How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Noah, this is your new teacher. Until we adjust your schedule, he will be teaching Military Studies and Monster Ecology. Sir Mario, greet him. He is my son and Ajas’s successor, whom you will teach from now on.”

 

“My name is Mario Folten. Please take care of me, Master.” 

 

“Me too…”

 

Noah nodded briefly and came closer to me.

 

‘Is he being shy?’

 

I was going to introduce the two of them and leave, but I thought it would be best to stay a little longer, so I ordered the maid to prepare Noah’s tea at my side.

 

“When can classes start?”

 

“We don’t need any additional materials, so as long as we have the textbook, we can start right away.”

 

“We have a book that the previous teacher used, but are there any other textbooks you need?”

 

“A book written by a previous teacher is sufficient. I need to check how far the master has progressed.”

 

“You might be surprised. I’m not saying this because he’s my son, but really, he’s a special kid.”

 

This isn’t bragging, it’s just stating the obvious, but Noah called me quietly, probably because he was embarrassed by the compliment.

 

“Mother.”

 

“Haha, that’s really cool! To be able to teach His Excellency the next Marquis Ajas would be an unprecedented honor for my family.”

 

Noah’s ears flushed with embarrassment, and his gaze suddenly shifted to Mario.

 

Mario, who was lifting his teacup, probably felt puzzled by the gaze, and slightly tilted his head.

 

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

 

“No. Just like the teacher said, I want to take a class starting today. I was going to ask if it was possible.”

 

“There is no need to speak highly of me, young master.” 

 

“No. I learned that from my former teacher who taught me etiquette. We must not forget to be grateful and respect teachers who provide valuable teachings.”

 

Mario, who was blinking with a strange expression, as if he was impressed or not, asked Noah.

 

“Your former teacher is….?”

 

“Viscount Hiern. Do you know him?”

 

In response to Noah’s direct question, Mario pushed up his glasses with the joint of his bent index finger.

 

“No. I don’t know. As I told the Marquise, I am from the South. I don’t know many nobles from the north”

 

Noah, who was frowning at him, raised his teacup with a look of regret upon seeing my gaze.

 

“It would be better to at least find out about Ajas’s vassals in advance. If you go in and out of this castle, you’ll run into each other often.”

 

“Haha, I was hired as a teacher, but I actually learned valuable lessons from you. I will do that.”

 

Mario nodded, got up, and asked me. 

 

“Then, Marquise, since his enthusiasm for learning is so strong, we will go straight to the class.”

 

“Okay. Please take good care of Noah.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

I gave a small word of encouragement to Noah, who followed him to his feet.

 

“Good luck in class.”

 

Then Noah pursed his lips as if he wanted to say something to me, then smiled faintly.

 

“Yes, mother.”

 

“If you don’t like the new teacher, tell me right away. Okay? Because I haven’t stamped the contract yet.”

 

“No, it’s okay.”

 

Noah shook his head at my low whisper. 

 

Then his gaze snapped to Mario, who was standing across from him.

As if reviewing some fact in his head, Noah kept his gaze on him and whispered in a low voice.

 

“Quickly…I want to talk to my teacher.”

 

* * * 

 

A few hours later, after class, Noah liked Mario, and a formal contract was signed.

 

First, this week off, then next week. For now, the lessons will be two days a week, three hours a day.

 

“According to what the Marquise said, he is a truly special person. It’s hard to believe that the master is only five years old.” 

 

“Hmm, didn’t I tell you? Noah is a genius.”

 

“Right now, his knowledge will be comparable to that of students at military academies. No, he might be superior to them. This isn’t just sugarcoating, it’s something I say from the bottom of my heart.”

 

The bridge of my nose rose at Mario’s sincere praise.

 

I almost missed dinner as I listened to the details of Noah’s brilliance in class.

 

If Noah hadn’t said he wanted to pack a picnic lunch and eat it in the greenhouse for dinner, that might have been true.

 

“I’m sorry for the sudden request, Mother.”

 

“A sudden request? I’m always open to requests like that. I love this greenhouse, too.”

 

I spread out a mat next to the small pond in the greenhouse, and my guards, including Noah, sat around us. We enjoyed a rather simple dinner of sandwiches, sausages, fruit and juice. Lark also ate an entire bunch of grapes by himself.

 

After finishing our meal, we took some time to look at the clover field that we had sown together a few days ago.

 

“Mom, it’s already sprouted! Do sprouts actually grow this quickly?”

 

Everything has grown.

 

“It depends on the seed, but usually yes. Now, we need to water these sprouts a little to help them grow.”

 

Brown came to visit us just in time, and under his advice, we watered other flowers and trees besides the clover field.

 

And when I came out of the greenhouse, the sky had already turned dark. 

 

“Hoamm…It’s already time to sleep.”

 

“I’m going to take a shower and go to sleep right away today. You don’t have to read children’s books to me, Mother.”

 

“Really? Well, you must be very tired too. Quickly go in and rest.” 

 

“Yes. Have a good night.”

 

Normally, I would have come out after seeing his sleeping face, but I had other things to do today, so I parted ways with Noah in the third-floor hallway.

 

“Sally. Please call Peter. If he’s not there, leave a message for him to meet me as soon as he returns.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

While Sally left for the messenger’s quarters, I went into the study instead of the bedroom and took out a letter.

 

I was planning on writing the letter quickly before Peter arrived. The recipient is none other than my troublesome brother.

 

* * * 

 

“It may seem far away at first glance, but it is no exaggeration to say that geography is the discipline most closely related to military science. If you are fully familiar with the terrain and environment where the battle takes place, you can decide which strategy to use. Because the width can be reduced. In the same context, meteorology is also important, but let’s talk about that later.”

 

Mario, out of habit, adjusted his glasses and picked up the parchment he had left on the desk.

 

He unrolled the string that held it in place, pressed both ends of the parchment with a heavy inkwell, and spread it out on the desk.

 

“Have you ever looked at a map?” 

 

“No, I haven’t seen it.”

 

“Then this will be your first map. Actually, the workmanship is so poor that it can be called a map, but it has a good assortment, so please use it as a reference.”

 

It didn’t seem like he was saying this out of humility, but the map on the parchment that Mario unfolded was closer to a drawing than a map.

 

A small castle surrounded by several mountains. There is only one road leading to the south, and there appears to be no other way to access the castle. 

 

“If you wanted to take over this castle, what strategy would you use?”

 

“The walls are already high, but since it is backed against a mountain, the accessible areas are limited, so the burden of the siege seems to be high.”

 

Noah moves his finger over the map.

 

“Assuming it is not an urgent battle, I think we can minimize the damage by stationing ourselves on this road, cutting off the supply to the castle, and waging a long-term war.”

 

“What if there is a lot of food stored in the castle? Rather, what would you do if this side’s support was cut off and the battle had to end in a short period of time?” 

 

“In that case, I think we will figure out the terrain of the mountain and see if we can send soldiers into the mountain and attack from behind. Depending on the results, I think we will either send the main force into the mountains to launch a surprise attack or carry out a diversionary operation to disperse the enemy’s defenders using appropriate deception.”

 

“Then, if there were forests on both sides of this road,…”

 

Mario continued to ask Noah questions as he drew a forest on the map and added landforms such as rivers and cliffs one by one. Each time, Noah came up with what he thought was the best answer.

 

The two people’s class ended only after the map, which at first only showed castles and roads, became crowded.

 

Mario rolled up the parchment where the ink was still wet, organized it, and gave Noah his homework.

 

“When a few hundred troops injure thousands of people, please organize your thoughts and write them down on a piece of parchment as to what strategy will minimize the damage.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

Noah nodded, looked at his notebook summarizing what he had learned today, and then called Mario, who was about to leave, to stop him.

 

“There is one thing I would like to ask you.” 

 

“What is it?”

 

“I heard you graduated from a military academy. Are you good at wielding a sword? If so, I would like to ask for your help.”

 

“Haha, I’m not skilled enough to train with you, Master. I narrowly avoided failing the practical exam. If I hadn’t aced the written test, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate.”

 

“I see…”

 

“There are many knights with outstanding skills in Ajas Castle. Please ask them rather than me.”

 

“Alright. See you next time then.” 

 

“Yes, Master.”

 

Mario bowed his head and walked out of the study room. This time, Noah didn’t catch him either.

 

After a while, Simon, who had been waiting outside, came into the room. 

 

“Class ended a little early today. There are two hours left until dinner time. Where should I take you?”

 

“I want to take a short walk.” 

 

“Then I’ll get my coat!”

 

Always dress warmly when going out. Because Raenel had advised Simon and Noah to always wear coats when they went out.

 

“Master, here is your shawl.”

 

“Instead of this, I want to use a wool shawl.”

 

“The one you had before? You seem to like that one.” 

 

“Yeah. My mother made it herself.”

 

Neither the speaker nor the listener realized that it was a subtle boast.

 

But the sincerity of Simon’s admiration gave Noah the reaction he subconsciously expected.

 

“Wow, the Marquise’s craftsmanship is truly exquisite, as she knitted that shawl herself.”

 

“Yeah. My mother is good at everything.”

 

Noah, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, played with the edge of his shawl and went out to the castle’s back garden with Simon.

 

While passing through the hallway and going down the stairs, the castle workers who encountered Noah quickly moved to the side and bowed.

 

Their attitude was noticeably more polite than before, but Noah walked away without even glancing at them.

 

Stepping on the thin snow that had piled up last night, Noah recalled today’s lesson with Mario. No, precisely the details of the lie he told.

 

‘It’s not a lie that he graduated from a military academy. Also, being the top student in the written exam. However, everything about Sir Alexander that I asked in passing during class was a lie.’

 

Things like being close to him, or hearing him talk about his sister often.

 

And the lies were usually told in front of Raenel unless Noah asked directly. He even drank tea with her, reminiscing about his time with Sir Alexander.

 

At the prospect of hearing family stories, Raenel readily accepted his offer, and she listened to Mario’s story with great enjoyment. 

 

Noah was there every time. He didn’t really intervene, though; he just sat by Raenel’s side and drank his tea in silence.

 

It was not revealed that most of the stories coming out of Mario’s mouth were lies.

 

‘How can I reveal this? If my mother asked me how I knew it was a lie, I would have no answer…’

 * * *