How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“But why do you want to take Noah into the treasure room?”

 

“Well, people couldn’t believe me when I said I recognized Noah as the successor. They even spread the word that I intentionally signed the registration documents.…The only people who can enter the treasury are Ajas’s direct descendants, right? I wonder if people will believe what I mean then.”

 

Ah, I’m falling asleep again.

 

I didn’t want to show my yawning face, so I buried my face in his chest again, but I heard Leonhard’s hushed voice from the bedside. He also seemed sleepy.

 

“My wife does everything I need to do.…I don’t know how to repay this favor.”

 

“What do you mean by repay? Of course it’s my job. I’m Noah’s mom now….Instead of thinking about returning the favor to me, start thinking about writing a letter to Noah. Have you decided what to write about?”

 

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never used it before and now I don’t know what to say…”

 

“Well, that’s why you need to start now.The first time with anything is difficult. If you repeat it two or three times, what you were worrying about now will become so easy.”

 

Hmm, my feet are a little cold by the way.

 

As I wiggled my foot outside the blanket a few times, Leonhard noticed my actions and stretched out his arm and pulled the blanket over me.

 

My feet didn’t immediately warm up just from that, but the memory came to mind and I burst out laughing briefly.

 

“I have a habit of sleeping with my feet out of the blanket.” 

 

“In Ajas, you might get frostbite if you do that. You better fix it.”

 

“But my bedroom is more than warm. It’s hot. It’s so frustrating to have my feet under the blanket.”

 

Even now, I wanted to get out of the blanket again, but the air was cool so I held back.

 

‘Come to think of it, isn’t his office too cold to spend the night in? I can’t even see the fireplace.’

 

“I slept with Lily when I was young, so she knows this habit. So in the winter, she would come to my room while I was sleeping and cover me with a blanket all the way down to my toes.”

 

When I woke up to the sound of the door being gently opened, the blanket was pulled up to my toes as if it were always.

 

If I put my foot out of the blanket again as if complaining, one more time, two more times. Then Lily would burst out laughing, as if she could not stop me.

 

“So, if I have a child later, I have to check every night to see if my child sleeps with his or her feet out like me.… But Noah slept very quietly.….he used to curl up and sleep under a blanket. I wonder if he developed that habit because his room is cold.” 

 

My eyelids are too heavy. Having given up on keeping my eyes open any longer, I hugged my husband’s waist tightly, buried my face in his chest, and mumbled.

 

“Leon, you know too.…?I’ve slept with Noah before.…?”

 

“I’ve seen Noah sleeping before, but…”

 

Unfortunately, I fell asleep without hearing Leonhard’s full answer.

 

But I was satisfied with just that. 

 

Where has he ever seen Noah sleeping?

 

* * * 

 

As always, Raenel held on with heavy eyelids and finally collapsed and closed her eyes.

 

Because Raenel buried his face in Leonhard’s chest, he had to guess the fact only from the sounds he heard.

 

The person who had been chattering for a while suddenly stopped talking, and that alone was enough to prove that Raenel had fallen asleep. 

 

However, Leonhard dropped his lips on the head of Raenel, a god who trusted his own ears and guesses.

 

Suddenly, Leonhard wondered if that was a dream. The weight and warmth in his arms were unbearable and unfamiliar.

 

Leonhard listened to Raenel’s breathing and gently squeezed her round shoulders. At that moment, he couldn’t bear it anymore, so he hugged Raenel’s body tightly.

 

“Ugh…”

 

Raenel perhaps frustrated by his strength. 

 

Leonhard held the back of her head to prevent her from turning her head to her other half. She brushed her lips against his chest a few times, but then she seemed to give up and relaxed and purred again.

 

‘It’s strange, how can I want to be closer to you when I’m hugging you so tightly.’

 

‘I will immediately divorce you and take Noah to Howard Territory!’

 

The first thought that came to his mind when he saw the letter written like that was, ‘Why won’t you take me with you?’ 

 

When Leonhard noticed himself like that, he thought he was crazy. He was really dumbfounded and laughed for a long time.

 

And on the other hand…

 

“Obviously, I asked you to marry me because I think you’d be a good mother to Noah.”

 

‘Why do I keep thinking that wasn’t the case, Nell.’

 

“ugh…”

 

At that time, Raenel struggled to sleep once more in his arms.

 

Leonhard was comfortingly patting her back, then suddenly raised his head and checked her feet.

 

Raenel said it was her habit to stick her feet out of the blanket, and he could see her feet really sticking out. 

 

Leonhard stretched out his arms and placed the blanket under Raenel’s feet to prevent her from waking up.

 

Only after that, as he lay on the bed again and hugged Raenel’s body, did he realize something as if he had woken up from a dream.

 

As long as he shared a bed with Raenel, no, even if she didn’t fall asleep in the same bed.

 

If she is asleep within a distance where he can visit and check on her, he will find her feet and make sure they are well under the blanket. Over and over again, whenever he thinks of it.

 

Even someone who had only wielded a sword for half his life could tell. What is this feeling called in the world?

 

“Nell…”

 

No answer came from Raenel, who was deeply asleep. 

 

Leonhard was not disappointed, as it was not what he had hoped for in the first place.

 

Leonhard looked down at the face of Raenel, who was sleeping deeply, and placed his lips on the ring finger of her left hand.

 

His chest tightened at the realization that the ring on her hand was from him.

 

‘I don’t know how fortunate I am.’

 

His wife hates affairs, wants him to be a good husband, and asks him to give her an arm pillow and a goodnight kiss every night.

 

“I understand now, Nell.”

 

The low whisper crushed against Raenel’s cheek.

 

At the same time, the face of her man, who had just discovered love, was buried in deep shadow. 

 

But even if that hadn’t happened, Raenel, who was in a deep sleep, wouldn’t have known. What kind of expression does the man who hug her tightly in his arms have?

 

* * * 

 

A log is erected in the center and timbers are built in a cone around it, and then earth and ashes are applied around it to harden and steam the wood.

 

I let out a small exclamation as I looked at the pure white smoke rising from everywhere.

 

“Hoo…This is how charcoal burns.”

 

“Is this your first time seeing charcoal burning?”

 

The charcoal master, whose cheeks and forehead were covered with ash and whose face was dirty, but who had an innocent expression, asked that question. 

 

I nodded and asked Noah who was standing next to me.

 

“Noah, what about you? Have you seen this before?” 

 

“No, this is my first time seeing this too.”

 

Noah held my hand tightly with one hand and looked around with a curious face. Then, perhaps because his body got hot from the surrounding heat, he fiddled with the shawl wrapped tightly around his neck.

 

“Is it hot? Would you like me to take off your shawl?”

 

“No! It’s not hot. I’ll keep wearing it.”

 

Noah held the shawl tightly, as if he was afraid that I would take it off.

 

While recovering and repairing what Ruby had ruined,…I couldn’t come up with an answer, so I couldn’t make the new shawl into a magic tool because Lily wasn’t around. 

 

It’s obviously not as warm as the one I made before, but as if that doesn’t matter, Noah always wears that shawl when he goes out. Except when he goes to see Ruby.

 

It was an insignificant item, but I was honored and grateful that it was cherished like that, so I tied the scarf securely around Noah’s neck. 

 

Then, seeing his cute smiling face, I patted his head lightly and then concentrated on looking around the charcoal workshop again.

 

Since carrying, splitting, drying, and burning wood involves not only the use of force but also the use of sharp axes and fire, the elderly and infirm are not allowed to enter the charcoal workshop.

 

The elderly and infirm included noblewomen like me who were too weak to defend themselves, but I was also the hostess of Ajas.

 

When I said I wanted to tour the fortress city, I was given a tour of District 15, which included a charcoal workshop, candle workshop, leather workshop, dyeing workshop, and other workshops, as well as an apiary and hunting grounds in the Hiyela Forest outside the city walls.

 

Actually, I was most curious about the monster processing place, but if I think about it, it is a place where they dismantle the corpses of monsters, so after hesitation, I gave up.

 

I don’t think it’s a scene worth seeing for Noah.

 

‘If we make a mistake here, we could get hurt.…It was a good thing I didn’t go there.’ 

 

Of course, even if that danger were to come to us, neither Noah nor I would be harmed.

 

Not only was there a guard assigned by Leonhard, but there were also other knights and wizards.

 

‘Because Noah also came out. It’s natural.’

 

Thanks to the strong security forces, I was able to not be frightened at all even when the shouts and cheers of workers were heard from all directions.

 

After looking around the warehouse full of charcoal with Noah, I walked behind the guide.

 

“How many types of charcoal are made here?”

 

“We are making a variety of products, starting from white and black charcoal, to blue charcoal and red charcoal. The most famous one among them is red charcoal.”

 

“I see.” 

 

Me and Noah nodded and accepted the guide’s words.

 

“I also learned it a while ago. I heard that blue charcoal is made from frost thorn trees in the Hiyela Forest, right?”

 

“Exactly. From what I heard, you are really smart.” 

 

I could see Noah’s cheeks flushing at the guide’s praise. 

 

How can you pour out such harsh words to a child who loves praise like this? 

 

I shook my head as I thought of Lady Lamberton. which I have cut off.

 

This is Noah’s first outing with me, and I want to make sure he has a good memory, so I raise my voice.

 

“I didn’t realize there were so many types of charcoal made here.”

 

“That part goes into the Magic Workshop. If you’re not interested, you usually don’t know.”

 

“I see. What is red coal made of?”

 

“First of all, red charcoal is made from volcanic maple trees, and the syrup made from the sap of this tree is much sweeter than regular maple syrup.…”

 

We had a lot of fun asking questions with the guide, and when we left the charcoal workshop, my child was holding white charcoal, red charcoal, and blue charcoal in his arms. I received them and put them in my magic bag.

 

“It’s dangerous to start a fire alone, so let’s burn this together with me later. Okay?”

 

“Yes, mother.”

 

Leaving the charcoal workshop, we headed to the artisan district, where various craftsmen gathered.

 

District 1 is the largest of the 18 districts in the City.

 

It started out as two warehouses and a leather workshop, and has now grown into the city’s busiest shopping district. There were 88 stores on Earth competing with each other and producing dozens of products a day.

 

Among those 88 stores, the number of stores alone is 35 here.

 * * *