Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 234

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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 234
The moment Hauser finished speaking, his eyes narrowed with predatory intent.
Though that gaze—sharp as a hunter’s before the kill—was directed at me, I remained silent for a long time.
After a moment, I moved.
Only as I finally left the room did Hauser hear the answer he sought from me.
This cooperation is temporary.
Hauser’s lips curved upward.
* * *
Whale’s position within Aquasiadel was somewhat peculiar.
Unlike most whales who had established themselves in Aquasiadel where the Orca dwelled, the beluga whales had long been wandering beastkin living in small numbers.
Because of this, despite possessing formidable physical abilities, they had neither established a family nor achieved any noble status.
True to a world where strength was everything, the pressure of the class system was lighter, yet it could not be said to be entirely absent.
In any case, Whale was a commoner without a family, and there were no beastkin of his kind to support him either.
However, Whale possessed healing abilities.
If the environment was right, he could save even a beastkin on the brink of death.
A miraculous power possessed by a beastkin.
That was why even the Orca did not treat him carelessly.
Those who fought frequently always kept injuries in mind.
Moreover, Calypso actively supported Whale’s abilities and talents, generously providing him an entire building for research.
Whale himself felt his status had risen.
‘Of course, this status and power are not what I desired.’
Though Pierre was only a temporary Matriarch, most beastkin had marveled at and respected Calypso even when he held the position.
A noble lady without even a unique water affinity, yet the youngest who surpassed all her older brothers.
Considering that the Matriarchs had all been female throughout generations, I was certain Calypso would become the next Matriarch.
Even those unaware that she had defeated Ocula would believe this.
Whale found the trust Calypso gave him truly sweet.
Yet on the other hand, her trust drew a line and contained a warning not to cross it further, which left him wanting.
The young noble lady who had saved him from pursuit in his childhood was, the more he knew her, a person harboring great secrets.
That he had come to love Calypso could perhaps be called inevitable.
“So, it leaves no scars?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Whale slowly turned his head.
There stood a woman with an appearance entirely different from Calypso’s—sharp and aloof in demeanor.
It was Lirivel.
Once a girl whose name had been listed among the candidates for the next generation’s successor alongside Calypso.
She had accepted defeat cleanly, and later had even personally offered her own father to Calypso, who had cured her incurable illness.
“Is that so? Scars wouldn’t bother me anyway. Well, that’s good. I’m grateful.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Lirivel rotated her freshly healed shoulder in circles.
She had exposed her scarred arm entirely for the treatment, but both Whale and Lirivel focused solely on the wounds without any emotional reaction.
“If there’s any discomfort—”
“There isn’t. Your treatment is always like this anyway.”
Lirivel answered coldly and curtly, pulling on her clothes.
“Do you happen to know anything about my mother?”
“Yes, I do. You’re referring to Heila, correct?”
“That’s right.”
Lirivel fastened her buttons as she spoke.
“We nearly succeeded in tracking her this time. One more pursuit and we’ll have her.”
Heila, Lirivel’s mother, was no ordinary Orca.
Though born of a cadet branch, she was a strategist and simultaneously possessed exceptional martial prowess.
Moreover, it had been revealed that through her rebellion, she had learned to wield the power of water.
Had she been born of the main line, she could have even aspired to the position of successor.
But when she lost the child she had groomed as heir and her rebellion failed, she fled far away.
Calypso had entrusted the pursuit to Lirivel.
“It’s been a long struggle.”
Whale spoke with serene composure.
“Yes, it has nothing to do with you, does it?”
“How could that be? Since it’s a struggle that benefits Calypso, I’ve devoted myself to your treatment with all sincerity.”
Lirivel let out a small laugh.
“It’s amusing. You speak so formally to me, yet you use casual speech freely with the Matriarch.”
“….”
Lirivel genuinely respected Calypso, but occasionally found her surprisingly soft in the most absurd places.
“Are you also engaged in a prolonged struggle of your own?”
Fully dressed, Lirivel rose from her seat. The movement was graceful.
Though her natural manner of speech was cold and sardonic, Lirivel found herself fond of this affectionate Whale.
“How goes your struggle? Is there any progress with that unrequited love?”
Whale offered a slightly bitter smile.
“It remains at a standstill.”
“Is that so? I’m rooting for you. If the Matriarch must have a companion by her side, I’d be glad if it were you.”
“….”
“Though I can hardly imagine the Matriarch being injured… if she were to be wounded, it would surely be catastrophically severe.”
Calypso’s long slumber had been a tremendous shock not only to her family but also to her subordinates like Lirivel.
Having thought this far, Lirivel suddenly recalled unfamiliar faces.
That fellow named Hauser, whom Calypso had picked up from the Wasteland.
Since Hauser appeared, Calypso had become somewhat strange.
It wasn’t that she neglected her duties. Rather, she had begun displaying sides of herself never seen before.
Curiously, this happened especially in front of that man Hauser.
“Recently, I’ve come to think our Matriarch’s tastes are quite… peculiar.”
Calypso herself seemed unaware of her own change in demeanor.
“That Hauser fellow—his eyes are obscured by his hair, giving him a gloomy appearance—does the Matriarch truly favor such a man?”
Whale immediately grasped what Lirivel was saying.
In fact, Whale sensed it even more acutely than Lirivel did.
To add one more thing, ever since Hauser appeared, Calypso’s demeanor when Hauser and Levai were together—
she revealed a somewhat unfamiliar side of herself.
Thus, the appearance Calypso unconsciously displayed as the third-cycle Matriarch was creating a sense of alienation among her current subordinates.
“Well, it’s not for me to say, someone practically devoid of emotions, but.”
Lirivel parted her thin lips, thinking the white-bearded whale before her must surely be quite disappointed.
“I didn’t feel it as love, even if it could be called affection. What about you?”
Calypso displayed affection toward Hauser.
But to Lirivel’s perception, it was not significantly different from what she showed when dealing with Lirivel herself or Agenor.
Of course, it was strange to display fondness toward someone she’d only recently met.
At least it seemed far removed from the family’s fuss about “the Matriarch has developed feelings for someone.”
“Above all, I notice the Matriarch is different when she’s with you or that taciturn Dragon Duke….”
Lirivel stopped there and shook her head.
“Never mind.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“In any case, it’s not a matter where I have a vote, but if someone asks for my opinion, I think you’re the best choice.”
“That is indeed something to be grateful for.”
“Yes, so do try to win over the Matriarch. I don’t want to see some stranger who suddenly appeared become the Matriarch’s consort.”
Lirivel stared at the door for a moment.
“You feel the same way, don’t you? After you and that Dragon Duke spent over a decade together, if some upstart suddenly swoops in and takes the position—”
Lirivel summoned a stream of water to open the door handle.
“But what of that Dragon Duke’s memories? They remain unchanged, yes?”
Whale paused briefly before answering.
“…Yes, that is what I understand to be the case.”
“Right, that’s what I thought.”
Lirivel, who had a certain fastidiousness about her, opened door handles like this, which so many hands touched, in such a manner.
“It’s rather amusing. If not for you, I thought I might witness a dragon becoming the Orca Matriarch’s consort for the first time.”
“….”
“I’m going.”
Whale lowered his head. When he raised it again, Lirivel was nowhere to be found.
Moving without sound—for an orca like her, it would be easier than breathing.
Whale stared at the door for some time. His pupils darkened like the deep sea.
Yet strangely, even in that darkness, there were corners that sparkled like stars in the night sky.
Soon Whale too opened the door and headed somewhere.
Shortly after, he arrived at the Dragon Duke’s quarters.
Upon opening the door, the room’s occupant was, fortunately, present.
Despite entering without knocking, the Dragon Duke regarded Whale calmly and taciturnly with an unwavering gaze.
Whale walked in with heavy steps.
His expression was unusually grave, tinged with what seemed like anger.
“Ekion. I’m genuinely curious about something….”
And with that, I dropped the bomb.
“How much longer are you going to pretend your memories haven’t returned?”

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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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