Chapter 2: Deculein (1)

Chapter 2: Deculein (1)

"I know everything's been so peaceful and quiet lately, but... don’t you feel a bit uneasy?" the young maid asked.

Recently, the atmosphere at the Yukline grand mansion had settled into an unusual peace, which was noteworthy since silence in such a grand residence was uncommon.

"Don't say such things, you might jinx it. Just stay quiet and keep your head down," the head maid admonished the young maid.

The unusual tranquility felt awkward for the maids and butlers, but they had gradually adapted to it after a week.

"Do you think everything is going well between Lady Freyden and Master Yukline?"

"I doubt it. In fact, I’d guess it’s the opposite," the head maid replied, shaking her head.

"Really? It's just weird, it's the first time he's secluded himself in his room for a week and he doesn't even have us clean..." the young maid replied.

"Rest for now. You never know when he might demand more from us..."

The servants and maids gossiped about their master's strange behavior recently.

“Has anything like this happened before?” the young maid asked curiously.

"Well, Master Deculein settled here about ten years ago..."

Given their master's fame and prickly nature, there were many things to talk about and the flow of the conversation they had started did not easily stop.

At that moment, the distinct sound of sharp heels echoed through the hall as the front door creaked open dramatically.

Click-clack—

The hall echoed with a cold and ominous sound. The maids hurried, lining up in front of the unexpected visitor, and when they saw her, they lowered their heads.

"Where is he?" she sharply inquired.

The new arrival was a beautiful woman with short black hair—it was Yeriel, someone infamous for being as prickly as her older brother Deculein.

"Master Deculein is currently—"

"Take me to him," Yeriel interrupted the maid.

The servants were too intimidated to make eye contact with her. They quickly led her up the grand central staircase to the highest floor of the mansion, where an entire level served as a suite for Deculein, and then stood in front of its door.

Knock—knock—

Yeriel knocked on the door that had always been feared by everyone in the house.

Knock—knock—

There was not a single response.

Knock—knock! Knock—knock!

Yeriel grew impatient and burst through the door.

"Hey!"

Inside the neatly organized room, a handsome fair-skinned man with chiseled features and blue-tinted hair lay on the bed with a weary expression. It was enough to stir any woman's heart, but Yeriel was unmoved.

"What are you doing?!"

Her sharp tone and informal manner of speaking to her older brother made the servants tremble[1]; however, Deculein, the master of the house and the head of the family, merely murmured in a low voice, "I thought I would wake up after a few dreams. But it seems I am still dreaming."

The maids concluded that something had gone terribly wrong between Lady Freyden and Master Yukline.

"Again..." Yeriel frowned. Just like the maids, she seemed to have misunderstood his words.

In fact, everyone in the room thought of Yulie von Deya-Freyden when they heard him. She was the second daughter of the Freyden family from the Northern Region and the fiancée of Deculein von Grahan-Yukline.

They were engaged to be married, but their feelings for each other were wildly different. Deculein appeared to sincerely love Yulie, while Yulie’s feelings toward him bordered on contempt—a fact well known to all people by now.

"Will you stop thinking about her? You've even canceled all your lectures."

"Lectures?" Deculein asked.

"Yes!" Yeriel pulled out documents from her designer clutch and threw them on the bed. "You promised you'd handle this yourself. By staying here like some kind of an idiot, you're bringing shame to our family!”

Deculein remained silent.

"Make sure you attend today unless you want to lose that prestigious professorship as well!" Yeriel shouted.

"You are indeed audacious." Deculein chuckled, further infuriating Yeriel.

A vein popped on her forehead. "It's not that I'm audacious, you're just foolish, you idiot!"

The maids trembled with fear when Yeriel harshly criticized Deculein. But their master, who would have punished such behavior in the past, showed no reaction.

I wish he could always be like this, thought the maids.

Looking in the mirror, I mused about my appearance.

Frankly, this style could have seemed a bit cheesy, but it actually appeared to be dignified. The arrogance I exuded was overwhelming, yet it unmistakably coexisted with an elegant dignity. This was probably due to the attributes Intimidation and Dignity and Aesthetic Sense, and the personality trait Noble Etiquette.

Actually, I couldn't act rudely or just say whatever came to mind; everything had to be done with the highest level of etiquette and manners. No matter how hungry I was, I couldn't just dig into the food or blurt out whatever came to mind; I had to behave with utmost refinement and class.

From my perspective as Deculein, this was fully natural; my personality seemed to have entirely adapted to this inefficient etiquette, finding it more comfortable than sitting cross-legged. Moreover, witnessing crude and ignorant behavior often brought me subtle feelings of disdain and contempt.

"I won’t be devoured by this guy, right?"

This character had several distinctive personality traits. Based on the system logs, personality traits such as Noble Etiquette, Elitism, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Authoritative, and Cultural Obsession were almost certainly influencing me. Therefore, the duty to give a lecture felt utterly natural. Afterall, I was a distinguished and noble aristocrat—yeah, right.

"Woo-Jin," I said to myself as I stared at the handsome man in the mirror. "Kim Woo-Jin."

I won't lose myself. I won’t be swallowed by this damn character from the game.

"Home Woo and Genuine Jin —Woo-Jin, that is your name."[4]

A physically healthy Korean man that was objectively tall and good looking but, borrowing someone else’s words, a bit of a petty loser.

"A lazy and worthless guy."

That's me.

Slap—!

I slapped my cheeks and stepped out of the room.

***

Clack—clack—

The distinct and regular sound of shoes, the smooth movement of long legs, and an impeccably dignified stride—I couldn't help but admire the elegance I displayed as I came to a stop in front of the car in the garden.

"Master Yukline," a servant said.

An antique designed car that seemed from the modern-contemporary era[5], a symbol of wealth in this world.

"Let’s head out," Deculein replied to the servant.

"Yes, sir!"

As the servant opened the back door for me, I saw a small, charming figure on the back seat.

Under the hood of a robe, I saw a charming yet stiff face.

"G-good afternoon, Professor! T-this is for you!" a nervous voice spoke as something was handed over—a bundle of documents.

"... Are you a mage?"

"Eh? Oh, yes. Yes... I, I have been under your guidance for... already three years—"

"It was a joke."

I smiled gracefully and examined the documents. I expected them to be related to the lecture, but as it turned out, it was a detailed script from the beginning to the end of the lecture.

Of course, Deculein would not prepare a lecture himself. After all, this guy was all show with no real talent. Even his attribute wasn’t Genius or Prodigy but Average Mage, so this script had to be exactly what I needed.

"Good work."

This single word of praise startled the young mage. Frankly, even saying the compliment to the young mage made my gut twist. It clearly demonstrated Deculein's personality overpowering my own, but I had to overcome it. I braced myself and added one extra compliment to the young mage.

"You've done a good job. Rest until we arrive."

"Ah, ah yes! Yes! Yes, sir!"

The young mage bowed his head and stayed almost as quiet as a corpse. The pleased curve of his mouth peeking out from under the robe suggested that the praise felt good.

I read the script in my hand. The texture of the paper was irritating, almost dirty, and made me think that I should wear gloves next time... No, let's skip that. I knew the game settings to some extent, so Comprehension allowed me to quickly understand the content of the script.

About thirty minutes had passed while I was studying for the lecture, and an interesting scene appeared outside the car window. I naturally looked outside and found myself smiling unintentionally.

Under the noon sun, the outside scene shimmered like waves, topped by the towering statue of the founding Emperor at the entrance. The path was harmoniously lined with lively flowers and trees.

The sprawling grounds were filled with various buildings, and soft light descended from the high sky as if blessing everything. Known as the Imperial University, Deculein's workplace had become more real than 3D, reflecting all these elements that were products of my own design.

1. In Korean, there is ?? (informal speech) used for people of the same or younger age, and ??? (formal speech) used for someone older. Saying "?" is like saying "Hey!" informally, which would be impolite to say to Deculein, the head of the family. ☜

2. This is known as Clarke’s Third Law, one of three adages formulated by British sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke. ☜

3. The term Death Variable was used here, which I will be adding in later chapters since there are things that could become a trigger for Deculein’s death ☜

4. The hanja (Chinese characters in Korean) used to write his name are 宇(house) and 眞(real, true, genuine). ☜

5. In between the Modern era and Contemporary era from 1500~1945, 1956~present ☜