Chapter 5

I became a genius father in the game - Chapter 5 (5/109)

Seymour Mausoleum (4)

– Hoot?

The pigeon let out a short moan as it was pulled down by a force.

The pigeon glided down in a zigzag, like a falling leaf, and landed on the balcony.

– Hoo... hoo...?

Approaching the pigeon, which tilted its head in confusion, I grabbed its small body.

– Hoo-hoo-hoot!

The pigeon, startled by the grip of the giant being, let out a scream and flapped its wings.

“...”

The flapping of its wings was extremely irritating.

I applied a little pressure to the hand that held the pigeon's neck. The pigeon's struggle gradually subsided under the pressure.

The layers of feathers, the thin skin beneath, the beating heart, and the slender but resilient neck bone.

The raw sensation was vividly transmitted through my fingers.

– Hoo... hoo...

The pigeon's cries, muffled by the pressure, grew fainter.

“...”

Feeling the heartbeat beneath my fingers slow down, I...

Squish.

At that moment, something tugged at my pants. Looking down reflexively, it was Lucis.

Pitter-patter!

The pigeon, seizing the opportunity, broke free from my loosened grip and quickly flew into the sky.

“A...”

The pigeon, seemingly terrified by something, flew away in a hurry and was already a dot in the sky.

Staring blankly at its retreating figure, I looked down again.

“...”

Lucis was silently looking up at me.

After a moment, I slowly bent down.

Recognizing my gesture, Lucis stretched out his arms.

Holding the child gently in my arms, Lucis fidgeted to find a comfortable position.

The warmth of his fidgeting melted my frozen heart.

‘...What was that just now?’

With the warmth returning to my body, I finally let out a long sigh.

For a moment, it felt as if the whole world had lost its light and turned gray.

Everything felt cold and desolate, devoid of any value.

I felt no sympathy or pity for the fragile life in my grip.

All that remained was a sense of interest and superiority.

That feeling was like...

‘I felt like a murderer.’

A psychopathic killer who takes lives out of interest.

It was the sensation that the original Seymour Mausoleum might have felt.

It was a truly terrifying feeling.

A feeling of losing myself and the world losing all its value.

I felt like a rock in a world of nothing but rocks.

“...Thank you, Lucis.”

I pulled Lucis closer into my embrace.

Lucis looked up at me and reached out to stroke my cheek.

‘Did he know my state and helped me?’

The child's eyes were incredibly pure, yet they held an immense depth.

‘A child who has existed for a thousand years, even if he was sealed from birth.’

What does Lucis know? What does he not know?

Perhaps I will never know until the day I die.

* * *

Thinking about the magic I used earlier, I sat down and quickly wrote down what I remembered.

The 'settings' for creating the character Seymour Mausoleum are not just about appearance, past, and skills.

‘The character's thoughts and personality are the most important.’

As the one responsible for determining Seymour's appearance, I had all the settings provided by the scenario team.

In a sense, these were hidden settings that game players wouldn't know.

“...Is this enough?”

I let out a long breath and looked over the list I had written.

━━━━━━

Ideology

– Lawful Evil

– Superiority Complex

– Contempt for the Weak

– Anarchist

– Egoist

– Capitalist

– ...

Personality

– Madness

– Cynicism

– Cold-blooded

– Aesthete

– Insensitive

– Narcissist

– Deep-rooted

– ...

━━━━━━

The character's ideology and personality.

These were what the company called 'character traits.'

‘Looking at what I wrote, they’re all quite chilling.’

Moreover, this character's ideology is inherently evil, and all the personalities listed below are influenced by this ideology.

For example, the 'Aesthete' personality, if possessed by someone else, might mean 'an eye for beauty,' but for Seymour, it works differently.

‘He desires to be close to beauty and repels and rejects ugliness.’

The 'Deep-rooted' personality, if possessed by someone else, might mean a strong will and belief, but for Seymour, it means something different.

‘Born into an evil family, his soul is deeply rooted in evil, that's what it means.’

Furthermore, the original Seymour had many evil traits that didn't need such adjustments.

‘Insensitivity means sociopathy, I suppose.’

It was the exact sensation I felt when using magic earlier.

Confirming my suspicions, I let out a deep sigh.

‘Seymour didn't disappear.’

I thought that since I possessed the body, the original owner, Seymour, would have disappeared. But that wasn't the case.

He still lurks within me. While his will may have disappeared, his personality and ideology are deeply rooted within me.

‘Perhaps this is also due to the 'Deep-rooted' trait.’

Seeing his personality emerge when using magic, it might be because the party to the contract was Seymour, not me.

The magic power used in the spell was from the Mausoleum who had contracted with Seymour.

‘This is going to be a headache.’

However, I couldn't seal the magic.

Magic was a personal power I possessed, not something borrowed from the family.

In dangerous or emergency situations, the only thing I could rely on was magic.

‘I need to find the line where his traits don't emerge.’

I needed to determine how much magic power I could use safely and the maximum limit of power I could exert without triggering his traits.

‘Well, it's not exactly a difficult task.’

My superior was a madman who could distinguish colors down to the hex code.

I was already well-versed in adjusting values and getting confirmations.

At that moment, a knock sounded.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.”

The butler, Alfred, opened the door and bowed politely.

“Master. A tailor has come to the manor, as one of the servants informed me.”

“A tailor?”

“A tailor summoned by Richard Mausoleum. Since Richard hasn't gotten out of bed yet, the servant thought there might be some business and held the tailor for a moment.”

Richard Mausoleum was one of my uncles from a collateral line.

The uncle who had been blowing smoke into Simon and Sia's ears.

‘One of the people who fell to the Dragon Pheromone, I suppose.’

I was about to dismiss the tailor casually but paused.

“How many days until the funeral?”

“Four days.”

The time needed to move my father's body from the capital to the estate and invite guests from all over the country.

“Hmm... I'll need a suit for the funeral.”

“There are already suits prepared by the servants.”

I shook my head.

“I need a new one. If possible, one for Lucis as well. Send him up.”

The clothes of this era, while luxurious, lacked beauty.

Not only according to Seymour's 'Aesthete' trait but also to my modern Earth eyes.

* * *

Of course, this world lacked entertainment compared to modern Earth. There was no internet or TV.

With a funeral just held, it was also impossible to throw a party or visit a casino, making it even more boring.

But there was one hobby that was allowed even in a mourning household.

Shopping.

“Wow...”

Even though I had no particular interest in shopping on Earth, after 30 minutes, I nodded in understanding of why my uncle had summoned a tailor.

‘The scale is different.’

When I first entered the dressing room, I was puzzled by the fact that the door was larger than the study.

But when I saw the tailor instruct the servants to bring in seven giant wardrobes, I quickly understood.

“I have personally selected the finest fabrics and decorations for the Earl!”

As the tailor said, the wardrobes were filled with various fabrics, buttons, belts, cuffs, and other decorations.

Even models with similar builds to mine were brought in, wearing unfinished garments.

At first, I didn't understand what this was about, but I soon grasped the tailor's intention.

“Let's use these buttons.”

“Indeed, your eye is excellent.”

When I chose fabrics or decorations, the tailor temporarily attached them to the unfinished garments on the models.

Over time, the unfinished garments on the models would be meticulously sewn with the colors and decorations I chose.

This blueprint would then be transformed into a fine suit a few days later.

Not only a custom suit but also a DIY suit designed by me.

‘It's a bit different from the usual DIY, where D stands for Design rather than Do.’

Regardless, it was a new world.

A very enjoyable new world.

‘I always dressed Seymour in the game, but I never thought I'd actually get to dress him in real life.’

It was as enjoyable as making clothes for an avatar in a game.

‘I didn't realize shopping could be so enjoyable and time could pass so quickly.’

On Earth, I found shopping boring because I lacked money.

With the added fun of choosing clothes for Lucis, it was twice as enjoyable.

“Lucis, what do you think of this fabric?”

“Good.”

“Lucis, do you like these buttons or those?”

“Either.”

“Lucis, do you think a flared dress would be nice?”

“Yeah.”

Although Lucis was more interested in other things.

“Wow...”

Lucis was captivated by the jewels in the wardrobe, clutching as many as he could in his hands and trying to grab more.

‘Loving gold and jewels is a typical trait of dragons.’

Looking at Lucis with a smile, the tailor said with a cheerful voice.

“Your daughter is very cute.”

The existence of Lucis was still unknown outside the manor.

With the polymorph spell concealing his tail and wings, no one had noticed his true identity.

Thus, the tailor saw Lucis as a daughter I had brought from the imperial capital.

“Hehe. Isn't she? Do you have any children, tailor?”

“No, I only have a fiancée.”

The tailor, seeing Lucis glaring at his plump fingers that couldn't hold more jewels, said softly.

“I wish I had a beautiful daughter like her.”

“Ahaha. I'm sorry, but there's no one prettier than Lucis.”

The tailor nodded in agreement.

“I've never seen such a cute baby before.”

After a brief conversation about Lucis, we returned to shopping.

After designing a few suits as a hobby, I decided on a typical modern Earth-style suit for the funeral.

A suit with a white shirt, vest, and jacket.

The modern Earth suit would seem plain compared to the elaborate and embroidered fashion of this world.

But there was no problem. The face completes the fashion.

“Lucis's suit will have a flared skirt for the bottom and a shirt like mine for the top.”

The tailor's eyes widened at my words.

“You mean to put a jacket over a flared dress?”

The tailor chose his words carefully, looking a bit troubled.

“Um... I'm sorry, but, Earl. If you add a cravat, it might not fit the occasion.”

He skillfully avoided saying it would look ridiculous.

Of course, a flared skirt, a flowing jacket, and a cravat would make the outfit look overly soft and slimy, like a slime.

“Don't worry. I won't use a cravat.”

“Pardon?”

“Neither will I.”

I removed the cravat from the model's neck.

The cravat was a voluminous neck decoration, like a scarf.

It could look ridiculous if not tied properly, and most importantly, it didn't suit Seymour's image.

‘It's not just that it doesn't suit him. I can't tolerate Seymour wearing such a decoration.’

‘A Seymour in a cravat is like a Yeonsan Great King in a rainbow sash.’

“Are you going without a neck decoration?”

“No. I'll go with a tie.”

Simple is best.

Seymour and Lucis already had faces that were jewels; they didn't need unnecessary, complex decorations.

“Tie...? What is that?”

However, the tailor's reaction was strange.