Count Altair

Looking at the Magic Mirror that had been directly "hung up," Lucius felt that this King was also acting "strangely" and could only helplessly give up on further probing.

However, he could conclude that whatever trap the Royal Family had set for him, at least they weren't afraid of letting Uncle-in-law Lev know about it.

For now, Lucius could only fabricate his future identity and name. In his past life, he was terrible at naming things, so now he had to use a ready-made one: "Altair Sheffield!"

After finishing the identity fabrication, he had Hahn place it directly at the manor entrance, while Lucius returned to his room to wait for Uncle-in-law Lev.

It was truly boring. Why hadn't Rochelle skipped the internal combustion engine back then, used electricity instead, and invented some entertainment projects, like game consoles? If there were game consoles, he'd at least have something to do at night...

When Leif Strauss climbed through the window alone and entered Lucius's room, he found his grandnephew drowsy and half-asleep.

After gently waking Lucius up, he began preparing to activate the "Sealed Artifact" to complete the "Memory Modification."

Once Lucius was fully awake, he saw the Golden Pocket Watch in Uncle-in-law Lev's hand and asked directly, "Is this the 'Sealed Artifact'?"

Leif Strauss triggered the pocket watch with his spirituality while introducing it, "That's right, this is a Level 2 'Sealed Artifact,' 2-14 'Hypnotic Pocket Watch.'"

"Its ability is to alter memories and cognition without the target's awareness, but its effectiveness varies depending on the target's strength."

"For example, it can make an Ordinary Person believe that plain water is 'poisonous,' subconsciously refusing to drink until they die of thirst. As the Sequence increases, it becomes basically ineffective by Sequence 6."

"The side effect is that one of the user's own emotions will be intensely amplified for a short time, such as greed, lust, anger, jealousy, and so on."

Hearing Uncle-in-law Lev's introduction, Lucius became even more certain that this "Sealed Artifact" should be a creation from the "Audience" pathway, the Sequence 6 Hypnotist characteristic.

After the pocket watch shone with golden light, Uncle-in-law Lev said directly, "Lucius, I've already infused the 'Sealed Artifact' with spirituality. Now tell me the name, identity, and so on that you've thought of."

Then Lucius watched as Uncle-in-law Lev spoke into the pocket watch, "From tomorrow onward, my name is 'Altair Sheffield,' the only 'daughter' of my father 'Reinhard Sheffield.' And 'Lucius Sheffield' is my alias..."

After finishing, he moved through his own home as if no one was there, opening room after room and using the "Sealed Artifact" on the servants inside.

Once everything was done, Uncle-in-law Lev said, "'Altair Sheffield'—not a bad name. Looks like I've gained another grandniece in my old age. I never thought my long-held wish to have a granddaughter would actually come true through you."

Hearing his uncle-in-law's teasing, Lucius couldn't even argue back—after all, it was the path he'd chosen. Helplessly, he said, "Uncle-in-law, are you alright?"

Lev was instinctively startled by the question.

"I mean, after you just used the 'Sealed Artifact,' did it affect you?" Hearing this, Leif Strauss realized his own emotional volatility. It must be the "Sealed Artifact's" side effect, so he replied, "Of course it has an effect, but if Princess Altair here were to give me a hug right now, I'd recover immediately."

This made Lucius's face darken directly, and he no longer wanted to deal with this unserious uncle-in-law.

Seeing Lucius's expression, Lev guiltily stroked his beard and said he was fine. "That 'Sealed Artifact's' effect scales with strength. It didn't have too much impact on me this time, but I might still do some outlandish things in the near future."

"Alright, since it's already this late, I'll head back now. I'll come by again tomorrow morning." Watching his uncle-in-law prepare to leave, Lucius followed him out of the villa. Even when his uncle-in-law said he could see him off this far, Lucius still watched until he disappeared from sight out of politeness before turning back.

On the way back, he saw the moon of this world for the first time—a red moon. Thinking of the little rap on the moon, his body instinctively shuddered, and he quickened his pace home without looking back.

Who knew that as soon as he entered, he'd see Hahn, who asked directly, "Miss Altair, why aren't you resting at this late hour? Is something the matter?"

Seeing Hahn's expression, Lucius felt a pang of guilt but said calmly, "Butler Hahn, I was just in the garden checking if there were any stars tonight. Aren't you resting? It's already so late."

Hearing Lucius's explanation, Hahn rubbed the back of his head and said, "I think I forgot something. I remember getting up once just now, but I don't know why I fell back asleep. Also, the back of my head keeps throbbing."

Altair said guiltily, "You might be tired from these past few days. Get some rest early, Hahn. We can't do without you around the house."

"Well, good night, Hahn."

"Good night, Miss Altair."

Just as he was about to head back to sleep, Hahn noticed his young lady "Altair's" attire and forgot about going to bed, instead starting to advise her, "Miss, as a Lady, you can't keep wearing men's formal wear. If you really don't like skirts, you could try other women's outfits..."

Hearing Hahn's words, Lucius, who was going upstairs, nearly slipped and tumbled down the staircase. But he'd made his own bed! He had to lie in it!

He could only keep a straight face and say, "I understand, Butler Hahn, but as you know, I don't have any other types of clothes."

The next morning, Lucius was woken up again. This was the third time since he'd crossed over. He'd slept three times and been forcibly booted up three times!

This time, there was nothing urgent requiring him to get up early. Instead, Uncle-in-law Lev had arrived early and needed to be greeted, and he'd also brought clothes for the day—a set of androgynous-style clothing.

This behavior made Lucius wonder—what exactly was this uncle-in-law up to? Had the "Sealed Artifact" from yesterday affected him that much?

After breakfast, Lucius was forced into the clothes Uncle-in-law Lev had brought. A fitted ruffled blouse paired with black dress pants, a vest, and a jacket.

According to Leif Strauss's assessment, this outfit was very suitable—neither women's clothing nor likely to expose his identity.

Starting at nine o'clock, guests began arriving one after another, and the Memorial Service officially began at ten.

One by one, Uncle-in-law Lev, Colonel Rael Duarte, and others took the stage to express their deep reluctance at Old Sheffield's untimely passing, followed by some friends and comrades-in-arms.

Then Lucius expressed his gratitude to everyone for coming, and a Royal Member announced that he had been conferred the title of Count, bringing the Memorial Service to an end. Afterward, he followed Uncle-in-law Lev to see the guests off.

Once the outsiders were gone, only the insiders remained. Everyone now in the Sheffield Family's Reception Hall were true "insiders."

Uncle-in-law Lev introduced them one by one—these were the Sheffield family's network and wealth, people more valuable than Gold Pounds.

When asked why he had been made a Count, Lucius explained that the family had been accumulating military merits all along, and they'd used them all for this title inheritance. The old men were baffled by this approach but understood why the Sheffield title hadn't changed for so many years.

After getting to know each other, they said they hadn't prepared gifts for this meeting and would have their butlers send them over later.

After a simple lunch together, they saw off these elderly elders.