Conflict (3)
Chapter 106
Ray gently shook Bella, who was on the verge of fainting.
Bella looked at her child with swirling eyes.
Royalty? Not even nobility—royalty?
My child came from me, a commoner, and is royalty?
Bella covered her mouth after fumbling for a while and shouted:
“Wait, who did I sleep with?!”
“…”
Ray’s head throbbed.
Most commoners had romanticized notions about nobles, and Bella wasn’t much different.
To Bella, who believed that nobles were inherently superior from birth, royalty seemed almost like celestial beings.
But now she realized her own child was royalty? That she spent a night with royalty?
Unable to control her emotions, Bella repeatedly gasped in shock, prompting Ray to groan.
“Oh…”
Their perceptions of nobility were too far apart.
Ray didn’t want to hear Bella exclaim something like “The Crown Prince strangled me!” and so made an effort to calm her down.
After flailing around some more, Bella eventually regained her composure.
“My child… royalty…”
It slowly dawned on Bella.
That her child carried royal blood was not a blessing but rather a curse.
Even noble blood was hard to handle alone and required help from others.
Now it was royal blood—not just noble blood.
Nobles weren’t marked as such on their foreheads when they were born, but royalty unmistakably bore traits visible to anyone.
Fear welled up in Bella’s chest once again.
As Ray watched Bella’s face swing wildly with emotion, he ran his hand over his younger sister’s head.
With the help of Aptel, a simple illusion spell was cast, turning Lea’s hair black.
In as calm a voice as possible, Ray said:
“Mom, let’s walk around like this for now. We’ll dye her hair later. If we start too early, all her hair might fall out.”
“Ah…”
Seeing Ray easily come up with a solution, Bella sighed.
Just by changing the color of her hair, Lea appeared much more ordinary.
Hugging Lea tightly, Bella steadied her breathing.
Once it seemed Bella had calmed down somewhat, Ray sat on the edge of the bed and began explaining the situation regarding the Crown Prince.
Though Ray didn’t explicitly say he had killed the Crown Prince, he gave a general account of how the Crown Prince was expelled and where he died.
As Ray explained, Bella’s complexion grew darker.
While Bella lacked formal education and couldn’t fully grasp how the world worked, she instinctively understood that her child was destined for peril.
After giving Bella enough time to process reality, Ray brought up the most important matter:
“Mom, Count Philip knows what lineage Lea carries.”
Bella’s eyes widened in alarm.
Ray gently grasped Bella’s hand.
“The Count won’t harm my sister.”
However,
“We may have to leave the Baron’s Territory depending on the Count’s decision.”
Ray chuckled bitterly.
Bella could only look at Ray without saying anything.
Bella knew that Ray had achieved much in Phillip’s County and was beloved by many.
She knew it, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell Ray it was fine to stay in Phillip’s County.
For Bella, abandoning a child she had already given birth to was simply unthinkable.
Yet Bella’s stubbornness would ultimately force Ray to make sacrifices.
To prevent Bella from blaming herself for too long, Ray spoke first:
“So, Mom, if we go on a trip, think about where we might go.”
A journey with the three of them together would be quite enjoyable.
The conversation ended calmly.
*
About a month had passed since Unboxing Day.
The Count still hadn’t given Ray an answer, but Ray waited patiently for the Count’s response.
Even if they left Phillip’s County, Lea needed more time to grow, and Bella needed to recover her strength.
This meant they’d likely need to rely on the Count for another one or two months.
Bella was still staying at the Manor.
To others, it was explained that Bella had suffered greatly from a difficult childbirth and was recovering there, unable to move outside.
Of course, this was a lie told to avoid suspicion.
Bella had largely recovered her health and was currently taking a light stroll through the Manor’s corridors.
Ray glanced down at Lea lying in the small bed.
Lea cooed upon sensing someone nearby.
“Aah!”
“Do you want a hug?”
“Aah!”
“Alright.”
Carefully cradling Lea’s head, Ray gently rocked her.
Shaking an infant’s head too much could lead to severe consequences.
Apparently pleased with Ray’s careful touch, Lea continued to babble with a smile.
“Bababa!”
“Bababa?”
“Aba! Aba!”
“Dad?”
“Aba!”
“Sorry, but you don’t have a dad. Your dad met his end because of me.”
“Bababa!”
Despite hearing the shocking truth, Lea continued to giggle and squirm happily in Ray’s arms.
Ray looked into Lea’s eyes with a complicated expression.
Vivid red.
Moreover, her pupils occasionally split vertically.
Illusion spells couldn’t last long.
At best, they lasted an hour or two before inevitably breaking.
Right then, Lea’s eyes split vertically again as she looked at Ray.
Feeling a headache coming on, Ray asked:
“Why are her eyes like this?”
[Because of the dragon blood.]
Aptel answered.
[The eyes are a part where dragon blood strongly manifests. This affects why illusion spells don’t last long.]
“Wouldn’t it be fine if her eyes didn’t split vertically? Is there no solution?”
Lea’s hair, under the effect of the illusion spell, appeared black.
Black hair and red eyes—it was a fairly unique combination. However, it wasn’t entirely unheard of in this world.
If only the vertical pupils could be addressed, they might manage to live relatively normal lives without drawing too much suspicion.
Aptel paused briefly.
[…To properly handle the dragon blood, we need to transplant a Dragon Heart. Once capable of controlling the dragon blood, her eyes will naturally maintain a human-like form.]
“Isn’t it dangerous to transplant a Dragon Heart at such a young age?”
[We can’t be certain, but if the transplantation procedure goes smoothly, it shouldn’t be particularly more dangerous. What we should worry about is the capacity of the Dragon Heart.]
Through the bracelet on Ray’s wrist, Aptel roughly assessed Lea’s condition and continued:
[The fragments of the Dragon Heart Master possesses might not have enough capacity to contain the dragon blood. If that’s the case, issues related to the dragon blood will arise as the child grows older.]
“Could transplanting a different kind of Dragon Heart suppress the dragon blood?”
[Even if suppressed, the body will inevitably reject it.]
“Answers aren’t coming easily. Let’s think about it later.”
Ray sighed deeply.
After consulting with Aptel, it seemed transplanting a Dragon Heart around the time Lea starts walking wouldn’t pose a problem.
Even if they left Phillip’s County, they’d need to transplant the Dragon Heart before leaving.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem they’d have to wait until Lea turned ten. Now all they needed was for Ropheiren to perfect the transplantation method.
Just then, Ropheiren entered after knocking.
“Ray, I heard you wanted to see me…”
Ropheiren froze mid-step upon entering the room, his expression stiffening as he stared at Lea in Ray’s arms. He quickly closed the door and cast several barriers.
“Hmm… Just wondering…”
Ropheiren scrutinized Lea from all angles before starting to chuckle.
“Do you plan to overthrow the entire royal family?”
“…?”
Confused, Ray looked at Ropheiren, but the latter was too busy laughing gleefully to himself.
“You’ve thought this through well. Rather than being dragged around by those fat fools, it would be a hundred times better to set up a puppet and let Master directly lead the Empire.”
“Hold on, it’s nothing like that. This kid is… like insurance. You understand, right?”
“Ah, I see.”
Ropheiren sheepishly rubbed his cheek.
“I thought Master was planning to overthrow the Empire entirely.”
“What made you think that?”
“Weren’t you preparing various things within the barony?”
Ray looked at Ropheiren curiously again.
What exactly had he prepared within the barony?
The orphan gacha results were still far from conclusive.
The only major cards Ray and the Philips family could play immediately were—
Harshia’s successor, Ray.
Resina’s successor, Luna.
Ulte, the direct descendant of Casillas, the war hero from 600 years ago.
The Philips family, which had sacrificed itself for Resina’s rest for the past 600 years and possessed a much stronger knight order than it let on.
And Lea, the only daughter left behind by the former Crown Prince who once held the position of First Prince.
“…”
It was a combination that could easily be misunderstood as preparations for rebellion spanning decades.
Ray shook his head.
“Ropheiren, perfect the Dragon Heart transplantation method as quickly and reliably as possible.”
“Understood. I’ll prioritize the research.”
“Let’s trust you with this.”
Ropheiren bowed slightly and was about to leave when another visitor arrived.
The servant who came to find Ray informed him that the Count was waiting for him in the reception room.
Realizing the inevitable, Ray nodded.
After tidying up his appearance briefly, Ray waited until Bella returned, entrusted Lea to her, and left the room.
*
Upon entering the reception room, Ray bowed slightly.
The Count silently gestured for Ray to sit.
Ray noticed the deepened wrinkles on the Count’s face over the past month.
He understood what the Count must have gone through.
‘I’ve deceived Count Philips.’
Intentionally withholding information, Ray had distorted the way the Count saw him.
Ray had packaged himself as a bright, risk-free blue-chip stock.
Thus, the Count had invested heavily in Ray without reservation.
‘But when the blue-chip shell was peeled back, it revealed a futures contract loaded with leverage…’
Headaches galore.
With a bit of self-reflection, Ray maintained silence.
No matter what decision the Count made, Ray had no intention of trying to sway the Count’s mind with empty words now.
Phillips Count wasn’t someone who could be swayed by a few sentences on such a critical issue.
The Count must have carefully considered everything before making his decision.
Ray intended to respect whatever choice the Count made.
Even if it meant severing numerous ties, it was a responsibility and karma that Ray had to bear.
After a long silence,
The Count finally spoke.
“There are conditions.”
