Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 213

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

Chapter 213
Bellus parted his lips to voice his concern, his expression sharp as frost, before asking in a somewhat cautious tone.
“You’ve been remarkably composed ever since learning of the Dragon Duke’s memory loss.”
“Is there a reason not to be rational?”
This is familiar to me. When I open my eyes after death, no one remembers me.
“…Being rational and being cold are different things.”
I noticed something small glistening in my Eldest Brother’s eyes.
“This may be overstepping, Matriarch.”
“….”
“Why are you so angry?”
I blinked at those words.
I had come to the adjacent room connected to my chamber for this conversation with Bellus.
Naturally, only my Eldest Brother and I were in the room.
The room, where only breathing could be heard, was utterly silent.
“I don’t know what you mean… Me? I’m perfectly fine.”
“I wish that were true. Unfortunately, we’ve spent far too long together.”
“….”
I crossed my arms. As if to say, go ahead and try.
“My younger sister.”
It was also a way of saying he would speak not as my subordinate, but as my blood.
“When you’re truly angry, your expression doesn’t furrow—it becomes even more vacant, or you smile. Your insides turn utterly cold.”
“Are there orcas who don’t do this?”
“You take it to extremes. That’s why sometimes even you don’t realize how angry you are. Like that day in the previous life when the whale died.”
“….”
A memory surfaced before my eyes like an association effect.
Turning the memory over in my mind, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.
I quietly raised both hands in surrender.
“Living two lives together really is inconvenient like this.”
“I wasn’t the only one who noticed. I stopped Atlant from coming.”
“Ah, you did well.”
Atlant certainly wouldn’t have explained it calmly like Bellus—he would have been far more blunt.
And I definitely would have taken a hit.
“Right now, controlling my strength might be difficult.”
I was quick to admit my mistakes. In a way, it was a virtue necessary for a ruler.
I had to acknowledge my wrongs quickly.
“You’re right. I’m truly very angry right now.”
“Is it because he lost his memory?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
Remarkably so, indeed.
I gazed briefly toward the window.
“Bellus. Do you see that night sky over there? The gap in time I traveled to was a space of absolute darkness without even a single star in that night sky.”
“….”
“I spent three long years there with Ekion, tending to a small bonfire of sorts.”
Sometimes it was peaceful and simple, even happy, but there were also days that felt tedious and unbearable.
Though I never resented him for it.
“It was unavoidable, really. Being there taught me quite a lot about dragons.”
Well, that’s not the important part anyway.
“When Ekion grows up, there’s something I desperately wanted to tell him.”
“….”
“I’m quite frustrated that I can’t say it to him right now.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“But what can I do? There’s no way around it now. So I have to resolve this. I need to help that child live a stable life again.”
“I… sometimes cannot understand the vast compassion you extend toward the Dragon Duke.”
“Why? Because he killed us? Even if it was due to his rampage?”
“….”
“Come on, if we’re going to be like that, then I should resent my three older brothers who turned away from me when I was struggling in my past life, and my father whom I never even met. Bellus.”
“….”
“Our orcas couldn’t begin peacefully precisely because we lacked this kind of understanding and forgiveness.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“The conversation got long, but thank you. My head feels clearer now.”
Bellus seemed to have much to say, but chose to keep his mouth firmly shut instead.
Instead, he bowed deeply and left the room.
Standing alone in the empty room for a moment, I returned to my own chamber.
The man’s gaze followed me as if he had been waiting only for me.
No, he had been watching this place from the moment I opened the door.
“Were you just staring at the door the entire time I was in the next room?”
“…Yes.”
I see. I walked over and flopped down beside the man.
My body relaxed leisurely on the comfortable sofa.
“Why did you do that? I was always going to come back to this room anyway.”
“Will you really come back?”
“Hm?”
“I thought you might not come back.”
At his cryptic words, I turned my head.
“It’s not about me—it’s about the ‘dragon’ who is giving me knowledge now. Dragons always live longer than their companions. They say they spend half their lives waiting.”
I listened quietly to what he was saying.
To put it plainly, because dragons have such long lifespans, when those they’ve chosen as companions die, they spend a long time in longing, waiting only for death.
“When you disappear, I felt something hollow inside me… and it felt strangely familiar.”
“That’s what they call loneliness.”
I told him calmly.
“Actually, I was going to tell Ekion that once he grows up, he doesn’t need to worry anymore and can reveal himself freely throughout the castle. But it seems I’ve run out of time to say that.”
“….”
“I’m sorry for being so cold. It was venting frustration. That boy means a lot to me. I suppose it was hard on me too, thinking I wouldn’t see him.”
When dawn breaks, I won’t hesitate to leave and destroy the remaining Shark bases.
I rested my chin on my hand and smiled faintly. This time, it was a peaceful smile without anger.
“Ask me if you’re curious about anything else.”
The male protagonist stared at me intently.
His eyes were a brilliant golden hue that seemed to draw one in.
Looking at those elongated pupils, like those of a reptile, I even felt a slight sense of enchantment.
“I am curious about something. You said what I felt just now was loneliness.”
“Yes. And?”
The male protagonist’s hand grasped mine. I let him this time as well.
“If you’ve been teaching me so much all along, will you teach me this too?”
The male protagonist took my hand and placed it on his chest.
I flinched without meaning to.
Wait, no matter how open-minded I am, touching a peer’s chest is a bit….
Just as I was about to pull my hand away in awkwardness, I felt a firm sensation at my fingertips.
I couldn’t pull away because of the violent, rapid beating.
It was far too fast.
“….”
A tremendous pulse that seemed to transmit even to my own heart, beating at such a rapid pace.
“From the moment I opened my eyes and saw you, it became like this.”
“….”
“What do humans call this?”
Why am I panicking?
Haven’t I known since nine years ago that Ekion cares for me, that he regards me as special?
And didn’t he even say he placed me in the seat of his companion?
The reason I swallowed my breath without meaning to was probably because of the male protagonist’s earnest gaze.
‘In all my life, I’ve rarely been captivated by a face like this….’
“This is quite bewitching.”
“….”
I frowned but didn’t pull my hand away.
I had harbored some anticipation, imagining what Ekion might look like in the three years that have passed.
Perhaps your grown form might be to my taste.
“This is just a broken heart. It seems to hurt somewhere—will you call a doctor for me?”
“….”
The male protagonist’s gaze lowered.
I felt a taut tension, and seeing his pupils ripple with longing, I let out a small sigh.
My words had pierced him like thorns.
Saving someone comes with responsibility.
Therefore, I have a duty to tell you this.
“It’s love.”
“….”
“You love me.”
Ekion, I always thought the day would come when you’d say those words yourself.
Where did you disappear to?
Leaving me behind.
* * *
The next day.
I rose early and made my rounds, checking weapons and personnel.
“Atlant and Levai move with me. The rest of you—Bellus, you’ll move with Whale and Lirivel.”
Lirivel raised her hand gracefully.
“Wait, why are you assigning a healer to my group?”
“Why? Because you thrash around like an eel more than anyone else. Statistically speaking, it’s likely to be necessary.”
“Tch, what about Atlant?”
“We’ll talk about swapping that out next time after you beat Atlant.”
Ever since Lirivel recovered from her illness, she’d developed an even more violent temperament in combat.
As if she needed to confirm that vigorous movement no longer caused pain and that she no longer had to fear death.
Since it couldn’t be corrected, I had no choice but to leave it as is.
“Father will be inspecting the direction your group is heading, so don’t worry too much.”
“Hmph, I wasn’t worried in the first place.”
According to the plan, Father would move to a nearby city for a time, and Agenor would guard the estate.
“I hope we can clean out all the rot this time. Keep yourselves reasonably cautious.”
I looked up at the sky.
“Today, we erase the Shark’s lair from this world.”
It was the beginning of the final skirmish before the battle for the Imperial Capital.

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