I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother – Chapter 40

Author: isuzuuy

Dazar walked down the white corridor with a bored expression.

Tap, tap. The sound of his dress shoes striking the marble floor echoed through the empty temple.

‘This place really is unpleasant no matter how many times I come here.’

A place built solely to worship a god.

Dazar had never understood why they worshipped a god whose name he did not even know, not even in his previous life.

The Saintess he had encountered in his previous life and the Saintess he had encountered in this life were so similar that he sometimes wondered whether she, too, remembered her past life.

In short, they were both like dolls.

‘A god’s doll with not an ounce of will of her own.’

Thinking that she must have lived a terribly boring life, Dazar opened the door that had appeared before him.

He had waited in the reception room until Cilia finished her audience with the Saintess before entering.

It had not been his choice.

‘We could have been received together, but she deliberately separated us.’

When he opened the door, he saw an entirely white-clad woman smiling brightly. She looked like an utterly innocent young girl on the outside, but the person inside was an elderly woman.

Dazar gave a slight bow.

“It’s been a while, Saintess.”

The Saintess smiled.

“It has, Dazar. Has it been a year since we last met?”

“Yes.”

Dazar answered curtly and sat down in front of the Saintess with a familiar gesture.

The chair where Cilia had been sitting just moments ago still retained its warmth.

For some reason, the image of those blue eyes that had recoiled in horror at the mere mention of the temple came to mind, and the corner of Dazar’s lips curled upward.

“You seem to have something pleasant on your mind.”

The Saintess smiled sweetly as she spoke in her smooth voice. Dazar crossed one leg over the other, straightened his back, and smiled back at her.

It was the very posture Cilia had complained was befitting of a grand noble.

The carefree, idle-looking demeanor he showed when he was with Cilia had completely disappeared.

“Yes. I’ve been having quite a good time lately.”

“Oh my, really? Is it thanks to Vanilla? That’s wonderful. I was quite worried that you weren’t adapting to this life.”

The Saintess smiled sweetly, looking remarkably benevolent. Dazar returned her smile as though responding to her kindness.

If a third party who knew nothing about the two of them had seen the scene, they might have thought it was a heartwarming sight.

However—

“I think it’s about time you stopped worrying. Perhaps your age is catching up with you, since you seem to be having trouble making rational judgments.”

“Of course not. I’m just as rational now as I was when I first met you, Dazar. Rather than dwelling on such pointless thoughts, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for you to reflect on the failures of your previous life?”

The actual atmosphere in the room was as cold and chilling as ice.

Smile.

Grin.

The two stared at each other with deep smiles on their faces.

“I’m reflecting on it throughout this entire lifetime, so you needn’t worry.”

“Oh my, really? I have no memories of my previous life, so how could I possibly know anything? Please understand.”

The Saintess gently waved a hand as though apologizing, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She tilted her head slightly to the side and continued.

“Ah, what a shame. I wonder if your old comrades who were born as your blood relatives in this life… would have been able to comfort you?”

The Saintess let out an innocent smile.

Meanwhile, the smile gradually disappeared from Dazar’s face.

“They lost their minds because of the side effects of reincarnation, right? That was why you eliminated them.”

“…There’s no need to bring up things from so long ago, is there? It’s all in the past.”

As Dazar’s gaze grew colder, the Saintess’s smile deepened.

“That’s right. It’s all in the past. Then shall we talk about the present? I heard you brought Lady Cilia Evanroar into your residence. I was a little surprised. For someone like you to let another person into your home…”

“The gods have given me the great mission of saving the continent. No matter how much I dislike it, I have to obey. Considering the food supply, it was an unavoidable choice.”

Dazar shrugged.

One reason he had brought Cilia to the temple was to show the Saintess that she was harmless.

The Saintess had always suspected that Dazar might have lost his mind after becoming consumed by demonic energy due to the failures of his previous life.

And now, some strange young lady had suddenly appeared by his side. It was only natural for her to be wary.

‘Apparently, even when she was young, people used to wonder whether that girl was possessed by demonic energy.’

At Dazar’s smooth answer, the Saintess slowly let her smile fade.

Her pale eyes narrowed slightly.

“I see.”

Her quiet voice was still filled with suspicion.

As always, Dazar paid no attention to the Saintess’s suspicious gaze.

‘That girl said she was going to the alleys of the capital after this, didn’t she?’

The Saintess’s ritual began.

As white light filled the room, Dazar thought of one person.

Whenever he thought of her, he could smile genuinely rather than pretending.

Especially when she made that foolish expression in response to his mischievous teasing. That was the funniest of all.

I should tease her even more once I get out of here.

Dazar grinned inwardly.

***

“Uuugh. I can’t move my body!”

“What is this? It’s wrapping around my whole body like spiderwebs!”

The flower-petal-shaped divine power created by Morocanil had bound the people who had rushed toward me the moment it touched the ground.

Like people trapped in sticky ropes, they were stuck in place and cried out.

“Gasp, Lord M-Morocanil?”

While Morocanil and I stared blankly at each other, the man who had been spouting nothing but greasy lines earlier—the one who was apparently the captain of the guards—recognized Morocanil.

“As expected, it really is Lord Morocanil! P-please, release me! There seems to have been some misunderstanding!”

He waved his hands while whining.

Morocanil looked at the guard captain, then at me, and gave a gentle smile.

Then he asked me,

“Lady Evanroar. Are you hurt anywhere? If you haven’t been too frightened, could you tell me what happened?”

He was asking me, rather than the guard captain, to explain the situation himself. His eyes were filled with so much kindness that it seemed as though sweetness might drip from them at any moment.

Just how sweet was this man planning to be?

Accustomed to Dazar’s reckless treatment, I scratched my cheek with a slightly awkward expression before answering.

“That perverted old man was making some strange advances and touched my shoulder.”

“P-perverted?! You’ve misunderstood me! And as for placing my hand on your shoulder—!”

“Captain.”

“Eek.”

When the guard captain hurriedly began making excuses, Morocanil turned away from me and faced him.

For some reason, the guard captain’s face instantly turned pale.

He was clearly terrified, but apparently he really did feel wronged, because he squirmed and trembled as he said everything he wanted to say.

“It’s unfair! I merely heard that strange people had been appearing around this alley lately… and it seemed that this young lady had become a target, so I was trying to help her…”

“A target?”

From what I could gather, he seemed to be saying that I had become the target of some crime and that he had been trying to protect me.

“How did you know that?”

I asked with narrowed eyes, and the guard captain hurriedly answered with a pale face.

“There, your shoulder! Look at your shoulder!”

“My shoulder…?”

‘Huh?’

As the guard captain had said, I glanced at my shoulder and saw a strange symbol on the back of it. It looked as though someone had stamped it there.

‘When did this get on me?’

While I slowly blinked and pondered the matter, Morocanil examined my shoulder as well, and his expression stiffened slightly.

“This is…”

“You recognize the mark?”

“…”

But Morocanil gently shook his head with an apologetic expression, as though he could not answer me.

“It is a symbol I’m familiar with.”

Then he murmured as though speaking to himself.

“Could they be the same people who came to His Majesty?”

Hmm. If he meant His Majesty, he must be talking about Scarlett. And if he meant the people who came to her, then those assassins I happened to encounter with her?

While my thoughts raced, the guard captain suddenly shouted,

“Yes! That’s the exact mark! Those are the people who have suddenly started appearing in these alleys lately and conducting some strange missionary activities!”

“Missionary activities?”

“Yes. They claim that the world is about to end, then focus on brainwashing people who bear their marks and recruit them into their religion.”

The guard captain seemed to know quite a lot about them. Listening to him, Morocanil narrowed his eyes.

“So there were people like that. But why were we Transcendents unaware of them? All crimes occurring within the Empire should be reported to the Transcendents.”

“…Th-that’s…”

The guard captain glanced around nervously.

“I was trying to handle it myself… Ahem. You Transcendents are always so busy…”

It sounded more like he had been trying to boost his own accomplishments. But Morocanil did not scold him any further and released all of his divine power.

“Then compile all the relevant information and report it. As soon as possible, if you would.”

“R-report? Of course! I’ll have everything organized and submitted by the end of today!”

“No. Acting in haste may cause mistakes, so take your time and proceed carefully.”

“Thank you, Lord Morocanil!”

The captain of the capital’s guards must have held quite a high position.

Yet even he was no match for the Transcendents.

Watching the guard captain flee as though his life depended on it, I made an awkward face.

‘Come to think of it, I did misunderstand him. I didn’t even get to apologize.’

But a mustache like that and those greasy lines…

I simply couldn’t tolerate them.

“Are you all right?”

“Uh… yes. I’m fine.”