Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 332

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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: Act 57
Pierre fell silent for a moment, then tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“Marriage? Your marriage?”
Rayla blinked her eyes.
The young girl had grown into a teenager with the distinctive sharp gaze of an Orca Beastkin. Among her peers, she was often described as having a stern impression.
Of course, I preferred being perceived that way.
I wanted people to find me difficult to approach. In this world, nothing was more troublesome than appearing easy.
With that thought, someone’s face came to mind. Why was that? Compared to the long time I spent with Pierre, I had only seen this person briefly.
Yet strangely, her face lingered persistently in my heart.
Pierre’s official fiancée, Scheherazade Kamun—the girl who had introduced herself to me as “Sizer.”
A round, gentle-looking face, yet she possessed an atmosphere that was strangely difficult to approach casually.
And she was also the fiancée Pierre had never once seen since becoming an adult.
“…Why would I suddenly marry?”
Rayla countered clearly.
“Weren’t you the heir?”
“Just because I inherit the family doesn’t mean I need to marry and produce an heir. I intend to pass it to my nephew.”
“You’re already thinking that way?”
“Yes. It’s bothersome. Besides, you already knew, didn’t you? Of course you were asking about Pierre.”
Rayla wore a bewildered expression. How could she suddenly be talking about marriage when she didn’t even have a fiancé?
Pierre had clearly asked while knowing it was about himself. It was certainly disconcerting.
After ten years of silence on the matter, he suddenly mentions marriage?
“Did Mother bring some sacrifice like a Dragon’s Bride from somewhere?”
“Who asks about bringing a new person like that? And it doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“…”
“It must be the same person. I haven’t received any information about it at all.”
Because Pierre kept people at a distance, Rayla had implicitly been working as his Retainer.
She had been elevated from a servant or Maid. And when she came of age, she planned to live separately from Pierre.
It seemed better for her to provide him information from a distance.
Now that it had become firmly established that she belonged to Pierre, everyone was busy keeping their distance.
‘I should report all those who curse from afar.’
Regardless, Rayla wanted to grow into someone great and repay Pierre’s kindness. It was her sole goal.
‘Though my Master seems to be losing his will to live more and more…’
Except for the books I occasionally read, he showed interest in nothing. Yet several times a day, he would gaze beyond the window.
What he looked at was always the same. An old Fountain. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“…Is she alive?”
Pierre’s voice sharpened. There was even hostility in his tone.
“Sehera, or rather, Sizer? It seems so… That’s probably why the sudden marriage talk came up.”
Why had his mood become uncomfortable? Rayla finished speaking while carefully gauging his reaction.
I exercised the wisdom of not blurting out my thoughts immediately.
“You’ll meet her soon enough, so why not ask her then? About her well-being.”
“…Who asked you to be curious?”
* * *
Pierre had spent the long hours since wondering why his betrothed had not shown her face once.
Was she ill? Or had something happened to her?
My mother was certainly not a lenient person.
‘Two such reasons would have been more than enough for her to replace her.’
If she deemed there was a significant flaw in my betrothed by her standards, she would replace her without hesitation.
Yet throughout all this time, nothing had changed. I had deliberately refrained from asking my mother.
To show premature interest was no different than revealing a weakness to her.
…A weakness?
The thought made me uncomfortable. How could a girl I’d seen only briefly become a weakness?
…It was merely something that came to mind occasionally as I lived my life.
It had been an unforgettable, intense experience. Since then, no peer had dared approach me so boldly.
Nor had I ever witnessed such talent in anyone else.
‘So that’s why.’
The sudden shock at the word marriage, and my decision to endure it at least once….
Yes, that was it.
“….”
Pierre found himself at a loss for words before a devastation he could never have imagined.
Since my terminal illness had been diagnosed, I had lived without great surprise or disappointment.
And yet….
“…Good heavens.”
Rayla, standing one step behind Pierre, could not help but murmur. Her voice trembled with shock and horror.
And for good reason—before them lay chains. Thick, heavy chains that were daunting merely to behold.
Clank, clank.
Thick shackles bound her ankles, and equally heavy manacles encircled her wrists.
The girl in my memory had possessed long hair, but it had been hacked away in a crude, jagged manner.
Unlike the flowing dress, her face glared with a fierce, venomous expression.
It was undoubtedly the girl I remembered—no, now an adult. It was Sizer.
The man standing beside Sizer bowed with elegant grace.
“It is an infinite honor to meet you, Young Master. I am the Guide who has accompanied the Kamun household.”
“…A guide?”
“Yes, I thought you might be surprised.”
The man smiled with composure, as though the wretched state of Sizer was of no concern to him whatsoever.
“During all this time, we understood your concern regarding the absence of news from our young lady.”
The man extended his hand.
“However, the Kamun household wishes to assure you that we have done our utmost to create a perfect bride worthy of you, Young Master Pierre.”
Our utmost? A perfect bride? This?
The shackles, the chains, the manacles—these were not the only problems. The crude, hacked hair was not the only issue.
Every inch of exposed skin save her face was in ruins. Some bore fresh wounds, others were covered in bruises.
If one looked closely enough, one might even discern the scars.
Among Orca Beastkin, the sturdier the body, the more remarkable the recovery. Moreover, the young girl’s talents were concentrated in combat, martial arts, and physical prowess.
Her healing ability must have been extraordinary. For such wounds to remain unhealed on her body meant….
Pierre could envision it without difficulty. He closed his mouth.
Throughout my life, I thought of it occasionally… but I never imagined we would reunite like this.
“Under the Matriarch’s command, I swear I created the most obedient, beautiful, and powerful bride.”
“….”
“And such a bride must not ‘escape,’ after all.”
The man emphasized the word escape.
“You need not worry.”
The man’s lips were as crimson as blood, and his smile was contemptible. Pierre could not tear his gaze from Sizer until he withdrew.
Soon, only he, she, and Rayla remained in the room.
Sizer, who had dropped her face to the floor, slowly lifted her head.
Her pale white complexion and eyes rounder than he remembered made her innocent-looking face stand out all the more.
Her eye corners, neither raised nor lowered but subtly angled, combined with her long, lush lashes to create a radiant harmony.
Yet what lay beneath those bright blue eyes was humiliation, rage, venom, and mockery.
“…Are you satisfied?”
The young girl—or rather, the woman she had become—curved her lips upward.
“It seems my desperate pleas were quite amusing to you.”
“….”
“Or was I merely your final amusement and plaything before death?”
Her voice was courteous, yet it dripped with bitter rage and venom.
“…I asked you to refuse me. You promised you would do so.”
“….”
At last, their eyes met, and hatred bloomed like a flower. It was a revulsion as poisonous as a toxic plant.
“Thanks to you, the years I spent being raised solely for your sake were long indeed.”
“….”
“Are you satisfied with this result, my lord?”

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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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