How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Oh, My God…!”

I could hear Robert gasping from below, followed by a deep silence. Leonhard, who opened his eyes wide in surprise as if his eyeballs were about to pop out, showed no reaction as if he had become a stone statue.

‘He’s breathing, right?’

I was starting to worry about him not blinking, so I thought about poking his hardened cheek, but I heard Catherine’s voice from behind.

“Yes! I agree!”

“No, why do you answer that?”

He seemed to come to his senses only after hearing Robert’s bewildered voice. Leonhard looked back and forth between the ring on His finger of his left hand and my face several times before finally opening His mouth.

“This, this, so…”

“I just asked you to marry me, Leon.”

“I didn’t do it to the lady, the lady did it to me…” 

“yes. And suddenly you call me by my title like before, Leon.”

 “Oh, sorry. Raenel. I mean… I”

Leonhard, who continued to speak nervously, suddenly hit his head with the palm of his hand.

The sound was too loud for him to hit himself on the head with his own hands. Leonhard’s confused eyes finally calmed down, as if the shock therapy had worked.

“I have received a marriage proposal from you.”

“Yes. So now can you tell me the answer? By the way, if you want to refuse, you’ll have to give me back the ring, too, I bought it with all my money.” 

Even in the face of huge debts, my older brother would rather reduce my allowance a little, but he didn’t give it to me at all. My little brother and Lily saved it.

I couldn’t bear to waste the money, so I saved it frugally. It was my emergency fund that I saved without telling others that I saved it without spending my allowance.

I probably wouldn’t have spent it all, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime proposal. To honor him, I spent it all. Now I really have no money.

“So please don’t laugh at me for saying jewelry is cheap. Then I will be very sad.”

“Laughing at you? In my honor as a knight, I don’t even dare to think of such a thing. However, may I ask for the reason? Why did you choose me as your partner for the rest of your life?”

Under the pouring moonlight, two people are sitting on an impassable wall and secretly making a covenant.

‘because I love you!’ It would be a good atmosphere to answer while holding both hands tightly.

Unfortunately, I knew that wasn’t the case, Leonhard knew it, and Catherine and Robert knew it.

Instead of creating a romance where none existed, I told them the truth.

“At first, I didn’t have many options. I received a blessing drink at a New Year’s celebration ball a while ago, but I haven’t been approached by any of the families, and you’re the only one who’s ever seriously considered me as your partner.

“Did you know that I…was seriously considering you as my partner?”

“sure. You were going to propose to me at the Becky birthday banquet then.” 

“You noticed that too…”

“Yes. But I pretended not to know. I was a little burdensome at the time.” 

Leonhard, who had dropped his gaze in embarrassment, raised his eyes and looked at me as if surprised by those words.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask what was bothering you?”

“This is just my guess, but is it because of Noah that Leon wanted to propose to me? You think I, who grew up as an adopted child, will understand him well.”

A gasp is heard from below. 

He and his aides are unable to lie.

Perhaps because he was hit hard, He purses his lips in embarrassment, and after a long moment, his voice sounds strangled.

“Did I show that much?”

“Maybe? You asked a lot of questions about me, and you borrowed my eldest brother’s diary.”

The most decisive thing is the original story.

“Anyway, Leon, you want me to raise the child as well as I did, so you want me as the child’s mother, not as a wife, right?”

“When you say that, it makes me sound like the scoundrel of the world.”

“Or maybe you’re not.”

Leonhard opened his mouth as if he was going to say something to my words, but he closed his mouth and honestly admitted it.

“I can’t say that I don’t have a purpose.”

“Since you’ve been honest, I’ll be honest with you, too… I really like Leon’s appearance.”

“appearance, do you mean?”

“Yeah, your appearance. I am amazed every time I look at it because it suits my taste too much. In fact, I still do that in my heart.”

“I see…”

Even that kind of reaction of touching his face with his ears red was my taste.

Anyway, I’d rather have a shy guy like that than a guy who thinks he’s handsome.

“So, if Leon will do his duty as a husband, I will also raise the child well as a mother.”

“What do you mean by husband’s duty?” 

“What is it? It is to care and love for his wife.” 

“Caring and loving…”

It wouldn’t be such a difficult word. 

He threw a blank stare at me as if he had tens of thousands of disorganized puzzle pieces in front of him.

“I wonder if I nod my head pretending to know something I don’t know, and later cause a storm in the future. What exactly should I do, can you please take pity on my ignorance?”

“It’s very simple. Please be faithful to me. Please don’t tell lies, and don’t prioritize other ladies over me. Especially I hate mistresses and illegitimate children. You can’t do that to me.”

“Noah is not an illegitimate child.”

“I’m not doubting him, I’m just imagining what’s to come.”

Unless you’re openly announcing your relationship or bringing in an illegitimate child, it’s a world where the government doesn’t really care if you meet with them, so it is better to make this clear in advance.

“You shouldn’t look at other ladies other than me, you shouldn’t think of them as lovable, and you can’t talk without business, or kiss her fingertips for nothing. and if you ever find yourself in a situation where you can’t control your will, you have to tell me honestly and divorce me. I don’t want to live as the wife of a man who loves me and another woman.”

“The only time I ever lost control of my will was when I stood in front of you, Raenel.”

As if he still does now, Leonhard squeezed my middle and ring fingers and carefully kissed the tips.

“The power of steel, the castle of Ajas. I swear by the highest things I have in the world. I will not hurt you with such concerns. Please, allow me to accept the marriage proposal.”

“Okay. Now that ring belongs to Leon..” 

“Wow, that’s great!”

I was embarrassed that I had forgotten about them for a moment, but I was also glad.

If Leonhard breaks today’s oath, they will be witnesses!

“So now Nell will be our lady, and I’ll be her personal escort!”

“It’s not a matter to be decided in a hurry here and right now. .Above all, if the lady really becomes the Marquis, then you shouldn’t do it carelessly as you do now.”

“Why? We are friends.”

“You…Come here. I need to have a serious talk with you.” 

“Ugh! No magic! Are you going to do this to me?”

Against her will, Catherine was floating in the air and dragged along by Robert. Glancing at me and greeting me with a glance, he probably meant that he was sorry for not leaving early.

‘I don’t care…’ 

Besides, I’ve already said all the important things.

“Raenel, there is something I want to tell you.” 

“Yes? What is it?”

I lowered my head and closed my eyes tightly against the strong wind that blew in at that moment. At the same time, when I opened my eyes again, worried about my hair blowing in my back, Leonhard’s hand was already there, tucking my hair behind my ear.

“Even if it wasn’t because of Noah, I once thought that if I had to take someone as my wife, it would be you. Of course, I still think so.”

His hand brushed my ear and ran down my hair. Then, holding onto that hair, dropped his lips lightly on the tips.

I was holding my breath quietly, and then I managed to open my breathless mouth as if I had just risen above the water.

“Why?”

“I don’t know… Maybe because you’re adorable.”

Awww, what a player!

“You’ve made an oath with me, Leon. Now you must never, ever say that to any other lady, do you understand?”

“Of course I do. I’m not the kind of self-indulgent man to take lightly an oath made with a family name on the line.”

“Okay, serious fiancé. If it’s not a problem, can your lovely fiance ask you a favor?”

“Please, with pleasure.”

he nodded his head willingly as if to say anything, I asked him in a charming way to listen to me.

“Please restore my honor.”

* * * 

The rumor quickly spread through the mouths of many people from north to south and from east to west, like a footless horse with wings.

“Did you hear about that? The jewels on display at the Golden Brew auction house this time, the Marquis Ajas bought them!”

“It was the first auction of the year, Golden Brew even sent out invitations to VIPs saying that they had carefully selected the items for the auction, and among those VIPs was the Emperor himself, but they say he went home empty-handed too!

“I heard the secret highlight of this auction was Odette’s tears”

“Oh my god, The coral pearl that is said to have started the pearl war 200 years ago? That alone would have been the price of a tolerable castle, right?”

The rumors didn’t end there.

The Marquis Ajas, accompanied by his aides, around the gold line in the capital, buying all kinds of luxury goods, from jewelry-buttoned dolls to gold-rimmed white tea sets. He didn’t even look at it unless it was jeweled or made by a famous craftsman.

He spent so much money that shopkeepers on the snooty Gold Line bowed to see him off, but of course, that wasn’t all.

“Why is the Marquis of Ajas doing this?”

The question was only solved when he was seen buying women’s clothing and accessories, from hats to shoes, including various fabrics and lace.

Is there any other reason for him, an unmarried man, to buy women’s clothing?

Finally, he is going to propose! 

Then there was only one problem.

Who the hell is the woman that made the Marquis of Ajas go crazy by spending money equal to a year’s budget, not even a marriage, but just to ask her to marry him!