Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 162

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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 162
In my previous life, I had participated in wars and witnessed countless casualties, so my instincts were screaming at me now.
That existence is in a dangerous state!
There is a scent that only emanates from those standing at the crossroads between life and death. It cannot be described as any physical smell.
It was closer to a sixth sense.
“What are you doing? Take him immediately.”
Atlant moved toward the bulging blanket.
As he did, he ground his teeth.
He had no interest in children. That was natural. In my previous life, I never married nor had any offspring.
I lived obsessed with battle my entire life. I was satisfied living as the Matriarch’s weapon.
But now… perhaps it was because that respected Matriarch and younger sister had become a small child.
Naturally, Atlant felt compassion for children for the first time in his existence.
That damned Dragon Duke brat also looked young. Moreover, the tiny squirrel that Calypso had picked up somehow looked like it had its mouth full of chestnuts, and seemed so fragile that a light tap would make it drop acorns and collapse.
‘Damn it, this is all because of you, Matriarch and Calypso.’
Atlant grumbled inwardly while bringing his hand to the bulging blanket.
I don’t know who you are, but now…
It’s time to go home, little one.
My sister will make a home for you. At least this doesn’t seem to be your home.
“Atlant, wait. This might be dangerous…!”
“Dangerous? What’s dangerous about it?”
That intellectual over there seemed not to have noticed, but there was only one dying child in this room.
To prove this, Atlant swept the blanket away.
“…!”
Levai couldn’t hide his shock at the sight revealed on the bed.
I thought I had seen quite harsh things while being chased by sharks and enduring various conflicts.
But faced with the small existence before my eyes trembling as if about to die, I could say nothing.
He was so small.
A body smaller and more frail than Whale, whom I cherished so dearly.
‘…An appearance identical to the Dragon Duke.’
Yet while the Dragon Duke had grown, this one remained small, never having grown at all.
Wearing a pure white shirt, with old dark red stains here and there on the fabric and dark smudges across dark pants—what could they be?
Levai could easily discern.
‘…How pitiful.’
Had the terrestrial beast predators truly been raising the Dragon Duke like this?
Hearing about it and seeing it directly carried different weight.
Even Drex, who stood impassively, had lost his words.
“…If I had not sworn the oath of the sea to keep silent about everything that happened here, I would have spread this madness throughout the entire aquatic beastkin territory.”
Levai also sympathized with Drex’s rare lengthy words.
Only Atlant watched the child breathing with difficulty, his expression blank.
“What we need to do is not indulge in sentiment but move according to orders.”
“…I apologize.”
Atlant reached out to the Young Boy instead of answering.
However, Atlant’s hand soon hesitated.
‘Damn it, this is awkward. Where am I supposed to grab him?’
Atlant’s face contorted.
Then Levai handed him something from beside him.
“Use this, sir. If you wrap him gently with this soft cloth and hold him, it should work.”
“Ah. Thanks.”
Atlant gently wrapped Tus and held him, and the child flinched before very slowly lifting his head.
Rather, it was closer to raising his gaze with pitiful, labored effort.
When their eyes met, Atlant was startled. He already knew it, but the Young Boy had the same face and the same colored eyes as the Dragon Duke.
The moment Tus took in Atlant’s appearance, he blinked, then broke into a bright smile.
“Ah, Calypso.”
“What? She’s my younger sister….”
“You smell like Calypso.”
His face was pure and utterly without suspicion.
“Why did you come?”
Tus mumbled.
“Calypso said she’d come later.”
“…Yeah. That seems to be the case, but she couldn’t sleep at night worrying about you.”
The child frowned slightly as if in pain, yet tilted his head innocently.
“I’m her errand boy. But more than that… why do you trust me so readily? Even if I said I smell like her, you should suspect me first. Look, shouldn’t you ask, ‘Who the hell are you?’ Don’t you know how to do that?”
“But….”
Tus mumbled his mouth as if the inside hurt, but blinked as he spoke.
“Tus knows good people. You’re good.”
“Ha, in all my life, this is the first time I’ve heard something like that.”
Atlant clicked his tongue and adjusted his hold on Tus. The weight was so light that words escaped him.
Atlant’s teeth clenched.
If Baian, who was already dead but had tormented and killed only the weak during his lifetime, was in some hell somewhere.
Then those who made this child this way should be cast into the pit of fire beside him.
“For now, we’re going to take you out of here.”
“Tus, can I leave?”
Atlant fell silent for a moment.
“Even if I die, do you think I’d follow someone like you?!”
“Then die if you must. But I have no intention of killing anyone weaker than me. Go and die on your own.”
“….”
“If you don’t like me, you can leave without taking my hand.”
What flashed through Atlant’s mind was a single word Calypso had once said to him in his past life.
“Don’t sell your freedom by pretending to submit.”
Calypso respected the freedom of others in any situation.
Whether strong or weak.
“What do you want to do?”
“….”
“I am Calypso’s weapon. So I will bring you without question. But.”
“….”
“If you wish to stay here, I will remember your will and convey it to Calypso.”
“…I want to go.”
Tus’s expression clouded.
Tus hesitated, but then understood.
Ah, so I can say it’s difficult now.
Pearl-like tears dropped from the young snake’s eyes.
“Sob, Dragon, Duke, I want, to see you….”
From the moment I could speak of my suffering, snake scales rose and fell across the skin of the child wearing the Dragon Duke’s form.
Though my strength had weakened, I had hidden it and struggled to maintain the Dragon Duke’s appearance before the Imperial Palace and the land’s beasts.
But now I realized there was no need for that.
“Yes.”
Atlant patted the child’s shoulder lightly and lifted him into his arms again.
“We return.”
“Yes.”
Levai and Drex nodded respectfully.
It was not yet over.
The journey back remained—requiring as much caution as the way in, or perhaps even more difficult.
‘Looking at his condition, it seems he’ll have trouble running.’
Atlant’s expression grew grave.
* * *
“He really is the Dragon Duke!”
As time passed, the spectators’ confusion and astonishment only grew rather than subsided.
After all, they had witnessed the Dragon Duke with their own eyes—it was hard to tell if it was a dream or reality.
Moreover, the Dragon Duke, known to be ill, stood before them effortlessly in adult form, which naturally raised questions.
‘Even those questions fall within my plan.’
I had already seen several knights hurrying away.
Atlant had also slipped out.
‘By now, Levai should be well underway rescuing Tus.’
I needed to buy as much time as possible for a smooth rescue.
That was why I chose to prove the Dragon Duke’s vitality.
Moreover, by showing his adult form first, I amplified the confusion, preventing people from thinking of anything else.
Even that magnificent Black Panther Duke fell captive to the facts before his eyes.
“Since the Dragon Duke is here, why not ask him directly?”
Soon after, the Duke grasped the railing and leaped up, then jumped down without hesitation.
With the prowess of a beast, he displayed tremendous jumping power, and as he landed, the earth rose up to catch him.
Soon after, the Dragon Duke stood before me.
My Father, who had remained quiet until now, approached my side with a wary expression.
“I don’t know what trick you’ve used, but are you asking us to believe that fake right now?”
The way he emphasized the word “fake” suggested he was speaking for the audience’s benefit.
Though he pretended otherwise, the fact that he rushed out like this told me everything.
‘He’s more than just flustered.’
I answered with composure.
“What are you talking about? Isn’t it rude to call the Dragon Duke standing right before your eyes a fake?”
“I’m simply calling a fake a fake.”
“In what way?”
“The current Dragon Duke appears to be a child of about seven years old. He’s still in his growth period.”
“I see. So the adult-looking Dragon Duke standing here is not the real one?”
The more I answered with a smile, the more rigid the Dragon Duke became.
“Then I’ll ask as well. Is it true that the Dragon Duke is ill?”
“…What are you saying? We have no reason to lie.”
Is that so?
“Well, if he’s truly ill, that’s quite strange, isn’t it?”
I glanced subtly toward the Dragon Duke—the illusion I had created.
The adult Dragon Duke naturally raised his hand, generating something like a dark blue sphere in his palm.
The Dragon Duke flinched.
‘He knows exactly what that is. It’s a power only the Dragon Duke can use.’
It’s merely a recreation of the Dragon Duke from my third playthrough’s appearance.
But it’s perfect for buying time against this man.
“If the Dragon Duke were truly ill, there’s no way the City of Dragons, which has maintained its manual for when the Dragon Duke was young and sickly for nearly two thousand years, wouldn’t have it.”
“…”
“Why are you acting as regent instead of the Dragon Duke’s loyal retainers?”
Our conversation is being broadcast live. You won’t be able to answer this question carelessly, and I knew that when I threw it at you.
“Not content with showing false information, you’re trying to deceive the masses with honeyed words. You’re not fit to be the Dragon’s Bride.”
It’s laughable to talk about qualifications when I already know I’m a sacrifice.
“So? What will you do?”
“Looking at that Dragon Duke now.”
The Dragon Duke’s eyes gleamed cold and dark. It was a sharp light.
“He hasn’t uttered a single sound. The Dragon Duke is not mute.”
“…”
I didn’t panic and let out a quiet laugh.
“Correct.”

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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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