I Was Marked as the Grand Duke Male Lead’s Stepmother - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 21

The promised week had passed.

Rino had not yet returned. She thought he would come back in a week, but that wasn’t the case.

The business trip Rino had left for wasn’t a distance that could be covered with a report in just 7 days.

Morgan had simply proposed 7 days regardless of Rino’s return.

He said she could stop helping as promised, but Marisselle volunteered to help until Rino returned.

While there was a sense of simple loyalty involved, she had ulterior motives.

Creating a sense of debt to gain the upper hand at the next negotiation table.

She eagerly made full use of this golden opportunity.

But the problem was her stamina.

Marisselle had been doing intensive labor for over a week, causing her shoulders to ache, her neck to be stiff, and her eyes to feel gritty as if sand had gotten in them.

Right now, she was enduring through sheer willpower and stubbornness.

‘I should apply some heat therapy before sleeping tonight.’

In contrast, Morgan seemed to have truly steel-like stamina.

How could he be so energetic while looking at documents all day long?

Wondering if perhaps he was so focused on work that he didn’t realize his own physical condition, she observed Morgan carefully.

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, there were shadows under his eyes and his face looked a bit haggard.

‘Of course. How could a person not be tired after working all-nighters for several days?’

Just then.

A refreshing early summer night breeze blew through the window, gently stirring her hair.

The wind seemed to carry longing from somewhere, awakening nostalgic emotions with each touch on her skin, making her feel inexplicably sentimental.

‘I can’t work in this state. I need to go get some fresh air for a moment.’

And the breeze itself felt so good that it seemed wasteful to stay indoors only.

When she looked up, the sky was dotted with stars as if the Milky Way had been spread out.

It was perfect conditions for a night stroll.

“Um… Your Highness? I’ll go for a brief walk.”

Morgan, who had been concentrating on documents, looked up at the sound breaking the silence.

“At this hour? Alone?”

“Yes. At this hour, alone. I simply can’t resist the temptation of the early summer night sky and breeze. The wind is refreshing and the stars are beautifully visible. It seems too wasteful to just look at documents like this…”

Then Marisselle smiled brightly.

“What danger could there be inside the Duke’s Castle? So I’ll be back quickly.”

Morgan gazed at Marisselle for a moment, then put down his pen and slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ll go with you.”

“What? You too, Your Highness?”

“Of course, there’s no reason to doubt the security of my home. But letting a woman wander alone in the middle of the night goes against my chivalry. I might not know if I was unaware, but now that I know, I can’t allow it. I’ll consider it a change of pace for myself too.”

“Oh, you don’t need to go to such trouble…”

Before Marisselle could finish her sentence, Morgan had already risen from his seat and was opening the door.

Unexpectedly, she had gained a night stroll partner.

A man who appointed himself as bodyguard. The lord of the duchy. Someone with such impressive titles offering to escort her.

Marisselle thought she would feel uncomfortable, but that wasn’t quite the case.

How should she put it? Rather than discomfort, it was more like a pleasant tension?

The special nature of a midnight stroll seemed to create a strange atmosphere.

Marisselle awkwardly brushed at her skirt unnecessarily.

“Let’s go.”

When she lingered despite the door being open, Morgan urged Marisselle on.

“Ah. Yes. Let’s go.”

Marisselle walked alongside Morgan, matching his pace.

As they exited the main foyer of the manor, a well-maintained garden under the night sky came into view.

The garden at night had a different charm from the garden during the day.

Another pleasant breeze blew over.

Marisselle unconsciously became intoxicated by the night breeze, deeply inhaling the night air into her lungs and stretching.

“Ahh. This is nice.”

Morgan smiled gently as he watched Marisselle like that.

“Are you that pleased?”

“Oh.”

‘Right. I came out here with Morgan.’

Marisselle, who had momentarily forgotten that she had come out with him while intoxicated by the breeze, felt a bit embarrassed and sorry.

Morgan looked at Marisselle like that and smiled bitterly.

‘Do I really have such little presence?’

Even thinking about it again made him feel bitter.

“It seems you forgot that I’m right beside you. Am I really such a person with no presence? Me. I shouldn’t be. That lacking in presence.”

“Oh, no, that’s… perhaps it’s because Your Highness made me feel comfortable?”

“So you did forget. How disappointing. I’ll have to work harder. To become someone with presence to you.”

Marisselle was surprised when the conversation took a strange turn.

“No. Is there really a need for Your Highness to show your presence to me? Your Highness’s presence already reaches the heavens…”

‘How much more are you planning to torment me.’

Morgan’s words sounded like a terrifying threat to Marisselle.

She changed the subject and looked up at the sky.

“The stars in the sky are so beautiful.”

A constellation that could only be seen in the countryside without a single city light was spread out.

“I’ll show you a place where the stars look even prettier. Will you come?”

“Yes!”

Marisselle had no reason to refuse.

She followed Morgan along a well-maintained grassy path and reached a bench overlooking a pond.

“Is this the place, Your Highness?”

Morgan nodded lightly.

Around the small pond that was charmingly decorated, shrubs that appeared disorderly at first glance but were actually well-maintained surrounded the pond in an orderly fashion.

“Please sit.”

Morgan took out a handkerchief, spread it on the bench, and invited Marisselle to sit.

Marisselle was amazed by his unexpected gentlemanly consideration.

“Yes…, thank you. Your Highness…”

Marisselle sat in the spot Morgan had prepared for her.

The water surface touched by the gentle breeze sparkled in the moonlight, creating beautiful ripples.

Light was twinkling both in the sky and on the ground.

It was truly wonder itself.

“It’s truly beautiful as Your Highness said.”

Marisselle sent her praise while keeping her gaze fixed on where the night sky and pond met.

Morgan gazed intently at Marisselle.

In his eyes, she appeared more beautiful than the stars in the sky or the moonlight reflected in the pond.

Her violet eyes filled with moonlight were deep and profound, as if one could fall into them.

“…?”

Marisselle felt his gaze and turned her head.

Morgan was looking at her with a deep, intense gaze.

‘Is it because it’s nighttime? Why do his eyes look so melancholic?’

It was embarrassing and awkward to keep looking at him silently, so she had no choice but to speak.

“You must come here often.”

“No, this is the first time I’ve come here since I was a child.”

Morgan slowly shifted his gaze from Marisselle and stared somewhere between the sky and the pond.

“It must be a place where good memories are embedded.”

“Good memories…”

Morgan seemed to fall into thought for a moment.

“Why do you think that?”

‘Why is he being like this again when the atmosphere was going so well.’

Marisselle inwardly frowned.

‘This person who has not even a speck of romance.’

“Of course, wouldn’t that be natural? Who would invite someone to go along to a place that’s painful?”

The answer came out a bit grumpily.

But Morgan looked at Marisselle like that and smiled faintly.

“That’s true. I asked a foolish question.”

“Still, you don’t need to call it foolish…”

Before she could finish speaking, Morgan whipped around to look at Marisselle.

“…!”

‘What’s wrong with me? Why do I keep acting cheeky toward Morgan like someone whose guts are spilling out? Do I want to die? Huh? Do I have multiple lives or something?’

Just as Marisselle lowered her eyes and was about to apologize immediately, Morgan spoke first.

“You certainly don’t find me intimidating.”

His expression was conflicted, as if he couldn’t decide whether this was good or not, his eyes and mouth telling different stories. It seemed to represent his current state of mind.

Morgan had mixed feelings – he was glad that Marisselle didn’t find him intimidating, but he wondered if this meant his authority as a lord wasn’t being established.

“Y-Your Highness. I’m truly sorry. I think I should keep my mouth shut in front of Your Highness from now on. I keep disturbing your peace of mind.”

“…It’s not disturbing.”

“Pardon?”

“I said it’s not disturbing. So speak your mind.”

After saying those words, Morgan’s face turned red. But it was a change that was hard to notice in just the moonlight.

“Ah, yes…”

Marisselle was puzzled.

He had always pointed things out whenever she spoke, reaching a certain point each time.

But now, speak your mind? Why did he suddenly become so generous?

Marisselle felt uneasy about Morgan’s sudden change.

‘He’s not going to say something different later, is he…?’

“Still, thanks to Your Highness, this is the happiest time of my entire day. Thank you for coming out on this night walk with me. If I had come out alone, I probably wouldn’t have known about places like this and would have just walked a few steps toward bright places with lights before going back inside.”

‘Thanks to Your Highness, this is the happiest time of my entire day.’

Marisselle’s words echoed in his ears.

He knew it was just a typical expression of gratitude, but still those words sounded maddeningly sweet to him.

A wicked desire raised its head – he wanted all the happiness that came from her lips to originate from him.

Morgan was startled when thoughts he had never had before filled his mind completely.

And he looked at Marisselle.

She was smiling gently at him.

In that moment, his heart felt as if it had been violently struck and pierced by an awl, aching and throbbing.

It was completely different from the rapid heartbeats he had experienced several times before.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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