How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 240

“So there’s something you have to do.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Marquise Calvin didn’t notice the irritation in his son’s voice as he explained:

 

“There will be a banquet at the palace in a few days. The Marquis and Marquise will probably attend the banquet.”

 

It is a banquet hosted by the Empress.

 

She had made a deal with the Emperor to not send an invitation to Karl—and in return, she also didn’t send one to Marquise Calvin.

 

Of course, the Marquise Calvin didn’t think much of it. She planned to seduce the Emperor and have the Empress attend the banquet alone.

 

‘Who would’ve thought I’d end up regretting that invitation.’

 

‘All invitations sent to her were rejected, and even when I visited her mansion, I couldn’t see a single hair on her head.’

 

Besides, Marquise Calvin couldn’t attend the banquet that she was sure to attend.

 

It even occurred to her that someone was plotting to prevent her from meeting the Marquise of Ajas.

 

“When you have a chance, call Marquise of Ajas out separately.”

 

“Me? I wasn’t invited either. How could I? And do you think the Marquis of Ajas would let his wife wander out of the banquet hall alone?”

 

“I’ll summon the Marquis myself during the banquet. I’ll give you a signal, and you send a servant to bring her out.”

 

It wasn’t difficult, as all she had to do was ask the Emperor to summon the Marquis of Ajas for a moment.

 

“I’ll be waiting in the nearby garden, so bring her to me.”

 

“What do you plan to do when you meet the Marquise of Ajas?”

 

“I have my reasons.”

 

Because of the monster blood in Marquis Calvin, she couldn’t directly harm the Marquise. But since she hadn’t met Raenel yet, she wasn’t sure where the line was drawn when it came to “direct harm.”

 

When she encountered Pell Sesto, who held a divine authority, she couldn’t even think of doing anything that might harm him.

 

‘Even if the pattern manifests by chance, it doesn’t mean that it has any power. So it should be less than that.’

 

Still, if Kairos sensed she was scheming behind the Marquise’s back, he might refuse to bring her out.

 

And as for herself… Would she really go through with the plan to kidnap and use the Marquise once the woman was right in front of her?

 

‘…No, I’d better not go to the garden myself.’

 

Instead, she decided to order her loyal knights to kidnap her.

 

“What if Marquise Ajas doesn’t come even when I call her?”

 

“How could she not come when you call? You’re a prince.”

 

‘The reason Marquise Ajas could ignore me like that was because I was not a member of the royal family.’

 

Marquise Calvin had no doubt about that.

 

‘Just wait. Once Kyle becomes Emperor, I’ll be the Empress Dowager. Then those who ignored me will no longer dare to defy me.’

 

And the first one she’d force to kneel would be the Marquis of Ajas.

 

Although her son had not yet become the crown prince, let alone the emperor, Marquise Calvin already burst into laughter as if she had become the empress dowager.

 

* * *

 

While declining invitation after invitation without the slightest sign of fatigue, I stayed holed up in the house, afraid I might run into someone trying to meet me.

 

In the meantime, I practiced magic with Noah, met the sponsored people staying at the mansion, and heard reports on their achievements.

 

I was thinking of kicking them out right away if they were just taking my donations and being lazy.

 

But maybe because I had filtered them thoroughly during interviews, they had all been working hard and achieving various results.

 

I sincerely congratulated them and held a small banquet at the mansion to celebrate their accomplishments.

 

Worried that they might feel burdened as commoners, I made it a casual event where everyone could eat and drink freely.

 

They were cautious at first, but once they got some alcohol in their mouths, they burst into laughter without hesitation.

 

In a cheerful atmosphere, the musicians took out their instruments and played impromptu songs, and people started dancing together.

 

Since the music was all improvised, there were dissonances here and there, and the dancers spun around without much coordination, waving their arms and legs in place.

 

Still, no one seemed to mind. Everyone laughed and had a great time.

 

After a pleasant dinner in such an exciting atmosphere, the next day….

 

Pine, the artist who had painted our family portrait for the Ajas Castle, gifted me a new painting.

 

“I painted you as I saw you at last night’s banquet. I hope you like it.”

 

“Like it? I love it! Wait—this is me? I look so beautiful.”

 

The sight of me dancing with the people, holding up my skirt, was so lively.

 

My bright smile was so pretty that I wondered if this was really me.

 

“Look! It’s my portrait! Isn’t it pretty?”

 

I immediately carried the painting around, proudly showing it off to everyone, before finally hanging it in my study.

 

When Leonhard returned from an outing and saw the painting, he called Pine and asked for another to take to Ajas Castle.

 

“What kind of image of the Marquise would you like me to paint?”

 

“Can you paint anything?”

 

“What I saw at dinner yesterday, I still remember it clearly!”

 

Leonhard opened his mouth after some thought.

 

“Can you paint her standing up and giving the toast?”

 

“Hold on. What kind of painting are you asking for now?”

 

“She looked so dignified giving that toast. It has to be preserved in a painting.”

 

“I agree with you! I will now begin sketching the Marquise!”

 

Oh no. Now my doting husband had dragged the painter into it, too.

 

I couldn’t bear to watch their overly serious faces, so I left the room.

 

But when I returned three hours later…

 

“It’s done, Your Highness! It’s a picture of Marquise sitting in front of the piano with Young Master and playing a song!”

 

“Then next—”

 

“Wait a minute. You’re still painting?!”

 

The pile of papers in front of Leonhard was one, two, three, four.….Seven in total!

 

“Why did you make him draw so many? There’s not even enough space to hang them all!”

 

“Not enough space? If we really didn’t have room, we’d need at least a thousand more paintings to run out of walls.”

 

“Oh, come on, that’s an exaggeration…”

 

‘Actually, considering how huge this Mansion and Ajas Castle were… he might have a point.’

 

Anyway, after scolding him for overworking the poor artist, I made a separate request to Pine:

 

Not today, but in a few days.

 

“This is our home too. There should be a portrait of our family, too.”

 

On the day we were to have our portraits painted, Madam Stella also delivered the finished dress I would wear to the banquet.

 

The commissioned jewelry arrived at the estate at the same time.

 

We spent some time choosing which accessories matched the dress best.

 

And then…

 

“Noah, look at this. This is the new wedding ring I’m giving your Father. What do you think?”

 

Noah looked at the ring with a serious face before replying.

 

“I think the gem is a little big.”

 

“So you think so too, huh?”

 

Yes. The blue diamond I—well, technically Leon—had won at auction was a whopping 20 carats.

 

It would be a waste to split it up to make a ring, so I asked them to make it into a ring in its entirety.

 

The result: a ring with an absurdly huge gem.

 

“This… Do you think other people might mistake it for a weapon instead of a wedding ring?”

 

“A weapon?”

 

“Imagine wearing this and throwing a punch. If you hit your opponent with this diamond, will they still have a molar?”

 

That’s how intimidating the diamond ring looked.

 

Honestly, if you had brought it to me and told me to wear it, I would have been disgusted and sent it back.

 

But Leonhard put the ring on his hand without hesitation, as if he had no such thoughts.

 

“What do you think? How does it look, Noah?”

 

“It suits you very well, Father.”

 

Leonhard patted Noah’s head as he nodded and then looked at me.

 

He gave me a subtle glance, asking for my opinion.

 

I calmly looked at his hand.

 

His hands, which were covered in calluses and small scars, anyone could tell they were the hands of a warrior.

 

And on such hands, a giant gemstone ring seemed like it wouldn’t fit at all, but….

 

“In the end, fashion is all about the face.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“It looks amazing on you. Maybe it’s because it matches your eye color so well.”

 

Especially the way it shifted colors depending on the angle—it was simply stunning.

 

“But it is a bit too big, isn’t it? It’s probably uncomfortable to wear all the time. I think it’s better to only wear it at banquets or formal occasions.”

 

“You’re right. It might be a bit inconvenient when wielding a sword.”

 

Leonhard nodded, took off the blue diamond ring, put it back in the box, and put back on the aquamarine ring he was wearing.

 

Maybe it was because of the rough work he did, but even though it hadn’t even been a year since I gave it to him, there were only small scratches on the ring.

 

‘I should buy him another one for our anniversary. This time, something with a small gem.’

 

And so, after checking the newly tailored dress and accessories, and hanging our new family portrait in the best spot of the long gallery, even just staying at home was filled with fun and busy moments like these–

 

But the day I had to go out finally approached.

 

The Imperial Banquet!

 

* * *