I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother Chapter 64

“Eek.”

The two servants let out shrill cries when they saw me approaching. I gave them a grin as they cautiously backed away.

Their faces turned even paler.

“Oh my, how nice to see you. You’re the servants who told me about the crime of insulting a noble earlier.”

“Yes, yes….”

They smiled awkwardly and glanced at Axion in my arms.

“Thank you for earlier, Bisin and Michi.”

“Haha….”

“You’re welcome.”

Bisin and Michi rolled their eyes around nervously, avoiding my gaze.

Then the two of them exchanged glances.

From the way they whispered to each other, it seemed they were wondering whether I had actually heard what they had said earlier.

But what could they do?

I happened to have pretty good hearing.

“Oh, right. There’s something the two of you have misunderstood.”

“Yes…?”

The two, who had looked slightly relieved as they saw me still smiling sweetly, widened their eyes.

Perfect timing.

Carl was approaching me, followed by several Imperial Guards.

“This child isn’t a maid’s child, nor is he my butler’s child.”

“……!”

“He’s my son.”

“Th-that….”

Bisin and Michi finally realized that I had heard their entire conversation, and their bodies began to tremble.

Just then, Carl reached me and bowed his head slightly.

“As you instructed, I have filed a complaint against the servants named Bisin and Michi for insulting a noble.”

“……!”

“N-no….”

The two servants hurriedly tried to blurt out some sort of excuse, but I smiled innocently and clapped my hands.

“Oh my. Good work, Carl. Thanks to these two, I was able to remember what kind of punishment people who commit the crime of insulting a noble receive.”

“Oh-ho. I see.”

Carl played along.

I turned to the Imperial Guards waiting behind him and gave them a bright smile.

“So please make sure to keep a close eye on these two.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“N-no, don’t—!”

Bisin and Michi let out shrill screams as the Imperial Guards seized them, but there was no one around to help them.

“Then I will make sure to follow up on how things proceed afterward.”

Carl disappeared together with them, wearing the firm expression of a capable butler.

Thanks to that, Axion and I were alone again.

“What just happened?”

“Lady Evanroar really does cause trouble wherever she goes….”

The nobles looked bewildered as they watched me call the Imperial Guards over and deal with the servants immediately after re-entering the ballroom, before hiding away in a corner.

They were staring at me with their mouths slightly open.

Everyone except one person.

Dazar.

What’s going on?

He silently mouthed the words at me from across the room.

I shook my head rapidly as if to say it was nothing.

But apparently that wasn’t enough of an answer, because he looked frustrated and was just about to step toward me when—

“Lady Evanroar, hello.”

A woman’s voice came from behind me.

Someone had actually approached me despite the fact that I had caused a storm throughout the ballroom.

I thought she was quite brave and turned around.

“Yes, hello.”

“It’s truly an honor to meet the famous Lady Evanroar like this.”

The woman who greeted me elegantly was someone I had never seen before. She smiled while gently waving an ornate fan, but her smile was closer to a sneer.

What is this now?

Traffic-light version two?

Amazingly, the woman who had approached me this time had red hair, wore a blue dress, and held a yellow fan.

Good grief.

I was starting to wonder if the original author had some sort of grudge against traffic lights.

“It’s an honor for me as well. Though… I don’t believe I know your name.”

“……You don’t know me?”

Perhaps she interpreted my not knowing her as deliberately ignoring her, because the woman furrowed her brows.

Behind her, the young ladies standing like her followers whispered, “Oh my.”

Perhaps they weren’t quite as brave as Traffic-Light Version Two, because they kept a slight distance from me.

Then a shout came from a woman who was clearly one of Traffic-Light Version Two’s closest followers.

“She is Lady Karlin! My goodness, how could you not know Lady Karlin, who is rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the Empire?”

Not only had she introduced Karlin while flattering her, but she had also put me down at the same time.

She’s pretty skilled with words.

I applauded her inwardly and gave a half-hearted bow.

Oh, she was a count’s daughter?

Then she was much higher in rank than a young lady from an insignificant viscount family like Evanroar.

Then she must be about the same rank as Miya from earlier.

When I merely lowered my head slightly without saying anything else, I saw Traffic-Light Version Two lightly bite her lip.

I simply had no desire to associate with her, so I had only exchanged greetings.

But whatever she interpreted my intentions as, her voice became even sharper.

“I heard this child is Lady Evanroar’s son. Is that true?”

“Yes. And?”

She stared directly at Axion, who was quietly nestled in my arms, and hesitated slightly.

I could practically guess what was going through her mind.

Oh, damn. He’s much cuter than I expected.

Something like that, perhaps.

The slight twitch of her lips made it obvious she had thought exactly that.

She quickly tore her gaze away from Axion and spoke harshly, though her trembling voice betrayed her.

“Th-this child is your son? When did you get married? Since Lady Evanroar never sets foot in high society, we had no idea.”

Ah.

Now I understand.

Does Traffic-Light Version Two have some sort of grudge against me, too?

They had obviously come here to put me in an awkward position.

No.

Judging from the fact that even after searching through my memories, nothing came to mind regarding this woman, perhaps it wasn’t personal at all.

Maybe she had simply come here to make a name for herself in high society.

Does she want to gain attention by mocking me or something?

The nobles in the ballroom were pretending not to pay attention, but they kept sneaking glances in our direction, so it seemed quite likely.

They all probably wanted something to gossip about.

I slightly lifted the tip of my nose.

“I didn’t get married.”

“Oh my.”

Traffic-Light Version Two smiled as if she had taken the bait and gently waved her orange fan.

“Does Viscount Silvestain know about this?”

Well.

My older brother didn’t know, considering he was currently completely absorbed in mystery and adventure.

Are you trying to turn me into a noble young lady who secretly had a child without her family head’s permission, then caused a huge scandal at the Hall of Rest?

Her intentions were obvious, but I had no intention of running away or making up a lie to get out of it.

“He doesn’t. My bro—my older brother was away for a while before Axion became a member of House Evanroar.”

“Oh my, oh my.”

Traffic-Light Version Two narrowed her eyes and took a small step away from me.

That was definitely a deliberate gesture.

The way she awkwardly smiled without even bothering to hide the disgust in her eyes….

Just when I thought she was quite the master at this—

“Cilia!”

Huh?

Who was calling my name here?

And it was a woman’s voice, too.

The only female friend I had was Lessi, and she should have been busy preparing to make her entrance right now.

I turned around, filled with curiosity, and saw an unexpected person standing there.

“There you are!”

It was Miya, whom I had argued with earlier and who had ultimately burst into tears.

She elegantly swept back her green hair as she approached me and linked her arm through mine.

What is this incredible amount of physical contact?

For someone like me, who normally didn’t even have female friends, this sort of physical contact was a little….

“Uh, uh. Lady Miya?”

My heart started beating rapidly.

“We agreed to drop formalities, remember? Oh my. I suppose it’s because there are other people here?”

Miya covered her mouth naturally, as though she had made a mistake, then winked.

Then she whispered so quickly that only I could hear her.

At some point, she had acquired a fan too.

“Lady Karlin is a hyena. She’s always prowling around high society looking for people she can prey on. The ones with her are her followers.”

“Uh… yes.”

Watching her whisper at machine-gun speed, almost as if she were rapping, reminded me of some Korean hip-hop variety show.

Such precise pronunciation and speed.

And that strange rhythm, too.

But the most impressive thing was that she maintained a smile from beginning to end.

If she went to Korea, she’d probably win the whole competition.

While I was thinking about something so ridiculous, Miya continued.

“There have been more than a few people who stopped participating in high society after falling prey to Lady Karlin. You have to be careful.”

“Ah….”

I didn’t know why she had suddenly appeared and started helping me, but seeing how serious she was, I couldn’t help but play along.

This Karlin or whatever Traffic-Light Version Two was called wasn’t exactly a threat to me.

I blinked as I watched the two count’s daughters begin tearing into each other.

“Lady Karlin, isn’t it? I see you were greeting Cilia. You must have been surprised. I suppose you assumed everyone knew who you were, but Cilia didn’t.”

“Oh my… I didn’t realize the two of you were friends. Ah, you do have something in common. There’s a man who left both of you, isn’t there?”

“Left us? We were the ones who dumped them.”

“Hehe.”

Miya lightly waved her fan as she retorted, causing Karlin to raise an eyebrow.

She seemed surprised that bringing up Miya’s biggest weakness—the fiancé who had left her—had failed to get a reaction.

“It seems Lady Katrin has a habit of blaming the woman whenever a man and woman break up? You shouldn’t do that. It’s a habit that eats away at a woman’s self-esteem.”

Where had the woman who had sobbed uncontrollably while fighting with me earlier gone?

Miya was surprisingly sharp with her words.

“I used to make that mistake too, but Cilia helped me realize it.”

Even though when she says ‘used to,’ she probably means an hour ago….

Watching her wistful expression, I suddenly felt awkward for no particular reason.