How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Okay, since it’s my first dance, I’ll let it slide.” “You are very good even though this is your first dance.” “I learned it yesterday.” I didn’t want to do it, but Lily asked me to do it over and over again. Yesterday, no matter how debutante it was, I was wondering why she cares so much… That’s what Lily thought. I’ll be ignored as an adopted child. ‘If I couldn’t even dance, I would have thought that blood couldn’t be faked.’ I never expected to hear that I got caught trying to have my first dance with Duke Khalid! “Still, this is good enough, Leon.” After the dance, Leonhard lifted the hem of my dress and whispered, and he smiled a little. “If it weren’t for Lady’s lead, I wouldn’t have been able to dance this much. Thank you for leading my first dance.” Leonhard bowed gracefully with his hand on his chest. It’s obviously the same as the greeting my older brother showed me, but I don’t know why my heart flutters so much. Maybe it’s because of his face that’s so handsome. “Marquis Ajas! I never expected to see you like this. I am…” “We met at the succession ceremony, do you remember?” “I’ve always been very interested in the Marquis Ajas…” Wow, it’s like I am at the market. As soon as the dance was over, the surroundings became crowded with people who came as if they were waiting. I was pushed away by the crowd, I went back to my family, away from Leonhard. ‘Um, is that person really Marquis Ajas?’ ‘Is it real or fake?’ “Nell! Are you okay? My God, what kind of people are gathering like that?” “I’m fine. I didn’t even get stepped on by Leon.” “That’s right… Leon? When did you end up calling each other nicknames?” “A few hours ago? don’t worry. I haven’t given him permission for my nickname yet.” It’s just a nickname? I didn’t even tell him my name. “That’s a good thing!” “By the way, wasn’t he here looking for a fiancé candidate?” As far as I know, Leonhard was unmarried and of the right age for marriage. He has no fiancée, no mistress, and he is not a widower like Duke Khalid… Oh, there is an adopted child who is the heir instead. “Didn’t you say you had a lot of people to introduce me to?” “What’s the introduction? open your eyes….All the men in this room are just blind idiots.” At the words of my younger brother, my older brother, who would normally have stopped talking like that, nodded his head for some reason. “Yeah. I don’t think there’s a man here who can be your fiance. Let’s go back now.” “Already? It hasn’t been long since the banquet started.” Even this banquet was not just a banquet, it was a place where Duke Khalid broke his three-year confinement. When I asked if I should at least greet Duke Khalid, my older brother replied that he already did that while I was dancing. ‘So there is nothing to worry about.’ “Nell… I also think it would be great to go back…” Beside my older brother, Benjamin added with a very tired face. Well, yes. My brother-in-law suffered a lot today. “Okay then let’s go home.” On the way back by carriage. I took out a red rose stuck in my hair and carefully asked my older brother while fiddling with that rose. “By the way, brother, don’t you like Marquis Ajas?” “Today, I saw that you had danced with that person. But you can’t. Marquis Ajas is too dangerous for you to live.” No, he’s only asked for a dance, but why is it already progressing that far… “What if I beg him to marry me?” “What? Nell, don’t tell me…” “No, I’m not saying I want to get married. I was just wondering if my older brother would agree or oppose it. Still, it’s Marquis Ajas, right? He is one of only five power holders in the empire, and he has a lot of money…” “Do you think I will take you into business like that? no matter how much money I will choose your fiancée as someone who is genuine, respectful, and moderately handsome, so you don’t have to worry about paying for his face.” ‘Aha, it sounds like you’re worried about me paying for his face.’ But don’t worry about that. After Marquis Ajas divorced Raenel of her original, he never remarried. He had no separate government. ‘Maybe it was because he was shocked by Raenel’s abuse of Noah…’ There was only one thing he did wrong as a husband. Not loving ‘Raenel’. But can that be said to be Leonhard’s fault? In the first place, he married Raenel… “Please, please. I am being abused at home because I am an adopted child. Please take me to the North as soon as possible!” It’s because ‘Raenel’ begged so much. * * * After returning home, I wash and go to sleep. After going to the ball, I lay around until the sun rose with the excuse that I was tired, then I ate breakfast and also lunch, and locked myself in my room. I Made an excuses, I don’t want to be bothered by other people because there are things I want to think about myself. ‘No, it’s not an excuse. It’s true, there are things I want to think about.’ I had to sort it out when I remembered. The rough setting and flow of this world. The heroine is April, the daughter of Duke Khalid and the Norman lady whom I saw yesterday. And, of course, the male protagonist was the crown prince, Siegfried. ‘Is the crown prince born next year? Or the year after?’ I’m sure he was the same age as the Heroine. ‘Well, the age difference isn’t that important.’ How old is Noah now? It was certain that he was in Ajas Castle. Because he said he was brought in by Leonhard when he was a baby. And was it when he met April when he was 12 or 13… There was only one reason why Count Gordon, the younger brother of Duke Khalid’s ex-wife, kidnapped April. He wanted revenge because he believed that Duke Khalid had deliberately let his sister die. He doesn’t kill April. He turns her over to the Northern barbarians instead. So that the Duke can’t find her easily. Count Gordon wanted April to die without enduring the harsh conditions of the North, or grow up to be a barbarian woman. Sadly for him, April continued the blood of the Duke of Khalid. The blood of the sword master, Duke Khalid. ‘The barbarian who recognized her talent took April as her adopted daughter.’ She wasn’t just a step daughter. The barbarian decides to give her all to raise April as a warrior for his tribe. Is it four or five years old? While girls usually play with dolls, April goes hunting with a hatchet and a bow. And years later, when she succeeds in catching a wild boar by herself, she meets Noah. How do they meet? ‘The barbarians kidnap Noah.’ The reason is simple. Because ‘Raenel’ sent Noah out of the castle alone. The person brought to be used as a slave is the successor of the Marquis Ajas? They get into very pleasant troubles. Will you kill the Successor as it is, or will you negotiate with him as a hostage? As a result of the tribal meeting, they agree on the latter. And while preparing for the negotiations, April monitors Noah. At the same time, after several quarrels, the two learn about each other’s circumstances, form a bond of sympathy, and attach affection. Noah, who was abused by his stepmother in the castle, and April, who was constantly discriminated against and bullied by barbarians of her age. In Ajas Castle and within the tribe, the two people who had no one to attach their hearts to, soon came to rely on each other. The two promise to go back to their hometowns together. But negotiations fail before the promise is kept, and the barbarians try to kill Noah. Before the execution takes place, April lets Noah go. Noah, who could not run away alone, suggests April to run away together, and eventually the two run away together, but they are caught not long before they can go. In the process, April wraps around Noah and gets seriously injured. At this time, April manifests Khalid’s pattern and Noah explodes Ajas’s power. ‘Leonhard, who came to save Noah just in time, calms his power,but…’ The runaway Noah’s power exceeded Leonhard’s, and he could not calm it down by himself. In the end, Leonhard hands over the power of Ajas to save Noah. Leonhard, whose brilliant blonde hair has turned white as a side effect of using too much power. Returning to the castle, he divorces ‘Raenel’, and passes the position of Marquis to Noah. And after a few years, he leaves the frontier. I don’t know what happened to him after that… Maybe he’s dead. ‘Wow… it feels so strange.’ I shook my head vigorously as I recalled the triple S-level beauty I saw yesterday. ‘Let’s focus, focus.’ Among the five families with power, the one who manifests the pattern among those who inherited the blood, and if there are several people with the pattern, the one with the strongest power inherits the power and becomes the family head. That word meant that the one who possessed authority was the head of the house. Because of this, all of Ajas’s vassals had no choice but to accept the new master. The first thing Noah did after becoming Marquis was to search about where April was. When Noah ran out of control, April, who was seriously injured, is sent to the temple for treatment. And thanks to Khalid’s pattern, she meets her real father and returns to the Duke’s house, But she lost the memory of her life as a barbarian. ‘By the way, didn’t the Khalid family already have an adopted daughter? I think she was a villainess..’ ‘Ugh, I can’t remember. Let’s pass it on.’ Due to the information being concealed from the Khalid family, Noah, who only found out about it years later, just in time to learn that April was having a debutante at the imperial palace, she came to the capital and attended the banquet. However, April, who has grown up to be a Duke’s daughter and very beautiful, becomes the royal rose of the banquet, and has her first dance with the crown prince instead of the Empress, who is the organizer of the banquet. ‘At that time, the two of them made eye contact.’ How can you separate a man and a woman who fell in love at first sight? Even though April doesn’t remember Noah. The moment he finds out that she can’t remember him and has fallen for the crown prince, Noah realizes his love for her. and completely blacked out. ‘I will do everything to separate her from the prince.’ However, his tricks only served as a stepping stone for growth and made the love between the two stronger. Noah doesn’t give up even though he heard a direct rejection from April that there is only a Crown Prince in her heart. Rather, he falls into vain hope. When April’s memories come back, she’ll come back to himself. So Noah kidnaps April and heads to the land of the barbarians. At that time, April held an engagement ceremony with the crown prince. In order to save the crown princess, the crown prince personally leads the knights and heads to the Marquis Ajas. However, even being rejected by April, whose memory has returned, Noah, who has gone completely crazy, attacks the crown prince instead of sending a crown princess. He rebelled with the Knights, who were renowned as border guards. And… * * *