Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 306

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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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Side Story Episode 31
Father’s office was crowded with people huddled together. The peculiarity was that they were all Orcas, and most were in their teens.
‘How nostalgic this feels.’
The current gathering consisted of Bellus, Atlant, Agenor, and Lirivel.
Sorte was in another reception room. Father was monitoring him with his power so we’d know immediately if he tried anything foolish.
‘Under normal circumstances, Ekion, Levai, and Whale would have been here too.’
The room held both unfamiliarity and comfort intertwined.
‘It’s a shame, but I can see my husbands’ faces plenty when I return home.’
I brushed past it cleanly and looked around the room. Then I fixed my gaze on Father.
“What do you think?”
Father, who had been standing with his arms crossed behind the sofa, nodded slightly.
“Should I kill him?”
I paused mid-stroke as I gently petted Tus in my arms.
“…Why does the conversation keep going there?”
“After all, he’s an obstacle to you becoming Matriarch. And I can’t trust this talk about Second Brother cutting ties with him.”
True enough. My second uncle, Bior Aquasiadel, had ambitions that exceeded his abilities.
“If you kill him, how would you dispose of the body?”
“There are plenty of ways. Since my estate is in a secluded location, there’s no shortage of places to bury…”
“Rejected. Rejected!”
That sounds like burying a marine creature! His expression suggested he wasn’t entirely serious about it.
…Or was he?
I fell into contemplation.
“Bellus.”
I called to my Eldest Brother, who was listening with his arms crossed.
“What?”
“Do you have any intention of becoming Matriarch? I’m asking if you want to.”
“…”
Bellus’s expression twisted. Wow, what a bitter look.
“Are you testing me?”
“You make a fuss even when I ask. So do you want to or not?”
“How capricious.”
Bellus, who had been staring at me, sighed.
“Since I’ve decided to follow you, I’ll gladly do it if you wish. But I have no intention of pursuing that position on my own.”
“I see.”
“For reference, Second and Third Brother probably share the same opinion.”
At that, Atlant and Agenor beside him objected.
“Hey, why are you speaking for me, Eldest Brother? That’s annoying!”
“I agree too—why is the oldest brother speaking on his own?”
Bellus remained unfazed.
“So you’re saying no?”
“….”
At Bellus’s words, everyone fell silent, their lips pressed shut.
“Lirivel, what about you? If given the opportunity, would you consider it?”
“Ha. You skip over the educational institution and ask something like this. Are you serious?”
Lirivel’s cold yet elegant eyes narrowed sharply.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? Every direct-line Orca you lost to me is a corpse except for their pride. Understand?”
I nodded. That was true enough.
Pushing further would only provoke them to rage that I was deceiving someone I’d already defeated.
They were all bundles of pride, every one of them.
“Why the sudden change of heart now?”
“Because there’s something more important.”
Bellus, who had been staring at me intently, nodded slowly. Eldest Brother was always like this.
Agenor raised his hand abruptly.
“If my younger sister has decided, then I’m all for it too. But asking this… don’t tell me you’re actually trying to make that Sorte bastard the real Matriarch?!”
Instead of answering, I glanced sideways at Lirivel.
“What if that’s the case, Lirivel?”
When the question turned to me again, Lirivel’s expression became bewildered.
“What if or what if not—why are you suddenly coming at me like this? I can’t understand it.”
“I’ll leave the matter of your brother and your parents to you. And the eastern territory of the Aquasiadel lands will be yours.”
“…King maker isn’t bad at all. I’m in favor.”
Lirivel, having swiftly calculated the gains and losses, nodded obediently.
Knowing everyone’s inclinations made it difficult to reach a decision.
I had merely wanted to ask if there were any direct descendants with ambitions for the position of Matriarch, just in case.
‘Why do our children lack ambition….’
I felt slightly taken aback. Had I crushed them too thoroughly?
* * *
“Did the meeting go well~?”
As I entered through the opening door, Sorte waved his hand with a single bright smile.
Sprawled across the sofa with his face tilted back in greeting—really.
‘Is this your house?’
I was grateful Father hadn’t come in. It was good that I’d kept him at the door.
Father wasn’t here, but his power still filled this room completely.
“It’s better not to fool around. Father is watching.”
“Ah, right. I already knew, but Uncle really is amazing. Why didn’t he become Matriarch?”
That man isn’t cut out for the Matriarch position. Even if you placed a crown on his head, he’d spit it out.
“There’s nothing to know about it.”
“Ah, that must have hurt.”
I sat on the sofa across from him, rested my chin in my hand, and tilted my head curiously.
“That’s strange. Do you really want to say something that would upset me? It won’t help.”
“….”
“There’s nothing worth scratching out of me.”
It’s the method my enemies grew tired of using.
“I’ll consider your proposal, so let’s talk about it.”
Sorte Aquasiadel rose smoothly to his feet.
With his bangs covering his eyes, he looked somewhat vacant—likely intentional.
“I have no intention of dragging this out with tedious talk.”
He swept his hand, and a stream of water surged upward. The water traced a pattern in the empty air.
An Oath of the Sea.
“You will speak only truth in answer to my questions. I will ask three questions, and you may refuse if you wish. However, I will keep count of how many times you answer. Within the bounds of my values, I will grant you everything you desire.”
“Hmm, that’s not quite what I had in mind….”
Of course not.
I curled my finger slightly.
“One more thing. If I’m satisfied with your answers, I’ll make you Matriarch.”
“….”
See that?
I didn’t miss the fleeting moment of genuine seriousness that crossed his face.
This one is definitely strange. I’m certain of it.
‘No matter how remarkable I am now, I could never conceive of making someone Matriarch.’
I can only assume he knows something.
“Fine.”
Sorte agreed, and the symbol of the Oath of the Sea materialized between us.
“First question.”
Our eyes met. Watching his smiling lips, I spoke calmly.
“Who are you?”
“Wow….”
Sorte’s mouth fell open.
“You’re asking that right from the start?”
“I’ll spare you the pleasantries. I’m asking about your ‘true’ identity.”
Because I am a Returner, I know.
This question carries the essence of things. What is the strangeness or specialness you possess?
Sorte brushed his hair back as if by habit. Simultaneously, his sharpened gaze became fully visible.
He grinned wickedly. Looking at him that way, his face resembled both Atlant and Bellus in some mysterious way.
“Calypso Aquasiadel, do you believe in the afterlife?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Ah, don’t be angry~ it’s important.”
Sorte interlaced his fingers.
“I died once, unjustly. In the world where you were.”
What? What are you saying? Does that mean he’s also a Returner?
Moreover, there’s a nuance that he knows I came from the main timeline.
I looked at Tus, whom I held in my arms. Tus could not tear his eyes away from Sorte.
Sorte raised a stream of water, forming a small circle.
“You see, when souls die, they drift through the world for a time… then cycle and circulate like this. But my soul—it went *pop*! and bounced right out of that cycle… and I opened my eyes here.”
“….”
“I know why.”
Sorte’s expression darkened for a moment. Yet he never lost his smile. It was a kind of madness.
“Heila Aquasiadel. That woman used my corpse to come here.”
“….”
“She called out to me as I wandered like a ghost through the world. She asked me to become a stepping stone to a different ‘time.'”
Sorte chuckled softly.
“The other direct bloodlines were too dangerous to touch, so I was the perfect choice? And she’s the one who killed me.”
“….”
“That’s all I’ll say.”
Eyes gleaming like those of a predator turned toward me. Then they curved into crescents.
The oath mark of the sea remained silent.
…It was the truth.
“Calypso Aquasiadel, I propose the second question. Ask what that woman’s purpose is.”
“Fine. …What is it?”
“To make my son ‘Baian Aquasiadel’ the Matriarch, and to make this world ‘real.'”
“….”
“What about the third question? Ask about my wish. My purpose.”
“….”
“No, don’t ask. I’ll just tell you. My wish is to destroy that woman’s goal with my own hands.”
That too was the truth.
I finally understood why those eyes seemed so familiar.
It’s the face I wear when I think of the Orca Family Matriarch, the Crown Prince, those who ruined the third cycle, and the one who was the main culprit of my suffering.
“So then. You need to know that woman’s whereabouts and the way back.”
The restless dead, denied their peace, smiled brightly at me with a flower-like expression.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“….”
“Won’t you help this poor, pitiful, lovable Sorte?”

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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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