Chapter 02
“Is this ‘that’?”
A tone of voice that treats people like objects. Still the same.
The aide next to him bowed his head politely.
“Yes, that is correct. Head of the Family.”
“And the power of water?”
“Well, that is…”
The aide glanced around cautiously and then shook his head.
‘The power of water.’
It refers to the special power passed down through the Orca family for generations.
With this power, aquatic beast-people could exert one hundred percent of their abilities even on land.
It was an incredibly important power for aquatic animal beast-people, who had the disadvantage of their strength weakening the farther they moved from the sea.
Moreover, the stronger this power was, the more it allowed nearby aquatic beast-people to also exert their full strength.
Furthermore, if this power reached its peak, it could distribute this buff to all aquatic creatures.
‘I achieved that level.’
In the previous round, I obtained a treasure that appeared in the original work.
With the help of that treasure, I awakened the power of water and raised it to its极限, eventually securing the position of Head of the Family and even gathering all the aquatic beast-people to start a war.
‘Those bastards were the ones who struck us first, calling us fishy.’
In fact, when I read it as a novel, all the aquatic beast-people, including myself, were irredeemable villains.
They tried to kidnap the adorable squirrel female lead, forced her to use her healing powers by drugging her, and later even tried to kill her.
The final villain family, the Orca beast-person family, was no different.
But once I entered this world, I realized the real thugs were the land-animal bastards.
Not content with taking all the good land on the continent for themselves…
They drove the aquatic beast-people to salt-laden lands where even farming was difficult, and mocked them.
They said things like, let the fish bastards live on their own salty fish.
‘And they’re the ones who reek of gamey meat…!’
Even though our true forms are aquatic creatures, when in human form, we also need to eat and live like humans.
The aquatic beast-people truly lived fiercely on barren lands and islands.
So I guess that’s why the kids became even more hardened. Yeah.
‘To be honest, I can’t say I don’t feel any desire for revenge from the last round either.’
Every time, I was sold off to another family before I even turned ten.
In the first round, it was the Black Panther family, and in the second round, after causing a huge ruckus, I got entangled with the imperial family where the original male lead was.
But even then, I lived as a tool to be sold off.
Frustrated beyond belief, I ran away in my previous life.
I built up my strength, returned, took down those bastard older brothers of mine, and became the Head of the Family.
‘Damn it, what’s the use of becoming that strong!’
I started a war against the original land-animal families who dared to look down on us aquatic creatures, and I was almost on the verge of victory…!
‘I never expected that crazy male lead to provoke the quiet Dragon Duke and come charging in for mutual destruction.’
The cheat key of this world.
The Dragon Duke, who originally plays the role of mediating between land-animal and aquatic beast-people.
‘But a being that goes berserk once every ten years.’
The current generation’s Dragon Duke was a person who simply wished to live in peace.
Even in the original work, he had almost no contact with the female lead, or at most offered wise advice…
But when the male lead realized they were going to lose, he provoked this quietly living Duke, causing him to go berserk, leading to a mutual destruction ending!
And in the previous round, I made a decision.
This time, I must return home.
‘I absolutely must become the Dragon’s Bride.’
It was good that I made that decision, but… the first obstacle was staring at me with wide eyes.
Hmm, how should I handle this to make sure that old lady doesn’t find me immediately displeasing?
“Tsk, you’ve brought something useless.”
The old lady clicked her tongue and spoke in an ice-cold voice.
“Head of the Family, the child’s name is…”
“Calypso. She will be Calypso Aquacielo.”
“Yes. I will record it as such.”
‘The naming process is flowing the same way this time too.’
Calypso, a name like a water spirit.
Even though they cast me out every single round, why did they give me such a precious name?
‘What kind of minimal conscience is that. Pfft.’
I resented the old lady bitterly, but ironically, now I just stared at her blankly without any emotion.
The reason I could do this was because of what one of my retainers said as they died in the previous round.
“…Lady Calypso, the late former Head of the Family… regretted it until the day she died.”
“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? Did she go senile before she died?”
The retainer who had served the Orca family for generations was not one to talk nonsense.
“Haha, she said… she should have, at least once, gone to see the young lady… she should have brought the young lady back…”
Of course, this didn’t make me forgive everything the old lady did, but it did make me curious.
Just why was she always so desperately trying to drive me away?
There were many things left unresolved, and I didn’t like it, but.
Anyway, in this life, I didn’t need any of that; all I had to do was survive and get sold off as the Dragon’s Bride.
In this Orca family, power rules over everything.
“…Grandmother.”
I reached out my hand and called out to the old lady.
My hand had become smaller than a steamed bun again.
‘Damn it, to be sold off as the Dragon’s Bride, I need to be at least ten years old.’
I can’t wait that long.
Holding onto the railing with my tiny hand, I stood on my tiptoes with all my might.
“Wait!”
Moving my chubby cheeks and small lips, the old lady who was turning away paused for a moment.
Her handsome face turned to look at me.
“What did you say?”
“Grandmother!”
The old lady, looking incredulous, frowned sharply and turned to the aide.
“Can she speak properly? Who taught her that?”
It was understandable to be surprised.
Whale beast-people are born with large bodies and great strength, but their brain development tends to be slow.
It’s a kind of racial trait.
In other words, no matter how intelligent a whale might be, they live for a long time as so-called ‘slowpokes’ who can’t even speak.
Even when they could speak, their pronunciation was slurred.
“Huh? Yes, Your Grace. A child of about two years old can usually manage simple words…”
“Who said I was talking about an ordinary beast-person child? Whale children are slow to speak! Isn’t it common knowledge that they speak awkwardly until they’re five? Don’t you dare go around calling anyone a fish-brain elsewhere. You anchovy.”
“…”
Oh, Grandmother’s sharp tongue. It’s been a while, it’s refreshing.
The last ‘anchovy’ wasn’t an insult; the aide was literally an anchovy beast-person, so she called him that.
“You. Say it again.”
I stared at the old lady blankly, then smiled brightly.
‘Yes, surprising, isn’t it? I can speak properly.’
As much as I want. You old hag.
“Grandmother!”
“Heh, not only can she speak, but it seems she can also understand what’s being said? What’s going on here?”
“Well, um, she hasn’t learned anything separately from the maids or nannies.”
Of course not, because I pretended to be clueless in front of them.
Even if I was reborn, I couldn’t do anything from the moment I was a newborn.
No matter how many times I regressed, the basic traits of a whale beast-person remained.
It wasn’t easy to overcome the limits of slow growth or the inability to use one’s tongue during early childhood, so I only now got the hang of it.
‘I wish I could have spoken clearly earlier.’
It’s a shame, but what’s past is past. I’m satisfied with the fact that I can start this life a little more cleverly.
Besides, the reason whale children sometimes suddenly die around the age of one or two is also because they have weaker immune systems than other beast-people.
I also learned from reading the original work that while whales gain immense power as adults, their childhood is extremely, extremely fragile.
Of course, the fact that they are stronger than ordinary beast-people when young is a separate matter. It’s like having strong strength but a frail body?
“Did a genius appear among the fish-heads?”
“Fish-heads! Grandmother! Fish-heads!”
“…”
The old lady’s expression turned peculiar.
It was a look that seemed to ask, ‘Are you insulting me right now?’
“Are you insulting me right now?”
Yes, that’s right. You old hag.
Even though I’m smiling now, my resentment hasn’t all disappeared.
I deliberately pretended not to know and confidently shouted it once more.
“Fish-heads!”
The old lady’s hand grabbed my clothes and lifted me up.
“What a mischievous thing.”
Is this what a kitten looks like when its mother cat scruffs it?
It was a truly rough hand.
“How dare you call me a fish-head?”
If my clothes tore like this, I’d get a concussion.
Instead of struggling, I relaxed my body.
“With a face that’s a spitting image of that bastard Pierre, and so small too, your physique is clearly stunted.”
“Yes… usually by the time they’re three, they’re much bigger than this.”
“A half-breed with no power of water either… and only brain development is fast. You little brat. You understand everything I’m saying right now, don’t you? Can you prove your own usefulness?”
What is she saying? Is that something to say to a three-year-old?
When I let out a slight cough, a look of contempt flickered across her face.
“An impossibly small and frail body. With this, how could you possibly have sharp teeth to bare?”
The old lady must have put my three older brothers through this same process, and going further back, my father, the youngest son, as well. Plus all the other cousins too.
She was the strongest herself, a tyrant who couldn’t understand the plight of the weak, a self-centered human being.
“Hmph. A brain that the body can’t keep up with is of no use to our fam—”
“Grandmother! I’ll prove it!”
I reached out my hand as if by mistake and snatched something.
“I, prove it!”
With a pull, something came off in my hand. It was a strand of the old lady’s white hair by her ear. I smiled brightly.
“Grandmother, me good! Talk!”
Hahaha, I’ve always wanted to try this.
You asked me to prove it, didn’t you, old hag!
