Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 76

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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 76
“Now I remember hearing about it. Pierre Aquasiadel! They say you’re as strong as Ocula Aquasiadel?”
“….”
“But when the black panthers from the Pantherion Duchy arrive, you’ll be the one who falls without a chance!”
“Father.”
“What?”
“Why are you still listening to this?”
When I was the Matriarch, I never listened to more than three syllables of dialogue from third-rate land animal beastkin villains.
And that wasn’t all. Those weaker than me who dared mock me always paid the price.
“Such fools need to learn what happens when a loser talks too much.”
Father looked at me and nodded.
“You’re right.”
Soon a sphere of water formed in Father’s hand, and he simply placed it over the black bear beastkin’s face.
It looked as though an aquarium had been inverted over his head.
The black bear beastkin, with only his head trapped in the prison of water, lost consciousness within moments.
I smiled wickedly.
“Creatures that can’t even breathe in water, yet their mouths keep moving.”
“….”
A small, very small doubt crept into me.
…So this is what I’ll have to endure every day if I become the Dragon’s Bride.
‘Right now, I’d rather kidnap the Dragon Duke and take him to the Orca Family instead.’
But he’d be stronger than me, wouldn’t he? That was the moment I thought this.
-Calypso….
A creeping voice reached me from Tus.
-Help me, Calypso.
This was the conversation I’d been waiting for.
-Take me to the Duke…!
* * *
The Dragon Duke’s quarters.
In the massive chamber, the room’s master sprawled out carelessly.
His breathing was quite ragged and labored.
The owner of that breath barely opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling.
A vast ceiling, one so familiar.
Yet what the Dragon Duke beheld was no mere ceiling.
He sensed the presence of someone within this castle.
‘She’s returned.’
His retainer had come back within the castle.
Why had she returned?
He’d thought she’d left forever.
Yet the Dragon Duke’s breathing grew even more ragged.
The Dragon Duke closed his eyes.
Behind the sofa loomed a shadow far too massive to be human—towering, nearly brushing the high ceiling.
The Dragon Duke quietly pressed his hand against his eyes, restraining himself.
“Tus…”
* * *
I stared intently at the tiny baby snake before me with a serious expression.
-Can you go with Tus at night?
I barely managed to keep my lips from twitching.
I had returned to my assigned bedroom after leaving the restaurant, and now I was alone in the chamber.
‘Father has already retired to his room, and Bellus showed no signs of leaving his either, right?’
So I could speak freely now.
But to be cautious, I asked first.
“Yes, I can go with you. But can I ask you something?”
-Yes!
“Is it possible for us to communicate like this, just with words? Is it difficult for me to communicate the way you do, like something echoing in my mind?”
-Calypso can do it too. She hears my voice.
I nodded and attempted it.
-Is this how you do it? Can you hear me?
Thinking of it as sending my thoughts to Tus, I shouted internally, and Tus shook his head excitedly with delight.
-Yes! Calypso is so smart!
-Yes, I’m smart.
In a previous encounter, I had gone underwater to retrieve something and met a half-aquatic beastkin.
Since conversation underwater was difficult, I had attempted this method of communication before.
It appeared this was a technique utilizing the power of water, and it was possible with Tus as well.
‘Anyway, it seems I can do almost everything except expel water…’
Yet I still couldn’t generate water, the most fundamental power of all.
It felt like being able to do calculus while still struggling with basic addition and subtraction.
-Right, going back to what you said earlier—what do you need help with, and why do you want me to take you to the Duke?
The moment I heard Tus’s story in the restaurant, I was filled with such joy and happiness.
This tiny Tus was truly a bundle of good fortune for me!
…Finally, I could see the Dragon Duke!
But I was curious about the situation first.
I asked quickly.
-Is something wrong with the Dragon Duke?
Why had this baby snake been wandering the forest alone,
and why couldn’t he return to his master even after coming to the Dragon’s Castle?
But Tus started to answer, then suddenly lifted his head sharply.
His gaze was fixed on the large window.
-The Duke is calling for Tus!
Hisss, hisss! Despite claiming he wasn’t a snake, the sounds he made were identical to a snake’s.
Soon, thick tears began to fall from the innocent eyes.
-Duke, I miss you, I miss you.
-Yes, yes. Don’t cry. Tell me, okay? I’ll help you.
Tus approached me and coiled up in my hand, settling down.
-Tus needs a strong beastkin. Need strong power to go to Duke.
-Why?
-The beastkin watching Duke is too strong. Very thorough.
I blinked.
The Dragon Duke is being watched? Why on earth?
‘Is there a reason for that?’
-I thought Calypso was weak. But no. Strong.
-…You thought I was weak when we first met?
-Yes!
-You ungrateful little thing. And I saved you!
I gently grabbed Tus’s neck and shook it.
You little rascal, I even mobilized Misa to search the lake and brought you here, and you thought of me that way?
‘I couldn’t speak because I looked weak! How unfair!’
Even if I look like this, I pacified an entire class at three years old. What?
Besides, when we first met, I had injured my leg slightly.
‘Now that I think about it, my leg healed in a day or two, didn’t it? Did my recovery power increase because my water power grew stronger?’
Since this wasn’t the important matter at hand, I released Tus’s neck.
-But Tus was wrong. Calypso is strong. Can sneak in secretly!
-…
-Can you go with me tonight? Take Tus to him.
-Why is the Dragon Duke being watched? And if you love the Duke so much, why were you in the forest? Why hasn’t the Duke come looking for you even though you’ve returned? Or why aren’t you asking the people of this castle for help?
-The Duke is lonely. But he doesn’t know he’s lonely.
It was an answer that had nothing to do with my questions.
-Tus cannot say more here.
I felt determination emanating from Tus in my arms.
-Yes, I understand.
I nodded.
It seemed like Tus wouldn’t answer if I asked further, so I thought I’d have to verify it myself.
-Is tonight okay for departure?
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot—I wanted to handle everything quickly.
Recalling what the bright red fox beastkin had said in the restaurant.
‘Indeed, the situation here that Tus describes and what those fools know are completely different.’
Moreover, even though Father established order on the first day, in this place that is exclusionary toward aquatic animal beastkin, the retainers wouldn’t give me proper information even if I asked them.
So there’s no choice but to go myself.
I made my decision without even waiting for Tus’s answer.
-Let’s go tonight.
-Calypso!
Tus had worn a sullen expression just moments before, but now his face brightened with sudden radiance.
His eyes gleamed with pure delight.
-You’ll help me right away? Tus likes you.
Now that I thought about it, his scales shimmered with a blue luminescence, yet his eyes were a beautiful golden hue, as if molten gold had been set directly into his gaze.
‘The Dragon Duke had golden eyes too, didn’t he?’
I remembered it clearly, though I’d only witnessed him in his frenzied rampage.
A man with blue hair and golden eyes, just like my own retainer.
-I like you, Calypso. Thank you.
I simply smiled.
If he knew I harbored ulterior motives, he wouldn’t be thanking me with such sincerity.
But I harbored no ill intent toward the Dragon Duke.
-Good then. We’ll depart at nightfall. You know the way well, don’t you?
-Yes! I do!
Alright, we’ll leave today then.
The moment the decision was made, I rose from my seat.
Then I set Tus down on the floor.
-Where are you going, Calypso?
“I’m going to see Father. Will you stay here for a bit?”
I have something important to discuss with him.
At my words, Tus tilted his head curiously before coiling himself into the spot where I’d been sitting.
-Come back soon.
Is this what it feels like to keep a pet?
Watching Tus sway his tail gently, I felt an odd warmth bloom in my chest.
…So I did like snakes.
Tus always insisted he wasn’t a snake but a water dragon’s retainer, and therefore a water dragon himself, whenever I called him one.
Yet by any measure, he was simply a small horned snake.
Perhaps… if I’d known Tus longer, I might have found it difficult to let him go.
I left the room and passed through the massive drawing room, approaching a door not far beyond.
But before I could knock, a voice came from within.
“It’s unlocked.”
Ah, he sensed my presence.
I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

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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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