I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother – Chapter 43

Author: isuzuuy

“…….”

Rustle…

I sensed something slightly sticking out from behind a tree not far away.

Whoosh!

I quickly turned my head to check.

Rustle!

The figure hurriedly ducked back into hiding.

And this process had been repeating ever since I came out to play in the sand with Axion.

Rustle…

Whoosh! Rustle! Shuffle! Whoosh! Tap!

The faster I turned my head, the faster the figure moved. The movements were so quick that I wouldn’t have guessed they belonged to a child.

Hmm.

I pushed some sand toward Axion with one hand while resting my chin on the other.

“Whoa.”

“What should I do about that child?”

She was still a young child, after all, so perhaps she thought she was perfectly hidden behind the tree. But every time she hid, one side of her twin tails would poke out, making it painfully obvious who was hiding behind the tree.

It was none other than Vanilla, the precious only daughter of the Siastor family and my future daughter-in-law.

Rustle…

I sensed Vanilla peeking her head out again. Her gaze was so intense that I could practically feel it piercing my skin.

‘This time, let’s just stay still.’

I decided not to react and simply stay where I was. Pretending not to notice Vanilla’s gaze, I continued patting the mound of sand that Axion was tapping with his tiny hands.

For some reason, her gaze seemed to grow even more intense.

Judging by how the lasers shooting from Vanilla’s eyes grew stronger whenever I played with Axion, she clearly wanted to play with us.

‘Come to think of it, I ran into her here last time, too.’

I remembered seeing her come out alone early in the morning, hesitate for a while, and then run away.

Could it be that Vanilla was lonely?

I’d never seen Dazar playing with Vanilla. The thought suddenly occurred to me.

Then why not just play together?

“Axion, aren’t you a little bored since it’s just the two of us playing? Wouldn’t it be so much more fun if we had one more person playing with us? Right?”

“Uung?”

“You think so too, Axion?”

“Uung!”

He obviously hadn’t understood a word I said, but Axion smiled brightly and nodded.

Ugh. He’s my baby, but he’s just too cute.

I was so captivated by Axion’s cuteness that I almost broke into a silly grin. I barely managed to stop myself and quickly delivered my next line.

“I wonder who we could play with~ Ah! That’s right. We have Big Sister Vanilla. Wouldn’t it be more fun if we played with Big Sister Vanilla?”

“Unggg!”

I flinched.

I glanced toward the tree and saw one of the twin tails sticking out from behind it trembling.

She had definitely taken the bait!

Encouraged, I called out a little louder.

“Big Sister Vanilla~ If you’re nearby, why don’t you come play with us~?”

“Uaaa~”

But perhaps my attempt had been a little too much, because instead of coming closer, Vanilla hurriedly disappeared.

“Ah…….”

“Uu?”

“She left…….”

When I made a disappointed face, Axion tilted his head at me before sticking out his tiny hand and gently poking my cheek.

As if asking why I looked like that.

Thanks to him, I ended up giggling like an idiot.

“Our Axion, were you worried about Mommy?”

“Uung!”

“Oh, you’re so cute. It would’ve been nice to play with Big Sister Vanilla, but I guess she isn’t ready yet.”

“Uung…….”

As I stroked Axion’s head while he patted the sand with both tiny hands, I decided that somehow, I needed to spend some time with Vanilla.

***

“What? What does Vanilla like?”

Dazar, who was unusually flipping through documents in his study, looked utterly dumbfounded.

Why was he making that face?

“Yes. I want to know what kind of games or toys Vanilla likes, or even what kind of food she likes. Anything, really.”

“How would I know that?”

“Huh?”

So that was why he looked dumbfounded.

His expression seemed to say, How could I possibly know something like that?

I stared at Dazar with narrowed eyes.

“You’re Vanilla’s father, aren’t you?”

“……I suppose I am.”

Dazar paused before slowly turning his head away.

Ah.

Come to think of it, I was the only one who knew Vanilla wasn’t actually his biological daughter because I’d read the original novel.

She was his older brother’s daughter, after all, so perhaps it was only natural that Dazar didn’t know much about Vanilla.

But even so, shouldn’t a father know what his child likes?

They’d been living together for several months now.

Then Dazar muttered somewhat sullenly.

“I did try to get closer to her in my own way. It isn’t easy. She doesn’t particularly like me, you know. You saw it yourself back then, didn’t you?”

I certainly had.

‘He’s a bastard.’

When I gave him a look that seemed to say I’d suddenly understood everything, Dazar raised an eyebrow.

“So I thought she’d have an easier time with someone other than me, so I hired several tutors to look after her. But I’ve already gotten rid of most of them, leaving only a few.”

“Huh? Why?”

“……Vanilla is rather picky about people.”

In short, the story Dazar told me went something like this.

When Vanilla didn’t like him, Dazar hired several tutors to take care of her in his place. However, Vanilla was extremely selective about people, and only a few tutors remained whom she didn’t completely distance herself from.

Even then, their relationship wasn’t exactly stable.

“The one she was most comfortable with was Elston. She probably found the magic he used fascinating.”

“Ah. So that’s why Elston ended up taking charge of Vanilla’s overall education.”

“Well, that was one reason.”

His tone implied that there were other reasons as well, but Dazar wasn’t about to tell me what they were.

Hmm.

If that was the case, didn’t it mean Vanilla still hadn’t adjusted to the Siastor family?

“Shouldn’t we do something about it?”

“Do what?”

“About Vanilla. She seems to be staying on the outside.”

“……I told you, she doesn’t particularly like me.”

His voice was small and faint, unlike Dazar’s.

In other words, he sounded like he had no confidence.

No, but still! As her father, he should take responsibility for his daughter and make her happy!

I was about to lecture him when a thought suddenly flashed through my mind, making me close my mouth.

‘Vanilla’s biological father…… Dazar said he personally eliminated his own older brother, didn’t he?’

Could Vanilla know about this, too?

No.

Even if she didn’t, from Dazar’s perspective, it would naturally be difficult for him to deal with Vanilla.

Dazar had committed something that horrible.

I still couldn’t quite believe it, but I was certain there had to be a reason behind it.

……At least, that was what I thought after watching Dazar all this time.

But regardless of whatever reason had driven him to do such a thing, the fact remained that he had killed Vanilla’s biological father himself.

I’d been thinking too simply.

Dazar must have been concerned about his relationship with Vanilla in his own way.

After all, he’d hired several tutors for her and even kept the Master of the Magic Tower by her side.

‘But even so, I don’t think we can just leave things like this.’

I thought I was beginning to understand why Dazar hadn’t appeared in the original novel.

As soon as Vanilla became an adult, she inherited the position of head of the Siastor family. At that point, Dazar had probably left the Siastor household.

I remembered a scene where someone asked after the former Duke, asking if he was doing well.

Vanilla had answered expressionlessly.

‘I’m sure he’s doing well. That’s just the kind of person he is.’

It was an incredibly dry answer for a father and daughter.

Since the novel was told from Axion’s perspective, it never went into the depths of Vanilla’s feelings toward Dazar.

Still, that was the only time Vanilla ever mentioned Dazar.

At least, if I remembered correctly.

‘In other words…….’

If things continued like this, they would become a father and daughter who were worse than strangers.

That wouldn’t do.

For Vanilla to become my daughter-in-law meant that she would become another member of my family.

And I wanted Vanilla, my family and future daughter-in-law, to have good feelings toward her own family.