25.
Bart had to admit it.
It was easy to shock a seventeen-year-old boy who was beloved and considered superior in every way, especially by striking at the very roots he never dared to doubt.
But Ekian was a grown man now, seasoned by the world.
He could no longer be confused by feigned loyalty as he once had been.
‘Then again.’
He thought to himself, feeling the poison beginning to circulate through his body.
‘Perhaps there’s no need for that anymore.’
A sense of hatred surged toward the man standing before him. Because he had grown into someone even more towering and handsome than he had imagined, he wanted to hurt him all the more.
“Speak.”
Ekian commanded in a low voice, his face terrifying.
“If you weren’t loyal to Mayous, why did you tell me to leave?”
Despite the pressure that felt as if it would crush his lungs, Bart grinned. His lips were split from the interrogation, making his blood-stained smile look grotesque.
Even in the abyss, he savored the glimmer of hope rising in Ekian’s eyes. Bart knew all too well which words would drive Ekian into despair.
“Seeing you all grown up like this…….”
Bart said in a raspy voice.
“You resemble your father so very much. You’ve already felt it, haven’t you?”
Ekian’s dark red eyes wavered.
“You look exactly like His Majesty in his youth, as seen in the portraits.”
Deep in the night, in the suffocating silence of the prison, Bart chuckled.
“You may have come here hoping that the Young Duke was the biological child of the Duke and Duchess Mayous, but there was no lie in what I told you five years ago.”
“…….”
“So, are you curious why I cast you out? You haven’t much time left, but I shall grant you the truth.”
The truth.
Ekian let out a shallow, jagged breath.
What was this truth that he found himself helplessly craving, even knowing it would only bring him ruin?
Bart smiled like a demon, looking up at Ekian’s shadowed face.
“Because that is what will torment you the most, Cursed Imperial Prince.”
* * *
Judith talked with Hyude for a long time. They hit it off far better than she had expected.
They shared the commonality of having lived in such squalor that they were eventually saved by the Mayous Ducal House.
“Whenever I say I attend the Medical Academy, people assume I’m from a wealthy commoner family. Because it implies there’s no worry about livelihood and the tuition is so expensive.”
“I thought the same.”
“But that wasn’t the case for me, so I received a lot of help from my younger sibling. I feel very sorry about that. Of course, since I receive a good salary from the Mayous Ducal House now, I can cover the tuition for the rest of my siblings.”
Noticing the conversation was stretching into the night, Hyude secretly produced a bottle of wine.
He mentioned he could freely requisition groceries from the Mayous Ducal Mansion. Judith clapped her hands, declaring that alone was incredible welfare.
Indeed, the wine Hyude brought was magnificent. It was undoubtedly very expensive.
“The Mayous Ducal House is truly wonderful.”
When Judith marveled, Hyude’s eyes widened and he nodded vigorously.
“It truly is. Honestly, both the Duke and Duchess are good people. Although, because they act so coldly in public, their image is terribly bad…….”
“I’ve experienced it myself, and they aren’t that cold.”
“In truth, the reason people call this a ‘villainous ducal house’ or ‘iron-blooded ducal house’ is entirely the fault of the Imperial Family.”
With the alcohol flowing, Hyude became increasingly talkative.
“The Imperial Family has long regarded Mayous as a thorn in their side, you see.”
“Hyude, isn’t that a dangerous statement?”
“It’s hardly a secret.”
Hyude clinked his glass against Judith’s and drank again. He spoke with indignant disbelief.
“When the Duke and Duchess were childless for a long time after their marriage, the one who openly mocked them behind their backs was the Emperor himself.”
“Oh my?”
“The Duchess made many requests related to the Medical Academy, and the Emperor would read those records as he pleased and reveal them to high society at will.”
“Whaaaat?”
“It’s a fact that all the professors know. Fortunately, Young Duke Ekian was born a few years later, so everything could be laughed off… but regardless, I think it is wrong for anyone, even the Emperor, to take someone else’s desperate situation and use it as a weakness.”
“That’s right. Hyude is right. I completely agree.”
Two glasses clinked again.
True to his kind and gentle appearance, Hyude was a truly upright person. He was a man of sound principles, and their conversation flowed without a hitch.
They continued to empty the wine bottles, using their words as a side dish. The wine was so exquisite that Judith, feeling the warmth of intoxication, thought:
‘As expected, I must find his biological parents quickly.’
This man was clearly kind-hearted to even share such a vintage.
‘But where are the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden right now? I don’t know where they are at this point in time. I should ask the Master when I meet him.’
However, she had no idea how to meet the Master. Until now, he had simply followed her into the mansion on his own accord, drawn by the interesting events unfolding within the ducal walls.
But now, the primary business was over. There was no longer a trigger for the Master to feel interested and approach her first.
‘But I can’t go looking for him like before, nor can I call him personally…….’
Entering the mansion, wearing fine clothes, and eating well was all fine and good. But there was one very important thing missing: freedom.
Whatever Judith did, reports would be sent to the higher-ups. It was only natural. From the ducal house’s perspective, she was a woman who held a very big secret.
‘Hmm, can’t be helped.’
In the end, Judith looked at Hyude and realized:
‘I have no choice but to go through this person.’
The degree of freedom between her, a temporary daughter-in-law, and Hyude, who had been the attending physician for two years, was bound to be different. It would be no problem for Hyude to go outside and deliver a letter.
“Say, Hyude.”
“Yes? Please, speak.”
“Could you possibly do me one favor?”
“Ah, anything. Just name it.”
“Before I came to the ducal mansion, I worked as a tutor and visited an information guild…… I already said my goodbyes, but I’d like to send a letter saying I’m doing well.”
Sending it only to the information guild might seem suspicious, so Judith deliberately mixed in other mundane destinations.
“I know it’s a huge inconvenience, but could you please deliver a few letters? You could even have a capable servant do it. I haven’t gotten to know all the servants yet…….”
“What inconvenience? It’s no trouble at all.”
As she expected, Hyude nodded readily with a good-natured smile.
“Actually, I was planning to go out tomorrow to look for herbs for the antidote production anyway. You don’t need to have a servant do it. I’ll deliver them myself.”
“Yes, thank you.”
As she smiled brightly, Hyude blinked, then quickly drained his glass. Judith drank along to keep pace.
After emptying several bottles, it was only when Hyude’s tongue began to slur that he finally stood to leave her room.
Even while drunk, Hyude showed precision in gathering up all the empty bottles.
“Then, *hic*, tomorrow, *hic*, I will deliver the letters, *hic*, and come back, *hic*.”
“Yes. Please do.”
Judith waved her hand while sitting in her chair, sending him off.
She was drunk, too. But she rarely showed it; her tongue remained steady and her face did not flush.
“Ah…… I’m drunk.”
Just as Judith sent Hyude away and flopped onto her bed, the bookshelf door swung open. The Master appeared, his expression shrouded in shadow.
“Just how much have you been drinking with an outside man? And in your husband’s room, no less.”
Judith blinked and furrowed her brows. She was going to have Hyude call him tomorrow anyway—why had he come so early?
One thing was certain: the Master’s mood was lower than she had ever seen it.
Even though he wore a mask, the dark, sorrowful atmosphere surrounding him was palpable. She couldn’t see his expression, but she knew the face beneath the mask must be wrought with turmoil.
‘What is it?’
She had been trading with the Master for three years. Recently, they had even been spending a lot of time together. But this was the first time she had felt such an aura emanating from him.
‘Something is definitely wrong.’
Judith, who had been lying sprawled on the bed, tried to sit up, but…….
Drunk as she was, she ultimately couldn’t get up. It was due to her peculiar, stubborn way of handling alcohol.