I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother – Chapter 17

Author: isuzuuy

A welcome guest had come to visit the reception room in the annex.

It was Elston, whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time.

“You should have told me if you were moving your residence to the Siastor estate. I went all the way to the Evanroar Viscountcy without knowing.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Yes!”

Well, whatever. That was hardly a big deal.

Wasn’t he the Master of the Magic Tower, someone for whom teleportation magic should be easier than child’s play?

When I gave him a sullen look, Elston began firing off words like a machine gun.

“Do you think magic just comes out on its own? Every spell comes at the cost of a mage’s flesh and bones! My entire body hurts right now!”

“Oh. Really?”

“Really!”

“Then it must be difficult for you to even hold Axion. Give him to me.”

“……Th-that…”

Elston, who had been cradling Axion as carefully as if he were holding a precious treasure, subtly hid the baby from me.

“It’s not even been a minute and thirty seconds yet.”

“You said you were tired.”

“Ahem. A baby this small and cute—no, I mean, a baby this small is easy enough to hold. No matter how tired I am!”

He was currently using all three of the thirty-second Axion-hug coupons I’d given him before, all at once.

“Well, suit yourself.”

Reading the defeated look in his eyes, I grinned and leaned back against the sofa.

“So, there’s nothing wrong with Axion?”

“Hmm.”

Elston, who had been huffing indignantly, turned serious at my question.

“According to what you said, you’re concerned because it’s strange that Axion can’t speak yet?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Elston arrived for Axion’s regular checkup, I grabbed him and told him that something seemed wrong with Axion.

‘In the original story, Axion’s development was extraordinary from the moment he was born.’

That was why, at the age of seven, he had been able to wipe out the Evanroar Viscountcy that had abandoned him.

So Axion, who should be around one year old now, should have started talking by this point…

‘And shouldn’t those innocent eyes of his be starting to disappear by now?’

He had remembered the fact that he’d been abandoned in astonishing detail. Even though he was only a one-year-old, his cognitive abilities shouldn’t have been at the level of an ordinary baby.

‘But he’s still exactly the same.’

I crossed my arms and stared intently into Axion’s round, sparkling eyes.

Because of this, I hadn’t even been able to begin his education.

‘I was planning to use the living expenses I had saved up after coming here to hire a tutor.’

But Axion, whom I’d expected to grow rapidly, remained exactly as he was, throwing my plans into disarray.

“I don’t know much about child development, but… ahem. Aren’t boys usually slower to develop than girls?”

Elston tilted his head as he looked down at Axion in his arms.

“I don’t think it’s something you need to worry about.”

“No. My family is unusually gifted, so our development is three times faster than everyone else’s.”

“What?”

I tried saying all sorts of ridiculous things, but his answer remained the same.

“Well, if I had to guess, it could be a side effect of having the Dragon Heart of a Demon Dragon inside his body. But I can’t give you a definite answer.”

A side effect of having the Dragon Heart of a Demon Dragon inside him.

It was a plausible theory, but that wasn’t the reason.

‘In the original story, Axion grew up perfectly well while carrying the Demon Dragon’s Heart inside his own heart.’

Axion had experienced all kinds of misfortune since childhood, and he grew at an extraordinary rate, almost as if he were feeding on that misery.

That had definitely been part of his character setting.

Then, suddenly, a ridiculous thought crossed my mind.

‘What if he’s not growing because he isn’t unhappy?’

I slowly blinked.

Elston seemed to be muttering something in front of me, but I could barely hear him.

For some strange reason, a line Axion had said to Vanilla in the original story suddenly came to mind.

‘I am a being that grew by feeding on misfortune. The source of my power is my hatred for everything in this world. Do you really think you can handle someone like me?’

A being that grew by feeding on misfortune.

Hatred for everything.

Those words floated around inside my head.

I swallowed, and my throat bobbed.

For some reason, my mouth tasted bitter.

At the same time, I felt the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

A baby who won’t grow unless he’s unhappy.

‘Wouldn’t that mean he was born as if his sole purpose were to be miserable?’

I stared silently at Axion in Elston’s arms.

The child had an innocent expression on his face as he reached out with his tiny hand and repeatedly tugged on Elston’s hair.

The child before me was nothing more than a pure, innocent little baby.

A baby filled with so much loveliness that it was impossible to imagine him having been born with such a horrible fate.

“Young lady?”

Perhaps my sudden serious expression had confused him, because Elston called out to me with an anxious look.

I didn’t answer and remained lost in thought.

If my theory was correct, then Axion wasn’t growing because, unlike in the original story, he wasn’t suffering any misfortune.

‘If my assumption is true, then while I’m protecting Axion… if he lives a happy life, does that mean he won’t grow for the rest of his life?’

If that were the case, he wouldn’t be brutally killed either, meaning my goal of keeping him alive would be achieved.

I should have been happy.

But instead, I felt depressed.

The thought that Axion might never grow normally and experience this world properly made me uneasy.

Seeing myself feel this way, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I’d truly accepted Axion as my own child.

“Um, young lady. Is something wrong?”

No, wait.

I shouldn’t treat this absurd theory as if it were a fact.

Realizing that I was getting way ahead of myself, I quickly shook my head.

“What did you just say, Elston?”

For now, this wasn’t the time to dwell on my theory.

I’d have to investigate it more thoroughly after my meeting with Elston.

“What? Uh…”

Caught off guard by my sudden question, Elston’s eyes widened as he parted his lips.

“I was asking how things have been with Duke Siastor…”

Dazar?

Ah.

Things were going perfectly well.

I pushed the thoughts floating around in my head aside and deliberately answered in a bright voice.

“They’re absolutely perfect.”

At that, Elston’s eyes glimmered strangely.

Judging from that look, he seemed quite the mastermind this time.

I shook off my uneasiness and asked playfully,

“What’s with that mastermind-like look in your eyes?”

“W-what?”

Elston looked flustered by my sudden question.

“W-what do you mean, mastermind?”

His trembling voice made him look suspicious enough.

But since I already knew he was hiding something, I pretended not to notice.

“I’m just saying. You know, one of those characters who pretends to be on the protagonist’s side but turns out to be the boss of the evil organization. Or someone who helps the protagonist, only to reveal that they have ulterior motives and secretly lead the protagonist into a trap.”

“……Cough, cough!”

Seeing Elston suddenly start coughing, I kindly held out my hands.

“Oh dear, Axion. Come here. Uncle seems to be coughing.”

“I am not the boss of some evil organization!”

Elston cried out as he watched Axion slip out of his arms helplessly.

Then his eyes widened, as though he hadn’t realized he’d just blurted that out.

They say that the mistakes people blurt out reveal what they truly think.

‘Hmm. So you’re not the boss of an evil organization?’

I casually shrugged and patted Axion.

Teasing Elston seemed to have improved my mood a little.

“Where would you find a mage as benevolent as me? If anything, Duke Siastor is much closer to being the embodiment of evil.”

“Hmm?”

Oh my.

How could Elston’s thoughts suddenly align so perfectly with mine?

“So you should be careful. Especially now that you’ve grown this close to him.”

“Last time, you said he was a dignified and remarkable man.”

“Th-that was because I never expected you to end up living with him! Ahem.”

“So why is he the embodiment of evil?”

Elston lowered his voice slightly.

“This is a rumor known only to those in the know, but apparently, among the Transcendents, there are occasionally people who remember their past lives.”

“People who remember their past lives…?”

Seeing my surprised expression, Elston’s eyes gleamed once more.

“And apparently, Duke Siastor is one such case.”

Still stunned, I naturally asked the question that came to mind.

“What does that have to do with him being the embodiment of evil?”

“Well…”

Elston subtly looked away, clicking his tongue as though he’d made a mistake.

“Because of the bloodbath that once swept through the Siastor ducal family.”

With those words as his final remark, Elston abruptly left, claiming that he had already stayed too long.

It was obvious he was deliberately avoiding the subject.

In an instant, only Axion and I remained in the room.

“He… remembers his past life?”