How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

So, Nell, who’s getting the bouquet?”

Lily, who was sitting in front of the mirror and combing her hair, asked me as if she had suddenly remembered.

Lying on my bed, hugging a long cushion, and rolling around, I raised my head and looked at Lily and replied.

“It’s Marquis Valentin’s child, and Becky’s friend decided to accept it. It’s a relief, right? If not, I was going to ask you to do it.”

“You don’t have anyone to ask, so you are asking your sister to do it? What are you going to hear from people?”

“If I was going to worry about that, I wouldn’t have proposed to Leon.” 

Seeing me laughing, she let out a small laugh as if she couldn’t stop it.

I loved it when my family laughed like that. If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t have done it, but since it was me, they did.

Well, that will end tomorrow.

“I never thought you would get married before me.”

After combing her hair, Lily climbed into bed, hugged me tightly, and gently stroked my hair.

Today is the last day of this touch. I held back the tears that were about to come out and gave a bright voice.

“Me too. I never thought I would be the first among us, not just you.”

“I know. At least I thought Liv would do it before you.” 

If it wasn’t because of my parents’ boat accident, my older brother would have gotten married already.

No, when he was first engaged, the other side wanted to wait until after he inherited the title, so maybe he hadn’t gotten married yet because of that…

“Come to think of it, how is Julia doing?”

“Why did you bring up that bad woman on this good day?”

“But it wasn’t Julia’s intention to cancel the engagement.” 

“My dear sister, the time has come for you to know the truth.” 

“uh?”

“Listen,” Lily said, bringing up a shocking story.

“You must have collapsed exhausted from crying and didn’t know. The mean woman brought up the idea of breaking up the marriage even before our parents’ funeral was over. She even took out and returned the proposal ring that Liv had personally picked out for her.” 

“Really?”

“Yes. When Liv asked her to talk again after the funeral, she turned coldly, saying that she would never set foot in this countryside again. I still can’t forget that woman’s  face in my mind.”

“oh my god….”

I didn’t know. I really didn’t know. I just thought Julia’s family asked us to break off the engagement because my family had so much debt.

“And I heard that she got married to the North.… Wait, if it’s north of Howard’s, is it the Ajas frontier?”

“what? really?”

“I can’t remember. Eh… Well, even if you went to Ajas, you wouldn’t meet her. How wide is it?”

“Really?”

“If you meet her, just ignore her, she might try to talk to you about how close you two used to be.”

“Okay. If I meet her, I will ignore her.”

Talking about Julia, naturally reminded me of the old days. When my parents were still alive, I was still getting into trouble.

I remember going to the woods behind the manor house to weave wreaths, picking raspberries until my fingertips were red, and playing the violin next to my mom when she played the piano…

“If Mother and Father were still alive, what would they have said?”

“They must have told you to live well. They would have told you to come back whenever it was difficult.” 

“Didn’t they stop the marriage? They would say ‘Your older sisters and older brothers aren’t married yet, so why do you, who have just become an adult, get married first’?”

“But they couldn’t stop it in the end. Is there anyone in our house who can stop you?”

“I know…”

I pouted, and tears welled up without warning. Before I even blinked to dry my eyes, the tears fell down and made Lily say ‘Nel?’ she said in surprise

The voice made my eyes more teary, so I hugged Lily back.

“I want to see Mother and Father…” 

“Nell…”

“If only I hadn’t been so interested in the East Coast, then our parents wouldn’t have been on that ship.… !”

“Nell, I told you not to say that.”

“but…”

Lily spoke in a strict voice, but tears didn’t dry up in my eyes.

Lily comforted me by caressing my cheek, which was getting wet from sobbing.

“Our parents died because of pirates. Our parents wouldn’t have died if those evil bastards hadn’t done such outrageous things.”

“But, but….”

“Nell. What did Mother say before she left?” 

How can I forget the Thin fingers on my shoulders, warm breath, and lips on my cheeks. The smile of my mother, who was friendly and sweet, was still deeply engraved in my mind.

“Listen to your brothers and sisters…” 

“Yeah. So you have to listen to your sister.” 

“But…”

“What should we do with our tomboy?”

Lily’s sweet voice whispers in my ear. 

I couldn’t stop crying because I thought that today would be the last thing like my sister’s touch to soothe me and this warmth to hug me kindly.

“Well, what if I want to see my sisters and brothers there? I want to see you, but I can’t see you anymore…”

“Do you have that thought now? You should have done it before you proposed to Marquis Ajas.”

“That—!”

“Stop crying. Tomorrow is your wedding, will you stand next to the groom with a swollen face? Then, what if people really spread rumors that the Marquis Ajas kidnapped the bride?”

“I’m leaving right after the wedding anyway, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. What’s the use of rumors in the capital?”

“That gorgeous Paul Herbina is yours. Besides, a mansion in your name is being built in the Howard Territory. You can come anytime if you want to see us. Aren’t you?”

“It is, but….”

Lily touched my wet cheek and told me to stop.

“You really chose a good husband. There are so many men in the world who won’t let you meet your family.”

“Why can’t I meet my family?”

“The thing like killing her husband in conspiracy with her family and devouring the entire family while there was no heir…Because there were quite a few cases like that in the past.” 

Tears welled up in my eyes at those terrifying words.

God, what a wicked thing to do.

“There are quite a few men who send their wives to the back room or kick them out of the family as soon as they get an heir. That’s why infidelity is so rampant. Nell, if you and your partner can trust each other, you’ve already made a successful marriage, so don’t cry. You will surely be happy.”

“I…will only be happy if my sister and brothers are happy too, I can’t be happy alone…”

“Well, then I must be happy for you.”

Lily’s lips touched my cheek. As I remembered my mother’s last kiss, I burst into tears again.

“I’ll take care of your clover. So don’t forget about that clover. Okay?”

“Yes. me too…I will plant clover when I go to the Ajas. Watching Clover, I always hope that my older sisters and older brothers will be happy.”

That day, I cried and cried for a long time in Lily’s arms. When I fell asleep exhausted from crying, my parents appeared in my dream. 

They hugged me tightly and kissed me on the cheek. Like the last time I saw them.

‘My beloved daughter.’ They didn’t say anything else, but that one word was enough for me. 

That’s how I greeted the wedding day with swollen eyes.

* * * 

The sky was so clear and blue, probably because I was crying so hard.

Even if it snows or rains, the wizards will take care of everything, so they said there is no need to worry about the weather, but it’s better to have good weather from the beginning.

We arrived at Paul Herbina early in the morning and while I was getting ready, guests who received invitations began to arrive one after another.

The wedding venue was set in a central garden centered with a symmetrical arrangement of marble sculptures and colorful hydrangea plants around a huge fountain in the middle.

The lake with white boats decorated with flowers was visible in the distance, and the hydrangea blooming naturally despite the winter gave the whole garden a bright atmosphere.

In addition, a luxurious red carpet spread along the road from the front gate to the central garden, an archway decorated with various flowers installed in between, and satin ribbons tied between pillars.

The colorful fine petals flying in the sky like a spring day created a romantic atmosphere, and the guests who arrived in the garden were amazed.

Then, Rebecca, who visited the bridal waiting room, explained. 

“I was really surprised too, what is it? I have never seen such a beautiful wedding venue. Nell, who gets married at a ceremony like this, will definitely become a happy bride!”

“Yes. Because Becky visited me like this, I will be able to become a happier bride.”

“Nell…!”

Rebecca’s belly was showing a little more than I had seen at her wedding.

Whereas before I could shake my head and say, “She gained weight”, Now it seems like everyone can doubt it.

Nevertheless, she graciously accepted my invitation to visit Paul Herbina. I was just really happy with that fact.

“By the way, Nell, have you been crying? Your eyes look a bit swollen.” 

“ah…Does it show?”

“Did something happen?”

“No… it’s just that I’m a little sad about leaving the house I’ve lived in for so long…Didn’t Becky do that too?”

“Me? I’m not sure…I think I was just happy that I was finally getting married to the duke. Besides, my parents are in the capital, and Duke Khalid is in the capital half the year.” 

‘That’s right, I envy you.’

I made sure my voice was low so that my inner thoughts wouldn’t show.

“Oh, Becky. Now you’re the Duchess of Khalid. Do you still call your husband Duke?”

“Ah….I’m not used to it yet.”

Rebecca, who smiled shyly with blushing cheeks, had the atmosphere of a fresh new bride. 

As I was smiling, Rebecca realized that she had forgotten her maid. So she called her maid who was standing behind her.

Standing like a shadow, at Rebecca’s gesture, she carried a large box and approached me.

“It’s a wedding present, Nell.”