How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 327

Extra Chapter 

 

If You Love Someone, Leave a Record

 

“Ugh, ugh….”

 

Ah, no. Don’t. Please don’t…

 

“Ghk, ughhh…!”

 

“Ma’am, ma’am… Nell!”

 

A hand gently shaking my shoulder brought me back to my senses.

 

“Ugh…”

 

I woke up suddenly and was hit with a sharp headache.

 

I squeezed my eyes shut again—still not fully awake—and groaned, my face twisting. As if used to this, a large hand pressed firmly against my temple, kneading it.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

A gentle hand brushed my forehead along with a worried voice.

 

It was only then that I realized that my hair was soaked with cold sweat and stuck to my forehead and cheeks.

 

‘This is….’

 

As the sleepiness faded away, I woke up to reality.

 

Here I am in the carriage, and unable to resist the drowsiness that is creeping over me, I fall asleep with my head resting on Leonhard’s shoulder.

 

And I had a nightmare. A nightmare so horrifying that just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.

 

“I tried not to wake you, but you looked like you were suffering too much. Did you have a bad dream?”

 

“Yes….”

 

I nodded weakly and looked for water to satisfy my rising thirst.

 

Leonhard took a water bottle from the snack bag provided in the carriage and poured me some water.

 

As I soothed my throat with the cool water, Leonhardt gently rubbed the back of my neck and shoulders. As my stiff muscles slowly loosened, I finally felt like I could breathe again.

 

“Titi appeared in my dream.”

 

At my words, Leonhard’s expression changed. It wasn’t quite a worry—more like deep concern.

 

“Titi… What did she do this time?”

 

Today made it the sixth time I’d dreamed of Titiana.

 

In the last five dreams, Titiana has shown me everything from a one or two-year-old barely able to walk to a six or seven-year-old running down a long corridor with her skirt fluttering.

 

Every time I dreamed of Titiana, I told the story to Leonhard and Noah.

 

We eventually concluded that these were something like prophetic dreams, and as a result, our second child’s name had been decided as Titiana.

 

One more thing.

 

Leonhardt, who used to listen to these dream stories with nothing but excitement and delight, began wearing a worried expression after hearing about the fourth dream.

 

It was because he was beginning to realize that our Titiana was no ordinary child.

 

“She was leading a monster army.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Leonhard’s eyes opened wide as if he had heard something unbelievable.

 

I rubbed my belly—which didn’t even show yet—and shivered.

 

“I don’t know where she got them from, but she was leading a horde of monsters, shouting ‘Follow me!’ while rampaging through Ajas Castle…”

 

Unfortunately, the only people who appeared in the dream were Titiana and me. Leonhard, Noah, and even the knights and servants who should’ve been guarding Ajas Castle were nowhere to be seen.

 

So it was solely my job to chase after Titiana, who was leading the monsters around the castle.

 

“No matter how hard I chased her, I couldn’t close the distance. Eventually, I ran out of stamina and had to stop halfway. And then Titi—”

 

“Titi?”

 

“She destroyed Ajas Castle… with the monsters…”

 

I trembled as I recalled the ruins—so thoroughly collapsed they could no longer even be called a castle.

 

Leonhard also kept his mouth shut and said nothing, perhaps because he hadn’t thought I’d had such a dream.

 

For a moment, I felt terrified. I grabbed Leonhard’s arm and nervously asked him.

 

“This isn’t a prophetic dream, right? Our daughter wouldn’t cause such a terrible accident, right?”

 

“Even if Titi is an extraordinary child, she won’t be able to destroy the castle with just a few monsters.

Knights and wizards are guarding the castle, and Noah and I will be there too.”

 

That’s right. In my dream, it was only Titian and me.

 

“Right? This is just a dream, right?”

 

“Yes. To begin with, the idea of Titi leading a monster army makes no sense. No matter how adorably she begs, I won’t allow her to create something like a monster army.”

 

I felt a little relieved to see Leonhard speaking like that, with the face of a stern father.

 

“I hope Titi will be like you.…”

 

I hugged Leonhard’s waist and leaned against him.

 

Then he hugged my shoulder and patted me to comfort me, and without knowing what I was thinking, he said this.

 

“Titi is a girl. In terms of looks and personality, wouldn’t it be better if she took after you rather than me?”

 

“If you knew how much of a troublemaker I was as a child, you would never say something like that.”

 

My parents never even cursed me with, ‘May you have a daughter just like yourself someday,’ so how did things end up like this?

 

“How much of a troublemaker were you?”

 

“Hmm, um…”

 

I invoked my right to remain silent.

 

Leonhard laughed out loud as he watched me purse my lips so tightly that wrinkles formed, and then kissed me on the lips.

 

“You hid a puppy you secretly brought home in the wardrobe, only for it to chew all the clothes to shreds. You secretly set fire to a pile of raked leaves and roasted chestnuts at night without any preparation, then got hit by a popping chestnut and ended up with a dark bruise around your eye. And when you confidently declared you’d paint a mural on the manor’s stone wall, you ended up painting the entire thing black—”

 

“Huh? How do you know that?!”

 

“Everyone knows that.”

 

Leonhard laughed out loud, looking very pleased at my flushed face.

 

For a moment, I was captivated by that refreshing smile, like that of an untainted boy.

 

Then reality hit.

 

The fact that my dark past was what made him laugh filled me with rage.

 

“Who was it? Who betrayed sibling loyalty and told you every embarrassing detail of my life?!”

 

It’s obvious.

 

‘That troublemaking brother of mine is bound to be causing trouble again!’

 

“Ah… I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but erase all of it from your memory. I’ll give you five seconds.”

 

“Five seconds is far too short, my lady.”

 

“Then six seconds?”

 

“Hmm, I’ll give it a try.”

 

Leonhard, with his arms crossed, closed his eyes tightly.

 

I counted out loud—one second, two seconds—all the way to six.

 

“Done! You forgot, right? You forgot, didn’t you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Perfect. Exactly that.”

 

‘Honestly, whose husband listens this well?’

 

When I lifted my head and rewarded him with a kiss, Leonhard laughed with a soft, breathy sound, as if it tickled.

 

“However, my lady.”

 

“And why do I hear a ‘however,’?”

 

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something, but it’s right on the tip of my tongue.”

 

“What should we do to make it stay just short of coming back?”

 

Leonhard closed his eyes and bowed his head toward me, his lips slightly pursed.

 

The corners of his mouth were curved in a pleasant smile, as if he were very happy.

 

It seems like teasing your wife is so much fun.

 

When I showed no reaction, his glossy, flushed lips slowly came forward.

 

I debated pinching those infuriating lips, but in the spirit of giving an extra rice cake to a mischievous child, I placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in.

 

‘I’m letting this slide because you’re handsome. Seriously.’

 

I gave his slightly protruding lips a quick peck, and his already bright expression lit up even more.

 

Seeing her so happy after just one kiss made my heart, which had been pouting in annoyance, melt away in an instant.

 

Since it’s come to this, I’m going to hug my husband and have a more enjoyable time.

 

“Ohhh, vineyards! Captain! Marquise! Looks like we’re almost at Count Howard’s territory!”

 

Robert’s voice rang out from beyond the carriage wall, and my lips—just about to touch Leonhard’s—froze in place.

 

“We’re already here?”

 

I opened the carriage window, away from Leonhard.

 

Then a cool breeze blew over my face, filled with the sweet scent of grapes.

 

“Ah…! It really is!”

 

The moment I saw the vast vineyards stretching out endlessly on both sides of the road, my heart fluttered.

 

‘It’s only been a year, but I didn’t expect to feel this happy to be back…!’

 

Even from a distance, I could clearly see clusters of plump, deep-purple grapes hanging heavily from each vine.

 

The sweet aroma drifting toward my nose announced a bountiful harvest, and my mouth was already watering.

 

Picking a perfectly ripe bunch, rinsing it in cool stream water, and popping the grapes into your mouth one by one—there was no better treat.

 

“Leon, did you know that Howard grapes are sweet and delicious, and not too sour, even if you just chew them.”

 

“No matter how sweet the Howard grapes are, I don’t think they’ll ever be as sweet as my wife’s lips.”

 

“Oh my.”

 

‘Was my husband really capable of saying things like that?’

 

Even though he saw my eyes widen in surprise, Leonhard closed the window I had opened without any shyness or embarrassment.

 

Then he leaned over and placed his hand on the side of my face, which was half-sticking to the carriage wall.

 

“What could be worse than giving and then taking away, My lady?”

 

“Well, um… I don’t think I took anything away…”

 

“You did. After raising my expectations so high, too.”

 

With a voice that sounded genuinely hurt, as if I’d done something terribly cruel, Leonhard cornered me with nowhere left to retreat, guiding my wandering hands to the back of his neck.

 

“Please finish what you were going to do earlier.”

 

The way he whispered my name—Nell—was as sweet as Howard grapes. No, sweeter than that.

 

‘…Well, there’s still time before the carriage stops.’

 

I wrapped my arms around his solid body as it leaned into me and kissed the lips that were only inches away.

 

My husband was definitely right.

 

The kiss with him was so sweet that I breathed the same breath with him several times until the carriage stopped.

 

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