How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love – Chapter 185

Author: Chewyy

‘She definitely… used her head well.’

If it was Ruby, no one would suspect anything even if Ruby wandered around the castle or approached Raenel.

If Leonhard hadn’t ordered her to observe from a distance, she wouldn’t have noticed anything odd about Diana’s behavior.

Diana, who had been walking from afar with Ruby in her arms, suddenly put Ruby down within Raenel’s sight.

Then she quietly watched Ruby run toward Raenel, murmuring something while holding the pendant around her neck.

Moments later, she approached Raenel—who was holding Ruby in her arms—as if nothing had happened.

Raenel, Noah, and Leona, who were the only ones watching, didn’t seem to notice a thing.

So Catherine waited for Diana to get away from them and then secretly followed her.

“This is what you were holding earlier… right?”

After checking the pendant hidden under Diana’s clothes, She ripped it off along with its chain and put it in her bag.

Then she carried the unconscious Diana on her shoulders.

“The Captain is going to be pleased.”

She felt quite proud of herself for noticing something Leona hadn’t.

So, she wasn’t planning on giving up her secret guard duty anytime soon.

Still, she wished she could somehow let Raenel know: I’m protecting you right now.

“It’s fine if I go out on a holiday, right?”

‘But… do secret guards even get holidays?’

Tilting her head, Catherine headed toward Leonhard’s office.

* * *

“By the way, have you heard that rumor?”

“What rumor? …Oh, that one?”

A woman wearing a pitch-black apron moves between the cramped tables, holding three beer mugs in each hand.

The noisy chatter, along with loud demands for more alcohol, created a raucous atmosphere that made some drinkers scowl.

But it’s not like it’s only been a day or two that the bar has been noisy.

The man sniffed at the scent of smoked sausage wafting from the table next to him, then sniffed as he stuffed a handful of boiled beans into his mouth instead of meat.

“Is it true that the owner of the Silver Frost Tower is the young master’s biological father?”

“What does it matter to me whether it’s true or not? It’s not like I’m going to put a sausage in my mouth.”

While the grumbling man acted like he didn’t care, others at different tables in the same bar were devouring the rumor like meat.

“Silver Frost Tower? Wasn’t that destroyed?”

“Not destroyed—the tower’s master shut it down and hid it a hundred years ago. Then suddenly, after a century—bam! The tower master returns and opens the tower.”

“Really? Then how old is the owner of that tower? Could he have lived for over a hundred years?”

“Maybe it’s someone else. Even if he’s a wizard, how could a person live that long?”

“But why did the owner of the tower close the tower’s door?”

“Something about needing peace to pursue a certain kind of magic research…”

“And who told you that?”

“My uncle’s friend’s daughter’s husband’s younger brother’s wife.”

“Say that again?”

“My uncle’s friend’s husband’s—wait, was it daughter?”

“There he goes, drunk and spouting nonsense again.”

Amidst the sounds of giggling, the sound of dishes breaking somewhere, and the sound of two quarreling customers yelling at each other, someone muttered cautiously.

“The young master has a different real father? I thought he was the Marquis’s illegitimate son.”

“No way. Maybe the previous Marquis, but… hmm.”

“What about an illegitimate child? The Marquis and the young master don’t have even the slightest resemblance to each other.”

“Yeah, But he could be Lady Louise’s son.”

“Lady Louise? Who is that?”

“She existed. Young people don’t need to know.”

“Here he goes again. keeping secrets.”

“Ah… that name brings back memories. She used to get into so much trouble around the city when she was young.”

As someone’s voice trailed off into nostalgia, another half-drunken voice added:

“Then maybe it was just a rumor…”

“What was a rumor?”

“I once went to deliver milk somewhere and overheard some servants chatting. They said… the young master has barbarian blood or something.”

“What? Are you out of your mind!”

“I’m just saying what I heard! I didn’t believe it either. No way would the Marquise choose a barbarian-blooded child as heir.”

“Okay, let’s just shut up and have a drink, okay? What if we get caught up in this and get in trouble because of you?”

“Exactly. So his adoptive father is the Marquis, and his real father is the tower’s master… Who the hell has the guts to spread rumors like that…?”

The owner of the Silver Frost Tower, who had been hidden for a long time, is said to be the biological father of the next Marquis Ajas.

As the rumor spread, the story of Noah Ajas, which had been whispering under the water, also surfaced.

But when the master of the tower acknowledged Noah as his son and personally invited both him and the Marquise to his tower—witnessed by several people—the wild rumor began to lose traction.

Meanwhile, the other rumor, now considered almost fact—that Noah and the Silver Frost Tower were connected—began to spread far beyond the walls of the Ajas estate.

Everyone was curious about the heir suddenly brought in by the Marquis, so the gossip stayed alive for days, fueled by excitement and intrigue.

* * *

“So the rumor’s already spread that far… What are the vassals saying?”

“On the outside, they’re quiet. But behind the scenes, they seem to be meeting among themselves and talking about something.”

“Talking about what?”

“I haven’t checked that far, but should I take a look?”

Layla asked in a casual tone, as if it were no trouble at all.

‘Is it possible to figure that out?’

I wanted to nod my head, even if only out of curiosity, but I didn’t really feel like I needed to know right now.

“Whatever the conclusion is, they’ll probably make a move at the wedding. Let’s just wait a bit longer.”

No matter how much they conspire, the conclusion will have to be: We swear loyalty to Noah Ajas.

Because I’m going to make it so.

What if they don’t swear loyalty? Well, then I just won’t get pregnant. I was saving that as a last resort anyway.

“So, is the owner of the Silver Frost Tower attending the wedding?”

“Hm? Oh… probably not?”

“Is that so? That’s too bad. It would have ended if the owner of the Silver Frost Tower had attended the wedding and put a stop to it.”

“You’re right about that….”

All the vassals and lords were going to be at my wedding with Leonhard—unless they had truly unavoidable reasons.

Nothing would confirm Noah’s bloodline more than Felix showing up at the ceremony.

There was no need for Felix to declare, ‘Noah Ajas is my son!’

Black hair and amber eyes.

Just by looking at two people with identical appearances standing side by side, everyone would be able to guess that they are father and son.

“That actually sounds pretty good. Should I ask him?”

“Do you even have a way to contact him?”

“Didn’t Marie say she got permission from Felix to come back? Even if she didn’t, some wizard will probably show up with the invoice eventually.”

If that visit happened after the wedding, there’d be nothing I could do… but if it happened before, I might be able to pass a message along.

‘Or should we make a deal?’

He seemed especially interested in that multi-attribute mana stone. I still have one left, so I wouldn’t mind giving it away.

‘But why is he so obsessed with the multi-attribute magic stone? Even though he already has a ring made of a multi-attribute magic stone.’

Maybe it’s like how legendary musicians obsess over finding instruments that produce even better sound?

‘Come to think of it, Noah’s already mastered all the basic sheet music…’

I feel like he could probably start moving on to intermediate sheet music now, but maybe it’s still better to stick with the beginner-level pieces a little longer.

Now that I have to study magic too, I’d like piano lessons to be a time when I can relax my mind.

It’s nothing major, but it’s been a serious dilemma for me, so I was deep in thought — only to suddenly realize that I’d forgotten Layla was standing right in front of me.

“Oh, I’m sorry. How far did I leave off?”

“Huh? Oh, um…..”

But it seems I wasn’t the only one lost in thought.

Layla looked a little flustered, silently mouthing words before apologizing to me.

“What were we talking about….?”

“Hmm, I forgot too.”

I shook my head, telling her that she didn’t need to apologize. However, when I did, I finally realized how tired her face was.

“Layla, what’s wrong?”

“Yes!”

“You look very tired… Did you not sleep well last night? Or did I make you work too much?”

Ah, that might actually be it.

Looking back, I did ask Layla to do a lot of things.