How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Oh my God, Marquis Ajas?”

“Yes. They said there must have been 200 flowers. The bouquet is so big that many people have seen it.”

“No wonder at that banquet, he only danced with Lady Howard. After that, he had a brief conversation with Duke Khalid and went right back, right?”

“Oh, are the two of them friends?”

“I don’t know. Still, they’re one of the most powerful in the empire. They must have something to talk about.”

“Ah, I wished I could dance with Duke Khalid at the banquet…”

A flower garden in full bloom. Among the five ladies who sat around a round table under a gorgeous sunshade, the red curly-haired lady dropped her shoulders with a disappointed face.

The brown-haired young lady sitting next to her comforted her with a friendly voice.

“I can’t help it. Prince Khalid left soon after that too.”

“This is just too much. Are the most handsome people going to leave first? And dance with only one person.”

“Even if Marquis Ajas is like that, Duke Khalid is really unexpected, right? He danced only with the Royal Rose Young lady and left, so why did he force himself to hold a banquet if he was so busy? He could have delayed a little.”

“Why?  Because The former duchess died without giving birth to children. Besides, currently, there is not a single pattern power manifester in Duke Khalid.”

“Then, if there is a problem with Duke Khalid…”

“It’s not Duke Khalid’s problem, but one of the five powers is cut off.”

In fact, when the imperial flag was first planted on this continent, it is said that there were not five but six power holders. There is no way to know what the sixth power was because the records that had been handed down have been lost.

“As expected, is it true that he hosted this banquet to quickly find someone to marry?”

“Yes otherwise, he wouldn’t have hosted a big banquet that doubled as a debutante.”

“Oh, is that so? I thought it was intentionally decorated fancy because it was a place to break seclusion after 3 years.”

“Come to think of it, that accident already happened three years ago…”

Is it because the story of a heavy topic suddenly came out? Suddenly, the atmosphere became silent. However, the curious young lady’s mouth did not stop.

“The former Countess Howard and his wife were also on that boat at the time, right?”

“Evil pirates. If they want to take away, they only take away wealth, but why do they take away the lives of so many people?”

“They’re the ones who wouldn’t mind tearing them to death.”

It is not uncommon for pirates to plunder passing ships. And if there is a high-ranking person on the ship, it is often the case that they are taken hostage and demand a ransom. It is rare for hostages to be killed as a way of venting their anger when negotiations fail, but this is also not unheard of. However, sinking a ship with all passengers as well as hostages was unprecedented in history.

“I feel very sorry for Count Howard. If he had gone a little earlier, he might have been able to save the former count and countess Howard…”

“Did he see the ship sink? That’s amazing. If it were me, I would have lost my mind.”

“Yes. He didn’t even seem to resent Duke Khalid for refusing to negotiate with the pirates.”

“Didn’t you hear? It’s all because of Lady Howard.”

“Lady Howard? why?”

“Lady Howard admires Duke Khalid. That’s why I heard they postponed their debut date until the banquet at the Khalid family…”

“Oh my goodness. But she is not the Royal Rose?”

Cheah, the dark-haired young lady spread her fan and covered her lips with a raised tail.

“Do you think it’s fair? With the blood of unknown origin.”

“If I hadn’t received even a single rose, I would have been a laughing stock forever.”

“Come to think of it, stop talking about that, so did Marquis Ajas really have Lady Howard in mind?”

The brown-haired young lady’s eyes shone with curiosity as she asked with a face full of interest. The faces of the other young girls were no different. If that’s true, it’s the birth of a very exciting blind relationship.

“Based on the rumors, the possibility is high, right?”

“I guess not. Does it make sense to have noble blood like Ajas mixed with lowly blood of unknown origin?”

“What if the lowly blood was already mixed?”

“What? What is that…”

“Don’t you remember? Why, a few years ago…”

On the table, truth and lies were mixed in a muddy mess. The rumor that it was unclear where it was black and where it was white spread from mouth to mouth throughout the capital.

* * *

One sheet, two sheets, three sheets. The fire in the fireplace, which had grown in size, swallowed up all the envelopes without even knowing that it was full.

‘Haha, it burns well.’

“Nel. I won’t scold you, so tell me honestly.”

“That sounds like you could scold me for my answer, brother…”

“Looking at you saying that, do you feel guilty about something?”

My little brother, who was picking up wood and ashes in the fireplace with a poker face, threw a meaningful look at me. I cried out in frustration.

“Do I feel guilty? No. It’s unfair to me too. I’m the most upset!”

I must have had a debut, I must have received an invitation that I thought I would not get because I was an adopted child. I also wanted to enjoy a social gathering at least once, so I went to a tea party that my sister Lily picked and selected. yesterday.

And I became a live fish on a cutting board and was bitten by hyenas mercilessly.

TL: hyenas are animal-like dogs.

‘No matter what, what’s the point of asking so openly? Is it the standard way to talk about socialites?’

It was fortunate that Lily stopped me, but if I had gone alone, wouldn’t dozens of scandals with my name spread throughout the capital?

If it’s all about Leonhard, yes. I admit it. We even danced and I got a huge bouquet of flowers.

But why is Duke Khalid? Why the hell did I get involved with Duke Khalid?

“You know what you say every day. A man only needs his face to be handsome. Didn’t you fall in love at first sight when you saw Duke Khalid somewhere and begged him to marry you?”

No, it sounds like ‘Raenel’ in a book!

“No, it’s not, I’ve never seen Duke Khalid. Even at the banquet, I saw him from afar.”

So it’s not even fair to me to properly look at that handsome face.

Unable to understand my muttering words, my younger brother with a sullen face snatched the envelope from my hand and threw it into the fireplace.

“Then why did such rumors spread? There must have been smoke because there is firewood.”

“So it’s firewood I don’t know!”

I’m dying of frustration. Just go to Duke Khalid and ask him if he knows me.

When I am seriously thinking about it…

“I got it!”

bang! 

It was Lily who opened the door without knocking. This situation, was as if I had been through it once. Indeed, twins seem to be alike.

“You get what? More than that, where did you learn etiquette to open the door first without knocking?”

“Now that doesn’t matter. I know why there were rumors that Nell admires Duke Khalid.”

“what? how did you know?”

“How did I know? I sold my feet.”

Lily, who graduated from the Magic Academy, had a particularly wide foot there. As convenient magic tools are indispensable in aristocratic society, the network of wizards is intricately entangled like a spider’s web. So even if you don’t know each other, you can find out as much information as you want by crossing a few bridges.

“As expected, the banquet was the problem.”

“Why the banquet? I never made eye contact with Duke Khalid.”

“I mean, the problem was that you delayed your debutante and then made the debutante at the banquet of Duke Khalid.”

Duke Khalid closed all foreign activities for three years to mourn his dead wife and to feel guilty for provoking the pirates by abruptly refusing to negotiate with them.

The place where he appeared just before that was the funeral of Count Howard and his wife.

“That’s where they think you saw the Duke of Khalid.”

“I? Have I seen Duke Khalid? when?”

“You couldn’t have seen it. Because then you cried and fell down and lay down sick.”

That’s right, it was.

So I couldn’t attend the funeral, but I was able to throw mud when I buried my parents’ coffin in the cemetery. Because my sisters and brothers delayed the date.

“And at the imperial banquet held a month later, Nell was originally supposed to make her socialite debut. But it was delayed.”

“That’s it…”

My parents are dead, how can I go to the banquet and dance?

It wasn’t like I was usually ill. Two people who were very healthy and strong passed away from a thunderbolt in a dry sky. How can I easily overcome that absence?

To me, they were like my real parents, so it was even more difficult to accept the death of the two.

So I postponed my debut and stayed at home. It was only after several months had passed since the funerals of the two that I was finally able to return to my daily life.

After that, my older sisters and older brothers suggested that we should do our debutante, which had been delayed, but…

Is it because I postponed it once? I didn’t really want to do it in the first place, because I didn’t feel like it. So I put it off until I was about to turn 20. The only option left for me was the banquet at Duke Khalid’s residence.

“The reason for you to postpone your debut date like that is that there must have been no other reason than Duke Khalid.”

“why not? Duke Khalid also spent three years confined to mourning his dead wife. Can’t I mourn my parents?”

“That…”

For a moment, my sister Lily hesitated to answer and looked at me. Thanks to that, I was able to find out. There’s only one case where Lily looks at me.

‘Because I’m an adopted child…’

They don’t think I would have genuinely mourned the death of my parents.

‘How could that be?’

You don’t even know much about me or my parents!

“So that’s all the reason? Is it just that she put off her debut date until the banquet was held at Duke Khalid’s residence?”

“Tha’s it! I said no. Even if I say it, They don’t seem to agree.”

“These are people who like to go around talking about others, and they probably don’t care about the truth.”

There was deep contempt in the grinning little brother’s voice. Judging from his face, it seemed that the younger brother had not only witnessed such people once or twice.

“Ah, all of a sudden I lose all my strength.”

“Nell.”

“Should I just ignore everything and stay at home? Then the rumors will be quieted someday.”

“well… I don’t know, but if you lock yourself in your house, there will be rumors that you’re going to live alone because you’ve been broken up by Duke Khalid.”

For a moment, I got goosebumps on my spine.

“No, isn’t there a hot topic in the social world these days? Why are they only talking about me?”

“There is a lot of noise. Duke Khalid, who broke up after 3 years.”

“….”

“If you ignore it and don’t say anything, people will talk about your name even while Duke Khalid remarries and has children.”

I could imagine it even if I didn’t hear it anymore.

‘Come to think of it, long ago, Lady Howard had a crush on Duke Khalid, right?’

‘Did you see that she avoided Duke Khalid? I hope she still has regrets…’

‘I see her say hello to Duke Khalid. I hope she still has regrets…’

Oh, it’s terrible just imagining it.

What was even more terrible was the fact that even if the Duke of Khalid remarried, he would be a widower again. Then people will be talking again about when I will approach Duke Khalid again!

“No, I can’t, I will definitely eradicate this rumor!”

“How?”

“Whatever it takes!”

It was then.

Tok-Tok!

“Excuse me for a moment, Count.”

“What is going on?”

“Marquis Ajas sent a letter.”