How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Marquise, would you like me to make you a cup of tea?” 

 

“huh? Yes…”

 

I guess I was frowning to the point where wrinkles appeared between my eyebrows without me even realizing it. 

 

Hannah spoke to me carefully, smiled brightly, and poured me some chamomile tea.

 

As I deeply inhaled the familiar scent of chamomile, I felt much calmer. 

 

I thanked Hannah again and warmed my insides with some warm tea.

 

‘Yeah, it’s not something that can be solved just by worrying about it.’ 

 

There was nothing I could do. Other than just trusting Leonhard.

 

I shook off distracting thoughts and finished reading the letter while sipping chamomile tea. Then I opened my eyes wide in surprise at something unexpected.

 

“Hey, Peter?”

 

“Yes, Marquise! Have you finished writing your reply?”

 

Peter got up and answered my call.

 

I looked at the boy with cookie crumbs on the corner of his mouth and lightly motioned for him to come over.

 

Then, looking at his movements quickly, he seemed to be much more agile than his peers.

 

“Are you a member of the intelligence group?”

 

“yes! That’s right!…but they told me to keep it a secret.” 

 

Unlike the loud answer, the voice that followed was a very low whisper.

 

I looked at my maids by the door and motioned to Peter to lower his head a little closer.

 

“The Marquis himself told me, so I guess it’s okay for me to know.”

 

“Of course, since you’re the Marquis’ wife.”

 

Well, then. It makes no sense that he doesn’t know what’s going on in this castle. 

 

I nodded along with Peter and then asked cautiously. 

 

“The Marquis said, if there is an errand I need to run, I can feel free to ask you to do so.”

 

“Ah yes. I was told separately. Is there anything you need me to do?” 

 

I looked at the boy, who blinked innocently, and considered for a moment. 

 

‘No matter how much I think about it, I think he’s too young to be working for an intelligence group. But since Ajas puts skill above all else, it must be okay, right?’

 

“I will write you a reply later, and then you can take it to Marquis and find out something.”

 

“Find out what?”

 

I took a piece of paper from a drawer, tore off a corner, and wrote a name on it.

 

“About this person’s behavior for the last three years.”

 

* * * 

 

“What is going on here? Twelve castle employees were fired at one time!”

 

Along with the sound of the door opening with a bang, Baron Charleston’s voice filled the conference room.

 

The eyebrows of those who had come and been waiting in advance were twisted as if they had made a promise, but the hot-tempered Baron Charleston did not notice that fact and went to his place with rough footsteps.

 

“It’s only been a week since she arrived at the castle, so how can she do something so ridiculous!”

 

“What’s ridiculous is your temperament. My eardrums are going to burst, Baron Charleston. How many times do I tell you to lower your voice?”

 

At Viscount Inglet’s point, Baron Charleston let out a sigh and dropped his buttocks on the chair.

 

Amid the commotion, Count Christophe watched them with calm eyes. Baron Charleston did not notice the gaze and lifted the bottle of liquor in front of him to his mouth.

 

“Do you know what is happening in the castle right now?” 

 

“Even if I don’t know, what’s the difference? He left the matriarch’s ring with her.” 

 

“What was he thinking about entrusting her with the matriarch’s ring as soon as he brought her to the castle?”

 

“We must keep in mind the possibility that it was a condition of marriage. Anyway, she didn’t come all the way up here to the far north to marry him off without calculating that much.”

 

“Damn you, Viscount Paulsen, how can you keep your mouth so shut, when you were so loud when you assure me that he will break his stubbornness if we don’t all present our daughters!”

 

Viscount Pierre slammed his fist on the table. Viscount Paulsen, who flinched at that, shrank his neck like a turtle and let out a low voice.

 

“I thought he wouldn’t go straight to the capital and find a bride.…” 

 

“Stop, stop! We are not here to blame what happened in the past.”

 

The air inside the conference room became quiet due to Viscount Inglet’s intervention. and a cautious voice spoke up.

 

“The bundle of keys has already fallen into the hands of the Marquise and her skill in wielding a butler is great… Even though she just became an adult this year, I don’t think we should take it easy.”

 

“She already has the matriarchal ring, so if we make a mistake, our heads could be blown off.”

 

“Does that make any sense? We have served Ajas for generations.”

 

“Be quiet. Have you already forgotten about Baron Gemini?”

 

Charleston, who even had alcohol in his mouth, closed his mouth tightly as if he was lying. 

 

Baron Gemini.

 

He had served Ajas for generations, just like everyone else here, and he had refused to recognize Noah as his successor, and eventually crossed the line. 

 

He sent an assassin to a child who could barely walk on his own two feet. If Noah had not had the symbol of Ajas, he would have died that day.

 

The assassin died by having his neck broken by Leonhard, and Baron Gemini was also executed. His family had all their titles and property confiscated and were sentenced to hard labor.

 

In addition, Leonhard completely erased Gemini’s surname from Ajas’s vassal lineage.

 

The erasure of a family name from a vassal’s lineage was a punishment worse than death, as generations of honor were wiped out in an instant.

 

“I….I just can’t understand. Why does the Marquis insist on that child as his successor?”

 

“What can we do about the strong affection between siblings?”

 

‘Strong affection? Even a dog wouldn’t believe it. Everyone here knows how badly that woman treated him!”

 

Viscount Pierre, who was twitching the corners of his mouth, spat out angrily. 

 

“And on top of that, he almost died because of that woman.”

 

“Enough of this useless talk. What can we do by talking about someone who is already dead?”

 

Count Christophe, leaning back in his chair as if he had lost strength, crossed his arms and let out a long sigh. 

 

Then, as if to change the topic, he brought up the story of the Marquess.

 

“For now, I think the priority is to figure out her intentions. so we can prepare ourselves.”

 

“That’s right, if she’s afraid of being disrespected and wants to dampen our spirits, we can bow down to his wishes, but if he has ambitions beyond that…”

 

“Then it’s a good thing for us, too, for it’s the only thing that will increase the influence of her family, for a noblewoman who’s married into a land she has no ties to.”

 

That is, to give birth to an heir who will inherit the title and property.

 

“But what if the Marquise is willing to recognize Noah as Ajas’s successor? I heard she already signed the registration papers.”

 

“Perhaps she has promised to do so, but if a child is born to her in the future, and that child manifests the symbol of Ajas, will she still keep her promise to the marquis?”

 

“Blood is thicker than water, isn’t it? If that were to happen, I’m sure the Marquise would change her mind.”

 

“Then first of all…I think the priority is to understand her intention.” 

 

The conversation spun around and around, back to the beginning. The one who raised his hand was none other than Count Lamberton.

 

“Leave that to me.”

 

“If we leave it to you, what are you going to do?”

 

“Fate is a shallow thing. Lady Lamberton just told me that she was very close in the past with the Marquise.”

 

“Lady Lamberton? That’s a surprise. how can they have a relationship?” 

 

“I don’t know the details. But I’m sure I’ll take this opportunity to check it.”

 

It’s a voice that sounds like it went well.

 

Count Christophe was about to ask if he could really trust him with this, but he let out a light sigh and fell silent.

 

The former Count of Lamberton, that is the older brother of the current Count of Lamberton, has just died. Not even a year has passed.

 

He wonders if she should still be wearing mourning clothes, but after only half a year, he can see her wearing fancy clothes and going to social gatherings, saying she has done her duty.

 

But her brother-in-law, the Count of Lamberton, disliked her for wearing fancy clothes to social gatherings.

 

If he had a reason to, he would have gotten rid of her at once. If only he had a good reason to disregard his dead brother’s will, which was to take care of his sister-in-law who had nowhere else to go.

 

“Then the question is how Lady Lemberton can meet the Marquise. She’s not yet accepting applications for interviews, so you’ll have to wait until—” 

 

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

 

This is the voice of Viscount Pierre. 

 

Count Christophe asked back with a puzzled look.

 

“We don’t have to worry? What does that mean?”

 

“They informed me that classes will be canceled for the next week due to young Master’s health issues. How is the young Master’s performance in class, and how far has the progress been made? The Marquise would like give an interview as a guardian.”

 

Viscount Pierre, who was the only teacher here to Noah, twitched his cheek and answered in an intimidating voice.

 

“Isn’t Lady Lamberton also his teacher, his piano teacher?”

 

* * 

 

‘I have talent, and I didn’t neglect my efforts. Ajas was mine from the moment I was born. But just because of one pattern, everything has to be taken away from me because I don’t have it?’

 

‘Leonhard Ajas! I challenge you to a duel. Prove to me that you are a much better successor than I, even without the power of the pattern!’ 

 

‘You dare….You pity me? You pity me?!’

 

‘Sister Don’t call me like that! I am—!’ 

 

She glares at him with her eyes wide open, plunged the sword into his chest with her hands clenched tightly.

 

Crazy anger and despair, resentment and frustration. And then a ray of guilt falls down her face mixed with transparent tears.

 

The tears that break as the blood drops hit his cheeks are so hot. The tears of his beloved sister were more painful to him than the sword stuck in his chest. 

 

He closed his weak eyelids without even being able to scream.

 

* * * 

 

“Ah…Is it that dream again?”

 

Leonhard muttered to himself like that, and felt that he was very unfamiliar with it. He used to wake up screaming every time he had that dream.

 

But is it because the passage of time had made it so that the dreams, which had once been nothing more than a terrible nightmare, had no effect on him now.

 

Leonhard, who was blinking blankly on the bed, inadvertently groped his left chest.

 

There was a long, vertical scar that missed his heart. While tracing the bulging scar through the thin pajama fabric with his fingertips, Leonhard suddenly felt the long silk brushing over his clothes and raised his hand high.

 

“You must come back safely.”

 

The ribbon, which his wife had tied around his wrist in hopes of a safe return, was actually untied by Leonhard as soon as he arrived at the Hiyela Gate.

 

Leonhard came back from clearing out the monsters that had jumped out of the dungeon while trying not to get even the slightest scratch on his body. After washing his body, he immediately tied the ribbon around his wrist again.

 

He repeated this process several times each time he went into battle. 

 

“It’s already been ten days….”

 

It had been exactly that long since he had left the castle. Leonhard brought his wrist to his nose and took a deep breath.

 

However, his wife’s scent, which he felt faintly but clearly on the first day, was no longer felt at all.

 

Feeling deep regret at that fact, Leonhard continued to take deep breaths. As if he could find even the smallest fragment of her.

 

Then, Leonhard turned over and lay down on his side, reflexively extending his left arm to the side. 

 

Then, his right arm naturally drew a round curve in the air as if hugging something.

 * * *