I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother Chapter 59

Dazar, who had been walking briskly with one hand lightly covering the corner of his mouth, suddenly stopped.

It was because of a woman’s name he had heard from behind him.

Cilia. Cilia Evanroar.

“……Ha, seriously.”

He rubbed both ears as though trying to brush the sound away.

His ears quickly turned red from the roughness of his movements.

“…….”

His hand abruptly stopped his head, which had instinctively begun to turn to check whether she had finished entering.

Then he resumed walking.

“She should’ve gotten inside just fine. Why are you trying to check again?”

Dazar muttered gruffly to himself. Then he began walking toward an increasingly deserted area.

It was the place the attendant who had just confirmed that he was Dazar had directed him to.

Pushing through the bushes of the Imperial Palace, he entered a hidden passage and continued walking without concern even though the passage was filled with darkness.

As he entered the passage where not a single ray of light could be seen, he felt as though he had become completely trapped in the darkness.

“But earlier……”

He suddenly stopped and rubbed his face. Ahem, ahem. A pointless cough escaped him.

There was no one around.

Heh.

The laughter he had been holding back burst out.

“That brat’s face was really hilarious.”

That utterly dumbfounded expression.

“She really is a woman who makes things difficult for people in all sorts of ways.”

He had struggled to hold back his laughter the entire carriage ride here.

I think the muscles in my face are a little numb.

Dazar rubbed the corner of his mouth.

He used to think of her as nothing more than a strange woman.

But these days, just looking at her was funny. Even when she was doing absolutely nothing, he felt like laughing.

‘Huh? Why do I laugh even when she’s just sitting there?’

It was a somewhat strange line of reasoning, but he quickly accepted it.

That woman must have made him laugh quite a lot. That must be why he laughed just by looking at her, Dazar thought as he shrugged.

“Dazar.”

Just as he had been walking along, muttering to himself for quite some time, someone called out to him.

It was a familiar voice.

“……Scarlett.”

“You arrived right on time. I thought you might be a little late.”

“How could I be late when it was your order? Besides, if not now, there won’t be another chance for just the two of us to meet separately.”

The one who had stopped him was Scarlett, dressed in an elaborate outfit.

With the addition of a staff symbolizing the Emperor and a cloak trimmed with fox fur, her formal attire would be complete.

Dazar looked over her clothes and asked,

“Looks like you came out in a hurry?”

“If I’m not changing clothes, it’s difficult to avoid Sir Hael’s watchful eyes. He caught me going out last time, too, and gave me quite an earful.”

Heh heh.

An Emperor getting scolded by her own guard.

It was quite a funny story.

Rather than offering her any consolation, Dazar snickered at her story, causing Scarlett’s eyes to narrow into slits.

Then she soon sighed with an expression that seemed to say, Of course.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. There were too many ears around last time, so I couldn’t say more. I told you that the Followers of Ruben would make their move at this ‘Hall of Rest,’ didn’t I?”

“Hmm.”

Dazar nodded as though he remembered.

They had discussed it with Morocanil back then.

“Judging by the fact that they’ve extended their reach even to the ‘Hall of Rest,’ there must be someone behind them.”

“I think so too.”

Dazar hadn’t been able to bring it up when Cilia and Morocanil had been together the other day, but he had been thinking the same thing.

If they were bold enough to infiltrate the ‘Hall of Rest’ and cause trouble, there was no way they could do it without the backing of someone powerful.

“So this time, I intend to capture every last one of the ‘Followers of Ruben.’”

“……What?”

Dazar’s eyes widened.

“They even laid their hands on the Imperial family’s Miarr. This, too, must have been the work of those helping them. We need to stop those who are getting ahead of us.”

“But the nobles will put up fierce resistance.”

The nobles were probably already displeased with the Imperial command to open their storehouses this time.

No matter how much authority the Imperial family had, who would be happy about being ordered to open their storehouses and give away their supplies for free?

There were far more nobles who viewed commoners as livestock than one might imagine. Even if they didn’t show it outwardly, they were undoubtedly harboring resentment.

“Except for the key nobles, hardly anyone knows about the ‘Followers of Ruben.’ We don’t even know what form they may have taken to infiltrate the ‘Hall of Rest.’ If we happen to arrest people whom the nobles believe belong to their own factions……”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Someone suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Scarlett looked toward the person who had joined them and her face brightened.

“Ah, Prime Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Sir Hael is searching for you with fire in his eyes.”

Dazar raised an eyebrow as he looked at the smiling man who had appeared before him.

Marquis Cedric Eihartz.

The Prime Minister of the Empire and the Emperor’s left hand.

He was someone who, like Dazar, held the Emperor’s hand and stood at her side, but……

“What do you mean, Prime Minister? That I don’t need to worry?”

For some reason, Dazar had disliked him from the very beginning.

He didn’t really know why.

It was simply an instinctive sense of rejection.

“It would be difficult to speak at length since Her Majesty must return soon. But the ‘Followers of Ruben’ have a strong religious character. Their beliefs will not bend, so we can use those very beliefs against them to distinguish them.”

“Use them against them……”

“Yes. Besides, this is the time when we need to keep the nobles on a short leash. Even if they become dissatisfied with this, if we take an even firmer stance, they will eventually tuck their tails between their legs. This is an issue we will inevitably have to clash over someday, so we cannot simply keep avoiding it.”

“…….”

Yes. There was that smooth, silver-tongued way he spoke.

And that ever-smiling face was unpleasant, too.

“Then, we’ll be going ahead.”

“I’ll see you later, Dazar.”

“……Yes.”

The Prime Minister smiled faintly and bowed his head.

As Dazar followed the Emperor, who was already walking away with long strides, Cedric suddenly turned around and asked,

“By the way, it seems that Lady Evanroar did not leave her estate during this ‘Day of the Rift.’ Is that correct?”

Dazar instinctively narrowed his eyes.

Why was he suddenly asking about that woman?

He folded his arms and tilted his head to the side.

Ah. That guy was learning farming from Cilia.

‘And didn’t they say they studied together at the academy?’

Dazar did not know that the two had been childhood friends who had known each other since they were young, so he assumed they merely knew each other to some extent.

“That is correct.”

“……Hmm. I see. Even though I advised her to stay away from him.”

With an expression that seemed to suggest he had a rough idea why she had made such a choice, Cedric turned around.

“……What the hell is with that guy?”

He was unpleasant enough normally, but today, Dazar found him especially irritating.

With a sharp turn, Dazar turned around as well.

He had to enter the ballroom with Cilia.

 

***

 

“Hmm. Dazar seems to have a slightly different opinion about the ‘Followers of Ruben.’”

Scarlett murmured softly.

Cedric, who was following behind her, smiled.

“Please don’t worry. He is probably acting that way because he is concerned about Your Majesty.”

“I know that.”

Cedric knew very well that their friendship had run deep since childhood.

Even if Dazar expressed opinions contrary to the Emperor’s wishes, there was very little chance that the Emperor would regard Dazar as an enemy.

There was a firm trust between them.

“I was surprised earlier. Sir Hael was running around like an ogre.”

“What? Goodness. Sir Hael must be quite angry. It’s not often that we get to see him like that—perhaps once a year at most.”

Scarlett began walking hurriedly.

Following behind her, Cedric subtly turned his head.

By now, Dazar would have left this secret passage and be heading toward the ballroom.

To the place where his childhood friend, Cilia, was.

“I hope Cilia enjoys the banquet today.”

Cedric smiled gently.

It might be a somewhat difficult day for Cilia, but she was Cilia.

She would endure it well.

“If she finds it difficult, I’ll have to comfort her properly.”

And if she came to feel like she wanted someone to lean on, he intended to be there to help her wholeheartedly.

So that they could be happy together.

 

***

 

Ah.

Aaaah.

Ugh, what a hassle.

I looked at the three women who had appeared in front of me and let out a deep sigh.

“Oh my, Lady. What are you doing right now?”

“You’re really quite rude. Sighing in front of someone like that.”

“Hoho. Indeed. We should understand, shouldn’t we? This kind of gathering must be unfamiliar to Lady Evanroar. Right?”

Giggle, giggle.

As the three traffic lights chatted among themselves, agreeing with and laughing at one another, I scratched my cheek with my index finger.

I wondered what business they had with me.

The three noble young ladies had rushed over to greet me the moment I entered the ballroom.

Each of them was wearing a red, yellow, or blue dress.

‘They really do look like traffic lights.’

Normally, the moment they heard my name, everyone should have disappeared as though they had seen a cockroach.

But these three women had bravely pushed their way through the nobles who were hurriedly retreating.

‘What brave souls.’

Until just a moment ago, I had merely thought it was annoying that they were talking to me.

But suddenly, I became curious.

What could the three traffic-light sisters possibly want from me?

From this infamous body, of all things.

“You three certainly have admirable courage. To think you’d dare approach me and start a conversation. You must have sturdy bodies, huh? Do you have some special talent, like getting hit and springing right back up like a roly-poly toy?”

At my words, delivered with a sweet smile, the three traffic-light sisters stiffened in surprise.