4.
“R-romantic interest?”
The Master, who always sat in that same picturesque pose, asked in a tone of rare surprise. Judith shrugged.
“Yes. Did you think I was only a woman obsessed with money and paying off her debts, Master?”
In truth, that was a precise description of her, but Judith maintained a smooth, feigned innocence.
“Young Duke Ekian Mayous was famous for being handsome and perfect in every way, wasn’t he?”
Of course, Judith had never actually seen him. Ekian Mayous was not someone a minor baroness like her could ever hope to encounter. However, because he had been a celebrity in the spotlight from a young age, it was easy to pretend she had caught a glimpse of him from afar or heard whispers of his perfection.
“Is it really such a crime to have a little interest in a perfect man?”
When Judith asked this nonchalantly, the Master fell silent. Since he wore a mask, his expression remained a mystery, but he was clearly lost in thought before he finally spoke.
“…As far as I am aware, Young Duke Ekian Mayous has never met Baron Aylan.”
“We haven’t been formally introduced, no,” Judith replied calmly. “But I have watched him from afar.”
Judith’s childhood in high society could not be described as stellar, even if she were to lie. Usually, noblewomen who doted on their daughters would use distant connections to introduce them to heirs of similar age, like Ekian. But her mother had shown little interest in her. Although she was raised as a noble and tutored extensively, that was the extent of it.
Thinking back, the rigorous schedule of lessons her mother had drawn up seemed less like an investment and more like another form of neglect—a way to keep her occupied while her mother was busy with a servant. For a long time, she hadn’t cared. The learning had been enjoyable, and she had been a remarkably diligent student until the tutors stopped coming, their paychecks having dried up long ago.
“Anyway, you even know I’ve never once exchanged greetings with the Young Duke. The Gray Information Guild is truly impressive,” Judith said, her eyes rounding. “Master, you seem to know a great deal about Young Duke Ekian Mayous?”
“…It is not so much that I know a great deal, but…”
Regardless, he was the man who would be her husband on paper, and even a small clue might prove helpful later. Judith pressed him.
“Why on earth did he run away? Where is he now, and what is he doing? Do you have any idea where he was last spotted?”
She knew she couldn’t play the part of a pregnant bride for more than eight months. In the original story, the Duke and Duchess Mayous would eventually fabricate a miscarriage and process a divorce.
*And then I’ll receive a massive alimony payment as a signing bonus!*
Until the villain grew up and hunted down the maid—the fake daughter-in-law who had abused him—she would live in luxury.
*If I could just secure that position… my debts would vanish.*
She would be a divorcée, and the fact that she had allegedly been pregnant would be common knowledge among the nobility, but that didn’t matter to Judith. If she couldn’t pay off her debts now, she wouldn’t even have a life left to live.
“Hmm.”
The Master, usually so articulate, clicked his tongue as if troubled.
“I apologize, Lady. To be honest, I do not know much.”
“What? You even knew that I hadn’t met him?”
“That is a matter of the past; I know nothing of him since he went missing. I suspect not just me, but any information guild would say the same.” The Master drew a firm line. “Young Duke Mayous left the Mayous Ducal House of his own volition. They would be wise to forget him.”
“But everyone in the Empire knows the Ducal House can’t forget him…”
“It is only natural that after five years pass and a declaration of death is issued, the name Ekian Mayous will cease to exist.”
“How can you say that?” Judith shook her head. “How could they erase the name of a son who was so brilliant? They would wait as long as possible. They would keep a place for him to return to, no matter what.”
“Regardless, that will all end once the declaration is issued. They will eventually forget.”
Judith shrugged. She assumed the Master didn’t know the Mayous Ducal House very well.
*They’re already considering a fake pregnancy to buy five more years.*
It was a brilliant, unimaginable deception. When Judith didn’t yield, the Master snapped in a low voice:
“In any case, I have no information to provide. I apologize.”
Judith lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea. Where on earth did Ekian go to die? Was that why he never appeared in the original work? Then again, the villain had recalled, *My brother must be dead. If he were alive, he would have come to stop me.*
If he were truly alive, he would have heard that a woman carrying his child had appeared at the Mayous Ducal House, yet he never showed his face.
*I suppose it’s best to treat him as if he doesn’t exist.*
With the Master unable to provide answers, it seemed there was no need to treat Ekian as a variable. As Judith grew lost in thought, the Master cleared his throat.
“But… how did you come to have such… er, romantic interest in the Young Duke?”
“Oh, he was quite popular, you know,” she brushed off vaguely. “I’m just one of many.”
“…But to still be searching for him even now, after he’s been missing for years… your feelings must have been deep…” The Master stammered, appearing genuinely shocked. “But you had no connection…”
“He was handsome.”
“No, but for a reason like that…”
“I’m very particular about looks. Extremely so. That’s just a matter of personal taste. Even from a distance, he looked handsome. Extremely.”
Having already lost interest in Ekian, Judith spoke carelessly.
“So, I just wanted to look into him as a commemoration of reaching adulthood.”
Her plans remained unchanged. If anything, the thought that it wouldn’t matter if she stepped into that role of the ‘fake daughter-in-law’ felt even more certain.
*Then, I should start moving.*
Now that she had come of age, she had to seize the position before the Ducal House could turn another maid into a pawn.
*Strike while the iron is hot; I should visit the Ducal House by tomorrow.*
There was no turning back. If she couldn’t pay her debts, the dark organizations would sell her to somewhere far worse than the Mayous family.
“I am truly sorry I cannot be of more help, Lady,” the Master said softly.
“But did you not say you had information to sell?”
“Yes, that’s right. It was a very expensive piece of information… but the profit margins don’t quite align.”
Judith shrugged, picking up the parchment and quill. She scribbled something and slid it across the table. The Master raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
“This is… a map of this district.”
“Yes.” Judith marked one building with a star. “Here.”
She looked at the Master steadily.
“There is a large quantity of explosives stored there. If you don’t dispose of them, this street will be gone before long.”
“…Pardon?”
“Do go and look, and please handle it well.”
The building she pointed to was a shop for black market dealings. They were illegally hoarding explosives, and in the original story, it would accidentally detonate, bringing disaster upon the street.
*And I would die. The people from the Gray Guild would die. Only the heroine would survive.*
That had been the catalyst of the original story.
*The heroine doesn’t need to suffer, and it would be better if the people on this street lived, too.*
Judith didn’t have the strength to handle it herself, but the Gray Information Guild did.
“Set the price for this information later,” she said, standing up with a bright smile. “Make sure it’s fair. Understood?”
She realized that no matter how much he paid, the true price of that information would ultimately be the Master’s own life.