CH 59

“There was a big fire in the village where killer whales lived.”

Bella’s voice subsided noticeably.

“Just based on this, it’s not such a terrible tragedy. As long as no one died, the village could have been restored.”

Then her body trembled.

She downed the rest of her wine in one gulp, as if trying to control her emotions.

“While the killer whale demibeasts were busy putting out the fire in the middle of the night, shark demibeasts suddenly appeared with weapons and started slaughtering the killer whale demibeasts.”

The moment I heard that, my face twisted.

The reality was more brutal than I had imagined.

“If it had been fought on equal footing, the killer whales would have won.”

There was confidence in Bella’s face and voice when she said that.

“But the killer whale demibeasts were in an exhausted state, they had been putting out the fire and they weren’t prepared for battle.”

The result was natural.

Unlike the shark demibeasts, who would have attacked only those capable of combat, the killer whale demibeasts had so many things to protect.

The houses, other property, and especially, the young demibeasts…

“In the end, that day. All the killer whales in the village lost their lives. Except for me.”

Bella laughed.

Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes contained the desperate emotions of the day.

“It was a tragic day.”

Bella was so strong, I could never compare to her, but I felt like hugging and comforting her.

“It happened when I was only ten years old. I lost my family, relatives, friends, home, and everything overnight and became the last demibeast of my species.”

It was too harsh for a ten-year-old girl to go through.

“…This may be a somewhat rude question, but how did you survive?”

Bella-sama laughed helplessly at my question.

“That night I slept over at my friend Primo’s house. I don’t know if I should say it’s lucky…”

‘You were originally friends with your husband, Primo.’

“Since I’ve mentioned the part related to Primo, I would like to tell you that all the sharks who lived on this island were expelled that day. Primo’s parents, so… My parents-in-law took the lead.”

I raised my eyes in amazement.

“Isn’t that before the Weil family existed?”

‘As far as I know, Primo is the current head of the Weil family.’

How did he kick out all the shark demibeasts when he wasn’t even the owner of the territory?

“My parents-in-law were the most prestigious people on the island. At that time, they were already planning to establish the Weil family.”

I stammered out an unanswered question.

“Madam Bella, you said that all the houses were burned down, and all the other killer whale demibeasts passed away.”

“Yes.”

“Then where did you live…?”

“My parents-in-law took me in.”

It was fortunate that Bella had someone she could rely on.

“They are good people.”

“Yes. They were very respectable people.”

As if thinking of them, her gaze became delicate. It was a look of deep sorrow.

Come to think of it, when Bella spoke of them, she said ‘they were respectable people’ rather than ‘they are respectable people.’

So, I guess… 

“But even after that, the shark demibeasts tried to kill me, the last remaining killer whale demibeast.”

Bella let out a laugh as though she hadn’t said that.

“They seem to have decided to blame me for being kicked out of the island. They rushed at a girl who was only 10 years old with a sincere intent to kill.”

If what she said was true, I couldn’t possibly side with the shark demibeasts.

No, on the contrary, my heart filled with anger at the sharks who had returned to nature after they died.

What the hell is wrong with Bella?

“Primo’s parents protected me from those sharks and taught me swordsmanship.”

It was a part of why Bella respected them.

“I swung my sword like crazy to protect myself.”

—Don’t stop, keep going.

“By the time I became an adult, I had enough skills to deal with a group of sharks without difficulty.”

“…Did you kill all the shark beasts with that ability?”

“You seem to have heard that I exterminated the shark demibeasts.”

Stabbed to the core, I shuddered.

But perhaps it didn’t matter where I heard it, Bella continued.

“Revenge? Yes, you could call it revenge. But it was that, I wouldn’t have annihilated the shark demibeasts.”

As Bella said that, I felt an indescribable desperation.

“They touched something they shouldn’t have touched.”

Tears gradually filled Bella’s eyes.

‘Uh, uh…’

I was taken aback when tears welled up in Bella’s eyes, who had always appeared strong.

When I was hurriedly looking for something that could wipe away her tears.

“Mother.”

Suradel, whom I did not know when he arrived at the dining room, handed Bella a handkerchief.

“Thank you.”

Bella must have already noticed that he was there for she calmly took the handkerchief and wiped away her tears.

“As time passed and I became an adult, Primo and I became lovers, and soon a blessing came to us.”

I glanced at Suradel.

Pregnancy?

“It wasn’t planned, but Primo and I set the wedding date, happy with the joy of having a new family.”

But Bella’s expression as she talked about her marriage was the darkest I had ever seen.

I hurriedly spoke up.

I knew that Bella was having a hard time. I didn’t want to pretend to be ignorant and listen to the story until the end.

“Madam Bella, if you find it difficult to speak, you can stop.”

Bella shook her head as if it was okay and went on to say”

“But the news has reached the ears of shark demibeasts. The shark demibeasts probably didn’t want killer whale demibeasts to increase.”

They didn’t want to see the killer whales happy.

Her voice, adding on, was calm, but listening to it made my heart ache even more.

“I was a little worried while preparing for the wedding, but I went ahead with it.”

“…Weren’t you anxious?”

“My thoughts then were like this. All the sharks were expelled from the island. It was nonsense for them to come as a group because of my wedding.”

Bella spat out the words in a voice filled with deep regret.

It was a mistake.

“During the happy wedding, I was hit by a dagger that came without a chance to dodge. My parents-in-law died at the hands of the sharks while trying to protect me, who was unable to fight.”

She looked so vulnerable, as if she would collapse if touched.

“In the end, the wedding that should have been blessed by everyone was stained with blood by uninvited guests.”

Her deep feelings came through to me like I had the special abilities of the bull.

The horrible scene was vividly pictured.

How hateful it must have been.

“After holding my parents-in-law’s funeral, suppressing my boiling anger, I went alone to the place where the shark demibeasts live.”

“What?”

…While pregnant with Suradel?

Besides, the wound from the dagger wouldn’t have healed?

Like what I had heard wasn’t a lie, Bella’s eyes flashed viciously.

“And I shouted from the center of the town that the only killer whale on the continent that you guys wanted to kill so badly had come.”

…It wasn’t even a surprise attack, but a provocation to kill in the center of the enemy’s land.

“The result was probably what you had heard.”

She must be talking about how all sharks except the young were exterminated.

After finishing the story, Bella looked at me and smiled through the tears.

“Am I terrible?”

No.

It was not something I dared to judge.

Only the person who suffered the same thing could understand the terrible feeling.

“I don’t think of it as a glorious past either.”

How could anyone be proud of killing people?

She shook her head and met my eyes, steadfast.

“But I have no regrets.”

If Bella hadn’t killed the shark demibeasts that day, her life would have been in constant danger.

“They took away my family, friends, house, my parents-in-law, and…”

Bella could not finish her words, opting to shut her eyes tightly.

I approached Bella and cradled her hands. Then she gazed at me and tried her best to smile.

“Lia…”

“It’s not terrible at all.”

I thought about how to comfort her, and decided to sympathize with her in my own way.

“It wouldn’t be enough to knock out each one of those bastards, then put them in boiling water to make fish stew.”

Bella looked at me with an unusually flustered expression.

“Huh…?”

“After all, aren’t the sharks the ones who attacked you first when you visited them?”

Rather than Bella killing them, didn’t they just self-destruct?

“The young sharks were spared. You’re merciful, very kind… If I were you, I would have destroyed three generations of shark demibeasts.”

For a few seconds, Bella stared into my earnest yet angry eyes.

Oops.

Starting with Suradel, who was standing next to me, the two killer whales burst into laughter.

Hahaha-!

Ame: it’s too sad ;_;

Though Lia is really like the sunshine! Or in this instance, a fireball x)