The palace was definitely in an uproar. The news spread and certain newcomers had their eyes widened when they realized that the Mayor's office was swept clean. Even the furniture wasn't spared!
"So? You were employed due to circumstances and had only started to work at the storages?"
The palace was surrounded at this moment. In the eyes of the owner, no thief would stay after making such a large claim! Ukano's treasury was filled with gold and jewels but their value was barely enough for Nik. After seeing that even the jewels would only give him AP in decimals, Nik stopped and kept some wealth for safekeeping. If possible, of course, he didn't want to bust his ass daily to live by.
However, the 'guest' had some other considerations. With the palace surrounded and every exit covered, the newcomer who barely had any reputation amongst workers demanded Ukano to set up an interrogation chamber. There were 'other' ways of finding the truth but even Zhao didn't want to risk these methods getting public by transferring a large chunk of servants at once.
"Yes, I came here a week ago. I lived by doing odd jobs here and there and I had thought of leaving after picking up my nephew from distant friends," Sokka smiled and nodded his head eagerly.
"Nephew?" Zhao looked at Sokka. At the moment, within the ravaged room, only two chairs were set up. Behind Zhao stood four guards. Observing Sokka for a while Zhao finally spoke up.
"This nephew... I have come to understand that you don't look anything alike. You have dark skin and blue eyes. Traits of water tribe, I'm sure of it."
His words caused Sokka to flinch, "But the reports the mayor and his son-in-law submitted held the fact that this nephew is fair-skinned."
"Aiya, lord, what can I do about it? I can't control who my sister lived with, right?" Sokka's lips twitched. If possible, to save his skin, he would easily tarnish the entire group's reputation.
"Where is your sister?" Zhao inquired.
"A cousin, Lord. She's dead," Sokka shook his head.
"I see... and you got the job of assisting butler because you can read and write, correct?" Zhao continued.
"Yes, my lord! I am best with numbers and words!" The youth smiled and assured.
"What were you doing this morning?"
"I was at the palace's storage, taking count on the bags of wheat and making sure that the area isn't damp."
Zhao crossed his arms and nodded, "It's fine. Leave."
Once Sokka left, Zhao leaned back on his seat.
"Sir, it is likely that the thief has already left," one of the guards finally spoke up.
"Send in the next one..." Zhao felt a bit annoyed. Even to the untrained eyes, the act of the prison rig disappearing and the incident of the mayor's office disappearing should be connected. He wouldn't have concerned himself with this task if it wasn't to at least find something, even a single clue, to not return empty-handed when reporting the disappearance of the rig to the Phoenix King.
---
"How scary... who can even make things disappear..." Katara gasped as she clutched her 'husband's' hand.
'Really... really?' Suki glanced at Katara. All of them have been questioned already. Their stories were simple, too. Nomads who were employed by Kai. The fact that it was Kai who brought them lowered the suspicion greatly. After all, right before the theft, the only ones who stood out would be servants who have been acting strangely for a little while already or the servants who tried to enter the palace by any means possible.
Compared to them, Nik's, Katara's, and Suki's entry was simply a passing thought of the son-in-law of the mayor.
"There, there, what would I do if someone steals you away, too," Nik blinked out a tear and sniffed softly. They weren't alone. Many servants had gathered. Instead of leaving, they had formed cliques to discuss things amongst themselves.
This, by itself, was a great time for the trio to speak and exchange information.
"Did you find something?" Suki whispered, getting to the point rather impatiently.
"Not yet... I didn't want to risk staying for long so I took everything. I'll give it a shot at night and see if there's anything noteworthy," Nik smiled, "Say, Cousin, how's your job?"
"It's well," Suki smiled, "Mistress treats us well."
"Oh, Suki... should we tell him about this morning?" Katara whispered and Suki's cheeks turned somewhat red.
"Do what you want..." She mumbled but it was easy to see that she was curious to find out Nik's reaction to the gossip.
"Nik-"
"How many times have I said to call me honey?" Nik snorted and Katara's lips twitched.
'You're... taking this too seriously!' She whined internally and glanced at Suki. Seeing her almost gloomy expression, a hint of mischief rose in Katara and she lowered her head, "H-honey... anyway," she quickly changed the topic, "As part of our duty, we have to clean up Mistress' room every day. But guess what we saw today?"
"An otter-penguin?" Nik inquired.
"Pfft, what?" Suki chuckled due to the sheer strangeness of the answer.
"She asked me to guess," Nik shrugged.
"No... Mistress' room was... well, messy. Sheets had stains and even the mattress had a few stains and oh gods, the curtain and other items were all over the place!" Katara's gaze glimmered, "And mistress asked us not to speak about it. Well, you can't speak about it either... what do you think?"
"Mayor is a lucky guy?" Nik concluded with a doubtful expression.
"Tsk, tsk," Suki shook her head. She really couldn't stay out of the conversation, "I don't think an old man like Mayor can... be that aggressive. Nik, really, you should have seen the size of the stains. Massive pools, I say! Katara and I think that the Mistress... has someone else..." Suki had a flushed expression, "Anyway, there is another thing... I think we found one of the secret passages..."
She then explained their adventure in their night and how they met Aang. This allowed Nik to take the chance and explain about the secret passage he discovered in the office and Sokka's finding of the catacombs under the palace that acted as a prison for the Earthbenders.
"I see... so these passages might as well be connected to these catacombs—"
"You there," a sharp tone broke their conversation.
Looking towards the speaker, the trio found Kai pointing in their direction.
"Yes, lord?" The trio bowed.
"I have gone through a taxing journey. Of course, I need to take a bath. Prepare water for me," Kai's gaze roamed over the two women. Seeing this, the other servants shrunk their necks.
"Lord, Mistress Michi asked me to prepare a fresh set of clothes..." Suki stated while lowering her head.
"Fine," Kai shrugged before he glanced at Katara, "You will also complete this woman's task while she tends to me."
Katara pursed her lips. If this wasn't enough to anger her, Nik's shameless whisper did send her close to the edge.
"Honey, you're up," Nik smiled internally. If Kai wasn't present, he might have had a laugh or two.
"Sister-in-law... you cannot forget about cousin, alright?" Suki whispered, too and a vein popped on Katara's forehead.
"Hmm? What is it? Why aren't you moving?" Kai frowned.
"Y-yes, Lord," Katara gasped but her eyes glinted.
'Prepare water... sure, sure. I can heat it up real nice...'
Others looked at Nik with pity in their eyes but Suki and Nik were a bit indifferent to it. After bidding farewell, they left in different directions.
Katara did continue to say that she can take care of herself and even now, she didn't look too bothered by it so why try and unnecessarily interfere, right?
'Hmm... I guess Sokka might do something strange if he found out...' Nik mused. His supposed break was cut short because of the investigation but now he did have some time to himself.
"Ah, Nik, there you are. Mistress asked you to bring in evening snacks for her." A dark-haired woman hastily walked over and called out.
"Evening snacks? Is it normal?" Nik inquired. It was his second day at the job, after all.
"Well, she doesn't really demand evening snacks but Miss Mai does. Most probably, Mistress is with her daughter... and you know how Mistress tries to lengthen their time together. So, hurry. You don't want to leave a bad impression when it comes to this matter," Juhi reminded kindly.
"Thanks," Nik nodded with a smile.
---
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Come in," a slightly dry voice sounded. It was Mai.
Opening the door, Nik pushed the cart into the room and he greeted the two women. The Mayor's bedroom didn't have an extra set of furniture for entertaining others but it did have a study and another table set with Michi's cosmetics.
"Yes, you can set them here," Michi smiled and pointed towards her table.
"Well... it's fine if you say so," Mai continued where they left off and failed to notice Michi's gaze and attention attracted to Nik as he set up cups for tea and baked cookies.
'Oh god, we... right there in front of the mirror... good thing the lights were fizzled out but...' Michi began recollecting her memories from last night. Bent against the table, she felt Nik's 'strikes' exceptional.
"Mom? Mother?" Mai finally observed the lack of reply and gazed at Michi.
"Hmm? Yes, sorry, dear. I'm just feeling a little out of it," Michi smiled apologetically and instantly felt a little guilty.
"Oh... it's alright," Mai nodded, "Anyway, as I said back then, I don't particularly care if those children are orphans or not. It's not like we converse daily. But... why are you asking about that?"
Mai questioned, "Those children have been situated here for quite some time now."
"It's nothing, Mai. I just... wanted to talk with you about something..."
"So you chose orphans as a topic?" Mai questioned and before Michi could feel troubled, Nik questioned his way into the conversation.
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"Tea, Miss Mai?" Nik presented the cup as Mai waved her hand nonchalantly.
"She doesn't drink tea. I would like a cup," Michi smiled.
But before going towards her, Nik offered the sweets and Mai finally lowered her head to look at them.
"You can place them here," Mai stated and glanced at Nik in the passing.
Nik already found Mai's attraction to sweets and desserts yesterday.
Once done, he served a cup of tea and cookies to Michi, too.
"Were you questioned, too?" Michi looked at Nik.
"It was all well, Ma'am. But..." Nik revealed a troubled expression. He might not have butted in back then but that didn't mean he didn't even remotely worry about Katara.
"Yes? Speak?" Michi added quickly.
"It's that Lord Kai... asked Katara to prepare water for his bath..." Nik's expression faltered.
*Crunch*
A crisp sound attracted Nik and Michi as they saw a cold Mai stuffing the entire cookie into her mouth, "And... you let him?" Mai questioned. Though masking her expression, Nik could still sense the fury and contempt in her eyes.
"I couldn't ask the palace's maid to not complete her duty... no."
"Whatever, coward," Mai snorted in a mumble and stood up, leaving with her plate of cookies.
Once Mai left, Michi bit her lip and spoke up, "Just wait a moment. I'll straighten Kai out!" She, too, left.
"Well... if you say so," Nik shrugged with a smile and sneaked up one cookie.
'Wow... this is good. The sweetness isn't overbearing and the cookie simply melts into the mouth. This stuff will be good even in the homeworld, right?'
Nik thought to himself and looked around.
'Now... what should I do? I expected Mai to mess with Kai and leave me and Michi alone...'
He found a chair to seat himself. He was still directly serving Michi so unless she dismisses him, he could stay here.
'But would it be too weird if I wasn't even present while the Mistress righteously saves a servant's wife? Then again... if I go there, Kai will be up my ass all day long from then on.'
Leaning back, Nik closed his eyes, 'Man, I wonder what Mitsuko's up to... Yuuko, too. I already miss the smell of a new book.'
While Nik entered his world of wonders, a set of ruthless actions struck Kai bare.
---
"I'm so sorry, Mistress," Katara lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.
'You can't laugh... you cannot laugh!' Katara swore internally while she walked behind Michi who had a wry expression.
"It's no problem, dear. Rest up. And... remind me to have you trained for preparing bathwater. Too high of a temperature... well, you have seen what happened to Kai, right? I can only help you so much at this point. But you cannot be wandering around from now on," Michi exhorted. If possible... just to 'make up' to Katara for doing something worse behind her back, Michi had gone above and beyond, openly chastising the cooked Kai whose mind still reeled with pain and numbness by entering a boiling bath.
Well, to have an angered waterbender prepare one's bath... even Nik felt it was a rookie mistake and he was a genuine rookie in this world.
"Yes, Mistress. I'll try not to cause more troubles," Katara stated, feeling touched. She didn't have the best impression of the people of fire nation so seeing a noble of them all trying to cover up for an immigrant really made Katara feel the need to revaluate her thoughts.
Once Katara left, Michi returned and held the handle of her door. Sighing softly, she entered her room only to find Nik patiently standing by the cart with a slightly obvious look of exhaustion.
"Were you standing all this time?" Michi inquired with a pang jolting her heart.
"Yes," Nik nodded, lying without a change of expression.
He had even refilled the plate with remaining cookies and seeing his questioning look, Michi smiled somewhat.
"It's alright... I took care of it. Do you want to know what happened?"
"Is... it something bad?" Nik hesitated.
"No," Michi sat down and picked up her cup.
"Ah, Ma'am, it's cold—" he stated hurriedly but Michi drained it in an instant.
"Michi... I thought I told you to call me Michi when we're alone," She huffed before setting the cup down, "Anyway... your wife doesn't seem to know how to keep a moderate temperature. Kai actually has some burns over his body because the water was too hot... Katara was in quite a bit of trouble and even I could barely keep her from harm."
'She really can take care of her own skin, huh,' Nik nodded but it was still great that Michi went in to resolve the situation. Nik doubted that Katara would obediently go into any prison and any overt attack would have only exposed all of them.
"Thank you..." Nik nodded.
"By the way, how could you let your wife go on without even trying to protect her?" Michi instantly furrowed her brows. Despite their own immoral acts... she strangely found it distasteful. After all... she didn't want to be with a man without a spine, not after marrying one already.
'Wait, it was just a one-time thing. I can't let it go out of hand!' Michi admonished herself internally but then Nik's words this afternoon rang in her head.
"She asked not to interfere," Nik explained. He didn't even need to lie for this matter, "She is a strong woman... and we both realize that acting out of bounds will not help us but only create more problems. That is why I asked for your help, Michi.
Truly, I'm very grateful... but I reckon that my gratitude is hardly worth anything, right?" His smile turned a bit sad.
'Oi, oi... it's fun to play around but don't overdo it,' Nik, meanwhile, cautioned himself internally.
"It's... true. If you did try to do anything, the situation would have gotten worse. I apologize... I shouldn't have spoken out of turn. And you're wrong!" Michi's voice rose up a notch, "It means a lot... your gratitude. It's worth a lot, I mean."
"Would you like some tea?" Nik smiled and inquired.
"Of course," Michi smiled.
But suddenly, Nik's expression soured and he sighed deeply, "Apologies... the entire pot had grown cold. I can't possibly serve you something cold after such assistance to the likes of me."
"It's alright," Michi shook her head. But seeing Nik walking towards her with a resolute look, her heart thumped.
"Michi... can I ask you something?" Nik sat beside her. Ordinarily, even Michi would have felt anger but... she couldn't muster any. Her chest heaved somewhat and she couldn't help but lean closer to Nik. His subtle scent attracted her attention and his soothing voice calmed her down.
"Last night... are you feeling well now?" Nik questioned. His worries were sincere.
"It's..." Michi hesitated.
"You don't have to talk about it," Nik shook his head, "But... let me lend you a helping hand."
"Helping hand?" Michi gulped, "What do you mean?"
"This," Nik whispered as he leaned in to peck Michi's lips. At this point, Nik felt a little intoxicated. He, who had his freedom taken away and constantly... well, taken care of by Esta, could even get a chance to take everything from someone else... Ukano's wealth, and even his wife...
'Yeah... this is a dangerous territory,' Nik faltered for a moment. It wouldn't be his first time pleasing a married woman but it definitely was his first time doing something with the thought of 'taking.'
"We shouldn't," Michi finally leaned back. She looked uncertain by her own choices. Seeing the complicated look on Nik's face as if he was going through a similar moral crisis, Michi felt a bit worse.
'It's the right thing to do... right?'
Nik and Michi thought simultaneously.
'But...' they both glanced at each other.
'I made up my mind to do things... take initiative. It's good. I made some friends. It's relieving, yeah... but is it wrong to want more... and more and more?' Nik gulped. He hadn't felt this sense of greed last night. It was simple then. He was here to please Michi... but now, his thoughts were clouded. A larger part of him wanted to remove these thoughts but then wouldn't everything remain the same? Wouldn't he be the same? The one marked by Esta and following her creeds even after parting in death.
"I..." Nik whispered. He felt strangely excited. He could say it out loud and let go of the weight held over his chest. If he couldn't even speak 'truthfully' to such a woman who did help him and wanted the same thing... held back by her own customs, then what was the difference between the current him, the past him, and Michi in front of him.
'Someone... has to be true to themselves, right?'
Nik held Michi's hand, "I want to help you. And I stated the only way I know this afternoon..."
Michi blinked and Nik heaved a deep sigh.
"You..." Michi looked away, "You should probably leave. I have a lot— mmphggg!"
Michi almost mewled yet she couldn't. Her eyes narrowed into pleased creases while Nik held her by her waist with one arm and the other one held her chin in his thumb and curled index.
Their lips pressed tightly and his tongue mingled with Michi's. Both of their mouths felt a bit sweeter because of the desserts before.
Only after a few seconds did Nik lean back with an excited flush on his cheeks. There was something... lively about Nik, Michi now realized.
"Do you still want me to leave? I will only accept the truth," Nik grinned.
'Oh... I, who have taught my son and daughter to not lie... cannot possibly go back on my words, right?' Michi forgot various other moral lessons she imparted to her children and finally leaned towards the culprit of all her desires.
"Stay... and lock the doors," She whispered.