39.
Isabella continued.
“It seems Hyude—no, wait… he’s the Young Master of Shoden now, isn’t he? Regardless, it seems the Young Master of Shoden has feelings for Judith.”
Though Hyude had a different birth name, it was decided that the Shoden family would continue to call him Hyude, just as he had been known for so long instead of Felix.
“He requested to escort her right away. Of course, he added that since Ekian isn’t here, it might be awkward for her to dance with someone else, and that she should think of him comfortably as a former colleague, but still…”
Given that he knew the full situation, such a proposal made sense.
After all, he was in a position where he owed a debt to Judith.
“Judith doesn’t seem to have noticed; she thinks it’s just goodwill. But I’ve never seen Hyude make a face like that before. He worked in our ducal household for a long time, too.”
“Is that so?”
“He even said he would stay at the mansion until a replacement was found. I believe that’s because of Judith.”
Excitement colored Isabella’s voice. Ben furrowed his brow and replied.
“The problem is whether the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden would accept a divorcee who has been pregnant before…”
“They should. Wouldn’t it be a lack of conscience otherwise?”
Isabella said in a chilling tone.
“Thanks to our Judith, they found their son and even caught a swindler. If it weren’t for Judith, they might have been scammed by some random man.”
“That is true.”
“Besides, Hyude knows everything, doesn’t he? He knows Judith wasn’t truly pregnant and that she never even met Ekian. So, in reality, there’s no issue at all. It’s a perfect match since she wouldn’t even have to explain the circumstances.”
Ekian pressed his forehead.
It felt as though both of his mothers were desperate to pair Hyude and Judith together.
He was particularly dumbfounded by his own birth mother. To think that the last thing she left behind, even in spirit, was the truth about Hyude’s biological parents.
Had she really despised her own son until the very end?
“If Judith says she likes Hyude, and the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden are ungrateful enough to refuse…”
Isabella’s voice grew sharp.
“I will absolutely not stand for it.”
“Now that I think about it, there’s that issue. Judith might not like Hyude back.”
“We’ll have to observe them at the banquet.”
Isabella said with a shrug.
“If she stands in a new place with a new environment, wouldn’t Judith’s heart begin to open? Hyude will try his best, too.”
“You’re quite proactive. We don’t even know Judith’s feelings yet, do we?”
“It’s because I pity Judith.”
She let out a ‘hmph’ and rested her chin on her hand, then muttered in a bitter voice.
“I’ve been thinking about Ekian a lot today…”
“Ekian?”
“Yes. A head of the Information Guild came with Judith. I didn’t see his face, but he felt exactly like how Ekian would have grown up to be. Thinking about Ekian all day like that made me feel a fresh wave of guilt toward Judith.”
Ekian swallowed hard. His body tensed up.
“For the sake of Ekian… we pushed that child into such a position.”
“And yet, you don’t regret it, do you?”
Ben said in a low voice.
“Doing that allowed us to delay the report of his death by at least six months.”
His slow voice was heavy with complexity.
“In truth, I don’t regret it either.”
Ekian caught his breath within the secret passage. Their waiting, and the love contained within it, felt both heart-wrenching and sorrowful.
“That is why I feel even sorrier for Judith.”
Isabella and Ben remained silent for a long time. After a while, Karl entered to bid them goodnight, and the topic was closed.
Ekian turned around slowly.
But he could not bring himself to leave the Mayous Ducal Mansion just like that. Though he had promised himself he wouldn’t stop by Judith’s room, he couldn’t settle his restless heart.
Judith and Hyude were going to the Imperial Banquet together… and as partners, no less.
Just the thought made his blood boil.
‘I’m just going to listen for a moment.’
He made a firm promise to himself.
‘Don’t let her know I’m here, just… listen. Just hear if she’s sleeping well. She nearly had her throat crushed, so she might be startled. I definitely won’t go inside.’
With that, his footsteps led him to the familiar place.
‘I’m not a lunatic, and it was only yesterday that I was told not to come here—I can’t just show up again.’
* * *
Judith was in her room, looking through a catalog.
It was because Isabella had told her to ‘choose a dress to wear to the Imperial Banquet.’
She had refused, saying she had plenty of dresses, but Isabella had horrified her by saying, ‘In that case, I will simply order them all.’ In the end, she had no choice but to say, ‘I’ll choose one myself,’ and take the catalog.
But as she stared at the catalog, her mind was elsewhere.
“That man was definitely lying.”
When the servant who had used the trick attacked her, she had naturally assumed she would be strangled. She knew she wouldn’t die, anyway—there were too many people around.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified. Her heart had plummeted in that moment. And the person who had instantly shielded her was the Master.
‘I was sure he was sitting behind me… how did he run over so quickly?’
When he had tossed the servant aside as if it were nothing…
Judith could not take her eyes off the broad back that had filled her vision. At the same time, she felt an emotion she had never experienced before.
Today, the name of the feeling she had spent all day contemplating was ‘relief.’
“The two of you are in a one-sided love affair! My lady, you should just accept it. Even if it is one-sided, it’s rare to find someone who would rush into such a dangerous place like that.”
Earlier, at The Shrine of the Last Priestess, the Marquis Shoden had said exactly that.
So, even in that shrine where the rain and wind were howling, the Master had rushed over for her sake.
All this time, she had lived alone. She had never even imagined that there would be someone who would jump into the fray for her. She had wanted to try dating and marriage in the future to find such a person.
‘Could it be…’
At the same time, a strange feeling began to stir.
‘Is the Master in love with me?’
The Marquis Shoden had asserted that ‘that man has a crush on Judith.’ In a way, it made sense. He had leaped into that dangerous place without a moment’s hesitation.
She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but seeing him toss the servant aside had started to unsettle her own heart.
‘I’ve been thinking about the Master all day today, too.’
Even when Hyude was revealed to be the eldest son of the Shoden family, and the Marquis and Marchioness were hugging him while weeping, all of Judith’s attention had been on the Master. Even though the Master had quietly left before seeing any of it.
‘But that’s unfair. I don’t even know the Master’s face…’
Yet, the fact that she could think of nothing but him made Judith feel pathetic. Why was she so preoccupied with someone whose face and voice she didn’t even know?
Just as she let out a deep sigh, a knock echoed.
“Judith?”
It was Hyude’s voice.
“May I come in for a moment?”
The Marquis Shoden had tried to take Hyude away immediately, but Hyude had calmly refused, saying, “There is only one attending physician, so I cannot leave.”
He argued that since the Mayous Ducal House were his benefactors, he should not behave so irresponsibly. The Duke of Mayous had said he would hire a new physician right away, and Hyude had agreed to stay at the mansion only until then.
Instead, since the Marquis and his wife were staying in the capital, it was agreed that he would visit the townhouse frequently.
“I can’t sleep, and I wanted to talk…”
It was a bit late, but there was no harm in it. Just as Judith was about to reply that it was fine, a sound came.
*Creak.*
As if by magic, the door connected to the bookshelf opened. True to his usual self, the Master, his face hidden by his mask, appeared.