How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 167

“If something like this happens again, please prioritize your safety first.”

 

“But, if I hadn’t stepped in then, people might have misunderstood that Ajas had used the barbarians to attack the Silver Frost Tower.”

 

“Misunderstandings can be cleared up. But if you were wrong, something irreversible might have happened.”

 

“But Felix also promised not to hurt me….”

 

“Then why, as soon as I arrived here, did I find you lying unconscious for three days…?”

 

His gaze also turned downwards, as if his voice was sinking like deep water.

 

Rather than raising my voice, seeing his face, as dark as night, filled me with guilt.

 

I thought it was right to apologize, so I opened my mouth, but Leonhard suddenly raised his head and took the words from me.

 

“Felix?”

 

“Yes?”

 

‘Why is that guy’s name mentioned? Is he here now?’

 

I looked around and then noticed Leonhard staring at me with a piercing gaze.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Who is Felix?”

 

“The owner of the Silver Frost Tower. Haven’t you met him yet?”

 

“I’ve seen his face. But more importantly, did you know that man before?”

 

“What? That can’t be. The Silver Frost Tower has already cut off communication for over 100 years.”

 

“But you call him by his name. Quite affectionately.”

 

‘Huh? What was that? Where did that tone in his voice come from?’

 

“That’s nonsense. I didn’t even properly introduce myself to him. He probably doesn’t even know my name.”

 

“Then why do you call the owner of the Silver Frost Tower by his name?”

 

“Then what should I call him instead?”

 

I feel like there’s a lot of emphasis on ‘Master of the Silver Frost Tower’.

 

‘Should I really call him that?’

 

Why should I? Calling him by his name doesn’t necessarily mean we’re close.

 

“It’s not like I called him by a nickname…”

 

“Of course, it’s not right to call a man you’ve only just met by a nickname.”

 

Leonhard, speaking faster than usual, paused and then looked at me.

 

‘Was it my imagination if his eyes seemed to be filled with some sort of disappointment?’

 

He didn’t let the question drop, not even a bit.

 

“You still keep some distance from me, don’t you?”

 

“Me? Distant? From you?”

 

What kind of wife, I wonder, keeps a distance from her husband, yet asks him to put his arm around her, asks him to dry her hair, and insists on a goodnight kiss?

 

I really couldn’t understand, so I furrowed my brows and tried to think, when suddenly a thought passed through my mind.

 

‘Could it be because I never call him by his nickname?’

 

‘No, that can’t be it.’

 

But looking at Leonhard, who seemed to avoid my gaze as if he had said something unnecessary, I thought maybe my suspicion wasn’t so far-fetched.

 

“Leon…?”

 

He flinched.

 

I could see his shoulders trembling slightly.

 

Then, I burst out laughing as I saw his cheeks slowly blushing.

 

Then, Leonhard’s face turned completely red like an apple.

 

“If you wanted me to call you like that, you could have just said so. I honestly wasn’t thinking about it.”

 

“You probably weren’t thinking about it. But I changed the way I address you right after we got married.”

 

‘His voice was calm, but did it sound a little sulky, or was that just my imagination?’

 

I had a hard time holding back the laughter that kept coming out.

 

“If you’re going to argue like that, I’ve been calling you by a nickname since the beginning too. Honestly, I thought you didn’t mind since you let me use a nickname when we first met.”

 

“That was… different…”

 

While he hesitated to answer, the heat that had flushed his cheeks had already spread to the tip of his neck.

 

‘Did I tease him too much?’

 

It was cute from the viewer’s perspective, but it seemed really embarrassing from his perspective, so I tried to change the subject.

 

But then, Noah, who had been silent until now, suddenly intervened.

 

“Was it because Father fell in love with Mother at first sight?”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

 

Noah’s eyes looking at Leonhard were filled with confidence.

 

I was frozen with my mouth wide open, and I almost screamed when I realized belatedly why Noah had said that.

 

“This is a secret, but your father also fell in love with me at first sight and proposed to me.”

 

‘Am I crazy, why would I say something like that to a kid!’

 

“Noah, You’re remembering the fairy tale I read to you last time, right? Sure, in that story, the prince and princess fall in love at first sight. But that only happens in fairy tales…”

 

“It’s not just in fairy tales. It’s possible in real life too. Only you, don’t know that.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You were the one who first said you might have fallen in love at first sight with me. But it seems like that wasn’t actually the case…”

 

Leonhard’s face now really looked sulky.

 

‘Wait, is it okay to call him cute in this situation?’

 

While I was blinking, Leonhard, with a gloomy face, reached out to Noah, and Noah, as if comforting his father, hugged him and patted his back.

 

Watching the two people who had become so close without me even knowing it, I opened my mouth belatedly,

 

“What you said… does that mean… really, truly….”

 

“You’re the only person I’ve ever allowed to use a nickname.”

 

‘That’s a lie. You’ve never allowed anyone else, but you gave your permission to me to use that so easily?’

 

At that moment, a scene from the book suddenly flashed through my mind.

 

No, not from a book, but from a scene in the distorted future.

 

The ‘Raenel,’ who was never loved by her husband, was never called by a nickname.

 

All she heard were formal titles, and it seemed like she would go crazy from it. There was a scene where she yelled at Leonhard, resenting him.

 

“Did you really… fall in love with me at first sight? Really? Why?”

 

“I don’t know the exact reason, because it wasn’t my will. But perhaps it’s because you were so lovely.”

 

The gaze that was staring at me was so deep that it was like a calm lake.

 

“Didn’t I tell you before? I couldn’t take my eyes off you. Not only that moment, but after that, every time I saw you…I…”

 

Leonhard finished his sentence with a long sigh, then stood up while holding Noah in his arms.

 

Then he took my hand, gave the back of my hand a quick kiss, then slowly raised his eyelids and met my eyes.

 

“You seem very confused, so I’ll leave. I’ll take care of Noah, so don’t worry and get some rest.”

 

“Oh, no, it’s not that I’m confused….”

 

‘Am I really confused?’

 

My mind was so complicated that I thought it would explode. I couldn’t organize my thoughts at all.

 

“Well then, Nell, if you need anything, just call me anytime.”

 

“Uh….Yes.”

 

I nodded reflexively and just blankly stared at Leonhard’s back as he walked out while holding Noah in his arms.

 

At that moment, my eyes met Noah’s as he was held in Leonhard’s arms.

 

‘I knew it. I thought you misunderstood, Mother.’

 

Noah, peeking out from his father’s shoulder, was making a lip movement toward me.

 

I struggled to understand what he was trying to say, but in the end, I just collapsed onto the bed, pulling the blanket over my head.

 

“….Really, really?”

 

‘He fell in love at first sight? The moment he first saw me?’

 

Noah said that he could tell if someone was lying.

 

What Leonhard said must be true. Or at least Even if it’s not true, he probably thinks so.

 

‘If that’s possible…’

 

It means that he must have even fallen in love with the past version of me, the one in his memories.

 

“Oh my god…”

 

My face was burning so hot I thought I was going to die, but I couldn’t get the blanket off.

 

I stayed hidden under the blanket for a long time.

 

* * *

 

The footsteps passing through the hallway were almost as fast as running, which caused Noah’s body in Leonhard’s arms to shake violently.

 

Fortunately, Noah’s body wasn’t weak enough to feel uncomfortable.

 

Without any fear that he might fall from his father’s embrace, Noah simply placed his hand on Leonhard’s shoulder and stared at the side of his face.

 

“Father, your face is going to burst.”

 

“What? Why your face?”

 

Leonhard stopped walking and looked at Noah with worried eyes.

 

Now that he could look at him directly, his eyes, unlike his stiff expression, looked completely transparent.

 

Noah, feeling a strange tickling sensation in his chest, shook his head.

 

“No. Not me. Your face, father.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Leonhard was speechless at his son’s remark.

 

He rubbed his face repeatedly with his hand.

 

Without realizing it, his face became even redder, moving further away from its original color.

 

“This, well… It’s natural. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Noah calmly nodded, as if he understood exactly why his father was acting that way.

 

Leonhard, now with an even more flushed face, rubbed his face a few more times, then spoke to Noah in a small voice.

 

“Keep this a secret from Mother….”

 

“Is it a secret?”

 

Why was it wrong to say that his father, with a bright red face, had left Mother’s bedroom in a hurry?

 

Noah didn’t understand that part, but since it was his father’s request, he nodded.

 

Leonhard, who had regained his composure after a moment, began walking again while holding Noah in his arms.

 

Noah felt much more comfortable because his steps were slower than before and his posture was more upright.

 

If it weren’t for being in his father’s arms, he would’ve been swinging his legs excitedly.

 

Noah’s voice revealed his excitement as he said:

 

“Father, you’re really amazing”

 

“Me?”

 

“You really woke up Mother.”

 

* * *