How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 175

– No! I’m not alone!

 

The squeaking Rake flew away at a rapid pace.

 

The thought that her mother didn’t love her stuck in her mind and wouldn’t leave.

 

‘I couldn’t even ask her if she really didn’t love me, which made me even sadder. Why did my mother give birth to me?’

 

‘She knew I would be alone. Did she really not love me?’

 

She hated the mother she had never even seen, and the overwhelming sadness was unbearable.

 

‘What can I do if I’m the greatest being in the world! I’m alone! Even my mother abandoned me!’

 

Rake flew away, sobbing. Then, with a thud, she crashed into something.

 

“Ack! Oh my, that scared me!”

 

The pain was less because she hit a person instead of a stone wall.

 

Her body fell down with her wings stopped flapping due to the impact, but fortunately, before Rake hit the ground, a soft hand wrapped around Rake’s body and caught her.

 

“Rake! Where have you been all this time? Do you know how worried everyone was? You can’t just disappear like that!”

 

Unlike the nagging voice, the hands that carefully touched her head and body to check for any injuries were very gentle.

 

Lying sprawled in Raenel’s palm, Rake lifted her head to look up at her.

 

“This isn’t even Ajas castle. You can’t just wander around alone—it’s dangerous! What if a strange wizard caught you?”

 

Felix’s face and voice still lingered in Rake’s mind, making the difference between them clear.

 

Raenel’s face openly showed her emotions. There was warmth in her eyes.

 

The worry felt through the hands wrapped around her body.

 

She was just a fragile human, one Rake could easily crush with a single beat of her wings.

 

Raenel was particularly weak among them. If something happened, she had no power to protect herself.

 

‘But why…? Why does being in her hands feel so safe?’

 

‘Like I’ve landed in a warm, cozy nest.’

 

– I won’t be caught by a strange wizard. No one can catch me. Because I’m a dragon. The greatest being in the world!

 

“Oh my God, Rake, you can talk now?”

 

– Talking is nothing! I can use magic too. I can blow up an old tower like this in one blow!

 

“Oh, no, no! That’s not possible. We have to pay a lot of money for the repairs to this tower, and we can’t waste any more money here….”

 

Raenel, who was staring into space with unfocused eyes, shivered and moved Rake to her shoulder.

 

It was a conditioned reflex to spread her wings and sit on Raenel’s shoulder as if it were a natural thing.

 

“Let’s go eat. Aren’t you hungry? You just woke up after a long sleep. I thought I was going to die from hunger.”

 

– I’m not hungry. I don’t need food to survive

 

“That just means you haven’t discovered the joy of eating yet. You’re not actually a bird, so you can eat other things, right? Can you eat meat?”

 

– Of course! But I like fruit better.

 

“What kind of fruit?”

 

– The red one….. Strawberries, strawberries were the best.

 

“I like strawberries too. When we get back home, let’s ask the chef to make a strawberry tart. It’s really delicious.”

 

‘Home. Go back home.’

 

For a moment, those words, which she already knew in her head, felt distant.

 

Rake covered her face with her wings as she recalled the times she had spent in the castle of Ajas.

 

“Rake, come here. Time for a snack.”

 

“Where have you been this time? Oh my, look at this mess! Come on, let’s take a bath.”

 

“Isn’t it nice soaking in warm water? Afterward, we’ll have some milk—it’ll taste amazing!”

 

“Rake, look! This is a clover I planted with Mother. It’s already sprouting! When it grows, let’s find a four-leaf clover together…. I want to give it to my mother and father as a gift.”

 

“Screech! Screeech!”

 

“You two are fighting again? How many times do I have to tell you—family should get along!”

 

‘I’m not alone. I’ve never been alone.’

 

‘And Raenel… She called me family.’

 

– Raenel.

 

“Oh my, you even know my name? Rake, you’re really smart.”

 

– I told you, I’m a dragon! Remembering a few names is nothing!

 

“But you’re still young. You’re not even a year old yet.”

 

Raenel, who had been speaking teasingly, rubbed Rake’s head with the tip of her index finger.

 

Rake, who had been accepting the touch with ease, was overcome with a small doubt.

 

‘I’ve changed. I’m no longer a bird, I’m a dragon. I’m an incredibly great being.’

 

‘But why doesn’t Raenel treat me any differently? Even though she knows I’m a dragon.’

 

– Aren’t you scared of me?

 

“Me? Scared of you?……Ah, because you are a dragon? It’s too late to be afraid of you just because of that. I even made a contract with a dragon.”

 

– A dragon? A contract? Liar! I’m the only dragon left in this world!

 

“Yes, because Hiyela returned to nature…. The dragon I made a contract with was Hiyela. Your mother.”

 

– No, my mother is dead.…

 

A faint, transparent barrier seemed to blur it, but—she could sense it. The magic in Raenel.

 

Her mother’s magic.

 

She checked it twice or three times, but it was the same. It was definitely her mother’s magic!

 

– Mother! You really make a contract with her? When? How? What kind of contract?

 

“She asked me to help you be born safely. Honestly, I didn’t do much, so I don’t really deserve to call myself a contractor…”

 

As she spoke, Raenel gently patted Rake’s head with her fingertip.

 

She smiled, warm as spring sunlight.

 

“I promised to take good care of you instead of Hiyela, so let’s get along well from now on.”

 

– Instead of mother….?

 

“Yeah. She worried about you until the very end. She was sorry she couldn’t be there for you.”

 

Rake flapped her wings absently, her mind blank.

 

– Mother didn’t abandon me….?

 

“Why would you think that? If your mother were going to abandon you, you wouldn’t have been born in the first place. Your mother suffered so much for you.”

 

– Then, then….

 

The flapping of wings became slightly weaker. Raenel noticed that and supported Rake’s two feet with her palms.

 

Rake opened her beak hesitantly, not even realizing that she had landed on Raenel’s hand.

 

– Did she.… really love me?

 

“Of course. That’s why I’m here, next to you.”

 

With a soft chuckle, Raenel gently rubbed her cheek against Rake’s head.

 

The warmth spread through Rake, melting the frozen sorrow inside.

 

– But why did she leave me alone?

 

“Why are you alone? There’s me, there’s Noah, there’s my husband, there’s so many other people.”

 

– But you’re human. I’m a dragon.… We are of different races…

 

“What does that matter? You weren’t human before either, were you?”

 

“Mother!”

 

Noah’s voice was heard behind Raenel’s light voice.

 

Looking back, Rake found Noah running towards them with beads of sweat hanging from his forehead.

 

“You found Rake! I knew you would.”

 

“Well, it’s not so much that I found Rake as that Rake came to me.”

 

“Exactly! Of course, she did—because she likes you the most.”

 

– I?

 

“Huh?”

 

Noah, who had reached out to Rake, looked around and then looked at Rake, who had come down onto his palm and asked with a puzzled face.

 

“Did… did you just talk?”

 

– Who else would it be? Who else is here?

 

“But you’ve never said anything before..…. Did you not tell me on purpose?”

 

Raenel quickly spoke as she saw the disappointment spreading across Noah’s face.

 

“That’s not it. It’s because Rake got her Dragon Heart back and now she’s a real dragon.”

 

“I see… That’s amazing. I always thought dragons only existed in storybooks.”

 

– I’m the only one left in this world. You’re so lucky to see a dragon like me.

 

‘And you have a mother, too.’

 

Thinking about that, Rake started feeling a little sulky.

 

Rake turned away from Noah, who was smiling brightly and fluttered onto Raenel’s shoulder.

 

Then, as if showing off, Rake rubbed her head against Raenel’s neck affectionately.

 

Not knowing what was going on, Noah took a few almonds out of his pocket.

 

“Here, eat this. You must be hungry.”

 

– I’m a dragon! Even though I look like this, I’m not a real bird!

 

Although she was snapping like that, looking at the almonds on Noah’s palm, she was a little hungry.

 

‘It’s strange. I can live without eating anything.’

 

While she was thinking about that, Rake had already moved her body back onto Noah’s hand and pecked and crushed the almonds with her beak.

 

– I’m only eating this because you’re offering it sincerely. Got it?

 

“Alright. Then what should I give you next time? What do dragons eat?

 

– The dragon….

 

Rake hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head to peck at the almonds with her beak.

 

– I like strawberries. I also like raspberries.

 

“Okay. Next time I’ll give you strawberries. And raspberries too.”

 

Noah’s little fingers rubbed Rake’s head as he always did.

 

– Don’t do that! I’m a dragon!

 

But contrary to what she said, Rake was rubbing her head against Noah’s fingers.

 

“You don’t like this?”

 

– No! I am the strongest and greatest being in the world. I must maintain my dignity.

 

“Okay, I understand.”

 

‘You said you understood, so why don’t you move your hand?’

 

Besides, looking at that expression that seemed to be holding back laughter, Rake became extremely annoyed.

 

Rake bit a large almond from Noah’s palm and went back to Raenel’s shoulder.

 

– I want to go home now. I’m going to eat strawberry tart.

 

“Shall we?”

 

Raenel looked back at Noah and Rake with a smiling face and said.

 

“Okay, let’s go home now.”

 

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