How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

Ten tiny fingers move dazzlingly as if dancing on the piano keys.

 

The fingers moving impatiently to hit the distant keys looked as if they were being chased, but the piano sound spreading through the open door and into the hallway was very refreshing.

 

“Hmm, mmmm.”

 

The piano teacher, a thin pointer stick in her hand, crossed her arms and tapped her feet under the hem of her dress to match the beat.

 

When the right arm is stretched out and the hand tapped the high keyboard, a long sound similar to the chirping of a lark or a wind-up music box spreads out clearly.

 

The piano teacher nodded his head with his eyes closed, but at some point he suddenly made a high-pitched sound.

 

“Andante!”

 TL:  andante to describe a relatively slow, moderately paced tune. Your piano teacher might tell you to play a piece andante. The word andante, particularly common in classical music, is sometimes described as “at a walking pace.”

 

 

The child’s shoulders trembled, and the piano sound suddenly stopped. 

 

The piano teacher’s deep sigh echoed even louder over the sudden silence.

 

As if the weight on his shoulders was familiar, Noah lifted his hands from the keys to his lap.

 

“How many times do I tell you not to just look at the notes? You have no understanding of speed.  It changed from Moderato to Andante. You have to play that slowly.”

 

“I don’t know how much. Please let me know specifically…” 

 

“How many times do I have to tell you that it’s a little bit? A little, a little.”

 

Sounding nervous, the piano teacher walked over to the piano and tapped the keys a few times.

 

“That’s it, remember?”

 

“One more time….”

 

“The heir to the throne, who will preside over the northern part of the empire in the future, is here….I fear for the future of Ajas. Why did the Marquis put forward an unverified successor so early?”

 

The two fists on his knees were tightly clenched.

 

Even after just a quick glance at the scene, the piano teacher could only let out a light sigh. Then she half-heartedly tapped the piano keys a few times.

 

“Okay, understand? Try playing it again. Start again from the first page.” 

 

The piano teacher touched the sheet music with the tip of her stick and turned the pages. 

 

“One, two, three……young master? “What are you doing right now?” 

 

“No, I was just…”

 

‘I think there was someone standing outside the door.’

 

But there was no way to get the words out of his mouth.

 

This was because the piano teacher, with her pretty eyebrows visibly frowning, clicked her tongue with pitiful eyes.

 

“I’m sure you don’t have a minute to waste right now, do you?”

 

“I apologize.”

 

“Get started quickly. One, two, three!”

 

The pink afterimage that passed through his amber eyes quickly disappeared like a haze.

 

As if pitch-black ink had been poured onto white paper, Noah couldn’t even blink his eyes as he was busy chasing the notes that filled the page.

 

* * * 

 

“Marquess? What’s wrong?”

 

The sound of the piano began to sound again, fading away behind me.

 

After walking to the end of the hallway as if running away in a hurry, I raised my hand to silence the maids who were calling out to me in concern.

 

Did I just see……. Who did I see?’

 

That face, which I saw again and again with disbelief, was engraved on my retina and could not be erased.

 

It was definitely true. That woman.

 

“It’s Julia.…”

 

“You probably didn’t know because you were exhausted from crying. That mean girl told brother Liv about breaking off the engagement even before our parents’ funeral was over. She even took off the proposal ring that brother Liv had personally chosen and put on her, returned it to him. When brother Liv asked her to talk again after the funeral, she turned away coldly, saying she would never set foot in this shabby country house again.”

 

“And I heard that she married to the North….Wait, was it in the Ajas country that she married?”

 

‘How wide is the country of Ajas? How could that woman be in this castle? She’s also Noah’s piano teacher?’

 

‘Even if Noah was adopted, they wouldn’t have just brought anyone in and made them a teacher, right? What kind of man did she marry?’

 

“Marquess? Are you okay?”

 

“Is there anything that makes you feel uncomfortable? Should I get a doctor?” 

 

“No, no.…It’s not that I feel uncomfortable.” 

 

I glanced back, putting my hand on my shocked chest. 

 

Although I was quite far away from the music room where Noah was learning to play the piano, the sound of him playing the piano was faintly reaching my ears.

 

Only then did I realize that I had not actually seen Noah when I went to see him, and I belatedly noticed another surprising fact.

 

“Isn’t this Vertigo…?” 

 

“Yes?”

 

“Now, Noah is playing that.” 

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Next to Hannah, who was shaking her head, Sally nodded quickly, as if she had finally come up with a story she could answer.

 

“Vertigo is right. I learned to play the piano when I was young.” 

 

“The young master has great piano skills. Vertigo is a piece of music that you start to learn in your fifth year at the earliest…”

 

Scarlett quickly added a word. In a voice mixed with puzzlement rather than admiration.

 

Vertigo was such a difficult song. I am confident in playing the piano and violin, but I even make mistakes several times even when I look at the sheet music. 

 

“How long has it been since Noah started learning piano?”

 

“I’m sorry, Marquess. We don’t know much about it.” 

 

“Well, it hasn’t been long, at most half a year….Probably less than a year.”

 

“…..”

 

‘Is Noah actually a piano genius? So, did you quickly skip all the basics and move on to Vertigo?’

 

“I have to go again.”

 

No matter how many classes he was taking, it was physically impossible for him to progress to Vertigo, no matter how genius he was.

 

I need to find out whether the child is being stubborn and learning a difficult piece that is not suitable for his level, or whether the piano teacher is going ahead with her own pace.

 

When I started walking again with that thought in mind, a loud explosion along with the sound of a long-tailed horn was suddenly heard from outside the castle. A total of three times.

 Boom! boom!  

Perhaps surprised by the sound, the piano sound stopped. Next to me, equally surprised, Hannah and Amy’s faces turned pale as if they knew the meaning of the sound.

 

“Oh my god! It looks like the dungeon exploded!” 

 

“what?”

 

“The horn sounds and three explosions mean the dungeon break has occurred.  It looks like the dungeon near the Hiyela Gate has exploded.” 

 

“Near the Hiyela Gate?”

 

The Hiyella Gate, located in a valley located in the middle of Mount Hiyella, north of Ajas Castle, is a central fortress with long walls built from east to west, preventing white land monsters and barbarians from descending to the south.

 

When first building the Hiyela Gate, Marquis Ajas said he tried to satisfy three conditions.

 

first. In order to prevent the barbarians from crossing over, it needed to be able to block the mountain pass of Hiyela.

 

second. It would not contain dungeons inside the gates of Hiyela.

 

third. It would be built far away from Castle Ahas for the safety of residents.

 

Considering all three factors, the Hiyella Gate was built at its current location. 

 

Because of this, one element of anxiety arose: the fact that the dungeon, which had not yet been closed, was almost adjacent to the Hiyela Gate.

 

“When the dungeon explodes, it is almost certain that the barbarians will bring the monsters to the Hiyela Gate. So when the barbarians were less powerful, the Marquis led the knight to clean the dungeon once in a while.…”

 

Hannah explained it with a face full of anxiety. Although she was trying not to show it, she must have been very anxious when she heard that the dungeon had exploded, and Sally was trembling as she held onto Scarlett’s arm tightly. 

 

‘It was our first day at the castle, no, only a few hours.’

 

I blinked and wondered what this was all about. I turned back again. 

 

“Let’s go to the Marquis for now, and we’ll hear the details.”

 

* * *

 

When I went up to the 4th floor, Leonhard was coming out of the hallway and into the lobby.

 

When I saw him and tried to call his name. Leonhard, who made eye contact with me, hurriedly ran towards me.

 

“Nell. Weren’t you surprised by the sudden explosion sound?” 

 

“Just a little.  So I came here to ask what was going on…? Are you leaving now?”

 

Unlike me, who was wearing a light dressing gown, Leonhard was already armed with thick leather armor and a cape.

 

There was even a sword the size of my body tied to his back. That must be the Layenbert, A big sword that was said to be passed down from generation to generation the Marquis of Ajas.

 

“Yes….I think I should go to the Hiyella Gate right now. It is said that many high-level monsters have appeared, and even the highest level monsters can be seen.”

 

“Even the highest level monsters?”

 

“You don’t have to worry, Nell. Ajas Will never fall.”

 

Leonhard put his arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheek, as if to reassure me.

 

However, his lips, which were always warm, already felt cold, and I became a little anxious.

 

“Then I guess I’ll have to use the couple’s bedroom alone today.” 

 

“Sorry…”

 

“It was a joke, so don’t apologize so seriously. This is not Leon’s fault.”

 

At that time, the horn sounded again outside the castle.

 

Leonhard announced that the sound was an emergency summons, as it beeped a few short times, then became longer and then cut off.

 

“I will leave your escort here. Please don’t leave your escort anytime, anywhere. Especially Sage.”

 

“Okay, Leon, be careful too. If you come in injured, we’ll share your own room until you get better.”

 

“I will keep that in mind.”

 

When I went out of the castle to see Leonhard off, the knights and wizards who had heard the emergency summons were already on horseback, ready to leave.

 

I can’t believe how quickly they had gathered in such a short time; they must have trained very hard.

 

“Nell, I’ll leave this to you before I leave.” 

 

Leonhard took out what he had on his neck with a leather strap over his head and hung it on my neck.

 

I wondered what was resting heavily on my chest and lifted it to my eye level, but Leonhard’s voice continued.

 

“This is Ajas’s family ring. If you have that ring, you can use all the powers of the Marquis while I am away.”

 

“What? Can you entrust such an important ring to me?” 

 

“If not my wife, who else would I entrust that to?” 

 

Suddenly, I remembered the story my sister Lily told me the night before the wedding.

 

Some aristocrats who have a title don’t trust their wives and send them to the back room as soon as they have a child.

 

Rather than being pleased with Leonhardt’s trust in me, it was so heavy that I was a little scared.

 

‘I’d rather have you by my side than a ring like this.’

 

“You must come back safely. 

 

“Of course. I swear on this ring I gave you, I will.” 

 

“Anyway, you really like swearing.”

 

My eyes got hot and I pouted like that. I untied the ribbon that tied my hair up high and tied it around Leonhard’s wrist.

 

Usually they will give something like a handkerchief, but I don’t have any right now. 

 

“I’ll be waiting. Please, everyone, come back safely.” 

 

“I accept Marquess’s orders!”

 

Like the wind in the dry sky, Leonhard left the castle, and I was the only one left in Ajas Castle.

 

It had only been three hours since we arrived at Ajas Castle.

 

* * *