How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 271

Julius couldn’t believe his ears.

 

“Not just Marie, but Kyle too? Are you serious?”

 

“Do you remember? The monster attack incident that happened during the New Year’s Banquet.”

 

“Of course I do…..”

 

That incident had left a fatal crack in the Second Prince’s reputation, while the First Prince, who saved the Second Prince and his wife, received so much of the Emperor’s favor that there were even talks of a potential crown prince appointment.

 

When the victim and the beneficiary are that clearly divided, it’s obvious who was behind the incident.

 

“That Thunderbird at the time was actually a chimera. It had the venom of a Stone Snake on its claws.”

 

At Leonhard’s words, stating that it was clear the First Prince had colluded with Onyx, Julius replied in a trembling voice.

 

“Does that mean Kyle is suffering from the same side effects as Marie?”

 

“I don’t know that for sure. For more details about the symbol experiments, you’ll need to talk to Felix.”

 

“Oh my god.…”

 

Julius covered his face with his hands as if he couldn’t believe it.

 

Leonhard, seeing how deeply shaken he was, chose not to speak further.

 

‘Rather than worrying about the First Prince, you should be worrying about what the First Prince might do.’

 

That thought, however, he kept to himself.

The long silence was broken by a knock on the door.

“Your Majesty, please excuse me for a moment.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Rosaline opened the office door and came in with a look of urgency and confusion on her face.

 

Because of that, she failed to notice how weary Julius looked as she began speaking right away.

 

“I just got a call from the knights who went outside.”

 

“Outside?”

 

“The knights we sent to track down the guest from the detached palace.”

 

Leonhard also reacted to those words.

 

“You mean Pan?”

 

“Is that his name? Either way, that’s not important right now… The place he headed after leaving the capital was Count Gordon’s territory.”

 

“Count Gordon’s territory? That’s east, not south….”

 

As Julius fell into thought, Leonhard pretended to sip his tea while subtly watching his reaction.

 

It was the day Raenel received the mirror from Pan.

 

She had said it was a gift from an acquaintance of her late birth mother, and that the mirror worked because Leonhardt had the matching one.

 

Upon hearing that, Leonhard had said to Julius:

 

“It seems he knew I had the other mirror and sought out my wife, who knew nothing, and left the mirror behind.”

 

“Hmph… Was that a veiled threat? A warning that he could harm the Marquise if pushed? You’d better tighten the security at the Mansion. What if he takes her hostage?”

 

“I’m already planning to head back and check on the guards immediately. I’ll take my leave now, Your Highness.”

 

At that time, Leonhard had believed Pan had lied to Raenel—pretending to be a friend of her mother just to approach her. He had been furious at the audacity.

 

However, it was revealed that Pan was indeed an acquaintance of Raenel’s biological mother, and that Raenel’s biological mother may have even been a wizard belonging to Onyx.

 

‘If Julius knew this, they would definitely suspect Nell. They would have to summon her at least once and hear her story.’

 

To prove Raenel’s innocence, he would have to reveal that she carried Sesto’s blood.

 

Leonhard wanted to keep the fact hidden as long as possible.

 

That’s why he didn’t tell Julius or even Duke Khalid about Pan.

 

‘If I want to keep this secret, even in the future… the best solution is to eliminate Pan.’

 

Raenel had been happy to meet someone her late mother had considered like family, but Pan was still part of Onyx.

 

Perhaps his real purpose in coming to find Raenel was to kidnap her using the teleportation stone.

 

No one knew why he handed over the stone and vanished, but Leonhard couldn’t trust him.

 

“And? Any word on his movements after he arrived at Count Gordon’s territory?”

 

“That’s unknown. Not long after entering the area, we lost track of him.”

 

“How did you lose him?”

 

“He used teleportation magic. They’re still tracking him, but it seems he’s very good at covering his tracks.”

 

Leonhard, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two, mulled over the words Count Gordon’s territory in his mind.

 

‘That place again… That name keeps coming up.’

 

After Count Gordon was caught and imprisoned for attempting to kill Duchess Khalid, Leonhard had been investigating who had inherited his title and lands.

 

‘I heard the Countess is currently ruling.’

 

She hadn’t inherited the title—since it legally passed to their son, who was the rightful heir.

 

But now, that son is only three years old this year. How can a child who can barely write his own name rule the county?

 

Until the child came of age, the actual running of the estate was left to the Countess, Count Gordon’s wife.

 

The problem here was that if the three-year-old child died, the succession would pass to the Countess.

 

Of course, the Countess was not a heartless woman to kill her own son for a title.

 

But her father, Viscount Molin, thought differently.

 

Once his daughter inherited the title, his bloodline would gain succession rights in the future.

 

At first, Viscount Molin tried to convince his daughter to quietly get rid of the child.

 

But when she refused and chose to protect her son, he planned to kill them both.

 

The one saving grace was that if the Countess died before the child, succession would not pass to the Viscount.

 

So the Countess clung to her child from morning till night, sharing meals, clothes—even bathing with him.

 

She was prepared to die first, if need be.

 

Because the Countess’s attention was entirely focused on the child, the management of the estate began to suffer.

 

‘When I last checked, the Countess had called almost all of the guards and security forces within her domain to the castle to guard the child.’

 

Given that she had justification—to protect the young heir—it wasn’t quite fair to call it tyranny.

 

But the issue was: Count Gordon’s territory had a dungeon.

 

And there were signs of unauthorized entry by unknown people.

 

“But I heard that while chasing the whereabouts of the missing wizard, they encountered a mid-level monster.”

 

That snapped Leonhard out of his thoughts

 

“A mid-level one? How did it go?”

 

“They successfully subjugated it. The extra training over the winter really paid off. There were a lot of them, though, so it took time.”

 

“A lot? How many?”

 

“They say there were at least ten of them, including lower-level monsters.”

 

“Are you saying that the middle and lower classes mixed together and formed a group?”

 

Julius turned to Leonhard.

 

“Marquis, is that normal?”

 

“No, Your Highness. In most cases, that’s a sign of a dungeon break.”

 

“Now that I think about it… there is a dungeon in Gordon’s territory. Rosaline—have the knights secure the lord’s cooperation and—no, wait. They might not have the capacity right now.”

 

Julius also seemed to be aware of the current situation in Gordon County, and he had a worried expression on his face.

 

Leonhard frowned and became lost in thought. Something felt off.

 

‘Wait… Pan disappeared near there, didn’t he?’

 

Onyx used Sesto’s bloodstones to control monsters.

 

A wizard from Onyx disappears near a dungeon.

 

And now, signs of a dungeon break.

 

The puzzle pieces clicked into place—and with them came a memory of something Raenel once said:

 

“They released monsters in the capital to ruin the Second Prince’s reputation. When that didn’t work, they brought in a huge number of monsters to the capital.….”

 

In the future shown by Hiyela, the wizards of Onyx led an overwhelming number of monsters into the capital.

 

Leonhard also remembered another lingering question:

 

If Onyx wanted to capture Raenel to use her blood—why had they tried to kill her?

 

‘If their goal is to attack the capital, then Raenel, who can control monsters—would be in their way…!’

 

Leonhard jumped up from his seat.

 

“Your Highness, we must go to the dungeon in Count Gordon’s territory immediately and wipe out the monsters there!”

 

“Goodness! Why the shouting all of a sudden?”

 

“Pan disappeared near there, didn’t he? He is the wizard of Onyx!”

 

“Onyx… Sesto’s bloodstone?”

 

As if he had finished calculating in an instant, Julius’ expression changed in an instant.

 

He immediately gave orders to Rosaline, who looked puzzled, unsure of what was happening.

 

“I must see His Majesty immediately. Send someone to the Imperial Palace immediately and inform His Majesty that I wish to have an audience. Tell him it’s urgent.”

 

“Yes? Ah, yes. Understood.”

 

It was when Rosaline hurried out of the office to follow Julius’ orders.

 

“Your Highness, a messenger has arrived from Duke Khalid’s residence.”

 

“From Duke Khalid’s residence?”

 

The message that Duke Khalid had sent in a hurry also contained surprising information.

 

[The knights and mages we sent to investigate the dungeon have been completely wiped out.

 

We are currently organizing a second investigation team to determine what happened, but it appears certain that the dungeon contains an Onyx base of operations.]

 

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