll be the one suspected, won’t I. You son of a bitch.’

‘Fuck, it’s not me, it’s you who’s going to die, so I’m telling you to get lost.’

‘…What are you talking about. This is a mountain, you know? How can a fish beat a bear on a mountain, you idiot.’

Orca had always said all sorts of bizarre things, like he would drown her or burn her to death, but that was the first time he had ever spat out a curse. When she had first met him, she had found it funny, thinking, is he trying to save face because he’s a noble? It was because his mouth was too foul for someone trying to uphold the dignity of a nobleman.

Only later did she find out that he received hours of character education with similar content every day. In that moment, her sympathy welled up to its fullest. She wondered what on earth he had done to deserve such a hard life, but at the same time, she also inwardly sneered at him for being a clueless idiot.

Although she too was in a position to be caught and scolded or taught by her parents or a tutor every day, she wasn’t oppressed as much as Orca. Of course, her scoldings always ended quickly because she would put on a tremendously sorry expression or act cute like a child. Whether noble or not, the relationship between parents and children was bound to be similar.

However, even to her young eyes, she often thought that Orca and his parents did not look like a family. To put it nicely, it was a refined and dignified atmosphere; to put it badly, it was as if they were strangers. Such thoughts came to mind whenever Orca, after being quietly rebuked for something in a crowd of people, would get worked up over a pointless argument with her. Of course, she couldn’t know what he had heard or if he had really been scolded, but she could roughly guess from his expression, which was sharper than usual.

So to her, Orca was an annoying fish bastard, but at the same time, a somewhat pitiful friend. She thought their relationship was at a point where she could secretly suspect, is the kid crooked because he doesn’t get his parents’ love?

‘Hilda. I really want to kill you, so please go.’

He buried his face in his knees and let out a pathetic voice. It was a sight that would have made anyone, not just her, think that he was simply unwell. Wondering if they had forbidden him from even showing he was sick, her hand reflexively shot out. She intended to check for a fever. However, before her hand could even touch him, Orca pinned her down. He was literally in a killing mood.

If she hadn’t struck his head in one go to get him off, she might have been really hurt. The gaze that looked down at her in the dim shade was glaring. Orca, who had been acting like a madman, only came to his senses after being hit by her. Her heart pounded from the sudden situation.

After calming her startled heart a little and nagging him, asking if he was crazy, what came out was a story about how he was in agony because he wanted to kill anything, whether human or beast. The moment she realized he had really tried to kill her, goosebumps covered her entire body. The impression that immediately flashed through her mind was simple.

Isn’t this a complete psycho bastard.

Orca, who had washed his face in the stream, added that he had moved away because of the smell of blood coming from the deer. The watery, fishy smell of the mossy rock covered the tip of her nose, acrid like the smell of blood. It was the day she realized that he wasn’t crooked because he didn’t receive his parents’ love, but that he didn’t receive his parents’ love because he was crooked.

She felt a sense of pity not for Orca, but for his parents. She came to think that it must be quite a chore to keep such a child from causing trouble. Although she acted as if it were no big deal to protect the pride of a grizzly bear.

Hilda, who had grown much bigger than back then and become an adult, was no longer afraid of Orca. She just still thought of him as a psycho. Approaching Phrrngie and Orca closely, she asked in an interested tone. Her voice was a mixture of curiosity and sarcasm. Meeting at the stream revived old grudges.

“Did you kill a lot?”

“What’s it to you.”

“Your servant was almost crying down below, you know? Looking for you.”

“And what’s that to you.”

“You’re as prickly now as you were then. What’s his name? Lizy?”

Phrrngie opened his mouth as if to bite the hand that tried to touch him. His teeth snapped shut with a sharp sound. Hilda, who had quickly retreated, showed an awkward smile.

“Whoa… He’s just like you.”

Orca, who was about to ignore her and leave the stream, turned back again to face her. The fact that she had unsettled Niah with talk of other goldfish suddenly came to mind. Niah was already often depressed on his own because of his memory, and now that she had unnecessarily stirred things up, making him worry about the memories of other goldfish besides himself, he couldn’t help but be angry.

There was a limit to cheering him up by telling him everything was okay or praising him for anything and everything. While it was already irritating that he couldn’t deal with the servants who had bullied Niah, Hilda had to butt in on top of that and grate on Orca’s nerves.

“Hilda. Be quiet while you’re here. Don’t be annoying.”

Hilda, who burst out in an unnatural laugh, pretended to be sad.

“It hurts to hear that from my fiancé, you know?”

“Cut the crap. You don’t have any intention of getting engaged either.”

“That’s because I was worried you’d be thinking only of me while stabbing your own thigh. As you know, I’m a bit busy.”

Orca narrowed his brows at her glib response as she shrugged her shoulders. He shook his head and placed his foot in the stirrup attached to the saddle on Phrrngie.

“I was stupid to try and have a normal conversation with you.”

“Since when have we ever talked normally.”

“Right. I’m starting to want to kill you, so just be quiet and go, then.”

Hilda found Orca’s sensitive reaction simply amusing. The reason why he would bother to leave a clumsy warning instead of just ignoring her and leaving was so transparent that a grin leaked out. It seemed he had taken a real liking to that orange-haired servant as a plaything. Otherwise, there was no way he would show this kind of attitude. For someone with a personality that was uninterested in whatever happened around him, his reaction was quite intense. Hilda, who had been standing a few steps back, moved closer. Orca had said it with the intention of telling her to lose interest, but her interest, on the contrary, grew even greater.

“That means don’t touch him, right?”

“What?”

“I’m talking about him. That… his name, was it Niah? The goldfish. Right?”

She placed her hands on her hips and smiled brightly like a child. Orca, the beige hair tied up high fluttered in the wind with her cheerful call.

“Give him to me.”

“…Are you crazy?”

“He was cute. What should I say. Loyalty? He had something like that. As it happens, I need a servant who listens well.”

Orca, who took his foot out of the stirrup, pressed his eyes with his hand. He forced his teeth, which had sharpened without him realizing, back to their original state. Letting out a deep sigh, he rebuked Hilda, chewing out each and every word.

“Don’t piss me off, Hilda. Do you think you’re still fifteen?”

“Giving me one servant isn’t a very difficult thing, is it. It’s a week by boat from Robert to here. I should get something out of this too. Don’t you think?”

It was sophistry. Ha, Orca let out a hollow laugh and glared fiercely at Hilda. He couldn’t understand in the slightest why the conversation had jumped to her asking for his goldfish.

“Why are you looking for your spoils of war here. You should have just stayed holed up in Robert, why did you have to come and be so annoying, hah…”

“You think I wanted to come? I came because they kept nagging about engagement and what not.”

“And you don’t think it would have been better if you hadn’t come? My parents are making an even bigger fuss because you showed up here.”

“You’re the one who couldn’t properly shut it down, so why are you blaming me? I refused as much as I could. Even at lunch on the first day! I was busy as hell fending off talk of engagement, but you were just staring at that goldfish, you bastard. It pisses me off just thinking about it. Ah, whatever, anyway, I heard your vacation is only until summer.”

“What does my vacation and my goldfish have to do with you that you keep harping on it. If you’re not determined to piss me off, then stop there. I’ll break off the engagement myself.”

Hilda, who had been gradually getting more worked up as the conversation dragged on, suddenly burst out laughing, ah-ha-ha. Orca’s expression crumpled as much as it possibly could, becoming ferocious.

“Are you saying you can’t give him to me because he’s yours?”

“Stop treating him like an object.”

“He seems to follow you a lot, but does he know you’re only here until summer? It’s obvious that a servant who was favored by his master will be ostracized if left alone. I heard you came back after three years this time too. When you leave, he’ll wither and die waiting.”

“Hilda Gray. Don’t cross the line. It’s not your problem to worry about.”

“I don’t know why you’re being so protective when it would be good for both of us if you just gave him to me. You’ve changed a bit. In a strange way. You’re the same in every way, but something has gotten strange. The fact that you’re still answering me because of one servant is strange from the start. In the old days, you would have ignored me and run off right away.”

Thanks to Hilda, who not only whined for him to give her his goldfish, treating him like an object, but also pinpointed the very things he was worried about, Orca’s mind, on the contrary, became calm. As she said, ignoring her was the right answer. He regretted having spoken to her in the first place.

It seemed that placating the goldfish and making him avoid her would be a much better method than warning that crazy bear bastard. After spending nearly two months with the fluffy, muffin-like goldfish, he had temporarily forgotten how annoying and unpleasant it was to deal with humans.

“What, you’re really leaving? I’m not done talking. I said I’m not done! Orca! You’re running off right away!”

Orca, who had leaped onto Phrrngie, left the mountain without hesitation. He could hear screaming sounds from behind him, but neither he nor Phrrngie paid any attention.

On the way, he met a hunting ground servant who was really on the verge of tears and pointed out the locations where birds might have fallen. He had intended to just pass by, but the sight of the servant about to burst into tears, saying he didn’t know where to go, overlapped with Niah, so he had no choice. Of course, he didn’t mean that their faces were similar.

Phrrngie, who had left the lake forest and come down to the garden, let out a displeased sound, phrr-rr-rrng. As he entered the stable, he bumped Orca. As if once wasn’t enough, he rammed his head into him twice, bump, bump. Having roughly understood what Hilda had said with some intuition, he was taking out his anger on Orca for no reason.

“You should have hit her earlier. Lizy.”

Phrrng, Phrrngie turned his body sharply and finally swung his tail. Even after entering the stable, he glared at his master. Orca became slightly troubled, wondering if Phrrngie might insist on staying here.

A few servants who spotted Orca, the first among the nobles participating in the hunting competition to return, quickly approached him, interrupting their rest. One took the saddle off Phrrngie and then got him food and water. He filled the manger with a meal mixed with hay, carrots, and green beans. The stable master informed him that no one else had arrived yet besides Orca and hovered around him.

“Uh… young master. The sack is…? Didn’t a servant follow you…?”

“I told him where the birds are, so he should be here soon.”

“Oh my. We sent the fastest horse, but the young master’s black horse is truly… Amazing.”

“Lizy’s not in a good mood, so give him some extra snacks.”

“Yes. I will do so. Are you going in? Aren’t you going to watch them determine first place?”

Orca waved his hand vaguely. He didn’t entertain the nobles who were dawdling in the garden and came up to talk to him for long this time either. His parents, sitting at a distant table drinking tea, caught his eye, but he gave them a single glance and quickened his pace.

His entire attention was focused solely on where his goldfish might be and what he might be doing right now. With the intention of trapping him in his arms until his whole body was on the verge of being crushed the moment he found him, he deflected all the gazes that were fixed on him.