How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 150

“What?”

 

I hurried to the bed where Catherine was lying.

 

Perhaps because she had lost so much blood, Catherine’s face was as pale as a sheet of paper, despite her naturally darker skin tone.

 

Her face, with its sweat-soaked hair sticking to it, looked so haggard and tired that it was hard to believe her eyelids were moving even slowly.

 

“Cathy! Are you awake? Do you know who I am?”

 

“….”

 

A faint smile appeared on Catherine’s lips. At that moment, sadness welled up inside me.

 

“You’re a barbarian warrior! You said you were one of the best even among the Knight, but what is this!”

 

Eventually, the tears I had been holding back burst out. The tears flowed so fast as if a faucet had been turned on that I couldn’t see clearly.

 

Meanwhile, Catherine apologized to me in a weak voice, saying, “I’m sorry.”

 

“By mistake, I got caught……”

 

“Caught? By whom? Who the hell put you in this situation?”

 

“Old enemies….”

 

As she said that, Catherine moved her parched lips and smiled. Her face looked relieved, as if she could die right now without any regrets.

 

“I got my revenge….Hehe.”

 

“Is it time for you to laugh now?”

 

Seeing her smile in such a terrible situation left me speechless.

 

It was a bad idea to keep trying to talk to someone who couldn’t even speak properly, so I asked Sage, who had just finished casting a healing spell.

 

“How’s Cathy’s wound? Is she going to be okay? Can you fully heal her?”

 

“For now, the urgent wounds are taken care of… but full recovery isn’t possible at this time.”

 

Sage looked quite tired, with cold sweat running down her forehead, so I shook my head, saying she didn’t need to explain more.

 

There were empty potion bottles strewn all over the floor. 

 

The sight of so many used potions, and the fact that Sage had only barely managed to stabilize her, left a heavy unease in my chest.

 

‘If the barbarians who have just invaded the tower retreat, maybe we could seek help from a wizard who can use healing magic?’

 

But then again, considering how many of the tower’s wizards were likely injured in this attack, I wasn’t sure if I could make such a request.

 

At that time, I was thinking that it might be better to ask Felix and return to Castle Ajas with Catherine.

 

“Nell…this.”

 

“uh?”

 

“I was supposed to give it to the captain.”

 

The blanket covering her up to her chest shifted slightly.

 

Noticing the movement, Ethan pulled the blanket aside and handed Catherine the magic bag that had been strapped to his waist.

 

Catherine let out a heavy sigh, as if putting her hand inside was very difficult, and slowly took something out of it.

 

It was a wand with a large, water-colored magic stone embedded in it.

 

“Wait, wait, wait. What is that? That doesn’t look like a normal magic stone.”

 

The pitch-black wooden wand with a crooked shape just looked quite heavy.

 

So, I quickly accepted it, thinking that Catherine must have been having a hard time, but Marilyn, who was behind me, gasped and intervened in a panicked voice.

 

“A multi-attribute magic stone? No, no… it’s not just that.…Oh my gosh, it’s sucking up all the magic in the air! Wait, it’s not just the magic in the air… This is it! This is what broke the magic seal on the tower! Am I right? Tell me I’m right!”

 

Catherine shook her head helplessly as Marilyn asked her questions loudly, almost as if screaming.

 

“You keep talking about that, but I have no idea… I don’t know anything when it comes to magic.”

 

“You don’t know anything? How can you say that after seeing this?”

 

Marilyn, her eyes half rolled back, held the wand she had on her waist in her hand and chanted a magic spell.

 

Then, round water droplets floated around her, and at that moment, the magic stone on the wand in my hand flashed and glowed, then sucked in the water droplets like some kind of water hole.

 

“Whoa!”

 

The reaction generated during the process almost caused me to fall backward.

 

As I was barely able to keep my balance with my staggering body, Marilyn looked at me, or to be precise, the wand I was holding, with a look on her face telling me to look at that.

 

I was scolded.

 

“Not only does it cancel magic that has already been cast, but it also absorbs magical power that has been converted into some form through a magic formula? I’ve never heard of such a magic stone!”

 

“Uh….I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

I can’t understand Marilyn’s excitement. I turned to Sage for some clarity.

 

“Sage, is this thing really that incredible?”

 

“Incredible is an understatement… this is impossible.”

 

Sage, with a pale complexion, thought about something for a moment before opening her mouth.

 

“Converting magic that has already been implemented back into a state of magical power is, to put it simply, like turning a boiled egg back into a raw egg.”

 

“What? How is that possible?”

 

I realized it only after I said that. 

 

‘That’s why Marilyn was so surprised!’

 

“If my guess is correct…Marquise, could you please give me that wand for a moment?”

 

Sage’s face was quite determined as she reached out to me. I had no idea what Sage was trying to do, but I nodded and handed her the wand.

 

Then Sage took a deep breath for a moment, placing the end of the wand on Catherine.

 

Marilyn, who saw that sight, reached out her hand as if to stop Sage with a shocked expression on her face.

 

“W-wait a second! If you use magic recklessly with that amount of magic stones…!”

 

Regardless of what Marilyn said, Sage held the wand and cast a healing spell.

 

A dazzling light burst out from the center of the magic stone, not just covering Catherine’s wounds, but enveloping her entire body.

 

“Wh—What’s happening?”

 

Catherine, shrouded in the pure white light, looked like a mummy. Her own confused voice echoed from within the glow, as if she couldn’t see anything herself.

 

“What is the level of this magic power? This is… unbelievable.”

 

Marilynn’s voice trailed off, half in shock.

 

Then, after a while, the light disappeared, and Catherine suddenly sat up in bed.

 

“Wow, I feel amazing!”

 

She planted her feet firmly on the floor, stood up, and raised both arms high in the air like she had just won a victory.

 

“I’m completely healed!”

 

“Wait, really? Are you sure? You’re not imagining it?”

 

“Nope, I feel great! Look!”

 

Catherine twirled her right arm as if to prove her point.

 

It was a rather extreme gesture, but there was no trace of pain or distress on her face.

 

‘Just moments ago, Catherine’s condition was critical—barely stabilized after consuming countless potions and enduring healing spells.’

 

‘And now, all it took was one spell for him to make such a miraculous recovery? How could that possibly happen?’

 

I took the wand from Sage and looked at it for a moment, then asked Sage, worried about her using so much magic.

 

“Sage, are you ok—?”

 

“Peep, peep!”

 

“Uh?”

 

‘Ah, Rake.’

 

‘Now that I think about it, it was in my pocket. Is it trying to come out because Felix is gone?’

 

“Rake!”

 

Then Noah’s voice, full of astonishment, was heard.

 

The moment I turned my head in surprise at the sound, I saw Rake flying fiercely towards the wand with its wings raised to both sides.

 

“It’s dangerous!”

 

The magic stone was basically a stone. If Rake had collided head-on with the stone at that speed, it would have definitely been injured!

 

I tried to pull the wand away at the last second, but it was too late. I felt the clear, sharp sensation of Rake colliding with the magic stone embedded in the wand.

 

‘No, Rake will get hurt!’

 

I instinctively stretched my hands forward to catch Rake before he could fall to the floor, but just as I moved—A blinding flash of light burst from the magic stone, painting the entire world white.

 

And then I just fainted without even knowing why.

 

* * * 

 

Meanwhile, at that time.

 

The Eastern region of the Ajas border.

 

“Ugh, ugh….shit!”

 

Gray’s footprints remained on the melting snow.

 

‘For two hours now, this relentless chase had dragged on, and it was all because of the damned snow. If only the weather had been warmer and the snow had fully melted!’

 

But such thoughts were utterly pointless in the current situation.

 

Gray reflexively rolled over at the stinging heat he felt from behind and rummaged through his bag at his waist as he glared at the fireball that hit the tree with a bang.

 

‘There aren’t many left… Damn, I should have packed more.’

 

Without even glancing at them, he threw four small magic bombs behind him.

 

‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1….’

 

—Boom! Boom, boom boom!

 

The magic bombs exploded one after another, creating a thick cloud of smoke that even obstructed Gray’s vision as he ran ahead.

 

‘They must have been flustered, as they were hurling attack magic into the smoke, which could be felt through the sound, heat, and cold.’

 

– Boom!

 

“Hah!”

 

A thick tree felled by blind magic right above my head.

 

He threw himself out of the way, his cheek catching on a stray branch that left a stinging scratch.

 

Gritting his teeth, he pressed his hand to the wound briefly.

 

‘I don’t have time for this.’

 

The smoke wouldn’t last long—he needed to act now. 

 

He untied the scroll tied to his waist and tore it apart.

 

The torn scroll glowed briefly, pulling in surrounding magic before rapidly forming into a crude humanoid figure.

 

It was far from perfect. Though it had the basic shape of a person, calling it a “doll” might have been generous.

 

But its purpose wasn’t to fool anyone up close—it was a decoy, meant for luring enemies into traps. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

 

Gray gave short instructions to the doll, which started running in the same posture as him.

 

“Run over there!”

 

The doll, unable to answer because it had no mouth, started running in the direction Gray was running.

 

At the same time, another fireball passed his ear and engulfed a small coniferous tree whole.

 

Gray threw himself once more, rolling to hide behind the largest tree trunk nearby, and took a scroll out of his magic bag.

 

‘Please… let this work.’

 

With a short prayer, Gray tore the scroll straight away. The scroll disappeared into smoke and wrapped around Gray’s body.

 

* * *