I Was Marked as the Grand Duke Male Lead’s Stepmother - Chapter 78

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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 78

“What…? Only the carriage returned?”

“Yes. Here is the letter…”

Porel handed Morgan the letter that the Crown Prince had sent along with the carriage.

As Morgan read through the letter, he soon crumpled it up beyond recognition and threw it on the floor while spitting out curses.

“Damn it!”

Porel was startled. It had been truly a long time since he’d seen his master display emotions like this after becoming an adult.

‘What on earth could the contents be?’

Porel was dying of curiosity, but since he couldn’t read the letter, he could only gauge his master’s mood.

“…Get out.”

At the cold and heavy voice that settled down, Porel held his breath.

“Yes…”

After Porel left, Morgan went to the window and stared fiercely at the winter scenery of the garden with its bare branches exposed.

Mariselle Manua, scheduled to return to Manua Countess’s Estate after dining with the Emperor. Escort, Imperial Guard. -Crown Prince Renegade Remal Caldmion.

Morgan tried to find some justification to enter the palace due to his uneasy premonition, but couldn’t find any.

All he could do was hope that Mariselle would return without any trouble.

‘Dining with the Emperor…’

If it had been just dining with Renegade without the Emperor present, he would have stormed into the Imperial Palace without hesitation.

But if the Emperor was present, the story was different. An audience with the Emperor required proper justification.

Even so, he could force his way into the dining arrangement, but that would only draw more attention from them.

‘It would move from simple curiosity to a major investigation stage.’

Through conversation, they would also come to know how capable Mariselle was…

“…Damn.”

It would be night when the meal ended.

There was a high possibility they would escort Mariselle to the Countess’s Estate.

No matter how late at night, the Imperial carriage and escort would be conspicuous. Rumors would inevitably follow.

“…Sigh. This is driving me crazy.”

The desire to wait in front of Manua Countess’s Estate and bring Mariselle back surged like smoke from a chimney.

But if that happened, it could appear as if the Imperial Household and the Duke’s Household were at odds over one woman.

‘Surely… she wouldn’t develop feelings just from having one meal and being escorted home, right?’

Morgan was anxious and restless.

“…Right, that won’t happen. Mariselle finds even me burdensome, so that Crown Prince bastard would be even more burdensome and she won’t even look at him. Definitely… Sigh- No. That’s how it should be.”

He paced by the window with anxiety and restlessness he had never felt even on the battlefield.

* * *

‘Not tea time but a meal? And with the Emperor too?’

Tea time with the Crown Prince alone was already burdensome enough, but now a meal with the Emperor.

Mariselle felt like she had indigestion before even eating anything.

“So. Did you find all the materials you wanted?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince’s grace, I was able to find what I wanted.”

“Haha. That’s fortunate. The Crown Prince is my son, but he’s quite a decent fellow.”

‘What? Did he just say son?’

The fact that he expressed it intimately as ‘son’ rather than ‘Crown Prince’ suggested that this was a private occasion.

It felt like a father showing off his son after taking a seat?

“By the way, what were you looking for?”

“…Uh. Well, I heard from His Highness the Crown Prince about the painting hanging in the Corridor Long Gallery during the last debutante, and it sparked my interest. So I looked into the epidemics that occurred in the Empire.”

“Oh… Really? How was it?”

“I’ve only copied down what I needed and haven’t analyzed it yet, so it would be difficult to tell you right now, Your Majesty.”

“Hehe. Is that so? Then I’ll invite you again next time, and you can tell me your analysis then, won’t you?”

‘Huh? He wants to have another meal together? That’s burdensome…’

“Yes? …Yes. I, I will do so.”

“Good. That aside. Next year I’ll become a grandfather too, so how about it. Instead of being a governess for the Duke’s Household, how about becoming a governess for the Imperial Household. I’ll guarantee much better conditions than the Duke’s Household. Tell me. What conditions do you want?”

The topic of conversation jumped to the next subject too suddenly, like a flea hopping.

Mariselle was perplexed. She thought it was just a polite remark during the debutante, but he was serious.

‘This is what Morgan was worried about.’

Mariselle finally began to understand why Morgan had said he was anxious.

At that moment, the Crown Prince appeared as a relief pitcher.

“Father, really. Sister still has many days left before she gives birth. Duke Fleur will be entering the Academy soon, so it wouldn’t be too late to discuss this calmly afterward. Right now, wouldn’t this be too sudden for the young lady as well?”

‘Should I call this a relief pitcher…’

At least he put out the immediate fire, so I should call him a relief pitcher, right?

‘But I can’t leave any room for hope…’

Marisselle opened her mouth with difficulty.

“Your Majesty the Emperor. I am grateful that you think so highly of my meager abilities. However, I am bound by an oath of loyalty to the Duke’s Household, so it would be difficult for me to accept Your Majesty’s proposal.”

“That… is not much of a problem. Young lady. The Royal Household is the Empire itself, and all nobles of the Empire must be loyal to the Empire. Especially the great nobles, needless to say. Therefore, the Duke’s Household must take the lead in showing loyalty to the Empire and the Royal Household. So if you wish, you can work as a royal nanny. It depends on your will, so you should think about it gradually.”

‘Really?’

The Crown Prince spoke so plausibly that it sounded like the truth. Or maybe he said that because Morgan was cousins with the Royal Household.

“I see. Then, for now, I will say that I gratefully accept your sentiment.”

“Yes, yes. For now, that is. Hehehe.”

Emperor Gottfried laughed good-naturedly.

“Now, now. The food will get cold. Let’s eat quickly.”

“Yes…”

When the meal was past halfway, the Emperor spoke to her again.

“I understand you accompanied the inspection of Monsan District this time. How did you persuade Morgan? I mean the reason that fellow chose to have you present instead of Rino.”

‘What. The Royal Household pays attention to such trivial things?’

Marisselle was quite surprised.

‘Well, Morgan is his cousin. That could be it. But why is he curious about this?’

Was it that shocking? Marisselle was puzzled.

‘What should I say?’

It wasn’t easy to gauge how much she should tell.

‘If I make a mistake, I could be charged with insulting the royal family. Sigh- this is difficult, so difficult. I want to go home quickly.’

“Well… I offered a small opinion, and there were parts that were adopted. So I told him I wanted to accompany the inspection, and His Grace the Duke made the difficult decision to allow it.”

“Oh ho. What kind of opinion did you offer? That fellow isn’t the type to listen just because someone pleads with him. Either it wasn’t a small opinion, or that guy regards you specially… it must be one of the two…”

“Or it could be both, Father.”

“Hmm. That would be it. What do you think, Miss Marisselle?”

‘Wow… they’re attacking me together like this?’

Marisselle felt like a mouse trapped in a jar.

A situation where she had to answer one of the two. Marisselle had no choice but to briefly explain the opinion she had offered for solving the Monsan District issue, drawing a line regarding her relationship with Morgan.

“Hehehe. So that brilliant plan came from your head.”

The Emperor slowly rubbed his chin and spoke meaningfully.

Crown Prince Renegade also thought admiringly.

‘So this is why Morgan was being sharp and defensive.’

Marisselle was a beautiful woman who stimulated men’s protective instincts.

But contrarily, her purple eyes were mysterious and spirited.

Renegade had been interested in Marisselle because Morgan was her partner at the debutante ball.

But while talking with Marisselle, he became interested in her herself.

And he felt regretful. The fact that it was Morgan, not himself, who met her first.

That’s why he wanted to invite Marisselle to the Royal Household as soon as possible.

He realized for the first time today. This woman was empress material. The only regrettable thing was her family background, if anything.

However, this wasn’t much of a problem either. The Manua Barony was a well-regarded family.

“Then, let me ask you one thing. Don’t feel burdened, and if anything comes to mind, please speak freely.”

‘…?’

What is it that’s putting pressure on me from the start?

Telling me not to feel burdened made me feel more burdened. Moreover, saying not to feel burdened while looking at me with such sparkling, expectant eyes.

“Yes… Your Majesty. I only hope it can be an answer.”

Marisselle answered humbly.

“Some nobles are building excessive power that could threaten the Royal Household. How would you solve this?”

‘Huh?’

He’s throwing such a big and difficult issue at me?

‘What exactly does he see in me to ask such a big question?’

The excessive force clearly referred to Zelkova…

A question with nothing to lose.

‘The Emperor is such a sly fox. Trying to blow his nose without using his hands…’

But Marisselle couldn’t help but think.

Since it was related to Zelkova. Perhaps this might be an opportunity to quickly eliminate Zelkova.

Generally, power comes from money. No matter how high one’s position, how abundant their knowledge, or how deep their popular support, it’s difficult to properly wield that power in the face of money. Money is that powerful a force.

Marisselle thought deeply, again and again.

Even though quite some time had passed, the Emperor and Crown Prince waited patiently without showing any signs of rushing her.

‘Still feels burdensome.’

Then, Marisselle cautiously opened her mouth.

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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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