The Virtually Exiled Duke’s Daughter Is Troubled When Her Fiancé in a Neighboring Country Says, "I Will Never Love You" - Episode 18

The next morning.

The sharp morning light streaming in from the window wakes up Marquis Sisley. He realizes that he has fallen asleep in his office without noticing.

He hurriedly got up, thinking he shouldn’t show such a disgraceful appearance to the servants, and returned to his bedroom. He couldn’t help but smirk at his terrible reflection in the mirror, filled a basin with water, and washed his face. By the time he changed clothes and felt somewhat at ease, the morning glow had already disappeared, and a blue sky was visible through the window. He looked out the window and thought.

(Last night, I… I was out of my mind.)

Last night, when I was talking with Ashley, a possibility came to mind regarding Marquis Sisley. It started as a tiny, tiny black spot, but in the blink of an eye, it spread and blackened his heart.

Deborah’s contradictory behavior, and sometimes her words resembling those of Magdala, raised suspicions that she might be a spy sent by the Mammut Kingdom. When all these elements were put together, I became convinced that Deborah was imitating the deceased wife to seduce Marquis Sisley. Once I started thinking about it, I couldn’t escape the suspicion, and it only intensified my hatred towards the enemy nation. If Deborah had shown up at that moment, I might have done something terrible to her.

(It’s unbelievable that Miss Deborah is imitating Maggie.)

After a night had passed and he thought it over calmly, he realized that it was quite a foolish idea.

Magdala’s words were all spoken shortly after she arrived at the marquis’s residence… that is, nearly ten years ago. The only ones who heard her remarks back then were Madame Lauren and Martha; most of the other servants, including the former head butler Swallow, have since retired due to old age or marriage.

Moreover, the content of his remarks was all trivial. Even the Marquis de Sisley only remembered because he had repeatedly reminisced about his wife since her passing, and it’s doubtful whether the servants even remembered.

If the plan was for Deborah to imitate Magdala’s words by extracting them from the former servants, wouldn’t they bring more memorable episodes or recent phrases?

Moreover, if the Mammut informant is truly skilled enough to even investigate seemingly trivial words from the past, then it wouldn’t make sense that Volks secretly fortified their defenses in recent years without anyone knowing, only to start a war.

In the first place, Magdala, who is ordinary, and Deborah, the most beautiful woman in the country, are too different. If the goal was to seduce Marquis Sisley, they would have sent someone who resembled Magdala more. It is more natural to think that the similarity in their words was just a coincidence.

The marquis poured water from the pitcher into a glass and drank it all at once. The cold water felt like it washed away the remaining alcohol and the dark feelings in his body.

At the breakfast table, Deborah once again brought up a new proposal.

“Marquis, may I have your permission to play an instrument?”

“An instrument?”

Deborah, with her ever-perfect lady-like smile, says.

“Yes, there is a piano in this mansion, isn’t there? I dabble in playing instruments a little.”

“That’s fine, but no one is using it anyway.”

Thank you very much.

Although it was minimally maintained, the piano in the mansion was rarely played and just sat there. Magdala’s wife preferred to go outside to check on the fields, work the soil, and talk with the servants and villagers, rather than engaging in the typical pastimes of noblewomen like playing instruments or dancing. She was more skilled in those activities as well.

That afternoon, a pleasant sound reached the ears of Marquis Sisley, who was in his office.

As the Marquis headed towards the music room, he saw Deborah playing the piano smoothly, surrounded by Shelly and Martha, who were entranced by the music, and Mrs. Lauren, who was watching them expressionlessly. Deborah noticed the Marquis and stopped playing. The servants, who had also noticed, straightened up.

“Marquis…”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it, just continue.”

Deborah looked straight back into his eyes and nodded. Then, the gray eyes, like glass beads, lit up again. The marquis thought she seemed to be smiling, but soon Deborah turned to the piano and began to play another piece.

It was a gentle, warm song. It was a melody that seemed to heal his heart, which had been invaded and hurt by darkness last night.

(As expected, Miss Deborah is different from Maggie)

While watching Deborah play the piano, he thought to himself, and a slight change of heart occurred within him. It was a sense of guilt.

Because of my own weakness, I wanted to label Deborah as a villain, to assume she had ulterior motives, because if that were true, it would be easier. I could hate her. This is despite the fact that he himself had told the servants that “this is something you should never do.”

If I, the master of this mansion, were to take such an attitude, the servants would naturally follow suit. Deborah would be oppressed by everyone in this country where she came alone.

In reality, Gary Sisley did not treat Deborah coldly or mistreat her. However, just thinking about it made him feel terribly guilty. The fact that it went against the wishes of his beloved ex-wife made him feel even worse.

He thought he should get a little closer to Deborah in order to keep his promise to Magdala.