IGMDSML 27

 Chapter 27

After Morgan’s confession, I had trouble sleeping for a while.

My skin had become so dull that I was afraid to look in the mirror, and my dark circles had sunk so deep they looked like a panda challenging me to a fight.

The once fresh, plump, and dewy skin I had was nowhere to be found.

“If only Emma were here, she could have covered this up with makeup easily. What a shame.”

For the first time, I regretted telling Emma not to come to the Grand Duchy for a while.

One thing in common between my past life and this life is that I’m hopeless at things like this.

No matter how I tried to conceal my tired eyes, the more I touched them, the stranger my reflection looked.

I had no choice but to wipe it off again and apply my makeup as usual.

“Why does that man suddenly propose and keep me up at night?”

The only saving grace was that, after that day, I hadn’t run into Morgan.

He was still busy, and I was occupied with taking care of Fleur.

Some days passed without incident, making me wonder if it had all been a dream.

That day, I had intended to ask Morgan to help with childcare, but his sudden proposal had completely ruined that plan.

I needed to find another day to bring it up, but I couldn’t bring myself to go.

I had no idea how he would react, and I couldn’t decide how I should regard him, so I kept putting it off.

His proposal wasn’t about affection or love.

It was entirely focused on the care of the heir.

It didn’t even have to be me.

In a few years, Morgan would marry Gabriella, and by then, my presence would be unnecessary.

And even if he proposed because he liked me, or loved me, that would be a problem.

That would completely twist the original story, turning it into a totally different novel.

Perhaps my possession in this life was meant for the purpose of bending the original story.

But who knows? No one knows. Only God knows.

I want to live this new life well. I want to try everything I couldn’t do in my past life.

I want to experience real love, have a peaceful family, and enjoy ordinary daily life.

Through my previous life, I’ve truly realized how great and elevated it is to live a normal, ordinary life.

I had no desire to sit in the Grand Duchess position and live a troublesome life.

A minor title, like a baron, a count’s younger son, or a viscount, would have been enough.

Since I have to continue the family line, a second or third son would have been perfect. That way, we could build a life together.

But suddenly, Morgan’s proposal… When I heard it that day, my mind went completely blank.

And my heart raced like crazy.

Would I be fired from my governess position if I refused? How should I refuse? Why was this man acting like this all of a sudden?

All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.

In a few years, he would meet Gabriella and fall into a passionate love, yet an unexpected element intervened, trying to twist the original story.

It was frightening. How was the original story going to proceed? Had it already become a completely different story?

How would I get swept up in this newly written story?

The uncertain future scared me.

Life itself is full of uncertainty, but having a familiar world change unpredictably was a whole new level of anxiety.

Regardless, I would do my best in the position I was given, but fear was inevitable.

The more things went according to plan, the more likely I could avoid disaster and increase my chances of survival.

Fleur was adorable, but that was secondary.

And perhaps it was nosy of me, but as a reader, I wanted to preserve the original story.

If I accepted his proposal hastily, it could spiral into the completely unpredictable, an inescapable whirlpool.

So I wished Morgan would never propose again.

“Ha… that aside, I also need to talk about Fleur’s academy…”

There was a lot to do, but I couldn’t bring myself to go.

“Whether in this life or the last, it really isn’t easy…”

I roughly finished my ruined makeup and got up.

“Master, I’m here.”

Fleur had become stable enough to play by himself.

His reading time had increased, and especially after our outing, he focused on books about plants and animals.

Sometimes he read in the library, but mostly he borrowed books to read comfortably in his room.

The more he read, the more questions he had, and I found it increasingly difficult to give immediate answers.

Even now, Fleur was reading a book on plants when he asked me,

“Maricel, what does a rhinoceros look like? It’s a big animal with a large horn, and it eats grass.”

“Um… it’s an animal with a long, spike-like horn on its face, and a smaller horn behind it.”

I drew on paper as I explained.

But Fleur only tilted his head and looked confused.

Even I looked at my drawing and thought, Is this really a rhinoceros?

I had drawn a circle for the face and two pointy triangles for horns. The body and legs weren’t any better.

A slightly plump oval for the body, slim ovals for the four legs.

The tail was roughly like a pig’s curled tail.

Everything I drew by hand looked pathetic.

“This won’t do, Master. Let’s check if the library has a zoology book. I think there might be one there.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Fleur jumped up excitedly like a little bird from his reading spot.

“The library can be a bit chilly, so you should wear a coat, Master.”

The mansion was so large that the temperature felt different in each space compared to outside.

The library we arrived at was no different.

Since it was still morning, a slightly cool atmosphere lingered.

“Hello, Spencer.”

“Hello. Greetings, governess. Master.”

Spencer smiled brightly but had dark circles under his eyes.

The piles of books on his desk explained the reason for the shadows beneath his eyes.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You’ve worked hard, Spencer.”

Fleur repeated after me in his cute voice.

Spencer’s eyes brightened as if he had gained strength from Fleur’s encouragement.

“What are you looking for, Master?”

“We’re looking for a zoology book.”

“I’ll find it for you.”

Spencer jumped up from his desk in a flash.

“Ah! You don’t have to get up, Spencer. Just tell me where it is, and I can find it.”

Seeing the piles of books on the desk, I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to search.

Since I had more time, it was better if I searched myself.

Fleur followed me, insisting on helping.

He took the lower shelves, and I took the upper ones.

Ancient divine beasts, ancient disasters… even after scanning to the end of the fourth shelf, I couldn’t find the book Fleur needed.

I started searching the next higher shelf.

The upper shelf was filled with books whose titles started with “Loved by the Herman Empire.”

“…”

“Ah! Master! There’s a book called Animals Loved by the Herman Empire. It even has illustrations. You look at this first; I’ll keep looking for others.”

“Okay.”

Fleur took the book I handed him and flitted to a desk like a little sparrow.

I resumed my search diligently.

There were still no zoology books on this shelf.

The next upper shelf started with “World’s…” From the title alone, I had a feeling the book would be there.

Sure enough, I soon found a book labeled World’s Animals.

“Great.”

I reached out my hand, but couldn’t quite grab it. I stood on my tiptoes, pressed my body against the shelf, and stretched my arm as far as it could go. Thankfully, my fingertips touched the book.

“Yes!”

I felt a surge of joy over something so trivial.

But then a problem arose.

The book was too heavy, and I could only shift it slightly in place.

No matter how many times I tried, the result was the same, and I grew exhausted.

“Ugh. If only I were 1 cm taller, I could have pulled it out…”

Just as I was swallowing my disappointment and turning away, a shadow fell over me from above.