I Was Marked as the Grand Duke Male Lead’s Stepmother - Chapter 71

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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 71

“Why, do you think there would have been?”

His voice resonated softly from above her head.

“Well… I don’t know if it was official, but I can definitely tell Your Highness has come here many times.”

“Why is that?”

“Every time I ask something, you know everything without fail.”

“Well, any lord who receives reports diligently would know everything without having to visit the site personally, wouldn’t they?”

“That may be true, but Your Highness is currently leading the way on this path. You’re leading because you know the way well, and knowing it means you’ve come here often.”

Marisselle answered matter-of-factly, as if asking something obvious.

“It seems I’ve underestimated you too much.”

“It did seem that way. You treated me like someone who knows nothing just because I lack field experience.”

Her voice was sulky.

He couldn’t see Marisselle’s expression, but he could almost picture it, and a faint smile formed on his lips.

“I’m sorry. If I hurt your feelings, I apologize.”

“I’ll accept it.”

“So you were hurt.”

“Not much, just my pride was slightly wounded? Anyway, you don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

“Haha. How generous of you.”

Morgan laughed lightly and added.

“That’s just a figure of speech. I’ve never once underestimated you. If I had, I wouldn’t have brought you along like this.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Marisselle’s clear voice was heard.

“I’m grateful for that. I may not know about other things, but I… seem to be lucky with my superiors.”

“Lucky with superiors?”

“You know how it is. Those unscrupulous employers who exploit their subordinates without giving them any recognition. But Your Highness acknowledges good work. That’s what I call luck.”

“Ha, comparing me to unscrupulous employers. That’s a bit hurtful.”

“You don’t need to feel hurt. I was just copying Your Highness’s style of praise. This was actually my highest form of compliment.”

“Do I really praise so stingily?”

“I wouldn’t know about that. But I suspect that by Your Highness’s standards, you’re being generous.”

Morgan chuckled softly.

“I’ll try to be a bit more generous from now on.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. But you don’t need to force yourself. I’ve developed ears that can read between the lines now…”

‘Ha, ears that read between the lines?’

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

He could almost see her prim expression from her words.

Marisselle’s hair, tied up high, was blown by the wind and lightly tickled Morgan’s face.

With one hand, he gently touched Marisselle’s fluttering hair in the breeze and thought.

‘I thought this before too, but this hairstyle really suits her…’

The hair tied up in a single bundle suited her lively and vibrant image well.

“How does it look now that you’ve come to see it yourself?”

“Hmm… It’s more miserable than I thought.”

Marisselle turned her head back slightly at Morgan’s question.

Then the strand of Marisselle’s hair he had been gently holding naturally slipped from his hand. And her profile, as if drawn, came into view.

He almost reached out to touch her.

He reluctantly withdrew his hand and asked.

“In what way?”

“The environment. It could cause diseases that didn’t exist before. Are the people here healthy?”

‘Health?’

It was unfamiliar. Except during epidemics, he had never concerned himself with the health of commoners.

He had a mountain of tasks to handle. Moreover, most nobles cared about their safety but not their health.

Health was an individual matter, after all.

“Health…? Well… I’m not sure. The idea that environment can cause disease…”

Of course. It would indeed be difficult for a noble who always lives in clean and comfortable places, eating abundant and nutritionally balanced quality meals, to understand and care for the lives of hungry lower-class people living in harsh environments as if they were his own.

The concept that environment could cause disease would also be an unfamiliar idea never considered in this world.

Morgan’s reaction was natural. Not only that, but all nobles in the Empire would be the same as Morgan.

‘There’s a long way to go…’

First, I need to get them interested in the health of commoners…

The goal was set, but thinking about the methods and process gave her a headache.

“What are you thinking about that’s making your shoulders so tense?”

Morgan placed his hand on Marisselle’s shoulder and patted it gently.

“Huh?”

Marisselle was startled and instinctively turned her head back sharply.

Wobble-

Marisselle momentarily lost her balance and swayed to the side.

“Ah!”

Just as she was about to fall from the horse, Morgan quickly pulled Marisselle’s waist toward himself.

“Whew.”

Marisselle’s heart pounded wildly, thinking she was about to fall for a moment.

Marisselle instinctively gripped his firm arm tightly, which was positioned like a safety bar in front of her stomach.

Her startled heart rose and fell rapidly, trapped within his arms.

“Are you alright?”

A gentle, low voice filled with concern.

Only then did Marisselle come to her senses.

“Yes… I didn’t fall thanks to Your Highness.”

That moment when she thought she would fall from the horse was truly terrifying.

I thought I was going to die at this rate.

Startled by his sudden touch, I momentarily forgot that I was on horseback.

With both of them riding on one horse, she kept feeling his breath on the back of her neck, making her nerves stand on edge, and her senses, having become hypersensitive, began to react with a start to even the slightest touch.

In the end, this whole mess came to pass.

‘I said I wouldn’t be a burden…’

As my startled heart settled down a bit, frustration immediately welled up.

“Sorry about that… I could see from behind that your shoulders were really tense… I must have startled you too much…”

Just as I was about to sink into gloom from feeling upset, he apologized first.

I could feel from his dejected tone that he was genuinely sorry.

“Oh, no, Your Majesty. It was due to my carelessness.”

At his gentle and affectionate tone, at his worried heart, Maricel’s heart strangely began to race.

It was different from the pounding heart of surprise.

She could hear the sound of cracks forming in the iron wall she had built, but she had to deliberately turn away from it.

‘It’s because we’re physically too close. Any woman would have reacted the same way if a man like Morgan was right there behind her.’

“Are you really sure you’re okay?”

Worried about him, she asked again.

Maricel nodded quietly. Then she tried to straighten her posture.

“Huh? Uh…”

His body tilted again.

He pulled Maricel into his arms with his strong embrace.

“Pardon? Go like this?”

“But still, this is…”

“Oh.”

“No, but still, this is….”

“I’m not uncomfortable at all. We just need to go a little further, so please just bear with it until then.”

‘Wh-what is this…’

Even from a bit of distance, all my attention was focused on him, and now you want me to stick right next to him?

My heart, which had barely calmed down, started pounding again.

‘But haah… What should I do? My own heartbeat is already overwhelming, yet I can feel an even faster and stronger heartbeat against my back.’

Maricel squeezed her eyes shut tight. She prayed desperately, over and over, that the horse would just keep running and running until they quickly reached the promised destination.

At least finding some comfort in the fact that they weren’t heading directly toward each other.

“We’re here.”

The words stopped. Only then did I open my eyes.

I did wake up in the middle, but when I saw the guard knights deliberately pretending not to see us, I was too embarrassed to even think about continuing with my eyes open.

“Yes….”

When I opened my eyes, I saw an old man and six young men standing in front of me.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

His appearance was shabby and unremarkable, but his manners were impeccable.

“Get down.”

After receiving the greeting, Morgan jumped down from his horse and helped me down.

“Th-this way, please.”

The hunched old man stretched out his hand and pointed to what looked like an Assembly Hall. It was an old, shabby building.

Though less intense than the foul smell from the Street Entrance, this place also had that distinctive nauseating and musty odor that stung the nose.

“Please sit here.”

Being inside the building didn’t make much difference. The Assembly Hall had nothing but a few tables and chairs.

Morgan sat down first.

I stood beside him with the guards.

“You come sit here too.”

He pulled out a chair and tapped the seat with his hand.

“May I sit down?”

“Sit. You’re my advisor. And you’re also the main person solving this problem.”

He said I was qualified to sit.

The Old Man signaled to a man standing nearby. The man bowed his head and went outside. Shortly after, he brought out simple food.

“It’s not much, but we prepared what we could.”

Compared to the food Morgan usually ate, this was truly modest fare.

Coarse rye bread and fruit juice.

I became curious. Would Morgan actually eat this?

He merely glanced once at the prepared food and that was it.

The faces of the Old Man and the standing men grew shadowed.

I reached for the rough but healthy-looking bread. I tore off a corner, put it in my mouth, and chewed thoughtfully.

“Mmm. The bread is softer and milder than it looks. It’s delicious.”

I could see smiles spreading across the faces of the Old Man and the men, their expressions brightening.

Their eyes then turned to Morgan. But Morgan just stared at me blankly without showing any particular reaction.

“Your Highness should try some too!”

I reached out to Morgan, offering him the bread.

His eyebrow rose sharply with a look that said, ‘Why are you offering me this?’

‘Tch. If you don’t want to eat it, just say so.’

“Oh!”

Just as I was about to withdraw my outstretched hand, he caught it.

And once again, he used my hand as a fork.

Just like before, I felt the touch of his lips on my fingertips.

‘Does this man really think of my hand as a fork?’

When I stared at him in disbelief and exasperation, he just shrugged his shoulders.

‘Wow. Was he always this shameless?’

With the same thing happening again after the previous time, the imprinting effect was truly remarkable.

Afterward, that scene kept coming to mind constantly, and I barely remember how I got through the rest of the event.

‘And why the hell are his lips so soft…’

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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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