Chapter 40: Hair’s Breadth (3)

"I don't like cooked tomatoes the size of a thumb. Remove them from the curry."

"Of course, Miss."

"I don't like my curry too watery. Plae some more meat in."

"Right away."

"What about this Sweet Cherry Bread, Miss?"

"... I don't hate it."

Nik nodded and picked the warm bread with a pair of tongs before placing it on a smaller plate as Mai nodded calmly and began eating. Nik silently stepped back while sighing in relief as he glanced at Katara and Suki who seemed to be enjoying his predicament.

Nik took this chance to observe Mai's quarters.

It looked too... 'hotel' like. As if a stock royal room without an ounce of personalization that made it seem quite unnerving. A small dressing table was set in front of the bed and the floors were entirely carpeted. Mai had a table brought in specifically to eat her meals.

"Tell me a little about yourselves," Mai blew over her spoon and spoke up, "Your entire family is now working in the palace. All of you must be feeling quite fortunate."

"Yes, we are quite fortunate. Lord Kai presented us with a--"

"Do not say his name here." Mai interrupted as Nik held back the urge to groan at Mai's laidback appearance.

"What Nik wanted to say, Miss, was that we weren't really planning on staying in the city for long," Katara spoke up with a forced smile. She was already on the edge ever since arriving in the palace due to many firebenders present and her inability of turning them into popsicles.

"Nomads? Traveling around with the bare minimum? Whatever," Mai mumbled before focusing on her food. She didn't speak the entire time but when she finally finished, she didn't dine on the dessert but instead warned the trio.

"If you care about your wife and your sister... just take her away from the palace. Else, you can stay... earn coins, or what else you're told to do. Now, take these dishes out. You two may leave, too. Don't bother finding me after you leave."

Mai waved her hands and Nik began silently collecting the dishes before he left with Katara and Suki.

Once they walked out of Mai's room, Katara and Suki let out relieved groans.

"That felt so suffocating!" Katara exclaimed. She was right. Mai's personality was somewhat suffocating to bear.

"Anyway, it's up to you guys to decide if you want to leave or not. Even Mai confirmed that Kai would want some other desserts from the two of you and Sokka already stated that if possible, he would definitely not like to entertain the thought of Kai around you two... especially you," Nik looked at Katara as she snorted.

"I would like to see him try something. I'll waterbend his--"

"But wouldn't that give your identity? A waterbender suddenly appearing... is bound to attract suspicion," Suki sighed and interrupted.

Katara's expression darkened somewhat.

"Let's not worry about the man for the moment--"

"How can you say that?" Katara huffed and glared at Nik, "You carried Suki away from a giant eel! I think that you can afford to worry a little more."

"It's not like Kai is remotely intimidating..." Nik mumbled, "And I'm more afraid of the firebenders around here. Those people are truly dangerous."

Katara grew silent, agreeing with the statement while Nik looked at Suki, "It's going to be hard to find anything without being active... let's hope Aang finds something while mingling with other children."

---

Nik's other tasks included bringing food to the guards' quarters that he did on time. This in itself allowed him to explore the greater half of the palace and see for himself the real 'ferocity' of firebenders.

He continued to serve food and found that... it wasn't so bad. Sure, his opinion was simply centered around the individuals he had met and there were a lot of men and women whose circumstances he was unaware of but this simple interaction of serving the food itself gave Nik a pretty good grip on their nature. Of course, this also did not include their ability to bend fire since they simply didn't create waves of fire within the palace.

The guards of the palace were mostly indifferent to servants. There were a few female guards mixed in but most of them seemed to have families, too.

After collecting the dishes, Nik returned to the kitchen and began preparing for lunch. The portion this time was smaller than the breakfast and a quick inquiry from the other waitresses, who only found Nik more pleasing to their eyes as they saw his hardworking and humble behavior, made him realize that Mayor Ukano hardly ever takes time out of his busy schedule to eat lunch. Kai seemed to be the same.

Tom-Tom is not present within the Palace at this time so, it is only really Mai and Michi who stay in the dining room.

As a bonus, they also revealed that when Ukano and Kai aren't present, Mai does indeed eat her portions with her mother so, Nik had to be mindful and not take Mai's statement in the morning regarding never eating in the dining room at face value.

The lunch consisted of a healthy serving of rice, pickled vegetables, a dish of meat, and a jug of freshly squeezed juice. Even when covered by the lid, the aroma of the lunch spread out that made Nik quiver a bit in hunger. His appetite had grown after being alive again. At first, he thought that it was because of his new outlook on life... then he realized that his outlook on life has retained its bleak nature and this greater appetite had something to do with his body's raw capabilities now better than before.

He followed the other waitresses and again prepared the plates in front of only two chairs and in time, the first to appear was none other than Michi.

"Is that Ground Goose I smell?"

From the very beginning, Michi seemed more expressive than morning. Her eyes lit up and a pleased smile plastered on her lips. She didn't have any maid around this time either and as she gazed at the waitresses, Michi snapped her fingers, "Lia, Pal, Juhi, I wish to have the same conversation with the new recruit, too. Leave us alone."

"Yes, Mistress," the three waitresses bowed and hurriedly left while Nik stepped and pulled the chair back to help Michi sit down.

"What is your name?"

"It's Nik, Ma'am," He replied as he adjusted the chair before pulling the lids away and then serving the food to Michi.

"Hmm, Nik. A short name. Easy to remember," Michi nodded and smiled, "This is something every servant who provides the service to our family needs to know. First, none of you are allowed to enter the basement floor since it is occupied by the orphanage."

There was a strange expression on her face, something that Nik noticed to be a form of struggle.

"Similarly, the sisters down there do not have any task up here. They take care of the children from the surrounding villages who lost their families."

Michi's eyes revealed sadness while Nik's lips twitched.

From the very beginning, others were simply unaware of the world towards the coast and now the villagers are even dead?

'What kind of stuff are they smoking?' He wondered as he cut up the meat and carefully placed it on her plate.

"I understand and I will be careful to not overstep my bounds, Ma'am."

"Good," Michi smiled, "Now, I met your family, too. Since Mai is unwilling to keep maids, I will provide work to them. Your cousin is really a wonderful woman to speak to. She has many amusing stories."

"We are lucky for these opportunities—" Nik smiled when Mai entered the dining room.

"Sorry, mother. I was still on the fence if I should walk all the way over here to eat or just stay in my room," Mai mumbled and walked over to her chair as Nik reached there, too, and helped her sit down.

"No worries, Mai. I was just warning Nik, here, to not enter the basement without permission."

"While you're at it, do not enter my training room either," Mai spoke up.

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"Sure, Miss," Nik smiled, acting sincerely. He completed the task of serving the food and as he was about to retreat to give the mother and daughter some privacy that should be the main focus of lunch in the palace he managed to assume, he was asked to stay behind just like in the morning.

Michi and Mai talked very little. Painfully little. But, at least, they were eating together. Michi's expression was better from before in the morning, too, and Mai seemed not only indifferent but also relaxed.

"Nik, Suki tells me that you and your wife met on a voyage from south till here. I always thought that nothing truly remained of the south after the latter half of the hundred-years war." Michi tilted her head back a little and smiled.

"It is as you assumed, Mistress. Nothing much remained and that is why citizens huddle together and go out on voyages to find new places to settle in."

"It must be quite a taxing to move from place to place," Michi sighed and ate. She would sometimes bring up new topics of conversation and only inquire Nik about it but seeing Mai wholly unaffected by it, a hint of disappointment couldn't help but flash past Michi's eyes.

The latter half of the lunch was a silent one and Mai left as soon as she finished. Seeing this, Michi leaned back and uttered a groan.

"Say, Nik, it was the new assistant butler who provided you this particular job, right? We ought to give him a raise... with all those opportunistic waitresses out there, it is hard to simply get ahold of Ukano himself."

Nik didn't know if Michi meant it or not but Sokka might have made a mistake from his side in impatience, too, to make him directly enter the dining room mostly visited by waitresses. So he simply divided the credit in case. This also made any subsequent consequences get divided, too.

"Yes, Ma'am. After consulting with his supervisor, the assistant butler had me come here."

"What do you think of me?" Michi suddenly inquired and turned back, "Don't bother trying to look a way out," she warned with a narrowed gaze and stood up, "Why do you think that my husband would rather look at those immigrants than me?"

'Is the juice alcoholic?' Nik thought, 'But Mai... yeah, she didn't drink it even once.'

"Ma'am... um, I'm just a new worker here," Nik smiled and took a step back. People here are either too reserved or too... open.

'Well, it could be because Ukano himself might not be giving her enough attention,' Nik reasoned.

"I asked you something. And it's specifically that you have just arrived that I inquire you and not someone else. What is your opinion of me? Your wife says you seldom hide facts and constantly praise her beauty."

'It's Katara's fault?' Nik was amazed but he still looked collected.

'Worst thing... I devour the castle and we skedaddle out of here...'

"Well?" Michi frowned. A hint of anger now appeared in her tone and gaze as Nik took a longer time than she felt good about.

"Ma'am, you look graceful, in my opinion. Those three out there have to try to attract but any woman would be lucky to have your bearings."

Michi revealed a puzzled expression, "Then, why do you think that Ukano is avoiding me like a plague?"

Nik thought for a moment. It was clear that just because Ukano avoided her didn't make her less beautiful but how could Nik even hope to validate a woman married, and bearing two children while having a dry spell with her husband.

For the brief moment, Mitsuko's face twisted in pleasure and absolute debauchery passed through his eyes and he shook his head internally.

He would be attacked by the firebenders the moment he...

'Wait a minute...'

"Ma'am, I don't think I should say too much. I'm deeply afraid that the Mayor and Lord Kau would..."

"Kai?" Michi frowned, "What does Kai have to do anything with it?"

"Nothing, nothing, It's just that even when I have just entered the palace for a few hours... many rumors about Lord Kai makes me feel apprehensive."

"Leave him be," Michi snorted and sat down, "It is Ukano who think that Kai is a good match for our Mai... I honestly wish that the Prince and the Princess never disappeared. Mai had such a bond with them, sigh...

Anyway," Michi eyed Nik as she recalled his words.

By every right, Nik's praise was not at all vulgar and actually pleased Michi greatly. Her dark yellow eyes brightened up as she smiled, "Keep our discussion to yourself. One rumor is all it will take for your fears to come true... but you should come to my chambers tonight and meet with your wife. You do wish to meet your family, right?"

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Nik nodded and heaved a sigh of relief.

Michi then proceeded to warn a few things to keep note of in the palace during the night and walked away. While Nik cleaned the table and put away the dishes, the three waitresses clamored in. They curiously asked Nik if something happened but of course, as Michi stated, all it takes is one rumor to spread out like wildfire so he calmly appeased their curiosity by simply saying that the mother-daughter duo remained silent throughout... something the waitresses easily believed.

Once done with the delivery of the dirty plates, cups, and other utensils, they were given time off. Of course, without a task, servants couldn't easily explore the palace and had to return to their quarters in the far end.

Of course, this didn't mean private quarters.

"Oh, hey, I didn't know Butlers stayed with waiters," Nik soon found Sokka as he grunted, "Yeah, yeah."

"Now... did you know that a few individuals here think that the children being taken care of are orphans?" Nik sat in front of him and questioned as Sokka's expression turned bleak.

"I don't know... I was confident that I could bring them all back. I even went off like an arrogant ass in front of Tamashi but... a few people think that nothing exists past south. Some consider the children orphans, and I just struck a conversation with a bunch of guards and they all claimed that they never went to the villages to collect children. Instead, they were brought here by someone else... can you believe this? Nobody has the same answer!"

"Then... we just need to pick one answer or assume that all of them are correct?" Nik cocked his head sideways.

"Are you out of your mind? That doesn't even make any sense," Sokka glanced at Nik as he shook his head, "Maybe... all of them are told different things... but it just doesn't seem so simple. People would have talked to each other if a group of children appeared out of nowhere. Different answers would have raised even more questions but nobody seems to be bothering with it."

Sokka frowned hearing this.

"Do you think... magic aside from bending really exists?" Sokka inquired hesitatingly.

"Hey, if Aang can get possessed by an overly tall woman then not many things are impossible," Nik mumbled.

"Anyway, about that training room I told you about this morning, don't go there--"

"Mai and the waitresses already told me," Nik nodded.

"But there's another forbidden area in the palace," Sokka suddenly began and looked solemn, "Beneath the basement was the catacombs that are now restructured into a prison. I'm not told why it's forbidden but... that place just sounds suspicious."

"Why?" Nik inquired.

"Think about it. All the prisoners are out but even they didn't know about others in the rig, right? But they seemed genuinely surprised. Meanwhile, the people here are in a complete belief that the southern villages simply don't exist... Ukano knows something, well, of course, he knows something. He's the mayor.

The prison should hold some information, too... like why the prisoners aren't sure about the nonexistence of the other surrounding villagers and benders..."

Nik pursed his lips.

This sounded strangely 'familiar'...

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