Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 83

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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 83
Now that the Dragon’s Festival had passed, an announcement would surely come soon enough.
Whenever that might be, I needed to wrap up the Dragon Duke quickly and return to the Manor.
Just as I was about to open my mouth after finalizing my resolve and plan, it happened.
“Are you tired?”
“Huh? Yeah…”
My Father’s sudden question caught me completely off guard, deflating my momentum entirely.
No matter—I could bring it up again. Or so I thought, when an unexpected remark struck me like a blow.
“Where did you go yesterday?”
“What?”
“The outside must be quite dangerous.”
“What are you talking about…”
“Before you ask what I mean, perhaps you should first consider whether you’re truly capable of evading my senses.”
“…”
Wow, he really knows how to strike where it hurts.
I maintained a sullen expression, but his words were true.
If my Father so wished, my current level was nowhere near sufficient to hide my presence from him.
The problem lay with this room’s structure.
‘Why is the room designed like this anyway? And why was Father monitoring my presence at night instead of sleeping?’
It wasn’t as though there was anyone coming to assassinate him here.
Even if assassins swarmed him in droves, he wouldn’t die.
“Why did you put down your utensils?”
“I lost my appetite. It’s your fault, Teacher.”
“…”
“I’m joking, so feel free to speak if you have something to say. I’ve finished eating anyway.”
Actually, this worked out well.
With him bringing it up first, it became easier for me to broach the subject.
“You can ask me anything you’re curious about.”
“…Where did you go yesterday?”
“I went to the Dragon Duke’s Castle. To meet the Dragon Duke.”
“You mean the one right next to here?”
“No, not that one.”
I deliberated on how to proceed with my explanation.
“Teacher, could you make it so only we can hear this conversation?”
We were eating in the dining room attached to my chamber. However, given the nature of what I needed to discuss, I had to prepare for any contingencies.
“…Very well.”
The moment my Father finished speaking, a thin, translucent barrier with a faint blue luminescence appeared between us.
It resembled silk or a curtain made of water.
‘Wow, making something this transparent is actually quite difficult.’
Perhaps because I had once reached the pinnacle myself, I could immediately recognize the nature of my Father’s ability.
“What I’m about to tell you might be hard to believe, but it’s all true.”
“….”
“You remember that baby snake that’s been following me around lately? It’s the Dragon Duke’s familiar, and I went to bring it to him.”
Father crossed his arms and listened quietly.
“And the place Tus guided me to wasn’t that grand, magnificent castle Bellus mentioned—it was a dilapidated building.”
I deliberated on how to phrase it, then decided to be direct.
“Teacher, he… no, the Dragon Duke was in the same situation as me? He was being neglected. In that old, rundown place.”
“….”
“No, it was worse than that. The Imperial Palace is raising him, apparently. They’re keeping him as an idiot who knows nothing, planning to use him as a weapon.”
“…You learned all of this yesterday?”
“Yes.”
I proceeded to tell him everything that had happened last night.
Truth be told, there was no reason to hide anything from Father.
“A hyena, no less. Quite fortunate you made it back unscathed.”
“Lucky that I didn’t encounter one on the way out.”
“If what you’re saying is true, the Dragon’s Festival might indeed not be held. So those rumors were actually based in fact.”
“That’s how it should be.”
Father wore a contemplative expression for a moment, then returned to his usual face.
Seeing that, I felt myself tense.
“So it seems you didn’t ask for soundproofing just to vent about these matters. What is it you want from me?”
“…You’re surprisingly perceptive, Teacher.”
“Not surprisingly—just perceptive.”
“That’s fair.”
“It’s because it concerns you.”
“….”
He’s really driving the point home, isn’t he?
Could I really bare everything that’s left unsaid here?
But I had no choice.
I couldn’t bring him here without Father’s help.
Yet as I opened my mouth, I first steeled myself with resignation and doubt.
It was a defense mechanism—refusing to stake everything on something uncertain.
“Help me, Teacher.”
“With what?”
“I want to return to our family estate with him.”
I thought Father would be shocked no matter what, but his expression wasn’t as startled as I expected.
Instead, he stared at me intently, then tilted his head slowly.
“Just to confirm—you’re saying you want to take the Dragon Duke to Aquasiadel?”
“That’s right.”
“If I weren’t the one sitting here, you’d certainly be called mad.”
“….”
I remained silent since his words weren’t wrong.
“The Dragon Duke’s confinement to Ekina, the Dragon’s City, stems from a solemn oath passed down from the First Emperor himself. He may do anything within this place, but he cannot leave without the Imperial Palace’s permission. Do you understand?”
“I knew he couldn’t leave the city.”
That’s why in the previous cycle, the Dragon Duke’s rampage affected not just the Dragon’s City but every corner of the Empire and even the Aquasiadel Territories, destroying everything—it had been shocking.
“….”
Father simply stared at me intently without speaking further.
What should I say now? That I can’t? Or would Father, being an orca too, take an interest in this like a madman?
Unable to predict Father’s reaction, I grew anxious.
‘If it comes down to it, I’ll go alone.’
After all, I had experience surviving after running away on my own before.
Though my current age is considerably younger than then, which troubles me, somehow it will work out.
And in the worst case, though I truly hate it…. I’ll regress once more.
“You wanted to stay here. Or rather, you said you wanted to live here, didn’t you?”
What came from Father’s mouth was neither affirmation nor denial, but an entirely unexpected answer.
I nodded with a slightly bewildered feeling.
“That’s right.”
“Was that because of this? The Dragon Duke’s abduction?”
Abduction. It was a word that didn’t suit the Dragon Duke at all.
The me from before would have called that nonsense.
My image of the Dragon Duke was of him in a rampaging state, after all.
But since yesterday, things changed…. I couldn’t refute the word abduction.
‘How is deceiving an innocent person and taking them away different from abduction…. Ugh.’
“The thing is, I never thought from the beginning that I would bring the Dragon Duke. Who would have thought he was someone who needed help? Someone so strong, someone all the beastmen revere….”
“….”
I hesitated before answering quietly.
“But he seemed more pitiful than me, who was neglected, abused, and nearly died.”
No, that’s a lie. The moment I saw the Dragon Duke, I recalled myself from the first and second cycles and felt compassion.
So the object of my compassion wasn’t the Dragon Duke—it was myself.
If Father shows an attitude of “so what” here, I’ll certainly be disappointed, but it doesn’t matter.
I’ll still try to convince him.
But might it be somewhat displeasing?
“I see. So it’s true that you originally wanted to stay here.”
“But that’s….”
“Leaving me behind?”
“…That’s right. Leaving my Teacher behind.”
“You didn’t even give it a thought—it seems you still lack something.”
“What do you mean I lack?”
“The sincerity to change how you address me?”
“….”
“Don’t shrink back. Is there something you did wrong?”
“No.”
I lifted my head. I didn’t want to shrink back.
“If you want to discuss something like this next time, tell me what you want to do first. I also won’t second-guess anything from now on.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you wish it, I’ll even destroy the castle. Next time, let’s go from the beginning together.”
I blinked.
“…So you’re saying you’ll help me bring the Dragon Duke?”
“Yes.”
That was it. The answer came far easier than I’d expected, refreshingly straightforward to the point of absurdity.
The fierce debate I’d imagined, the threats I’d prepared in case they wouldn’t work, the schemes, the plans—I used none of them.
His agreement flowed as naturally as water.
“Why?”
Now that he’d agreed, the reason shouldn’t matter.
Why? Things worked out fine.
Yet I found myself asking anyway.
As if this question held some importance to me.
“Why are you helping? Because you feel sorry for him?”
“I wouldn’t say that. You keep forgetting, but I came here as your father.”
“…”
“So I respect your wishes. If you want to do it, then you do it.”
Strangely, this answer made me happier than if he’d said he pitied the Dragon Duke.
It wasn’t a mistake.
I felt foolish, standing there like a broken robot, unsure what expression to wear.
The face I managed to compose was lukewarm at best.
Should I say thank you in a moment like this?
“So when will we move?”
“Huh? Oh, oh. Tonight!”
“I see. I’ll prepare. We should discuss the details.”
“…I-I have a plan in mind!”
Father smiled softly at me.
“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it.”
“…”
“You always come up with something unexpected.”

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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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