34.
Judith stared at the portrait, stunned.
[At first, I too was blinded by rage and cast far too great a curse upon that child.]
“Ah… what should I do?”
At the Priestess’s voice, Judith looked out the window where the wind was raging, her heart heavy with sudden pity.
“If you, the Priestess, admit that the curse is ‘great,’ then it must be truly immense… Is your son perhaps by your side as well?”
At those words, the Priestess let out a sound of desperately suppressed laughter—*pfft*—before replying in a voice that was soft and sorrowful.
[That is not the case. If he is by one’s side, he is by yours.]
“Ye-es?”
Judith asked in surprise, and the voice continued gently.
[I died after casting a great curse upon my child. And the moment I died, I regretted it. Even though he was the unwanted child of a man I loathed, I had still carried him in my womb for nine full months….]
“Ah….”
[In the future I glimpsed, my child died in vain, trapped in despair. He was left with nothing but resentment, which is why I searched through the storms of time. For someone… who could save my son.]
Judith understood intuitively that the person was herself. That was why the Priestess had suddenly allowed her to glimpse the future that one day.
Thanks to that, she had somehow managed to carve out a path away from a future destined to vanish under a mountain of debt, though she had never known there were such circumstances behind it.
[That is why I told you the future when you were young. However, there was no way to meet you, so I just kept waiting. I wanted to face you like this, just once.]
“I… see. Thank you, Priestess. Because you told me that future, I was able to save my life.”
Judith offered her thanks first. Then, she blinked and asked, “But how can I save your son? I will do anything if you tell me.”
When she spoke with such enthusiasm, she heard a faint, ethereal chuckle.
[You have already saved him.]
“Yes? Me?”
[Yes. But the reason I waited for this day to face you in person is….]
The floor, which had been shaking with a dull *thud-thud*, began to settle, and the voice grew thin, drifting away.
[Because I have one personal favor to ask.]
“……Yes?”
[Please, make my son happy.]
It was a request veiled in mystery. Judith sat there with a bewildered expression, merely blinking her eyes.
[Since this shrine, which allowed me to reach reality, has now vanished, we will not see each other again.]
The wind outside the window died down, and the voice sounded distant, fading into the ether.
[And Judith, I hope you find happiness as well.]
Everything felt like a dream. Just as Judith, unable to even think of rising, crawled toward the portrait, a final whisper echoed:
[Come back when times are hard. I will guide you.]
*Thud.*
The portrait of the beautiful woman, its colors once brilliant, fell to the floor. As if struck by the passage of centuries in an instant, the canvas—perfectly preserved only a moment ago—faded and blurred into decay.
“……Huh?”
It felt as if she had suddenly been dropped into a different world.
Gone was the mysterious, pristine shrine; thick cobwebs hung in the corners, and the flowers that had been in full bloom were now withered husks. The candles that had burned brightly had melted into blackened wax, and the shelves were coated in layers of dust. In a heartbeat, the sanctuary had become a ruin.
“Pri…estess?”
She was standing there, frozen in disbelief, when it happened.
*Bang!*
The door was smashed open, and a figure rushed into the gloom.
“Judith!”
It was a voice she had never heard in her life. Judith startled, looking up at the man who had seized her shoulders.
A solid frame, a white mask, jet-black hair…
“……Master? Is that you, Master?”
The Master flinched, clearing his throat. He leaned in, his gaze scanning her face with sudden, raw urgency.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”
The mysterious, familiar voice from the shrine vanished the moment she heard him speak. Judith blinked at him, dazed, and replied, “I’m not hurt, but… why on earth did you come here, Master?”
“That’s because, obviously!”
“Obviously?”
“Obviously….”
The Master, who had answered with such vigor, faltered. Behind him, someone peeked through the splintered door.
“Young lady, are you not hurt?”
“Are you alright? My goodness, what on earth happened here?”
It was the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden, who had been standing in line right behind Judith. Both of them possessed the same good-natured, kind faces.
Just like Hyude.
“What in the world….”
“The inside is a ruin, too.”
The Marquis and Marchioness stepped inside, looking around. The space, which had been so surreal and beautiful a moment ago, was now nothing more than a graveyard of stone and rot.
“For now, young lady, let’s go out with your lover. This place is going to collapse soon.”
The Marquis spoke with concern, and Judith stood up with the Master’s support, frowning.
“Lover?”
Marquis Shoden chuckled. “I was watching from afar, and as soon as there was trouble at the shrine, he bolted out like lightning, didn’t he? If that’s not a lover, what is?”
Judith looked at the Master who was steadying her and asked quietly, “Is that so?”
“…….”
The Master gave no answer.
She left the shrine, leaning on him. Although she wasn’t injured, her legs felt weak from the adrenaline. Outside, the scene was even more desolate. The vibrant tulips were now withered, leaving only patches of gray weeds. As they exited, a wall within the shrine collapsed with a muffled roar.
“Young lady, are you truly alright?” the Marquis asked again, eyeing them. “To be honest, I was a little annoyed when you cut in front of us like a sly fox, but now that this has happened, I’m quite stunned.”
It seemed they had been aware of Judith, who had been lingering nearby before dashing into the line the moment the Shodens appeared.
Judith nodded, feeling awkward. “Yes, I’m fine. However, there is something I would like to tell you.”
The Priestess’s request was paramount, but she had a separate objective for seeking out the couple. If not now, there might never be another chance to speak with them at such leisure.
And the Priestess had said that doing good deeds was always the right path.
“Would you mind if I spoke with you both for a moment? It won’t take long.”
“With us?”
Both the Marquis and Marchioness looked surprised. The Marquis muttered, his expression bewildered, “Are you sure that’s alright? That young man, your lover, seems to be in a bigger hurry….”
“Ah, he is not my lover.”
Judith hurriedly cleared up the misunderstanding and let go of the Master’s hand. The Marquis chuckled, “So it’s a one-sided love! My dear, you should accept him if you can. It isn’t common for a man to dash into such a dangerous place for a woman.”
“Ah, I am a married woman.”
At Judith’s words, the Marquis’s satisfied expression hardened instantly. The Marchioness let out a long sigh and poked her husband in the side.
“You’ve only gone and poked a sore spot, dear. It seems like it was an illicit love, which is why he was watching so longingly from behind.”
“I suppose so….”
The Marquis scratched his head, feeling sheepish, and addressed the Master politely. “I apologize for the misunderstanding. But it would be better to erase a married woman from your heart quickly.”
The Master let out a long, faint sigh beside her. Judith didn’t know how he had ended up in such an awkward conversation, but she quickly changed the subject.
“Let me introduce myself first. I am Judith Mayous.”
“Ma…yous?”
At the name, both the Marquis and Marchioness stared at her in shock. Even if they didn’t recognize her face, they could not possibly be ignorant of the name Mayous.
The Marchioness muttered with an incredulous expression, “Are you… the one who… registered the marriage? The one who… is pregnant?”