ORCA 77

His voice gradually trailed off. The more he continued to answer, the more his confidence waned.

“Does Roanna find it funny when I get scolded?”

Though he had worried about that before falling asleep sometimes, he wasn’t really sure if that meant she was bullying him. Even though the sound of her sneering laughter remained stuck in his chest, he couldn’t quite bring himself to be certain enough to call it bullying. More than anything, he was anxious: What if she finds out I told the young master and comes to punish me? Since Roanna was friends with Adrian, they would certainly come together. So, he had no choice but to say no.

Niah, lengthening his words without much meaning, fumbled and gripped the young master’s waist. He focused his senses on the wrist where his warm fingers came and went. His fluttering heart slowly calmed down.

Orca, having taken a deep breath and lifted his face, pressed his lips tightly against Niah’s ear. He followed the boy’s head as it turned away, as if ticklish, and whispered. His small voice rolled along the ear cartilage as if sharing a secret. His hand traveled up the spine and cupped the back of his neck.

“Niah. Should I replace all the servants in this mansion?”

“Yes? You… you can’t do that. That tickles, hehe… it tickles.”

Orca, holding tight to the body that was squirming to escape, tried to force the answer he had decided on. A simple, reckless calculation pushed to the forefront: Couldn’t I just get the absolution first and then bury them all without the goldfish knowing? Whatever anger his parents might feel was a problem for later.

Seeing him lie, despite it being obvious he had been bullied, made his head turn stubborn and irrational. Even last time, when he had appeared with bruises on his side, he had fallen asleep without ever revealing the culprit, and it was the same now. If it were him, he would have urged them to report it immediately so he could kill or chase them off, but the goldfish’s heart was sometimes impossible to fathom.

“Ask me to do it. Then I’ll do it.”

“There are, um, a lot of servants in the mansion. If you send them all away, then, hehe… then where do they all go?”

“I don’t know. What does it matter?”

Niah twisted his body, tickled by Orca’s breath against his ear. He tried pushing him away while giggling, or stretching his neck to avoid him. But because of the lips persistently following him, he eventually had to give up on running away. He slumped, leaning against the forearm that held him firmly. The laughter that leaked out without pause served as the answer Orca wanted.

When Niah only giggled no matter how many times he urged him, Orca took his head in both hands and bumped his forehead against his.

“I’m really going to do it. You’re not believing me again. When did I ever lose your trust like this? Or was it never there to begin with?”

“That’s not it, sir. I believe in you.”

Orca bumped their foreheads together a couple more times to mean, Don’t lie.

“Ouch, it’s true. I’d believe you even if you said carrots grew on trees.”

“…Carrots originally grow on trees.”

Having straightened his back, he retorted in a mischievous tone. Niah agreed with a grin, saying, “That’s right.” Orca, having inserted his fingers into his messy curly hair, ruffled it thoroughly before smoothing it back down. It was a kind of reprimand. Niah, who had been scrunching up his nose and eyes at him, subtly lifted his eyelids and spoke carefully.

“But, sir. You shouldn’t change the servants….”

“Why.”

The words Niah hesitated to say, appearing a bit embarrassed, made Orca look like a foolish person.

“I, I don’t remember things well… I’d have to memorize everything all over again…. After you leave, sir, I’ll have a lot of other work to do, and if I don’t know who is who, I’ll get scolded more often… then I might get other things confused, and, um. Ah, I’m going to burst. I’m really going to burst this time. Sir, just a moment, ah. It hurts.”

At the sound of him being in pain, the arms that had been holding him tightly loosened. Orca, who had buried himself into Niah’s shoulder before doing anything to the servants, stroked his thin back without a word. The crude fabric was rubbed roughly against his palm as he moved. The goldfish’s hands moved behind his back to imitate him. No noise was made against the smooth clothing. It was just a soft rub. Even though they were standing face to face, it felt like they were in entirely different spaces. His chest felt heavy.

Everything was ultimately aimed at satisfying his own greed. Just as people used to whisper when he was young, it seemed as if he had grown into an incompetent, foolish man because he was a “freak.” I was selfish and greedy. I only thought of myself. In contrast to me, the goldfish was busy only looking after my well-being. He was a “freak” in a different sense. It was foolish, and heart-wrenching.

“Sir… Sir, I don’t really know why you’re like this. Should we go back? Do you want to go and rest? Or did I do something wrong…?”

“No. Go and call Harriet. Do what you showed me earlier.”

Orca, who had slowly moved away, tapped the cheeks that were filled with concern.

“You don’t have to do that… You’re acting strange right now, sir…. Let’s go back, okay?”

“I’m not acting strange. Hurry and go. She’s been hesitating about whether or not to knock for about thirty times now.”

Orca forcibly turned Niah around. Niah looked back with every step he took, but after a long while, he pulled the door handle. Harriet was only able to enter the distillery after hesitating about ten more times.

The method for making candied flower petals was simple. After gently removing the calyx so as not to damage the flower, you brush it with egg white, sprinkle it evenly with powdered sugar, and let it dry in the shade to finish. If stored in the basement pantry, they wouldn’t wilt for a while and looked good. It was one of many items that would decorate the food on the day of the party. The process itself was simple and not difficult, but because there was such a large quantity needed, the work continued over several days.

“Harriet. But what is this used for? Do you eat it? Is it a snack? Is it tasty?”

“Hmm? Well, I suppose you could just eat it.”

Harriet laughed, “Ahaha.” Niah, staring at her with curious eyes, grinned along. Wondering if he had asked such a funny question, he turned his head to check. This time, his gaze met Orca’s. Orca, who had been leaning on his chin while turned toward Niah, mouthed, Why?

Niah tilted his head and grinned again. For some reason, it felt like even the young master was laughing. His eyes and lips were in the same position as always, but they looked exactly like a smiling face. Niah didn’t quite know why Harriet and the young master were like that, but he grew happy along with them. When he giggled, Harriet burst into laughter again with a pfft.

“It’s being made to decorate desserts. We’ll put them on tarts, and on cakes. Oh, and they look pretty if you put them in champagne.”

Harriet managed to stifle her laughter, stood up, and gave him a proper answer. Between her sentences, she filled bowls with sugar and moved the baskets of neatly gathered flowers to the side of the distillery.

Niah chimed in enthusiastically. Even so, his fingers were working busily and meticulously. Spreading out flowers slightly larger than his own fingernails and brushing them with egg white required quite a bit of concentration. If he weren’t careful, the petals would fall off or get crushed. He had to handle them with his fingertips relaxed, like dealing with young roots, moving them ever so gently. When applying the sugar, he sprinkled it lightly little by little so they wouldn’t get caked.

Because of this, while Harriet finished three, Niah had barely finished one. Of course, since she hadn’t invited him to help to actually make him work, Harriet just felt satisfied. Seeing him enjoy it, she felt glad she had lured him in. Even if his pace was slow, the finished product was more meticulous than her own, so it was a real help. When Roanna had made her little scene and left, Harriet had worried about what to do, but fortunately, Niah’s mood seemed to have improved quickly.

She was also able to enjoy the fun of secretly watching the young master. He kept looking only in one place, so she felt he wouldn’t notice whether she was looking or not, but she observed as stealthily as possible. The young master handled Niah with skillful ease. The sight of him coaxing the restless servant to sit down was different from the rumors she had heard. It made her wonder if all the groundless rumors floating around the mansion might be nothing but nonsense.

She had been to many noble estates until now, but not a single master treated their servants in such a way. It might sound funny for me to say this, but there was an invisible line between nobles and the lower classes. The nobles didn’t try to cross it, and for servants like me, the line that could never be crossed in a lifetime was a product of the class difference.