Chapter 32
The second son, Atlan.
Broadly speaking, this person is an individual with a temperament similar to “Bayan,” whom I insulted earlier.
He has a lot of anger, is violent, hot-tempered, and even cruel.
‘If there’s a difference, is it that Atlan is more mischievous?’
If the third son, Agenor, is the type to wait for the strong to let their guard down and then aim for a reversal of relationships, then that guy enjoyed toying with the strong.
He especially enjoyed the blood shed in battle. If I had to categorize him, he was a madman who liked to win by bleeding after insisting on fighting battles he could have won without getting hit.
This family is such a bothersome place; why are there so many crazy people?
‘There’s a thin line between madness and being a madman.’
If he had gone just one step further, I would have thought Atlan was simply someone who had lost his mind.
However, since he was a meticulously calculating guy, he didn’t enjoy blood to the extent that it would harm his position.
That was truly like a killer whale that uses its head.
Finishing my thoughts there, I stretched out wide.
I decided to just take note of Agenor’s crazy talk for now.
‘For the time being, I won’t have to run into Atlan immediately anyway.’
Like Agenor, Atlan should be in the intermediate institution currently.
Since he’d be around the middle grades, there’d be even less reason for him to see me.
“Luga.”
“Yeth! Printheth!”
“Are you looking for Luba too?”
“Right. You want to sit down too?”
I called over and sat the twins, who were busy scurrying around holding a model train next to me.
Since they are at an active age, they were wiggling their butts even while sitting, so I realized I wouldn’t be able to hold onto them for long and spoke quickly.
“You two are twins, right? And you get along well.”
“We don’t get along!”
“We don’t get along!”
“You don’t?”
Luga and Luba looked at each other and nodded.
“Daddy tellth uth to get along… but Luba alwayth thayth he’th the older brother.”
“I am the older brother, aren’t I?”
“Thee thith. Thee. I’m the one being patient and adult-like.”
“Don’t be funny. Printheth, Luga alwayth tellth lietht!”
“No I don’t!”
“Yeth you do!”
“Uh-huh…”
Hey, kids? Don’t fight. Whoa, whoa. Calm down.
I felt a sense of crisis that I might have suddenly caused the harmonious twins to fight.
I quickly squeezed in between the two of them to stop the quarrel.
Luga and Luba acted happily as if they had never fought, each grabbing one of my hands.
“Wow, doeth the Printheth hold our handth if we bicker?”
“She holds them!”
“Don’t learn from this. You clever things.”
“Hehe.”
I let out a deep sigh.
“Do you happen to have other siblings?”
“No. Mommy thayth ththe doethn’t want to have any more.”
“Ththe ith buthy being the Head of the Family!”
“Is that so?”
Usually, Heads of Families don’t tend to have many children.
Grandmother was a bit of an exception.
“Inthtead, we have lotth of coutinth!”
“Lotth and lotth of them!”
“Really?”
Whether they became interested in our conversation, the whale children playing nearby gathered one by one.
Since they were gathered, I picked out the kids who had siblings.
“My big brother alwayth thtealth my thnackth and eatth them!”
“My big brother ith nithe to me, though!”
“How old is your brother?”
“Twenty yearth old!”
“Rejected. Next.”
“I have a younger brother, but Mommy only liketh my brother…”
After having an in-depth conversation, I reached the conclusion that in our class, children who got along well with their brothers were rare, except for cases where there was a significant age gap.
Still, it wasn’t at the level of asking me to “crush” them like my third brother; they just bickered normally but were overflowing with affection for their siblings.
“But Printheth, Karon didn’t come today either.”
“He didn’t come.”
“Ah. Right.”
I had been worrying about the third brother’s personality while wondering what kind of conversation I should have with Agenor next based on this data.
‘He was absent today, wasn’t he?’
Karon had been absent for several days.
It had been since the incident with me.
I was the only one who knew the reason, but I didn’t let it show to the beluga twins.
“Is it comfortable without Karon?”
At that, Luga and Luba looked at each other and hesitated.
Their faces were clearly positive, but they seemed hesitant to answer.
“Won’t Karon mitth the teacher?”
“I think I would mitth her.”
Considering the teachers educated the children in a fairly hands-off manner, the kids liked the teachers quite a bit, like children do.
I felt a strange emotion watching the twin brothers think of Karon even after being bullied like that.
‘If I were them, I’d think it’s great if he never came back. Oh, I would think it’s a shame I couldn’t get revenge with my own hands.’
Is this the innocence I lost, or something like that?
I looked around the class.
Since Karon went absent, the atmosphere among the killer whale branch families was a bit strange.
Originally, it seemed they all hung out as one solid group, but it had subtly split into two groups, so to speak.
Furthermore, the groups seemed to openly exclude or be hostile toward each other.
It was quite fascinating and strange for an atmosphere formed in just a few days.
‘What is the standard for dividing them?’
Since I hadn’t talked to them enough to know them well, nor had I paid them much attention, I just tilted my head.
And honestly, it’s a waste of time to even care about those guys who aren’t even a threat.
***
“Hello, Princess.”
On the way back after finishing all the education that day.
I ran into a familiar person in front of the classroom. It was Madam Laila.
“Yes. Do you have business with me by any chance?”
She was standing as if she had been waiting for me, which made me feel puzzled.
“No, it’s not that. I simply came because I have something to discuss with the teacher of this class.”
If that were the case, it was even more strange.
Couldn’t she just call the teacher to where she was? Didn’t she usually do that?
As far as I knew, Madam Laila was a person who didn’t often leave her Chairperson’s office.
Come to think of it, we’ve run into each other quite a bit for that to be the case, haven’t we?
“So you came without calling the teacher?”
“Ah, sometimes there are things I need to see for myself.”
I thought for a moment and then asked.
“Is it about the killer whale group by any chance?”
“…….”
Then Madam Laila, who had remained silent for a moment, wore a faint smile that was barely visible.
“Most of the work I do is likely related to the Killer Whale family.”
Avoiding it like this, are we.
I shrugged my shoulders. Actually, I wanted to have a talk with Madam Laila at least once, but it didn’t seem like today was the time.
Not only were the children not all gone yet and were watching with curious eyes.
Whether the statement that she came to see the teacher was a lie or not, Camille was waiting there restlessly.
“Princess.”
“Yes?”
I was about to turn and leave like that, but Madam Laila suddenly called me.
“Do you know that there is a family meeting in a few days?”
A family meeting. It was a fact I already knew from hearing it from the Herring sisters.
When I nodded, a slight look of surprise and brilliance crossed Madam Laila’s face.
“As expected, did Lord Pierre inform you?”
“That’s not it, but I do have another source.”
“Since it’s not him, your information is quite fast, isn’t it?”
Is it? Seeing as the Herring sisters chatted about it so nonchalantly, I thought it was a story spread far and wide.
Isn’t it news everyone knows?
I shrugged my shoulders.
Madam Laila scanned the hallway once and then stared intently at me.
Then she elegantly bent her legs to match her eye level with mine.
“Be careful, Princess.”
It was a small, lowered voice.
Soon, when she even bowed her head and whispered in my ear, a small voice that probably only I could hear said this:
“Because until now, it has been common for all prospects to disappear right before the family meeting.”
I was not flustered.
Instead, I turned toward Madam Laila with clear eyes.
Soon, a pretty smile graced my face.
“It’s okay. Because Dad will protect me.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Madam Laila also smiled back, but soon spoke while erasing the smile.
“But do not let your guard down, Princess. This massive family has far too many gaps.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
I said this, but since there was no way Dad would protect me, I became a bit serious.
‘Madam Laila personally gave me a warning because she likely thinks something will happen.’
As I approached the stairs, the Luga and Luba brothers popped their heads out as if they had been waiting.
Ah, you startled me.
The twins, saying they had been waiting only for this time today as well, picked me up and carried me down the stairs.
……I’m getting used to this now too.
“Thanks, guys. Get home safely.”
“Yeth! Thee you tomorrow, Printheth!”
“Thee you, Printheth!”
Since today wasn’t the day their father came to pick them up, someone else took the twins away.
As I turned my head like that, I froze.
“Wow, you startled me.”
Agenor, dressed in comfortable clothes, was standing there.
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