How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 182

I guess I really have grown up. The fact that I immediately understood what he meant by ‘sharing the bed’ proves it.

 

I rolled my eyes, wondering what to say, and then blurted it out.

 

“I never once said no.”

 

“Yes…?”

 

“You’re the one who always just hugs me and falls asleep every night.”

 

At my words, Leonhard looked as if he had been hit in the back of the head. I almost burst out laughing when I saw his face.

 

I chuckled, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pressed a light kiss to his lips.

 

Even as I did, my husband remained frozen like a rock—how could he be so adorable?

 

I unconsciously stroked his head.

 

“But to be honest, I don’t hate the idea… It just feels a little awkward. Maybe because we missed our timing twice? And we’ve been apart for a long time, too.”

 

“What exactly feels awkward?”

 

“Hmm, it’s hard to explain… Should I say it’s hard to create that kind of atmosphere?”

 

“The atmosphere, huh?”

 

Leonhardt’s gaze deepened as he looked down at me. His eyes, dark as the depths of water, seemed ready to swallow me whole.

 

His emotions were so vivid, that I couldn’t pretend not to notice the quiet waves of desire rippling within him.

 

I felt a strange ticklish sensation deep inside me and instinctively lowered my gaze.

 

Then the thick thumb that had been caressing my cheek moved down to my lips.

 

And in the moment our eyes met again—right then—I pulled his neck down and kissed him.

 

“Mm…..”

 

As his weight pressed down on me, a peculiar tingling sensation bloomed from the depths of my chest.

 

I wrapped my arms around his strong back, embracing his broad body that was strangling my freedom.

 

Then Leonhard tilted his head and swallowed my breath. The kiss grew even deeper.

 

I felt his hand cupping my cheek, pressing the mattress next to my head.

 

My heart was pounding as our chests touched.

 

Stretching out on the bed, I clung even tighter to his solid body.

 

‘I wasn’t sure if I was breathless because of the unbroken kiss or because of Leonhard embracing me?’

 

Then, for a brief moment, our lips parted, and his warm breath fell against my cheek.

 

I blinked hazily, my vision filled with him, as I gasped for air.

 

“Now, does it feel like the right atmosphere….?”

 

“I don’t know yet….”

 

As I ran my hand through his hair, Leonhard lowered his head as if he had been waiting and brought his lips to mine again.

 

I took a deep breath and felt my chest rise. Leonhard must have felt the same thing because his movements suddenly stopped.

 

His heavy breath, barely exhaled through the tip of his nose, tickled my cheek.

 

As if thirsty for water, he bit my lips while his hands gripped my shoulders.

 

Then, his other hand slipped behind my back, fumbling near the nape of my neck as if searching for the ribbon tied there.

 

At that moment, something suddenly crossed my mind and I pushed Leonhard’s shoulder away.

 

“Nell?”

 

Leonhard blinked rapidly in surprise, perhaps taking my action as rejection.

 

Before his misunderstanding could worsen, I sat up and turned my back to him.

 

“You know, Sally was saying something a little strange.”

 

“Something strange?”

 

“She said there’s something on my back.”

 

I gathered my long hair and pulled it over my shoulder, glancing back at Leonhard.

 

“She said there’s some kind of… tattoo between my shoulder blades.”

 

“A tattoo?”

 

“I don’t know. I can’t see it with my own eyes, so could you check for me? See if there’s really something there?”

 

If Sally hadn’t mentioned it while helping me bathe, I wouldn’t have known. It’s not like I could see that part of my own body.

 

“A tattoo? What does it look like?”

 

“It has a circular base… and it looks like multiple symbols are layered over each other, but I couldn’t really tell.”

 

The moment I heard that, the first thing that came to mind was Sesto, the Sixth power.

 

I’m not sure, but if it’s the same as the other five powers, then maybe it could manifest as a symbol on my body.

 

There was only one person who might know about this and to whom I could also reveal my body.

 

So I had already told Sally to keep quiet about it.

 

“Was it not there before?”

 

“Mm, I’ve never had a tattoo. I didn’t have any scars either. But I think it appeared after I came back from the Silver Frost Tower.”

 

The hands that had been untying the ribbon of my nightgown froze.

 

“Could it be that the master of the Silver Frost Tower did something to your body?”

 

“Come on, that’s not possible. He said he couldn’t harm me.”

 

“How can you believe the words of a man who doesn’t even care for his own son?”

 

“It’s not that he wouldn’t—he couldn’t. Because I have Sesto’s bloodline.”

 

“What…..?”

 

Even though I was only showing my back, revealing my bare skin still made me a bit nervous.

 

To hide my unease, I kept talking.

 

“Hiyela said the same thing, so it must be true. Oh, right! Do you know what else Hiyela said?”

 

“What?”

 

“She said that because I have Sesto’s bloodline, she was able to make a contract with me. And that the first Sesto married the first Ajas, so it’s just like us, right?”

 

I was giggling, thinking that even coincidences could be fate, but Leonhard, who had remained silent, suddenly began untying my nightgown’s ribbon in a hurry.

 

“Leon?”

 

‘Whoa.’

 

The knot came undone, and my nightgown slipped down like shedding skin, exposing my bare back to Leonhard’s gaze.

 

The cool air against my skin made goosebumps rise along my arms—not from the cold, but from revealing myself to my husband.

 

Suppressing the faint embarrassment creeping up on me, I forced myself to speak nonchalantly.

 

“What do you think? Is there really something like a tattoo?”

 

Leonhard remained silent for a long time before finally opening his lips.

 

“How much do you know about Sesto?”

 

“Huh? Oh, just what the master of the tower told me… That Sesto can control monsters and that even without doing anything, monsters follow me and won’t attack me.”

 

“Do you remember the letter I sent you?”

 

“Which one? You sent me more than one letter.”

 

“The one I sent shortly after leaving for Hiyella’s Gate… I mentioned a group using Wingcats to search for someone, didn’t I?”

 

“Oh, yes. I remember. The people who kidnapped Layla. They were looking for someone in their early twenties.…”

 

‘No way….’

 

“…..Was it me? Were they looking for me?”

 

“It’s still just a guess, but…”

 

Leonhard’s fingers touched the middle of my back.

 

“If this is what I think it is, then yes. They were searching for you.”

 

Then Leonhard’s soft voice fell, as if declaring something.

 

“The mark that appears on your back… it’s the Sesto symbol.”

 

“Why are those people looking for Sesto?”

 

“……I told you in a letter back then. They control monsters through something called bloodstone.”

 

“Oh, that thing that glows blood-red like a magic stone?”

 

“It’s not a magic stone.”

 

Leonhard’s voice darkened as he continued.

 

“It’s made from blood. The blood of someone who bears the symbol of Sesto.”

 

“B-blood?”

 

‘The blood of someone who bears the symbol of Sesto. Then, that person….’

 

“My biological father, right? The owner of that Bloodstone is…..”

 

“It’s not certain yet.”

 

There was no way it wasn’t certain. The Sesto symbol was already known to have disappeared.

 

‘But was there really another Sesto bloodline besides my father who passed the symbol down to me?’

 

‘Did my biological mother leave me with my current parents and disappear… because I was of Sesto’s bloodline?’

 

That means my biological mother, who gave birth to me, ran away from where my biological father was.

 

‘Why? Was he a cruel man who wanted to use my blood? Or was he also trapped somewhere, and she only managed to save me?’

 

Either way, it was a scary and sad story.

 

I imagined what kind of person my biological father, whose face I didn’t even know, would be, and then I leaned into Leonhard’s arms.

 

“Leon, remember when I told you…. that I read Hiyela’s book about the future.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Among the stories I read there, there was one about a group of wizards called Onyx.”

 

I told Leonhard everything I had read about Onyx in the book.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Leonhard gathered all of Raenel’s escorts early in the morning.

 

Leona, Ethan, Sage, and even Catherine, who was under disciplinary action.

 

As they gathered in front of Leonhard, they quickly realized why they had been summoned. It was because of what had happened at the Silver Frost Tower.

 

Of course, some people didn’t notice at all.

 

“Am I getting punished?”

 

“What?”

 

“Didn’t you call me here because you decided on my punishment?”

 

‘Oh, right. That did happen. Things had been so busy lately that I had completely forgotten about it.’

 

Leonhard swallowed a sigh but didn’t let his thoughts show. Instead, he gestured for Catherine to sit down.

 

“I called you all here because I have a question. Did the tower’s master say anything about Sesto while you were there?”

 

“Sesto?”

 

Ethan furrowed his brow, trying to recall, while Catherine nodded.

 

“I heard that Nell is a Sesto. That’s why he said I was attracted to Nell.”

 

“Attracted? What do you mean?”

 

“The blood of the barbarians running through me actually comes from monsters. That’s why I feel that way.… I don’t know the details, though.”

 

Sage carefully opened her mouth as she scratched her head, recalling the story she had heard from Felix.

 

“According to Master Felix… the reason the young master follows the Marquise so well is because of that.”

 

“He sure talks a lot for someone who doesn’t know what kind of time my wife spent with Noah.”

 

Leonhard sneered, but inside, he calmly analyzed what had just been said.

 

‘Monster blood… So it wasn’t just the monsters that followed Sesto?’

 

At the same time, Leonhard realized belatedly why Ruby had followed Raenel so much.

 

‘So that’s why Ruby was so obsessed with the bookmark made from the clover leaves Nell grew herself.’

 

That’s why the monster bit off her ribbon.

 

The pieces of the puzzle fit together, forming a clear picture.

 

Even without those clues, the symbol that had manifested on Raenel’s back already spoke for itself.

 

* * *