How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Oh, no!”

 

“But you’ve stuck by Cloud child’s side till this hour. What were you going to do if Raenel was hurt?”

 

“That… Since it was inside the castle, I thought there wouldn’t be any problem. I didn’t think much. It’s my mistake.”

 

“You thought there wouldn’t be any problem since it’s inside the castle? Was this the castle of Ajas? No, even if it’s Ajas Castle, I can’t be confident that there isn’t even the slightest danger there, so what gave you that confidence?”

 

Sage really wanted to cry.

 

Aside from her, there were three other knights by Raenel’s side. 

 

Moreover, the guards of Cloud Castle were also nearby. It wasn’t like she was going out anywhere, so how could Raenel be in any danger?

 

Above all, the reason she went to see the young lady was because Raenel told her to do so.

 

If sage doesn’t listen to her, she’s disobeying orders, so what should she do when all she can do is do what she’s told?

 

However, in this situation, she knew well that she should not say, ‘I just heard the Marquess’s orders.’ 

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll correct it.”

 

“I said it clearly. No matter what happens to me, your job is to protect my wife. Did that sound light?”

 

“no!”

 

“So…”

 

The sound of the door opening cut off Leonhard’s words. 

 

“Ugh, it’s cold. You two should go back and get some rest.”

 

beyond the wooden partition. A voice muttering and the sound of footsteps were heard.

 

Raenel, who soon appeared, was holding her shoulders in a thick fur cloak, and when she found Leonhard and her knights, she opened her eyes wide.

 

“What, why is the mood like this? Did my escorts do something wrong? Isn’t this an atmosphere where you get scolded?”

 

“Nell, did you come all the way from the bathroom without even drying your hair?”

 

“If someone hears it, they’ll think it’s really far away, it’s right next door. Ah, Sage! You’re back! How is Young lady Cloud? Did she get good treatment?”

 

“yes…Was it the Blue Thorn mercenaries? The healing wizard there had already treated all of the trauma. I only recite mental stability spells.…I came back because she seemed to be in good condition. I’m sorry for leaving you.”

 

“Oh, no. I told you to go, Anyway, thank you for your hard work. I’m going to sleep now, so everyone go back and rest now. You did a great job today.” 

 

“Ah, that’s…”

 

‘It was a nice thing to hear, but how could I say yes and run away from here?’

 

Everyone’s eyes were on Leonhard.

 

There were not two but eight eyes that moved like that. Even if Raenel didn’t want to notice, she couldn’t.

 

But she pretended not to know anything and put on a bright expression. 

 

“Why? Is there still more to say? Were we talking about something important?”

 

That innocent look attack worked. 

 

Leonhard had no choice but to reply while hiding his disapproving gaze.

 

“Not really.”

 

“Then let’s talk tomorrow. Leon, you’re tired too. Right?” 

 

What more can he say to her, who smiles brightly and pulls his arm as if urging him on?

 

In the end, Leonhard let out a short sigh and lightly gestured. 

 

“Go back.”

 

“yes!”

 

“Have a good night!”

 

“see you tommorow!”

 

“Sweet dreams!”

 

The knights quickly replied with a ‘I’m alive!’ face and rushed out of the room.

 

Leonhard covered his face with his hands as he was embarrassed.

 

‘I wondered what an embarrassment this was in front of my wife.’

 

‘We’ll have to reconvene tomorrow.’

 

But tomorrow is tomorrow.

 

Leonhard silently called out Raenel’s name as she rummaged through her magic bag on the table.

 

* * * 

 

“Nell.”

 

“Oh, wait a minute. where is this…ah, I found it!”

 

What I took out of my magic bag was a comb and hair dryer. I took them and approached Leonhard.

 

“Leon, please dry my hair.”

 

I put the hair dryer in Leonhard’s hand and grabbed his wrist, and led him to the bed.

 

I felt his pulse in my palm, and it was beating as loudly as his heart, which is why his temperature was so high today.

 

‘He must have a lot of heat in his body. It’s an advantage to live in the cold north.’

 

With that thought in mind, I dropped my toe slippers on the floor and climbed onto the bed. I untied my hair, which had been pinned up while I soaked in the bath.

 

“Nel, aren’t you cold?”

 

“I was just soaking in warm water. It’s not that cold right now.”

 

But if your hair stays wet, you’ll probably get cold, right? 

 

As if he had sensed that thought, Leonhard came up behind me, picked up a hair dryer, and started drying my hair.

 

‘Ugh, good.’ 

 

The gentle wind blowing my hair made me wiggle my toes under the hem of my skirt.

 

After being in the warm water for a long time, my toes were still wrinkled. I pulled down the hem of my skirt and hid my toes underneath it, afraid that Leonhard would see it.

 

“I say this out of old age, but in Ajas, if you don’t dry your hair right after taking a bath, it will freeze right away.”

 

“Is it that cold in the castle?”

 

“Of course, it will be warm wherever you go, but it’s better to get into the habit of it in advance.”

 

Well, it wasn’t that cold in Howard, so I didn’t bother to dry my hair

 

‘That’s why Helen was always nagging me, too.’ 

 

I was fiddling with a bit of wet hair, but it was snatched away by a hand reaching out from behind. He carefully dried my hair, one by one. 

 

‘Ugh…I’m sleepy.’ 

 

I fell asleep automatically as a large hand gently touched my head.

 

If it weren’t for the sound of Leonhard’s voice behind me, I might have dozed off with my head in His hands.

 

“Ma’am, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”   

 

“What is it?”

 

“Why did you send Seiji to the Marquess’s child?” 

 

Was that why you scolded the knights earlier? 

 

‘Hmm, I feel a little bad. They got scolded because of me.’

 

I felt like if I brought up the story of Cloud Castle’s butler here, somehow I knew he’d be in trouble, so I chose my words carefully.

 

“I am healthy with no pain or injury, but the Young lady needed treatment.…?”

 

“That treatment is up to Marquess Cloud to take care of. We had already shown enough kindness to them, and there was no need for you to give her your escort. What would you have done if you had suddenly been injured?”

 

“hmm, so I stayed in the room.…”

 

“People get hurt more easily than you think. A sudden earthquake may occur and the castle collapses, a monster may suddenly appear from somewhere like this time, or you may trip and fall somewhere and get hurt. “I don’t know about anyone else, but You shouldn’t have sent Sage away.”

 

The examples Leonhard gave were things that had a low probability of actually happening, no matter how much I think about it, but he wasn’t trying to force me to admit my mistakes.

 

I guess he was worried….His voice sounded a little upset, and it seemed like he had carefully chosen his words so as not to make me feel like I was being reprimanded. 

 

So I wanted to say that I was even more wrong, but after thinking about it, I shook my head.

 

“sorry. But I think I’ll do it again the next time the same thing happens.”

 

“Nell.”

 

“Of course, in an emergency, I would put myself first, but that isn’t the case now.On the contrary, the young lady is in a critical situation.”

 

“If you think about it that way, the young lady wasn’t in such a critical situation either. Right next to her were her knights, wizards, and a highly skilled healing wizard mercenary.”

 

“I was in a safe castle, and the young lady had just been kidnapped by a monster and rescued. From anyone’s perspective, it was a situation where it was right for the young lady to be given more consideration.”

 

“but….”

 

“Of course, I understand Leon’s feelings. You don’t want me to be in even the slightest danger?”

 

I turned to Leonhard, and hugged his waist.

 

The moment my hand touched him, his slightly stiff body slowly relaxed, and his hand covered my back.

 

I raised my knees to be at eye level with him, who was taller than me, and impulsively kissed his cheek.

 

“Yes, Nell.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that Leon, You were always thinking of me, right?” 

 

“That’s…Isn’t it obvious? You are my wife.” 

 

“That’s right. I also worry a lot about my husband. I know that Leon is strong enough to have kept Nolan’s medal for years, but I’m still worried when you fight with monsters, but it would be unreasonable to ask you to stay in the safe castle, right?”

 

“I understand what you are saying. It’s definitely true that it was being unreasonable.”

 

“You really understand, right? You can’t scold my escorts again tomorrow.” 

 

“How did you know I was going to do that?”

 

“It’s easy to understand! I able to guess my husband’s mind.”

 

When I saw Leonhard laughing at those words, my heart melted like butter.

 

I put the comb in his hand and sat back down.

 

“Now, please comb my hair. As kind and gentle as you were worried about me.”

 

“Those are words that are far from me, but I’ll try.

 

“What do you mean far from you? You are always kind and gentle towards me.” 

 

Sitting back with my legs stretched out in front of me, I stamped my feet on the mattress of my bed and spoke in a playful voice.

 

“Then you should kiss me goodnight on the cheek, lie down next to me, and put your arm around me.”

 

“Does that also count as a husband’s duties?”

 

A voice mixed with laughter asked me that question, so I quickly nodded. 

 

“Yes. You must remember to do that every night. This is the most important thing.” 

 

“I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am.”

 

He carefully combed my long hair as I asked him to do, and braided it with poor skill so it wouldn’t get tangled while I was sleeping. As I lay there with his arm around me, kissing my cheek affectionately, I thought to myself.

 

‘Just like this… I don’t think I can be greedy anymore.’ 

 

Suddenly a thought occurred to me.

 

‘Was Leonhard this sweet to ‘Raenel’ in the story I knew?’

 

“Nell, do you know what?”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s noticeable when my wife forces herself to keep her eyes open when she’s sleepy.” 

 

He patted my back like he was telling me to stop holding on and go to sleep. 

 

Unable to overcome my eyelids becoming heavier due to the leisurely beat, I leaned my head into his arms.

 

‘I don’t think so. If he had been just this sweet, ‘Raenel’ would not have doubted his love.’

 

Even me…Because I keep deluding myself into thinking that he has already fallen in love with me.

 

* * *