How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 340

But she couldn’t keep Oliver waiting forever, so Layla hid her regret and went down to the lobby where he was waiting.

 

“Count, have you been waiting long?”

 

“Not at all. Shall we go?”

 

Placing her hand lightly on the arm Oliver offered, Layla smiled gracefully.

 

“We’ll need to ride a carriage and then climb a small hill. Will that be alright?”

 

“Of course, it’s fine. Believe it or not, no one has ever said I lack stamina.”

 

“Do you like sports?”

 

“Yes. My hobby and specialty are skating. The thrill of speeding across a frozen ice rink never gets boring, no matter how many times I do it. Have you ever skated, Count?”

 

“No. Now that I think about it, I’ve never tried skating.”

 

“If you ever visit Cloud Castle, I’ll take you to a lake that’s perfect for skating!”

 

Chatting happily with Oliver, Layla climbed into the carriage.

 

As the carriage moved along at a gentle pace, Layla continued talking with him nonstop.

 

Most of the talking was done by her while Oliver listened, but he nodded at the right moments and asked questions that perfectly picked out the parts she wanted to talk more about.

 

Thanks to that, the time they spent in the carriage didn’t feel awkward at all until they reached their destination.

 

“Here, lady. Your hand.”

 

Layla took the hand Oliver offered and stepped down from the carriage, looking around.

 

The carriage had stopped deep in the forest, at the start of a small path leading up a hill.

 

Aside from the hill, there wasn’t much to see nearby. Far behind them stretched a wide vineyard, but it didn’t seem likely that he had brought her here just to show her grapevines.

 

“Is this the place you wanted to show me?”

 

“More precisely, the hill up there.”

 

Just as she expected, Oliver pointed toward the hill.

 

“There is something I would like to show you at the top. Would you come with me?”

 

“Of course!”

 

‘I’d follow you even to the ends of hell!’

 

That was what Layla truly felt, but thinking Oliver might feel burdened if she said something like that, she merely smiled shyly.

 

“The ground might still be soft because of yesterday’s rain. Please hold tightly to my arm or hand.”

 

Layla immediately hooked her arm through the one Oliver offered and forgot every worry she had only an hour earlier.

 

‘Rain, thank you!’

 

When the sudden downpour yesterday had canceled the fishing tournament, she had felt as though the world had abandoned her.

 

But now that she was spending quiet time alone with Oliver, arm in arm, that rain felt like a gift.

 

‘I wasn’t even sure I could win first place in the fishing tournament anyway. Maybe this is better.’

 

If it meant being with him like this, she felt as though she could climb not just this hill but even the summit of Mount Grover she had seen outside her bedroom window.

 

However, before she could even pretend to be tired and say something like, “Could we rest for a moment?”, the two of them reached the top of the hill in no time.

 

“Wow… That’s a huge rainbow!”

 

From this vantage point on the hill, the rainbow arched like a perfect semicircle starting from the peak of Mount Grover.

 

One end disappeared into white clouds floating in the blue sky, making it look as though it were a bridge connecting the earth and the heavens.

 

It truly looked like something from a painting.

 

Layla was so deeply moved that even blinking felt like a waste.

 

“Oh my… I’ve never seen such a huge rainbow before.”

 

At Cloud Castle, where the temperatures were low, seeing a rainbow was rare.

 

Even when one appeared, it was usually small or faint—hardly impressive.

 

But this one was so large and vivid.

 

Layla felt certain she would never forget this rainbow even decades later.

 

“After a heavy rain like yesterday’s, you can always see a rainbow that big from this hill,” Oliver said. “Nell told me about it.”

 

“Marquise?”

 

“Yes. I asked her personally to give up today’s rainbow for me.”

 

“…What?”

 

Layla was so surprised that she forgot about the rainbow entirely and turned toward Oliver.

 

“You mean… She didn’t offer it first—you asked her yourself?”

 

“I invited you here, after all. It is only proper that I take care of hosting you.”

 

Oliver naturally escorted Layla to a chair that had been set up beforehand on the hill.

 

The table was simple but sturdy, and Oliver personally set down a teapot and snacks, arranging a small tea table.

 

“Ah! I can pour the tea!”

 

“Perhaps next time. Today, please allow me.”

 

Next time.

Today, allow me.

 

Those two phrases made Layla’s lips curl upward without her realizing.

 

“Alright, then I’ll accept your kindness today.”

 

“Is chamomile alright?”

 

“I love it!”

 

No matter what tea Oliver had offered, Layla would have nodded.

 

Fortunately, chamomile was a tea she didn’t dislike—and perhaps because Oliver himself prepared it, it smelled and tasted better than any tea she had ever had before.

 

She felt like she could drink only this tea for the rest of her life.

 

“Ahh… Drinking tea while looking at a rainbow… It’s so romantic.”

 

“I heard you were very excited about the fishing tournament. When the rain canceled it, you seemed quite disappointed… I hoped that the rainbow might cheer you up.”

 

“Of course! I like this much more than the fishing tournament!”

 

In the first place, the reason she had cared about the tournament was simply that she wanted to spend time with Oliver.

 

Things had turned out very differently from what she expected—but it was even better this way.

 

Hoping this moment would last forever, Layla looked down the hill.

 

“Below us… I can see the vineyards… and the village too.”

 

“Yes. That’s one reason I come up here sometimes—to check the vineyards and the town.”

 

Because the land itself was elevated, they could see a wide stretch of vineyards and part of the village below.

 

“Personally, I enjoy coming here in the evening,” Oliver said. “Around dusk, when lights turn on in the houses and smoke rises from the chimneys… I can watch it for hours.”

 

As Oliver looked down at the village, his gaze was filled with deep affection.

 

Layla could sense exactly what lived within those gentle eyes.

 

A day that ends quietly without trouble.

A peaceful life filled with small smiles.

 

The desire to protect that everyday peace was deeply rooted in Oliver’s heart.

 

As the lord of a territory, his goal wasn’t to accumulate fame or wealth.

Nor was it to prove his ideals or pursue grand ambitions.

 

Some people might mock a man like him for that— calling him boring, cowardly, or unambitious.

 

But Layla didn’t think that at all.

 

In fact, it was the opposite.

 

A person who lives to protect a quiet, peaceful everyday life.

 

Someone who values ordinary happiness above greed or ambition.

 

To Layla, that side of Oliver didn’t seem boring in the slightest.

 

If anything— he looked more admirable than anyone else.

 

Layla set down her teacup and smiled softly.

 

“Count.”

 

Oliver looked at her.

 

“Yes, lady?”

 

“Well… I…”

 

Layla briefly looked toward the rainbow before turning back to him.

 

The words she wanted to say circled in her throat several times.

 

In truth, she wanted to tell him.

 

What kind of person he was.

How kind and wonderful he seemed.

 

And—

 

that she liked him.

 

But in the end, those words never left her lips.

 

Instead, Layla smiled gently and said,

 

“I think I’ll remember this rainbow for the rest of my life.”

 

Oliver’s gaze softened.

 

“I’m glad to hear that.”

 

He paused for a moment.

 

Then, as though organizing his thoughts, he looked down at his teacup before speaking again.

 

“The truth is, the reason I invited you here today…”

 

Layla’s heart dropped.

 

Here it was.

 

Her intuition had been right.

 

Today—Oliver was definitely going to say something important.

 

Oliver hesitated for a moment, then spoke slowly.

 

“Lady Cloud.”

 

He addressed her formally.

 

“I have something I must tell you.”

 

* * *