I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother Chapter 81

“What are you going to do if I really am a follower of Ruben, just as you say?”

Dazar leaned back against the sofa, his eyes narrowed. With one leg crossed over the other and his head tilted to the side, he looked like he had something mysterious about him, like a spy in a noir film……

As if.

He was just incredibly annoying.

Just like him, I crossed one leg over the other, leaned back against the sofa, folded my arms, and lifted my chin.

“What do you think? I’d report you immediately.”

“To whom?”

“Obviously……”

Come to think of it, who should I report him to? I briefly closed my mouth as I pondered the question, then opened it again.

“I should tell Morocanil, right? He’s a Transcendent too.”

At that, Dazar gave a small laugh and swept his hair back. His long fingers slid smoothly through his hair, which had been hanging loosely in disarray. It seemed to have dried in the meantime.

At the same time, a pleasant fragrance brushed past my nose, making me frown. Why did he have to smell so good for no reason? Sniff.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because it’s funny.”

“What’s so funny?”

Dazar raised an eyebrow.

“Am I not even allowed to laugh as I please?”

“Don’t laugh in front of me.”

“Why? Ah, could it be……”

Dazar grinned.

His handsome face seemed to sparkle.

“Are you afraid you’ll fall for me? Well, even if I say so myself, my face is pretty easy on the eyes.”

As he spoke, he slowly stroked his chin. Hearing such words from someone who might be a Follower of Ruben left me utterly dumbfounded.

“Of course not. It’s because your ugly face gets even uglier. Whenever you smile, my fist starts trembling a little. Do you know how hard it is for me to calm down my fist when it’s trying to fly off on its own? So don’t smile.”

“……”

Dazar slowly removed the hand that had been stroking his chin. He uncrossed his legs, sat up straight, cleared his throat, and looked away.

“……Forget it. Forget it.”

He shrugged and said casually,

“Morocanil won’t be enough. If I really am a follower of Ruben.”

“……What?”

“Morocanil alone wouldn’t be able to subdue me.”

As I blinked, Dazar’s eyes grew darker. His voice was quiet and even, but the meaning behind his words was anything but. The relaxed atmosphere in the room tightened in an instant.

No. Judging by how composed Dazar still looked, perhaps I was the only one who felt that way.

“……So, are you saying you’re a follower of Ruben?”

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

Dazar let out a soft chuckle.

“I’m telling you, I’m not.”

His expression was serious as he said it.

“If I were a follower of Ruben, why would I have brought you here to develop food?”

“You could have another motive.”

“What motive? Deliberately developing some kind of strange food?”

Dazar folded his arms.

“Why would I waste time developing fake food? It would be faster to sabotage food development.”

“……”

“Besides, I wouldn’t have left that little brat alone, either. I would’ve already taken him from you and done something with him. You’re probably trying to make sure whether I’m a follower of Ruben because you’re worried about that.”

Dazar’s argument made sense.

If Dazar were a follower of Ruben, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to develop food. And he certainly wouldn’t have left Axion, who carried the Demon Dragon’s Dragon Heart, alone.

I found myself slowly nodding without realizing it, and Dazar immediately continued, as if he had no intention of letting the opportunity slip away.

“So you don’t need to worry. Morocanil may have come here to monitor me, but he should know I’m innocent, too.”

“Then why did Morocanil come?”

Then why on earth had he come as Dazar’s monitor? When I asked with a puzzled expression, Dazar faltered.

“……That’s a mystery to me, too.”

He then cupped his chin and tilted his head before saying casually,

“Maybe he came to torment me. That guy hates me.”

“……”

It was true that Morocanil and Dazar didn’t seem to get along. Not to mention when he had dragged Dazar away at the Imperial Palace. If he really had come as Dazar’s monitor simply to torment him……

“What on earth did you do to Morocanil in your previous life?”

Just how badly had he treated him for Morocanil to volunteer to monitor him just to make his life miserable?

“What do you mean, what did I do? I didn’t do anything to him. He was the one who wronged me.”

He dared to covet what was mine.

Come to think of it, he had said something like that at the Hall of Rest. Their relationship seemed to be quite serious. I had sensed as much before, but……

“Anyway, try believing in me a little now. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told you.”

Dazar spoke in a low voice.

That was true. He had answered me over and over again. He wasn’t a follower of Ruben.

And he was trying to soothe my anxious heart.

Above all…… I wanted to believe him, too. Maybe that was why I had kept asking him to make sure.

“……All right. For now.”

“For now……? What kind of answer is that? I went to all that trouble to put your suspicions to rest.”

“They say you shouldn’t trust people too easily. You must be tired, so get some rest.”

I sprang up from the sofa. It seemed I had spent far too long with him late at night.

He just got back after being detained by the Imperial Family. Maybe I’m being a little harsh.

Thinking that, I left Dazar’s room.

When I entered, my steps felt heavy. But now, as I walked out the door, they felt light. Perhaps confirming things with him directly had calmed my restless heart a little.

I unclenched the fist I had been holding slightly tight and began walking down the corridor.

 

***

 

Click. The door closed.

Dazar gazed quietly at the sofa where Cilia had been sitting just moments ago. Now that his conversation partner had left, silence settled over the room.

Was it always this quiet?

She had only been there for a little while. And yet, the silence in his room was almost eerie. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have even noticed it.

“……It’s because that woman is so noisy.”

Dazar thought that the reason the silence felt so unfamiliar was because of Cilia Evanroar, who had been chattering away so busily.

And just then—

“A follower of Ruben, huh?”

A voice rang out from somewhere, accompanied by a chuckle. It was unclear how long it had been there, but a red bird was perched on the window.

Dazar’s face twisted when he recognized the owner of the voice.

“That’s a bit much.”

The red bird muttered, then flapped its wings and landed on Dazar’s shoulder.

“The man standing right in front of her is something far more frightening than that.”

Cackling, the red bird shook with laughter. Dazar irritably shrugged his shoulders.

The red bird nearly fell to the floor, but it wobbled and flew back up.

It circled above Dazar, continuing to snicker.

“How amusing. How utterly amusing! As expected, staying by your side is always entertaining.”

“Shut up.”

Dazar’s eyebrow twitched, and the room flashed with white light. He had used divine magic. Struck by the beam of light, the red bird slammed into the wall and sprawled on the floor, laughing like a madman. He seemed completely unharmed.

The red bird quickly flew up again and settled on the windowsill, tidying its feathers with its beak.

“I couldn’t possibly hold back my laughter after watching you tell that woman not to worry. She has absolutely no idea about your lies, does she?”

At those words, Dazar said nothing. He merely gazed at the empty space in front of him, his eyes slightly lowered.

Because there was nothing wrong with what the bird had said. Nothing he could refute.

So he kept his mouth shut.

 

***

 

I walked slowly down the corridor, lightly patting my stiff shoulders. With the possibility that Axion was Ruben looming so large, I couldn’t help but stay on high alert.

Sigh.

The sighs that had increased ever since I returned from the Hall of Rest escaped me once again.

My shoulders seemed to ache, too. Had my muscles been tense all this time?

“Oof.”

I was walking along, patting my shoulder with my fist, when a low voice suddenly came from behind me.

“Did I use too much strength earlier? Are you feeling sore?”

“Huh……? Morocanil?”

Startled, I turned around. Somehow, Morocanil was standing right behind me.

What was going on? There hadn’t been anyone there just moments ago.

Besides, this corridor is straight. There’s nowhere to hide.

I looked at him in confusion and asked,

“Where were you?”

“……I was over here. I suppose you couldn’t see me because it was dark. You also seemed lost in thought.”

“Ah……”

If he said so, then I supposed that was what had happened. There was no reason for him to lie.

Since he was a Transcendent, perhaps I hadn’t noticed his presence and had simply walked past him.

I scratched the back of my head and spoke.

“Sorry. I must have passed right by you without noticing.”

Morocanil smiled gently and shook his head.

“Not at all. It’s understandable that you might not have noticed.”

As expected, Morocanil really was an angel. Even in the dim surroundings, he seemed to sparkle.

“By the way, what are you doing here, Morocanil? Were you on your way to see Dazar?”

This corridor didn’t really lead anywhere except to Dazar’s private room. Morocanil was silent for a moment before answering.

“No. I simply came out to take a look around the estate.”

“……At this hour?”

“Yes.”

I blinked. It seemed His Angelic Highness could glow in the dark and enjoyed taking nighttime strolls.

Just then, Morocanil made a suggestion.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to show me around the estate?”

He seemed to be asking me to be his guide.