How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 294

– I hope your future is filled with happiness.

 

With the last, cold sensation like a snowflake pressing against my forehead, the silvery wind that had wrapped around me vanished without a trace.

 

The shadow I thought had shot upward disappeared as well.

 

The only proof that none of it had been my imagination was the Thunder Bird, frozen in an instant, and the small child who was suddenly in my arms.

 

“Kana, are you okay?”

 

Kana just blinked with a blank expression, as if she had no idea what had happened to her.

 

Maybe she had no memory of being turned into a doll… or so I thought for a moment.

 

“U… huuuaaah, huaaah!”

 

Tears suddenly filled her large eyes, and Kana hugged my neck and began to cry.

 

“Nell, what happened? That surge just now—”

 

“W-what the hell is that! What’s going on! Why is Kana in that woman’s arms?!”

 

“Master, it looks like they’ve taken Kana hostage!”

 

“Stop attacking! Stop the magic! Bring Kana to me now!”

 

“N-no! I don’t want to! I want to go to my real father!”

 

I had no idea what was going on anymore.

 

The shouting was so loud I couldn’t even tell who was saying what.

 

Of course, the loudest of all was Kana’s crying right in front of my face.

 

“Waaah! Huaaah! I don’t want a fake father! Kana wants to go to her real father…!”

 

“Ran! Could it be that the doll you were holding was Kana?”

 

“Wait, Master! There’s some misunderstanding—”

 

—Krrrrrr!

 

Even in the chaos, the death cry of the monster rang loud and clear.

 

Then—thud!—something heavy hit the ground, and I felt the vibration under my feet.

 

“Nell, hold Kana well. It looks like a monster is after her.”

 

“What? Those bastards!”

 

“Remember! If you lose Kana, none of you will be forgiven!”

 

Bird monsters, big and small, circled above my head, targeting Kana.

 

The only good thing was that I had Kana wrapped up so tightly that the monsters couldn’t attack recklessly.

 

The same couldn’t be said for the enemy wizards.

 

They hurled petrification and ice spells at us, as if it didn’t matter at all if the child got hurt in the process of being taken.

 

“Kana, can you come to father quickly?”

 

“Hwaaahh! No! Hwaahh!”

 

Clutching the child, who was thrashing as if in the middle of a seizure, I felt a wave of regret.

 

‘I should’ve just asked Hiyela to send all of us home!’

 

‘Why didn’t I think of that earlier?!’

 

It was at that time that I was struggling to calm down Kana, who was crying, and wondering how to overcome this difficult situation.

 

– Rake appears!

 

Oh, thank goodness!

 

“Rake!”

 

Even meeting Santa Claus on Christmas wouldn’t have been happier than this.

 

I was so happy to see Rake appear out of thin air that tears almost welled up in my eyes.

 

–Where have you been all this time?! More like, what the heck are you doing in a place like this?! I searched for a long time because I didn’t know where you were. But what is this? Why do I feel my mother’s magic?

 

“I’ll explain later. Rake, can you take us home right now?”

 

– Of course! I’ve been teleporting around just for that. But what are those things? Are they the ones who—aaah!

 

“What’s this? Why is the bird talking?”

 

Kana, who had stopped crying at some point, blinked her wet eyes and grabbed Rake tightly in her hands.

 

I was so scared that I stopped Kana.

 

“Kana! No, you can’t do that—let’s let Rake go. Don’t squeeze so hard.”

 

Fortunately, Kana’s grip quickly loosened, and Rake flew up from it.

 

– What the heck! How dare you grab the great dragon so recklessly!

 

“Dragon? What is that—”

 

—Bang!

 

Leonhard, who had once again slammed his fist into the flying magic, spoke to Rake with a slightly tired expression.

 

“We’ll talk about that later. Rake, can you teleport us right now?”

 

– Piece of cake!

 

Just as I was relieved to hear Rake’s confident voice, the monsters above my head suddenly started howling one after another.

 

“Wait, what—what is this?”

 

“Kyaaah! Th-the bloodstone! The bloodstone!”

 

“The bloodstone is breaking!”

 

“Master! The monsters are going berserk!”

 

– Krrrrrr!

 

– Kkieeeeeek!

 

Kana, startled by the sound coming from above, burst into tears again.

 

I patted the child’s back as if it were my habit and raised my head.

 

‘The bloodstone is breaking? The monsters are going berserk…?’

 

I’ve heard this story somewhere before.

 

But before I could figure out why—or check what was happening on the ridge—

 

My vision went black, and I fainted.

 

With the sensation of something burning hot in the middle of my back.

 

* * *

 

‘What on earth is going on up there?’

 

Julius wandered around the prison with an anxious look on his face.

 

Even though this was the Imperial Palace and he tried to convince himself nothing would happen here, he couldn’t calm the anxiety in his chest.

 

‘It seems like the palace has been attacked.’

 

Otherwise, why would this prison—built deep underground to be sturdy enough to prevent any jailbreak—be shaking?

 

‘If the palace was attacked, the entire capital must already be under the monsters’ attack. The Marquis and the Duke must be out near the residential districts by now.’

 

How many monsters are attacking the capital city and what level are they? Will the troops prepared in advance be enough to stop them? Will the people, those working in the palace, and their families be safe?

 

There were so many things he was curious about, but he couldn’t find out anything while locked in the prison.

 

Julius ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

 

‘Vee is the one I’m most worried about.’

 

Since not only he but also all his close aides had been dragged into the underground prison, there was no way she would be safe.

 

Still, since it was only a suspicion for now, she would probably just be confined somewhere in the palace.

 

The real problem was—with the palace under attack right now, would the knights guarding her have been able to get her to safety?

 

‘No, evacuation isn’t the problem.’

 

‘What if they had been instigated by the Marquis of Calvin?’

 

‘I really do have to get out of here….’

 

If he left on his own, it wouldn’t just be suspicion, he might be labeled a real traitor.

 

Julius, who had decided to escape from this place even at the risk of it, grabbed a necklace in the shape of a shackle that would strangle his neck.

 

Originally, that necklace was a magical tool that was used to prevent a wizard who had committed a crime from using magic, but after special modifications, it could also stop anyone with a symbol from using its power.

 

But Julius instinctively knew that if he stretched the power of the symbol to its uncontrollable limits, he could shatter the necklace.

 

‘If I make a single mistake and my power goes wild, I will become a lump of charcoal….’

 

‘It’s okay. I can do it.’

 

Encouraging himself, Julius took a deep breath and tried to increase the power of the symbol.

 

But then, from afar, footsteps were heard approaching the prison where he was.

 

It wasn’t his imagination—the reaction of the guards confirmed it.

 

“Who are you!”

 

The two guards aimed their spears at the shadows that appeared around the corner.

 

In the underground prison, where there were no windows, the only light came from magic stones embedded in the ceiling.

 

The overhead glow cast a shadow from the hood, hiding the figure’s face up to the chin.

 

Given the location, it looked intentional rather than coincidental, which made the guards even more wary.

 

“Take off your hood! Show your face!”

 

Seeing the tension in their eyes and the tightened grips on their weapons, the figure complied and pulled back the hood.

 

The two guards, as well as Julius, were startled by the revealed face.

 

“Kyle!”

 

The man was none other than Kairos—the First Prince.

 

“Brother, so you were here. I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

 

Kairos sighed softly, as if he had had a hard time getting here, and strode closer.

 

The two guards, startled by his words, unconsciously took a step back, but did not withdraw their spears aimed at Kairos.

 

“First Prince, stop right there!”

 

“How did you even get in here?”

 

In the midst of the capital being attacked by monsters, why would the First Prince come to the underground prison where the Second Prince was being held?

 

There was only one possible answer.

 

“This prisoner is suspected of treason. We don’t know what harm he might cause Your Highness—please keep your distance.”

 

“Aren’t you worried that I might harm my brother?”

 

It was accurate.

 

One guard was left speechless, but the other spoke calmly.

 

“At present, no one is allowed to visit the Second Prince—”

 

—Thud

 

At that moment, the guard, who was hit by a needle flying into the back of his neck, fainted and collapsed without even finishing what he was saying.

 

“Wha—!”

 

Another guard who saw that was startled and tried to scream, but the moment he opened his mouth, a needle flew into the back of his neck and stuck itself there.

 

“For prison guards of a traitor’s cell, they’re surprisingly weak. To be knocked out so easily…”

 

“What did you hit them with?”

 

“It’s just a regular anesthetic needle.”

 

It wasn’t ordinary. The needle he used was coated with anesthetic venom extracted from the venom glands of a high-ranking arachne, one of the self-defense tools he received from Marquise Calvin and Onyx when they were still holding hands.

 

Probably only someone like Leonhard could take such a hit and remain standing.

 

Kairos, who had been hiding the fact and was shaking his head at the lax security of the prison, searched through the fallen guard’s arms, took out the key, and opened the prison door.

 

“Come out, brother.”

 

“Thanks, you saved me.”

 

If the two guards hadn’t lost consciousness, they would have opened their eyes wide and doubted what they saw.

 

Even without weapons or the use of his symbol’s power, Julius approached Kairos without the slightest suspicion or wariness.

 

Kairos even removed the magic tool from Julius’s neck himself.

 

Instead of easily getting rid of him, despite Julius being defenseless.

 

* * *