Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 81

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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 81
“Why? What on earth is he doing this for?”
There was no mention of this in the past I knew, nor in the original story, nor anywhere else.
What I didn’t know wasn’t simply about what kind of person the Dragon Duke was.
-Tus doesn’t know the details either, but I heard various things after leaving Tus Castle. However, Tus didn’t understand it all.
“I’ll organize it, so tell me everything.”
I glanced at the window for a moment. It’s fine, I still have plenty of time before I need to leave.
Besides, my head was aching.
The Dragon Duke who could send me back home was in this state….
-The Imperial Court spoke of it.
The Imperial Court—this world’s imperial seat and where the Male Protagonist resides.
-We must remember the dragon’s rampage from centuries ago. The dragon’s wrath and rampage do not benefit the Empire.
A rampage from centuries ago—I knew of that.
To be precise, centuries ago the Dragon Duke and the Imperial Court had a conflict and fought, after which the Dragon Duke died and the next Dragon Duke rose to power.
“Hey, why does this city look like this?”
“Ah, that’s because it’s said to be traces of the Dragon Duke’s power from centuries ago? It’s been quiet since a thousand years ago, but that’s when he used his power. That massive crater, isn’t it enormous?”
There was a reason I knew this.
During the war, when I stopped by a city, the land looked so strange that I asked Suha about it and learned the truth.
Was that actually not just a simple trace, but caused by the dragon’s rampage?
‘If the Imperial Court knew well about the Dragon Duke’s rampage from records centuries old, it wouldn’t be strange if they used this in the third cycle to end it.’
I glanced at the Dragon Duke, but he wore an innocent expression as if unaware this was about him, merely staring intently at Tus.
Tus’s words didn’t end there.
-We must remember fear. But we are different from our ancestors. We thoroughly raise every newly born Dragon Duke based on that fear.
“…What? Wait.”
-They are no longer siblings of the Imperial Court. They are merely emotionless weapons.
“Huh?”
-Fortunately, the Dragon Duke must acquire knowledge and emotions to be complete, so we teach him nothing. Remember this. No one must teach him anything.
“….”
-Especially since his power is particularly strong.
Tus was like a recording device, merely reciting what he had heard.
I blinked as I listened to those cruel words.
The moment the meaning registered in my mind, cold sweat ran down my back.
-Someday, plant only wrath in him and make him usable as a weapon.
I understood at the word “wrath.”
‘Is what I saw in the third cycle the form of him being used as a weapon?’
However, contrary to the Imperial Court’s expectations, the Dragon Duke I saw in the third cycle was far beyond being evaluated as a mere weapon.
The Imperial Court’s scheme, which likely wanted to annihilate only aquatic beings, failed miserably.
He killed all the beastmen and went on to destroy the world itself.
‘Back then I thought it was just a plan to kill everyone since we seemed to be losing….’
Even now, just recalling that bastard Male Protagonist’s face made my blood boil.
-If all of this proves too difficult, let him die as he is. Birth a new Dragon Duke.
Finally, Tus fell silent.
Having conveyed everything he had heard, Tus tilted his head upon the Dragon Duke’s small palm.
-Calypso, I don’t know Tus’s contract well. But… are the lions trying to kill the Dragon Duke?
I swallowed hard.
“Probably so.”
Whether exploited as a weapon or abused like this.
-Why? How could they? The lions are the Dragon Duke’s siblings, aren’t they?
You can understand it by looking at the previous cycles.
In the end, the Dragon Duke’s fate is nothing but death.
Can you call it “living” when you’re merely existing with your freedom castrated?
What difference is there between living like this and dying?
I clenched my fists tightly.
“A fiancée? How dreadful. Hehehehe. The House of Panterion are such philanthropists, aren’t they?”
“You’re raising that fish, after all, aren’t you?”
The horrible words that mocked me in the first and second cycles flowed past my ears and drenched them.
I shook off that rotten filth and lifted my head.
My goodness, Dragon Duke.
I wanted to see you so desperately since I was born in this life.
And yet, after finally finding you with such difficulty…
‘You’re just like me.’
Absurdly, eating rotten food, consuming even that just to survive.
Empty buildings, people who slip away whenever they see me.
Ridicule, mockery, control. Oppression.
All of this stirred memories of my past and ignited my fury.
I strode forward and took the Dragon Duke’s hand.
Without a hint of surprise, the young boy slowly lifted his head.
The boy was sitting while I stood, yet our eyes were at nearly the same level.
“Will you come with me?”
It was an utterly impulsive thing to say.
Large golden eyes blinked vacantly.
The Dragon Duke tilted his head, then opened his mouth.
“…Will you come with me?”
“…Oh dear.”
How was I supposed to convey my meaning to someone who couldn’t understand words?
I turned my head toward my relief pitcher.
I had come to fully understand Tus’s words that the Duke could only eat when he was present.
“Tus, when you came outside the castle, outside the city… was it because you wanted to ask someone for help?”
-Yes!
Tus nodded brightly.
-Dragon Duke, you must learn! But no one will teach you. Someone has to help!
“…So you nearly died as well.”
I laughed bitterly.
So the Dragon Duke did have Tus by his side.
I had no one.
“Tus, I’ll be honest with you.”
After a long sigh, I spoke firmly.
“In my opinion, if the Dragon Duke stays here, he won’t learn anything. They don’t want him to learn.”
-They don’t want him to? But the Dragon Duke must learn!
“That’s right. Children shouldn’t be raised this way.”
Moreover, if the Dragon Duke continued to grow up as a simpleton, there was a high chance he wouldn’t even understand his own power.
“This is wrong.”
Or if the Imperial Court’s policies changed and they brainwashed him to be loyal only to them, I might never achieve my goal of “asking the Dragon Duke to help me go home” again.
“Sigh, Tus. Before I get to the main point, there’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”
I looked at the Dragon Duke. Sensing my gaze, he lifted his eyes and stared back at me.
His eyes were crystalline and clear.
My impression that they were empty seemed accurate.
He was like a blank white canvas, and in truth, he was no different from one.
“Tus, you definitely told me earlier about why only I can hear your voice….”
-My voice. Only you hear. If you have power related to time, you can hear it.
“You said if someone has power related to time, they can hear your voice. Right?”
-Yes!
“Why did you say that?”
I felt slightly nervous, uncertain what the small snake would say next.
-That’s… I just felt so much power of time from Calypso. The Dragon Duke has the same power, so Tus knows well!
“Because you’re a familiar, you instinctively knew everything about the Dragon Duke, right?”
-Yes!
“Then… does the Dragon Duke perhaps have the power to transcend both time and space? No, wait. Yes. Does he have the power to transcend spacetime?”
-Yes, in the words of humans, that’s right! He can go anywhere and see any time!
I held my breath.
The question I’d asked while filled with tension.
It was something I’d already suspected.
But hearing such a confident answer was a different matter.
“Can the Dragon Duke use that power right now?”
-No! He can’t use it without learning anything. The Dragon Duke must grow!
“So once he grows, he’ll be able to use it?”
-Yes!
Having heard this much… my course of action was already decided.
Well, I’d already spoken impulsively anyway.
“Then, if there were someone who could teach the Dragon Duke and help him grow properly, would you cooperate?”
-Yes! I can do anything for the Dragon Duke!
“Good, then hand the Duke over to me.”
-Huh?
“I’ll take the Duke with me. In this mad place, he’ll never grow properly.”
In the previous cycle, there was the variable that I had won the war.
In this cycle, even if he wasn’t used as a weapon, the Imperial Court and the Male Protagonist might exploit the Dragon Duke’s rampage whenever they needed to.
“I’ll bring him to where I live.”
-….
“I can do well at feeding him properly, letting him sleep, and giving him affection.”
It was something I had longed for so desperately.
And if the Dragon Duke grows in this life, if the Duke who learns comes to feel gratitude toward me.
Wouldn’t I be able to confidently ask the Dragon Duke to let me return home?
Desperate longing gleamed in my eyes.

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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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