Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 173

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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 173
At my question, Lili’s pink cheeks drained of color, and she couldn’t utter a single word.
Looking at her, she was a remarkably perceptive child who understood everything I said.
She knew how to be wary of people, and even in the original story, she had lived quite cleverly before being adopted.
‘Yet she trusted me so easily.’
Why hadn’t I noticed something so obvious from the beginning?
‘Because I’m the female lead?’
While I was lost in thought, I failed to notice Lili’s condition.
When I looked back at her, I saw a small child barely holding back glistening tears.
As if she would be scolded if she let them fall, she held them in with all her might.
Her cheeks, which had been pale, were now flushed red from holding her breath.
“Why are you crying?”
At my gentle voice, tears began streaming down the child’s large eyes as if she’d been waiting for permission.
Somehow, her small hand had grasped the hem of my clothes.
So delicately that she could let go instantly if I pushed her away.
“Ugh….”
I suppressed a groan that threatened to escape.
‘Thinking of Ekion is making my heart soften….’
“Come here.”
I called Lili over and gently wiped away her thick tears with my hand.
“Don’t cry.”
Nod, nod.
Lili nodded earnestly while tears continued to stream down her face sorrowfully.
‘This is pointless if I keep wiping them away.’
It was fun being a villain in front of Palaya, but being a villain in front of Lili doesn’t feel quite right.
“Sigh….”
I pointed to Lili’s hand, which was clutching me tightly.
“It’s because of a certain dragon that I’m weak to things like this.”
When I smiled comfortably, Lili’s face brightened slightly.
I don’t want to see a child reading my mood like that.
Since I lived my whole life eating the bread of others’ eyes, I don’t want to see another child do the same.
“So can you answer my question?”
If Atlant had seen this, he would have stared with an astonished expression.
It wasn’t often that I asked so gently.
“Y-yes, I like you, sister….”
It wasn’t an answer to my question.
Instead of being disappointed, I tilted my head curiously.
“Why?”
What came to mind was the image of Palaya bound tightly and collapsed on the ground.
“Please, just tell me one thing. Why are you treating Lili like this…?”
Actually, just before parting with Palaya this afternoon, he briefly stopped me as I turned to leave.
Then he asked me this. Palaya looked like he was dying of curiosity.
I didn’t answer him.
I lifted my eyes and gazed at the young boy.
“Why… are you being so kind to me?”
…Was this how Father felt when he first saw me? It wasn’t a question a three-year-old should be asking.
“Sometimes, even the smallest act of kindness can become great solace to someone.”
“…”
“The kind of comfort that’s never forgotten for a lifetime.”
I think this way too, in a sense.
What was this child’s small kindness, brief as it was?
But what could I do about it?
I was a regressor.
Some memories, no matter how much I want to forget them, remain unforgotten as I live my next life.
It was just your small kindness.
“I like you. I… I don’t think you’ll hurt Lili.”
“…”
“Not like those two golden-haired people…”
Lili released my hem and grasped her own clothes, trembling.
“But Lili, you saw Palaya bound, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, I saw.”
“Why aren’t you afraid?”
“…”
“We could make you the same way, Lili.”
Telling a three-year-old child not to trust anyone is too cruel.
Should I be cruel to this child?
“You saved me.”
“…”
“You never hurt me.”
Lili hesitated before speaking.
Palaya was a good older brother, but he couldn’t stop the Dragon Duke.
Lili’s story was disjointed, but not difficult to understand.
She brought up what happened at the Black Panther’s residence, and the story flowed to when I first opened my eyes in our carriage.
“I’ve seen you in my dreams.”
“…What?”
“In my dreams, you were crying. Sobbing hard.”
“…”
The child’s kind and gentle eyes turned toward me.
“I hope you won’t cry.”
I could feel the determination in her carefully chosen words.
I gazed quietly for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“Yes, that’s enough.”
I wiped away the tears and patted gently. Soon, with a soft pop, the tiny Baby Squirrel appeared before me again.
“Stay comfortable until your brother comes to get you. That’s all we ask for.”
The Baby Squirrel nestled into the empty space in my arms, burrowing deeper while tears streamed down its face.
I stroked it gently while my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
‘A version of me that cries.’
It might just be a dream, but I didn’t accept it as such.
If it was a past cycle.
‘Why is someone appearing who remembers their previous life?’
Atlant was already in a situation where he remembered his past existence.
I fell into serious contemplation.
The next day, I rode in the carriage again, traveling on and on until I finally arrived at Aquasiadel territory.
For quite some time.
* * *
“Noble Lady, how do you plan to obtain the remaining materials?”
“Hmm, I have an idea in mind.”
I had arrived at the Aquasiadel estate.
I answered Levai’s question while gazing at the familiar mansion.
We would arrive at the mansion shortly.
“Whale, are you feeling alright?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
“Thank you for treating Tus. I’ll definitely repay this kindness.”
As I smiled and lightly touched Whale’s shoulder, he turned his head away with a surprisingly stern expression.
“…I did it because I wanted to.”
Being such a kind-hearted Whale, he couldn’t abandon the pitiful patient before him.
Still… gratitude is gratitude.
“Orcas repay both grudges and favors decisively. Tell me what you want later, or decide now.”
I spoke cheerfully and looked out the window.
Not long after we finally arrived at the mansion, we heard news from the Dragon’s City.
After we left, the rebellion that occurred in the Dragon’s Castle had been suppressed.
However, the citizens of the Dragon’s City refused the Black Panther’s rule and no longer followed the Mainland Beasts.
The Land Turtle Beastkin declared they would handle the Dragon’s Castle’s internal affairs until the Dragon Duke returned.
As proof, they presented documents bearing the Dragon Duke’s own handwriting.
What I gave the Land Turtle Beastkin wasn’t just a letter.
‘They’re using it quite effectively. Well, I gave it to them for that purpose anyway.’
Once documents bearing the Dragon Duke’s signature appeared, the Black Panthers, having lost public support, no longer made forced claims.
Since it was a city sustained by its people, there was nothing more they could do.
The citizens supporting the Land Turtle Beastkin was one factor, but they likely feared the Dragon’s wrath if they massacred the territory’s people.
They would have understood.
If the Dragon Duke learned to speak and awakened his intellect, he might soon learn anger and rampage through the city if he wasn’t careful—that was the crux of their concern.
‘They know about a dragon’s rampage, so they can’t act carelessly.’
After hearing this much, I let out a bitter laugh.
‘How pathetic.’
They kept the Dragon Duke confined, never letting him know how much the citizens loved him.
And now, the moment they judged he was beginning to learn wisdom, they were shifting their stance.
‘Despicable bastards.’
I ground my teeth. But retribution wasn’t my responsibility.
The grown Ekion would pay the price for what they’d made of the dragon’s city.
Would they ever realize they’d simply created an enormous ally for me in the form of the Dragon Duke?
“Calypso?”
“Calypso! Your expression is scary!”
I smoothed the identical face before me with both hands.
“Looking at you like this, you really do seem like brothers.”
“No, I’m the Dragon Duke, Lord Tus is—”
“Right, right. Weren’t you reading books to Ekion? Keep going.”
We had just safely returned to Father’s estate.
I was planning to report back to the Matriarch in about a day, or perhaps half a day if we were quick.
“Noble Lady, Pierre. The Matriarch is looking for you.”
It seemed the old woman was more impatient than I’d thought.
I had to pay my respects to the Matriarch less than an hour after unpacking.
And moreover.
“I think it’s better you go alone.”
Because Father sent me alone, it became a private audience.
I understood Father’s intention immediately.
‘He’s giving me all the credit.’
What happened in the dragon’s city must have already reached Grandmother.
As expected.
When I arrived at the Matriarch’s office, I was met with an expression I’d never seen from her before.
“Ho, a hero has come.”
The Matriarch, who had been sitting with her legs crossed, rose from her seat.
“Calypso Aquasiadel.”
My name flowed from the Matriarch’s lips like a stone, a pebble, a rock, a boulder.
I met her gaze with a composed expression.
“How do you like what I’ve accomplished?”
As the question was posed, a hearty smile bloomed across Grandmother’s face.
“I should strip you of your title as Dragon’s Bride.”
In her eyes as she looked me over was something new.
Satisfaction. Contentment.
“You’re too talented to waste on a duke locked away in his castle.”
It was something I had never felt even when looking at Baian, who came closest to the successor’s position in my previous life.
Something I hadn’t felt even when looking at Bellus.
“Those mainland beasts, especially those arrogant Black Panthers—what a shame I couldn’t see their faces directly.”
“….”
“Yes, I acknowledge the merit of kicking that foul-smelling rump and coming here.”
A powerful voice resonated through the office. I could feel just how pleased the Orca Family Matriarch was.
I could guess what would come next.
“Is there anything you desire?”
Yes, I knew she would ask this. Instead of continuing to smile brightly, I lifted only one corner of my mouth in a slight smirk.
“Yes. There is.”
Go ahead and laugh all you want.
You won’t be able to laugh for much longer anyway.

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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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