How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 317

During that process, Layla, who had been holding out for a long time, also exchanged greetings with my older brother.

 

“It’s been a while, Count Howard.”

 

“Yes. How have you been, Lady?”

 

I know they exchanged a few letters, but my older brother’s attitude toward Layla was always polite.

 

Layla seemed a little disappointed by that, but just being able to meet him face-to-face and greet him like this was enough to make her beam with satisfaction.

 

“Uncle, uncle.”

 

“Huh?”

 

The living room. My brother handed a cookie to Noah, who was sitting close to him.

 

Noah, clutching the cookie tightly, looked up at him and asked,

 

“How long do you plan to stay in the capital?”

 

“Well, I’m not sure. I originally planned to return right after Lily’s wedding, but…”

 

My older brother, frowning slightly, asked me.

 

“Is it true that Lily’s wedding was canceled?”

 

“Yes. Well, not exactly canceled—just postponed.”

 

I sighed softly and recalled the day my sister Lily had told me that the wedding had been postponed.

 

* * *

 

“You’re postponing the wedding?”

 

“Honestly, with the current situation in the capital, it’s not exactly the kind of situation where people can laugh and celebrate at a wedding, is it?”

 

Lily said that with a very tired expression on her face. Benjamin nodded beside her with a similar expression.

 

“The wedding dress I had planned to wear on the wedding day was lost in the chaos, and many of the guests declined to attend.”

 

In this incident, some people had lost their homes. Others had lost their property. Some had lost family members—or had been injured themselves.

 

If the damage had been minor, that might have been one thing. But even the imperial palace was overwhelmed with restoration efforts, and compensation plans for the victims kept getting delayed.

 

“Besides, we are receiving a flood of requests for restoration magic.… If we think about continuing to do business in the future, these are requests we simply cannot refuse.”

 

After adjusting their schedules like that, it seems they decided that it would be better to postpone the wedding.

 

‘Well, I can still hear the sound of crying here and there.…’

 

Certainly, it seemed better for everyone to postpone the wedding rather than hold it in such an ominous and gloomy atmosphere.

 

“But why do you get so many requests for restoration magic? You’re a magic tool maker, aren’t you?”

 

“That’s why. How short of manpower must we be to entrust work to someone who doesn’t even have a specialty in it?”

 

“But we still have this.”

 

Benjamin wiped the multi-attribute magic stone embedded in the wand with a soft cloth, his face filled with pride and satisfaction.

 

Seeing how much he cherished it made me happy too, as the one who had given it to him… though still.

 

“Does it really work that well?”

 

“It’s not that good. How should I put this… it’s like—”

 

“Running full speed over a bumpy road while wearing a tight corset and high heels, then suddenly sprinting naked across a grassy field?”

 

“N-Naked?”

 

“It means there’s absolutely nothing getting in the way when you use magic.”

 

Benjamin accepted my sister’s horrifying metaphor perfectly. No wonder those two were engaged.

 

“You won’t understand unless you try it yourself. When you become a lower-rank mage someday, I’ll lend it to you. Just lend it—not give it—so you can get a taste and then return it.”

 

“I don’t do cruel things like giving and then taking back. And I’ll never need that wand in my entire life anyway…”

 

I still vividly remember the time I tried to cast a single low-level water spell and nearly flooded an entire mansion.

 

“So when are you postponing the wedding?”

 

“I’m not sure. Maybe about a year, to be safe…”

 

Lily’s gaze turned to Benjamin.

 

Following that gaze, I looked at him.

 

The kind smile he always showed me was gone, and Benjamin let out a heavy sigh, his expression troubled.

 

“I think we won’t be able to set an exact date until my older brother’s health issue is resolved.”

 

“Your brother? A health issue?”

 

“My brother was injured while helping people fleeing, and during the treatment, a serious illness was discovered. Fortunately, it’s still in the early stages, so they say it can be treated, but it looks like it’ll take some time.”

 

“Oh no… Still, it’s a relief they found it early.”

 

“Exactly. If they’d discovered it any later, they said there would’ve been nothing they could do…”

 

Benjamin, his voice trailing off, shook his head, saying he almost got into big trouble. It was literally a blessing in disguise.

 

As I told him to pass along my wishes for his brother’s recovery, a certain memory suddenly surfaced.

 

‘Come to think of it, in the future that Hiyela showed me,….’

 

Originally, Benjamin hadn’t been the heir. But after his older brother died, he returned to the main family and inherited the marquisate.

 

I’d known that much—but I hadn’t known the reason his brother died.

 

‘So it was an illness.’

 

‘But it’ll be okay since they found it early, right?’

 

If they were postponing the wedding over it, it clearly wasn’t a minor illness.

 

There was also the issue that one couldn’t celebrate a joyous occasion while the family heir was gravely ill.

 

And if something did happen to his brother, Benjamin would have to inherit the title.

 

Which meant they couldn’t have a marriage where Benjamin changed his surname.

 

“Health really is the most important thing. Nell, you too—even if you don’t feel sick, make sure you get a checkup at least once a year.”

 

“Why do you two always nag me every time you see me?”

 

‘I’m an adult now!’

 

“Ahem. That’s not nagging—it’s a concern. So? Your answer?”

 

I hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to say it. Lily, unable to stand the suspense, immediately pressed me.

 

“Why won’t my little sister answer?”

 

“Actually, I have something to say.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with your health—”

 

Benjamin’s face instantly turned serious, and I hurriedly waved my hands.

 

“No, nothing like that. I’m perfectly fine. In fact, just a few days ago my husband practically dragged me to get every test imaginable.”

 

‘And that was how I learned one particular thing…’

 

“Um… never mind.”

 

“What do you mean, never mind? Say it already! Do you want your sister to suffocate from curiosity?”

 

“When Brother Liv arrives in the capital, I’ll say it then—when everyone’s gathered.”

 

Since this is such a surprising announcement, it would be best to make it official in front of everyone.

 

With that thought, I clenched my teeth and endured Lily’s relentless tickling, demanding I tell her right now.

 

* * *

 

So, on the evening of the day my older brother arrived in the capital.

 

The Howard siblings were together for the first time since my wedding.

 

It hadn’t even been a full year, but since we were a family that had once lived under the same roof, it felt like it had been an incredibly long time since we’d all been together.

 

“Sister Lily already knows this, so I, the youngest, have something to tell you.”

 

“What are you trying to say, putting on such a serious air?”

 

“…Before that! There’s just one thing I want to ask first!”

 

So, this gathering was Howard’s family gathering.

 

Since it was a family gathering, my husband, son, and my future brother-in-law, Benjamin, were also present along with my siblings.

 

There are no problems up to this point.

 

“By any chance, Alex, do you also have an important announcement to make today? If so, I can let you go first.”

 

“What are you talking about? What kind of big announcement would I have?”

 

My brother picked up the bread as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

 

Soon, Violet, who was sitting next to my Brother Alex, who was looking for butter, brought a butter bowl and pushed it towards him.

 

Yes, Violet is next to Alex.

 

Was I the only one bothered by her presence? This was a family gathering!

 

“Lady Violet, may I ask you something?”

 

“Yes, please speak comfortably.”

 

Well then—I wouldn’t hold back.

 

“Did my brother say anything in particular when he invited you here today?”

 

Violet answered with a calm expression, as if it wasn’t a particularly difficult question.

 

“We originally planned to have dinner together this evening, but he said his elder brother had come down to the capital and that he should eat at home instead. He asked if it would be all right for me to come along, so I did.”

 

“Oh my… is that so?”

 

There were two things in that answer that caught my attention.

 

First of all, I would never intrude on someone else’s family gathering—but I suppose I could chalk her accepting the invitation up to a difference in personality.

 

“Wait—so you two already had dinner plans tonight? Just the two of you?”

 

“Yes. Lately, we usually eat together.”

 

‘Lately…. Together.’

 

“Could it be… a date?”

 

“Does every meal between a man and a woman count as a date? It’s not like that, so stop looking at us weirdly and just get on with your big announcement or whatever. I’m hungry.”

 

As he buttered his fourth piece of bread, my brother Alex scolded me.

 

No, I mean…”

 

I wanted to argue that no one invites someone of the opposite sex to a family gathering without any meaning behind it—and who would accept such an invitation so casually?

 

‘But…Actually, if it’s Alex, I can believe it.’

 

Truly. My brother Alex really would invite someone to our house for dinner without a single thought.

 

Man or woman—it wouldn’t matter if they were just a colleague.

 

‘So it really is nothing?’

 

‘Ah, what a letdown.’

 

I thought that the spring days when flowers bloom would finally come to our trouble-making my brother Alex.

 

“Marquise, if it isn’t rude, may I ask what your definition of a ‘date’ is?”

 

“Huh? Uh, so…”

 

While I blinked in bewilderment at the unexpected question, my brother Alex looked at me and chuckled as if he found that really funny.

 

Embarrassed at having misunderstood the relationship between two people who were apparently just good colleagues, I hesitated for a moment before answering, slightly deflated.

 

“If two people who like each other spend a good time together, isn’t that a date?”

 

“I see. Then yes—Alex and I have been on a date.”

 

* * *