How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

‘No, this is a little too sudden…?’ The proposal came and went, and if Leonhard had made a separate proposal at our house, my brother would have already said no. ‘I wonder if his heart is still in the same place after what happened?’ Besides, he has been dating the second princess with good rumors and he has been an escort at a big ball.’ “Raenel?” “Ah, yes?” “What are you thinking so deeply about?” Had I been too lost in my thoughts? Leonhard was looking at me with a very worried face. I thought for a moment, “Why is he looking at me like that?” and then I realized. ‘I cried in front of him earlier.’ Embarrassed, I hurriedly shook my head saying it was nothing. “Well, yeah, I was just wondering what happened to the second princess—” “I have no relationship with her” “What?” Leonhard, who answered the question right before the question was finished, quickly poured out the following words. “I only met her once through His Majesty’s arrangement, and after today, I will not escort her again or have a private meeting with her.” “Oh, I was just asking, since you are present as the Second Princess’s partner, shouldn’t you be at her side…” I stuttered because I could see Leonhard’s face growing red in real time as he listened to me, and I felt embarrassed that he was so uncomfortable. I was going to change the topic because I thought the atmosphere would be awkward, but he cleared his throat a little and answered in a calm voice. “My duty as an escort has already been completed. The second princess returned to the palace and I was about to return to the hotel earlier, but I saw that Sir Alexander was looking for you, so I wondered if something had happened.” “Did you come to me because you were worried?” Leonhard hesitated for a moment at my question, then nodded his head slightly. I giggled a little and unfolded the hem of my skirt as I sat down, pretending to bend my knees to him. “Thank you for your concern. Leon always treats me well.” “If my behavior is rude, please tell me right away. As you know, I don’t know much about manners and unspoken rules in the social world, so I’m afraid I will bother you again.” ‘I was going to ask, “Like white roses?” but then I realized that would be too much, so I just shook my head.’ “Not at all. And I don’t know much about socialite manners or unspoken rules.” Of course, I didn’t know at all. But I didn’t want to show off my little knowledge to him. I didn’t want to make this guy’s face more serious and worried. ‘Actually, I’m the one who caused trouble.’ It was Leonhard who was always kind, and I’m the one being helped. He gave me a rose when I didn’t receive one, graciously accepted my request to settle a scandalous affair with another man, and even prioritized my escort in an emergency when a monster appeared. ‘He’s a good man.’ Not as an affirmation, not suddenly. I sincerely felt that way. If I had to marry someone, I think this man would be good. ‘I should have thought about how it would be viewed from the outside if I didn’t get married.’ If I stuck with Howard, my family would be ridiculed for the rest of my life for being a troublemaker. They would be ridiculed for not finding a marriage partner. I realized that my existence was very wrong for my family… How can I stand by my family? “Leon.” “Yes, Raenel.” “You know. In case you still want me to—” Suddenly, there was a flash of white in front of me. Boom! “Wow!” I covered my ears and lowered my head at the roar of thunder that followed. My eardrums were tingling because the lightning struck. ‘No, what is this?’ It’s not even raining, but lightning suddenly falls like this? What kind of sky is this really? “Monster energy.” “What?” When I raised my head in surprise at Leonhard’s muttering, he stood up from his seat and was looking somewhere. Then. “Kyaaaakh!” Sure enough, a horrified scream came from where Leonhard was looking. Just like at Rebecca’s birthday banquet! A high-pitched sound, presumably the cry of a monster, shook the air around it along with a strong wind. I looked at Leonhard, while my arms wrapped around my shaking shoulders, and asked. “That monster…Where is it? Did it appear inside the palace?” “I can only guess, but I think so.” Leonhard, whose gaze was distant and his hands habitually moved to his empty waist, made a pale expression. Only the emperor can carry a sword when attending the banquet held in the imperial palace. Even the Marquis Ajas could not be an exception to that fact. “You want to go?” “No…A knight or wizard belonging to the imperial palace will be arriving soon, so I don’t think I need to step out. Let’s go back to the banquet hall for now, Raenel.” “Ah yes.” Leonhard held out his hand to me as if to escort me. As I stood up holding his hand, a lightning-like realization passed through my mind. ‘Wait, could this… Is it the incident of attacking the second prince’s palace? Could it be that it was today?!’ “Raenel?” “Ah yes. Let’s go.” As I took a step closer to him, the cloak slung over my shoulder slid down and fell to the floor. the gaze of the two of us landed at the same time. “I will pick it up.” Before I could say anything, Leonhard reached out his hand. Before his hand could touch the cloak, I hurriedly bent over his back and picked up the cloak first. “Sorry. The cloak got dirty because of me.” “No. It’s okay.” “I am not okay. I will wash this cloak and give it back to you.” “No, you don’t have to…” ‘Aww, this man is so frustrating.’ However, in this situation, there was no time to argue further. ‘This should be enough’ I thought. My hand reached for his boutonniere while holding the tightly folded cloak. “May I take this flower instead?” A single white rose. When I took it out and asked, it seemed that he finally understood what I meant. He opened his eyes wide and looked down at the white rose with a surprised face, then smiled happily and slightly bowed his back. “Yes, with pleasure.” * * * When we returned to the banquet hall, of course, there was chaos there. “Nell!” My older brother, my sister Lily, and Benjamin. All three were gathered in one place. Restlessly looking around, they spotted me and ran towards me at once. “Where have you been?!” It was Lily who scolded me with a very angry face. Feeling guilty, I stammered and answered her question. “Well, I got lost on the way…” “How and where did you get lost…? Ah, never mind, let’s go home now and talk.” Because of the situation, my eldest brother did not reprimand me further. I turned my gaze to Leonhard, who was standing next to me. “My younger sister has troubled you. I’m sorry.” “No. I just did my job.” “Marquis Ajas! You are here!” At that moment, someone hurriedly ran through the crowd and stood in front of Leonhard. Judging by his appearance, he was an attendant of the imperial palace. He asked for forgiveness from my older brother, who was talking to Leonhard, and then hurriedly told Leonhard. “His Majesty the Emperor is calling you. Please come quickly.” “His Majesty the Emperor…?Alright, let’s go.” Leonhard nodded to the attendant, briefly bowed to my older brother, then looked at me. He moved his lips as if he was going to say something to me, but in the end, he turned away without saying anything. But I could see what he was trying to say. Before he turned around, his eyes landed on the white rose in my hand. “Nell, how in the world did you end up with Marquis Ajas again…? ” “I can’t see Alex. Where is he?” “Alex was called to an emergency call. Nell, you… Be sure to apologize to Alex later. Do you know how much he worried about you?” “Yeah, I am sorry.” Usually, I would not feel guilty. but this time I was really wrong. I apologized again to my older brother, Lily, and Benjamin. I didn’t pretend to know that Benjamin secretly smiled at the white rose in my hand. “Let’s go back home. A monster in the imperial palace. I don’t know what the hell is going on.” As soon as he heard the report that a monster had appeared in the imperial palace, the emperor immediately declared the banquet to be closed. In the imperial palace, there were knights, wizards, and above all, the emperor and dukes who possessed power, and Leonhard, so people were not afraid of monsters. So many of them went home immediately after the banquet, but there were also many nobles who remained in the banquet hall with faces full of curiosity. We got into the carriage, passing them chatting with interest as if something fun had happened. Lily with Benjamin. me with my older brother. “By the way, Nel, whose cloak is that?” As the carriage departed, my older brother, who was dragging the cravat down as if he had taken a breather, asked afterward. I didn’t hide it, I was holding it, but now that he was asking, it seems that my older brother is distracted. I smiled as I fiddled with the cloak that was gently laid down on my lap. “It’s Leon. I got it dirty by accident, so I decided to wash it and give it back to him.” “What?” “By the way, Brother Liv, I have a question. Did Leon put a marriage proposal in our house?” “No That was not what the Marquis Ajas intended…Why are you asking that? “Ah, I’m glad. So you haven’t rejected Leon’s marriage proposal, right?” “What?” My older brother’s face became pale as if he had already guessed what I was going to say. I felt a twinge of guilt because I’d seen that look on his face every time I’d messed up. ‘But what can I do? I’ll never do that again.’ As usual, I messed up again, so I smiled brightly and threw a bomb at my older brother. “I want to marry Leon.” * * *