Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 355

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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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Additional Side Story: Act 19
I came to understand something.
This wasn’t the face of someone hearing such words for the first time. Rather, it was the expression of someone who had finally recognized that a long-foretold calamity or disaster had arrived at last.
She quickly composed her expression as if sensing my gaze.
In an instant, the Matriarch’s vulnerability vanished.
Though I had already witnessed it.
“What do you mean by that… exactly?”
The displeasure she manufactured was transparent. I caught a glimpse of Sae-a in the Knight’s arms behind me, yawning contentedly.
“You’re not cursing our entire race…”
“Doesn’t it worry you that the child is still so young?”
“…!”
Esther froze.
Perhaps it was from enduring countless torments across the first and second cycles, constantly reading the room to survive.
I had naturally developed the ability to discern people’s emotions and subtle shifts in their demeanor, catching fleeting expressions in an instant.
Though imperfect, I had gained the capacity to see through deception.
This ability had been further strengthened as my water power awakened and my physical capabilities surged.
“If you know what race I am, then you should also understand how foolish it would be to lie before me.”
I spoke calmly. Esther’s eyes trembled.
Still, she kept her mouth shut, so I added just one more thing.
“I saw Otter Beastkin being tormented at the banquet just like I was. They must be your husband and son, yes?”
Sae-a was said to be a late-born child.
At these words, Esther looked down at the floor for a moment, then lifted her gaze.
“…How on earth did you know that?”
For a moment, I couldn’t tell whether to laugh or cry. Her entire family and race might be slaughtered, and even as she anticipated it, there was nothing she could do—that helpless feeling.
‘It resembles how I struggled desperately in the first cycle, knowing I would die.’
“Look, I can guess what you’re thinking.”
Unlike the first cycle where leisure didn’t exist, in the second cycle I could hear others’ stories a bit more clearly.
Of course, not as calmly as now, and not much—but a piece of information suddenly surfaced.
That in the second cycle, the Otter Beastkin were annihilated.
And for the reason that they had stolen something precious from the Imperial Palace.
“An object.”
I threw the words out bluntly.
“And the Imperial Palace.”
The rest I whispered very quietly.
“…!!!”
Esther was indeed shaken.
I clenched my fist, then opened it.
“I know when it will happen. And what if I… were to help you?”
“…In exchange, there’s something you desire, isn’t there? If you’re trying to escape this capital, we could…”
“No, it’s not that.”
I shook my head. She had been misunderstanding since earlier.
“I never asked you to help me escape, did I? What I want is simple. If I help at the same time, you can absolutely avoid annihilation.”
“How on earth would that work, and more importantly… what exactly do you desire…?”
She was skeptical, but her tone had grown respectful. I liked that.
‘I do prefer perceptive Beastkin.’
“What I want is just one thing.”
Recalling the massacre of the Otter Beastkin, I thought of something else.
“You manage the waterways of the capital, don’t you?”
What kind of work they had been entrusted with.
“Then, could you perhaps take me somewhere using the waterways you manage?”
As I said, I would handle the action myself. I just needed a little help.
“…Where are you referring to?”
“The Cursed Manor.”
Esther blinked. She clearly had no idea what was there.
Well, even the men I’d overheard were whispering about it in secret.
‘Everything falls apart because of loose-tongued fools.’
I brushed off my hands with a pat.
“By the way, if you accept my help, you will definitely survive. I’m willing to swear a water oath on it.”
I drew a symbol in the air and sealed the oath right then. Esther was startled for a moment, then let out a hollow sigh.
“…So many things are happening at once that I don’t even have time to be surprised.”
She wiped her face.
She would be conflicted. Even with all this, what stood before her was merely a ten-year-old Orca Noble Lady with no faction and completely isolated.
It would have been fine if she refused in the end.
I wouldn’t have given up anyway.
But then.
“I accept. Should I swear an oath as well?”
“…You trust me just like that?”
Now it was my turn to be surprised. Trust me? Just like that? What about me would she trust?
“First, the fact that you’re willing to swear an oath makes me think you must have some real conviction. Looking at it this way, I wonder if I should have been bolder.”
Esther smiled comfortably for the first time.
“I’ll be honest with you. I’ve met an Orca Beastkin before. We helped each other and traveled together for a while. The creative thinking, problem-solving ability, and action-oriented nature displayed by that Orca Beastkin was remarkable. I decided to trust my eyes.”
“I don’t understand… all because of one person?”
“Yes. Even if you lack such abilities, then my eyes were simply wrong. Since you seem to have noticed, I’ll be frank—I’m already drowning, so I don’t have the luxury of distinguishing a lifeline right in front of me.”
Esther hesitated for a moment before adding.
“And… for some reason, she resembles that Orca Beastkin I met before…”
Resembles? I tilted my head. Among Orcas, I had an unusually gentle impression.
“If I may ask, what was that person’s name?”
“Sizer.”
A name I’d never heard. At least she didn’t seem to be from the direct line.
“Though she also went by the name Seherah.”
I didn’t know this name either.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter.’
I extended my hand.
“Good, so you’re saying you’ll cooperate?”
She stiffened her face and carefully extended her hand.
“…Yes, I look forward to working with you.”
It was the beginning of our partnership.
* * *
One week later.
Deep in the night.
I moved about in comfortable clothing, testing my mobility.
‘Hmm, good. No discomfort.’
Finally, I tapped my boots to check them. No issues.
I stepped out onto the terrace of my room.
What was amusing was that these Black Panther bastards didn’t monitor me very closely within the Manor itself.
‘They believe you won’t be able to escape this Manor no matter what you do.’
Instead, the security around the Manor’s perimeter was airtight.
My room was tucked away in a rather secluded corner, so when I looked down from the terrace, I could see dense trees and undergrowth sprawling below.
I jumped without hesitation.
Tap.
I landed nearly soundlessly, surveyed my surroundings, and ran off into the darkness.
Finally, I arrived at an empty clearing.
This was the place where I used to learn swordplay from Palaya.
In the moonlit clearing, a young boy stood waiting.
It was Palaya.
“Huh, you actually came?”
He turned around, his expression bewildered.
“Why that look? You agreed to this too.”
As I spoke casually, his smug face crumpled.
For a moment, confusion flickered across his features.
Truth be told, I was surprised too.
‘I threw it out there on a whim, but I never actually expected him to agree.’
The whole thing started two days ago in the afternoon.
After asking the Otter Matriarch for something, I began laying out my plans step by step, when one problem arose.
‘To go to the cursed Manor, I need to get outside.’
Right now, I can leave to go to the Weakling Club.
But could I really slip away to the cursed Manor while pretending to be here?
‘Even with the Otter clan’s help… daytime is too risky.’
The only time infiltration was feasible was at night. The problem was how I could manage to go out at night.
The Black Panther Duke? If I brought that up, I’d be locked away immediately. Assel? I didn’t even consider that bastard.
He was the type who would lock the door anyway.
I considered Lili, but dismissed the thought. Though I adored her, I couldn’t predict what kind of backlash might follow.
While I was deliberating whether I should sneak out and return in secret, Palaya called for me.
He summoned me only to spout nonsense about whether I was really going to stop learning the sword now, questioning my resolve—so I let his words pass through.
Then I asked on impulse.
“I want to go out at night. If I order you, will you listen?”
The reason I hadn’t given Palaya a direct command was simple.
If I ordered him to help me escape, he would report everything to his father, regardless of what consequences he might face.
‘After all, he does love his family in his own way.’
The only thing his pride would allow was secretly teaching me swordplay.
“No, never mind. Forget you heard that.”
I quickly abandoned the idea and tried to leave, but he blocked my path.
“Why do you need to go out? Are you trying to escape?”
“No? I’m just suffocating.”
….
“It’s damn suffocating here.”
It was absurd.
The way he looked lightly shocked, as if he hadn’t expected this at all—his foolish expression was almost amusing. I tried to move past him again, but—
“…What guarantee do I have that you’ll come back?”
An answer I hadn’t anticipated came back.

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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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