How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

If you love me, write a letter.  

‘I grant the northern half of the empire, including the Hyella Mountains, as Ajas territory. 

 

‘I grant you the title of Marquis. Marquis Ajas is to guard the land as a lord and guard the borders.’

 

When the first Marquis Ajas arrived in the Hyella Mountains at the emperor’s command, the first instruction he gave his people was to build a stone wall. With Hermen’s Castle still standing nearby, he set up an outpost at the foot of the Hyella Mountains.

 

There was no time to transport bricks to the kiln. When he used his iron powers to break the surrounding rocks to size, his people carried the stones and built a wall.

 

That stone wall is the beginning of the Ajas fortress.

 

Fortress Ajas, which was built solely for military purposes, completely closed the nearby dungeon, ‘Icicle Cliff’, and drove the barbarians back over the Hyella Mountains.

 

And it developed into the current fortress city, Ajas Castle.

 

“Wow, I can see it over here!”

 

“Madam, it’s dangerous to stick your head out the carriage window!”

 

“I’ll take a look for a moment, just a moment!”

 

Leonhard’s voice must have reached the coachman’s ears, so the speed of the carriage slowed down a little.

 

Thanks to this, I was able to relax my grip on the fur hat that I had been holding tightly to prevent it from blowing away in the wind. 

 

Then I grabbed the carriage’s windowsill with both hands and craned my neck even further.

 

“pretty…!”

 

Is it because it was built at the foot of a mountain?

 

The large old castle stood tall alone, beyond several layers of walls that gradually grew higher.

 

Perhaps because it was originally a fortress, dozens of jagged spiers and watchtowers were erected as far as the eye could see.

 

The round, pointed roof is presumed to be blue in color, like the flag of Ajas fluttering everywhere. The color was hard to see now because of the thick snow.

 

Moreover, the pure white snow and frost stuck to the gray stone walls, making Aias Castle look like a sparkling white castle.

 

I continued to exclaim in exclamation at the scenery that looked like an illustration from a children’s book.

 

“Wow, the castle is so pretty! Even the imperial palace in the capital wasn’t that pretty!” 

 

“That’s too much praise. Rather, Nell, since we can see the castle nearby, why don’t you go inside the carriage now?”

 

Leonhard on horseback slowed down and walked alongside the carriage. 

 

Now that I think about it, the speed of the carriage has slowed to the point where it is almost like walking. Thinking it must be because of me, I nodded. 

 

“Okay, I’ve seen everything.”

 

I nodded calmly and stuck my head into the carriage. And when the window was closed, the carriage, which had been crawling like a snail, began to speed up again.

 

“Nell—ohh, Marquess, you can ride a horse?”

 

Catherine asked awkwardly as we reached the castle. She was practicing honorifics because she would once again aim for my direct escort.

 

I nodded, catching Ruby as she flew from her arms to mine.

 

“I can ride a horse, but I can’t run because I’m scared. When I was young, I fell from a horse while learning to ride.”

 

“Really? you weren’t hurt, right?”

 

“My brother Alex got hurt instead of me. when he caught me falling.” 

 

“Sir Alexander has been an exemplary knight ever since.” 

 

“Uh, Leona, did you ever have a conversation with my brother?”

 

“Yes. We had a duel. I narrowly lost.”

 

However, Leona’s face showed no emotions such as resentment or disappointment at losing.

 

On the contrary, she seemed happy, so I moved my hand around to avoid Ruby, who kept trying to bite my index finger, and asked back.

 

“How was it, my brother?”

 

“He was very strong. If he takes Heilang’s entrance test, he will pass it right away.”

 

“I see….”

 

Well, my brother has already joined the Red Lion. Of course, it would be comparable to the knights of Heilang.

 

For some reason, I shrugged my shoulders and suppressed the laughter that was about to escape, and Leona and Sage exchanged glances with each other and I saw a puzzled look on their faces.

 

‘Why do they look at me like that?’

 

“That’s right, I’ve practiced with him, and he was very good, I can tell he has been training diligently for a long time.”

 

“Wow, really? Sir Ethan, have you ever had a duel with my brother?” 

 

“Yes. I won….Ugh!”

 

Before Ethan could finish speaking, Sage, who was sitting next to him, struck him in the side with his elbow.

 

But the blow seemed to hurt Sage more, and he clutched his elbow and let out a grunt.

 

He shouted to Ethan in a loud voice, as if expressing his anger.

 

“You bastard! That’s why you get dumped by Cathy every time!” 

 

“Well, what…!”

 

“what?”

 

‘You have been dumped by Catherine every time? Sir Ethan?’

 

I looked to the side in surprise and saw Catherine rubbing her ears with her little finger as if it were someone else’s story.

 

Did I hear wrong? Or is there another Catherine besides this one? 

 

“Cathy, you mean this Cathy here, sitting next to me?”

 

“No, I mean,….”

 

He clenched and unclenched the fists on his knees, and even turned his red face to avoid my gaze. I didn’t need to listen to it anymore.

 

I had to cover my mouth with both hands to block the corners of my mouth that were raised.

 

“I see, Sir Ethan liked Cathy.…!” 

 

What should I do, I love stories like this!

 

“It’s a very famous story within Heilang. There is no one who does not know except one person. She dumped Ethan after Ethan confessed to her publicly at the training ground!”

 

“At the training ground? Why?”

 

“It’s a slip of the tongue. I was next to him at that time too. Ethan at that time…What should I say?….In short, it was KalamKong, KalamKong!” 

 

“Kalamkong? Come to think of it, what do you mean by that? I’ve heard Zenut call Sir Colin like that a few times.”

 

“We don’t know exactly. But the nuance makes us feel like an idiot, so we just use it when we feel like that.”

 

“I feel worse because I don’t know exactly what it means.”

 

I’ll have to ask Zenut later. Anyway, this isn’t what’s important. 

 

“Who is the one person that doesn’t know? He confessed so publicly, how can there be people who don’t know?”

 

“Captain.”

 

“ah…”

 

For some reason, my head nodded. 

 

Certainly, Leonhard doesn’t seem to be interested in such a story at all.

 

“That’s why the butler doesn’t really like Ethan. The general butler cares about Cathy like his own sister.”

 

“Really?”

 

“yes. hmm…I’m telling you just in case, the Butler’s real sister died of an illness.”

 

“And he said I was lying next to her grave although I don’t really remember.” 

 

Catherine interjected again as if she were telling someone else’s story. I blinked, wondering what that meant.

 

“You were lying next to the grave? What happened?”

 

“I was on the verge of starving to death. After being kicked out of the group, I guess I crossed the Hiyella Mountains while looking for food. I don’t remember much because I was so exhausted. But Lukious gave me soup and bread every day.”

 

“Lukious?”

 

“That’s the butler’s name, Lukious.”

 

‘I see, I should remember it well.’

 

“Umm, ummm…!”

 

“What’s the matter, marquess?”

 

“Actually, I really like hearing other people’s love stories. But I don’t know if I can ask, because that people are in front of me.…!”

 

“Of course!”

 

“sure! It is the duty of the guard to sincerely answer whatever the Marquess is curious about!”

 

“No, no matter what, my private life is—”

 

“You’re not going to talk? the Marquess wants to hear it.” 

 

“You’re not going to do it? Are you going to give up being her escort?”

 

“Ah, then I’ll take Cathy’s place. I’m good at honorifics now. I have the confidence to call her the Marquess.”

 

“What do you mean by that? My lord trusted me with this mission, so how could I personally decide whether to quit or not? Tsk.”

 

Catherine leaned her upper body slightly forward roughly on the chair with angry face.

 

Sage watched her pout her lips, then sighed loudly.

 

“Anyway, that’s why you can’t do that. What kind of relationship would you get into if you don’t even know how to win favor?”

 

“Yes, I know.….”

 

Ethan looked very tired, as if he didn’t want to talk more about this topic.

 

Looking at him like that, I remembered the first time I met him. 

 

So, when I recognized the tattoo on the back of Catherine’s hand. 

 

“I guess that’s why you reacted sensitively at that time.….” 

 

“Yes?”

 

“No, nothing.”

 

Even though I was so vague, Ethan glanced at me with a slight blush on his cheek as if he understood what I meant.

 

I smirked at him, and he turned his head to the side, avoiding my gaze.

 

Indeed, it was a cute reaction that reminded me of his master and his subordinate, Leonhard.

 

‘But no matter how I look at it, Catherine doesn’t seem to be interested in Ethan.…’

 

No, it’s not necessarily Ethan, but it feels like she was not interested in the man? 

 

In order to have even the slightest chance, she has to respond to the conversation itself, either in a good way or in a bad way.

 

As I looked at Catherine’s face, which showed no trace of emotion, as if we were just talking about the weather, I couldn’t help but shake my head. 

 

‘But how did he fall in love with her?’ 

 

I really curious! I want to hear it! But I’ll have to endure it! Still, I want to hear it!

 

As I was fighting with my inner self, I heard a long horn sound coming from up ahead.

 

My eyes widened in surprise, but Sage quickly spoke to me as if he knew I would do that.

 

“I saw the flag of Ajas at the watchtower. They blow it to let the people of the city know that the Lord has returned.”

 

The sounds of horns were heard one after another.

 

Meanwhile, I felt that the carriage, which was still running, was leaning slightly backwards. The rattling of the wheels also became worse.

 

At the same time, I heard someone’s voice from outside, but I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. Catherine seemed to notice me and explained in a whisper next to me.

 

“They’re the guards. They saw the Captain and saluted him.” 

 

“Okay…I see.”

 

“We’ve crossed the bridge and passed two castle walls, so we’ll be there soon.” 

 

As if to prove that statement, after a while, the carriage stopped and I heard someone shouting “open the gate!” in front of me. At the same time, a heavy sound followed as if it were drawn to the ground.

 

It was only at that moment that it finally felt real. Finally, I felt like I had arrived at Ajas Castle.

 

As soon as I realized that fact, my heart started beating like crazy in my chest. My hands were filled with sweat due to my sudden nervousness.

 

Before I had time to calm myself down, the carriage started running again and stopped.

 

And the carriage door opened with a bright light. 

 

“Nell, we have arrived.”

 

The expression I made at that moment spread into confusion on the face of Leonhard, who was looking at me from outside the carriage.

 

“Nell?”

 

“Oh, no, I’m just a little nervous.…I’ll get off.”

 

After taking a long breath, I grabbed Leonhard’s arm and put my right foot on the footrest under the carriage.

 

What unfolded before my eyes as I got off the carriage was a wave of people that could not be compared to when I was at Paul Herbina mansion.

 * * *