Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 63

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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 63
My Father sat quietly beside me.
That’s right. I was currently inside a carriage heading to the City of Dragons.
My heart was thrilled with the journey, so everything felt wonderful.
“We’ll ride in the carriage together.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“Because I’m your father.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Other families ride separately too.”
“You’re three years old.”
“That’s hilarious coming from a Teacher who threw rocks at a three-year-old.”
“…”
“Nothing to say?”
“This is your Teacher’s command.”
“That’s so unfair!”
Though we bickered, sharing the carriage with my Father was actually nice.
It was good that he suddenly decided to become a father and was making an effort.
Not that his personality would completely transform overnight into someone affectionate.
He wasn’t the type of person who could do that anyway.
It was a shame to miss the delightful moments with the adorable Herring Maids and the kind Misa.
My Father was excessively quiet, but I could just sleep through it.
Except I couldn’t sleep!
That’s right. There was another problem besides my Father… I stared at the opposite seat with sharp eyes.
‘Why is he here again?’
Damn it, I couldn’t sleep because of this!
Before my eyes sat a villain second only to my Father.
No, actually a villain even worse than my Father was sitting right there, bold as day.
It was Eldest Brother Bellus.
He’d managed to get permission from Grandmother and was coming to the Dragon’s Festival, and he was riding in the same carriage, sitting directly across from me!
‘What did that guy eat wrong? Why is he insisting on sharing a carriage with someone?’
Why would someone so temperamental ride in a carriage with another person?
A memory from just before departure flashed through my mind.
“Why! I want to go too! I want to go, I’m telling you, I want to go, Sister!”
“Tell Grandmother then.”
“Ugh! That’s impossible…! I haven’t earned that level of recognition from Grandmother yet. Why, how could you leave me behind, your number one subordinate!”
“Since when were you my number one subordinate? I don’t have subordinates.”
“You’re so cruel! Taking something precious, so precious from me…!”
“What is it?”
“My loyalty~?”
“Throw it away.”
“You’re so cruel!”
A few hours before departure, I went to find Agenor to say a proper goodbye.
There he was, sprawled on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum in a marketplace, thrashing about.
Watching from a distance, I remarked that he looked like an overturned cockroach—and received a tearful glare for my trouble.
“Heartless orca!”
“…Isn’t that something you shouldn’t be saying? Regardless, thanks for the compliment.”
In any case, Third Brother wailed about why he couldn’t come along, but ultimately he didn’t join us.
Even for Agenor, Grandmother was a barrier too high to overcome.
“While I’m away, look after the Bellus Family for me. Especially those twins, Lugaru. Keep watch over whether Ruga recovers well.”
“Huh?”
I had sought out Agenor not only to say farewell, but to entrust him with the beluga kin.
If I truly didn’t return, I wanted to ask Agenor to watch over them rather than leave them abandoned.
Despite appearances, once an orca became attached to something, they moved with diligence.
“What, is this some trial you’re imposing on subordinate number one?”
“…Why are you delighted while calling it a trial?”
“But this is harassment…”
“Call me a pervert if you add more to it?”
“Ahem, so I just need to keep watch over the beluga family? Make sure no one beats them up? Like when I fought alongside you?”
“Yes.”
“Then, little sister. When you return, will we be able to fight together again to protect them?”
“…”
“That was quite fun.”
What I had overlooked was that Agenor was still younger than I had thought.
I caught a glimpse of the childlike innocence my Third Brother had not lost.
“I want to do it again with you, little sister. You’ll do it when you come back, right?”
“…If I come back.”
“Right, then next time make me subordinate number one too.”
Swept up in his momentum, I agreed, though it was a promise unlikely to be kept.
Watching my Third Brother laugh so brightly, I felt a subtle emotion.
‘I promised in the name of the sea to protect the Bellus Family, so I’ll keep that promise well.’
After organizing my thoughts to some extent, Grandmother and Bellus appeared just as I was about to depart.
“Since you’re going anyway, don’t even think of coming back unless you silence those foul-smelling beasts. Understood?”
Grandmother’s farewell was closer to coercion than a greeting.
Though the words were directed at Father, not me, his soulless pretense of listening was remarkable.
It was a textbook example of hearing with one ear and letting it out the other.
I thought the two orcas were about to fight again before the carriage.
“And this one will be going with you too, I hear. Go and return safely.”
With that, Grandmother left briskly.
Leaving only Bellus behind.
“Hello, Calypso Aquasiadel. As I said, I’ve come to travel with you.”
“…That shameless fellow, you were serious?”
“Yes. Keep your word once you’ve spoken it.”
Then he said he would ride in the carriage with me, claiming it was an order from Grandmother.
Those were the last words I heard from that bastard Bellus.
‘Madman.’
It had been three days since I left the Orca Family Estate.
‘Already three days and he hasn’t said a word.’
He was truly insufferable.
The problem was that despite everything, he stubbornly refused to get out of the carriage, insisting he would ride with me no matter what.
Therefore, that bastard Bellus was entirely responsible for this unpleasant and uncomfortable silence.
I glared at his glossy face as he read his book with deliberate indifference, then let out a sigh of frustration.
‘Why has my pleasant journey turned into this?’
If I had someone weak to grab by the collar, I wanted to shake them and cry out, ‘This is madness, I’m escaping!’
‘No. Just endure a little longer. Every happy ending is preceded by adversity and hardship.’
I would think of this as a trial I must pass through to safely meet the Dragon Duke and enjoy a pleasant journey home.
‘Mind control, I need to control my mind.’
On the other hand, I was curious.
What on earth was that bastard Bellus thinking?
Coming with me—in other words, leaving the Orca Family Estate—would be a choice with considerable risk for him too.
Baian had not merely stumbled; he had collapsed entirely.
Normally, when the leader fell, the second-place group would engage in fierce competition to seize the new position of leadership.
Bellus was the highest-ranking successor among the second-place group, which included Sorte.
‘I thought he would rather stay in the family and wait for an opportunity to overtake Baian.’
This was unlike the Bellus Aquasiadel I knew.
The most rational and composed person.
…And yet, when something caught his interest, he became the most reckless.
‘Did I really press the wrong button?’
I regretted provoking Bellus somewhat.
‘This is my own doing.’
I had made this journey unbearable.
“Listen, Teacher. It’s been three days now, and this is the fifth time I’m asking. Can’t I just use the carriage with my handmaidens and my governess?”
“For the fifth time, the answer is no.”
“Please don’t match the rhyme, Teacher. It makes me sad.”
I looked up at Father with a sullen expression.
“A three-year-old child like me feels better with a governess present, don’t you think?”
“Wouldn’t a child feel even better with both parents present?”
…That is, assuming those parents are actually decent human beings, Father.
I felt that if I made one wrong move, my displeasure would show on my face.
Did I need to feel like I was training even inside the carriage?
In fact, I really was training.
About a day after getting in the carriage, Father handed me three pebbles.
“Throw it.”
“Huh? Y-yes?”
“Throw and catch with one hand.”
Some kind of reflexes, I suppose. It supposedly helps with development.
My father even accelerated the stone with the power of water, so my image of throwing and catching it inside the carriage looked like some circus acrobat’s performance.
‘What a thorough teacher….’
Sure enough, Bellus sitting across from me looked at me with a bewildered expression.
His face screamed ‘What the hell is this?’ so I brazenly played it cool.
Well, whatever.
In any case, I was forbidden from moving for the fifth time and collapsed again.
The backrest was cushioned, but from leaning against it for so long, it no longer felt comfortable.
I sighed deeply and leaned against my father’s body.
“Respecting a child’s freedom is also a parent’s role, Teacher.”
“One must distinguish between freedom and indulgence, between letting loose and abandonment.”
“Coming from someone who left me alone for three years.”
“….”
When no response came back and I felt oddly guilty, I lifted my gaze to find my father staring down at me.
“You told me to act like a father.”
“…When did I?”
I averted my eyes evasively.
“I never said that.”
Though I did spread false rumors that my father was kind to me.
Since I felt guilty about something, I didn’t argue further and quietly lowered my gaze.
My father’s hand drew near.

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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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