How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

Even if he has noble blood, life is hard for an illegitimate child.

 

Even if you are lucky enough to receive your father’s love, it becomes easier to fall out of favor with the hostess who takes responsibility for the household.

 

But if you are treated as a thorn in your father’s eyes, is it going to be easy?

 

If you’re lucky, or if the hostess is kind, you might be able to buy a sympathy ticket.

 

However, the more assets the father has to pass on, the lower the probability. In the eyes of the hostess, the illegitimate child will be seen as a rat eating up her children’s property.

 

Even Noah had already been chosen as the successor by the Marquis. 

 

Even if other property could be shared, the title of marquis and the honor of being Lord were not something that could be sliced like a cake. 

 

As a vassal who swore allegiance to Ajas, the daughter becoming a Marquess is an honor as great as having an empress produced by the family. 

 

But how could it be that they were all of one mind and were reluctant to present their daughter to the Marquis?

 

“Does the Marquess really intend to have him as her son…..?” 

 

“Didn’t you hear? She called him ‘my son’ and punished the servants.”

 

“No way. It’s a declaration to tell us that ‘I’m your master’. I’m sure it’s just an excuse.”

 

“No excuses. If she was just pretending, she wouldn’t have signed the registration document.” 

 

“What? She signed the registration document? How long has she been at the castle?” 

 

“Didn’t you hear? Oh, you haven’t gone to the personal interview yet.”

 

Before starting the personal interview, Lucius spreads out the documents on his desk as if to show off the numerous testimonies, and says in a warning tone.

 

“Marquess has already signed the registration document, and with that, the young master has become the successor to Ajas. From now on, you will find out whether or not you will be able to work in this castle in the future, but either way, keep this in mind.”

 

Lucious said that he would not tolerate lies, and his eyes behind his glasses glowed coldly.

 

“At least once, have you neglected your work or…Have you ever been rude to the young master?”

 

* * * 

 

“have personally interviewed all the employees working at the castle, and weeded out every single one of those who were unsuitable as employees, including those who insulted the young master with impudent remarks and those who dared to ignore the young master’s orders and neglect their work. ” 

 

“I heard that you conducted a personal interview. Thank you for your hard work.” 

 

In total, 23 employees were disciplined for this incident, ranging from pay cuts to termination. When I looked closely to see why there were so many people, I saw that more than half of them had been fired for looking down on Noah and using their tongues carelessly.

 

Next to their titles and names, they even wrote down exactly what they said. I read every one of them, sighing in disbelief.

 

“Noah’s bloodline, ah…anyway. They are dealing with a five-year-old kid, and they are making these horrible comments.”

 

“It’s all my responsibility. Like you said, I didn’t keep a close enough eye on things…I plan to step down from my position as the butler.” 

 

“What?”

 

Despite what I heard, I couldn’t believe my eyes in surprise at the name of Lucius I found in the documents.

 

Lucius Linden.

 

I wasn’t mistaken; the man who had filled out these documents and brought them to me hadn’t hesitated to put his name as the one responsible for all of this.

 

He truly did not leave out ‘one person’. 

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“How dare I tell a lie?” 

 

“hah….”

 

I didn’t expect this.

 

I put down the documents on the desk and sat down in the chair. A groaning sound naturally came out of my mouth.

 

‘Isn’t this like removing a stone that has completely rolled away?’ 

 

Even Lucious is a butler appointed directly by Leonhard.

 

I don’t know what happened to the butler who was in the castle before that, but Leonhard said that as soon as he became a Marquis, he replaced a large number of employees who worked in the castle and put him in the butler’s position.

 

If I had known this would happen, I would have listened to the situation in more detail.…No, even if it was, it wouldn’t have helped the current situation.

 

“butler…”

 

“Yes, marquess.”

 

I stared at him as he answered politely. But Lucius did not make eye contact with me.  Not because he is a subordinate, but like someone who was stabbed in something.

 

“So far, you have done an excellent job of filling the void left by the Marquis along with the castle’s Treasurer. But what will people say about me if I kick you out of the castle less than a week after I come here?”

 

Lucius’ expression hardened as if he hadn’t thought about it. I don’t miss the opportunity and continue to talk.

 

“I’m sure they’re whispering that I used Noah as an excuse to kick you out. And now people will be betting on when the castle’s Treasurer will be kicked out. If I buy a piece of jewelry with my money, they will point fingers at me for kicking out the butler to do that. Is this all just speculation on my part? What do you think?”

 

“That…”

 

Lucius couldn’t nod or shake his head.

 

Just because he couldn’t shake his head and say that it could never be, he answered that my concern was not something that didn’t make sense.

 

“Besides, I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Leon. Before he inherited the title of marquis, you followed him to Closiante.”

 

“Did you even hear that story?”

 

“Yes. I also heard that you willingly threw yourself into ten duels to save His life. I’m sure he will not be happy if I tell him that I kicked out the person he cares so much about while he was away doing his duty to protect the border. Could it be that you wrote your name on this list for that purpose? Do you want me to be hated by the Marquis?”

 

“It’s not like that!”

 

“Then what were you thinking when you decided to step down from the position of butler?”

 

It’s easy to say, a butler giving up his position is not something that can be cleaned up in a day or two. How do you select a new butler, and how do you handle the household?

 

Even when Leonhard returns to the castle, we have to have one more wedding.

 

‘The reason I was able to get married at Paul Herbina in just a month was partly because the ceremony was held on a small scale, but also because of Logan’s help. If it weren’t for him, It would have taken two months at best. So, of course, if Lucius resigns from his position as butler, the wedding will be postponed even if Leonhard returns to the castle.’

 

‘Did Lucius really not know about all of this?  Or did he know and handed in his resignation to say ‘f**k you’ for letting things get this far?’

 

Otherwise, there was only one answer. 

 

I tapped the document I was holding with my fingertips, saying out loud an assumption that I desperately hoped would not be the case. 

 

“Could it be that you knew all about this and just neglected it?”

 

I looked closely at Lucius’ face to see if he was telling a lie.

 

His face was a little pale as he lowered his gaze. Thankfully, Lucius didn’t lie, but the words that came out of his mouth were not what I expected.

 

“It’s not that I didn’t know about it, but I didn’t…. take the initiative to keep an eye on it.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I think he.…”

 

Unable to continue speaking, Lucius closed his mouth and lowered his head to avoid my gaze.

 

I didn’t let a gloomy look pass over as my eyes flickered over him. I couldn’t tell who the emotion was directed at, but it was surely anger… or resentment.

 

“I hate the fact that he will inherit everything that belongs to my master.”

 

As if revealing his secrets, Lucius trembled and spat out the words.

 

But at the same time, it seemed like he was relieved to finally bring up the story. Unlike me, who was surprised.

 

‘You had such deep feelings for Noah?’ 

 

Like a boulder thrown into the water, my heart pounded but did not break into waves.

 

Maybe, I thought, it was true.

 

‘Lucius was included among the vassals who did not acknowledge Noah until the end.’ 

 

“Why do you hate it so much? Because Noah is not Leon’s biological son?”

 

“If it was just that, it wouldn’t have mattered. But, young Master…”

 

Perhaps on purpose, or because it was a story no one should hear, Lucius’ voice died down like a candle about to go out.

 

But I heard it in my ears. Like the emotions in his voice, very clearly.

 

“He is that woman’s son.”

 

* * * 

 

“Just a little more, just a little more, that’s right, you did well.”

 

Noah, who drank all the medicine under the doctor’s watchful encouragement, put down the bowl and let out the breath he had been holding.

 

‘He was trying hard to control his facial expressions so as not to show it too much, but how can he fool an experienced old doctor?’

 

Dr. Danvers pretended not to know anything and put a candy in Noah’s mouth.

 

“Now, this is the last medicine. It is truly wonderful that you can take bitter medicine so well.”

 

“The medicine…?”

 

“That’s right. It’s very good medicine for your body.”

 

As Dr. Denver narrowed his eyes, Noah wordlessly rolled the sweet candy on the tip of his tongue.

 

The sweet apple scent that filled his mouth erased the bitter taste of the medicine. 

 

After seeing that Noah’s expression had softened, Dr. Danvers packed his bag.

 

“You will get better if you rest for the next three days. I will give you the medicine after your meal, young Master.”

 

“Yes…”

 

“Alright, then, I will leave so that you can rest. If you feel unwell, please call me again at any time.”

 

Dr. Denvers gathered his things and left with his assistant.

 

Before heading out the door, he glanced at Noah, winking at him, and a naughty smile hung around his mouth.

 

Noah didn’t know how to react, so he pulled the blanket up to the tip of his nose.

 

‘It looks like it’s not medicine after all. It’s good for my body, so there’s no harm in eating it.…’

 

Noah touched the smaller candy with the tip of his tongue and swallowed the sweet candy water that had accumulated in his mouth. 

 

‘I don’t like things this sweet, but I got used to it as I ate it.’

 

But Noah hasn’t gotten used to the things that have been happening around him lately.

 

“I have class… I have to go to.’

 

Noah takes a total of five classes every day from morning to evening. But today, even though the sun had already risen above his head and he had finished lunch, Noah did not attend a single class.

 

‘Because I was sick with a cold?’

 

No, he was supposed to be in class.

 

But Noah’s body was fine. Even though it had been several hours since he woke up, he was only still aching from lying on the bed.

 

So, Noah’s cold body aches.

 

‘Is it okay to fake an illness like this?’ 

 

Of course, this little child, who was still unable to control his anxious heart, was not faking illness by saying with his own mouth that he was in pain.

 

‘My fake illness is….’

 

— Noah, it’s me. I’ll go in.

 

That person came in after knocking even though it was her bedroom. 

 

‘It was made up by my stepmother.’

 * * *