ORCA 8

Just then, Pepe came running from a distance. He couldn’t be seen, hidden by the man’s large body, but he could feel Pepe’s gruff shouts gradually getting closer. It seemed the servants who had gone to the dining hall were on their way back. There were several sets of footsteps hitting the ground.

“Y-young master! What brings you all the way here…!”

Orca neither looked back at the servant who approached calling his name, nor did he answer him. He merely clicked his tongue and twisted his eyebrow. The goldfish, twitching in his palm, struggled to get away from him. It was clear he was acting this way in surprise at the title ‘young master’.

Without letting the struggling figure go, he pulled him even closer, and the thin body was easily drawn into his embrace. His plan to watch and wait until he remembered on his own had all gone up in smoke with the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest. The goldfish, with the top of his head under his chin, was confused. It was all too obvious on the surface.

Pepe stood behind Orca, fidgeting. He couldn’t understand why the young master, who should be in the central part of the mansion, was all the way out here in the east wing’s vegetable garden. He broke out in a cold sweat, wondering if one of the garden servants had made a big mistake. It was not a situation where he could return in a good mood after a hearty meal.

He was gripped by anguish, wondering how he would handle the situation if it turned out that he himself, and not someone else, had done something wrong. No, more than that, he had never even crossed paths with the young master in the first place, so he couldn’t have made a mistake even if he wanted to. He became convinced that it was indeed another servant who had done wrong, not him.

Right, Niah… Where is that Niah fellow?

Pepe scanned every corner of the large vegetable garden. The other servants, standing in a group, were covering their mouths and whispering among themselves.

Niah’s head was spinning as he tried to sort through his chaotic memories. It felt like he was on the verge of remembering, but not quite. His stomach, which had nothing in it, churned, making him want to throw everything up. He couldn’t believe that the man who had been with him until now was the young master. His heart sank. The man seemed to know him, but for the young master to know him was also an impossibility. Niah desperately searched within himself.

Have I seen the young master before? No, no… when did the young master arrive? Has it been a month already? When? Young master, young master… yesterday… the lake… the young master, the young master, so why did I, the young master, why did the young master me, why, at the lake, yesterday at the lake…. At the lake, the young master, I yesterday at the lake…. Ah…, uh…, ah, yesterday. Yesterday I was at the lake, yesterday the young master was at the lake, yesterday I saw the stars, yesterday, at the lake, in the forest. With the young master, I was with the young master. I was following the young master…. Young master, the young master, the young master came, so to the lake, young master, young master….

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

As his words continued, Niah’s head tilted. Orca supported the nape of Niah’s neck, making him look up. His heavily swollen eyes were flushed red. Meanwhile, the tears that welled up profusely streamed down his cheeks and soaked even his palm.

It was ridiculous how his dirt-stained hands couldn’t bring themselves to grab his forearm and were just floundering in the air. The goldfish, having remembered everything, was groveling with a clear reason. It was not the face of someone begging out of sheer fear without knowing anything. The look in his eyes was different.

“You said, you wouldn’t, cry, you wouldn’t, hic, …I was wrong. Young master…. I again, I forgot everything again, sob….”

At the mumble mixed with feverish breath, the corners of his mouth unknowingly curled up slightly. It was a pleasing sight to see him tilt his head up sharply as told and beg for forgiveness in a small voice. Unlike when he was crying without even knowing who he was, it was quite alright.

“Right.”

Orca cut him short with this single word, silencing Niah. Then he gently caressed the nape of Niah’s neck, who was only shedding tears. Niah just mumbled with his lips, afraid of what would happen if the young master grabbed his hair as he did yesterday.

If he had his way, he would want to beg until the young master’s anger subsided, but it felt like he shouldn’t. Niah timidly moved his hand. His slender fingers carefully touched the tip of Orca’s shoe. He didn’t dare to grab it properly, just placing his fingers on it very lightly.

Only after hearing the small, faltering voice did Pepe realize that Niah was in front of Orca. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about clearly, but he could distinctly hear that he was crying.

In that moment, the situation clicked into place in Pepe’s mind like a puzzle, click, click. As if his earlier bewilderment and confusion had been a lie, he was instantly certain.

What has this stupid goldfish brat done now.

He quickly rolled his eyes. He made various assumptions and tried his best to gauge what would be the best choice. Whatever it was, he wanted to prevent a situation where he himself would be in trouble.

The young master, as befitting a scion of a powerful family, had a way of crushing people with fine words. Without using a single vulgar word, he would overwhelm his opponent’s spirit and muzzle them. Sometimes, he gave him the creeps even when he was just sitting still. It was natural for someone who could cut off a life in an instant if he so wished.

It had been three years since he returned to the mansion, so he had briefly forgotten that fact. He was suddenly overcome with the feeling of a death row inmate with his neck on the guillotine.

In any case, being that kind of young master, it would be nothing for him to hold him responsible for managing Niah carelessly and kick him out of the mansion. Not only him, but all the garden servants might end up that way. Even adding the word ‘if’ in front did not make the trouble disappear, only piling up more worries.

The Ware family’s mansion was vastly better to work at than other places. There were many employees, so the work was easy, the sleeping quarters were excellent for servants, and the wages, meals, and provided clothing were all top-notch. Moreover, wasn’t it the ‘Ware’ family? It was a family where just having proof of having worked here would get you treated well anywhere you went.

Conversely, no matter how skilled a gardener he was, if a rumor spread that he was kicked out of the Ware family, it was obvious that no other family’s mansion would accept him. It was unlikely the butler would write a letter of recommendation for someone being kicked out. Furthermore, if the reason was because of Niah, it wouldn’t be strange if he died of a stress-induced illness from the sheer frustration.

Of course, before that happened, he would make that goldfish brat pay dearly, whether by boiling him in water, roasting him in an oven, or deboning him, using any method possible. But still, the best outcome was for him not to be kicked out of the mansion.

“You stupid brat!”

To prevent things from getting worse, this was the easiest way. It was nothing short of the most ideal choice he could make. There was no need for the young master to dirty his own hands to scold and punish that tiny little thing. He would only be wasting his energy on a useless thing. Rolling up his sleeves, he intended to take on the young master’s annoyance and quickly jumped out.

Pepe stomped his feet, stomp, stomp, stomp, as if expecting to be praised by Orca. He even smiled as he advanced without hesitation. He had never beaten Niah before, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t. It was his thought that Niah would surely not make a peep and take the beating as it was given. Also, that suited the brat.

If he broke a bone or something, that would be a big problem in its own right, but right now, something else was more important. Whether or not he could continue to stay at the mansion was more important than his personal workload increasing for a few days. He even judged that it might be better to cripple him and nip the problem in the bud.

Niah, who had been looking only at Orca, flinched and squeezed the shoe his fingertips were touching. At the same time, his wet eyes, which had been fixed on one spot, turned diagonally. He was the only person Pepe would curse at as a stupid brat.

It was already the third time today that he had been yelled at. Once when he was late for work, once when he was dozing off while planting herb seeds, and now was the third time. The voice was much louder and more filled with rage than the previous two times. He had done wrong to the young master, but probably not to Pepe. Since he had left him behind with the other servants and gone to the dining hall, he hadn’t made any mistakes that would warrant asking for forgiveness. He really hadn’t. Knowing that, he was still scared.

The heavy footsteps stopped, and Pepe’s fearsome face loomed over the young master’s shoulder. He would be scolded by the young master if he cried anymore, he shouldn’t, but tears burst forth.

“What are you doing with your head held up so stiffly?”

Niah screamed, ah!, and slammed his forehead on the ground. It wasn’t on the tilled soil for planting crops, but on the hard, bare ground. His body, which had been unmoving when he tried to back away, easily toppled to the side. As he moved away from Orca’s warmth, a cool sensation wrapped around the nape of his neck. Instead, his forehead grew hot and pain rushed in.

Pepe, intending to prevent him from getting up at all, pressed down on the back of Niah’s head. He also rubbed it around violently. Niah struggled and whimpered, trying to get his hand off his head.

“It hurts, it hurts, ugh, it hurts…. Pepe, sob…, it hurts.”

Pepe paid little attention to his plea and only observed Orca’s mood. Orca just looked down at Niah, who was prostrate with a cool face, and said nothing. His hand remained in the air, in the same shape as when it had been gripping his nape.

Pepe, who had been watching for a sign, suddenly grabbed a handful of his hair and lifted it. Then he dragged him and corrected his posture towards Orca. His tear-streaked and dirt-covered face was revealed before Orca again. After a moment, his forehead was slammed into the ground once more. This time, not even a scream came out.

“What are you doing, not begging? If you’re stupid, you should at least be good at begging.”

Just as Pepe said, Niah felt the urge to grab anyone and beg them to save him. Contrary to his wish, only a watery, hoarse sound came from his mouth. If he had to keep hurting like this, he just wished he would faint. He was scared about what would happen if he woke up outside the mansion the next time, but at this rate, it felt like he would die before being kicked out.

Orca lowered the arm he had been holding up and rested it on his thigh. His attitude was relaxed and leisurely, as if he intended to watch. His mind was at peace. It had been boiling so much when he saw the expression that said he had forgotten him, but now it was strangely calm. It was as tranquil as if a goldfish, merely two finger-joints long, was swimming in an endlessly vast ocean.

No matter how much it flutters its fins, smaller than his own fingernails, the currents of the great sea will not change. It was a being whose existence or non-existence made no difference. It was small, insignificant, and weak, utterly worthless. It was a body so minuscule it could not even go against the current, let alone change it. That’s why it was so easily crushed even by a servant showing off his pathetic strength.

It suddenly occurred to him that he would grovel the same way, whether in front of him or in front of that servant. He didn’t mind the other things, but that part was grating. Only then did ripples form in the sea. Still, it was a faint change.

The goldfish, caught by the middle-aged servant, struggled as if it were about to die. Its curly hair was being crushed into the ground. It was quite displeasing that it would die at someone else’s hands after he had gone to the trouble of saving it.

However, Orca did not show his displeasure outwardly and just watched Niah. For some reason, he was not inclined to help readily. He knew he could save him with a single word, but the words to stop rolled only inside his mouth. He inwardly gauged the reason. His expression was nonchalant.

Because I’m resentful of a goldfish that crumbles before anyone?

Because he just cries pathetically without being able to resist even a guy like that?

Because I want to punish him for the foolishness of completely forgetting about yesterday?

No, that’s not it. That punishment should be given by me. Not that guy. But who the hell is that brat to butt in and make such a fuss? How ill-mannered.

Belatedly, his mood soured. It was the first time in his life that someone had taken what he held in his grasp. The fact that he was just watching blankly without taking any action when his own thing was being taken away felt so pathetic it made him scoff at himself. The foolish one was not the goldfish, but him. It was almost laughable. Orca’s eyes narrowed for an instant.

“Niah, what are you doing? Hurry!”

Pepe, knowing nothing, violently pulled Niah’s upper body up. At the pain, as if all his hair would be pulled out, Niah hastily grabbed Pepe’s hand. It only resulted in being pulled even harder, the pain not lessening in the slightest. His whole body screamed in agony.

Now he couldn’t tell what was what anymore. Why he was here, and why he was being treated like this, became secondary. Only the strong desire to escape raged. His head was spinning. Niah blurted out whatever came to mind. The layers of sorrow that had built up burst open, pop.

“Wrong, wrong, sob…. I don’t want to. Ugh, please let go, it hurts…. I don’t want this anymore, everything hurts…. Hic….”

Orca, who had suddenly stood up, narrowed the distance to Niah. The gap, which had been about half a step, became tight in an instant. Niah, even in his dazed state, immediately recognized that the person who had entered his swaying vision was the young master. He extended the arm that had been flailing to get away from Pepe.

The slowly moving hand fumbled at Orca’s shoe before firmly grasping the leg of his trousers. This was the best Niah could do. No matter how out of his mind he was, he couldn’t dare to just grab him anywhere and ask for help.

Pepe, exulting, made him lift his head even higher. His heart pounded with the thought that the young master might even slap Niah’s cheek. He bit his tongue to stop the sly smile that appeared at the expectation that he could use this as an excuse to get rid of this thing from the mansion.