I Was Marked as the Grand Duke Male Lead’s Stepmother - Chapter 63

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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 63

“….”

Porel fell into thought for a moment, considering how much he should tell her.

“Yes… Lord Rino has been busy with his own affairs, so His Highness’s workload has increased accordingly. As a result, he often skips meals. I’m worried that this might harm his health. Even though he’s naturally healthy and it doesn’t show immediately, accumulated fatigue could cause him to collapse in an instant, couldn’t it? He’s not a god, after all.”

“That’s… true.”

Hearing this, the situation didn’t seem very good. If Porel was worried to this extent, it meant the workload was indeed heavy…

Wouldn’t it be better if I helped with his work like before?

Perhaps now might be the right time to bring it up.

“Porel? Without needing to schedule separate appointments, please let me handle His Highness’s meals or anything that needs to be delivered. I’ll make use of that time.”

“Ah… if that’s alright with you, he’s scheduled to finish a meeting at the Office Building around 4 o’clock later, so I’d appreciate your help then.”

“Then I’ll head to the Office Building with some time to spare.”

Porel spoke with his eyes curved in a smile, his face much more relaxed than before.

“…He often doesn’t eat when I bring it to him, but he does eat when you bring it, so I’m simply grateful.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Heh heh heh. That’s right, Nanny. I don’t know the reason, but from my perspective, I can only see that you have exceptional ability in caring for people, whether children or adults. Heh heh heh.”

Porel smiled like a kind grandfather while giving lengthy praise.

‘So he eats when I bring it?’

As long as my necessity was recognized in the Duke’s Household in any way, it was welcome news for me.

* * *

“Your Highness, hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I volunteered to take over meal duty from Porel.”

As soon as Marisselle saw Morgan, she greeted him cheerfully and called to him while setting the food she brought on the table.

“I understand you have a brief moment between your next appointments, so please come and eat a little.”

“….”

Morgan was at a loss for words at Marisselle’s unexpected appearance and unconsciously rose from his seat.

“Ah! The documents you mentioned to Porel are here too.”

She placed the papers in front of Morgan’s desk and spoke again.

“If you have anything to tell Porel, I’ll relay it for you. Please come and eat, Your Highness.”

Morgan stared intently at Marisselle. It was a face he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Since he had been working at the Office Building, they hadn’t even run into each other in passing, so her visit was very welcome.

He moved to take a seat and briefly asked about recent events.

“Did you recover from your illness? I’ve been too busy with work to visit you since then.”

“Of course, Your Highness. That was ages ago.”

“That’s true.”

“Is Fleur doing well too?”

“Yes. The young master is doing very well. He’s received evaluations saying he could easily start at the Academy as a second-year student instead of a first-year. He’s so bright that he learns very quickly.”

Marisselle chattered brightly as she poured a drink into a glass and placed it beside Morgan.

“That’s wonderful news to hear. …How have you been doing?”

“I’ve been doing very well too. Except that thanks to the young master doing so well, my conscience feels uncomfortable wondering if it’s okay to receive a salary while practically playing around. Oh, and also my physical training is stagnating, probably due to lack of willpower.”

Marisselle smiled sheepishly.

“…Butler Porel mentioned that Lord Rino has been away frequently lately, leaving you with a lot of work, Your Highness. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to help out like before. What do you think?”

Morgan took a sip of his drink and then stared intently at Marisselle.

An expression that revealed nothing of his inner thoughts.

‘…?’

Marisselle wondered if she had said something wrong.

“Well then. Can you help starting today?”

“Of course, Your Highness!”

“Is that really such a joyful thing?”

Morgan couldn’t readily understand Marisselle’s reaction. Since she had offered to help first, he expected her to accept, but he hadn’t anticipated her being so delighted.

“…my conscience feels uncomfortable wondering if it’s okay to receive a salary while practically playing around.”

Marisselle’s earlier words came to mind.

‘Could it be… she was anxious thinking her role was disappearing?’

Since Marisselle was someone who wanted to prove herself and gain recognition, it was quite possible.

“Of course. When I’m needed, naturally I’m happy.”

As expected, he was right.

However, Marisselle didn’t mention her other hidden motive of wanting to access the Duke’s Household’s sensitive information.

He shouldn’t know, and she shouldn’t let him know. It had to seem like she learned about it naturally.

“So that’s what you meant.”

He chuckled with an air of finding everything delightful.

“In that sense, Your Highness. The young master will be entering the Academy next year. So I feel like I no longer have any meaning as a nanny…”

“And so?”

A cold expression, a chilly tone.

He asked sharply, immediately on edge.

The atmosphere changed in an instant. Marisselle was momentarily flustered.

‘Why did the mood change so suddenly? So scary…’

It felt like walking on thin ice.

“Uh… so… if Your Highness doesn’t mind, from next year, how about I work as a nanny on weekends and assist Lord Rino with his work on weekdays? That way, when Lord Rino is away, the gap would be somewhat filled. I thought it might be a little better for Your Highness too… I apologize if this was unpleasant.”

His expression softened immediately as if he had never been sharp.

“Hah… If that’s what it is, I’ll think about it.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Marisselle deliberately gave a short answer, unable to read his true intentions.

‘Really. This man is incomprehensible even when I think I know him. Why did the atmosphere suddenly turn murderous?’

“Your Highness. Then when should I start today?”

“Put that down and come right back up.”

Morgan rubbed his face with one hand as he watched Marisselle leave with the dishes.

‘Hah. I reacted too sensitively.’

He had thought Marisselle was saying she would quit being a nanny and had gotten scared and on edge prematurely.

Even though no one would say anything about her nanny duties being reduced, she was being considerate.

His anxious heart, worried that Marisselle might leave, had lost composure and reacted sensitively.

Looking at it from another angle, being considerate meant she wanted to stay in the Duke’s Household.

‘I’m too lacking in composure.’

Large and small incidents within the estate kept coming up, keeping him busy with handling them.

Rino was frantically busy in his own way too. Thanks to that, meetings had increased accordingly, making even two bodies insufficient.

At times like this, having Marisselle help with the work was welcome. He could see her frequently in the same space.

He had said he would think about it, but there was nothing to think about.

If Marisselle was looking for a place to belong, he would give her anything, any position, even if he had to create it.

* * *

Marisselle was concentrating on listening to explanations about the tasks she would need to do in Morgan’s study prepared in the Annex Office Wing.

Various incidents and accidents came up almost daily, leaving reports scattered in disarray.

The severe lack of personnel to even classify these by case seemed to represent Morgan’s current situation.

Marisselle sat at the work desk Morgan had prepared for her. The desk was positioned to face Morgan directly.

While Marisselle found facing each other somewhat burdensome, she soon felt better thinking there would be some efficiency in enabling quick communication.

And once she got into work, she would obviously concentrate enough to forget she was in the same space as him, so it wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Marisselle quickly skimmed through the piles of accumulated documents. At a glance, routine documents and special case documents were all mixed together.

‘Just organizing them would greatly improve work efficiency!’

While Marisselle understood that the Duke’s Household suffered from administrative staffing shortages due to the nature of having much confidential information, she also felt sorry about it.

Knock knock-

The door opened simultaneously with the knocking sound.

Marisselle looked toward the door in surprise.

“My lord.”

Someone who appeared to be a knight entered.

While approaching Morgan, he glanced toward where Marisselle was, then immediately saluted Morgan and handed over documents.

Then he spoke in a voice small enough for only Morgan, who was right in front of him, to hear.

As if hearing something serious, Morgan frowned intermittently.

Marisselle perked up her ears with curiosity about the secret report, but it was futile. She couldn’t hear anything.

After the knight left, Morgan was lost in thought for a moment, tapped his desk a few times, then buried his face in documents again.

Silence flowed.

Marisselle also naturally returned her hands to the documents. And she began classifying documents by field.

‘Hm? This is a bit strange.’

Something strange caught his eye in the documents that had come up for special consideration.

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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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