As usual, my wardrobe was full of clothes that possessed similar traits.
All of them were black, from t-shirt to coat, and short to long pants. Even the hat, gloves, and socks were pitched-black.
The funny thing is, the towel I'm currently wearing right now, helping me to hide the lower half of my naked body, is colored black.
Accidentally, I gazed at my body… It's frail, bony, in fact, but I know why it is the case.
The shadow is corrupting my body, so even if I eat a lot, all that nourishment would end up becoming the nourishment of the shadow elements hiding inside my body instead.
There are two ways to get rid of these shadows from corrupting my body… to be acknowledged by it through the blessings of the God of Shadow or… to dominate it.
The latter's solution only needed a single requirement and that is to receive the blessing of the God of War.
Both solutions have the same difficulty.
For sure, the God of War would refuse to do it.
That is why I already prepared everything after I transmigrated.
So, it is now time to meet my father.
Hence, without further ado, I grabbed the same clothes I wore yesterday.
In fact, wearing all black is unattractive in the eyes of the people living in the castle, except Father.
After all, the family's bloodline has always been about having a great affinity with the fire element.
Therefore, one could only say that I'm the only person carrying the royal blood of the Emberheart to wear black, not red.
Yet, as if I cared about them anyway.
My father wasn't even against it.
'Ah, it's not my father, but this body's father.'
I still find it difficult to admit that he is my father.
I still haven't met him yet, and I only contacted him through the very antique telephone that only nobles owned.
And at that time, I made an absurd request.
'Shall we see if he has accomplished it?'
I thought so as I began to walk to my wheelchair.
Currently, the inside of my bedroom is full of shadow, so I can walk… only barely though.
But once I'm outside, I will certainly become a cripple.
So, I sat on my wheelchair and rotated it to roll outside…
***
Once I arrived at the door of the dining room, I saw Sophie waiting outside patiently.
Her calm countenance, contradicting her adorable pretty face, affected her child-like demeanor.
She was trained for sure… trained to only care about her Young Highness and nothing else.
Staring at her, I didn't want to be dramatic anymore, producing another pointless emotion again, so I rolled the wheels towards her until she noticed me.
"Let me continue, Your Highness," she said in a low-pitched and soft voice as she began to walk in a hurry yet calm pace.
I nodded, not minding that I was treated as a disabled person, and let her push me toward the already-opened door.
Aside from Sophie, there was another maid that I only noticed standing beside the other side of the quite broad door.
She was the one who opened the door and was now returning to her previous position.
Once I neared her, I knew she would bow deeply towards me, so I nodded without her knowledge.
Her vision was obstructed by her position, after all.
Meanwhile, Sophie's voice echoed behind my back, thanking her fellow maid.
Yet, I couldn't be bothered by it anymore.
After all, after I saw the long dining table, which I was already used to, I saw someone sitting on the other side, which I was not used to seeing.
It couldn't be helped, this was the first time I saw him.
At this moment, time slowed.
His imperial scarlet eyes moved so slowly from below to upward.
He must have noticed my presence, but time seems so slow.
Hence, I decided to scrutinize his whole face.
He has a square face, so I must have inherited my diamond jawline from my mother.
His blood-red eyes… Am I adopted? Or is my face really just inherited from my mother? It should be why he is so caring towards me.
Furthermore, his imperial scarlet eyes were so fierce as they spoke of his authority, not only in the house but in the outside world as well.
As expected of my… of Regulus Emberheart the VII, an admiral in the Southeast border and a Warlock.
Those red features, probably the side effects of possessing a High-Rank Affinity with the Fire Element, speak so much about him being a Warlock from the God of the Sun.
That curly long hair on the boy's standard really boosted his manliness, not even talking about his wavy nose, resulting in him being so handsome.
That face made me have difficulty accepting the fact that he is my father by blood.
"Son," his masculine voice echoed, "What are you staring at?"
I was startled awake.
Only now, I noticed that I was facing the dining table with my wheelchair, replacing the dining table's chair.
Furthermore, I couldn't now sense Sophie's presence, so she must have left and closed the door.
Now, there is only me and Regulus.
'Damn it! Stop shaking my legs!'
I knew that I was only deceiving myself.
Sometimes, there were times that I deceived myself unconsciously, especially now I faced Regulus.
After all, my brain developed its own judgment without me noticing.
Standing before the Warlock, just gaining information about his face alone and his background was sufficient for my brain to conclude that he was someone I should be careful of.
Although, this body's brain should have long accustomed itself by meeting the father.
But that is the real reason!
Why? The brain has acknowledged that there is now another soul residing in the previous owner's body.
Hence, the brain was anxious that given how close the father and his previous son were, he might have noticed something different from his son.
And I would be doomed if the father found it.
But, I steeled my heart and calmed myself.
This is not the first time I'm controlling my emotions.
I trained so hard just for this moment.
"I couldn't help." I smiled bitterly. "I just missed you, Father."
Regulus was taken aback.
He kind of expected it, but still, he was emotionally touched.
He spoiled his son to the point that he grew dependent on him, but it really wasn't a bad decision.
He loved it instead.
"I missed you too, son."
I cringed at his words and smiled.
The deceptive trait was being passive again.
As an Eddie Hamilton, I was not used to such caring words and actions, so the deceptive traits activated on their own.
Thankfully, it wasn't visible on the surface.
"Sadly, I can only stay in the house for one day."
"Why?"
My face was in disbelief, and even my eyes were becoming teary.
The deceptive trait is really strong!
"I returned even though my leave of absence was not approved. After all, the dark forces were planning to attack in three days again. So, after I settled my matters, I could only have a single day off."
He sighed and looked at me in an apologetic tone.
'Stop cringing, Self! You have to play along!'
This couldn't be helped, I'm really not used to these dramatic moments.
"I'm sorry."
Staring at those imperial scarlet eyes, seemingly apologetic, I couldn't help but curse internally,
'Damn it! So cringe!'