18.
The Master held his forehead for a long moment, then said in a low, strained voice.
“W-well, anyway. Judith, you are still young. I don’t think there is any need to be in such a rush to consider remarriage.”
At that, Judith gave a bitter, sharp smile.
“Well. I don’t have a family right now, so I want to build one as soon as I can.”
It was a thought she had been turning over in her mind for a long time.
“The families I had were all a mess. But that wasn’t my fault. I didn’t choose them.”
She spoke softly, her eyes distant.
“So, I think if I become family with people I’ve chosen myself, it might be different. Just because it was a mess once doesn’t mean it’s doomed to be a disaster forever. I want to try again.”
In truth, she felt a flicker of envy toward Isabella, who had been raging at Karl earlier.
Judith had approached that situation with the measured reason of someone accustomed to handling children, but Isabella had been genuinely furious, unable to contain her visceral emotions. While it was Judith who had wisely smoothed things over, it was clearly Isabella who possessed the capacity for a deeper, messier, more human love for Karl.
Judith had never received that kind of intensity from her own parents. If she had been denied it, she wanted to be the one to give it now.
“So, if you like me, Master, I’ll give you a chance. Though I don’t know if you’ll end up being to my liking.”
She said it with the casual air of someone doing him a favor.
“I don’t care about status. It’s fine if you’re a commoner. As long as you have money, are good at your work, and are diligent, that’s enough.”
It was then.
A low, guttural sound, *woo-oong*, echoed from Karl within the bedroom.
“Oh my, is he having a nightmare? See you later, Master. I’m going out, so you should see yourself out too.”
Startled, Judith quickly bade the Master goodbye and slipped out of the closet.
After brushing the hair from Karl’s forehead as he stirred in his sleep, she quietly extinguished the lights and left the room.
* * *
The next day.
Judith received an invitation from the Mayous Ducal Mansion once again. This time, it was from the Duke himself.
[I have heard the full story from my wife.
I have decided to gratefully accept your proposal.
I have already burdened you enough with the matter regarding Karl.
Come today, and we shall proceed with the formal marriage registration.
Given the circumstances, there are a few procedures that must be followed.]
‘Ah.’
Judith immediately understood.
This was the unique procedure of the Mayous Ducal House to announce to the public that the child was indeed Ekian’s.
The Mayous bloodline emanated a distinctive energy that only the head of the house could perceive. Paternity tests were unnecessary; the truth was determined at the sole discretion of the Duke.
Therefore, it was only natural that the practicalities be handled by him, not the Duchess.
In short, today Judith had to meet the head of the house: Duke Mayous, the man known as “The Iron-Blooded Duke.”
“Judith, then, today as well…”
And yet again, the Master was sitting across from her since morning.
He was a man of such imposing stature that the small boarding room felt completely filled. Judith was surprised at herself for thinking that his presence wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Perhaps it was because she had lived alone for so long.
The Master read the letter over her shoulder, then remarked nonchalantly.
“Let’s go together.”
“Master.”
Judith looked at him, feigning annoyance.
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I’m working harder than ever right now.”
The Master replied with a sly glint in his eyes.
“As I told you, we have no informants inside the Mayous Ducal Mansion. And right now, there is something happening there under top secrecy.”
“Hmm.”
“Isn’t it the job of a Guild Master to properly and accurately grasp such secrets?”
It sounded logical enough that Judith nodded.
In any case, he would be using a secret passage and remained invisible to others, so it didn’t matter to her.
“Yes, well, do as you please then. But Master, do you really like me?”
“Ah, why does that come up again so suddenly?”
“No, just… I wondered if you were working so hard because I mentioned yesterday that I like men who are diligent at their work.”
“I have always been diligent.”
“That’s true. I just asked out of curiosity. Never mind if you didn’t.”
Judith shrugged and offered one final warning.
“But even if you do like me, don’t make it obvious until the divorce is finalized. Let’s not put each other in an awkward situation.”
She wanted to be clear.
“I am a person with a sense of responsibility. As long as I am on the Mayous registry, I will live faithfully as Ekian’s wife.”
When she had infiltrated Karl’s room, her own feelings had been strange while they were huddled together. Since then, her human interactions had increased rapidly, and she felt they had grown closer.
If the Master took off his mask and revealed himself to be incredibly handsome, she feared she might be swayed.
Thus, she had drawn a firm boundary to ensure that wouldn’t happen—at least while she was still married.
“Well then.”
She stood up with a bright smile.
“See you at the Mayous Ducal Mansion. Ah, or maybe we won’t. Anyway, let’s both get there safely.”
* * *
‘Wow.’
Judith stood in front of the Mayous Ducal Mansion once more.
She had been coming here almost every day since her first visit. It was, after all, the place she would eventually call home.
As she entered the grounds, voices called out.
“Judith!”
“Sister-in-law!”
Isabella and Karl had been sitting in the garden, but they hurried toward her the moment they spotted her.
‘Hm?’
In an instant, they were flanking her on both sides. Karl, in particular, was beaming as he clung to her arm.
Isabella lifted her chin and said, her tone defensive.
“I didn’t, like, exactly *wait* for you. I just couldn’t thank you enough yesterday, so I came out early!”
Judith smiled awkwardly and nodded. She was beginning to understand Isabella’s nature.
It wasn’t just that Isabella was reserved in expressing affection toward Karl; she was simply a person who was fundamentally clumsy at showing warmth to anyone.
“And showing you such a sorry sight yesterday! I just felt uneasy, so I came out to meet you!”
Karl, glancing at Isabella, chimed in smoothly.
“I came out to meet you because I like you, Sister-in-law. Let’s go, quickly.”
With that, Judith was whisked away by the Duchess and Karl into the mansion. Servants and the butler watched, whispering in shock.
The scene was no different when she arrived in the parlor.
Duke Mayous, who had been reading the newspaper, furrowed his brows upon seeing the trio.
“Hmm, I knew you and Karl had taken a liking to this girl, but…”
Judith was slightly surprised to see him. True to his reputation as “The Iron-Blooded Duke,” he was a handsome, middle-aged man with a palpable aura of intimidation.
Above all, his sharp, aristocratic features—blond hair and ice-blue eyes—were imposing.
“I’ve never seen the two of you favor someone this much.”
Unlike his languid, slow tone, his eyes were incredibly sharp. He made no effort to hide his deep suspicion of Judith.
Cold, detached, and seemingly fortified behind a wall of caution, he was the kind of man who openly radiated the fact that he was not easily trifled with.
Judith smiled nonchalantly, thinking, ‘But they all seem perfectly fine. They are supposed to die of a sudden illness in about a year, according to the original story.’
At present, there was no sign of sickness in the Duke or the Duchess.
In the original, they both passed away within a year, leading Karl to inherit the title at the age of nine. But now, they seemed like such a normal family that such a dark future felt impossible to imagine.
“Now, sit.”
“Yes.”
Judith sat down politely, and Isabella gestured toward Karl.
“Karl, don’t you have lessons?”
“Yes, I’ll be on time. I just came for a moment because I wanted to greet my sister-in-law.”
Soon, Karl departed for his tutor. This left only Judith, the Duke, and the Duchess in the parlor.
Duke Mayous skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.
“I’ve heard the full explanation from Isabella. She already paid the down payment in full, I hear.”
“Yes, I am grateful for that.”
“Then let us proceed quickly, before a death certificate is issued for Ekian.”
The Duke pulled a bell cord without further ado. A moment later, two men entered.
One appeared to be in his late thirties, the other around Judith’s age. Dressed in white medical coats, they were clearly the family physicians.
“These are the physicians of the Mayous Ducal House,” the Duke explained calmly. “We cannot deceive them, so this secret must be kept exclusively among those gathered here.”
“Yes.”
At a signal from the Duke, the two physicians stepped forward. The younger one greeted her first. He was a handsome man with a kind, refined expression, his soft brown hair matching his medical coat perfectly.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Hyude Lamis. I am twenty-one years old, and I have been in the mansion for two years.”