How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love – Chapter 214

Author: Chewyy

“Huh, now?”

In exchange for manifesting the symbol on the first prince’s body, they received Estroa’s blood. And in exchange for providing the chimera they created, she was promised to find Sesto’s bloodline.

But Marquise Calvin lacked clues. It was something that had happened too long ago.

That time, they really thought she had found it, but turned out she hadn’t—and used that excuse to delay the payment.

How many chances had she already had?

Trusting only her own ability, taking only what she needed, and now, acting like she regretted it and reaching out again—it was infuriating.

“Did you send the reply?”

“Ah, not yet… I-I was waiting to respond according to your will, Master…”

“Just ignore her. There’s no good to be gained by getting involved with such a snake-like woman.”

The old man who had waved his hand roughly stood up from his seat.

Pan strained his neck and made a loud noise to stop him, as if the Master would chase after Kana and go through the door at any moment if left alone.

“B-but, maybe she really knows where A-Asta’s daughter is…”

“Enough. Sesto or whatever, I’m tired of it all.”

His voice, heavy with weariness, dropped lifelessly to the ground.

It wasn’t that surprising to hear the word “tired” because he had heard it so often recently.

However, Pan couldn’t believe that the word before the word “tired” was “sesto”.

“Th-then you’re going to… g-give up on finding A-Asta’s daughter…?”

“I’m already eighty years old this year. I’ve lived long enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if I died tomorrow.”

“But…..”

“Magic? Research? Experiments? I have no regrets anymore. I don’t even want to be apart from Kana, who grows so fast every time I blink.”

“B-but still…”

Too many things had already happened for him to just stop, even if it wasn’t about Asta’s daughter.

Anne and the wizards of the North who have lost contact, Khalid’s bloodstone has disappeared, and the sword has gone to the imperial palace. And—

“W-what about the Silver Frost Tower…..?”

“Ah, the Silver Frost Tower.”

The old man let out a long sigh as if he had forgotten about it.

Massaging his temples as if he had a headache, he muttered that maybe he should’ve retired earlier.

“Never thought the gate would open during my time….”

“D-do you have a b-bad relationship with them…?”

When the door to the Silver Frost Tower opens, report immediately.

It was a standing order for all wizards sent out for external missions.

Why guard against just that one tower when there were many others?

When Pan had once asked this out of frustration, the old man had answered:

“If that gate opens, we must prepare for war. That’s why we began creating chimeras in the first place.”

‘War? Why? What kind of grudge do they hold against us?’

Pan’s curiosity only grew, but he didn’t ask further.

The word “war” scares him.

If the door of the Silver Frost Tower had not opened, that question would have sunk beneath the water and never surfaced again.

“It’s not just a bad relationship… Whether it’s old grudges or heavy duty, I hope it will all go away with time….”

So is a hundred years a long time? Or a short one?

Judging by how the master’s warning still echoed in his ears, it seemed to be the latter.

“How many of our people are still outside?”

“So, excluding those we’ve lost contact with, there are about twenty people.…”

“Call everyone in. Looks like we’ll have to close the gates this time.”

Pan’s eyes widened behind his mask.

“If I call them all in, then what about K-Karl and Tom…?”

“Leave them. If they stay holed up in the palace, they’ll be safe… No, wait.”

Could it be that Karl caused the Silver Frost Tower’s gate to open?

‘The reason they haven’t opened the door yet is because they haven’t found any trace of us?’

Karl had suddenly shown up claiming to be of Estroa’s bloodline. If they had been waiting for someone with the symbol to appear—

‘Are they using Karl to track our location?’

There is no certainty. There is no evidence.

But once a ray of doubt appeared, the old man had to get rid of it.

For the sake of his beloved daughter.

“Tell Karl this: If he doesn’t return immediately with Tom, he should never think of coming back here again. His right to succession will be revoked, of course.”

“Wh-why…?”

“Why? You want me to leave the door open so calmly when the wizards of the Silver Frost Tower might barge in at any moment? You want me to see you all get hurt on my deathbed?”

As the old man clicked his tongue, Pan swallowed back the words that rose in his throat:

‘It’s not us you’re worried about—it’s Kana, isn’t it?’

‘How could he say something so insolent?’

“Maybe it’s for the best. If Anne and the northern wizards all went silent at once, then the Marquis of Ajas must’ve sensed our presence.”

“Se-sensed us…? Then the bloodstone of Khalid…”

“Yeah. I guess that fell into his hands too.”

Khalid’s bloodstone.

It would be nice if they mistook it for a stone made from the Duke’s blood—but that was unlikely.

It would be troublesome if they suspected the shipwreck from four years ago.

“Should we get rid of him?”

“W-who… do you mean…?”

With a snap of his fingers, the old man startled Pan, who flinched.

“The crow Ran modified—is it still alive?”

“The crow… y-yes.”

Pan, who immediately understood what the old man meant, nodded.

As his mask rattled from the motion, he adjusted it while the old man continued:

“Send that crow north to spy on the Marquis Ajas. And when the opportunity arises……”

He drew his finger across his throat.

At the sound of his tongue clicking between his teeth, Pan flinched again.

“T-The Marquis Ajas….?”

“Yes. Who knows how much he’s already uncovered. It’s best to eliminate future threats early.”

“B-but how… Ah.”

Pan belatedly remembered how Ran had modified the crow that the old man had caught for her.

The Third-Eyed Crow with a cursed third eye embedded with a surveillance crystal.

Ran had engraved a curse into its claws.

A curse that causes you to die from a terrible nightmare while sleeping without being able to wake up.

“Will that c-curse really work on the Marquis Ajas…?”

“Even if he has powers, he’s still human. It will work….”

That curse was created by Ran herself. She alone has the power to cast it.

No matter how skilled a wizard is by his side, once he is cursed, he will never open his eyes again.

“Should I deal with Duke Khalid too…? No, even for me, it would be suspicious if the Marquis Ajas and the Duke both died suddenly.”

If he had to kill one of the two, it had to be the Marquis Ajas.

Though he’d rather kill Kana’s biological father…. but that man would never know of her existence anyway.

And Kana would never leave the tower.

‘The problem is what happens after I die….’

Will his disciples really take good care of Kana?

He feared she’d end up just like Pel.

Or, they could brainwash her and send her there to take over everything in the Khalid family.

‘This guy is the only one I can trust…’

The old man’s sharp gaze scanned Pan up and down.

Just one glance.

But seeing him bowing his head and fiddling with his mask, the old man clicked his tongue again.

‘If only he was a little more reliable… Looks like I’ll have to postpone my choice.’

‘Isn’t this about entrusting my daughter to someone? I should be careful. If something goes wrong with Kana, I feel like I’ll shed tears of blood even after I die.’

‘Is this a blessing or a curse in my old age…?’

Suddenly, like a breeze brushing past his ear, the voice of a woman flitted by.

“I will curse you. Even if my flesh rots away and my bones wear down to dust! My soul will remain and curse you all!”

Does the woman who left the curse with a boiling voice know that he is taking such great care of the daughter she left behind?

‘You should have died leaving me with words of gratitude, not a curse.’

The old man snorted and then started humming a pleasant tune.

“Kana, where are you?”

His daughter, who loved playing hide and seek, must be hiding somewhere.

Playing the seeker, even in old age, brought such joy to him. His lips curled upward and never seemed to fall.

* * *

Is it because it’s been a while since I last knitted? In the past, I could make a scarf and gloves in a day, but the movement of weaving yarn onto a needle felt really awkward.

“It’s finally done! Noah, what do you think? Isn’t it cute?”

What she had been knitting in bits and pieces while traveling in the carriage wasn’t anything else but a baby mobile.

TL: A baby mobile is a hanging toy that is fixed above the baby’s bed.

The Khalid duchy’s symbol was water, and since they often went out to sea, the mobile was adorned with sea creatures: sharks, dolphins, crabs, fish, and starfish.

“Yes, it’s super cute! Mother, you’re the best in the world.”

“Right? It’s cute, huh? Should I make one for you too, Noah?”

“Yes!”

‘Wait—I was joking…’

No matter how young Noah is, he is long past the age of having a mobile hanging over his bed.

‘I guess he’ll like it no matter what if I say I’ll give it to him.’

I patted his head affectionately.

“Instead of a mobile, I’ll make something else. How about a Rake doll?”

“Please make it for me, Rake, Ruby, Mother, Father, and uncle too.”

“On the mobile?”

“Yes.”

Noah nodded, his cheeks flushed like an apple.