How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love

“Before that, in Ajas, all financial authority was held jointly by the Marquis and the Marquess.”

 

Count Langifer took a sip of black tea and explained again. 

 

“In order to fulfill his duty of protecting the border, the Marquis often stayed at the Hiyela Gate or inspected the estates. It was difficult to look into financial affairs from the outside, so naturally His wife began to help.”

 

“I see…It was the first time I heard about it.”

 

“When the current Marquess inherited the title, many people visited Ajas Castle, hoping for investment and support. However, the Marquess never allowed them to meet with her. She has no interest in such things.”

 

The moment I heard those words, a lightning bolt of realization passed through my mind. 

 

“But, as the Marquess, I supported the capital’s artists…”

 

“That’s right. I’m sure there are probably many people who have already packed their bags and set off for Ajas Castle.”

 

Count Langifer tried to end the short tea time by saying that he needed to figure out the financial scale of the castle before they arrived. Instead of going back to my desk, I asked in a hurry.

 

“Should I meet them all? Can’t I refuse?”

 

“Of course, it’s okay if you refuse. However, if you are interested in northern social circles, listening to their stories may be of some help. People in business are sensitive to trends.”

 

“I don’t really have any thoughts on social circles.…”

 

‘Is it because of the capital’s social circles? I was sick of social gatherings.’

 

“If you’re not interested, you don’t have to accept the request for an interview. In reality, they are either scammers trying to make a scene or lazy people trying to sit around without working.”

 

“Is that okay?”

 

“Of course. There is no reason why Ajas should spend time and money to deal with them when they’re not even invited guests.”

 

“No, not that one. The social circle.”

 

When I immediately corrected it, Count Langifer nodded with a surprised look on his face.

 

“So what you’re saying is that you have no interest in the social world. Yes, you don’t have to force yourself to hold social gatherings. but….” 

 

“but?”

 

Count Langifer rolled his eyes once and then opened his mouth.

 

“Currently, the northern social community is divided into four groups, maintaining a reasonable balance. They maintain the right balance, with no group being particularly large and no group being particularly small.”

 

‘Is it like several noble ladies are hosting their own gatherings in the capital’s social circle, where there is no royal family?’

 

I nodded to show that I understood. 

 

Count Langifer continued speaking.

 

“One of these is a wizard’s gathering that is more like a research gathering than a social gathering, so you don’t have to worry about it. Another one is more like a wine club, but…It’s a group that you enjoy with the man you brought there. Would you be interested?”

 

“No! Not at all!”

 

When I shook my head in shock, Count Langifer nodded his head, saying he was glad.

 

“The rumors I hear are so confusing.… Don’t even look at an invitation in Baroness Ruchel’s name. If you get involved with the wrong person, bad rumors will spread.”

 

“Thank you for the advice.”

 

‘After all the hardships I went through in the capital, I would be crazy to act rashly.’

 

I have Baroness Ruchel’s name firmly engraved in my head.

 

“You’d better consider the other two social gatherings. You especially support artists in the capital, so if Countess Christophe sends you a letter, please respond at least once. Her social gatherings she hosts are artist support groups.”

 

“Countess Christophe….. I’ve heard of Count Christophe before. He was a judge in the Ajas Judiciary, right?”

 

“you’re right. He’s been a judge for 40 years now. He’s such a big man, and he’s known for his fair that his name is known not only in the Ajas, but throughout the world. There’s even a joke that we can tell if a man is innocent by whether they want to be tried by Count Christophe or not.”

 

Count Langifer then spoke about Countess Christophe.

 

“The Countess is as well known as her husband. There are four libraries and two soup kitchens in her name throughout the Kingdom. She’s old now and lives in the Count’s mansion, but before that, she traveled all over the kingdom and never stopped volunteering, and there are still many who honor her name.”

 

“I see…That’s pretty amazing.”

 

“Yes. She is respected not only by the poor but also by many noble women. Even so, you don’t have to try to win her favor, since you are the Marquess, but it’s good to at least show some sincerity.”

 

“Yeah, I understand what you mean.”

 

‘She was respected for her character, not her status. If I ignored her like that, I would just believe that she would change.’

 

‘Okay, let’s be careful. Since I am the Marquess, I should not be arrogant.

 

I have that promise firmly engraved in my mind. 

 

“But what if they don’t send me a letter?”

 

“First, wait until the wedding takes place. Everyone will wait and see until you get married in the castle and are officially introduced to Marquis as his wife.  You haven’t yet debuted in the northern social circle, and no one has any information about you.”

 

“Yeah, I’m not from the North either.”

 

“yes. So, it is best not to refuse a banquet or tea time, at least immediately after the wedding. If you don’t host social gatherings and don’t attend them, you will give the impression that you don’t want to mix with northerners.”

 

“what? That can’t be possible. My husband is also from the North.”

 

‘The social world is a place where nonsense goes around.”

 

“ah….”

 

‘I know. I was the victim of that word.’

 

“For that reason, it would be a good idea to interact with some noble ladies. Once that kind of prejudice becomes ingrained, the Marquess may not only stay away from social gatherings, but may end up being ostracized by other noble ladies.”

 

It was indeed advice that became life and death.

 

When I said thank you sincerely, Count Ranguier made an awkward expression and said, “Why are you saying that?”

 

‘If all noble ladies were like Count Langifer, she wouldn’t be afraid of social gatherings.’

 

I sipped my tea while thinking about that.

 

“Actually, you should get this advice from a personal maid. Since the Marquess is not single, it seems strange that she didn’t have a chaperone. Why don’t you hire someone who is well-known in society as a maid?” 

 

“Well, actually, there’s already someone who volunteered to be a maid.” 

 

“Volunteered? already? May I ask who it is?” 

 

“Layla…So, Cloud’s daughter”

 

“Are you talking about Marquess Cloud’s daughter?”

 

Count Langifer’s eyes widened. This is the first time I’ve seen him look surprised since he’d been introduced to her today.

 

I blinked helplessly, wondering if that was really that surprising, but Count Langifer suddenly burst into laughter. 

 

This time I was really confused and widened my eyes.

 

“Count Langifer?”

 

“I haven’t told you yet who will host the fourth social gathering. That is Marquess Cloud’s daughter.”

 

“Cloud’s daughter? But isn’t she single?” 

 

In order for them to host a social gathering, she had to be married.

 

It may be a casual tea time between peers, but I have never heard of a social gathering being hosted by an unmarried lady who cannot attend a banquet without a chaperone. Is the North different?

 

“Well, it’s not really a social gathering, but the cloud’s feet are very wide. Would you believe me if I told you the number of invitations sent out for a single teatime is in the dozens?”

 

“Dozens of invitations?”

 

‘It was a number Howard could not imagine, Dozens of people, dozens of people to say hello to, dozens of people to talk to?’

 

“Well, if they are single, everybody wants to be invited to the cloud’s daughter tea, but you can’t invite dozens of people every time, so naturally they get pushed down the list, because everyone wants to be inside.”

 

‘Ah, it doesn’t always work that way.’

 

‘Now that I think about it, when she was kidnapped, they said it happened while she was ice skating with her friends.… ‘ 

 

“There is no one who is not Cloud’s friend, even among the nobles living within the border. If you think about the future in which all the children in that social group will get married and become noble ladies, it is no exaggeration to say that Cloud’s daughter will be the one to become a powerful person in the northern social world in the future.”

 

“Oh, that’s definitely true.”

 

‘Layla, you’re even better than I thought.’

 

“It’s hard to get to know her because there are so many people around her, but once you become her person, she’s very generous. Moreover, And with her wide feet and familiarity with northern affairs, there is no one more suitable than her to have by your side as your maid. She will definitely be of great help.”

 

“That’s right.…”

 

I remembered Layla’s face looking at me with a bright smile. 

 

When I was in a situation where I needed to ask for help, I was very fortunate that the person who could help me already liked me.

 

I was already feeling uneasy because my husband, the only person I could rely on, had left just a day after arriving at the castle.

 

‘But can she get permission from the marquess?’ 

 

It would be nice if she came just before the wedding.

 

‘I’ll have to send a letter to Cloud Castle to ask how she’s doing, and to see if she’s feeling much better.’

 

“Thank you for the story, Count Langifer. It was helpful enough.” 

 

“you’re welcome. Now, let’s finish looking at the documents we were looking at.” 

 

While I was adjusting to this place, I decided not to receive interviews, and I decided to postpone social gatherings until the wedding, where I would be introduced to noble ladies.

 

After coming to that conclusion, there was no other topic to talk about, so I was about to nod my head. With good timing, someone knocked on the door from outside.

 

That’s right, it’s Butler Lucious.

 

“Excuse me, ma’am. A letter has arrived for you, and I’m here to deliver it to you.” 

 

“Letter? From whom?”

 

Surely the letters to the capital and Howard’s territory had already been answered.

 

While I was tilting my head, the butler answered me with a nervous expression. 

 

“This is a letter from Paul Herbina. logan…he sent this.” 

 

“Logan? Is it because of sponsorship?”

 

By the way, I heard that the relationship between Logan and Lucius was not very good, and it seemed to be true. I can’t believe he made such an expression just by mentioning his name once. 

 

“Hmm, I’ll check the letter first, just in case there’s something important in there.”

 

“If it’s a letter from Paul Herbina, I don’t think it contains anything urgent enough to need to be checked right away.…Well, today is your first day, so let’s rest for just half an hour.”

 

“Hooray!…No. Hmm, thank you.” 

 

‘Ah, it’s really hard to be an elegant lady.’

 

As if to pretend he didn’t see me clearing my throat belatedly, Count Langifer called Hannah and asked her to pour him a new cup of tea.

 

I also ordered another cup of warm flower tea and moved to my desk. 

 

“Oh, and Marquess…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“There’s something I forgot to mention.….”

 

Lucious walked towards me and placed a thin card on the desk.

 * * *