How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 163

“Young master, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

“Hey, wait! You can’t come into the tower without permission! Get out quickly!”

 

“Seriously? You left us standing outside without a word, and now you’re telling us to leave?”

 

“We’re not leaving! Over my dead body!”

 

“Young master, we heard you were kidnapped by the tower wizards. Didn’t they do something strange?”

 

“Please, be honest with us! We’re fully prepared to go to war with the Frost Tower!”

 

“W-war? What are you talking about?!”

 

Marilyn was startled and tried to push the knights out, but instead, she clung to Noah.

 

“Young master, please say something. We’ve really done our best to serve you and the Marquise, haven’t we? We made sure you ate well and gave you the biggest room.”

 

“And put my mother to sleep.”

 

“Y-young master!”

 

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

 

“Come to think of it, where is the Marquise?”

 

“Don’t tell me she’s being held hostage.”

 

Someone’s words are like flint. It made the knights’ eyes sparkle.

 

Then, Marilyn jumped up in surprise at the terrifying gaze that turned back to her.

 

“Hostage? That’s impossible! Do you think we’d be stupid enough to anger the Marquis of Ajas?”

 

“Then why did you kidnap our young master and Marquise?”

 

“I-it wasn’t a kidnapping…”

 

‘To be honest, it was a kidnapping…’

 

Because of that, Marilyn was at a loss and couldn’t say anything, and naturally, the knights’ gazes at her became fierce.

 

Fortunately, there was a voice that helped her.

 

“Mother is safe for now.”

 

“For now?”

 

A voice filled with doubt and eyes with a strange glow turned towards Marilyn.

 

“Ahh!”

 

Scared, she hid behind Ethan while Noah stepped outside to face the knights.

 

“What about father?”

 

“The captain is coming this way now.”

 

“Young master, your clothes are thin. Please put this on.”

 

One of the knights took off his cloak and wrapped it around Noah’s body.

 

Because the length of the cloak was too long for Noah’s height, it looked like he was wearing a sack of rags.

 

A wizard, seeing that, let out a soft chuckle but quickly pulled out firewood from his magic pocket and lit a fire when the knights glared at him.

 

“Young master, please stay here. It’s very cold here.”

 

“Have you eaten? Would you like some beef jerky?”

 

“We also have milk. It’s still fresh since we kept it in an insulated glass bottle.”

 

Noah felt strange to the knights and wizards who treated him so kindly.

 

Of course, the wizards and knights were less hostile toward him, but they were never that affectionate.

 

Noah refused what they gave him, saying that it was okay, without even guessing that it was all because of Leonhard’s brutal behavior over the past few days.

 

‘When will my father arrive?’

 

As Noah was staring blankly at the campfire, one of the knights surrounding Noah cautiously approached him.

 

“By the way, Young master, if you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”

 

“What?”

 

“I….heard that the owner of this tower is your biological father….Is that true?”

 

Noah lifted his head and looked at the knight who had spoken. The knight, startled by Noah’s amber eyes gazing up at him, quickly straightened his posture.

 

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry for talking nonsense—”

 

“It’s not certain yet.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“He definitely looks like me, though…”

 

Noah played with his hair and thought of Felix.

 

Black hair and amber eyes.

 

He wasn’t sure if their faces resembled each other. But just the fact that they shared the same hair and eye color made Noah believe Felix’s words had credibility.

 

Moreover…

 

‘He possessed the same power as me.’

 

Felix’s voice had never wavered when he spoke. Most importantly, he knew Noah’s secret.

 

Not even Leonhard or anyone in the castle had the slightest idea that Noah had such abilities.

 

“If your biological father is the owner of the Silver Frost Tower, then the rumors about him being a barbarian….”

 

“Hey!”

 

“This idiot!”

 

The knight who couldn’t keep his mouth shut was smacked on the back of the head and in the stomach by his comrades, causing him to collapse to the ground. 

 

Meanwhile, the leader of the search party, Vermon, suddenly lowered his posture and touched the ground with his hand.

 

“Vibration…Is that a horseshoe?”

 

“Ah, Your Excellency the Marquis!”

 

“Captain!”

 

Startled by the voices, Noah lifted his head and stood up.

 

Just as Vermon had said, he could feel the vibrations from the horseshoe through the ground beneath his feet.

 

As the vibrations grew stronger, almost to the level of a mild earthquake, Noah could see Leonhard approaching over the heads of the knights rushing forward.

 

“Captain, you’re here!”

 

“What are you all doing here? Weren’t you allowed inside the tower?”

 

Leonhard jumped down from his horse and looked around as if he was looking for something while calming down the yelping horse.

 

Carried by the cold wind he brought with him, a faint scent of blood lingered.

 

As if frightened by his presence, Noah stood frozen in place, staring up at Leonhard.

 

“My wife and son….”

 

Blue eyes that had been looking around anxiously looked straight at Noah.

 

The moment their eyes met, an unknown emotion surged inside Noah. His mouth felt dry.

 

“Fa….ther.”

 

‘Is this feeling of relief or fear? If it’s a relief, it’s because I’ve found someone I can rely on, but where was this fear coming from?’

 

Conflicted emotions clashed within Noah—part of him wanted to ask questions, while another part didn’t want to hear anything from him at all.

 

As he lowered his head in confusion, heavy footsteps approached, and a large shadow fell over his vision. At the same time, strong arms wrapped around him.

 

“Look up at me. Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

Perhaps because Noah had lowered his head, Leonhard knelt on both knees, lowering himself as much as possible, cupping Noah’s cheeks in both hands as he tried to check his face.

 

Noah was startled by the realization that Leonhard’s knees were pressing against the cold, icy ground, and he quickly lifted his head.

 

At such a close distance, Noah could clearly see Leonhard’s eyes scanning him from head to toe.

 

Eyes that are a different color than his.

 

Even though his hair was dusty and faded, it still looked like a dark wheat color, unlike Noah’s hair, which was pitch black.

 

The same was true of their facial features. Noah stared intently at Leonhard’s face, comparing it to his own, the one he saw in the mirror every day. But not a single feature matched. Not even one.

 

Of course, it made sense. They weren’t really father and son.

 

He’d already heard and accepted that fact, but deep down, he still held onto a sliver of hope.

 

The sharp pain in his chest upon fully acknowledging that they weren’t related by blood proved it.

 

“Noah, why aren’t you saying anything? Was I too late.…”

 

“The owner of this tower is my real father.”

 

“What?”

 

“He… looks a lot like me. His hair and eyes are the same color as mine.”

 

Leonhard frowned at Noah’s explanation.

 

“The owner of this tower was really my sister’s husband?”

 

“I don’t know about that….”

 

As Noah shook his head, the knights, who had been standing back to avoid Leonhard kneeling on the ground, started murmuring at the word ‘sister.’

 

“Sister? So the young master was actually the Captain’s nephew?”

 

“Wait, the Captain has a sister? I’ve never heard of that.”

 

“She left the castle a long time ago—”

 

“Silence, all of you!”

 

The mouths of those who had been making a fuss were instantly shut by Leonhard’s rebuke.

 

Leonhard clicked his tongue briefly while glancing at the silent knights, then looked at Noah again and asked.

 

“So, are you hurt? Why aren’t you answering?”

 

“I’m not hurt. I’m fine, but….”

 

Before Noah could even mention his mother, Leonhard hugged Noah tightly.

 

“Thank goodness….You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

 

Trapped in an embrace as firm as a stone, Noah found it hard to breathe for a moment.

 

The hand that was holding his head was rough, perhaps because of that, Noah could clearly feel the slight tremble in them.

 

Noah blinked, not knowing what to do, and then hugged Leonhard’s body with his small hands.

 

It was then that Noah realized—this was the first time he had ever reached out to embrace Leonhard.

 

“Don’t ever make me worry like this again. Never again.”

 

“You were worried….? About me?”

 

The answer to that question did not come right away.

 

“Uh…”

 

Noah could hear Leonhard swallowing, as if his throat had tightened. After a brief silence, the short response fell, but it carried a heavy weight.

 

“I was worried. A lot.”

 

The voice didn’t tremble.

 

As Leonhard loosened his grip, Noah was able to see his face.

 

The skin had grown rough, shadows darkened beneath his eyes, and his cheeks were noticeably thinner compared to the last time Noah had seen him.

 

But more than any of that, what drew Noah’s attention were Leonhard’s vivid blue eyes.

 

Staring into eyes the color of the sky above, Noah thought, 

 

‘This might be the first time I’ve ever looked my father in the eyes from this close.’

 

‘When was the last time we made eye contact?’

 

‘Strangely, I couldn’t quite remember. We had spoken face-to-face many times, yet…’

 

‘Ah.’

 

After thinking about it, Noah realized. He had never really looked his father in the eye.

 

Because he always thought his father hated him.

 

That’s why, Noah thought, when Leonhard found out his real father might have appeared, a part of him feared Leonhard would leave him behind.

 

‘Yes, that was the fear…’

 

* * *