Chapter 4

I became a face genius dad in the game - Chapter 4 (4/109)

Seymour Mausoleum (3)

I silently looked at Sia.

“……”

“……”

A moment of silence.

“……Oh.”

Sia's eyes began to waver, and she started to fidget, as if realizing she had made a mistake.

“Ahaha.”

I let out a small laugh.

“What was that?”

“Ah. T-that...”

“You, I mean.”

As I reached out my hand, Sia closed her eyes tightly, as if thinking about something.

But my hand merely picked up Lucis, who was sitting next to her, and held him in my arms.

“There's nothing you can't say in front of a child.”

“……Huh?”

Sia opened her eyes wide in surprise.

I gently lifted Lucis's right hand and waved it at Sia and Simon.

“Say hello. This is your niece and great-aunt.”

I lowered my head to meet Lucis's eyes and said,

“Say hello. They are your uncle, aunt, and distant cousin.”

“O...kay.”

Lucis looked at them carefully, as if inspecting them. He seemed pleased to meet his blood relatives.

Lucis nodded slightly and said,

“Hello.”

Simon and Sia looked at each other in confusion and then cleared their throats before greeting Lucis.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

The two of them, who had greeted Lucis at the same time, turned their heads to look at each other as if they were looking at crazy people.

I could read the thoughts in their eyes.

– Talking to an aunt informally?

– Using formal language with a nephew?

After hesitating for a moment, the two of them greeted Lucis again.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

This time, their roles were reversed.

Unable to contain her laughter, Lucis burst out laughing at the sight of the two of them turning to look at each other again.

“Kekeke.”

Lucis, who rarely expressed emotions, laughed brightly, tilting her head back.

“Ah...”

The two younger siblings, who had been looking at each other with strange eyes, were now captivated by Lucis's smile.

Lucis raised her head with a proud expression, as if pleased with herself.

I could almost read the thoughts in her expression.

– You can love me a little more. I am a great being worthy of admiration.

The younger the dragon, the stronger the pride, and it was truly the case.

Of course, such an appearance suited Lucis well.

After all, she was a little dragon, and above all, she was really cute.

“......”

However, I couldn't fully enjoy her cuteness.

A whirlwind was raging in my chest.

– Is he planning to kill Uncle too?

Uncle 'too'.

What did that mean?

* * *

Simon, the second of the Mausoleum family, had never experienced the love of his family.

His mother passed away shortly after giving birth to Sia, and his father was a man who had no interest in his family.

As for his older brother Seymour... he didn't want to talk about it.

Therefore, Simon poured his love into Sia, the third child.

He wanted to fill the void left by a mother who didn't exist and a father who might as well not exist.

Although he was often criticized for his weakness, which was uncharacteristic of the Mausoleum family, he was happy to see Sia grow up bright and healthy.

– Don't expect too much.

Don't expect too much from this family.

Don't expect too much from Father or your older brother.

Don't expect to be loved.

Don't expect to be part of a family.

Just hope to survive.

But.

– Say hello. This is your niece and great-aunt.

– Hello.

Seeing such a scene, one can't help but have expectations.

Seeing a normal, warm side of his older brother, one can't help but wonder if there's a chance.

The walls of the heart, built to avoid getting hurt, begin to waver.

“...Brother.”

Simon raised his head at the sound of his name.

In the attic under the roof, a secret place for the siblings, Sia was hugging her knees on an old sofa.

Her eyes seemed to be calculating something, and at the same time, they held a glimmer of hope that made the calculations meaningless.

“Do you trust Seymour?”

Simon knew that by asking this, Sia was saying she wanted to believe.

Under normal circumstances, Simon would have said something like, "I do too," or "I think the same as you," even if it was a lie.

After all, Simon always took Sia's side, except in front of Seymour.

“...”

But Simon couldn't answer.

He was too afraid of Seymour to answer.

Sia saw her brother, who was calling her, bury his face in his hands. She saw his fingertips trembling.

Simon was like a parent to Sia.

He was always cool and confident, whether in front of other nobles or servants.

But in front of his older brother, he became infinitely small, like a seven-year-old boy facing a giant.

Sia didn't know what had happened between her younger and older brother to make him so afraid.

She knew it wasn't a trivial matter.

But Sia didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Father was dead.

Her older brother had changed.

She had a cute niece.

Perhaps this was the first and last chance for this family to change.

A chance to become a little more normal.

“Simon.”

Sia spoke carefully.

“Seymour smiled, didn't he?”

“...”

“Has Seymour ever shown us a smile other than a sneer?”

No, he hadn't.

“Has he ever joked about being an aunt or a nephew?”

No, he hadn't.

“Maybe... maybe Seymour is changing. Maybe he can change.”

Simon knew that objectively, Sia was right.

But...

“I don't know.”

He couldn't imagine it.

“I can't imagine him changing.”

Even now, when he thought of Seymour, he could hear the sound of the wind brushing against the surface of a cold lake.

The creaking of a small boat beneath his feet.

...And Seymour's emotionless eyes, weighing the life and death of the person in front of him.

* * *

“...Huh?”

While reading a book in the study, I suddenly placed my hand on my stomach.

“It's already digested?”

I had eaten all the steaks served for lunch without leaving a single piece.

My stomach had been so full that it was hard to breathe, but a few hours later, it was completely digested.

‘Indeed, youth is beautiful...!’

It was not only due to my age but also because of Seymour's robust body. After all, he had a good lineage.

Thinking of my old body from Earth, which would feel heavy after eating meat for lunch until the end of the workday, I smiled contentedly and turned the page of the book.

After lunch, I had locked myself in the study to read a book because I wanted to learn something.

‘Since I've fallen into the game world, I might as well try using magic.’

It was not only out of personal interest but also because knowing how to use magic was essential for surviving in this world.

‘Whether or not you can use magic, or more precisely, whether or not you can sense mana, can change your life.’

In this world, capital and mana were as important as class.

That was why Seymour, who had everything except mana, risked his life to enter the Mausoleum's tomb.

I turned another page of the book. Fortunately, I could read the language fluently, so I didn't need to learn it again.

‘Hmm... Indeed. Unlike in the game, just shouting the name of a spell doesn't activate magic here.’

In this world, the ability to use magic depended more on one's sensitivity to mana, mental strength, and willpower than on clear pronunciation.

It was like having only stats and passive skills in a game, without any active skills.

‘Passive skills, huh.’

I looked away from the book and turned my head to the side. There was a 'window' that appeared in my mind as soon as I thought about magic.

┏━━━━━━

┃ Faint Dragon Bloodline

┃ Basic Gravity Magic (0%)

┃ Basic Mana Affinity (0%)

┃ High Education (17%)

┃ Strong Willpower (32%)

┃ Resilient Body (67%)

┗━━━━━━

At first, I was confused, but upon closer inspection, it was a list of skills that had been applied to Seymour from the setup stage.

‘A skill window, I guess. But it looks different from the game interface.’

It wasn't a clean, modern window but one that felt like black flames were creating the text.

‘In the original story, Seymour's mana took this form.’

Recalling that Seymour's mana was obtained through a contract with the Mausoleum, this 'skill window' was likely also made of the Mausoleum's mana.

‘Is this also part of the contract between Seymour and the Mausoleum?’

The thought that came to mind seemed plausible, so I nodded.

For Seymour, who didn't know how to handle mana, to become a dark master threatening the protagonist within a year, he must have had this level of ability.

The fact that the direction and progress of growth were visually displayed was a tremendous utility for someone who needed to grow.

I looked at the skill window again.

┏━━━━━━

┃ Faint Dragon Bloodline

┃ Basic Gravity Magic (0%)

┃ Basic Mana Affinity (0%)

┃ High Education (17%)

┃ Strong Willpower (32%)

┃ Resilient Body (67%)

┗━━━━━━

Fortunately, the notation of the skill window was the same as in the game system.

The prefixes like 'Faint,' 'Basic,' and 'Resilient' indicated the level of each skill, and when the percentage reached 100, the skill would level up.

Curious, I touched one of the skill names, and a detailed description window appeared, just like in the game.

━━━━━━

You have inherited a faint bloodline of ancient magical creatures.

– Dragons show a slight favor towards you.

-> Your magic is 7% stronger.

━━━━━━

This was a passive skill based on Seymour's bloodline.

I then touched the skill below it.

━━━━━━

Your bloodline is adept at handling spatial magic.

<- You receive a 15% aiming correction and 15% damage correction from the 'High Education' skill.

<- You receive a 6% destruction correction, 6% mana efficiency correction, and 6% magic casting speed correction from the 'Faint Dragon Bloodline' skill.

━━━━━━

Gravity Magic.

It was almost like Seymour Mausoleum's trademark.

The reason it was at 0% in the 'Basic' level was that it had only been unlocked after he learned to handle mana through the contract.

I stroked my chin and thought deeply.

‘What kind of contract did Seymour make with the Mausoleum?’

A miraculous contract that turned a successor in mortal danger into the capital's top figure within a year.

Gravity Magic, the skill window, and even Lucis were part of the deal.

If the protagonist hadn't stopped him, Seymour might have swallowed the entire empire, not just become a dark master.

‘What did he offer in return to gain this much power?’

The cost of the contract.

I was curious about it.

What did Seymour, or I, have to fulfill?

‘Did the original Seymour pay the cost of the contract and die?’

After thinking deeply, I shook my head and stood up.

No matter how much I thought, it was a problem I couldn't solve now.

‘I might as well try using magic first.’

I looked around.

A study full of books. Clearly, I couldn't use magic here.

“Dororon-.”

Lucis was sound asleep on the sofa, drooling, so I quietly opened the window and stepped out onto the balcony.

Looking up, I saw a white pigeon flying at a low altitude.

‘A perfect target to test Gravity Magic.’

I reached out my hand towards the bird.

And, as I had read in the book, I focused my will and mental strength.

‘The essence of magic is invocation. If you wish strongly, the mana will move to help fulfill it.’

The magic in this world was similar to a prayer to a god.

The only difference was that the power to fulfill the invocation came from within me.

‘Fall.’

As I invoked, I felt the mana in my heart move.

The magic was beginning to manifest.

At that moment.

The world flipped upside down.