Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 259

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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 259
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“…So among the Monkeys that survived, some showed resistance, and I had to use some force.”
“….”
“It seems one of them was in contact with the Imperial Palace. Clearly, the Empire wasn’t planning to just sit idle either.”
“….”
“Matriarch?”
I turned my head in slight surprise. Of course, I only showed it internally—my expression remained nearly unchanged on the surface.
Yet the one standing askew already knew me well enough to raise one eyebrow.
It was my cousin Lirivel, who despite her crooked stance possessed an elegance beyond compare.
“You were listening, weren’t you?”
Though her tone was formal for an official setting, it was filled with dissatisfaction. In other words: ‘You were actually listening to me, right?’
“Yeah, yeah, I was listening.”
“Listening, my foot.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and laughed awkwardly.
“Just pick one—formal or casual speech.”
“Where exactly is your mind wandering to?”
The unspoken implication hung in the air: ‘At such a critical time?’
Then Lirivel’s expression turned serious.
“Or… are you still not feeling well?”
“No, that’s not it. Sorry, I was just thinking about something else.”
“…How refreshingly honest of you.”
Her tone was anything but approving. Lirivel crossed her arms with a crisp expression.
“So what problem has captured the Matriarch’s attention so completely that you can’t even focus on this crucial ‘Imperial’ matter?”
Well, it wasn’t quite that severe.
I hadn’t answered, but I had heard the report. That there was a Monkey who’d made contact with the Imperial Palace.
‘I’d already anticipated this anyway.’
“It’s not that I’m uninterested. Levai probably already took measures first.”
“…How do you know without even seeing it? You’re speaking as if you were actually there.”
“Well, I know you all well enough.”
At that, Lirivel’s expression stiffened slightly. At first glance, she looked angry.
Unfortunately, our Orca friends don’t know how to respond honestly to praise.
This is because their education was flawed from childhood. Their parents’ fault.
I released my hand from my chin before Lirivel’s expression could become even more rigid.
“Lirivel, have you ever been in love?”
“What? Cough!”
She choked mid-answer and coughed. Once she finally composed herself, she rubbed her throat and glanced at me sideways.
“What kind of sudden question is that?”
“No particular reason. The important report is finished anyway, right?”
“Well… Is romance really that important to our lives?”
Lirivel’s lifelong goal had been to become the heir, and then the Matriarch, but she said it changed the moment she lost to me.
“You had a fiancé or two when you were young, and even after falling from the position of heir, it doesn’t seem like you were without options?”
“Traitor.”
“Pardon?”
“While I was breaking my back to set our house in order, you were busy with romance?”
“What…? How does that interpretation even follow from what I said?”
A flicker of contempt crossed her elegant face. Of course, it was a jest, so I cleanly ignored it.
“Listen, let’s say you have someone you like.”
“…Suddenly? Yes. I do.”
“The person you finally confessed to liking suddenly…?”
“Suddenly?”
I paused for a moment before speaking gravely.
“What if they said it’s fine even if you have another husband besides them?”
“That’s completely wonderful, isn’t it? Quite the windfall.”
“…”
“You’re the Matriarch. The Matriarch is someone who takes multiple husbands. Isn’t this about you, Matriarch?”
“Who said it was about me?”
“Then whose story is it? You don’t have any friends, Matriarch.”
“Why wouldn’t I.”
She’d just made me out to be friendless. I narrowed my eyes and stared intently at Lirivel.
“You, you know. You.”
“…!”
At that, Lirivel’s pale cheeks flushed a rosy hue.
She hadn’t shown the slightest change during talk of romance, but seeing her face redden at the word “friend” made me let out a soft laugh.
“I, well, yes. If you’re asking for a friend of your caliber, I suppose I could oblige.”
“Fine. So here’s the thing. My head is pounding right now.”
“Why?”
“Because I confessed, and they said it’s fine even if I have another husband?”
“…? Then just be grateful and move on, shouldn’t you?”
“Make sense. How can one person like two or three people at the same time?”
“That’s right. Affection has degrees. So if you take multiple husbands and assign different degrees to each, wouldn’t that work?”
Perhaps I’d chosen the wrong person to consult. I’d thought that since she was at least my age, we might understand each other.
But I should have remembered first that she was an Orca.
I was about to open my mouth to change the subject when Lirivel beat me to it.
“There are families that practice polyandry, and there are quite a few among the aquatic Beastkin as well. You know this. Create a hierarchy like the difference between Empress and Imperial Consort. Secure one person’s position firmly, but there’s nothing wrong with placing another below. Why are you being like this?”
“…No.”
“From what I can see, the Dragon Duke wouldn’t say such a thing easily. That’s why you’re troubled, isn’t it?”
“Did I look that obvious even without mentioning Ekion?”
“Of course. I’m not Atlant Aquasiadel, and I’m not without perception. Would there even be a Beastkin near you, Matriarch, who doesn’t understand the Dragon Duke’s obsession?”
“…”
“Rather, to suppress that dangerous obsession, I would prefer if you had other companions. And for the sake of your territory, I would certainly hope you had more consorts.”
In a society of noble clans like the Beastkin, there was nothing better than marriage for integration. Lirivel presented a sound argument.
“Yes, thank you for your opinion.”
As I scratched my cheek, Lirivel’s shapely lips curved upward.
Then she spoke as if sighing.
“It’s not my place to say, but there were times when you looked terribly lonely. Though it was when we were young.”
“….”
“So I thought it would be nice if you surrounded yourself with many people and were loved as much as possible.”
When I turned my head, Lirivel continued speaking while gazing into the distance.
Her ears flushed a light pink, apparently from embarrassment.
“I’m saying I hope you’ll be happy. We’re greedy Orcas, and more is always better, isn’t it?”
* * *
Bang!
Inside an extraordinarily lavish and luxurious room decorated entirely in crimson.
A handsome man with brilliant golden hair was breathing heavily, his face contorted.
Blood was scattered across the floor, and a fallen figure lay motionless.
A circular pool of blood was drawn near the head, with drops falling to create ripples.
“Say it again. What?”
“….”
The fallen figure was a Retainer who had delivered news from an Envoy from another land.
The Retainer who had come with the similarly fallen Retainer stood with a deathly pale face, unable to utter a word.
Though he was a skilled warrior second only to the leader of the Hyenas, he could only shrink like a deer before a lion in the face of the Crown Prince’s overwhelming presence.
“Am I not asking you, Tasren?”
Tasren Endaite. He from the Hyena clan held his breath.
“Th-that is… The East Continent and North Continent are demanding a clear explanation regarding this incident… and if the Imperial Palace does not make an official statement, they say they will provide no further cooperation in Central affairs….”
On the East Continent lived Elephant Beastkin, who could be called the sovereigns among herbivores.
And that was not all—the foul-tempered Hippopotamus Beastkin also divided the Empire’s East Continent between them.
They not only refrained from opposing the Imperial Palace but acknowledged its authority and watched with indifference as long as it did not harm their interests.
However, with the fall of Madrum, terrible rumors spread throughout the entire Empire.
Whatever the Orcas had done, the rumors spread to every corner before anything could be done to stop them.
The Imperial Palace hastily severed ties with Madrum and declared their innocence, but the Orcas, as if they had anticipated this, produced evidence and drove the final nail in the coffin.
‘The Imperial Palace ordered horrific human experimentation!’
It was revealed to all that the Emperor’s approval or cooperation had been involved in every human experiment Madrum conducted.
Cunningly, by distributing copies of the materials to each clan leader, the situation became even more difficult to manage.
‘Roland, useless to the very end.’
It was all the fault of Roland, who had died on his own terms without even destroying the documents he had been told to dispose of.
Roland was an ardent supporter of the Crown Prince, following him like a fanatic devotee.
He had carefully preserved papers bearing the Crown Prince’s seal, refusing to burn them with his own hands—and that had been their undoing.
Among those who had died thus far, aside from the rescued experimental subjects, there were various Beastkin.
Members of clans who were now rising up or strongly demanding the Imperial Palace’s explanation.
The Crown Prince ground his teeth together.
“Gather everyone.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes gleamed in the darkness.
“Yes, yes?”
Because so many different Beastkin had been mobilized in this Madrum human experimentation document, only ferocious beasts and the Black Panther who had originally been loyal to them remained under the Imperial Palace.
“You said you needed an explanation?”
The Crown Prince covered his face and laughed with a chuckle. Hyena Tasren felt a chill run down his spine.
“Tell him to come hear that explanation himself.”
If he could hear it alive, that is.
“Send an Envoy at once.”
“Yes, understood!”

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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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