Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 51

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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 51
“No, it doesn’t matter if I don’t see it.”
Just as I was leaving the Meeting Hall with Agenor included, I naturally had to stop.
“Agenor!”
“Oh, um. Sister. Something urgent came up for me. Let’s talk later.”
Agenor hastily bid me farewell. I watched his retreating back.
And right after, I saw a large man chasing after Agenor as well.
“Who is that?”
“A cadet branch that follows Third Brother.”
“I see.”
The face seemed vaguely familiar, but I understood immediately when Father mentioned the name.
“I just wanted to be left alone, but those tiresome bastards wouldn’t leave me be. I should have killed them.”
As I listened, a conversation I’d heard from Agenor in the previous cycle flashed through my mind.
There had been a cadet branch family that always pursued him.
‘It’s a complete food chain. Third Brother is obsessed with me, and they’re obsessed with Agenor.’
I smiled slightly, but suddenly felt a gaze and turned my head.
And our eyes met.
It was Bellus, my Eldest Brother.
In the blink of an eye, someone passed behind Bellus.
Second Brother, Atlant.
Surprisingly, did that bastard really sleep through the entire meeting?
‘Even amid the chaos from Illia’s declaration, I thought his eyes would pop out.’
Seeing him sleep so brazenly made my heart sink.
If I hadn’t known it was Atlant, I would have thought he deserved to be buried at the bottom of the sea by the Matriarch’s hand.
Anyway.
‘Why is he staring at me again?’
Atlant even stopped walking, glaring at me like a starving orca eyeing its prey.
His gaze was blazing.
But that too was brief before he turned away and disappeared.
I leisurely waved my hand toward Bellus, who was glancing at me.
“Hello, Eldest Brother.”
“…Eldest Brother?”
“Of course. You’re the Eldest Brother, aren’t you? What else would I call you?”
Bellus’s expression remained unchanged.
He didn’t answer either. He simply turned his back like Atlant had.
Wow, it’s been a while since this happened.
‘Complete dismissal. Utter dismissal.’
The moment I shrugged and turned around, I briefly regretted it.
Illia was standing in the direction I was heading.
My smile faded as she approached me with large strides.
‘It’s too late to run now.’
I managed my expression and quietly moved my steps closer to Father.
I wish he’d pay a bit more attention to me instead of just watching.
“….”
Why was it that I could feel Father’s gaze upon me?
Then my body suddenly lifted into the air.
‘What, what is this?’
“Isn’t this what you wanted me to see?”
That wasn’t it. It was just an act.
I wore a bewildered expression while cradled in Father’s arms.
In the meantime, Illia arrived.
“Heir.”
This wasn’t the time to be concerned with Father.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Then how should I address you?”
“I….”
I stopped mid-sentence.
The surroundings were filled with people dispersing from the meeting.
“Would you have time for a brief conversation, if you don’t mind?”
So I nodded at Illia’s proposal.
Since I was already caught, I figured I should hear what she had to say.
Besides, this wasn’t the place to have such a conversation.
We moved to a quieter location.
Looking around, I could see a massive orca statue and beside it a statue of a woman holding a spear.
“First, I believe you must have been surprised. I apologize for that aspect.”
Illia bowed respectfully.
Still cradled in Father’s arms, I looked at the top of her head and scratched my cheek.
“Stand up first.”
She rose and met my eyes.
Her husband and Lugaru’s father, Roba, was with her as well.
“What exactly were you thinking?”
If you’re going to do something, at least give me a heads up.
Then I would have told you not to.
Illia wore a contemplative expression for a moment before speaking.
“What I’m about to tell you is something I can only share because I declared my allegiance to Calypso before the Matriarch.”
An ominous opening. It piqued my interest somewhat.
I thought it might be something I didn’t know about.
I lifted my head to see if Father knew, but his expression remained serene.
“About thirty years after the Matriarch ascended to power, there came a day when she secretly summoned the heads of the Eight Families.”
Among these Eight Families were branch families of orcas, other whale families, and general Water Animal Clan families, it was said.
“At that time, the Matriarch gave the Eight Families a ‘special privilege’ along with an order to choose one of the successors to follow.”
“…But choosing a successor is something all families do normally, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
As I listened, something came to mind.
In the previous round, the dolphin-human who served as strategist had said something like this.
“If we had been chosen by the previous Matriarch, perhaps our parents’ lives would have been better.”
Could this be related to that?
Since he had glossed over it as if it weren’t particularly important, I’d assumed it wasn’t significant.
“The Eight Families that gathered that day were each chosen for their own reasons. The common thread was that the Matriarch had her eye on talented individuals within them. In our case….”
Illia glanced briefly at her husband.
“My consort and I had caught the Matriarch’s attention.”
“I see. So what exactly does this ‘special privilege’ mean?”
“When the Matriarch chooses her successor, she will pass the position to whichever successor receives support from the most of the Eight Families.”
“What?! She didn’t make this fact public?”
“More precisely, I believe she weights the support of the Eight chosen families more heavily than the support of perhaps ten branch families.”
Illia smiled faintly.
…What?
I felt it.
A sense that something had been rigged.
‘That old woman would never issue blank checks carelessly.’
The fact that she’d granted such authority for some reason meant she considered the White Whale Family extraordinarily important.
But why on earth did they choose me?
‘So that’s why she asked if I’d regret it?’
I’d thought it odd that she’d asked in a way so unlike her character.
“Then when is the successor decided?”
“When all Eight Families have chosen their successor.”
“So who exactly is in those Eight Families?”
“That, I cannot tell you.”
Illia tapped her neck lightly and said a seal had been placed on her with the power of water.
I already knew what a seal was.
It was an application of the ‘Fear’ ability—using water’s power to instill terror in creatures weaker than oneself.
I turned my head toward Father, who had been silent.
“Hey Father, could you possibly break that seal?”
“…I could manage it, but then Mother would notice?”
Ugh, that would be difficult then.
“Noble Lady, are you seeking to find which Eight Families they are in order to visit them and command their support?”
“No?”
I was asking to avoid running into them.
I told you, I have no interest in becoming Matriarch.
I’ll live as a meteoric talent and then vanish to the Dragon Duke’s Castle at age ten.
Regardless, Illia spoke with careful deliberation.
“In any case, now that things have come to this, if Calypso falls, we fall with her.”
That’s hardly something to say while smiling, is it?
“….”
“However, if Calypso becomes the Matriarch, we shall gain everything.”
The more I listened, the stranger it became.
Ultimately, this choice was fundamentally different from how ordinary families typically supported their heirs.
‘If this were gambling, it would be an all-in, wouldn’t it?’
Moreover, unlike ordinary families who could change their supported heir if they decided it wouldn’t work,
these people could not change their choice once declared.
If the heir they supported failed, they would sink together with her.
And the White Whale Family had just wagered their entire fortune on a ship scheduled to sink.
How could I possibly break the news to them that the stock they’d bought was worthless without devastating them?
I deliberated seriously on this.
“Please do not worry too much. Since we are close with the Dolphin Family, we intend to arrange seats for them as well. Would that be acceptable?”
The moment I heard the word “dolphin,” bitterness washed over me.
Among those dolphins would surely be someone from my past.
‘But in this cycle….’
No, I would have to meet them anyway.
That dolphin subordinate—there was a reason I needed to meet her.

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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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