Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 42

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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 42
When I turned my head, Father was staring at me.
“Te—I mean, what’s fine about this?”
Without thinking, I’d started to call him Teacher before hastily correcting myself.
Right now I was a daughter on good terms with her father. Completely smitten, even.
“Everything you’re thinking.”
…
…He speaks as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
Father tilted his head loosely, arms crossed.
“And there’s no need to force yourself to speak formally.”
His voice was soft, meant only for my ears.
“When you’re not even used to it.”
I flinched.
I stiffened slightly.
‘…So he’s saying I should drop the formal speech if I’m going to force it?’
I nodded readily.
This wasn’t something I wanted—Father was the one who preferred it this way.
“Fine.”
In any case, since the Retainer had said so, we had no choice but to move.
But this “moving” meant…being carried in Father’s arms.
Why on earth?
Agenor was beside Father, Baian and his group were ahead of Father, and the Chairman followed behind.
‘Wow, such obvious stares.’
I could feel it even just being held.
Everyone was either glancing at Father while pretending not to notice, or staring outright.
‘He’s like a celebrity.’
I gently wrapped my arms around Father’s neck and pressed myself against his chest, whispering.
“Te—I mean, Father. Can’t I just walk on my own feet?”
“How long would that take?”
“What’s wrong with my legs?”
“If you walked, you’d arrive after the meeting ends. Then I’ll put you down.”
…
He left me speechless.
Moreover, his voice lowered so only I could hear was utterly indifferent and sharp.
If only he’d said it more kindly. Even this is a skill, a skill.
‘Fine. If rumors spread about me like this, that’s good for me.’
I might as well gain what I can. I lifted my head slightly.
His jawline appeared sharp and blade-like, almost gaunt.
‘But what about Father?’
What does he gain from doing this?
It was a question I couldn’t ask in this setting.
A brief exchange might have been manageable, but there were far too many eyes watching for a long and honest conversation.
“Agenor.”
“Hmm?”
Agenor, who had been walking ahead, turned as if he’d been waiting for me to call.
“Have you ever been to the Hall of Azure we’re going to now?”
My Third Brother, who displayed his obsession so burdeningly, was far preferable to my Father, whose thoughts remained inscrutable.
I’d already visited the Hall of Azure before, but I feigned ignorance.
In this life, it would be my first time.
“Yes. It’s held there every time.”
Agenor explained.
He said that while Family Meetings typically rotated between the three largest halls in this mansion, they predominantly used the Hall of Azure.
“Everyone has assigned seats. When you first enter, a Retainer will guide you. Well, I’m not entirely sure since the—I mean, Father is with us.”
Agenor glanced at Pierre once, then rolled his eyes.
Right. You’re confused too, switching from Teacher to Father?
The explanation that followed was something I already knew well, but I nodded as if hearing it for the first time.
‘Come to think of it… after I became Matriarch, I never used the Hall of Azure, did I?’
There was no other reason—I simply refused to use it because it was the hall the Orca Family Matriarch cherished most.
In my previous life, I had been consumed by hatred and resentment toward her until I became Matriarch.
As a result, I was entering a building I hadn’t visited very often.
Before long, we all arrived at the Hall of Azure together.
Baian and his companions, who had been leading the way, naturally stepped aside as they reached the door, creating a path for my Father to enter first.
I frowned in my Father’s arms.
‘What is he doing?’
My Father passed through without hesitation and stood before the door.
I paid no attention and fixed my gaze on the entrance.
‘I’ve arrived again.’
The Hall of Azure held two meanings.
One was that, true to its name, the door was a brilliant blue, and inside, the hall was carved with marble waves that seemed to undulate.
And the other meaning was the hall of ‘upheaval.’
Literally, it was the place where upheaval occurred.
‘According to Orca Family history, all the upheavals that have ever taken place were said to have happened here, which is how it earned its name.’
The moment the door opened and I stepped into the vast hall.
I felt a gaze of an entirely different magnitude from what I’d experienced in the Disciplinary Committee Room.
‘I’m seeing this again.’
It was an overwhelming number of people.
Cradled in my Father’s arms, I was busy observing the assembly.
It was truly packed with people.
The hair colors were also remarkably diverse.
Of course, all the retainers and branch family members had gathered.
‘The view the Matriarch sees every time.’
This place resembled a parliamentary chamber in its fan-shaped layout, constructed in tiered levels.
The higher one ascended, the farther from the center—naturally where those of weaker influence took their seats.
At the center of the fan-shaped chamber stood the Chairman’s seat, much like in the Disciplinary Committee Room.
The Matriarch’s place.
There sat the imposing Matriarch upon her jade throne.
My grandmother, Ocula Aquasiadel.
“Well, who might this be?”
My grandmother, who had been wearing a bored expression, squinted one eye at our entrance.
Simultaneously, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
“The son I thought dead, unless I’m mistaken?”
At her sharp voice, Father paused momentarily.
Then, still holding me, he bowed slowly at the waist.
It was courteous in appearance, yet somehow ambiguous—as though he were offering only the bare minimum of respect.
“I greet you, Matriarch.”
“You speak, so you’re no ghost, it seems.”
….
“Still alive? I expected you’d have perished somewhere by now.”
Though carelessly spoken, her words carried an undeniable weight of authority.
‘How grim, this reunion between parent and child.’
I already knew my grandmother disapproved of Father being so firmly entrenched in the West.
“My, even now I shudder to think of it. When Pierre and the previous Matriarch met, it was simply….”
“Mm. I remember.”
Even after Father and my grandmother passed, their subordinates would gossip about it whenever bored.
As I pondered how to handle this, our eyes met.
In that moment of tension, her gaze swept past me and turned toward those entering behind.
“I greet you, Matriarch.”
Baian, receiving her attention, offered a respectful bow.
Ha—so different from when he’d picked a fight with me. I couldn’t help but smile.
‘So that’s why he suddenly pretended to let me go first when we reached the door. He didn’t want to hear it from my grandmother first.’
Without backbone even in a place like this—that’s why you never became Matriarch.
As I was silently grinding my teeth, something shifted.
Rather than directing her gaze at Baian, my grandmother turned a blade-like stare directly upon me.
“Well, you’re familiar too. Still alive, you little troublemaker?”
I accepted it with composure.
‘As if you haven’t already heard everything about me. What are you saying?’
There was no way I’d die so easily.
I’d leave this family only after watching you suffer your final breath.
I hid my true thoughts and smiled sweetly.
“Grandmother!”
“….”
“Hello.”
I greeted her while nestled against Father, placing my hand on my abdomen in a respectful bow.
Then I looked at the Matriarch and broke into a grin.
“You’ve grown even younger since we last met! Grandmother!”
The Matriarch looked at me and let out a soft laugh.
Her eyes remained sharp and bright.
“So the cunning one learned flattery first.”
I kept my smile in place, continuing to laugh softly.
Was that anger?
No, the Grandmother I knew—
“—is far better than your stiff-necked father.”
She loved boldness and cheek.
I narrowed my eyes.
Then, pretending to nestle closer against Father, I whispered quickly.
“Father, did you see? Grandmother absolutely adores flattery, so you should learn from me.”
“….”
* * *
Pierre regarded his daughter with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Calypso continued whispering like rapid gunfire, her smile never wavering.
“It’s fine, if you don’t know, let your body learn it…!!”
His gaze was almost one of ‘how can such things even exist’.
Calypso, who could hardly be unaware of it, even seemed to deliberately feign ignorance.
What was she saying?
If Pierre had seen Matriarch Ocula Aquasiadel, wouldn’t he know and understand even more?
“…ha.”
Calypso was slightly taken aback.
As she lifted her head at the sound of breath, Pierre was smiling softly.
It wasn’t that she’d never seen him smile before, but his unguarded expression caught her off guard.
Father, you can smile like that?
And there were those nearby who had witnessed Pierre’s small smile.
The collateral family members and retainers around them either held their breath or gasped in surprise.
“Did you see? Pierre smiled….”
“We didn’t imagine it, did we? Right?”
Matriarch Ocula, who had been observing leisurely, also witnessed this, and her pristine white eyebrows rose slightly toward the heavens.
While people thus covertly focused on Pierre and his daughter, the keen ears of Pierre—whose five senses were exceptionally sharp—caught sounds that Calypso had yet to perceive.

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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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