How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

‘uh…?’

I felt something touch the tip of the hair he held up by the handful.

It’s not the skin, it’s the ends of the hair, so I can’t guess exactly what it is, but it feels a bit different from just touching it.

But before I could guess anything more, my hair snapped back down and Leonhardt’s voice came almost immediately. As if to say.

“Nell, your hair is quite long. Don’t you feel uncomfortable?” 

“Not really, except for the occasional tangle while I sleep. On the contrary, Helen suffered a lot. She always took care of my hair.”

Ah, thinking about it made my eyes burn again. Fearing that I would cry again, I quickly changed the subject.

“Leon, have you ever grown your hair out?”

“At the time when I didn’t think to trim it,…I’ve grown it up to my shoulders and nothing more.”

“Up to your shoulders?”

I tried to picture it in my head, but somehow I couldn’t imagine it.

But he must have been very handsome too. Because the completion of fashion and style is the face.

“Then why didn’t you think to trim it? Wasn’t there anyone around who cared?”

Usually, whether you think about trimming it or not, don’t people around you trim it for you?

Not to mention, it wouldn’t be strange if the successor of the Marquis Ajas had separate people to take care of his hair, beard, and toenails. 

“It’s already been about 10 years. There was a time when I was away from the estate for about two years before my parents died unexpectedly and I inherited the title.”

“Alone?”

“With one of my aides, who is now the general butler of Ajas Castle. I was too busy taking care of my own business because I was swindled out of all the money I had brought from my estate, so I didn’t have time to care about my hair that I risked my life on a loaf of bread.”

“Oh, my God, really?”

That the successor of Marquis Ajas left the estate with only one of his close attendants. That he’d been swindled out of all his money. That he risked his life for a loaf of bread.

I don’t know which of these facts should surprise me first.

In the meantime, Leonhard took a comb and started brushing my hair, so I sat up in bed and swung my feet back and forth, resisting the urge to look back.

“Was that when you met Logan? At the closiante Colosseum?

“Yes. We met in Closiante and do you know why he talked to me in the first place?”

“What was it?”

“Betting is legal in the Colosseum, but I once withdrew from a match. But at that time, he spent all his money betting on me and lost all his money.”

“Ah, that….”

“He came to argue about it and saw Lucius being poisoned, so he gave him the antidote. Oh, and Lucius is the name of the butler I told you about earlier.”

“Wow, he’s a nice guy, though. He got him an antidote even though he lost all his money.”

“yeah. On the condition that I participate in ten matches as he demands.” 

“Ten times?”

“He only asked for a duel with famous warriors in the Colosseum at the time. 

When I fulfilled the 10 times I had promised, I struggled to get rid of his desire to be my manager.”

“A manager? Do you have a manager?”

“In the Colosseum, the body is a property. There are many things to do, from taking care of the warrior’s body, grooming his armor, treating wounds to managing his duel schedule.” 

“I see…”

It’s more serious than I thought.

After listening to Leonhard’s words with wonder, I suddenly became curious and asked. 

“But why did you go to the Colosseum?”

I have a strong feeling that Leonhard is an upright knight, so it’s a little hard to imagine him spending two years in the Colosseum, a place where only power was used as logic.

‘Did he want to get the title of Nolan?’ 

The title of Nolan was a great honor for any knight to admire. it’s unconditionally taken away if you lose even once in a duel with that title.

Even Leonhard has had Nolan’s medal for several years already. I had heard that usually, it changed hands in as little as half an hour, and on average a month.

“Now that I think about it, I should tell my wife.” 

“yes?”

The comb that was brushing my hair disappeared on the way.

Finally, when I turned around, my eyes met his blue eyes, which were tinged with a distant light.

“I told you that Noah was not my illegitimate son.”

“Yes. I believe in that word. So there is no need to explain…” 

“I am not trying to explain. But my wife who was willing to accept him as her son has a right to know.”

He said that, but Leonhard hesitated a little, then finally parted his lips, as if it wasn’t that easy to bring up the story.

“Except for the general butler, Lucius, my aide, Robert, and even Iron, the vice-captain who leads the knight on behalf of me in my absence.…No one knows who Noah’s real parents are. Of course, some of the vassals who have served Ajas for generations may have a guess.”

“That means… you know who Noah’s real parents are?”

“Yes. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have thought of making that child my successor so hastily. Noah, that child.” 

The expression I once saw passed over Leonhard’s face. It wasn’t long before I was able to remember when and where I had seen that face.

“He is the son of my dead sister.”

“The basis of love is trust. You cannot love and be loved without trust.”

On our first date, at a bookstore. It was the look on his face when he said that.

* * *

As if a vicious monster were flying nonstop, the sound of a strong wind piercing the wind rang loudly outside the window.

Even though the castle walls to block the wind rose high enough to pierce the sky, the nasty blizzard rattled and shook the shuttered windows like an invader.

bang!

Noah, who had been dozing off in front of his desk, shivered and opened his eyes as the wind blew to the point where the wooden boards he had put in place to secure the shutters fell off.

“Ugh…”

His neck ached because he slept in a bad posture. Rubbing the back of his neck with his small hands, Noah shivered and rubbed his shoulders with both hands.

‘Did the nail on the wooden board come loose from the strong wind a moment ago?’

Whenever he heard a loud sound, the window rattled loudly, as if someone were knocking with their fist.

However, the cold air surrounding the body took precedence over the fear of the sound. Noah got up from his chair and approached the fireplace on the other side of the wall.

While the child fell asleep, the fire in the fireplace went out. All the firewood was burnt out, leaving only ashes.

Even if he is still young and an adopted child. Noah is the successor to the Marquis of Ajas. 

Naturally, there is a servant in the child’s room to keep the fire burning in the fireplace.

However, the servant was nowhere to be found, and even the firewood storage by the fireplace was empty. 

This was clearly the servant neglecting his duty.

However, what to do with that?

Before becoming the successor and even after that. Noah’s words have no weight or authority.

“huft…”

It must have been a while since the fire was extinguished, so the sigh he involuntarily exhaled turned into a breath white spread in the air.

Noah, who looked at the fireplace with only ashes, soon turned around with a resigned face and sat down in front of the desk again.

There was still a lot of unfinished homework. Thinking that he might only get an hour or two of sleep today, Noah put his quill in his hand.

However, it wasn’t easy to write with frozen hands. Noah looked down at her red, swollen hands, then sat down on his chair as if he had made up his mind and bent down and pulled out the scarf he had kept in the bottom drawer.

At first, he thought it was a gift from his father, a scarf enchanted with heat magic.

It was the first gift he’d ever received on a non-special day. Noah had only looked at it once.

However, the person who sent this scarf was not his father, but his stepmother-to-be. It was only a month ago that Noah found out about it. 

“When the Marquis returns, he will bring her. The wedding would be in spring at the earliest because of the urgent situation at Hyela Gate, so he will be back after the wedding in the capital.”

“Isn’t it too early…?”

“Not too early, but rather too late, you are five years old now.”

“ah….”

“When the Marquess completes the process of entering, you will finally become the heir to the Ajas, everyone will not dare to show their dissatisfaction in front of the young master.”

 “….”

“It might be a little awkward, but you should get along well with the Marquess. Without her support, living in this castle would not be easy, no matter how much the Marquis cares about you.”

“but… Will the Marquess like me? I’m sure she will consider me a thorn in the eye.”

“Don’t worry. Isn’t she the one chosen by Marquis Ajas? Besides, seeing that he sent you this kind of gift, I’m sure she will be a good mother to you.”

The general butler said that as if to comfort him, but Noah couldn’t believe it.

Not to mention, Ajas’s vassals as well as the servants who were in charge to serve him were ignoring him.

‘No, I should be glad.’

“It’s a good life. A child of unknown origin became the successor of Ajas thanks to a pattern.”

“The Marquis is too kind. You found him by accident and brought him here? That’s a lame excuse. He is his son, of course!”

“How is it that he has chosen someone who is nothing more than a disgrace to Ajas as his successor?”

“It’s just a mistake. He will fix the mistake right away.”

“I’m sure Marquis Ajas will change his mind after he has my child. We’ll see.”

Suddenly, Noah missed Ruby. The tiny creature was so warm to hold.

“It’s cold….”

It seemed that the cold wind was leaking through the cracks in the wooden boards. 

After his hesitation, Noah, who was squeezing her red, frozen hand, put her hand through the folds of the scarf.

When he manipulated the magic stone attached to the tip to start the heat magic, the scarf quickly became warm. The warmth instantly melted the frozen hands buried in the scarf.

‘I wonder if she’s this warm?’ 

‘I hope so…’

Like a little warmth springing up in a room full of cold air. Noah let the hope bloom like a single flower in the midst of the anxiety that consumed him.