How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 308

The Emperor’s best course of action that day was ‘not to set foot in the place where the Chimera was.’

 

If the Sun of the Empire were to suddenly collapse on the spot, imagine the chaos that would descend upon the empire.

 

Especially when the heir to the throne hadn’t even been officially appointed yet.

 

However, once he had stood before the monster, he should have shown unwavering composure.

 

He should have used his divine authority to subdue the monster and prove that no matter how vicious the creature, nothing could ever tarnish the dignity of Estroa.

 

But the emperor did not do that. He could not do that.

 

On that day, it was none other than he himself who had disgraced the Estroa Imperial Family and trampled upon his own honor.

 

The reason all citizens of the capital now praised not their Emperor, but the Marquis Ajas, was entirely due to his own doing.

 

The emperor was truly puzzled.

 

Why couldn’t he have thought all these obvious, obvious thoughts that day?

 

The one who resolved that question for him… was the very person he himself had thrown into the underground prison—Second Prince Julius.

 

* * *

 

The report was long.

 

The emperor, who had been simply listening to Julius, finally spoke after he finished his story.

 

“Everything you just said… Is it all true?”

 

“It’s true.”

 

It was not Julius but Kairos who answered that way.

 

“It’s a belated confession, but the monster attack last winter was also planned by my mother and me. My brother was falsely accused.”

 

“Wait, Kyle. You shouldn’t say that. That incident was the Marquise of Calvin’s doing alone. Kyle learned of her plot and rushed to my palace to rescue me and my wife.”

 

The older brother was falsely accused, the younger brother did nothing wrong.

 

The way the two brothers defended each other made their relationship look unexpectedly warm.

 

The emperor, who had been staring intently at a sight completely different from what he knew, sat down in his chair and closed his eyes tightly.

 

A throbbing pain pulsed through his head.

 

Due to the accusations made by Julius and validated by Kairos.

 

‘The Marquise of Calvin, a barbarian? I fell in love with her because of her powers of seduction?’

 

That was not the only sin committed by the Marquise of Calvin.

 

She had colluded with a group of wizards called Onyx to unleash monsters on the capital city, causing chaos. She even gave the group a large sum of money under the pretext of investing in high society.

 

Where did that money come from?

 

There was no need to ask. She had sold the jewels and valuables she received from the emperor and other nobles.

 

“Your Majesty, please take this.”

 

At that time, Julius presented a small box to the emperor.

 

The butler, who had been standing behind the emperor, came forward and received the box from Julius and delivered it to the emperor.

 

“Open it.”

 

Instead of accepting the box, the emperor commanded it.

 

The butler, having opened it and inspected its contents, reported it to the emperor.

 

“There is a vial of potion in it.”

 

“potion?”

 

“It’s said to be a potion that erases the power of charm. It was discovered by the Marquis Ajas, and the Sage of Water and Ice vouched for its efficacy and safety.”

 

Leonhard had given all the evidence he obtained from the Tower of Onyx to the Second Prince.

 

The evidence included a potion that erased the power of charm, discovered in Karl’s laboratory.

 

“What is your intention in giving me this potion?”

 

“Exactly what Your Majesty must already be guessing.”

 

“I, who stand at the pinnacle of Estroa, in a position that no one dares to disparage, yet I was deceived by the power of a wicked barbarian and ruined the government. Is that what you’re saying…?”

 

Instead of Julius, who hesitated, Kairos stepped forward confidently.

 

“Can you deny it?”

 

“What!”

 

—Bang!

 

The Emperor slammed the armrest of his chair, furious—but Kairos did not bow his head.

 

“Your Majesty, you know my behavior. I lack the knowledge and intelligence essential to upholding the dignity and honor of the imperial family, let alone the study of kingship. Do you know what the people of the capital call me? They call me a loser.”

 

“Kyle.”

 

Kairos gently pushed away Julius’ hand that was trying to stop him, and looked straight into the Emperor’s eyes and said.

 

“And yet, Your Majesty, you wanted to make me crown prince. For what reason? What part of me did you trust to entrust the future of the Empire to me?”

 

“Shut up! Do you dare raise your voice before me simply because you believe yourself secure in my favor?! You insolent wretch—how dare you glare at me so brazenly!”

 

“Seeing you’re angry with me, I see you’ve lost the power of charm. Your Majesty, try to picture my mother’s face.”

 

At Kairos’s words, the emperor paused for a moment.

 

‘The face of the Marquise of Calvin…’

 

‘It didn’t come to mind. It was hazy, as if covered in fog.’

 

Kairos smiled faintly, as if he had guessed that fact.

 

“You were bewitched every time your eyes met hers. It’s only natural that you can’t remember.”

 

“Silence! Are you saying that I—the Emperor, fell for the barbarian’s cunning tricks.…?”

 

“My mother’s vile tricks do not end there. There is one more truth Your Majesty must know.”

 

Julius’s face hardened as he guessed what Kairos was trying to say.

 

“Kyle…”

 

But before he could stop him, Kairos dropped a bombshell.

 

“My mother joined hands with Karl to forcibly engrave a symbol onto my body. Just as Karl did to himself.”

 

“Kyle!”

 

“And I was not the only one who offered him blood. The First Princess did as well—so that her own symbol could be artificially manifested.”

 

“What…!”

 

Not only the emperor, but also the servants and knights lined up in the audience room were all frozen in surprise.

 

The content alone is already shocking, but if that statement were true, the consequences to follow would be beyond measure.

 

“Are you saying… that you too, that you are not of my blood?”

 

“No! Kyle is Your Majesty’s biological son!”

 

Julius immediately spoke up in defense of Kairos, but the Emperor shouted back in disbelief.

 

“He himself just declared that the symbol proving it was a fake—how is anyone supposed to prove otherwise?!”

 

If the partner of the Marquise of Calvin were the Emperor’s alone, then it would be different.

 

However, the Marquise of Calvin had more lovers than anyone could count, and even a former husband who had died.

 

There was a reason Kairos had not been allowed into the palace before manifesting the symbol. Because no one could be certain whether he carried the Emperor’s blood.

 

“Guards! Take that guy who mocked the imperial family and throw him in the underground prison at once—!”

 

“Your Majesty! Putting Kyle in prison means putting Marie in prison too!”

 

The emperor summoned all three of his children to this place.

 

But Mariette was bedridden, her health so poor she could not even answer his call.

 

If she were dragged into the underground prison in that condition, she would not last long. She could very well die.

 

“Of course she must! You have seen it yourself—the capital, this palace which has preserved the history of hundreds of years, is in ruins! They must pay for that crime!”

 

“Then imprison me as well! As the eldest, I will take responsibility for not being able to look after my younger siblings!”

 

“Older brother!”

 

“Hah! You think I won’t do it just because you said that?! Guards!”

 

Before the order could be given by the angry emperor, the butler and knights hurriedly knelt down and pleaded.

 

“Your Majesty! Please, calm yourself!”

 

“The situation in the capital is currently chaotic. Imprisoning all three of the heirs, His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness, will only exacerbate the chaos.”

 

“So what? Do you suggest I spare them because they were honest enough to confess?”

 

“Shouldn’t we first determine whether that confession is even true? We still do not know how that man, Karl, managed to forge the symbol in the first place.”

 

“That’s right. I think the first step is to confirm whether the accusations against the Marquise of Calvin are true. According to His Highness, the Marquise of Calvin is the one who caused all this trouble.”

 

The Emperor’s forehead wrinkled as the name of the Marquise of Calvin, whom he had briefly forgotten, was mentioned again.

 

It had already been over twenty years since he had taken her as his mistress. In all that time, he had granted every favor she asked.

 

Among those favors were a no small number of matters far too serious to be settled as mere pillow talk.

 

‘At the time, I never once thought anything was strange…’

 

Looking back on the past with doubts, it was full of unpleasant things.

 

Even without looking far back—just a few days ago was enough.

 

‘Was that really because I was bewitched by a barbarian…?’

 

The emperor, who had been looking at the potion bottle in the box for a long time, finally made a decision.

 

“Call the imperial wizard.”

 

* * *

 

The reason Marquise Calvin was able to survive that chaos was because she had barbarian blood flowing through her body.

 

Although she was of mixed blood, she was physically stronger than the average human.

 

This allowed her to survive being held captive by a giant chimera and falling from a great height.

 

But that did not mean she was uninjured. Her arms, legs, and ribs were badly broken.

 

Amidst the chaos caused by the Chimera’s rampage, Marquise Calvin spotted a nearby imperial knight and immediately captivated him.

 

Carried on his back, she fled to her residence and locked the doors.

 

‘Just hold on a little longer. If I hold on until this is resolved, the Emperor will come to me. Then I can have the imperial wizard cast some healing magic.’

 

She never thought that her relationship with Onyx would be discovered.

 

No—to be precise, she simply had no room to think about it. Her severely injured body was in too much pain.

 

After sending the letter to the Emperor, she waited in agony for him to come to her.

 

And a few days later, the long-awaited news finally arrived.

* * *