Book of Responsibility (1)
Chapter 92
The lazy Crown Prince. The royal rogue.
The irreverent ones often called Carinus by such names.
Though Carinus was rumored to be a rogue, this reputation was quite distorted.
When someone in the position of Crown Prince deliberately acted unruly, few understood just how vast the repercussions could be.
Carinus merely pretended to be a rogue while, in reality, he remained firmly under the Emperor’s control.
Around his neck, Carinus always wore the leash that allowed the Emperor to keep him reigned in.
Carinus considered this his own form of diplomacy.
He believed that as long as he didn’t draw too much negative attention from the Emperor, power would naturally consolidate around him.
This wasn’t entirely wrong.
Everyone vied for connections with Carinus, the Crown Prince.
In Carinus’s view, the illegitimate heir was no real competition, and the Second Prince, due to his violent nature, was unsuited for these peaceful times.
However, Carinus was greatly mistaken.
His greatest flaw was not his personality but his incompetence.
Seeing only Carinus’s penchant for playing it safe, the Emperor judged that if Carinus were to ascend the throne, imperial authority would significantly weaken.
After much deliberation, the Emperor discarded Carinus.
Caught in the Emperor’s trap, Carinus had no choice but to relinquish his title as Crown Prince.
The Second Prince, as everyone knew, had no intention of letting Carinus go easily.
Faced with the cold reality of power, those close to Carinus began to distance themselves or were purged one by one.
Shaken with betrayal, Carinus trembled.
The Emperor, his brother, even the nobles who once fawned over him—all had turned their backs.
Carinus sensed death approaching.
While many deposed royals lived out their days peacefully, this was different—his rival was the Second Prince. And Carinus, who had once been the Crown Prince, was not just any royal; he couldn’t be left alone.
A tempting offer reached the terrified Carinus.
Exile to the Rubia Kingdom.
It was his last chance to save his life.
Once in exile, Carinus planned to live quietly like a mouse.
All ambition had fled the disheartened Carinus.
But trackers followed him.
Not just one or two, but many—including members of the Royal Guard.
Enraged at the Emperor, Carinus repeatedly cried out: “I am your son! How loyal I have been! And yet you cast me aside like garbage!”
Despite successfully crossing the border, he was caught by the trackers.
Breaking through the rangers’ blockade, the trackers finally pointed their swords at Carinus.
In his final moments, Carinus clearly saw his waist being split in two.
Angry, wronged, and terrified of death, Carinus stretched his hand toward the sky as he lost consciousness.
That should have been his final memory.
[Greed.]
For some time now, a voice had echoed in the depths of darkness.
[An all-consuming greed inherent in all living beings—a primal longing for life.]
As his vision fractured, a bizarre landscape began to emerge.
[Thus, the Lord is known as the Immortal Cloaked in Greed.]
Something sticky surrounded him in an incomprehensible scene, enveloping his body.
[True ruler of the Empire, accept the Lord’s power and be reborn.]
Crackle!
In the still heart, a fragment of Dragon Heart replaced the core, pulsing darkly.
Drained fingers slowly clenched into a fist.
The deeply torn red pupils regained their light.
“I will kill every last one of those traitors.”
*
“Ow…!”
Ray clutched his head.
His blood pressure spiked so suddenly that spots danced before his eyes.
Bella’s recent behavior had been strange indeed.
After being assaulted at Lailak’s Evening, Bella spent about a month recuperating at the church.
Up until then, everything seemed fine.
She mildly scolded Ray when she saw the large number of Jimy Family members brought to the church, but that was the extent of it.
Bella recovered her wounds without issue during her stay there.
The problem arose afterward.
Upon returning home, Bella announced she had “unfinished business” and returned to work at Lailak’s Evening—or rather, the adjacent building with a new sign since Ray had destroyed the original establishment.
Ray had a hunch something was up.
Still, he decided to monitor Bella.
A month after resuming work, Bella retired again. There was even a small party—a modest farewell ceremony.
Now, half a month later, came today.
At Bella’s bombshell announcement, Ray emitted several strange groans before slapping his cheeks to regain focus.
“Mom, are you pregnant?”
“Well… maybe?”
Seeing Bella pretending ignorance despite knowing the truth made Ray’s eyes widen in disbelief.
“Who’s the father?”
“…Could be one of the recent customers. I was careful, but apparently, there was an issue with the contraception.”
“Mom, tell me honestly.”
Ray’s teeth ground together.
“Was it that guy back then?”
“…”
Her silent affirmation sent Ray into another fit of rage.
“What?! Mom!! Are you serious?!”
“Ason!! What kind of language is that to speak to your mother?!”
“Language or no language!! Agh!!”
Ray prepared to slam his hands on the table but barely restrained himself.
With Bella pregnant, destroying things was out of the question.
“Grrrrrghhhhhhh!!!”
As Ray let out a long groan, he tried to understand the situation from Bella’s perspective.
Being exposed to violence while selling one’s body happened occasionally. Although Bella had been abandoned during the assault, she hadn’t suffered any permanent damage and had fully recovered, making it objectively hard to classify it as a major incident.
Cases of prostitutes accidentally becoming pregnant weren’t uncommon either.
After the Jimy Family fully took control of the Baron’s Territory, brothel management improved, reducing such occurrences, but in the past, it was chaotic.
Without the means for safe abortion, some prostitutes abandoned their newborns on the streets.
Many of the infants Ray had collected from the orphanage fell into this category.
“Hnnnnggg…”
Regardless, from Bella’s point of view, this might not seem as grave as Ray felt.
Moreover, terminating a pregnancy was certainly possible in this world, and the earlier it was done, the better for one’s health.
Yet Bella spent a month recovering, worked another month at the brothel perhaps to establish an alibi, and only revealed her pregnancy a fortnight later.
Ray sighed deeply.
The affection and dedication Bella showed toward her bloodline, along with the dreams Ray had taken away from her, weighed heavily on him.
He understood now—Bella had no intention of aborting the child.
Ray’s face hardened.
“Mom… Do you really have to give birth to that reckless child?”
“Does it matter who the father is? What fault does the child have?”
After a brief silence, Bella added with unexpected enthusiasm:
“And besides, isn’t it better to have a noble seed than a commoner’s?”
Ray grabbed the back of his neck as he stared at Bella’s sparkling eyes.
‘Calm down, calm down.’
Considering this world’s mindset, Bella’s reaction wasn’t entirely surprising.
In a society defined by class distinctions, fantasies about nobility were ingrained from childhood, and it was natural for commoners to yearn for the aristocracy.
Ray muttered to himself.
“Yeah, alright. If we’re talking seeds, wouldn’t a Royal Seed be better?”
It’s like a probability-up gacha compared to a normal one.
With a soul-drained expression, Ray watched Bella smile and gently touch her stomach.
“A boy or a girl?”
“Probably a girl. Raising a boy wasn’t that fun.”
“If I hadn’t caused so much trouble, you might not have thought about having another kid. It’s all my fault.”
Clutching his teeth, Ray resisted the urge to smash something.
Alright, in a few months, Bella’s child would be born.
That meant Ray would have a sibling.
“Ughhhhhh!!!”
A sibling, a real sibling!
By legal standards, a full sibling; by blood, a cousin.
Irrelevant details aside, remembering that the father figure was an absolute waste of humanity made Ray’s body tremble in anger.
Watching Ray’s distress, Bella murmured uncertainly,
“Will it be okay if I give birth?”
“Mom…”
Ray scratched his head, collecting his thoughts.
Although it wasn’t certain yet, he needed to inform Bella about the possible outcome for the man who could be the father.
Ray slowly explained to Bella about a high-ranking noble who died while attempting exile.
After hearing the entire story, Bella tightly gripped her wrist and whispered,
“Will my child be in danger?”
Already, Bella was more concerned about the baby inside her than herself.
Seeing her worried expression, Ray bit his lips hard.
‘Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.’
Blood dripped from Ray’s lips as the bitter taste of iron filled his mouth.
‘Let’s make a deal today.’
“Huff…”
Releasing another sigh, Ray spoke.
“Don’t worry, mom. I’ll protect you.”
If that’s what you wish.
“I’ll also protect my sibling.”
“Ason…”
Touched, Bella watched as Ray waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, don’t worry too much. Babies aren’t born with ‘Noble’ stamped on their foreheads.”
Unless they confront the noble family responsible, no one would care whether Bella gave birth or not.
Still, precaution against unnecessary suspicion was wise.
Bella’s continued visits to the brothel for a month likely served as an alibi.
But in Ray’s opinion, it wasn’t enough.
If they were going to do it, they might as well thoroughly deceive others.
After much consideration, Ray spoke.
“Mom, what about this?”
*
“Hmm…”
Ray entered the office, slightly furrowing his brows as he exhaled softly.
No matter how ruthless Ray had been in deceiving others, this time his tongue felt unusually heavy.
After much contemplation, Ray pushed his hair back and began.
“Jimmy, Matthew.”
“…?”
Both Jimmy and Matthew looked at Ray with puzzled expressions.
Their unease only grew as Ray hesitated.
Finally, Ray forced out the main subject.
“Have you ever heard of ‘responsibility without pleasure’?”
Jimmy’s rapidly diminishing hairline shot straight up towards the ceiling.
