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Chapter 19
After putting Fleur to sleep, the first night shift began.
As expected, Morgan had skipped dinner. Maricel entered the office carrying the evening meal that Porl had prepared, just as she had during the day.
“Your Highness, excuse me.”
Morgan gave only a brief nod in greeting and immediately turned his attention back to the documents.
No wonder—the pile of paperwork looked just as enormous as it had during the day, suggesting that even more work had piled up in the meantime.
‘A perfect example of someone buried in work.’
Was this the downside of working from home?
The boundaries of work blurred, preventing the completion of tasks and forcing one to keep working endlessly.
That’s why parents who work while caring for children struggle so much—the work and rest spaces overlap, making it impossible to finish anything, so work drags on.
If psychological or physical boundaries are unclear between people, how stressful must that be?
In that sense, Morgan was probably feeling quite stressed, even if he didn’t show it.
Moreover, he bore the weight of the Grand Duchy on his shoulders!
People under such pressure should eat well and take care of their health. Yet, perhaps because he was a knight trained through rigorous exercise, his stamina seemed exceptional.
Even after staying up all night working, he remained unharmed.
‘Is it because I have poor stamina? That’s enviable.’
Just like during the day, Maricel placed the evening meal on the table.
Tonight’s menu was meat pie, wine, and salad.
She wasn’t usually fond of meat pies, but this one looked appetizing.
The salad was the same one Fleur had eaten earlier in the evening.
It was delicious on its own, but with the dressing, the sweet-and-sour flavor made it especially refreshing.
It was perfect for a nighttime boost of energy and morale.
“Your Highness, would you mind taking five minutes to eat a little?”
“Leave it there. I’ll eat when I have time.”
Morgan didn’t even look up as he answered.
“Your Highness, you’re not the kind of person who finds time—you’re the kind of person who needs to eat.”
Maricel muttered inwardly as she moved the newly added stack of documents to her desk.
‘Yeah, sure, time to eat…’
“No matter how well-trained a knight is, unless he’s a god, he’ll collapse if he doesn’t eat. So please, come and eat. Chewing will generate new energy, which will improve your work efficiency. Therefore! I recommend you eat now. The meat pie is still warm—it must have been freshly baked for you. Please, eat.”
In her efforts to make Morgan eat, Maricel’s tone had somehow become strangely maternal.
She realized her slip.
As she looked at him, he let out a small, amused laugh.
“Are you threatening me to eat?”
“No, it’s not a threat, Your Highness. I’m just saying this because I care about your well-being.”
“That insolent look in your eyes.”
Sigh.
Maricel felt wronged.
He always calls her insolent. So, what, he wants her to smile sweetly at him? If she does, he’ll scold her for smiling. What exactly does he want?
“…Then, Your Highness, what kind of expression would be acceptable? If not an insolent look… would this do?”
She gently curved her eyes into crescents, filled them with a tender light as if looking at someone dear, and lifted her lips in a sweet smile toward Morgan.
Boom!
Morgan felt as though his heart had dropped.
His heartbeat began racing as if sprinting at full speed.
The moment Maricel smiled, the world seemed to vanish, leaving only her face in his vision.
He shook his head and blinked, and the vision returned to reality—she was standing in front of the desk.
Morgan was bewildered by the strange sensation he had just experienced.
Why did odd things happen so frequently whenever Maricel was around?
‘It must have been my hunger playing tricks on me,’ he reassured himself.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
‘Why… must it always come to this? Is it really necessary…?’
Seeing him shake his head while blinking, Maricel felt mortified.
“Well… I suppose that will suffice.”
“Huh?”
Maricel was so surprised by his unexpected response that her voice cracked.
So, he really wants me to smile at him like this? Seriously?
An intentionally exaggerated, sly smile?
Then why did he just blink and shake his head earlier?
‘Living is tough… this damned class system.’
“…Understood.”
Maricel returned to her seat with a pout.
‘Sigh, today is just strange.’
Morgan felt flustered once again.
Why did someone look so cute while pouting?
He blinked and shook his head lightly, as he had before.
Yielding to her persistence, he went to the table where the meal had been set and sat down.
Though he didn’t enjoy eating much, his natural stamina meant skipping a few meals never harmed him.
Seeing Maricel tending to his meal, he knew it must have been Porl’s request—just like with Reno.
With Reno, he had eaten out of irritation to avoid hearing nagging, but Maricel was different.
When she spoke, it was bothersome but not unpleasant. He felt no irritation.
It was his first time working in the same space with a woman.
He should have felt discomfort, but he didn’t.
She wasn’t just an excellent caretaker for Fleur—she also handled document sorting efficiently, providing substantial help.
Morgan watched Maricel quietly working at Reno’s desk.
Her calm pink dress from the interview, half of her hair tied back, the slender fingers holding the papers—all reminded him of that first impression.
Even though it was night and she must be tired, the pale skin flushed with a faint rosy glow looked like a delicate pink rose.
Her lowered eyes cast shadows with long eyelashes, a perfectly proportioned nose, and small, gently closed lips—a picture in itself.
When she leaned forward to examine the documents closely, the violet hairpin in her hair caught the light.
It was the hairpin Morgan had gifted her.
‘Pretty. Next time, I’ll give her a nicer, more expensive one.’
Seeing the hairpin sparkle in her hair made him feel proud and inexplicably happy.
Then he returned to his work.
The third night of overtime.
Seeing that progress was slow, Maricel decided to take special measures.
From now on, she would not only sort the documents but also summarize and compare them so Morgan could handle tasks at a glance.
Some documents had long introductions with the main points buried at the end.
If she had post-it notes, it would be easier—but lacking them, she asked Porl for blank paper, colored paper, and clips.
As always, Porl, the capable butler, prepared everything generously.
Maricel separated the documents that needed comparison with previous materials.
Other documents were summarized onto blank sheets, clipped with the originals to prevent separation.
This way, Morgan could quickly handle tasks by focusing only on the core.
For documents difficult to summarize or unfamiliar, she only marked the starting line and left the rest untouched for him.
“…!”
Morgan was astonished as he reviewed the sorted documents.
With Reno, small, trivial tasks were handled entirely by him and reported afterward. This method was new to Morgan.
She had gone above and beyond, saving him even more time than he had expected.
‘She could easily serve as a capable aide…’
Could it be that Reno envied Maricel for this?
Morgan knew the thought was ridiculous but couldn’t help thinking it anyway.
When Maricel placed a bundle of organized papers on his desk, he stopped her.
“Have you done this kind of document work before?”
“Um… no, I haven’t.”
“So this method is something you came up with in the past few days?”
“Yes… I suppose so.”
Maricel hesitated before answering, because she had done similar tasks in her previous life, making it awkward to claim definitively.
Her experience with office work and summarizing core points from exam preparation made this process feel natural.
‘I feel like Morgan is complimenting me on my work skills,’ she thought, smiling inwardly.
“Your Highness, is something wrong…?”
“Not at all. You’re doing more than expected, making my work easier.”
‘As I thought.’
As they say, even whales dance at compliments—she felt truly pleased.
“Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness.”
Maricel bowed slightly at the waist and flashed a bright, toothy smile.
“……!”
Morgan’s heart began racing again as he watched her smile.
‘This is insane. My heart beats uncontrollably at all times—I’ll need a check-up soon.’
