How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 225

“Peep, Peep?”

 

Rake, perched on my shoulder, let out a curious chirp, tilting her head—as if she’d noticed the slight sinking of my mood, like my feet were stuck in the mud.

 

I stroked the round Rake’s head out of habit and licked my lips.

 

The wind blowing from that distant night sky ruffled my sister Lily’s hair, and then soon caressed my hair.

 

I watched as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and then on impulse, I reached out and held her hand.

 

“Sister… Did you think that if I got married I would never come home again?”

 

“I never thought you wouldn’t come. But I did think… maybe you wouldn’t be able to.”

 

There are quite a few men in this world who encourage their wives to cut ties with their families after marriage.

 

If it was just a matter of being wary that the wife’s family might covet their wealth under the excuse of blood ties, that would be one thing.

 

But many treated their wives like purchased goods—something they paid for, like property.

 

“Of course, I didn’t mean to send you to that kind of guy, but you never know what’s in people’s hearts.”

 

“Leon is truly a good husband. Originally, he was supposed to come to the capital alone, but I cried and said I was lonely, so he brought me along.”

 

“Are you seriously taking your husband’s side in front of your own sister? They say raising a sibling is pointless, and I guess they were right.”

 

“No, that’s not it.”

 

“Yes, of course, he’d be a good person. He’s the one you chose yourself, so you must have chosen well.”

 

My sister Lily patted the back of my hand gently, as if to comfort me.

 

Relieved by her teasing smile, I finally let out a thought that had troubled me for quite some time.

 

“Hey… what if…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What would you have done if I got married, went north, and lost contact with you, never came down to the capital, and no one knew how I was doing?”

 

‘In other words, what if the real Raenel had been born into this body, not me?’

 

“Well, I would’ve gone to the North myself.”

 

“Yourself?”

 

“Yeah. You’d never cut contact with us on your own. So if you did, there’d have to be a reason—someone or something preventing it. And if that’s the case, then of course I’d have to fix it. I’m your sister, aren’t I?”

 

“But still…”

 

In the future that Hiyela showed me, after “Raenel” left for the North with Leonhard, My sister and brothers sent her letters many times.

 

But “Raenel” never wrote back.

 

That was how the Howard siblings and “Raenel” ended their connection.

 

‘There wasn’t any mention of them going to the North to find her…’

 

If so, then this change must have occurred because I, and not ‘Raenel’, was born into this body.

 

‘Maybe I didn’t need to worry about having stolen the place of their real little sister.’

 

‘Yeah… I love my siblings way more than the original Raenel ever did.’

 

“Sister.”

 

“Hm?”

 

The moment my sister Lily turned to me, I opened my arms and hugged her tightly.

 

Startled by my actions, Rake flew into the air, squeaking.

 

“Oh my, why are you like this?”

 

My sister Lily sounded surprised at first, then let out a soft laugh and hugged me back, as if she couldn’t resist.

 

The warmth of her embrace wasn’t all that different from what I remembered from my earliest childhood.

 

When I was young, I didn’t feel too intimidated when I found out I was adopted. I knew that my family’s love for me was genuine.

 

And only now, in this moment, I finally realized:

 

My greatest strength is that I can be sure of that fact. It is because of that strength that I was able to become the ‘fit person’ that Hiyela spoke of.

 

“Sister, do you know that I love you very much?”

 

“Of course I do. You’re my little sister.”

 

This affectionate hand stroking my head would have been no different even if it were ‘Raenel’ and not me in my sister’s arms.

 

I was truly glad… that it was me here at this moment.

 

Because this kind of love is far too precious to be wasted on someone who doesn’t know how to treasure it.

 

I was so lucky to be able to give only love to someone who was happy with just one word of love. I was so lucky to be able to repay this blindly pouring love.

 

* * *

 

The moment they became close enough to see each other’s faces, Julius did not miss the moment when the face of the guard guarding the main gate of the Rose Quartz Palace hardened.

 

The same goes for the aides and knights who follow him.

 

“Wow, look at that face. Makes me wanna press a hot iron to it.”

 

“What is an iron?”

 

“There’s this thing sold at Clover Magic Tools. It straightens clothes. Way easier to use than a regular flat iron.”

 

Julius didn’t care what his subordinates were muttering about and walked past the gate with a calm face.

 

It was the guards’ job to turn away unwanted guests.

 

But who could possibly block the Second Prince’s path?

 

The guards kept their heads down until every last member of his party passed through the gate.

 

“Judging from the guards’ reactions, looks like it’ll be the same today.”

 

“We don’t know that yet.”

 

At Julius’ calm voice, his aide Rosaline sighed, even though knowing full well it was disrespectful.

 

“If you really think so, do you want to make a bet with me?”

 

“I’ll bet a gold bar that we don’t see her face again today.”

 

He puts down the gold bars naturally, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

 

And of course, he bet on his own side.

 

Rosaline, who had no choice but to follow the prince all the way out here to Rosequartz Palace, clutched the back of her neck as if to stave off her rising blood pressure.

 

Unfortunately for her, the Second Prince walking ahead didn’t even notice.

 

“Your Highness, if you’re confident enough to wager a gold bar, why go through the trouble of coming all the way here?”

 

“Didn’t Sir Eric nag me to get some exercise? I headed this way to take a walk, exercise, and, if I’m lucky, see my little sister’s face.”

 

Rosaline’s sharp gaze turned to Eric. But Eric only raised an eyebrow as if to ask what he had done wrong.

 

‘Ugh, ugh, ugh, that annoying guy!’

 

At this point, there was nothing she could do.

 

Having wagered a gold bar on the bet, “The First Princess will show her face today,” Rosaline prayed—pleaded—that the First Princess would appreciate the Second Prince’s daily efforts to visit the Rose Quartz Palace.

 

But half-resigned, she already knew: today, again, the First Princess would not show her precious face.

 

“We apologize, Your Highness. Her Highness the Princess is feeling unwell again today…”

 

“It’s already been half a month since she last showed her face. If you ask me, the royal doctor seems to be taking on duties far beyond his ability. What do you think?”

 

It was basically a threat that, if the First Princess didn’t appear again today, the doctor in charge of her care would be punished.

 

Still, the head maid of the Rose Quartz Palace bowed without hesitation.

 

“If I have failed in my duties, then I deserve to be punished.”

 

The head maid, who had served the Second Princess before she was granted the title of First Princess and followed her to the Rose Quartz Palace, was the niece of the royal doctor responsible for her care.

 

The doctor had only recently taken on the responsibility—because the previous one had suddenly returned to their hometown.

 

Even so, her voice did not waver in the slightest as she accepted the punishment for not properly caring for the First Princess.

 

Whether this was a ploy against the Second Prince, or her own decision to offer her uncle as a scapegoat to quell the Second Prince’s anger—it was unclear.

 

Was all of this really the First Princess’s will, or the head maid’s independent action?

 

Julius’s gaze pierced the top of the head maid’s bowed head, as if trying to see through it all.

 

She couldn’t possibly be unaware of that intense stare, yet she remained motionless, bent in a deep bow.

 

“I’d like to at least see her sleeping face.”

 

“Her illness has worn her down; her face has become quite gaunt. She doesn’t wish to show herself in such a state—even if His Majesty the Emperor were to come, she said not to open the door.”

 

Put another way: If even the Emperor isn’t welcome, what makes you, a mere prince, think you can get in?

 

The faces of the aides, attendants, and knights who had accepted it exactly that way immediately hardened.

 

‘How dare she…! What gives her the confidence to speak so arrogantly?!’

 

Even under the pressure of their threatening presence, the head maid stood firmly in front of the bedchamber door, only her shoulders trembling slightly.

 

In the end, it was Julius who sighed and raised the white flag again.

 

“Then there’s nothing we can do, Kane.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

Kane, the close attendant who had been standing quietly, at the second prince’s call, stepped forward and handed what he was holding to the head maid.

 

Inside the large bundle—so big it nearly filled her arms—were expensive medicinal herbs.

 

Receiving such a bundle every time the Second Prince visited, the head maid bowed deeply with a small sigh and a look of sincere apology.

 

“I hope I can see Marie’s face tomorrow.”

 

“May the sun shine upon you.”

 

And so, once again, the Second Prince and his entourage left the Rose Quartz Palace empty-handed.

 

Seeing him off, the guards at the front gate squirmed nervously.

 

Watching them try to avoid eye contact, Rosaline let out a sigh.

 

“Your Highness, how long are you going to waste your time like this?”

 

“Until Marie shows her face?”

 

Rosaline groaned at that seemingly innocent answer.

 

“But even you know, don’t you? If Her Highness the First Princess were really ill, the palace doctors would’ve already caused a commotion long ago.”

 

The First Princess was clearly staging a protest ahead of the Third Prince’s ceremony.

 

The appearance of a new member of the royal family who has manifested the symbol of Estroa is certainly a happy event for the royal family.

 

But human nature being what it is, it’s only natural to worry about ominous signs before rejoicing over good fortune.

 

As the ceremony drew closer, the First Princess would likely claim she was on the brink of death.

 

And naturally, the ceremony would be postponed.

 

In this situation, Julius’s daily visits to her palace were nothing more or less than a play on her tricks.

 

Surely Julius knew this—but then why was he letting himself be used like that, as if he were clueless?

 

Rosaline could only feel frustrated.

 

“Still… you never know. Marie might really be sick and lying down.”

 

“Your Highness!”

 

“And if she’s just pretending to be sick… well, that’s fine too. Because I have the same intentions as her.”

 

* * *