How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“The Sage of Water and Ice? Didn’t they say that position was vacant just now?”

 

“Vacant? If not for our master, what other wizards on this continent would dare to call himself the Sage of Water and Ice?”

 

Marilyn huffed, pulling up her robe sleeves as if she had been personally insulted, looking ready to fight anyone who dared make such a claim.

 

‘But he said he wasn’t interested in that title…’

 

‘By the way, that guy’s name was Felix. Now that I think about it, I realized belatedly that we hadn’t even introduced each other.’

 

Actually, there hadn’t been a good time for introductions earlier, and it wasn’t exactly the right moment now, either. 

 

However, I think they’ve already finished introducing themselves. I introduced myself to show that I have no hostility towards them.

 

“Nice to meet you. I am Raenel Ajas, the Marquise of Ajas.”

 

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. Lady…? Marquise of Ajas?” 

 

Even though we were quite far away, Marilyn’s green eyes were seen shaking like water.

 

“Wait, you mean to say… you’re the wife of the Marquis of Ajas, the ruler of that vast border territory…?”

 

“That’s right. By the way, these people are my escorts. This child is my son.”

 

I smiled brightly as I hugged Noah, who was right next to me and sat him on my lap.

 

“In other words, he is the successor to the Marquis of Ajas.”

 

Marilyn screamed at those words.

 

“Kyaaa! Master, what on earth have you done! Oh, no. It might not have been an accident, right?”

 

Marilyn closed her eyes tightly, clasping her hands together as if in prayer, and then opened them.

 

“You two, along with your escorts, were formally invited by my master to come to this tower.…right?”

 

“We were invited, yes. But the reason I’m here is to prove that the barbarian attack earlier today had nothing to do with Ajas.”

 

“Ah, that barbarian named Cathy. So the woman who was next to the Master earlier was the Marquise of Ajas…?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

I nodded, feeling fortunate inside.

 

‘The name of Ajas is also used here.

Even if trouble were to arise between Ajax and the Silver Frost Tower, it would not cause any direct harm to us.’

 

As I was washing away my anxiety, Marilyn spoke in a more nervous voice than before.

 

“My master has instructed me to serve you and your guards during your stay while the tower is being reorganized. I will then show you to a room where you can rest comfortably. Is there anything else you need, Marquise?”

 

It was a welcome thing to hear. I quickly answered with a bright smile on my face.

 

“I’d like to contact the castle of Ajas. We left so suddenly that we didn’t have a chance to notify anyone. We do have a witness, but I can’t be sure how they’ll deliver the news….”

 

Felix had indeed invited us, but would the old man Mallet, upon seeing our sudden disappearance, assume,

“Ah, they must have been invited to the tower,”

or would he think,

“They’ve been kidnapped”?

 

‘If I were Old Man Mallet, I’d think we’d all been kidnapped.’

 

Marilyn’s complexion turned pale, as if her thoughts were not much different from mine.

 

“I–I will contact Castle Ajas. If it is not too much trouble, could you please write a letter explaining the situation?”

 

Marilyn knelt on the white stone floor and clasped her hands in a pleading gesture.

 

I was startled and shocked by her reaction, but figured this was an opportunity and deliberately spoke in a commanding tone.

 

“We were indeed invited by the tower’s master, so I see no reason to refuse your request. However, I have one request of my own.”

 

“What is it? Oh, and please speak comfortably. I’m just a commoner.”

 

I nodded, sensing that Marilyn was uncomfortable with my respect.

 

“Okay, then I’ll speak comfortably. Where is Catherine now that I mentioned earlier?”

 

“Huh? Huh…Why are you looking for that barbarian?”

 

Marilyn’s eyes rolled into the air, avoiding my gaze. I strained my eyes and glared at her.

 

“I came here to prove that today’s attack had nothing to do with Ajas. However, if the Silver Frost Tower harmed Catherine, I’ll give up on proving anything and return to the castle. I will conclude that the Silver Frost Tower has decided to be hostile to Ajas.”

 

Fortunately, my threats seemed to have worked, and Marilyn shook her head hurriedly.

 

“Of course not! The Silver Frost Tower has no intention of opposing Aias, not at all. It’s just that… um…”

 

Even as she denied it, she hesitated, looking as if she didn’t know how to explain.

 

“That’s….”

 

“What?”

 

Her expression was oddly pitiful, but I didn’t let up, glaring harder. Realizing her excuses wouldn’t work, Marilyn hesitantly spoke.

 

“That barbarian named Catherine…is in the laboratory right now.…”

 

“What? Where?”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any evil intentions, I just want to find out how she managed to break through the defensive and concealment spells on our tower—”

 

“So you took the injured person to the lab?”

 

“Don’t worry! We haven’t done anything yet! We’ve been too busy dealing with the intruders! Hahaha!”

 

“Are you laughing? Are you laughing now?”

 

“No.”

 

Marilyn immediately shut her mouth, glancing at me nervously. What had seemed cute earlier now only irritated me. Unable to hold back, I shouted.

 

“Take us to Cathy right now!”

 

* * * 

 

When she said Catherine had been taken to the laboratory, she wasn’t kidding.

 

Catherine was really left in a large room with dozens of magical circles drawn on the walls and floor, tied to a bed.

 

“Cathy!”

 

The thick smell of blood made everyone instinctively cover their noses and mouths, but among them, Ethan was the first to rush forward when he saw Catherine.

 

He approached her, his face twisted with concern, but hesitated, his hands hovering awkwardly over her as though unsure what to do.

 

“What… What happened to her?”

 

“I’ll use healing magic!”

 

As soon as she entered the lab, Sage, who had covered her mouth with a sob, approached Catherine on the bed with a pale, exhausted face.

 

Unable to bring myself to approach Catherine, who was lying down, I just held onto Noah’s hand tightly.

 

Noah clung to me as if to comfort me, or as if he was scared.

 

“Ahem, Marquise, I have Fulfilled your request….”

 

At that moment, I heard Marilyn’s voice behind me. For a moment, I was so angry that my eyes became dizzy, and I screamed without thinking about the consequences.

 

“Fulfilled my request? Can you still say that after seeing this?”

 

“But that woman is an intruder who invaded our tower.…To be honest, I’m glad we didn’t execute her on the spot—”

 

“I told you, that woman is our knight!”

 

“You must be angry. Of course, you are. But please calm down and listen to what I have to say, Marquise.”

 

Marilyn poured out her words while watching me. 

 

“The defensive and concealment spells that had not been broken even once in the past hundred years have been broken, and the barbarians are rushing in and attacking our tower as if they had been waiting. In this situation, it’s not unreasonable for us to suspect that barbarian as their vanguard, is it?”

 

“That…that’s true.”

 

After cooling my head and thinking about it, Marilyn was right.

 

If a single wizard had destroyed the walls of Ajas and then monsters had invaded, I would have thought the same thing.

 

“Marilyn, you’re right. I apologize for shouting. Catherine is my friend, so I lost my temper for a moment.”

 

“Friend? The Marquise is friends with a barbarian? Is that even possible?”

 

Marilyn’s eyes looked back and forth between me and Catherine, as if she couldn’t believe it. As if she was trying to determine the truth of what I was saying.

 

“I have heard that no matter what happens, Ajas and the barbarians cannot stand on the same ground under the same sky.”

 

“In most cases, that’s true… Ajas exists to protect the northern border from barbarians and monsters, after all. But I became friends with Cathy before I became the Marquise of Ajas. And also, at that time, Cathy was already a knight of Ajas. If being a barbarian were an issue, she wouldn’t have been able to become an Ajas’ knight in the first place, right?”

 

I looked back at Ethan and Leona as if asking for their consent, and they both nodded simultaneously.

 

“Catherine was betrayed by her own people, nearly killed, and after surviving with the help of the Ajas, she swore a blood oath to repay the favor and seek her revenge. If she had betrayed us, she would have bled to death long ago.”

 

“Catherine is a knight personally appointed by Marquis. If you suspect Catherine of being a barbarian, please put that doubt aside, Lady.”

 

“L-Lady…? I’ve told you, I’m a commoner! Please don’t call me that.”

 

But the face that was coughing was flushed. It seemed like she liked that nickname.

 

“Anyway, since Marquise personally asked me,…I will hand over that knight to Marquise.”

 

“Thank you so much!”

 

“Just let me conduct a simple interrogation once she comes to her senses. The security breach in the tower is a very, very, very important matter.”

 

“Yeah. I’ll make sure Catherine cooperates when she wakes up. I don’t think she did it on purpose.”

 

But words like these can’t erase what’s already happened.

 

I thought for a moment and then continued.

 

“Ajas will fully compensate for the damage caused by Catherine’s mistake. Including the medical expenses for the injured, the repairs to the broken furniture, and the collapsed building.”

 

“Full compensation…? The Silver Frost Tower will gratefully accept Ajas’s offer!”

 

Marilyn’s face brightened as she eagerly grabbed my hand. Just then—

 

“Marquise! Catherine has come to her senses!”

 

* * *