How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Huh?”

 

“No…?”

 

Teary eyes looked up at me pleadingly. As if hypnotized, I nodded my head. I only came to my senses when Noah’s face lit up with a wide smile.

 

‘No, I don’t think we should take Noah.…’

 

‘But how can I change my words when I see such a brightly smiling face?’

 

Finally, I gave a strict order to Ethan, who was standing behind me.

 

“Sir Ethan, in any situation, prioritizes Noah’s safety over mine.”

 

“What about you, Ma’am?”

 

“That’s why Leona is here.”

 

“As if I’d do anything less.”

 

Leona winked one eye, saying that she would carry me if necessary.

 

“Okay. Let’s go catch the thief!”

 

“Peep, Peep!”

 

As if wanting to lend a hand—or wing—Rake chirped enthusiastically and landed on my shoulder. Rake wasn’t exactly trustworthy, but it was cute. That was enough.

 

I got into the carriage with Rake and Noah. Soon, the carriage started moving.

 

* * * 

 

The magic tool shop of old man Mallet where we all arrived together.

 

Fortunately, the thief who wanted my rod was still there.

 

“Ah, he’s still here! That’s him, right over there!”

 

Where the boy pointed with his index finger, there stood old man Mallet and a man much taller than him.

 

Dark circles under the eyes, as if one had not slept for a long time, and a pale face in contrast.

 

The man looking back at me with a very tired and weary-looking face had amber eyes that I was very familiar with.

 

“Marquise! You came at a good time!”

 

I was staring at the man absentmindedly without realizing it, and then I came to my senses at the shout.

 

As I quickly turned my head away from the man, I saw old man Mallet running towards me with a very happy expression on his face, hugging a large wooden box.

 

“Here it is, the rod you ordered.”

 

Handing me the box, he glanced behind him nervously, his lips twitching slightly.

 

“I think he must have bought the information from the guild because he knew I was making rods with those magic stones. I thought I was going to die because he kept refusing to hand it over to him.”

 

His voice was filled with frustration and exasperation, though not fear. It didn’t seem like the man had used violence.

 

I handed the surprisingly heavy wooden box to Sage, who stood beside me and then took a deep breath before glancing at the man once more.

 

As expected, they look alike. Even his long, jet-black hair, which fell to his waist, was very similar to the feathers of a crow.

 

Black and amber. While neither color was particularly rare on its own, seeing both in one person was uncommon.

 

I have never seen anyone with these two colors at the same time since I came to Ajas. At this moment, there are two of them.

 

‘Am I the only one who’s thought of this unlikely scenario?’

 

Ethan and Leona were just blocking Noah and me, wary of the black-haired man, while Sage was only concerned about the box in his arms.

 

Old man Mallet and his assistant didn’t even seem to be able to conceive of such a hypothesis in the first place.

 

‘Is it just my guess…?’ 

 

‘Well, it doesn’t make sense for Noah’s biological father to suddenly appear here.’

 

With that thought in mind, I carefully observed Noah’s expression.

 

If Noah hadn’t reacted at all, I would have thought it was just my guess and moved on, but Noah’s gaze was fixed on the man’s face.

 

Fortunately, there was no wavering in that gaze. But that made me even more anxious.

 

I’m afraid that this child might expect something and be disappointed. Or, I’m afraid that he might not even expect anything.

 

“Are you the owner of that rod?”

 

At that moment, I raised my head at the sound of a voice coming from the other side.

 

A languid voice, as if sleepy. A man scratching the back of his neck approached me, his long, black hair reaching down to his waist and brushed over his shoulder.

 

Ethan and Leona immediately stepped forward, blocking his path.

 

“Wait, wait. There will be a brief security check.”

 

“I haven’t seen your face before. You’re not from around here. Identify yourself.”

 

“Why Should I?”

 

The one who immediately responded to that calm voice was none other than the old man Mallet, who had been watching the man’s every move with an anxious face.

 

“What do you mean, ‘why’? You’ve forced me to hand over someone else’s property! Causing a ruckus in my shop, so of course you should be questioned by the knights!”

 

“When did I cause a ruckus? All I did was ask for the item to be handed over to me. Besides…”

 

The man with his arms crossed looked at me quietly. Our eyes met for only a moment.

 

He frowned slightly, and glanced at Noah, Then, looking back at me with a displeased expression, he muttered:

 

“You’re not even a wizard.”

 

‘Huh? What does that have to do with anything?’

 

“How rude! This lady here is the Marquise of Ajas. Shouldn’t you be respectful to the Marquise of the estate?”

 

“Marquise? Marquise of Ajas?”

 

The man opened his eyes wide and looked at me as if he realized something.

 

It was Ethan who reacted sensitively to the man who scanned my face intently as if looking for something.

 

But the man seemed utterly unfazed, his gaze now locked on Noah.

 

Feeling uneasy under his lingering stare, I instinctively pulled Noah behind me.

 

Then, this time, he looked at me as if asking why I was interfering. As if his legitimate rights had been violated.

 

I felt bad about that, so I opened my mouth with a fighting spirit. I was determined not to be discouraged no matter how that guy acted!

 

“What are you doing? Why are you looking at someone else’s son like that?”

 

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

If he used informal speech, so would I!

 

I spoke to him in the same informal tone as he had spoken to me, but he simply tilted his head without paying any attention to my tone.

 

“Someone else’s son? Is that child your own?”

 

If he had asked me if Noah was my son, I would have nodded. 

 

But the man’s question was specifically, ‘Did you give birth to him?’, as if he knew a lot about Noah.

 

While I paused for a moment in that gap, the man gave me a strange look as if he had gotten some kind of answer from my reaction. Then, it seemed like he had another realization.

 

“So that’s it. I wonder where on earth the multi-attribute magic stone came from.”

 

The black-haired man began to mutter to himself, nodding his head.

 

“There was a dungeon near the Hiyela Gate… No matter what, it would have been difficult to obtain multi-attribute magic stones… As expected, the power of Ajas…”

 

The muttering sounded like he was organizing his thoughts on his own, but it also sounded like he was falling asleep while standing up and talking in his sleep.

 

He glanced at Noah again—or so it seemed. Was it my imagination?

 

“Oh, wait a minute, no way…”

 

“…..?”

A voice broke through the silence. The man turned his head toward Sage, who stood next to me.

“A spider web magic circle covering the back of the hand made of multi-attribute magic stones ring…”

 

As the voice repeated as if confirming what was already known, not only mine but everyone’s eyes turned to the man’s hand.

 

But the reaction was split exactly in half.

 

“A spider web magic circle? Where? There’s nothing there.”

 

“Wait, that’s a magic circle. I see it!”

 

Those who see the magic circle engraved on the back of his hand and those who don’t.

 

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing there.”

 

“No, Ethan. I can see it too.”

 

The ones who said that they could see the magic circle were Sage and Leona. The one who said that he couldn’t see it was Ethan.

 

Even old man Mallet and his assistant were nodding their heads with bewildered expressions.

 

As I looked around at their faces, I could easily tell the difference between those who could see the magic circle and those who could not.

 

Those who could see the magic circle were all magic users.

 

So that’s why I couldn’t see it.

 

“Noah, you can’t see it either, right?”

 

“Can’t you see your mother?”

 

“What?”

 

‘Does that mean that Noah can see magic circles in his eyes?’

 

“Noah, do you see the magic circle on the back of that man’s hand?”

 

“Yes. Something like a white line.…”

 

I stared at Noah, bewildered, as he nodded.

 

‘Am I wrong in assuming that only those who can use magic can see it? Or perhaps Noah was more special than I thought…’

 

“How unexpected. I didn’t think anyone would recognize this. Do people outside still teach about such things?”

 

The man’s lazy tone was laced with mild surprise.

 

“Then, that means you are the master of the Silver Frost Tower, the sage of water and ice!”

 

“What?”

 

‘The Master of what? The Sage of what?’

 

“Let me clarify this. This is not a spiderweb-shaped magic circle. It’s a snowflake-shaped magic circle.”

 

“Well, anyway! Oh my god, I never thought I would see the master of the Silver Frost Tower with my own eyes!”

 

Sage’s eyes filled with emotion and glory as she looked at the man. It was as if she had witnessed a legendary being.

 

“Mother, what is the Silver Frost Tower?”

 

Then Noah came closer to me and asked.

 

‘Come to think of it, Noah took all the other classes, but he didn’t take any classes related to magic.’

 

I hesitated, unsure if I should explain in front of this man. But seeing that he was simply watching Noah without a word, I decided it would be fine. I lifted Noah into my arms as I spoke.

 

“A long time ago, near the end of the Age of Magical Prosperity, nine sages built towers across the continent to contain the dispersing magic. You’ve heard of that, haven’t you?”

 

“Yes. Is the Silver Frost Tower one of them?”

 

“Exactly. But I heard that the Silver Frost Tower closed a hundred years ago…”

 

* * *