How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 302

“Who has ever heard of a homeowner fleeing in panic at an intruder breaking into their house? I have no intention of running away in disgrace, so leave me and go.”

 

“That is unthinkable, Your Highness!”

 

“Please take back the order!”

 

“Didn’t I tell you to step back? This is simply my stubbornness. Don’t throw away your lives and leave this palace quickly. I will make sure there are no consequences in the future.…”

 

“How can you say such a thing! Your Highness, you are the master of this house, but you are also our master.”

 

“That’s right. How can you make us cowards, who abandon our master out of fear of death?”

 

“If Your Highness remains here, then so shall we.”

 

There were actually only a few people who knelt and begged, as if they were very sad to be told to leave her behind.

 

Because most people would run away in fear the moment they saw a giant monster.

 

But Mariette had no intention of blaming them.

 

She was surprised to see that there were five people who knelt down with determined expressions, ready to give their lives for her.

 

At the same time, she felt a pang of guilt.

 

If only the royal they were so willing to die for were a better person.

 

If possible, someone like her brother.

 

“In that case, there is something I wish to ask of you.”

 

“Please give your order.”

 

“Would you please look after my brother?”

 

“Pardon? You mean… His Highness the Second Prince?”

 

“Yes. Though he is imprisoned now, my brother would never conspire with wicked men to bring harm to this Empire. I fear he will be swept up and punished without ever clearing his name.”

 

“Ah….”

 

“Whatever happens outside, the guards in the underground prison will never release him. If they attempt to stop you… Do you understand what I mean?”

 

It was the emperor who ordered the second prince to be imprisoned.

 

Under the circumstances, subduing the guards by force and getting the second prince out of prison was against the emperor’s will and could later be punished as treason.

 

Because of that, the knights and guards hesitated, glancing uncertainly at one another.

 

They were willing to die for a Royal, but opposing the Emperor was a completely different matter.

 

As the awkward silence continued, it was the head maid who knelt on the floor and bowed to Mariette.

 

“I will obey Your Highness’s command.”

 

“Head Maid!”

 

“However, it seems we don’t all need to go to carry out Your Highness’s orders. Just me and the two guards will suffice.”

 

The escort knight, who understood what she meant, nodded immediately.

 

“With the chaos in the palace, the prison guards have likely fled as well. The three of us will remain by Your Highness’s side.”

 

Rather than breaking Mariette’s stubbornness, they decided it would be better to divide their small numbers and at least keep some by her side.

 

“I have resolved not to flee, but to stand against that monster even if only for a short time. Even so, you still wish to stay by me?”

 

“Our only duty is to stay by Your Highness’s side.”

 

“Do whatever you want.”

 

Mariette opened her lips to say something to the escort knight, but then closed them.

 

“Head Maid. There’s no need to return here after you’ve freed my brother from prison. By then, I’ll likely be gone, so please leave the palace.”

 

“I look forward to seeing you again outside the palace…”

 

The head maid bowed silently and left for the underground prison with the guards to follow Mariette’s orders.

 

“Then let’s go now.”

 

“With all due respect, Your Highness,… Are you really going to face that monster?”

 

“Who knows? If I can delay it even five minutes… that five minutes might save many lives.”

 

The knight and the two guards seemed impressed by those words.

 

“We will risk our lives to protect Your Highness until the end.”

 

“It’s not necessary-but if the situation really gets bad, you should run away. Do you understand?”

 

Actually, even if the weak-bodied Mariette used her symbol power, five minutes was the maximum she could endure against the giant monster. Even lasting that long would be a miracle.

 

She knew it herself. Half of her determination to destroy her life was born out of guilt; the other half, out of a desire to escape.

 

Once all this was over, the investigation into the cause would begin, and her crimes would surely come to light.

 

She feared the day when the humiliation would be exposed before the entire world would become a spectacle for mockery. Yet she lacked the courage to confess her sins before that happened.

 

‘If only I had just told someone all this honestly before things got to this point, even when I was threatened by Karl…’

 

“Your Highness, step back!”

 

Then the escort knight sent her behind, and two guards stepped forward, drawing their swords.

 

Snapped out of her thoughts, Mariette looked around in confusion, unsure of what was happening.

 

Before she could see anything with her eyes, a blast of hot air hit her face.

 

‘This feeling…!’

 

At the same time, she felt an intense surge of heat from above her head.

 

“It’s dangerous!”

 

As she shouted, Mariette drew up the power of the symbol.

 

The symbol on her collarbone emitted a red light, and at the same time, a hot flame surrounded the four people in the shape of a sphere.

 

And almost instantly, a tremendous impact struck the fiery barrier.

 

—Boom!

 

“Ugh!”

 

“Your Highness, are you alright?!”

 

Before the sphere of flame could fully form, it was struck and shattered like a rotting shell, and the recoil struck Mariette directly.

 

“Cough—khak—kugh…!”

 

“Your Highness! This much blood…!”

 

In the brief moment as the escort knight supported the coughing Mariette—

 

“Aargh!”

 

“Y-Your Highness, run—Argh!”

 

The two guards who had stepped forward were engulfed in a pillar of flames and fell down screaming.

 

Despite being shocked by the horrific sight, the escort knight calmly picked up Mariette and stepped back.

 

Because beyond the two guards—now charred into black lumps of coal—he saw a massive ball of fire walking toward them.

 

“Kukk, keke… look who it is…”

 

“I-It can talk?”

 

The escort knight truly thought the oncoming fireball was a monster.

 

But in the midst of the blazing red flames, the knight heard the sound of a person speaking, and when he looked inside in surprise, he saw a dark shadow of a person.

 

“W-Who goes there?!”

 

“…It’s Karl.”

 

“What?”

 

Mariette, spitting out the remaining blood in her mouth, glared at the fireball and spoke.

 

“This is my first time seeing it in person, but I heard that when the power of the symbol goes wild, it becomes like that.”

 

“Haha, haha! Finally, finally! I’ve obtained a power that no one can match!”

 

The voice that shouted was somewhat human, yet it also crackled like burning firewood and hissed like a snake.

 

Thanks to that, the escort knight was able to realize.

 

‘That is no longer human.’

 

“No one can stop me now! No one, not even the Emperor!”

 

The flames swallowing his shadow flared wildly as he laughed maniacally.

 

The heated air hit both of their faces.

 

It was so hot that if inhaled, it would feel hot all the way to the lungs.

 

“Kh… Your Highness…”

 

“You have to step back… Cough!”

 

Mariette coughed a couple more times as she tried to get out of the knight’s arms, and then leaned against him helplessly.

 

“As far as I know, that berserk state doesn’t last long. He’ll self-destruct eventually.”

 

“How long will it take?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Understood.”

 

So what he had to do now was clear.

 

The escort knight, who had been cautiously backing away so as not to be noticed, turned and ran, avoiding the flames that erupted like sparks from a fireball.

 

* * *

 

“Your Highness, I will draw his attention. Please stay here for a moment to recover your strength.”

 

He must have run nonstop for tens of minutes. Soaked in sweat, his clothes singed, and burns all over his body still scorching hot, the escort knight set Mariette down in a corner of the Imperial Princess’s palace and ran off again.

 

She hadn’t even had time to grab him. Only after being left alone did reality settle in. She finally grasped what was happening to her.

 

‘This is my fault. Because of me, two people died… and that knight might too.’

 

If she had fled when they urged her to, maybe they would’ve all survived.

 

Trying to soothe her petty guilt had cost innocent lives.

 

Mariette buried her face in her hands, sobbed, and bit her lip.

 

‘I… I don’t care about anyone else… but I refuse to be taken down by that bastard…!’

 

Even in this situation, there was still a glimmer of pride left.

 

Mariette, who was out of breath, got up from her seat and put strength into her trembling legs.

 

‘Even if I die, I can’t die gracefully.’

 

She would never die alone. If she died, she would drag him with her.

 

Mariette stood up and walked slowly, ready to risk her life.

 

‘If by any chance I can’t kill Karl with my own strength,…. then I just have to push my symbol power into berserk mode too.’

 

Mariette walked towards the place where she felt the heat, ready to push the power of the symbol to its limit at any moment.

 

Then, —bang! 

 

With a loud noise, the wall she had been using as cover collapsed, and the impact sent Mariette’s body tumbling like a fallen leaf.

 

“Aghhh!”

 

The back of her head, her back, her side, and her left arm ached.

 

The sudden, overwhelming impact robbed her of even her voice.

 

“……!”

 

She could taste blood in her throat.

 

Only the sound of her breathing escaped her quivering lips.

 

Mariette, who was trembling and straining her whole body to get up from where she had fallen, met the eyes of the snake that was looking at her.

 

A snake’s head juts out from the massive monster’s body. Its tongue flicked with a hiss as its pupils suddenly narrowed.

 

“Screee!”

 

All Mariette could do was close her eyes tightly as the snake lunged at her with its head, darting towards her.

 

“Mariette!”

 

But the pain she had anticipated was not there.

 

Feeling gentle arms wrapping around her shoulders, she opened her eyes.

 

“Why are you just lying here? Are you badly hurt?”

 

Julius, whose complexion was more haggard than the last time she saw him, was looking at her with sad eyes.

 

Mariette burst into tears without realizing it.

 

* * *