How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

4. If you love me, give me a good night kiss

The distance from the capital to Ajas Castle is about seven or eight days on horseback, if you eat, sleep, and rest moderately.

Of course, that’s if you’re riding alone, with nothing else to worry about.

First of all, our party was a large party of nearly 50 people, with a total of 10 carriages, from Ajas’ carriage in which I rode to a carriage loaded with various luggage such as food and camping supplies.

If that many people stopped for lunch, it would take three hours to set up the tent, prepare the food, eat, clean up, and tidy up again.

However, since the carriage was large, it couldn’t be driven on the narrow road in the first place.

Considering that the people inside were frail ladies and wizards with limited stamina, the carriage only traveled on well-maintained roads, so it took a bit of a detour, and the estimated travel time was at least 15 days.

Even today, I arrived late at night in a village where we could normally arrive around the evening.

This was also possible thanks to a little rush to spend the night in the village. At this rate, what’s up with 15 days? Won’t it take at least 20 days?

“Nell, hold my hand…hey did you cry?”

“Oh, is it obvious?”

While holding Leonhard’s hand and getting off the carriage, I was a little startled by his question and I touched my cheek with my hand.

I washed my face diligently with the water, but were there still traces of tears? 

He looked at me, visibly uneasy.

“Was the carriage uncomfortable? If you ever get motion sickness or have any other soreness, please let me know right away. Or did Ruby bother you?” 

“No. I’m not sick anywhere, it’s just Helen’s letter, I read it and it brought back memories.”

“Meow!”

Ruby raised his voice in protest at Leonhard’s words as he got off the carriage in Catherine’s arms.

But Leonhard only glanced at the winged cat that had been so falsely accused.

“If he’s bothering you, just kick him out, there are plenty of guys here who will ride with him.”

“Meow!”

“Okay, Ruby. If you keep making noise, there will be no food.” 

“Meow, meow!”

“Yes, yes. If you want to ride in the carriage with Nell tomorrow, you have to be nice.” 

“Catherine.”

“Oh, my mistake. If you want to ride in the carriage with the Marquess, be nice, Ruby.” 

With a quick glance at Leonhard, Catherine announced her hunger and, with Ruby in her arms, darted into the tavern across the street.

Seeing Catherine’s shadow disappearing in an instant, Leonhard let out a short sigh.

As we rode in the carriage together, I heard the story of why Catherine couldn’t be my escort and how she insisted on acting as my escort until we arrived at the Ajas.

“Hmm, Leon, I’m tired, so I want to wash up quickly.”

“Oh, sorry. You can go this way, Nell.”

Before arriving in the village, I was able to soak myself in warm water right away thanks to them sending people in advance to arrange accommodation.

“Ooh, good…”

It was an old wooden bathtub that could not be compared to Paul Herbina’s large marble bathtub, but today’s satisfaction was higher because I was very tired.

I resisted Sally’s offer to bathe me. I lay in the bathtub for a long time until the water cooled.

If it hadn’t been for Leonhard knocking on the bathroom door, I might have fallen asleep.

— Nell, isn’t the water cold? Should I prepare more hot water? 

“No! I’m going out now!”

After being in the water for too long, the tips of my fingers and toes were shriveled and swollen white.

I quickly got out of the bathtub, wiped myself with a soft towel, put on my pajamas, and went back to my bedroom.

Leonhard, who had washed elsewhere, was also sitting on the bed in his pajamas with the tip of his hair slightly wet.

“Oh, isn’t that a hair dryer?”

“you’re right. I got this as a gift and tried it for the first time and it was really good. I understand why people like it.”

As he spoke, Leonhard held the hair dryer in his hand to his head and activated the tool.

A strong blast of hot wind emanated from the flat muzzle, almost knocking Leonhard’s head upside down.

I don’t know if I should be impressed by his handsome face. I burst into laughter.

“You’re going to mess up your hair, don’t you have a comb?” 

“A comb?”

“Wait a minute, I have it.”

As I rummaged through the pouch in my bag and took out a comb, I paused to consider his reaction as if he had heard an unfamiliar word.

‘Doesn’t he comb his hair?’ 

‘Do you comb it with your hands? If you have short hair, can you organize it just like that? ‘

‘Or… Do you have someone combing it for you?’

Even if there is such a person, it must be a man, right?

There are male attendants, but there is only one type of man who dares to have maids help with grooming. A shameless pervert who’s trying to fool his opponent with that excuse.

“Leon, how do you usually organize your hair?”

I jumped up on the bed and knelt to Leonhard’s back.

Then, after receiving a dryer from him and adjusting the wind to a little weaker, I combed his hair neatly with a comb.

Pretending it didn’t mean anything, pretended not to put any nuance into it.

“I don’t do it…, I trim the length once a month.”

“So you rarely use a comb?”

“I never really felt I needed it. When I was little, there was a time when an attendant helped me with my grooming, but when I got a little older, I didn’t really care. When I have important occasions, I put oil in my hair.”

“Wow, you still have really nice hair.”

When I touched it, I could see why he didn’t feel the need for it. Even my hands slide down smoothly, so what is the need for a comb?

‘Ha, I envy you, straight hair.’ 

Is this what handsome men are born with?

The hair, which was drying in the warm wind, was shiny and pretty and soft to the touch, so I kept touching it.

Before I knew it, the comb I was holding was put on the back. I pretended to dry his already dry hair, shooting warm winds here and there, and touching his hair wildly.

‘Wow, I like the skin too.’ 

The fact that my fingertips lightly brushed the back of his neck and ears while touching his hair, I swear to heaven, it was not my intention.

However, the warm, moist skin was as smooth as silk, so I kept touching it with my fingertips.

Good hair, good skin.

‘you have it all, you have it all.’ 

“Nell, is my hair still half dry?” 

“yes.”

I lied with no saliva in my mouth and stroked his ear for no reason.

Then I heard a faint sigh from somewhere I couldn’t see.

‘Hmm, did I go too far?’ 

I definitely should have put down the hair dryer.

His ears turned red, it must have been from the hot wind for too long. 

Feeling a little guilty, I asked carefully while rubbing his ear with my fingertips.

“I think it’s done now. Wasn’t it hot?” 

“That’s the question I wanted to ask….” 

“yes? What?”

“Let’s switch now. Shouldn’t I dry my wife’s hair too?” 

“Uh, I’m fine.…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Leonhard went behind me.

He lifted me lightly like some kind of teacup and made me sit on the edge of the bed.

After that, I gave my hair to him who held a hair dryer in one hand and a comb in the other.

“your hair…It wasn’t tied with a ribbon? it’s pinned to this stick?”

“Ah, yes. It’s like a hairpin, you just pull it out.”

“A hairpin?”

“Hair accessories used in the East.”

I’ve never been to the East Continent, so I don’t know, but the things from the East Continent that come into the Empire look very Korean just like in my previous life, so I thought there might be hairpins.

“It’s amazing. but I’m not sure how it’s structured.” 

“I don’t know either, it’s just handmade.”

At that moment, I felt the touch of something on top of my curled-up hair, and the wet hair fell heavily onto my back.

Then a warm wind blew over my head. I giggled because unlike earlier, when I mercilessly blew his hair, it was as gentle as a breeze.

“Does it tickle?”

“yes. But I’ll be patient.”

“Where exactly does it tickle?”

“Hmm, cheeks?”

It may not have been intentional, but the tip of the hair blown from the dryer was tickling my cheek.

As I brought them together between my index and middle fingers and slid them behind my ear, my fingers bumped into something behind my earlobe.

It was a short and light collision, but it was not difficult to notice that it was Leonhard’s finger by the hardness felt at the moment.

But at the same time, my hair was pulled back. It was because the comb he carelessly pulled down caught the tangled hair.

“ouch!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I accidentally stopped… Did it hurt much?”

“Ugh….My hair is curly, and it gets very tangled after I wash it or when I wake up. You have to comb carefully.”

“I didn’t know. I will be careful in the future.”

After putting down the comb, Leonhard picked it up again after drying my hair with a hair dryer.

I wonder if he took a handful of my hair and combed it carefully, but the tangles didn’t work out? He put down the comb and carefully pushed his thumbs through the tangled hair to untangle it. Each time, his thumb brushed against my back, it probably wasn’t intentional like I was before.

‘hmm…’ 

Perhaps he decided that it would be better to untie the tangled hair once and comb it through, so Leonhard put his hand through my hair and slowly ran it through, looking for tangles.

Whenever his body temperature brushed against the back of my neck and the tips of my ears, my skin briefly warmed up as if a fire had been set on a field.

If I could have predicted his movements even a little, I wouldn’t have been so nervous.

His movements were invisible to my eyes, while the senses were becoming sensitive, so I took a small breath every time his hand touched my skin.

It was then…