Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 169

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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 169
Even as I listened to the Land Turtle Leader speak, I couldn’t tear my gaze from his massive frame.
‘Everything with an elephant attached to it tends to be enormous.’
Just as the Elder had answered me without hesitation earlier, I too fixed my eyes upon him with an equally composed expression.
Looking up at him like this, my neck was beginning to ache considerably.
“So you are the current Dragon’s Bride, and the one who recently elevated her name as a bride in Poseidon.”
Unlike the crocodile-turtle Beastkin who had guided me earlier, the Land Turtle Leader already knew who I was.
“I never expected you to seek us out.”
“In truth, it’s your role. When a guest arrives, the head Retainer must greet them.”
“….”
The Elder chuckled softly.
“It’s merely past glory.”
“Do you truly believe that? That it has passed?”
“….”
“It wasn’t stolen?”
I knew these people hadn’t simply remained confined to their homes.
“…Surely you didn’t come to provoke us, honored one.”
The Elder’s eyes were brown.
Yet as he sat where the sunlight fell upon him, they appeared golden-brown depending on the angle.
They were a similar color to Ekion’s, yet far deeper and more profound.
“What business brings you to us, one who has wielded such tremendous machinations to shake the entire City of Dragons?”
Machinations.
I smiled as though innocent.
“Before such talk, I’d prefer to observe proper courtesy and decorum, but I’m short on time. Would it be alright to proceed directly to the matter at hand?”
“It’s fine. We also have something we’ve been wanting to ask you.”
Good. Let’s both get straight to it then. I crossed my arms.
“I’ve come to make you a proposal.”
A small child standing arrogantly before an Elder of massive stature.
Had anyone witnessed it, they might have found it amusing, yet the atmosphere was infinitely grave.
I smiled faintly.
“Did you happen to see me make those higher-ups who reduced you to this state eat dirt? I hear you saw it all—how does it feel?”
“…Is that the main point?”
“Yes.”
For the first time, I sensed bewilderment from the Elder.
“What I did then—how would it be if, by your own hands, you made those land beasts eat dirt once more?”
The Elder did not answer immediately.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Yes, but?”
“Then I would like to ask our question.”
“Go ahead.”
The Elder answered with composure, as though he had not lived his long life in vain.
“…Is the Dragon Duke safe?”
But he could not know.
No matter how many years you have lived, it would be comparable to mine or perhaps even less than what I have endured.
That is why I detected worry and concern in the Elder’s voice, which he was trying so hard to conceal.
Here, I had to choose from several options.
Should I gently probe and uncover his true feelings?
Should I charge straight ahead?
Or should I provoke him?
Soon after, I answered with composure.
“Can you swear an oath to the earth?”
I pride myself on my ability to read people. The worry visible in the Elder’s eyes.
“Stake your life on it.”
This was the first time I had met someone in this place who worried about Ekion.
“If you keep everything I say from this moment until your death in silence, I will tell you.”
“I will do so.”
The oath to the earth, which served the same purpose as an oath to water. Only after this oath was complete did I confess to the Elder.
“The Dragon Duke is under our protection.”
In that moment, tears streamed down the Elder’s face.
I froze.
Soon after, the Elder collapsed to the ground with a thud, then struggled to kneel properly.
For an Elder without legs, achieving a proper posture must have been extraordinarily difficult.
Yet the Elder, sweating profusely, still bowed to me.
Most respectfully.
“…As the representative of all retainers, I greet the benefactor of our city.”
It was a peculiar feeling.
“Thank you… truly, thank you…. For saving our Dragon Duke from their grasp….”
Drip, drip. Perhaps because of his large frame, even his tears fell in thick streams.
In my past life, did my retainers feel this way when they thought of me?
I would never know, having never been a retainer myself.
‘I think I should offer a towel rather than a handkerchief.’
I knew this was an odd thought for such a moment, but I could not help it. I am clumsy at comfort.
On the other hand, I pondered. He seemed to know about the Imperial Palace’s affairs.
‘How much does he know?’
While focusing my sharpened instincts, a peculiar feeling still lingered in one corner of my heart.
Ekion, I had thought you were a lonely person cast aside in that castle.
It seems my earlier assumption was wrong.
So I am relieved.
Even kneeling, the Elder’s eyes were nearly level with mine.
After staring at him for a moment, I suddenly asked without calculation.
“If I return the Dragon Duke to you, would you be able to protect this city going forward?”
The Elder’s eyes wavered for a moment, but only briefly. As if the passage of years was merely a surface mark.
His gaze returned to its depths as he answered.
“No. We cannot protect it.”
I had engaged in this debate long ago.
Where does strength come from?
My subordinates had each argued over their own powerful bodies, strong willpower, or remarkable abilities like water manipulation or teleportation.
My thoughts were these.
“You must first acknowledge your own weakness.”
To believe that you can defeat anyone and emerge victorious from any battle is arrogance and conceit.
The strong distinguish between what they can and cannot do.
“I understand now why you Land Turtle Beastkin haven’t perished.”
“….”
“You were cowering in the darkness, weren’t you?”
“Is that what you believe? We are merely those who were defeated and withdrew.”
“In nature, a turtle’s shell becomes the driving force to endure any hardship and environment.”
“….”
“You’ve been honing that great shield of yours so it doesn’t rust. In secret.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because I believe it’s safer to protect the Dragon Duke myself. The fact that you’re calculating means you haven’t given up yet.”
“….”
The Elder stared at me, then let out a hearty laugh as if bewildered.
“…Indeed. I’m confused whether I’m conversing with the Matriarch of a great house or with this small Noble Lady before my eyes.”
“I’m both.”
“….”
“Well, I’ll be Matriarch soon. Should I say it’s a matter of the near future?”
I extended my hand to the Elder.
“So, what of my proposal?”
“…What exactly do you want from us?”
“In fairy tales, turtles are said to be wise. Haven’t you figured it out yet?”
“Haha, is there such a tale?”
I watched the Elder return to his seat with quiet composure, as if he had never knelt. He seemed accustomed to walking alone.
“I’m going to take the Dragon Duke to a safe place.”
“A sound plan.”
The Elder listened to my explanation for a long while, then slowly nodded.
“Very well. I will participate. However, there is a condition.”
“…What condition?”
Now it was the Elder’s turn to smile kindly.
“Swear to me that you will protect the Dragon Duke’s safety.”
* * *
For Ekion to truly live, he must go elsewhere.
The Land Turtle Leader accepted my argument far too easily, as if he had always harbored such thoughts.
Having been pushed aside for eight years, he must have felt it keenly.
That he could not protect them among the land beasts.
‘He’s actually returning him on the condition of swearing an oath to water.’
Well, it wasn’t entirely unexpected, but when the condition was proposed, it was quite pleasant.
“I will take responsibility for what comes after.”
He said he would gather those who had been cast out alongside them but still held tremendous loyalty toward the Dragon Duke.
I watched the Land Turtle Leader make his firm promise, then handed him something.
“What is this?”
“A letter from the Dragon Duke. I’m also a messenger.”
“….”
The Elder, as if he had never been a steadfast leader, accepted the letter I offered with trembling hands.
Seeing that crumbling expression, I thought it wasn’t something I should witness and stepped outside.
“Did it go well?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
We were on our way back, escorted by the crocodile-turtle Beastkin who had guarded the door.
“But why do you have that expression?”
“What do you mean?”
“You look bothered. You do.”
“….”
I wiped my face.
“Yes, somewhat. The plan I’ve set in motion will inevitably… come with sacrifices.”
“What does it matter?”
I turned my head slightly.
Atlant wore an indifferent expression.
“Didn’t they accept it knowing that much? Those guys.”
“That’s right.”
“Then just think about it that way. You’re cold-blooded, yet sometimes you become annoyingly sentimental.”
Though his tone was blunt, I could feel him attempting an awkward consolation.
I laughed softly.
“…That’s what they call being a good leader, Second Brother.”
After saying this, I brushed off the image of the Land Turtle Leader.
I had shared the plan and conveyed Ekion’s message, so what they thought and accepted afterward was their responsibility.
‘Besides, it’s not over yet.’
I rolled my neck back and forth.
“This is annoyingly difficult to get back.”
I laughed at Atlant’s grumbling.
“Did you think going back would be easy? Mountains are always harder to descend than to climb.”
“Don’t act like an adult. Sometimes I think about it—do you realize how completely it doesn’t suit that body of yours?”
“Ah, yes. I’m glad my younger sister looks so adorable to you.”
“Who are you calling—!!”
The Dragon’s Castle came into view as we returned. Thanks to Atlant being beside me, we slipped back into my chambers without drawing attention.
‘Well, now that I’ve met the victims of malice and offered them goodwill.’
What comes next?
I smiled wickedly upon seeing a young boy bound tightly in the room.
‘Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that bastard’s face.’
Now it was time for me to become a ruthless villain.

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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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