Pregnant Cultivator, Doted by Big Boss

"Is he insane? Why is he shouting ’System’ at thin air?"

"What’s he yelling about? Does anyone know what the hell a ’System’ is?"

"No idea."

"He’s about to die and he’s still acting crazy. His hysteria is pretty severe."

"I’ve heard for a while that the young master of the General’s Mansion has something wrong with his head. Turns out it’s true."

"What General’s Mansion? Didn’t you hear the Princely Heir just now? The original General of Cavalry of the General’s Mansion was poisoned to death. This guy is an imposter. Daring to impersonate an official of the Imperial Court... death is too good for him."

"Right, right... He’s a criminal."

The chatter of the onlookers drifted over.

Arthur Jacobs couldn’t be bothered with them anymore; he just kept yelling for the System. Seeing his strange expression as he shouted at the air, even Aaron Sinclair glanced up at the empty space curiously.

’System... That word has a nice ring to it. No, no, I must be overthinking things. This brain-damaged Arthur Jacobs is starting to rub off on me.’

At that moment, Arthur Jacobs, his shoulder gripped in one hand by a member of the Imperial Guard, was still shouting for the System.

"System... System, come out."

Just as Arthur Jacobs shouted a few more times, the System finally responded to him.

[Stop shouting. I’m not going to save you.]

"What? Am I not the chosen one? System, why won’t you save me? Aren’t you my System?"

[BZZT... You didn’t really think you were some kind of chosen one, did you? BZZT... You’re dreaming! Did you really think there’s such a thing as a free lunch in this world?]

[Also, haven’t you noticed that all the missions the System issued were just to mess with you?]

"What are you talking about? Explain yourself! Explain yourself to me, now!"

[It means all that stuff—crawling through a doggy door, entering a pigsty, stealing your dad’s underwear and wearing it on your head, and copying out those ’Rules for Women’ and ’Feminine Virtues’—it was all to screw with you. Just to make a fool of you.]

"No... I don’t believe it. How could this be?"

[I can only say you’re gullible and stupid. Any normal person would have thought something was off with those missions. Only you were so blinded by greed. All you wanted were shortcuts, always hoping to get something for nothing. How could there be so many freebies in this world? Unbinding, unbinding. System unbinding in progress... fifty percent... seventy percent... ninety-nine percent...]

"No... Don’t... System..."

[System unbinding complete.]

A voice sounded.

And then, there was only silence.

Arthur Jacobs’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even recovered from the shock of being deceived by the System, and it had already unbound and fled.

"No..."

"Why... You liar."

"You’re all liars."

At that moment, Arthur Jacobs felt as if a heavy stone was crushing his chest, making it difficult to breathe. His vision went black, and he fainted.

Aaron Sinclair scratched his head.

"Looks like his mental fortitude is pretty weak, too."

He glanced at the unconscious Arthur Jacobs and gestured with a light wave of his hand. "Throw him into the Sky-Prison and return him to his parents."

The man holding Arthur Jacobs by the shoulder, lifting him up, nodded slightly and responded respectfully.

"Yes, Young Master."

As soon as he finished speaking, he carried the unconscious Arthur Jacobs away.

「Meanwhile, elsewhere.」

In the courtyard where Celeste Grant resided, she was currently lying on a rocking chair, sunbathing, her body swaying gently with its movement. Life was quite pleasant.

Just then, she sensed something and slowly opened her eyes.

The rocking chair stopped moving, and she sat up straight. As Celeste Grant held out her hand, a ball of light flew from the distance and landed in her open palm.

Celeste Grant’s gaze fell upon the ball of light in her hand.

This was the System that had been bound to Arthur Jacobs.

Because she had altered its core, the System could no longer absorb the luck of others, nor could it absorb the nation’s fortune. Without any energy to run on, it had already begun to collapse. Now that it was back in her hands, it was essentially useless.

She clenched her fingers, and in the next moment, the ball of light shattered and dissipated in her hand.

Celeste Grant looked up at the sky and couldn’t help but murmur to herself, "My Annie should be home around this time. I’ll go make dinner for my son first." Although the mansion had cooks and servants, she was the one most familiar with her son’s tastes.

With that thought, she rose from the rocking chair and headed for the kitchen. Tonight, she would cook a delicious meal for her son herself.

Darkness fell, and evening arrived in the blink of an eye.

When Aaron Sinclair returned from outside, the steward told him to go to his mother’s courtyard for dinner. He changed direction and ran happily toward the main courtyard.

As he stepped into the courtyard, a fragrant aroma greeted him. What was that smell? It was numbing and savory, a tingly sensation. Just the scent alone made his mouth water.

He paused and couldn’t help but murmur.

"It smells so good. I wonder what delicious food Mom is making tonight."

Aaron Sinclair glanced toward the doorway and quickened his pace, stepping inside.

"Dad, Mom, I’m home!"

He walked into the room and saw his parents sitting there, waiting for him.

His father saw him and beckoned.

"Hurry up and come over. We’re having hot pot tonight."

And there was Celeste Grant. She looked up at her son and couldn’t help but smile. "Come on, sweetie, come to Mom’s side. I made your favorite food tonight."

"Coming, coming!"

His gaze swept over the steaming broth on the table.

"So this is hot pot."

’It’s different from the dishes Mom made before, but that doesn’t matter as long as it’s delicious. Most importantly, I feel like this hot pot really suits my taste. Even though it’s my first time seeing this way of eating, it feels like this is how things are supposed to be eaten. Maybe this is what they mean by ’birds of a feather flock together’.’

Celeste Grant handed her son a pair of chopsticks.

"Son, hurry and try it. It’s to die for."

Javier Sinclair glanced at him and said, "Eat up. I sliced these meat rolls myself."

’My father is the Warden of the North, yet he’d actually do something like this himself. Mom must have asked him to help. Looks like Mom is still the most powerful one in this family.’ Hearing that his own father had sliced the meat, Aaron Sinclair leaned in to examine the rolls and couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration.

"Dad, your knife skills are incredible."

Javier Sinclair raised his eyes slightly, a smug look on his face. But what he said was, "Slicing a bit of meat is nothing for me. You should learn a thing or two, kid. There’s a lot more that I know."

Hearing this, Celeste Grant couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

"Listen to you, showing off."

’The great Demon God, getting all cocky just from slicing some meat.’

Celeste Grant glanced at the father and son. "You two, hurry up and eat."

Javier Sinclair nodded slightly.

"Yes, dear."

"You’ve worked hard, dear. You should eat more."

As he spoke, he placed vegetables and meat on his wife’s plate.

"Thank you, darling."

Seeing this, Aaron Sinclair, who was sitting there, rubbed his hands together.

"I’m starting to feel like a third wheel."

Javier Sinclair chuckled.

"It’s good that you know, kid."

"You were always the third wheel."

As his words fell, Aaron Sinclair gave his mother a pitiful look.

"Mom, *sob*, does Dad not like me?"

Javier Sinclair cursed.

"Oh, come on... Kid, stop trying to play the victim with me."