Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 696: A Date Out Of Duty

All of them turned.

It was indeed Maria. She was standing near the fountain at the mansion’s entrance, her back to them, her gaze fixed on the water.

"But she’s all by herself." One sister observed. "That seems strange, doesn’t it? Lady Maria is never alone. She’s always with someone—Lady Joy, or Lady Aqua, or one of us."

Another sister nodded. "Maybe we should go over and give her some company?"

But just then, the oldest among them—a sister with sharp eyes and a knowing smile shook her head slowly.

"No. I don’t think we should disturb her."

She studied Maria’s posture, the way she stood so still, the slight tilt of her head.

"She’s waiting for someone. She’s been standing there for a while now, I think."

"Look at how she’s positioned herself—facing the mansion, but angled toward the garden path. She’s watching for someone to arrive."

"Who could she be waiting for?" The youngest sister asked, her voice full of innocent curiosity. "Lady Joy, maybe?"

The older sister shrugged, but her eyes were still fixed on Maria.

"I don’t know. But I do know one thing."

She tilted her head, her expression shifting into something thoughtful.

"Lady Maria looks quite beautiful today."

The others blinked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" One asked. "Lady Maria has always been beautiful. We’ve always said she looks like an angel descended from the heavens. That’s not new."

"No, no—look closer." The older sister gestured subtly. "There’s something different about her today. Something...more."

They squinted at Maria, and slowly, they began to see it.

She was glowing.

Not literally, not with any divine light or magical aura.

But there was a radiance about her that hadn’t been there before.

Her hair was styled differently—soft waves that caught the morning light, framing her face in a way that made her features seem softer, younger.

Her lips were slightly rosier than usual, as if she had applied something to them, and there was a delicate blush on her cheeks that made her look vibrant and alive.

She was beautiful before. Now, she was stunning.

"I see it." One sister breathed. "She looked like a angel before. But now she looks like a Goddess."

The words hung in the air.

The youngest sister sighed dreamily. "I wish I could just keep looking at her. She’s like a painting."

"I hope I can be as pretty as her when I grow up." Another added wistfully.

Meanwhile, the oldest sister’s smile widened into something knowing, something almost mischievous as she put two and two and realised something shocking.

"Well, well." She murmured. "This should be very interesting."

"What do you mean?" The youngest asked. "What are you talking about?"

The older sister didn’t answer. Instead, she began gently pushing the others forward, herding them away from the garden path.

"Come, come. Let’s not disturb Lady Maria any longer. We should walk on from here."

"But I want to see who she’s waiting for!" The youngest protested, craning her neck to look back. "It has to be someone so special if she dressed up like that! Someone important!"

The older sister threw an arm around the girl’s shoulders, leaning her weight against her playfully.

"Come on, come on. Carry your big sister away from here. Just focus on carrying me right now. I’m so heavy, I need all your strength."

The younger sister groaned but complied, her small frame straining under the weight as she helped the older sister walk.

The others followed, still glancing back curiously.

But the oldest sister kept her eyes fixed on Maria until the last possible moment.

And then, very softly, she whispered to herself,

"...Lady Joy might just be getting a new father."

She shook her head with a smile, letting the others pull her into the mansion.

Meanwhile, Maria who had no clue about the sisters couldn’t stop looking into the fountain.

She had been standing there for what felt like an eternity, staring at her reflection in the rippling water, making tiny adjustments to her hair.

A strand here, a curl there. She would tilt her head one way, then another, trying to see which angle looked best.

Her fingers moved constantly, tucking, smoothing, arranging—as if she could somehow perfect herself through sheer force of will.

Nervousness fluttered in her chest like a caged bird, but beneath it, something else pulsed. Something warm. Something eager.

Excitement.

Today was the day. The date she had promised Cassius.

The outing that was supposed to be born of necessity of her duty to help Diana by curing the poor boy’s depression before it consumed him entirely.

That was what she told herself, anyway.

But the truth she could barely admit even in the privacy of her own mind was that she had barely slept last night.

After she had been unceremoniously kicked out of the room where Joy and Carmela had been...occupied—she had spent the night in the sisters quarters, tossing and turning, her mind refusing to settle.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Cassius’s face.

Every time she tried to rest, her thoughts raced ahead to tomorrow.

To today. To what the date would be like, how it would go, what they would do, what they would say.

She had an interest in him. That was the simple truth of it.

From everything she had heard—from Diana, from the sisters, from the glimpses she had caught of him moving through the mansion—he seemed like a genuinely good person.

The kind of man who brought joy wherever he went. And from their brief interactions, especially that moment when he had proposed to her with such raw, honest emotion in his eyes, she knew that impression was real.

Because of that spark, she wanted to know more about him.

But her position as Joy’s mother, as a woman who had dedicated her life to the goddess—all of it had held her back.

She had denied herself, suppressed her desires, told herself that what she felt was nothing, that it would pass, that she was better off alone.

Now, she had permission.

She could tell herself this was for Diana. For Cassius’s health. For the sake of curing his depression.

With that justification wrapped around her like a shield, she didn’t have to hold back. She could enjoy this date. She could let herself find out what kind of man Cassius truly was.

And oh, how she wanted to.

She had put on makeup. Real makeup, the kind she hadn’t touched in years. A touch of color to her lips, a hint of blush to her cheeks, a soft powder to her skin.

Nothing dramatic, nothing obvious, but enough. Enough to make her look...different. Better, she hoped.

She had even thought about changing her clothes.

That was where she had hit a wall. All the clothes she had brought were sister’s robes, church garments, things designed for modesty and duty, not for dates.

There was nothing she could wear that wouldn’t scream "I am here on business" rather than "I am here to enjoy myself."

It was embarrassing, really. She had always told Joy to buy nice clothes, to dress well, to take care of her appearance.

And now she realized she was exactly the same—she had never once bought anything for herself.

Never once thought about looking pretty for anyone.

For a moment, she had considered asking one of the women in the mansion or Aqua if they had something she could borrow.

But the thought of explaining why she needed it, of admitting she was going on a date with Cassius...

She couldn’t do it.

So she had come to the fountain in her usual robes, feeling a pang of regret that she couldn’t look as good as she wanted.

But then she caught herself.

’Why do I want to look so good? Why should I care so much about being pretty for him?’

This was supposed to be a simple outing. A chance to spend time together, to learn about each other, to help him through a difficult time.

There was no reason to dress up,, no reason to feel this flutter in her chest every time she thought about seeing him.

Except there was.

She was a mature woman. She had lived long enough to know exactly why a woman wanted to look beautiful for a man.

The thought made her blush so deeply she had to look away from her reflection.

’No.’ She told herself firmly. ’This is simply a date to cure his depression. A chance to spend time with him so he can move on from me. There’s nothing like that happening here.’

’Nothing...Nothing at all.’

’...’

The denial felt flimsy, even to her.

She was still trying to convince herself when she heard it.

A voice, bright and excited, calling from behind her.

"Maria! Maria!"

The sound made her smile before she could stop it. There was such enthusiasm in his voice, such pure, unguarded joy, like a little boy calling for his mother after a long day at school.

The day hadn’t even started yet, and already Cassius was making her laugh.

She composed herself quickly, schooling her features into something appropriately mature and dignified.

She was a grown woman, after all. A mother. A respected figure. She couldn’t be seen giggling like a schoolgirl. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

She turned around.

But the moment she did—all her composure evaporated at what she saw.