Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 160

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 160
The moment I finished speaking, the audience erupted into a frenzy. I could feel the agitation rippling through every person present.
Of course they were.
Who were these people gathered here?
‘The citizens of the City of Dragons.’
People who revered and respected the Dragon Duke more than anyone else in the world.
In their eyes, the Dragon Duke was far more than just a lord—when rumors spread that he was ill, the entire city had fallen into gloom.
To such people, the Dragon’s Bride was a person prepared solely for the Dragon Duke.
‘Even if the darker meaning of “sacrifice” lurked beneath the surface.’
She was an important figure no one but the Dragon Duke himself could ever touch.
Why would they have granted the Dragon’s Bride a position equal to the Dragon Duke’s otherwise?
No matter how much terror and infamy the Dragon Duke Panterion had spread throughout the Empire—this fact could not be overturned.
More bluntly, a mere lord’s proxy had dared to lay hands on the bride who should only ever be touched by the Dragon Duke himself, if at all.
“I exist for the Dragon Duke’s sake. If I had been injured, wouldn’t he have had to accept a bride who was no longer whole?”
The atmosphere had shifted irrevocably against the black panthers.
My final words only amplified the turmoil.
“….”
I found the Dragon Duke Panterion’s bewilderment utterly amusing.
Who would have thought these people, crushed under such immense power, could be swayed and driven like this? You’ll never resolve this situation.
You who have been arrogant your entire lives have never faced anything like this before.
Yes, stay silent like that.
As time passes, the air, the atmosphere, everything will shift further in my favor.
Indeed, someone was already approaching the Dragon Duke Panterion, speaking to him with barely contained rage.
Likely a retainer of the Dragon Duke’s faction, his face had turned crimson with fury, as if about to burst.
‘Yes. There are those who show such blind loyalty toward the Dragon Duke.’
An inexplicable anger welled up inside me.
Why couldn’t Ekion receive help from such devoted subordinates? Why did he have to remain trapped in that dark room?
Curses rose in my throat at the Emperor and their actions.
You won’t be able to easily quell this wave of unrest.
I know it.
What choice the Dragon Duke Panterion will ultimately make here.
“Damn it, what have you done to the Dragon’s Bride!”
“Explain yourselves!”
“Does the Dragon Duke know about this!!”
Just as I expected, the turmoil swelled until discontent finally erupted….
At last, before everyone’s gaze, the Dragon Duke Panterion slowly opened his mouth.
“It seems there has been some misunderstanding.”
When the Dragon Duke Panterion spoke, the commotion quieted momentarily. Yet countless angry eyes remained fixed upon him.
“The scene unfolding before us certainly appears as though we were attempting to commit an outrageous act.”
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
I anticipated two possible reactions from the Dragon Duke.
One was him questioning whether anyone would believe that scene was truly the power of water, not something the orcas had orchestrated.
Had he said that, the situation would have spiraled into catastrophe.
Because the spectators had already accepted what I showed them as absolute truth.
Any attempt at excuse would have looked pathetic.
And the other option was.
“But let me speak truthfully here.”
Acknowledging that scene, yet….
“I admit we created a scene that could be misunderstood. However, I declare there were unavoidable reasons for it.”
Throwing blame on the one who orchestrated this situation.
“Though it was kept quiet, I will reveal it now. That girl… could not become a legitimate Dragon’s Bride.”
I laughed bitterly.
Of course. Your choice is obvious.
“We are currently assisting in managing this city due to health concerns of the esteemed Dragon Duke! All beastkin here, think about it—our decisions cannot be unilateral. Everything is done with the Dragon Duke’s approval!”
The angry sentiment of the crowd subsided momentarily.
A convincing argument. ‘We’re only moving because your master allowed it, aren’t we?’
“We received the Dragon Duke’s request and have begun a re-examination of whether the current Dragon’s Bride is qualified.”
“….”
“Especially since the bride was originally supposed to be formally presented two years from now!”
Naturally, a bride arriving ahead of schedule would seem suspicious.
The Dragon Duke chose to fabricate the reason.
A rather clever choice.
“During our investigation, we discovered suspicious points and asked the Dragon’s Bride to accompany us for questioning. Since there was no sound in that scene, you all here didn’t know—but the Dragon Duke would have been at the location we took her to.”
He spoke as if he had witnessed both the beginning and end of the scene, though he wasn’t even present.
“My son would have been trying to guide her to where the Dragon Duke is.”
Ah. So you’re the mastermind behind Assel’s kidnapping attempt?
I watched quietly. Atlant was looking at me with a slightly bewildered expression.
He seemed unable to speak, worried his voice might carry. But the meaning in his eyes was clear.
Hey, are you sure about this?
That’s what he was asking.
I answered with the shape of my lips.
‘Have you ever seen me lose a fight?’
I immediately demonstrated through action.
“Wait a moment.”
I suddenly cut off the Dragon Duke’s nonsense.
“So the reason you attacked me was to take me to the Dragon Duke?”
I didn’t give him time to protest and continued immediately.
“That’s ridiculous. Then you should have escorted me properly. Why attempt kidnapping?”
What I did by simply watching was wait for you to create your own trap.
“And the Dragon Duke was looking for me? That doesn’t seem right.”
Your words will bind your ankles.
“Haven’t I already met the Dragon Duke?”
“Nonsense! Now you’re spouting disgusting lies. He is currently….”
“Indisposed, you say? Well, I suppose that’s true.”
I smiled with amusement.
“But he seemed to have no trouble walking, speaking, or listening.”
It was rather delightful to watch the Dragon Duke forget the presence of so many people in this place and reveal his flustered bewilderment.
What did this mean?
“It’s the truth. How else could I have arrived here?”
The Dragon’s Bride must, by principle, remain only within the Dragon’s Castle.
A bride can only move when….
“The Dragon Duke came here with me.”
Either the Dragon Duke permitted it, or he accompanied me directly.
I opened my hand. I felt blood flowing from my fingertips.
A power as familiar as my own heartbeat bloomed from my hand like a lotus flower.
Ah, how I had longed to use this power.
It was both tender and beloved.
My power of water.
The color of water I wielded was ever-changing—from deep blue to pale sky blue like Atlant’s.
“Power of water?”
My Father’s voice came, tinged with slight surprise.
“…It’s a beautiful color.”
Even this resonating voice—I smiled gratefully in response and turned toward the audience.
“The Dragon Duke was present here as well.”
At the same moment, I bowed elegantly like a performer.
“He merely concealed his form.”
Though the power was exceedingly subtle, the applications available to me who had once stood at the pinnacle were infinite.
In this moment, an illusion like a mirage created through the refraction of water.
Someone stood beside me.
An illusion so precise it was unbelievable that it was made of water.
What I had created was an adult man.
‘I never thought I’d see this again.’
Blue hair swayed gently.
A man with pale white skin, cold and piercing eyes, and an elegant yet doll-like, inorganic appearance.
The sea—yes, when I first saw this man, I believe I thought of the sea.
Beside me stood the form of the Dragon Duke from the third cycle, seen directly before destruction.
In other words, the adult form of Ekion stood there.
“What do you think, Dragon Duke?”
I smiled as if I knew nothing.
“How do you find this situation?”
The people seemed bewildered.
Whispers reached my ears.
“…Wasn’t the Dragon Duke in his younger form just now?”
“That’s what I thought too….”
“But that’s definitely the Dragon Duke! He looks exactly as he did in his childhood!”
The Dragon Duke Panterion and Assel would surely be shocked as well.
As expected, the moment I revealed the Dragon Duke’s appearance, chaos erupted around Panterion, and I could see several people rushing away.
I smiled secretly.
On our side, Atlant was quietly slipping away under the cover of the confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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