How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 279

I think it’s time to be touched that he loves me more than himself.

 

And honestly, the reason was touching, too.

 

“If you had confidently said, ‘I love you more than anyone or anything, including myself,’ I would’ve kissed you.”

 

“Nell, the truth is, I…”

 

“Too late.”

 

I shot him a side-eye glare, and he exaggeratedly slumped his shoulders in defeat.

 

‘Come to think of it, when did he become such a master of the pretty-boy act?’

 

At some point, he’d started tilting his head just right whenever things didn’t go his way, fluttering those long lashes and blinking at the perfect angle.

 

Still, if all this change had come from his confidence that I loved him, I could let it slide.

 

With the feeling of fine, I’ll let it go this time, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

 

“Next time… mm, once we don’t have to worry about Marquise Calvin anymore, try loving me more than yourself, okay?”

 

“I’m not sure that’s something I can achieve just by trying.”

 

“Why give up before you even try?”

 

“Even if I try hard to build a sand castle with a spoon, I can’t build it higher than the Hiyela Mountains, right?”

 

“You never know. You might be able to build it really high.”

 

Even though I scolded him with words, the corners of my lips were twitching upward with amusement.

 

‘Hmph, is that so? As tall as the Hiyela mountain range, huh?’

 

If that’s how much he loves me, then fine. I guess he has no choice but to love me the most forever.

 

“If you try and it still doesn’t work, that’s okay. Don’t worry. I’ll love you the most instead.”

 

“Of course. I’m counting on you, Nell.”

 

Leonhard hugged my waist and pushed his face closer to mine, but I covered his lips with my palm.

 

He frowned in disappointment and tilted his head to the side, trying once more to draw close—but I firmly pushed him back by the shoulder.

 

As if he would really stop at just one kiss. This wasn’t the time for flirting and snuggling.

 

“Keep reading this. Who do you think this ‘Pel’ mentioned here is?”

 

“I know. I heard it a little while ago.”

 

In the blink of an eye, Leonhard’s expression turned serious, as if he’d never been trying to cuddle in the first place. The atmosphere became heavy.

 

“Nell, don’t be so surprised,”

 

Leonhard whispered to me in a tense voice.

 

“That name… it belongs to your biological father.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Your real father. He’s been held here for a very long time.”

 

For a moment, my fingertips felt frozen.

 

Hugging my chilled shoulders, I muttered Leonhard’s words over and over..

 

“Held here… for a long time?”

 

“Yes. Your biological father wasn’t some evil man who tried to use his only daughter—he was a victim, oppressed by the wizards here.”

 

‘A victim, he said. My real father…’

 

Somehow, I felt uneasy.

 

I couldn’t figure out how to express what I was feeling right now, so I just bit my lower lip.

 

Sometimes I think it’s fortunate that my biological father wasn’t a bad guy who tried to kidnap me to use my blood.

 

But when I imagined the long years he must have spent trapped here, having his blood drained by the mages… I almost wished he had been a bad man instead.

 

‘How long exactly does ‘a long time’ mean?’

 

The minimum was my age.

 

‘From the moment I was born… or maybe even before. Maybe long before that, he had already been imprisoned here, his blood taken…’

 

“Ugh…”

 

“Nell? Are you alright?”

 

Perhaps because of the extreme stress, I suddenly felt like vomiting.

 

I barely managed to hold back from vomiting in front of my husband, and grabbed Leonhard’s clothes with all my might as if I was tearing them off, and asked him.

 

“Then… did you hear where my real father is?”

 

“Yes. Though I’m not sure we’ll be able to get to him easily.”

 

Leonhard stroked my back as if to tell me not to worry and spoke in a calm voice.

 

“It wasn’t part of the original plan for you to come here yourself… but maybe fate brought you here.”

 

Leonhard took my hand and helped me up.

 

“Let’s go, Nell. To rescue your biological father.”

 

* * *

 

“Liars! I hate all of you! My friend’s out there somewhere—I know it!”

 

—Pop, pop!

 

Teleporting without a set destination or coordinates was extremely dangerous.

 

But Rake, being a dragon, didn’t fail the spell

 

Still, since she had cast the magic unconsciously, she had no idea where she had ended up.

 

Yet, because of that, Rake was able to meet him.

 

“A bird….?”

 

Inside a narrow solitary cell, the magic stones of light embedded in the ceiling glow softly.

 

A man with black hair who was so skinny that it wouldn’t be strange if he stopped breathing at any moment.

 

– you…

 

Dragons can see the essence of the soul. So the moment Rake saw the man, she knew.

 

– Are you Nell’s father?

 

“Nell… Raenel?”

 

Whether a bird suddenly appears in the sky or not, whether that bird speaks like a human or not.

 

The man who seemed like he would lie there indifferently even if a bomb fell right next to him, suddenly sat up.

 

“Do you know my daughter?”

 

A light close to madness appeared in the eyes that had been worn down and hollowed out.

 

The one and only hope that kept him breathing—though he had no will to live or purpose—was Raenel.

 

Only he and Asta knew the name they’d created together, hugging her slightly bulging bellies. At least, that’s what he believed.

 

– Of course, I know her! Nel is my family!

 

Fluffing her feathers, Rake looked around the prison-like room and started complaining nonstop.

 

Why was it so cramped? Why was the air so stuffy?

 

The man didn’t respond. Too weak to stay upright, he fell to his knees and crawled toward Rake, his voice trembling.

 

“You said she is your family… do you know her? Where is she now? How did she grow up? Is she well? Healthy? Not hurt?”

 

– Ask them one by one. More importantly, why are you here? You’re family—why aren’t you with Nell?

 

“I’m not here by choice. The wizards captured me… Did Nell find out I was here? Is that why she sent you?”

 

– She didn’t send me! I came here myself. I was looking for my kind.

 

“Your kind?”

 

The man stared at Rake’s round, cute little shape, then noticed the pale blue tips of her white feathers and guessed she must be a monster.

 

“The wizards here capture monsters and experiment on them… Maybe your family was caught too.”

 

– No! My kind would never be captured by humans. My kind…

 

“What was created in this dungeon is a chimera, a combination of several monster bodies. Not a true dragon like you.”

 

“Rake… Hiyela said… All dragons who laid eggs beside her failed to hatch them. All the others either died or left this world.”

 

– …Actually, there isn’t. I’m the only one of my kind in this world. My kin don’t exist.

 

“How do you know that?”

 

– My mother said so. Nell said so too.

 

“But you didn’t see it with your own eyes.”

 

– That’s… true, but…

 

“Then you shouldn’t give up so easily. Look at me. Every wizard here told me my daughter must be dead. But she’s not. Maybe your kind is out there somewhere too, where you haven’t looked yet.”

 

– I’m a dragon, though?

 

“What?”

 

Puffing her chest out proudly, Rake said in a voice full of pride,

 

– A dragon that was long ago thought to be extinct. The story of my kind only appears in the fairy tales Leon and Nell read to Noah.

 

“A dragon… Of course, you must be familiar with my daughter. Only my daughter has a dragon as a familiar companion.”

 

Half-dazed, the man looked down at the tiny bird flapping her wings, wondering,

 

‘Am I dreaming right now?’

 

But when he secretly pinched her cheek and thigh, both of them hurt, so he knew it wasn’t a dream.

 

That meant he needed to figure out how much of this little bird’s story was true and how much was a lie.

 

But the words Rake had told him were too sweet to be doubted.

 

The fact that his daughter is alive, has a dragon as her family. That she was spending peaceful days reading fairy tales with someone…

 

So he decided to believe every word Raje said.

 

Even her claim that she was a dragon—a tiny bird that could be blown away by a breeze.

 

“If it went extinct a long time ago, that means there isn’t a single one left in the world.”

 

– No! I’m still alive! My mom went through so much to bring me into the world!

 

“Yes. Then, wouldn’t there be another being like you somewhere in this world?”

 

If even one supposedly extinct being existed… why not two?

 

At the man’s dry voice, Rake stopped flapping her wings.

 

– You’re right… Maybe you’re right! There could be! The world’s big enough!

 

Rake’s mind was filled with the knowledge Hiyela had passed down to her.

 

The knowledge she had passed down wasn’t simply written down in her head.

 

She could feel how wide and blue the oceans were, how fresh and fragrant wildflowers smelled, how sweet a boy’s song could sound.

 

Just thinking about it made Rake feel everything: smell, touch, hearing, sight, and even taste.

 

But none of it was her own experience. It was a fading legacy from the past.

 

And after Hiyela’s death, neither Rake nor anyone else knew what had happened to the world since.

 

‘Even Leonhard and Raenel declared that there was no other dragon in this world besides me, but they hadn’t seen the whole world, had they?’

 

‘Maybe… just maybe… there was another.’

 

The possibility made Rake happy.

 

– As expected, you’re Nell’s father! You’re smarter than Nell!

 

“Thank you for the compliment. Now, can I ask you a question?”

 

He had many questions about his daughter.

 

What does she look like? Who did she resemble more—him or Asta? Was she good at magic, like her mother?

 

Asta is dead now, so how did she grow up outside, without any relatives?

 

Was she healthy? Happy?

 

Had life out there—without a strong protector—been cruel to her?

 

There were many things he was curious about, but the first question that came out of the man’s mouth was this.

 

“So…. who are Leon and Noah?”

 

* * *