49.
In truth, this was Hyude’s first time attending a banquet. He had spent his entire life as a commoner.
Although the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden—his newly revealed biological parents—had provided him with a wardrobe of fine clothes for the occasion, a banquet teeming with this specific brand of aristocracy felt like an entirely alien world.
These people were flashy and prominent, yet their behavior was no different from the commoners they so openly despised. If anything, it was worse.
Scorn, envy, and a strange, jagged yearning.
The vitriol directed at Judith was more aggressive and low-class than he had imagined. It grew so intense that Judith eventually could not maintain her composure, forcing her to slip out to the balcony for a moment.
“Judith, are you alright?”
When he finally tracked her down, Judith flashed him a bright, practiced smile.
“Of course. I’m fine.”
When she smiled like that, he couldn’t even offer a word of comfort.
“I take everything well. I’m truly a positive person. Besides, bearing this much was part of the employment contract. If you think about it, the hourly wage is incredible, isn’t it?”
She widened her eyes in an exaggerated show of realization.
“Though, I suppose I won’t be able to talk about things like this with you anymore. Because Hyude is now a young master of House Shoden; you no longer need to worry about what your employer thinks. Once again, congratulations on your liberation from the status of a laborer.”
Was she drawing a line?
Regardless, when they returned to the ballroom, the atmosphere had shifted entirely, thanks to Isabella.
Isabella hadn’t done much beyond delivering a few icy remarks.
Watching the scene unfold, Hyude realized something cold and absolute.
To protect Judith in this world, one needed power and authority. Merely standing by her side wasn’t enough to act on her behalf.
He could only allow Judith to “take things well.”
Wasn’t that the very reason he had tried to push her away in the past—because of that suffocating difference in status?
But now, he was a noble too. If he desired, he could leverage that to shield her.
He didn’t have a firm grasp of his new position yet, but he knew that would change once he entered House Shoden and began his training in earnest.
He didn’t know how Judith’s path would unfold in the future.
But one thing was certain: he wanted to be her strength, and he wanted to remain by her side.
From the beginning, even before he knew his own bloodline, he had wanted to be seen as a man in her eyes.
Hyude suppressed the urge to confess his feelings.
She was far too diligent; she would faithfully fulfill her role as Ekian’s wife until the day they divorced.
Thinking of this, a flare of jealousy toward Ekian—a man he had never even met—was inevitable. After all, Judith had admitted that she, too, had feelings for the man.
“Please, speak up, Judith. Later, when you leave Mayous and need my help.”
Hyude emphasized the words. Judith smiled even more brightly in the glittering ballroom.
“I know.”
Her answer was light.
“That goes without saying, doesn’t it? After all, I’m the benefactor who found your biological parents.”
The reasoning was just as airy.
Objectively, it was a heavy debt, but the weight Hyude intended to convey clearly hadn’t landed.
Yes, she was light. And that was exactly why she would likely smile like this, claim she could handle any hardship, and then drift away somewhere with that infuriatingly positive attitude.
Judith was like the warm sunlight of a spring day.
Warm and pleasing, yet impossible to grasp. It felt as if the seasons would shift and she would depart before he even had a moment to realize it.
“Oh, it’s such a shame that teacher Judith is quitting. She doted on our child so much.”
“Teacher Judith is quitting? My goodness… though I suppose it was inevitable. Such a diligent and capable teacher couldn’t possibly watch over our children forever. Still, it really is a pity.”
He had once delivered letters to the homes of students Judith tutored in her stead. Everyone was regretful, and everyone had said, “But I did think she would eventually.”
Perhaps they all subconsciously sensed that same quality he felt—that inherent transience within her.
“Judith, I am sincere.”
In the end, Hyude had no choice but to push through.
“This is my private mailbox number.”
As the dance music drew to a close, he pulled a small note from his pocket.
“Whenever you need my help, contact me.”
A private mailbox was a personal postal window favored by the aristocracy. Because servants checked it constantly, a letter sent there was guaranteed to reach the owner, regardless of their current location.
“If you call for me and wait, I will come running. No matter what.”
“Ah.”
Judith received the note lightly and smiled again.
“Maintaining this must cost a year’s salary… As expected of a young master of a Marquis house, your spending habits have become noble too! You’ve even hired servants.”
She chuckled.
“When you become an employer from an employee, you must tell me how it feels.”
“Yes.”
At the very least, Hyude was satisfied that she had accepted it.
“If you contact me, I will set everything else aside and come.”
“I’ll call you if I ever need the best doctor in the world. Because Hyude is the most skilled doctor I’ve ever seen.”
Thus, the first dance ended.
“Come now, let us be off.”
After the music died down and Hyude and Judith returned to the group, Isabella spoke, snapping her fan shut.
“We’ve made our mark. The high society will know, and the rumors that Mayous lied will be swept away.”
Who else would go this far for a fake daughter-in-law? Isabella thought, smiling with satisfaction at her own cleverness.
“Well then, young master of House Shoden.”
As they left the Imperial Palace, Isabella gave a gracious smile to Hyude.
“Thank you very much for everything.”
At the rear gate of the Imperial Palace, the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden were waiting.
Today was his last day officially acting as the ducal family’s physician; from tomorrow, he was scheduled to begin his succession training at House Shoden.
He had kept this hidden until the banquet only because he had told the public, “I am still awkward with my family and do not wish to be the center of attention.”
In reality, he just wanted to partner with Judith for that first dance. His heart was that simple, and that desperate.
“I will see you often in the future.”
Hyude bowed politely to Isabella and smiled at Judith.
“Because the Mayous Ducal Mansion is like home to me, after all.”
The Marquis and Marchioness Shoden approached and hugged Judith tightly. To them, she was, quite literally, a benefactor.
“See you again.”
Judith greeted them with her usual, cheerful lightness.
“Congratulations again on finding your family.”
Hyude waved, his eyes tracking her as she stood beside the Marquis and Marchioness Shoden.
Unlike when they arrived, the Mayous carriage began its return trip carrying only Judith and Isabella.
* * *
Inside the carriage, the silence was heavy.
‘It’s certain.’
Isabella sat with her arms crossed, lost in thought.
‘Hyude Shoden, he definitely likes Judith.’
She hadn’t just sat around in the ballroom; she had observed Judith and Hyude more closely than anyone else.
‘Even during the first dance, he could barely… he couldn’t hide his gaze.’
Hyude was a bookworm who had spent his life in a rural academy. He lacked the practice to mask his expressions.
‘The Marquis and Marchioness Shoden probably noticed, too.’
To her knowledge, they already had a fiancée lined up for him. But Isabella found she quite liked Hyude.
‘He’s solid, diligent, has a decent appearance, and likes Judith… Isn’t that better than looking for some random wastrel?’
However, Judith’s status was a bit lacking for the heir of a Marquis house.
‘Then, should I adopt her?’
Isabella considered the idea with grave seriousness.
‘A foster daughter of Mayous. Then, even if she has been divorced once, she wouldn’t be of a status inferior to the young master of a Marquis house. On top of that, we could provide a generous dowry…’
Isabella began to entertain a thought that would have made Judith faint in sheer astonishment: adopting her own son’s ex-wife as her daughter.
Damn , they rlly like her…