I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother Chapter 83

In other words, if someone forcibly made you live another life…… would you hate that person?

After hearing Morocanil’s weighty question, I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them again. Who knew? What would I do?

If I applied it to my own situation, would it be like someone deliberately making me possess the character in this book?

Right. If that were the case……

“Hmm. I’m not sure. First of all…… I think the reason would be important, wouldn’t it?”

“Pardon?”

Morocanil narrowed his eyes at my words. Why did those eyes feel as cold as a reptile’s? He was the very same person who had shown me such boundless kindness.

Feeling an inexplicable chill, I rubbed my arms with my hands and continued.

“I think I’d need to know why they gave me that ‘punishment’ in the first place before I could decide how to feel about them.”

“The reason……?”

I nodded at Morocanil’s slow question.

Yes. I thought the reason would come first.

“Whether they did it because they genuinely wanted to make me suffer, or whether there were circumstances that couldn’t be helped. I mean, I think I’d need to figure that out first.”

At my words, Morocanil’s eyes, which had been fixed on the ground, grew even colder. I pretended not to notice his gaze and continued.

“Maybe I can say that the reason matters because I don’t think living another life is a ‘punishment’ in the first place.”

In reality, living as Cilia hadn’t been entirely miserable. Thanks to this life, I had met the adorable Axion and the dependable Carl.

Morocanil had been listening silently, but immediately afterward, his voice took on a sharp edge.

“The reason doesn’t matter.”

His eyes, which had been turned toward the ground, lifted to meet mine. They were deep and dark like an abyss, and intensely persistent. It was completely at odds with his usual angelic image.

Without realizing it, I briefly held my breath.

“It’s nothing but selfishness. To think of bringing you back to life…… You must not show him any mercy.”

“……Uh, Morocanil?”

Morocanil had suddenly become so unfamiliar, speaking as though this had actually happened to me. I felt a little awkward.

Why the sudden overreaction……!

Of course, I really did remember my previous life, but it wasn’t as though someone had actually shoved me into this book.

I had given my parents some trouble when I was younger, but I hadn’t made any enemies. And even if I had, they wouldn’t have had the power to make me possess a character in a book.

“Calm down. Calm down.”

Seeing Morocanil so worked up, unlike his usual self, I could think of only one possible explanation.

Could Morocanil himself be the one who had unwillingly received that ‘punishment’? I asked cautiously.

“Morocanil, are you…… the victim? Did you end up living this life against your will……?”

“……No.”

But Morocanil shook his head firmly.

“I practically chose to live another life myself. No, I chose it. Though even Dazar doesn’t seem to have expected me to follow him.”

He had chosen another life…… and followed Dazar.

Dazar’s name had suddenly come up out of nowhere. My head started to ache a little. If that wasn’t it, and neither was this, then why was he acting like that?

A sudden wave of irritation rose within me, and I decided to revise my opinion of Morocanil a little.

An angel who overreacts.

“All right. Let’s stop talking about this. Things like previous lives only apply to people like you and Dazar, not me.”

“……I got too worked up. I’m sorry.”

Morocanil bowed his head.

After that, a rather long silence fell between us. It lasted until we left the garden and reached my room.

Morocanil escorted me all the way to my door, saying he would see me there. Then, breaking the long silence, he spoke.

“As you know, I came here to monitor Dazar. He is a dangerous person, so you must be careful.”

“Because he’s a Follower of Ruben? But Dazar said that even Morocanil would know he isn’t a Follower of Ruben.”

“……Did he say that?”

Morocanil tilted his head and lifted one corner of his mouth slightly. It was unmistakably a sneer.

I was learning so many new sides of him today.

“It seems he tells you quite a lot. That’s right. He isn’t a Follower of Ruben.”

Oh. So he wasn’t a Follower of Ruben……

Hearing it confirmed by the very person who had come to monitor him made even the lingering suspicion in my mind disappear. But then, another question suddenly arose.

Then why on earth had Morocanil come to monitor him?

As though he had read my thoughts, Morocanil spoke.

“Dazar Siaster is a far more dangerous being than that. He is also a sinner who forcibly imposed a ‘punishment’ on ‘her.’”

“……Uh, what?”

“Even though I know he isn’t a Follower of Ruben, I came here to monitor him because of you.”

At his words, I blinked a couple of times.

Wait, wait. For some reason, it was especially difficult to follow what Morocanil was saying today. She seemed to be the person he had mentioned earlier, and if he meant ‘punishment’……

No, more importantly—

“You came here because of me?”

“Yes. I was uneasy about leaving you beside someone as dangerous as him. If you don’t mind, would you consider leaving the Siaster estate and coming to my territory? That was the proposal I wanted to make. If you did, I wouldn’t need to continue monitoring Dazar.”

It was an incredibly sudden proposal.

Besides, today’s Morocanil was so different from his usual self. From suddenly coming on so strongly to me, to getting worked up over such a strange topic.

I took a step away from him and slightly opened my bedroom door, shaking my head.

“Hmm. I’m sorry, but…… I have responsibilities here right now, so I don’t think I can leave. Once I finish my work, I’ll be returning to Evanroar Viscounty, so I’m afraid I can’t go to your territory.”

“……”

“Then, please get back safely.”

I thought I had made my refusal quite clear, perhaps even a little too bluntly.

But Morocanil apparently didn’t see it that way.

Thud!

He suddenly grabbed the door I was about to close, holding it firmly in place. As a result, he ended up in a position that seemed to corner me. For a moment, I nearly swung my iron arm without thinking.

“Then I will continue staying here. Remember this. Dazar Siaster is a far more dangerous being than a Follower of Ruben.”

Fortunately, Morocanil quickly stepped back, turned around, and disappeared, so I didn’t have to swing my iron arm. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad I hadn’t left a blue bruise on his cheek.

Then I shut the door with a click and thought,

What on earth does he mean, Dazar is far more dangerous than a Follower of Ruben?

It wasn’t as though Dazar could be Ruben himself.

Just when I had finally let go of my suspicion that he was a Follower of Ruben, the clue Morocanil had left me with somehow made me feel even more uneasy.

 

***

 

“It’s finished.”

“Wow. Really?”

Elston nodded solemnly. He looked so impressive…… almost like a capable Master of the Magic Tower.

Or at least, he would have if not for—

Jingle!

Elston was shaking a golden rattle with mechanical yet cheerful movements. He didn’t look cool at all.

Jingle, jingle!

“Whoa!”

Axion, who was nestled in my arms, clapped excitedly.

As expected. Axion liked it better when Elston shook the rattle than when I did. I felt a little hurt at the thought that I had lost to his rattle-shaking skills, but as a broad-minded mother, I could endure it.

A moment ago, Elston had announced that he had finished installing the magic circles.

“Are all the magic circles really installed?”

“Yes, of course. The Black Hawks…… are quite impressive. Thanks to them, we finished much faster than I expected.”

The Black Hawks really did have incredible stamina. And they were just as devoted to garaetteok.

Elston’s expression as he brought them up was a little complicated. How should I put it? He wanted to praise the Black Hawks, but he didn’t seem entirely pleased about it.

He must have spent the time I was away getting to know them.

I quietly nodded, deeply sympathizing with his feelings. It should be fine to give him this small reward after all his hard work.

“Would you mind playing with Axion for a bit? I’m going to go check the magic circles myself.”

“S-such an honor…… Cough! Ahem. I may be extremely busy with various matters! But I suppose I can spare a little time while you go take a look.”

……He said that, but I saw it clearly. The corner of Elston’s mouth had shot upward.

I gave him a few agreeable nods and was heading outside to check the magic circles when Carl, apparently conscious of our guest’s presence, approached me with a letter on a silver tray he never normally used.

“Lady Cilia. A letter has arrived.”

“……Huh?”

In his words, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Something more urgent had come up than checking the magic circles.

There were two letters on the silver tray.

One was from an unexpected person.

The other was the one I had been waiting for all this time.

“How did you come to know Lady Miya, the young lady of Count Holman’s family?”

Carl whispered as he looked at the seal on the envelope and the sender’s name. His voice was tinged with unmistakable delight.

“Ah, her? She’s the green light among the traffic lights.”

“……Pardon?”

Miya was the young count’s daughter I had met at the Hall of Rest the other day.

She said we should spend time together sometime, and she really did send me a letter.

I tucked Miya’s letter into my arms for the moment, then eagerly tore open the one I had been waiting for.

“Ah! But we still have a guest……”

I heard Carl trying to stop me, but I paid him no attention.

A guest? Where was the guest? Elston had long since stopped being a guest, so I didn’t feel the slightest need to hold back. He was probably too busy playing with Axion to notice anything, anyway.

Carl chuckled softly and said,

“Did you really wait so eagerly for Lord Silvestain’s letter? It seems being apart has made your bond even stronger.”

That was right. It was the reply from Silvestain that I had been waiting for with bated breath.

And there should be clues about Ruben written in it. Clues that would help me determine whether Axion was Ruben or not.

I unfolded the letter.