Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 319

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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 44
The Ruga from the pink timeline was wrong.
He said the Ruga from the main timeline might not be able to confess, but here he was, whispering such a tender confession.
My wandering gaze refocused on Ruga.
‘I had my suspicions….’
Yet to hear it the moment I returned.
“It’s sudden, isn’t it?”
As if understanding my feelings, Ruga chuckled softly and spoke.
His voice was bittersweet.
“I expected it. You’re perceptive about most things, Calypso, but you’re oddly dense when it comes to your own romantic affairs.”
“…I can’t deny that.”
“Yes. And truthfully… I’m quite perceptive myself.”
I know that.
I even experienced it in the previous timeline, didn’t I?
“Before you disappeared, it seemed like you didn’t understand my feelings. No, I’m certain of it.”
“….”
“But now your reaction is different. Am I mistaken?”
Ruga drew a little closer. I didn’t look away from him.
A gentle breeze swept past.
It resembled the spring wind I had felt in the previous world.
“There must have been a reason you came to understand my feelings… or something happened.”
“I know well enough that you’re perceptive.”
My hand still rested on Ruga’s cheek.
“When you were young, you sensed that I was going to the Dragon Duke’s territory and would never return, and you cried.”
“…That was because you gave such an obvious hint….”
“I suppose so.”
I felt Ruga’s hand overlap mine, and the warmth of his touch grew palpable.
“That’s right. There was an incident, and because of it, I understood. And… if that hadn’t happened, I might never have known.”
I admitted it freely.
At that, Ruga’s eyes curved even more, as if he adored my honesty.
“You were always honest with me, Noble Lady.”
He used the old title from long ago, as if reminiscing.
“I think that’s what made me love you even more.”
His shy smile reminded me of young Ruga’s face and the adolescent Ruga I had met in the previous timeline.
“You will be… a good partner.”
I brushed his cheek lightly with my thumb, then stopped.
“And probably a good husband and father too.”
I could tell just from seeing the adolescent Ruga from before. At an age when many would rebel.
That boy knew how to empathize with others’ pain first and show consideration.
“So I’m giving you a chance. Ruga.”
“….”
“You have no reason to be bound to me.”
“…If you respect my freedom, you cannot tell me to stop.”
“That’s true.”
The dizziness faded, and my mind became clear again.
Innocent and guileless, Ruga.
Yet just as he’d sensed my identity in the previous timeline, this boy was clever and wise.
…This boy’s confession was probably.
“The kingdom sent me a marriage proposal.”
The neighboring king, wishing to make peace with Aquasiadel, had sent his younger brother and secretly proposed a marriage alliance.
I refused outright, but among my retainers—now my subjects—different talk had begun.
“Choose one of the eight houses as your husband, and strengthen our bonds.”
‘Well, it’s common enough everywhere for noble houses and royalty to collude….’
From the perspective of the Orca branch families pushed out of the mainstream, they wanted to establish a son-in-law who represented their interests and solidify their position once more.
‘Did they think I’d comply so easily?’
These eight houses were designated by the former Matriarch, my grandmother.
The problem was that they included relatively weaker beastkin like herring and beluga dolphin families compared to the Orcas.
It meant some power-hungry Orcas could easily manipulate them.
‘I didn’t like how they were subtly encouraging this.’
There was even an Orca branch family among the eight houses. Some Orcas had united around them.
And since other Orcas were also subtly encouraging it….
I’d decided to deal with it eventually. But if I simply suppressed them with force, it would be an endless conflict.
“…So you’re saying I should choose you, one of the eight houses, for easy peace?”
Ruga smiled brightly.
I sighed softly.
“You really are a Dolphin after all….”
“I hope Your Majesty won’t be troubled.”
“Even though I can resolve such conflicts without difficulty?”
“Yes.”
I stared at Ruga with pursed lips, somewhat displeased.
“…Even if I say I have no intention of using my precious childhood friend like that?”
“But you’d gain justification while taking the easiest path, wouldn’t you?”
“….”
“If the person involved doesn’t think they’re being used, then it isn’t use, Your Majesty.”
How did this ticklish confession somehow turn into such a political discussion?
I soon realized.
What I’d seen was a very peaceful world’s adolescent Ruga.
The man before me had spent long years at my side and was a meritorious subject who’d greatly aided in founding this new kingdom and maintaining its stability.
“Do you realize your confession just shifted genres from fairy tale to political drama?”
“Of course. That’s fine.”
I let out a soft laugh.
I had thought Ruga simply couldn’t control his emotions upon believing I had disappeared.
It seemed I had been quite mistaken.
“I have one question.”
I withdrew my hand from Ruga’s cheek. This time, he released me without resistance.
I lowered my gaze from those eternally devoted, docile eyes.
“Would you have never confessed if circumstances hadn’t been like this?”
Ruga offered no answer.
“You’re saying that if there were no pressure from the Eight Houses, even if I had vanished and returned like this, you wouldn’t have spoken?”
A moment of silence passed, and Ruga answered slowly.
“Yes.”
His voice was as calm as always.
“In peaceful times, my feelings would only be a burden to you.”
It was a love of infinite consideration. Something I would likely never understand in my lifetime.
Because I am an Orca.
A beastkin who must possess everything I desire, who greedily devours it all.
“If taking one more husband would allow you to maintain this peace with ease, wouldn’t it be better to choose someone who loves Calypso and can do anything for her?”
“You won’t betray me, will you?”
“What Calypso wishes for is the happiness of this nation and all its people.”
“….”
“And the happiness of Princess Cali.”
My daughter is exactly like me.
Perhaps a child who takes after me instinctively recognizes someone capable of giving her infinite love.
“…If I chose you, Cali would cry for at least two or three days.”
At my jest, Ruga’s eyes widened briefly before he smiled.
“Wouldn’t Lulu heal the wounds of heartbreak?”
“…If she takes after me, she’ll probably be terrible at reading romantic situations. Lulu’s future looks rough too.”
I rose from Ruga’s embrace.
It was time to return.
We didn’t speak, but we both implicitly understood that something had changed between us.
Ruga extended his hand to grasp mine, then carefully brought it to his lips.
The sight of him kneeling on one knee like a knight was nothing short of dignified.
“Your Majesty.”
Those eyes I saw every time I crossed the timeline. Those devoted, pure eyes had erased my anxiety.
“I will serve you with all my loyalty for life.”
“…I’ll think about it.”

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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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