How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 190

Meanwhile, Noah, who was thinking of going back to his room to review what he had learned today, suddenly realized that the atmosphere in the castle was very noisy.

 

“What? You spilled the vase while arranging flowers and soaked the sheets? We just changed them!”

 

“Is the sheet the problem right now? What about the vase? Did it break?… My gosh, we can’t bring guests into a place where there might be broken shards lying around! Prepare another room immediately!”

 

“Another room? Which room?”

 

“I don’t know. Go and ask the butler!”

 

Normally, servants weren’t allowed to raise their voices like this when Noah was nearby.

 

But they were running around so frantically that they didn’t even notice that Noah was nearby.

 

One servant was even running around shouting, “If he eat shrimp, he will break out in hives!”

 

‘What is going on?’

 

Noah couldn’t bring himself to ask the servants who seemed completely out of their minds, so he asked Simon, who was following behind him.

 

“It seems like we have a guest at the castle. Do you know who it is?”

 

“No. I don’t know either.”

 

Simon’s job was to stay by Noah’s side, so he would wait outside the study room until the classes ended.

 

If he had just stood there for that long, he might have noticed the commotion of the servants bustling about at the end of the hallway and up and down the stairs.

 

But Simon didn’t notice anything because he was so absorbed in his storybook that he was just waiting for Noah’s class to end.

 

“Shall I go and ask what’s going on?”

 

Noah hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.

 

“If it’s a guest I need to know about, Mother will tell me.”

 

Rather than dealing with an unknown guest, reviewing the magic theory he learned today was more urgent.

 

Noah returned to his room, sat down at his desk, opened his notebook, and reviewed what he had learned today.

 

But maybe it was because the atmosphere in the castle was so noisy? Strangely, he couldn’t concentrate well today.

 

He spent about ten minutes just flipping through his notes without any purpose.

 

‘It won’t work….’

 

‘Sitting at my desk like this will only waste time.’

 

Noah got up from his seat, thinking it would be better to cool his head.

 

“Where are you going, Young Master?”

 

“Let’s go for a short walk in the garden.”

 

“Ah……”

 

Simon’s gaze turned to the storybook he was reading with great interest. It was just reaching its climax.

 

Still, hiding his disappointment, he closed the book and stood up.

 

His lingering attachment to the book was obvious.

 

Seeing his honest expression, Noah gestured reassuringly.

 

“Keep reading, I’ll go to the garden alone.”

 

“Yes? But—”

 

“I want to think about something alone. If anyone asks, just tell them I sent you on an errand.”

 

Even though he had been trained as a servant, Simon was still a child.

 

He shouted, “Yes!” with excitement.

 

“Alright then, enjoy your walk, young master!”

 

* * *

 

Perhaps because some time had passed, the atmosphere inside the castle was not as noisy as before.

 

The only sound in the central staircase and hallway was the sound of his own footsteps.

 

He realized he hadn’t felt this kind of silence in a long time.

 

‘These days, wherever I go, Simon is with me.…Or with father and mother.’

 

That change had not been that long ago, but the silence that had been so familiar to him now felt strange, as if he had never experienced it before.

 

Would he be able to adapt if things went back to the way they were before?

 

He felt that he probably wouldn’t, but he wasn’t afraid.

 

As long as his mother was around, he believed that wouldn’t happen.

 

‘And Father isn’t as scary as he used to be.’

 

Although Leonhard didn’t show it, Noah knew that his father would quietly come late at night to check on him while he slept.

 

His father probably doesn’t know that sometimes Noah lies in bed pretending to be asleep, waiting for him to come and go.

 

This was Noah’s secret, one he didn’t even tell his mother.

 

‘Maybe I’ll stay awake and wait for him again tonight.’

 

‘Or, before I go to bed, I’d like him to come and finish telling me the story of his visit to the Colosseum.’

 

Thinking about that, Noah walked along the camellia-lined path when he suddenly stopped.

 

He saw someone sitting on the bench in front of him.

 

‘Who is it?’

 

The gardens of Ajas Castle are open to everyone, so everyone can come and relax.

 

That’s why Noah, in the past, rarely came to this side.

 

Because the vassals and servants of that time did not hesitate to express their displeasure to him.

 

Things are a lot different now, but Noah still didn’t enjoy meeting strangers.

 

He was about to turn back when he heard a familiar chirping sound from ahead.

 

“Peep, Peep!”

 

“Rake?”

 

As he turned around, he saw Rake flying powerfully from the stranger’s lap and flying towards Noah.

 

“Peep, Peep, Peep!”

 

When Noah reflexively held out his palm, Rake landed on it naturally, chirping loudly.

 

“Rake you……”

 

Noah swallowed the words asking why Rake was acting like a normal bird. That was because he noticed the unfamiliar man sitting on the bench.

 

“Never talk in front of people who don’t know you’re a dragon. They’ll be shocked.”

 

‘Maybe it was because of the three strawberry cakes at stake?’

 

‘Rake had been keeping the promise with Mother quite well.’

 

So the reason Rake doesn’t speak must be because of that man.

 

‘But Rake doesn’t pretend to be friendly with just anyone.…’

 

‘Unless they had snacks. But looking at the man’s clean hands, it didn’t seem like he had fed Rake.’

 

‘Who was this man, then?’

 

“Peep, peep?”

 

“Huh? Ah… I don’t have anything today.”

 

When Noah shook his head at the sight of Rake asking for a snack, Rake squeaked noisily in protest.

 

Noah, however, felt quite wronged.

 

Rake was the one who had disappeared for days without a trace — how was Noah supposed to know when she’d return and carry snacks around?

 

However, as if Rake had no intention of understanding such circumstances, Rake flew away without any hesitation and disappeared towards the castle.

 

The man on the bench seemed to have been watching all of that.

 

As soon as Rake disappeared, the man got up from the bench and looked this way.

 

Noah instinctively turned his head, but when their eyes met, he was struck by the man’s smile — as fresh and bright as a budding spring leaf.

 

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

 

He spoke casually as if they knew each other, even though Noah had never seen him before.

 

He didn’t even show any courtesy towards the next Marquis.

 

Judging from his gentle tone, it didn’t seem intentional. More like he simply didn’t know.

 

‘He doesn’t know who I am? Even while staying at Ajas Castle?’

 

Noah stood on guard as he watched the man approaching him.

 

Even if something happened, they were still inside Ajas Castle — help would come quickly.

 

And besides, he had a defensive magic tool made by his biological father.

 

‘huh?’

 

The random thoughts that had been floating around in Noah’s Head completely disappeared when the man approached him.

 

Warm-toned brown hair and green eyes.

 

“This is my older brother. For you, Noah, he would be your eldest uncle.”

 

“Uncle?”

 

“Do you know me?”

 

The man knelt down on one knee in front of Noah, eye level with him, and smiled happily.

 

He didn’t deny being Noah’s uncle, nor did he seem surprised when Noah addressed him that way.

 

It meant Noah’s guess was correct.

 

At the same time, Noah realized that he had called him “uncle” without thinking.

 

But the man didn’t seem to mind at all.

 

Rather, judging by the consistently happy expression on his face, he seemed genuinely pleased about the sudden appearance of a nephew.

 

“I’m sure he’ll be fond of you when he sees you, Noah. Everyone was happy when they heard they had a nephew.”

 

There was no trembling in Raenel’s voice when she once said that.

 

Still, Noah had thought, that just because she felt that way didn’t mean her siblings would too.

 

If he ever met them, he had decided he would be as polite as possible, so he wouldn’t be disliked.

 

Noah thought so as he looked at the portrait of the Howard family.

 

But now, unexpectedly facing one of them in person, his mouth felt dry.

 

‘What should I say? Should I introduce myself…?’

 

‘Oh. Now that I think about it, my uncle asked a question earlier.’

 

Noah thought he had to answer that question, and struggled to come up with an answer in his head.

 

“Portrait…. My mother showed me the portrait.”

 

“Oh, you mean the portrait painted by the artist sponsored by Paul Herbina? I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never seen it. So, what do you think? Do I look like I do in the portrait?”

 

Oliver straightened up a bit, as if inviting Noah to compare.

 

Only then did Noah lift his slightly downcast eyes and look properly at his face.

 

Comparing them, they looked remarkably similar—almost identical. Even the gentle atmosphere had been captured.

 

But Noah realized at this moment that the warmth contained in the tone of voice, attitude, and gaze, and the gentleness conveyed through the slightly curved corners of the mouth and eyes, could not be expressed even with the most delicate brush strokes.

 

“You don’t hate me?”

 

The words slipped out before Noah could stop himself, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hands.

 

He hadn’t meant to ask—it had burst out of him as instinctively as shutting his eyes to avoid a flying ball.

 

“Why do you ask that?”

 

Fortunately, Oliver wasn’t offended by Noah’s question.

 

However, Noah was more scared by his calm voice.

 

‘I don’t want to be hated.’

 

With just that one thought, Noah blurted out an honest answer without any embellishment.

 

“Because… I’m not even related to you by blood… and I took my mother’s first place away.”

 

* * *