How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love – Chapter 326

Author: Chewyy

After the return schedule was decided, those who would return to Ajas with the Marquis’s family began to pack their belongings one by one.

In that bustling atmosphere, the only person who was free was the child, Noah.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Well then… would you like to take Rake and go to the dessert shop together?”

Noah wanted to help out, but there was nothing he could do as a child.

Whether it was Leonhard or Raenel, the only task they had for their children was to “go outside and play.”

When that failed to satisfy him, an adult was finally dispatched.

It was Oliver.

“I promised the servants of my house that I’d bring them gifts from the capital, but I don’t know what to get. Would you mind helping me choose some gifts?”

“Yes! I will help you!”

Noah, thrilled that there was finally something he could do to help, took Oliver’s hand and headed toward the bustling streets of the capital.

There, the child, with a serious expression, chose ribbons and combs to give to the female servants, and handkerchiefs to give to the male servants.

And then, finally—

“I’d like to choose gifts for my nephews, too.”

“Nephews…? For my little sibling and me?”

Oliver nodded, stroking Noah’s head as his eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s right. Will you help me with that as well?”

“….Yes, I will.”

However, once they stepped into the toy shop, Noah’s expression wasn’t very bright.

His face was filled with hesitation as he picked that up, put it down again, picked that up again, and put it down again.

That was completely different from when he had eagerly asked about the servants’ hair and eye colors, their favorite animals or flowers, and their hobbies.

“Is there nothing you like? Should we go to another shop?”

“No, that’s not it.….”

Fidgeting with a crescent-moon-shaped doll, Noah hesitated for a moment. Then, as if sharing a secret, he covered his mouth with one hand and leaned close to Oliver—who obligingly bent down on one knee.

“Uncle… I actually have something I’m worried about.”

Oliver was happy—truly happy—that the child had chosen to confide in him.

He took the child straight out of the toy store and went to a park where there weren’t many people, where he and his nephew sat down on a bench together.

“Can you tell me what’s bothering you?”

“That’s..… ”

The answer Noah gave with a gloomy expression was something Oliver could never have imagined.

Fortunately, in a good way.

“I want to love my little sibling very, very much… but I don’t know anything about them at all.”

Is there a worry in the world that is that unique and cute?

Oliver couldn’t stand it anymore and stroked Noah’s head.

“That’s only natural. Even the baby in your mother’s belly doesn’t know yet what they like or dislike.”

“So when will we know?”

“Time will tell. Once your sibling is born and you watch them grow, you’ll naturally learn what they like and what they don’t.”

As the oldest of four siblings, this was his experience, so he could answer with confidence.

“And before you know it, your sibling will learn what you like and dislike, too. You’ll come to know and love each other, step by step, at the same pace.”

“At the same pace…”

As the child murmured the words softly, his cheeks flushed red.

The idea that they would get to know each other together, rather than just one-sidedly, gave Noah a great thrill.

“Uncle, I really want to meet my little sibling soon.”

“Haha, don’t worry. Time will pass quickly.”

Truly.

That little child had grown up in the blink of an eye, gotten married, and was already expecting a second child.

“So fast that it might even feel lonely. Don’t rush it too much.”

“Yes, uncle!”

“Okay, now let’s go buy some presents for Noah and his little sibling.”

“Yes. I think I can choose now.”

Noah smiled brightly as he took Oliver’s hand that was extended towards him.

* * *

“Hoaamm….”

‘Oh, I’m tired.’

Maybe it was because I was pregnant, but even though everyone else had taken care of all the heavy work, I still felt so tired.

“Madam, are you tired? Would you like to rest for a bit?”

“Mmm… yes, I think I should. I’ll sleep just a little.”

“Then to the bedroom—”

“No, no. I think I’ll just close my eyes on the sofa for a bit.”

To be honest, I was so tired that I had a hard time even going to the bedroom.

As I lay down on the sofa, using the cushions as a pillow, the maid let out a distressed “Oh my!” But I was so tired that I pretended not to hear and closed my eyes.

After falling asleep in an instant, as if losing consciousness.

‘How much time has passed?’

Suddenly, I felt a floating sensation as if my body was floating.

‘…Is someone carrying me?’

Soon, I felt myself being carefully laid down on a soft bed.

‘Is it Leon?’

The only person who can lift me up and move me is my husband, so it would probably be Leonhard.

‘But Leon went out earlier… Did he come back already?’

The desire to sleep more clashed with the desire to find out who had carried me to bed.

Sleep won.

Thanks to the faint voice that reached my ears.

“….Hello, baby.”

Noah’s voice.

‘Noah carried me? How?’

‘Was our Noah really that strong?’

‘Come to think of it, he had been opening boxes in the treasure room that even I couldn’t manage…’

I wanted to open my eyes and ask him whether he’d enjoyed going out with my older brother, but Noah kept talking, and I missed my chance.

“I am your older brother, and my name is Noah.”

Noah’s voice, whispering softly into my stomach, continued to be heard after that.

“I like swordsmanship, drawing, and grape-flavored candy. Lately, I’ve also become interested in making magic tools.….”

His voice grew even more secretive than before.

“I like Father and Mother, and Rake too… and my uncles and my aunt. I haven’t seen her in a while, but I like Ruby too… and I like my real father a little bit. Just a little.”

I swallowed a laugh inside.

‘Just a little, he says. Felix really should have heard that.’

‘Still, liking him at all is something.’

“As for things I don’t like… I used to have a lot, but now I don’t think there’s anything in particular. I can eat one or two carrots now. When I do, Mother and Father praise me.”

My heart ached when I heard that there were many things he hated in the past.

I wanted to hug him and give him a pat, but the child hadn’t finished speaking to his younger sibling yet.

“If there’s food you don’t like, I’ll eat it for you instead. Even if it’s carrots… I think I can eat up to three.”

Our second child is lucky.

To have such a dependable older brother.

Unable to hold back my smile any longer, I was just about to open my eyes and pull Noah into my arms.

But then—

“Baby, I don’t know anything about you yet… but I’m ready to love you.”

“……”

“I think I’ll be able to tell you I love you the moment I see you.”

The voice that promised love was very sweet and gentle.

“Let’s meet up soon.”

As if he wanted to hug his sibling, a small, warm presence burrowed into my arms. Pretending to still be half-asleep, I wrapped my arms tightly around the child.

At some point, it seemed he had fallen asleep too.

When I opened my eyes again through my hazy consciousness, what I saw was the child in my arms—and sheep and cloud dolls scattered nearby.

‘He chose a book about sheep and clouds in the end, too…’

It seems he really liked the story, as he brought it to my bed.

When the time comes, and I read books to the baby, I’ll tell our second child that it’s a story their big brother loves very much.

I hugged the sleeping child and went back to sleep.

This time, perhaps because I slept so deeply, I dreamed.

A dream far more vivid than usual.

In the dream, I met a young girl. Black hair, blue eyes.

A healthy, lovely little girl who resembled Leonhard, Noah, and me, each in small ways.

The moment I saw her, I knew.

That child was our second.