How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 307

– Kwak—!

 

Its final scream was short.

 

As if to announce the death of the chimera, pitch-black blood spurted out like a fountain and covered the surrounding area.

 

– It stinks! It’s dirty!

 

Rake and Leonhard’s bodies were protected by a faintly glowing blue shield, but the ground below began to turn pitch black, as if it were rotting.

 

It spread so wide and fast that even we could see it clearly from afar.

 

“Mother, what is that…..?”

 

While I was hesitating because I didn’t know, the answer came out of Felix’s mouth.

 

“Contamination. I was wondering how they managed to cram dozens of magic stones into a single monster. And now it’s caused a mess like this.”

 

“What is Contamination?”

 

“It’s when different attributes of magic that should never mix become tangled together, turning magic into something that’s no longer magic. In a contaminated area like that, no one can use magic—and just breathing will shorten your lifespan.”

 

“What? Leon! Rake!”

 

“How do we reverse the contamination?”

 

“It requires a tremendous amount of pure magic. Purifying contamination is a miracle that requires at least six sages of my level to gather and cast together, but…”

 

At that moment, Rake, who had stretched out both forelegs and carefully grabbed Leonhard, raised her head high and looked up at the red clouds.

 

– This one’s a level 20 job.

 

Rake, who was mumbling something vague, began to recite a magic spell towards the red cloud.

 

It was a spell with a mysterious and strange energy, and I could clearly hear the sound, but I couldn’t tell what words were being recited.

 

The sound of the chant, which resembles a song, resonates far and wide like a gentle breeze on a lake.

 

Like a leaf boat swaying in the wind, the pure white magic that held the color of the sky finally reached the red clouds.

 

Soon, a dazzling light covered the whole world.

 

I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut. At most, maybe five seconds passed.

 

But when I opened my eyes, the red cloud was no longer there.

 

Instead, what took its place were pure white clouds with a hint of sky blue.

 

From the huge cloud that covered the entire capital, small balls of light began to fall like snow.

 

“Pretty….”

 

The pure white mass of light looked like a soap bubble, cotton candy, or a firefly.

 

I held Noah in one arm and reached out with my other hand to receive the pure white light.

 

The moment it touched my skin, the ball of light lost its form and dissolved in an instant. I felt a clear energy seeping into that area.

 

“This is really a big problem.”

 

Felix muttered as he simply stared at the endless stream of light falling over his head.

 

“What is?”

 

“How are we going to explain that creature after it just pulled off a miracle like this?”

 

At the tip of his pointing finger, the ground that had turned pitch-black had already returned to its original color.

 

“If you were a wizard, you would have noticed the land was contaminated a moment ago. And you would have known it was purified thanks to this mass of light.”

 

Having never properly studied magic, I didn’t really understand how incredible of an event contamination and purification really were.

 

‘But if even Felix was emphasizing it like this, then…, it must be something really great, right?’

 

Perhaps sensing the attention, Rake had already disappeared. Leonhard, who had been held in her paws, was nowhere to be seen either.

 

Since those two started the problem, shouldn’t they figure out how to resolve it?

 

I groaned as I briefly escaped reality.

 

“Can’t we just lie and say that it’s like Ajas’s guardian deity?”

 

“Do you think people are idiots? Like they’d fall for that.”

 

‘Seriously, the world’s number one mocker.’

 

‘Why are you being so critical when you’re not even going to put your heads together to figure out how to cover it up?’

 

I glanced at Felix with disapproval and sighed.

 

“Okay. Anyway, the biggest problem has been solved.”

 

The monsters and chimera horde that had attacked the capital and ravaged the palace had finally been defeated.

 

Although the damage and sacrifices suffered in the process were not small, isn’t it okay to be happy that at least for this moment, the damage that could have been even greater was safely prevented?

 

“Woahh!”

 

“The monster is dead! His Highness the Marquis Ajas has defeated that great monster!”

 

As if responding to my thoughts, the people in the garden and the backyard shouted Leonhard’s name in loud and joyful voices, praising his achievements.

 

“Mother, everyone is calling out Father’s name.”

 

Noah whispered to me, his cheeks flushed red as if he was excited and thrilled.

 

As if curious about what kind of expressions people were making, Noah stretched his head out from my arms and tried to look down at the bottom of the building.

 

I was about to tell him not to do it because it was dangerous, but when I saw Noah’s face full of excitement, I lifted the child’s body a little higher.

 

If anything happens, his real father will save him.

 

“They may be shouting your father’s name now, but the one they’ll remember for years to come will be yours.”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

“Because I’m going to make sure everyone knows that it was your decision to open the mansion gates.”

 

Of course, there will be those who don’t believe it, and there will be those who will be more impressed by Leonhard’s actions in defeating the giant monster than by Noah, who provided a space for them to escape.

 

But at least the people who evacuated to Paul Herbina would remember.

 

That day, when the monsters attacked, we survived thanks to the young lord.

 

I also felt like today’s events would remain as a proud memory for a long time.

 

The future that Hiyela showed me.

 

A Noah who could trust no one, help no one, rely on no one.

 

Who could only express love in warped, destructive ways.

 

Who ruined not just others—but himself.

 

‘That version of Noah…I think I can finally let him go now.’

 

“Noah, I am so proud that you are my son.”

 

“Me too, Mother.”

 

Noah whispered to me with a face as bright and cheerful as the light falling from the sky above his head, without a single wrinkle.

 

“I am so happy that you became my mother.”

 

‘Oh my gosh, there’s no way a kid who says such wonderful things can be my son.’

 

‘He must be an angel!’

 

“Me too. Thank you for being my son, Noah.”

 

I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and Noah chuckled while rubbing his cheek.

 

He was so cute that I gave him another kiss. And another. And another—until my arms started to ache from holding him, so I quietly set him down on the ground.

 

“Then shall we go down now? We’ve defeated the chimera, so your father will be back soon.”

 

“Yes! Let’s go greet Father, Mother!”

 

The child, who was walking hurriedly while holding my hand, showed no sign of being afraid of his father as he used to.

 

It’s so lovely to see a five-year-old child smiling brightly with a face that befits his age.

 

Without even realizing it, I found myself smiling as I followed after him.

 

* * * 

 

Epilogue

 

Since the founding of the empire, it was the first time the capital had been in such a disastrous state.

 

The walls collapsed, many people were injured and killed, all the well-paved roads were overturned, and buildings collapsed.

 

But the most shocking fact was that the entire palace was in ruins.

 

From the once-splendid Emperor’s Palace to the banquet halls famous for their exquisite landscaping—destroyed.

 

The buildings located on the outskirts of the palace remained intact, but even then, there were not many.

 

The Emperor, who had been carried on the backs of the palace knights like a burden while unconscious, was only able to step onto the rubble of the collapsed building after everything had been over.

 

The Emperor, ignoring the knights’ request to kill them for disobeying orders, first inspected the collapsed Imperial Palace and received a report.

 

“In short, the Marquis Ajas single-handedly defeated that massive monster?”

 

“Single-handedly’ might not be entirely accurate. A monster appeared midway to assist him. According to the Marquis’s words—”

 

The Emperor raised a hand, cutting off the captain of the griffin knights.

 

It was of no concern to the Emperor whether the Marquis Ajas had actually caught the Chimera on his own or with the help of other monsters.

 

What matters to him now is.

 

“In other words… while I, the ruler of this palace, this capital, this Empire, was unconscious and doing nothing… the Marquis Ajas resolved everything. Is that it?”

 

“…….”

 

The numerous attendants lined up behind the Emperor, including the Knight captain, maintained a heavy silence.

 

No matter how loyal, no matter how honey-tongued, no one dared to respond.

 

The words that came out of the emperor’s mouth were an inconvenient truth that no one could deny.

 

“ha ha ha…Hahahahahahaha!”

 

The Emperor’s laughter echoed hollowly over the broken ruins.

Everyone there knew.

 

The Emperor’s pride was more miserably destroyed than those ruins that had collapsed so badly that no trace of their original glory could be found.

 

“Those who stayed in the palace until the very end were the two princes and the princess, correct?”

 

“Yes. As they fled the palace, they helped evacuate those who couldn’t escape in time.”

 

“I want to hear the details from these three people, so summon them immediately!”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

After the attendants scattered to locate the royals, the butler cautiously spoke.

 

“Your Majesty, the letter from the Marquise of Calvin….”

 

“Do I look like I’m in any state to read that letter right now? Use your brain before opening your mouth!”

 

“M-My apologies, Your Majesty…”

 

As the butler was struck by lightning for saying the wrong thing, everyone around him had similar thoughts.

 

‘As if he’s ever cared about the time or place…’

 

Even when the Chimera attacked the capital and invaded the palace, didn’t he only shout to save Marquise Calvin instead of caring for his own life?

 

In the end, he survived because he was carried out unconscious by the knights, so it would be ridiculous if he started causing trouble now.

 

His response had been so disgraceful that even his loyal vassals thought so.

 

Could the Emperor himself think any differently?

 

‘Why did I behave like that…?’

 

Even he himself couldn’t understand.

 

He replayed the events of that day over and over again in his mind.

 

* * *