How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 320

Suddenly, I remembered our first meeting, or something that happened before we got married.

 

The man who had come all the way to the distant capital, saying he had no confidence in becoming a good father and was searching for a wife who could be a good mother…

To think he had changed this much.

 

I was deeply satisfied with that change.

 

And I was incredibly proud that I was the one who had changed him.

 

“And besides, I have you—and Noah as well. I’m not alone anymore, so I’m not afraid.”

 

“Don’t you dare say later that you want some time to yourself. I won’t ever let you be alone.”

 

“Please do so, ma’am.”

 

Leonhard came to me and kissed me with his smiling face.

 

I wrapped my arms around his neck, accepted the kiss, and then pushed him back onto the sofa.

 

My husband has always been handsome, but he looks best when he’s lying down and defenseless.

 

Hoping with all my heart that our child would inherit that face, I bent down and kissed Leonhard deeply.

 

* * *

 

Once the news of my pregnancy spread, Paul Herbina instantly turned into a place of celebration.

 

“Congratulations, Madam!”

 

“Congratulations, Marquise!”

 

It wasn’t just my guards and maids I was close with, who clapped their hands with happy faces, congratulating me.

 

Even the servants who usually passed by without my notice offered me their sincere congratulations.

 

As the celebrations piled up, the realization that I was pregnant began to sink in.

 

At that point, I decided to stop overthinking and gathered everyone at Paul Herbina—including knights and wizards of Ajas—for a full-blown feast.

 

“To celebrate the Marquise’s pregnancy, and to pray for the healthy birth of the young lord or lady—cheers!”

 

“Cheers!”

 

The only disappointing thing was that while everyone was enjoying the party and drinking recklessly, I had to just sip on some juice.

 

‘No, I shouldn’t regret this.’

 

When I thought about it, I’d only recently reached an age where I could drink openly, and after enjoying a glass with meals, it had quietly become a habit.

 

If I didn’t stop now, I might end up becoming an alcoholic.

 

‘Let’s think of it as our second child being filial already and making me quit drinking for my health.’

 

After enjoying a perfectly alcohol-free banquet, I headed to the bedroom with Noah, whose eyelids were drooping as midnight approached.

 

“Noah, how do you feel about having a little sibling?”

 

“Me? I like it.”

 

“Really?”

 

Noah nodded vigorously.

 

“I really like it. I was lonely, so I wanted a younger sibling.”

 

“That’s true. I liked having three older sibling too. The house was always lively, so I was never bored.”

 

As always, Noah listened to stories about my childhood with sparkling eyes, then spoke up in a strong, earnest voice.

 

“When my sibling is born, I’ll read them storybooks. And while they’re still little and can’t walk, I’ll make them flower crowns, and I’ll decorate the window with snowmen.”

 

Noah’s eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation, as if he felt it was his duty to do so.

 

“Mother, when will I get to meet my sibling? In one month? Two months?”

 

‘Who could tell a child who looked ready to meet them tomorrow that he’d have to wait ten months?’

 

‘Technically, I’m about four weeks along, so it’s closer to nine months…’

 

For a child who only thinks about one or two months at most, nine months would be an incredibly long time.

 

But I couldn’t lie, so I gave my answer while observing Noah’s reaction.

 

“Hmm, maybe next summer…?”

 

Fortunately, Noah wasn’t disappointed that it was too far away.

 

“It must be warm in the summer, right? I’m glad it’s not cold.”

 

‘Honestly, how could a child think of something like that?’

 

No matter how much I think about it, my child really seems like an angel.

 

I hugged Noah, who was smiling bashfully, and kissed his round cheek.

 

“Noah, shall we sleep together tonight?”

 

“What about father?”

 

“Father… will probably sleep in the dining hall tonight.”

 

When we’d left, he’d still been trapped by his subordinates, drinking what was either congratulatory wine or punishment wine—stacked absurdly high.

 

“And since Rake hasn’t come back yet, she’s probably busy eating cake.”

 

“Then… can I read a storybook to my sibling? Is that okay?”

 

“Of course. Which one do you want to read?”

 

Noah spread seven storybooks across the bed, frowning seriously as he deliberated.

 

I joined him, carefully examining each book with equal seriousness.

 

But before we could decide on the final one, we fell asleep.

 

And the next morning.

 

Waking up to Noah stirring in my arms, I looked around and saw Leonhard lying on Noah’s other side, and Rake sprawled out asleep near our pillows.

 

At that sight, Noah and I burst out laughing together.

 

* * *

 

Because the atmosphere in the capital was so gloomy, I didn’t openly announce my pregnancy to the public.

 

The only outsider I told about my pregnancy was Rebecca. Despite her heartache over her husband and Kana, she sincerely congratulated me on my pregnancy.

 

And then there was one more person—someone I wasn’t quite sure counted as an outsider or an insider…

 

“Pregnant?”

 

“Yeah. Noah will have a little sibling next summer.”

 

Felix—who’d been so busy after the monster attack that he hadn’t shown his face once—finally came to Paul Herbina, having repaired Leonhard’s utterly wrecked gauntlet until it looked brand new.

 

Since he was Noah’s biological father anyway, I figured I might as well tell him. He took a sip of alcohol in broad daylight and hummed thoughtfully.

 

“That’s good news. Once you give birth, you’ll be able to control your magic to some extent.”

 

“What does having a child have to do with controlling my magical powers?”

 

“Have you already forgotten? I told you—you’re of Sesto’s bloodline, but also of the witch’s lineage.”

 

“Uh…”

 

Witch. Right.

 

I was pretty sure I’d heard something about that at the Silver Frost Tower.

 

‘The tribe that always bears a daughter as their first child, and passes on half of their magic to that daughter—is that the one you mean?’

 

‘Oh, wait a minute.’

 

“Then… going by what you said back then, I’m having a girl?”

 

“I guess so.”

 

‘Oh my god!’

 

“Noah, did you hear that? You’re getting a little sister!”

 

“A little sister…! Then I can tie her hair nicely! Can I do her hair for her?”

 

Noah—who’d played wonderfully with Kana while she stayed here—said confidently.

 

Proud of him, I nodded right away.

 

“Of course. But it’ll take some time for the baby’s hair to grow long enough to be tied up.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“Then until then, want to practice with my hair? I’d love it if Noah tied my hair prettily.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Our second child was lucky already—she had an older brother volunteering to do her hair before she was even born.

 

‘Now that we know it’s a girl, the list of possible names is cut in half.’

 

She still had a long way to go before being born, so we could gather suggestions from lots of people and decide slowly.

 

Felix added a word to me as I hummed along with that thought.

 

“And you should start teaching her magic early.”

 

“Magic?”

 

“Yes. Your magical power will not increase any further once half of it is taken away, but your daughter, who is born with the remaining half, will have her magical power increase as she grows.”

 

‘Fortunately, it was a relief that my uncontrollable magic would be cut in half, but—’

 

‘Wait. Doesn’t that mean my daughter could end up causing floods or blowing up magic tools as I did?’

 

A chill ran down my spine. Just as Felix had said, it would be best to teach her magic sooner rather than later.

 

“Well, if you give me a lot of money, I can take care of it.”

 

“What do you mean, take care of it? ah…”

 

What was with this sudden assumption? I hadn’t even asked yet.

 

I almost snorted reflexively, then stopped halfway.

 

‘…Actually, that didn’t sound bad.’

 

After all, he was one of fewer than ten sages in the entire empire.

 

And if my daughter took after me, her primary attribute would probably be water… Wouldn’t it be perfect if the sage of water and ice became her teacher?

 

“How much is it?”

 

“At least this much should be done.”

 

The number Felix scribbled on the paper was far beyond what I’d imagined.

 

“It’s too expensive!”

 

“Do you think opportunities to hire a wizard of my caliber come cheap?”

 

‘Ugh, it’s annoying! It’s really annoying!’

 

“You should think carefully. Given how much magic your daughter will be born with, an average wizard wouldn’t be able to stop accidents that might happen during training.”

 

“Ugh….”

 

I couldn’t think of anything to say in return.

 

‘But this amount is too expensive.… ah.’

 

“Or how about this? Later, when my husband gets some multi-attribute magic stones from somewhere, I’ll give them to you.”

 

“And when would that be?”

 

“Someday. He’ll get one eventually. Do you know who my husband is? He’s the Marquis of Ajas.”

 

“Hmm….”

 

Felix looked genuinely tempted.

 

I fanned him gently from the side.

 

“Money can be earned elsewhere, but it won’t be with multi-attribute magic stones, right?”

 

“Okay. I accept it.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Just like that, without spending a single coin, I secured a future teacher who was—astonishingly—a sage.

 

‘Now all that’s left is choosing my daughter’s name.’

 

After that, our family spent more than half the day in the study, engrossed in thinking of a name for the child.

 

I told my siblings about the pregnancy and received all kinds of suggestions—How about this name? What about that one?—but none of them really clicked.

 

And then a few days later.

 

Two days before the medal ceremony, just as he’d anticipated, Leonhard was summoned by the Second Prince.

 

And just like before, I was called along with him.

* * *