How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 288

“There’s something on the floor.”

 

“The floor?”

 

Was it because I took off the bracelet? Something felt different. Up until now, all the doors had been on the walls.

 

Leonhard looked around, told me to stay a little further away, and then smashed the magic on the floor with his gauntlet.

 

The magic circle, which had been dazzlingly shining, was the most ornate and intricately designed I’d ever seen.

 

Of course, it was still destroyed by Leonhard’s blows.

 

And then a small wooden door appeared in its place.

 

“I will open it.”

 

“Yes.”

 

—Creak

 

Beneath the wooden door was a staircase leading down into darkness.

 

Leonhard and I looked at each other as if we had made a promise.

 

I wonder what’s at the end of those stairs?

 

“Let’s just go and see.”

 

We made sure not to light the lantern, just in case someone at the bottom might notice us.

 

Leonhard continued to whisper to me to watch my step as we descended the stairs.

 

Like before, I carefully followed, clutching the hem of his clothes.

 

How long had we been going down like that?

 

“There is a door ahead.”

 

“A door?”

 

“I don’t think it’s locked.….”

 

Before Leonhard could finish speaking, the door flew open.

 

I flinched, and Leonhard immediately raised his gauntleted left hand in front of his chest to shield us.

 

But contrary to Leonhard’s expectations, no magic came flying from the front.

 

Instead—

 

“I told you not to come in until Kana called for you!”

 

A shrill sound, more like a scream than a whimper, was followed by a small body that fell forward and slammed into Leonhard’s leg.

 

He almost kicked on reflex, but stopped himself just in time when he realized it was a child.

 

I was able to find out because I was so close to Leonhard.

 

The little body that bumped against Leonhard’s solid knee was incredibly light.

 

Unlike Leonhard, who wasn’t affected in the slightest, the child was sent rolling backward from the rebound of charging in at full force

 

“Ugh, wahhhhh! I hate you! I hate you!”

 

Then she falls to the floor and bursts into tears.

 

“Nell….”

 

Leonhard looked back at me, clearly at a loss for what to do.

 

Honestly, I was just as flustered, but I couldn’t ignore it when my husband was giving me such a desperate look.

 

“Leave this to me.”

 

I confidently patted Leonhard on the shoulder and crouched down in front of the crying child, who was shaking all over.

 

From the seam pocket of my dress, I pulled out a small doll.

 

“Oh my, what’s this? A cute little chickie?”

 

“Waaah… Huh…?”

 

Even though she was crying and telling us to leave the room, it seemed like she heard what I said.

 

Still lying flat on the floor, the child blinked her teary eyes and stared at the knitted chick doll I was holding.

 

“Wow!”

 

Fortunately, it seemed like she was interested in the chick doll.

 

‘I never knew it could be used like this.’

 

I originally made it as a gift for Rake, who wanted a friend.

 

‘I’ll just have to make another one for Rake later.’

 

Flapping the chick’s stubby wings from side to side, I raised my voice into a higher, cheerful tone.

 

“Cheep cheep! Hi there! I’m Cheepy! What’s your name—”

 

“Pretty! Pink!”

 

“Huh? But the chick’s white—”

 

“You have beautiful hair!”

 

The child, who had been crying and throwing a tantrum, suddenly jumped up from her seat and grabbed my hair with her eyes sparkling.

 

‘Did she like my hair, not the doll?’

 

Either way, I’m glad it caught the child’s interest.

 

“Give it to me. I want it!”

 

“Huh?”

 

‘Wait. Did I distract her too well?’

 

“Give me this, I want it!”

 

“You want… my hair? What would you even do with it?”

 

I don’t know! I just want it! Give it to me! I—”

 

“No.”

 

Just as the child’s voice was about to rise another octave into a full-blown tantrum, Leonhard’s firm voice cut her off.

 

“Hair is part of the body. Asking for it without a good reason is—”

 

“Give it to Kana! Kana said she wants it! Waaah!”

 

The child, who had stopped crying as if she had never cried before, started rolling around on the floor and bursting into tears again.

 

Startled by her sudden emotional shift, Leonhard reached out to grab her.

 

“Don’t cry—”

 

“Don’t touch Kana’s body! Waaaah!”

 

“No, I mean—”

 

“I hate you all! You never give Kana anything she wants!”

 

The crying child’s voice sounded even sadder than before.

 

It felt like something that had been building up exploded.

 

This is just my guess, but I think this child had already asked someone else for something and had been rejected.

 

‘It doesn’t look like it’s going to end easily… Should I just cut a little and be done with it?’

 

I was seriously considering it when—

 

“Huwaaah! Huhuhuwaaah! You said if Kana let you take her blood, you’d let her go outside!”

 

“What…?”

 

‘Let you take her blood?’

 

‘No way—this child…’

 

“Kana, was it?”

 

Leonhard seemed to have had the same thought. His face hardened as he knelt on the floor to meet her eye level.

 

But regardless of what Leonhard said, Kana just rolled around on the floor crying.

 

“Waaah! Huuuwaah!”

 

She wasn’t going to listen until she got the answer she wanted.

 

It looks like this isn’t the first or second time she has been acting like this.

 

And did they really tolerate this behavior just to take her blood?

 

I looked around the room again.

 

This room, filled with cute and adorable furniture, literally looked like a princess’s bedroom.

 

At least it means that the people here made an effort to win the child’s favor.

 

‘Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like she was abused.’

 

‘No, wait.’

 

No matter how they treated her—the fact that they imprisoned a child this young and drew her blood? That alone is abuse.

 

‘What kind of blood are they expecting to get from such a small body?’

 

I was trembling in anger when suddenly—Leonhard stripped off his upper garment.

 

“L–Leon?”

 

I wondered if this person was angry, or if he was so angry that he couldn’t control his anger and threw off his clothes.

 

“Take a look at this. Do you have something like this on your body?”

 

Leonhard’s purpose was to show the symbol on his back to Kana.

 

“Oh! Something similar to Kana!”

 

After stopping rolling on the floor, the child blinked and suddenly raised her upper body.

 

The child, grunting as she took off her red shoe and white lace sock from her right foot, suddenly cried out, “Yap!” and showed us the sole of her foot.

 

“Kana has one too, look!”

 

“Khalid’s symbol….”

 

Leonhard murmured as if sighing.

 

That confirmed it.

 

This small child—Kana—was the biological daughter of Duke Khalid.

 

The very same daughter born to the former duchess, the one thought to have died in the shipwreck that sank with my parents.

 

“Listen carefully, Kana. We were sent by your real father to come get you.”

 

I crouched down in front of Kana and slowly explained.

 

But Kana blinked her big eyes as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.

 

“Kana’s real father? Is he different from Kana’s father?”

 

“Is Kana’s father here?”

 

“Yes. He promised to show Kana the outside world… but he broke his promise…”

 

The child, suddenly sullen, pouted.

 

Was it because that face looked so pitiful?

 

Leonhard said firmly,

 

“No, that man isn’t your real father. He’s a fake. He took you away from your real family and locked you up in this place.”

 

Kana’s face went blank, as if the words had shocked her. She blinked and slowly shook her head.

 

“Kana doesn’t understand….”

 

The dull voice seemed to not really understand what we were saying, but more like she didn’t want to.

 

Of course, she wouldn’t. Even if he was a fake, to this child, that man was the only family she knew. How could she believe us so easily?

 

“Kana, earlier you said you didn’t like getting your blood drawn, right? Can you tell us what happened when they did it?”

 

“They stuck a big needle… right here…”

 

As she explained, tears welled up in the child’s eyes.

 

It seemed as if the pain of that time had come back to her.

 

“It’s okay. That’s enough. You don’t have to explain more.”

 

I continued in a calm voice, patting the child’s back.

 

“If he were really your father, he wouldn’t make you do something like that. If his daughter was hurting and didn’t want to… a real father wouldn’t force her.”

 

“No! He is my father! Kana’s father! Why do you keep saying he’s not?!”

 

Kana shouted furiously and raised her hand to hit me.

 

Or, she tried to—but in that instant, Leonhard swiftly picked her up, and her tiny hand ended up smacking his arm instead of my face.

 

“Let go of me! I told you not to touch Kana!”

 

Kana struggled with all her might in Leonhard’s arms.

 

He hit Leonhardt’s shoulder, pinched his cheek, and finally pulled out his hair.

 

“Kana, no! You can’t do that!”

 

“Father! Father!”

 

Kana struggled frantically to escape from Leonhard’s embrace.

 

Leonhard couldn’t bring himself to let her go, but he also couldn’t use force to stop her, and in the end, he just helplessly let her tear out strands of his hair.

 

I stomped my feet in frustration as I watched.

 

‘At this rate, my husband will go bald!’

 

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