How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 251

“Maybe it was Karl’s doing.”

 

“Karl? Why?”

 

“If he had realized that we were investigating him, wouldn’t he have done something to divert us from that investigation?”

 

For now, Leonhard decided to put the story about Onyx aside.

 

If he makes one mistake, his wife’s secret could leak out, and there’s no clear evidence yet.

 

“If the Duchess had died, the Duke wouldn’t be in any position to pursue an investigation.”

 

“Hmm…. That certainly makes sense.”

 

Julius nodded and said that he would immediately send someone to the palace where Karl was staying to investigate the servants there first.

 

It was fortunate that Julius could be convinced to that extent.

 

Leonhard let out a small sigh of relief and then asked him.

 

“Would it be okay if I went with them to his palace?”

 

* * *

 

“Kyle!”

 

As usual, Marquise Calvin entered the room without hesitation, kicking open the door and swallowing what she was about to say when she saw the scenery inside the room.

 

Kairos is sitting at the table, and two Red Lion Knights are standing in front of him.

 

They glanced at the Marquise Calvin, who had suddenly barged in, then folded the notebook they were holding and put it in their pocket.

 

Then, turning to the royal prince, they placed their fists over their hearts and bowed with formal respect.

 

“Thank you for your cooperation with the investigation, Your Highness. We’ll take our leave.”

 

“If you need anything else, please come to me anytime. I will be happy to help.”

 

The two people nodded silently, but they seemed quite pleased with Kairos’ words.

 

The two knights, having finished their business, bowed slightly to the Marquise Calvin out of courtesy and passed her by.

 

Knights who swore loyalty to the royal family should show proper respect to the woman who bore a royal child.

 

Marquise Calvin, who thought so, would not tolerate anyone, whether a servant or a knight, who ignored her, but today was different.

 

As soon as the two knights left, she locked the door and sat down across from Kairos after making sure there was no one in the room.

 

“What’s going on? Why are the knights investigating you? Do you have anything to do with what happened at the banquet yesterday?”

 

“If that were the case, would I still be sitting here like this? I’d have been dragged off by now.”

 

Kairos responded as if nothing had happened and sipped his cold tea.

 

However, he reached out to the silver bell to call a servant as it did not suit his taste.

 

But Marquise Calvin picked it up first to prevent him from ringing the bell.

 

“Did you do as I told you yesterday?”

 

“I tried. But things got complicated, so the servant returned. I retrieved the letter myself and burned it. We agreed to say he had simply delivered a congratulatory gift.”

 

“A gift? Did you send a gift to that woman?”

 

“Because I needed a plausible excuse to get through the doors of Queen Rose Hall.”

 

“Even so—how could you send something to that woman, and not even tell me—!”

 

“It was a gift for my sister-in-law, not for that woman, and if I hadn’t sent a gift, my servant would’ve been blamed for everything that happened last night.”

 

At the cold, firm tone, Marquise Calvin finally met his son’s eyes.

 

Although he had said he would cooperate, he could not have been happy with being questioned by the knight.

 

And it was none other than she who had made his servant go to Queen Rose Hall.

 

But even after realizing that fact, the Marquise Calvin did not particularly think that she had done anything wrong.

 

“Still, I’m glad you’re not under suspicion.”

 

Having spent the night beside the Emperor, she had quickly learned about the banquet incident.

 

The Emperor had entrusted the investigation to the Second Prince and was receiving separate reports.

 

The Marquise Calvin, who had been by his side until then, also confirmed some of the reports, thanks to that, she was able to find out the type of poison used in the crime.

 

‘The poison of the Nekid flower?… It’s not something that’s easy to get.’

 

Nekid flowers lived hidden beneath the ground and only emerged after blooming.

 

Finding them was hard enough—extracting their poison was even harder.

 

There is only one person in the Imperial Palace who could possibly have that rare poison.

 

Karl.

 

‘But why? Has Onyx given up on Sesto’s bloodline?’

 

If that’s true, it wasn’t because they didn’t believe her words that they ignored her. They had already decided to eliminate the Marquise, knowing full well who she was.

 

So they didn’t feel the need to talk to her.

 

‘If that’s true… then how do I get rid of Karl?’

 

If it were easy to obtain the poison of the Nekid flower, she would have thrown it into the detached palace and reported it to the emperor.

 

But by now, any evidence would’ve been thoroughly destroyed.

 

Without a confession, the Second Prince would never find the culprit.

 

‘Wait…’

Her brows, deeply furrowed from the headache of it all, suddenly relaxed.

 

‘There’s no need to go through the proper process.…’

 

Since ancient times, wasn’t it always the fist that ruled over the law?

 

The Marquis Ajas and Duke Khalid will be furious at the fact that their wives almost died.

 

All she had to do was give them a little push.

 

Tell them that the Third Prince, Karl, was the culprit.

 

Let them go take their own revenge.

 

* * *

 

—Plak!

 

Tommy’s body fell to the floor with the force of the blow hitting his cheek without any mercy.

 

But it didn’t end there.

 

As if still consumed with fury, Karl kicked Tommy repeatedly as he curled up reflexively on the floor.

 

“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”

 

“Where on earth have you put your mind?”

 

Karl woke up this morning to find out about the chaos that had occurred the night before.

 

Even he woke up because the knights had forcibly entered his palace.

 

Just remembering it made his teeth grind.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Do you know who I am? How dare you storm in here like this?!”

 

“We are here on orders from the Second Prince, who was entrusted with investigative authority by His Majesty.”

 

“Last night at Queen Rose Hall, two noblewomen collapsed after drinking poisoned wine. One of the suspects is a palace servant. Please gather all the servants working here.”

 

Unofficially, everyone called him the Third Prince.

 

But since he had not yet been formally designated, they addressed him merely as a “guest of the detached palace.”

 

Karl, who hated being called that, gathered all the servants of his Palace in annoyance.

 

“Come into the room one by one as we are called..Remember that if you tell a lie, you will be immediately punished for perjury.”

 

All the servants were gathered together and each was called into the room.

 

Two knights watched the servants to make sure that the others weren’t making up stories with their eyes or whispers.

 

But more troubling than those knights was the appearance of another, far more unwelcome guest.

 

He was dressed differently— Solid posture and firm steps.

 

But most of all, those eyes.

 

As if he had been born in a high place and had never come down to a low place, his gaze, which only looked around, seemed to naturally look down on other people.

 

There is no sense of contempt, but the blue eyes filled with power are visible to anyone who meets his eyes.

 

It made them feel intimidated.

 

The same thing happened to Karl. But he shouted in anger, not wanting to admit the fact.

 

“Who are you to come into my palace without permission?!”

 

“Leonhard Ajas. Marquis of Ajas.”

 

“A Marquis? Ha! I’m the Third Prince! You think being noble lets you look down on royalty?”

 

“You haven’t been named a prince yet. Once you’re officially crowned, I’ll kneel then.”

 

Once you’re officially crowned”—

 

It was a warning: That day may never come.

 

Karl screamed loudly, his eyes turning red.

 

“Fine! Let’s see who kneels when I am the Third Prince in two weeks! I’ll have you crawling through this palace on your knees!”

 

Leonhard didn’t even bother to respond.

 

He merely flicked his mouth into a smirk and turned to the servants lined up nearby.

 

Then his gaze fell on Tommy—the one standing at the very end.

 

He didn’t say a word. Just stared.

 

Tommy, who had been looking down at the floor, ignoring Leonhard, finally couldn’t stand it anymore and asked him.

 

“Do you have something to say to me, Your Highness?”

 

“Not really. Just… your collar’s crooked.”

 

Leonhard reached out and touched Tommy’s collar.

 

The button wasn’t undone. Still, touching it personally seemed too much.

 

As Tommy stood stiff with shock, along with the others—Leonhard patted his shoulder and said:

 

“If you’re serving a distinguished guest, you should mind the little things. Make sure you check the mirror next time.” 

 

Mirror.

 

Tommy and Karl both turned pale, their wide eyes fixed on Leonhard.

 

But he had already turned his back on them.

 

“Well then, I guess I’ll go now. If you need my help, just let me know.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness!”

 

With the investigators saluting him, Leonhard left the Palace.

 

The servants watched him go with puzzled expressions.

 

Why did he come here? Surely it wasn’t just to fix someone’s collar…?

 

The servants looked at each other with a puzzled look, then looked down again in surprise at the knight’s shout.

 

Unlike them, who had forgotten the questions they had, Tommy and Karl pretended to be fine on the outside while screaming on the inside.

 

‘It was the Marquis of Ajas who took the mirror!’

 

* * *