16
It seemed as though stars were twinkling within the children’s pitch-black pupils, but regardless of that, I was gradually starting to find it bothersome.
Did Pierre say he didn’t like kids? I guess I don’t like them much either…….
To be honest, it’s mostly because I’ve been harassed by them all day long.
“Is this what the ‘first time’ feels like?”
“Yes. No, it isn’t. Don’t go and tell your mother.”
“I’m all grown up, so I don’t talk about stuff like this!”
“Me neither!”
“Right, right. How admirable.”
I gave them a half-hearted wave and stepped onto the stairs.
However, the twins, watching me take a step down, spoke to me again.
“Princess, are the stairs hard?”
“Is it hard?”
“No, it’s not hard.”
It was the truth. It wasn’t hard.
‘It seems the training with Dad hasn’t been unhelpful.’
It wasn’t just “not unhelpful”; it was quite remarkable.
Even I didn’t know I’d be able to blow away an 8-year-old who is five years older than me and nearly twice my size, despite not being able to create water yet.
I thought it was insane training that ignored my age, but perhaps I misjudged it.
In any case, since I’ve become stronger, going down isn’t difficult, but the problem was these short legs.
‘……Without a doubt, whoever built these stairs clearly had no consideration for children!’
It was at the moment I frowned like that.
The moment I came to my senses, my body was hoisted up.
“Dolphins help comrades!”
“Help!”
“Princess is a comrade starting today!”
“Right! Classmate friend-friend!”
When I looked down, the twins were holding and carrying one of my legs each, as if they were giving me a palanquin ride.
True to their nature as whale shifters, they were fundamentally strong.
Heh, while I was gasping in surprise, we arrived at the first floor in the blink of an eye.
I scratched my cheek while looking at the long hallway.
“Thanks.”
‘Remember favors and enemies clearly’ is my motto.
“What are your names?”
Thanks to them, I stopped thinking of it as just a passing interest and became intrigued.
Since they seem like faces I don’t know, they probably aren’t people I met in my previous cycle.
“I’m Luga!”
“I’m Luba!”
“Combined, Luga-Luba!”
“Doobi-Dooba?”
“Luga-Luba!”
I smirked while looking at the Beluga children.
“Right. I look forward to working with you.”
It seems I’ve gained some cute subordinates.
* * *
It was from the moment I got into the carriage that I felt something strange.
‘What is it?’
The expression of the servant who shared the carriage was very odd.
I wondered if it was the look of someone seeing something unpleasant, but looking closely, his face was beyond troubled—sweat was even hanging off him.
When I stared at him intently, the servant cleared his throat, “Ahem,” and then slinked his gaze downward.
‘Something is definitely strange.’
The servant’s attitude was subtle.
Both his actions and his expression.
Even the greeting when I got into the carriage earlier.
“Have you arrived, lady Calypso.”
A stiff expression and an excessively polite greeting.
Rather, he looked frozen because his formality was overboard.
After staring at him, I could figure it out without much difficulty.
‘Aha, did it reach Grandma’s ears too?’
As mentioned before, the servant who took me to and from was also a servant directly under Grandma.
Only now did I realize that all my every move and footstep had reached Grandma’s ears.
‘Right, I suppose I have to do at least this much for it to reach her ears.’
Rubbing my chin, I smirked and then lounged back in the seat.
This wasn’t the only thing to be surprised about.
When I just arrived in front of the building, strangers were standing there.
I blinked.
‘Who are those people?’
“Um, lady Calypso, does your intention to remain in this building for the time being remain unchanged?”
“Yes.”
This is the perfect place to easily contact Pierre.
“……Lady Calypso was scheduled to be moved to the main castle, but since you refused the move, it was decided instead to send people from the main castle to support you here.”
“People to support?”
“Yes, they are maids who will attend to lady Calypso.”
Only then did I realize the identity of those women standing in front of the door.
And the reason they were standing there so politely.
However, I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Ah, now I’m finally worth cozying up to?’
The fact that I went to the elementary institution and skipped a grade immediately on the first day must have already been reported to the main castle.
Seeing that they took action only now, my prediction that they would only show interest if I went straight to something like the Alpha Class was correct.
Well, it’s only because my older brothers above me are psycho and crazy shifters.
Excluding their personalities, they must have been quite excellent and geniuses.
‘But…… the clothes the maids are wearing look more expensive than the walls of the building I live in…….’
The maids all had gentle faces.
To be precise, they were gazing at me with inquisitive expressions.
Most had bright, clever faces, and no one looked dissatisfied with the situation.
Heh, from their perspective, this must be no different from suddenly being sent to a place of exile.
Is it a poker face?
I discovered one person standing among the maids in an awkward posture, not knowing what to do.
It was Misa.
The maid who was assigned here not long ago.
And a shifter with a genius talent for discovering ‘water sources.’
“Well, it’s fine for me to have them, but……. I want to choose my own dedicated staff.”
“If you mean dedicated staff.”
“I mean a nanny. A nanny. It seems you don’t intend to go as far as providing one, so it doesn’t matter if I choose, right?”
“Pardon? Yes. That is true, but……”
“Then I’ll go with that person.”
The servant followed the tip of my finger and looked flustered.
I approached Misa, who was standing alone.
“Misa. She’s someone who was originally here, and she’s been a great source of support in the meantime.”
“Yes……?”
Of course, although we only met for the first time a few days ago, it is said that even if only a few days are given, people can form a bond of a thousand years.
‘Well, we barely even talked.’
Misa looked toward me with a flustered face similar to the servant’s.
I restrained her with my mouth shape as she was about to stammer something.
“I’m saying you were kind to me, nice, cherished me, and took good care of my ‘meals.’ Especially the meals.”
“……The meals, you say?”
“Yes. The meals. You know that killer whale and whale children, including myself, are born weak.”
That’s why they dump us here, right? To raise only those who survive.
“In that case, shouldn’t they at least be provided with meals…… for them to survive as children with excellent physical strength and build among us? I understand the Grandmother—no, the Family Head—also set the rules that way.”
“That is correct.”
“I went hungry so much during my childhood…… that I almost missed the chance to showcase my talent to the Family Head.”
This is something I could never say if my talent hadn’t been recognized.
But there is a saying like this.
That when a person holds power, they make impossible things possible.
It’s unpleasant, but it’s not for nothing that a politician gets first-priority free-pass treatment when they go to a hospital.
If my status has changed in a matter of days.
There’s no need to let this rot without using it.
‘I also have no intention of leaving the previous maid, who starved and hit me, alone.’
Those who come here are newborns who can’t speak or walk.
I had absolutely no intention of leaving those maids, who lived for the fun of abusing such children, alone.
“Indeed, who knows what other talented child might have died here?”
“……Ahem, it is regrettable, but Princess, this is a matter of only the strong surviving.”
“It’s the rule of the killer whale family. I know it well.”
I smiled brightly.
“But then, is enduring a bath where you get burned by hot water, enduring eating food that smells like a mop, and enduring a stomachache without medicine also a predetermined ordeal?”
Upon hearing this, several of the maids turned pale.
There was even one who covered her mouth.
Is that so?
So you’ve all done things like that before too?
“Are you saying there was someone who behaved in such a manner?”
“Well, didn’t you say the main castle handles the management?”
“…….”
“Aren’t you curious about what kind of things I’ll say when I meet Grandma someday?”
I won’t have a reason to see Grandma again unless I accumulate a decent amount of achievements.
But I had other things to say.
“Still, I plan to tell Dad. He said he was curious about how I’ve been living.”
“Do, do you mean lord Pierre?”
“Yes. My dad.”
I then smiled radiantly. I’m saying I’ll use everything that can be used.
“Ah, did you know I entered the top class at the educational institution but not know this?”
“…….”
There’s no way they didn’t know. If my every move leaked out.
Surely the things I said about my dad must have gone out too.
“Dad is very curious about me. I was thinking of going to see him today too.”
“Um, lady Calypso.”
“Yes?”
“We will proceed with an investigation.”
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