How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 226

“Yes?”

 

Julius nodded to Rosaline, who was surprised and asked questions.

 

“It’s not just me. Perhaps His Majesty is thinking the same thing.”

 

“His Majesty?”

 

Whispering that word was a habit she had developed since entering the palace.

 

Even though there was no one around, the palace was a place where even the walls had ears.

 

Julius, who knew this just as well as Rosaline did, gave Eric a brief glance before continuing in a low voice.

 

If someone had been within earshot, Eric would’ve signaled it. Julius’s voice, unbothered and calm, was actually louder than Rosaline’s.

 

“Isn’t the timing really coincidental? Marie fell ill immediately after the crowning ceremony for the third prince was decided, and after she met with His Majesty.”

 

A lightning-like realization flashed through Rosaline’s mind.

 

“You mean to say… in other words…”

 

The first princess’s faking illness was permitted by the emperor. No, perhaps it was ordered by the emperor.

 

‘Now that I think about it… After hearing that the First Princess had fallen ill, the Emperor sent his personal doctor to her palace out of supposed concern. But she never showed any improvement.

 

And yet, the Emperor never once summoned the doctor to ask about her condition.’

 

‘Was that because he wanted the physician to focus on treatment—or because he already knew she was faking it?’

 

For the First Princess, there was nothing to lose. She could win the Emperor’s favor, and if the Third Prince’s ceremony got canceled, that would benefit her as well.

 

She hadn’t even held the title of First Princess for a full year yet.

 

Though she had made some achievements—like hosting the Ball of Greenery and gaining support from her sister, now the Queen of the Kingdom of Canel—she still lacked a strong following.

 

And if the Third Prince suddenly jumped into the competition for the throne and stirred things up, the one who’d suffer the most damage among the three contenders would be the First Princess.

 

“So His Majesty truly doesn’t consider the Third Prince his son.”

 

“You have to be careful with your words, Rosaline.”

 

“Ah, yes. I apologize.”

 

After all, it is too dangerous to guess the emperor’s intentions in the middle of the palace.

 

“It’s still too early to call him a prince.”

 

“Oh? Right, of course. Yes.”

 

‘Wait, that’s what you meant…?’

 

Rosaline, replying politely, had a question mark hanging over her head. After hesitating, she cautiously opened her mouth.

 

“Pardon the impertinence, Your Highness, but may I ask you something?”

 

“You already know it’s impertinent, and yet you still want to ask. That makes me curious. Go ahead.”

 

“Your Highness, Do you not consider him as your brother?”

 

It made sense for Julius to care for the First Princess, who was his sister.

 

But the First Prince had been born out of wedlock, and although younger than Julius, he had manifested his symbol before Julius and stolen the title of “First” from him.

 

Even so, Julius cherished the First Prince—as if he were his true younger brother.

 

So Rosaline had assumed Julius would also warmly welcome the Third Prince, or rather, the man named Karl, as a brother.

 

“No.”

 

She had never expected such a firm answer.

 

“Why not? Is it because His Majesty perhaps said…”

 

‘Because he clearly stated Karl isn’t his son?’

 

Julius shook his head at Rosaline’s whisper.

 

“I don’t know if it’s true or not. But I have a strange feeling of not liking that man.”

 

“You don’t like him?”

 

“Exactly. I just don’t feel any affection for him.”

 

‘Strange. The moment I saw Karl, I felt sorry for him.’

 

As Julius murmured to himself, Rosaline quietly sighed inwardly.

 

‘You’re probably the only one who feels sorry for that troublemaker, Your Highness.’

 

From her point of view, it was a relief that the First Prince was a bit of a rogue. If he had been just a little bit more clever, the position of Crown Prince might have been taken away from Julius.

 

What good is lifting the fork to your mouth if you won’t even open your mouth to eat?

 

“Rosaline, I need you to look into something.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness. Please speak.”

 

“Find out why His Majesty, after announcing he would hold the ceremony in two months, is now using Marie as an excuse to cancel it.”

 

The Emperor had no intention of holding the crowning ceremony for the Third Prince. But he couldn’t outright cancel it either.

 

‘Was it really because Karl wasn’t his son? Or was it… something else?’

 

“Look into the person behind him.”

 

“Behind whom?”

 

Rosaline had a question mark on her head as Julius softly recited the name.

 

‘Not Karl, but that person? Why on earth?’

 

‘But there must be a reason for doing it.’

 

Rosaline didn’t argue and bowed her head in agreement to investigate.

 

* * *

 

“Becky!”

 

“Nell!”

 

The moment she stepped down from the carriage, Raenel ran forward and hugged Rebecca, who had come out to greet her at the main gate.

 

The two ladies exchanged greetings while embracing each other, then broke the hug and held each other’s hands tightly, asking how they were doing.

 

Then Raenel, suddenly remembering something, pulled back with a laugh.

 

“Noah, come here.”

 

“Oh my, is this the boy…..”

 

“Yes. He’s my son. Say hello, Noah. She’s my friend.”

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Noah Ajas. Nice to meet you.”

 

The boy, who had been so tense in front of Benjamin and Brilliana, now spoke with a confident, clear voice.

 

Rebecca was delighted to see the child, whose head barely reached her waist, behave so politely.

 

“I’m glad to meet you. It was hard to come a long way.”

 

“The adults took care of all the hard parts. I traveled to the capital quite comfortably.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

With a soft laugh, Rebecca glanced over at Raenel.

 

She didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but Noah seemed to have shattered her imagination in a good way.

 

Only after Noah’s introduction was concluded did Leonhard and Duke Khalid have a chance to intervene.

 

Leonhard and Rebecca exchanged a light greeting first, and then Duke Khalid stepped forward and bowed politely to Raenel.

 

“Forgive my late greeting, Madam of the Frontier. It’s been a long time.”

 

“Yes. It’s been a while, Duke Khalid. How have you been?”

 

“Thanks to you, I’ve been doing well. If it weren’t for your consideration, I would have lost both my wife and my child. I would like to express my gratitude once again.”

 

Startled by the Duke’s deep bow, Raenel awkwardly bowed in return.

 

She didn’t seem very skilled at accepting compliments.

 

After offering a short, polite reply, she quickly looped her arm through Rebecca’s.

 

“Let the busy people have their busy conversations. Why don’t we enjoy ourselves?”

 

“Oh my, shall we?”

 

“I brought lots of gifts for April, too. Would it be possible to see the child’s face?”

 

“Of course! You’re going to be her godmother, remember? Come on, let’s go. Oh, and Noah, you too.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Noah glanced briefly at Leonhard, and only when he nodded did he feel reassured enough to follow after Raenel and Rebecca.

 

Only after watching the three disappear up the stairs did Leonhard head to the office with Duke Khalid.

 

“Wine? Tea?”

 

“Tea, please. My wife and child are here today, after all.”

 

“That’s nice to hear! Listen, these days, when I get home, I live for the joy of kissing my child on the cheek. So I decided to quit smoking and drinking for a while.…”

 

Even as a maid pushed in a trolley and poured tea into their cups, Duke Khalid’s chatter didn’t stop.

 

Leonhard had thought he was a more serious man, but now it seemed there was no more doting father than him. How had he kept all that talking bottled up until now?

 

“So what were the results of the investigation?”

 

Leonhard rubbed his ear—still ringing from the nonstop talk—and used the brief pause to steer the conversation back on track.

 

“Ah, right. You’d be curious about that.”

 

Duke Khalid didn’t waste time and handed Leonhard the papers he had organized on his desk.

 

It was a list of people who had talked about the Frontier couple during social gatherings, tea times, or banquets.

 

It was written down in chronological order, including what they talked about, when, where, and from whom they heard the stories.

 

“That’s… quite a lot.”

 

“Some of them were under orders from His Majesty… Ahem. Oh, and we did figure out who first started spreading the rumors.”

 

When Leonhard looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, Then why didn’t you stop them?, Duke Khalid hurriedly changed the subject.

 

Leonhard let out a brief sigh and replied.

 

“Are you talking about Countess Dilas?”

 

“Yes, she was the one who spread rumors while going to social gatherings, but the truth is—”

 

“Julia was the one who gave her the information.”

 

Duke Khalid’s eyes widened in surprise as he twice had the name of an important person taken away from him.

 

“Have you finished investigating already?”

 

“There was no need to investigate further. I already knew it.”

 

Khalid gave a small nod, understanding the self-mocking tone.

 

“You said she had a bad relationship with your wife.”

 

“A bad relationship? Makes it sound mutual. That woman just harbored ill will toward my wife all on her own.”

 

‘If she hadn’t cooperated with Mario, Noah wouldn’t have come up with such a ridiculous plan.’

 

Leonhard’s blue eyes gleamed as he looked down at Julia’s name and her background written at the end of the document.

 

Duke Khalid coughed slightly at the murderous intent flowing from him, whether intentional or not.

 

“I understand how you feel, but you can’t act rashly. You know that, right?”

 

“Yes. If I don’t want to make an enemy of Count Dillas, then I’ll have to restrain myself.”

 

That could also be interpreted to mean that if he did want to make an enemy of Count Dillas, he wouldn’t need to hold back.

 

Sensing that nuance, Duke Khalid opened his mouth to try to dissuade him, but Leonhard cut him off by tossing the document down onto an empty spot on the tea table.

 

“I’ll take care of this, so let’s talk about that guy named Karl. Did you find anything in the investigation?”

 

* * *