45.
Among them were many young ladies from noble families who, like her, had desperately scrambled to borrow money after losing their parents at seventeen.
When they refused to help her with awkward, averted eyes, Judith swore she had never once resented them. She had always thought it was only natural for them to protect their own positions.
But now… now, she felt a flicker of resentment and a deep, biting disillusionment.
It was one thing to be unhelpful in times of hardship; it was quite another to be jealous and snide simply because she had become the daughter-in-law of the Mayous Ducal House.
As the whispering grew more overt, Hyude furrowed his brows and started to step forward.
“Look here, that…”
“No, it’s fine.”
Judith quickly grabbed Hyude’s arm.
“Don’t say anything, Hyude.”
She forced a smile for his sake.
Judith burned with a desire to snap back, but keeping Hyude quiet was the priority.
“After this banquet, you are going to become the successor to House Shoden. Do not let yourself get caught up in gossip because of me.”
“I don’t mind.”
Hyude said firmly, his brow still furrowed.
“At the very least, shouldn’t one refrain from saying such baseless things right in front of the person? If pointing out poor behavior is considered a problem, then I don’t mind being the subject of the gossip.”
“Well, *I* mind.”
Judith shook her head with a bright smile.
“I told you. I will do my best in the position I’ve been hired for.”
As she explained it to Hyude, the surge of emotion began to subside.
“Enduring such criticism is part of the job. I knew that when I started, didn’t I?”
Saying it aloud helped; she truly felt okay. She remained more terrified of debt than anything else in the world, and compared to that, this level of scrutiny was nothing.
If it meant paying off her debt, she could endure far worse. That thought helped her anchor herself in reality, and her mood shifted.
“However, I don’t think it’s good for me to keep clinging to you, Hyude.”
Judith sighed.
“It feels as if I’m becoming the femme fatale of the century. It would be a disaster if I ended up ruining your marriage prospects. Right now, no one is paying much attention because they assume you’re just the doctor for the Ducal Mansion, but once it’s revealed that you’re the heir to the Shoden family, people will surely talk about today.”
“Marriage prospects…”
Hyude chuckled, as if the notion were amusing.
“If those are ruined, Judith will have to take responsibility.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have any decent friends to introduce you to. All the people I used to believe were my friends are all standing right over there.”
Judith, who had interpreted his words simply as a request to be introduced to a suitable lady, replied lightly.
“Then how about Judith takes responsibility herself?”
“That won’t do. I have to keep my faith to my husband, Ekian Mayous.”
From the start, Judith considered the possibility of herself and Hyude, the heir to the Shoden family, becoming romantically involved to be absolute zero.
As the heir to the Shoden family, he would surely be matched with the daughter of a high-ranking noble family. According to the original work, he likely had a fiancée chosen for him before he was even born.
“Judith.”
Hyude hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Have you ever met Young Duke Ekian Mayous?”
Until now, Hyude had never pressed her for details. He had simply viewed this as a business arrangement—a contract between Judith and the Mayous Ducal House. But now, curiosity got the better of him.
“Or do you have absolutely no connection to him? Did you choose to become the wife of a man you don’t even know, or did something happen…”
“Ah.”
Judith blinked in embarrassment.
Although Hyude was someone she could trust, he was not a member of the Mayous family. Explaining the absolute truth did not seem wise; a certain degree of security was necessary.
He already knew she wasn’t pregnant and roughly understood the plan for her to leave after the divorce, but still…
“I liked him.”
Judith decided to recycle the lie she had told the Master.
“I, from a long time ago… back when I was an ordinary baron’s daughter without any debt, I liked him from afar. He was handsome and cool, wasn’t he? It’s nothing special. There must have been as many young ladies like me as there are stones on the ground.”
As she continued, Hyude’s expression hardened, though she didn’t notice.
“But well, it’s not like I’m passionately in love with him to this day… I need a fresh start, too. Anyway, I’ll only say up to this much.”
She would let him fill in the blanks himself.
Using ‘I liked him’ was a convenient, baseless excuse—a shield that was easy to wield.
Throughout their conversation, the gazes peeking at them did not disappear. It was burdensome, far more attention than she had expected. Judith groaned softly.
‘This is all because my mother-in-law dressed me up so extravagantly.’
These whispers would vanish once Isabella returned. Judith had planned to wait until then, but since she seemed to be a nuisance to Hyude, she decided to step away.
“Hyude, I’m going to go somewhere.”
To prevent strange rumors, it was best to keep her distance. As she spoke while lightly setting down her glass, Hyude’s tone turned serious.
“I’ll go with you, Judith. Anywhere, unconditionally.”
“…I’m going to the restroom.”
“Go right ahead.”
“Yes.”
Judith gave a bright smile and turned her back on him. As she moved, she felt the gazes snap toward her simultaneously.
‘Control your expression. Keep it neutral.’
If she looked embarrassed or offended, it would only give them more fuel. She had decided to stop caring about the whispers, but she didn’t want to go out of her way to be their entertainment.
And there was a panacea for keeping a calm mask.
‘Think of something else. Think of something else entirely.’
It was easy to find a distraction.
‘I wonder if Master handled things well. He said he would contact His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, on his own.’
If the Master succeeded, the Crown Prince would turn his back on the Emperor today. It would be a monumental boon for the Mayous family.
‘I believe in you, Master.’
Judith whispered to herself with a slight smile.
‘For the sake of the Mayous household’s peace, so that I can flirt with you without a troubled mind, let’s do our best.’
* * *
Behind the magnificent Imperial Palace banquet hall, on the roof of a secret path connected to the wall.
The protagonist of today’s banquet, Crown Prince Alteion, stared at the figure before him with a face of sheer disbelief.
“…Ekian?”
The voice of the black-haired Crown Prince trembled.
“Ekian Mayous? Is that really you?”
A few days ago, Alteion had received a mysterious letter. Ordinarily, he ignored private correspondence, but because it had been delivered through an emergency channel shared only with his closest friends, he had no choice but to verify it.
The contents were simple, yet explosive: his old friend, Ekian Mayous, was alive, and he should meet him during the Imperial banquet.
[Before I went missing, there was a place you secretly took me to celebrate my birthday, Your Highness. Let’s meet there at 7 o’clock, before the banquet starts.]
The handwriting was perfectly, unmistakably Ekian’s. Reading that line, Alteion felt a jolt of conviction.
On Ekian’s sixteenth birthday, Alteion had guided him to this secret spot. He had said it was the best place for the two of them to speak in confidence.
After that, Ekian had disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished into the ether.
“You… how on earth did this happen?”
Alteion blinked slowly, his eyes locked on the young man standing before him.