8.
“About that.”
Judith spoke calmly, her gaze meeting Isabella’s without a flicker of hesitation.
“If I hadn’t known the outcome, perhaps I could have stayed silent. But I refuse to exploit someone’s hope when I know exactly how it ends. Especially hope regarding family.”
“What?”
“As you’ve investigated, I need money. A great deal of it—desperately. However…”
Even in her threadbare clothes, a quiet, sharp vitality burned in Judith’s eyes.
“I do not wish to obtain it by peddling lies.”
“……”
“I will say it again. The plan you are considering will only tarnish the Ducal House’s reputation, and it will not bring the Young Duke back. You would only be wasting your fortune. But if you truly wish to proceed… please, take me as your temporary daughter-in-law.”
Isabella felt a strange shiver. Even with the power of the decision firmly in her hands, she felt as if she were being managed.
Judith continued, her tone measured and polite.
“I will carry out my role flawlessly during the agreed period, without causing the slightest trouble for the Mayous Ducal House. You likely intend to run a background check—which is wise. You will find that whenever I have been hired, I have always fulfilled my responsibilities.”
That much was true. Judith had performed her work as a private tutor with more sincerity than anyone else. It was a fact Isabella had easily confirmed.
Isabella studied her for a long moment.
“Let me ask you one thing. Will you not tell me how you came to know all this?”
“I will.”
Judith replied with a nonchalant shrug.
“I had a dream. I have had them since I was young, and the majority of the events that occur within them come to pass. I do not know the reason, but I happened to dream of the Young Duke.”
“Then Ekian is…!”
“I know nothing more than that. Truly.”
Isabella drew a sharp breath. A dream—it was absurd, and entirely without evidence.
Yet, hadn’t she been precisely correct about the letter Ekian left behind and the secret plans Isabella had been nursing? It even explained how Judith had managed to sustain herself by selling minor bits of information to the guilds.
Isabella slowly regained her composure.
There was no need to overthink it. She needed a specific job done, and Judith was a volunteer. It was a transaction—nothing more, nothing less.
“……Very well.”
Isabella looked at Judith and spoke.
“If the Baroness says so, I will accept it. We have little time. Since you are already here, would you mind filling out the marriage registration form? The Duke returns tomorrow, so we shall finalize it then.”
“As you wish, My Lady.”
“And….”
Regaining her customary frostiness, Isabella spoke icily.
“Even if I accept you as a daughter-in-law, understand that it is strictly temporary. Let us be clear: you are not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ducal House.”
“Of course. I expected as much.”
Judith replied plainly. The implication that she wouldn’t be treated as a true daughter-in-law didn’t even sting. Wasn’t this just a contract marriage meant to last a few months? Isabella continued coldly.
“Should Ekian return in the meantime, we will add a condition for an immediate divorce. I want Ekian to marry the woman he loves. Is that acceptable to you?”
“Certainly. I know my station. When the time comes, I will leave the Mayous Ducal Mansion cleanly. Do not worry about that.”
Isabella nodded slowly. Then, she wrote out a check on the spot.
“Here. This covers the debts of Baron Aylan.”
At those words, the stoic Judith turned deathly pale. She blinked, her breath hitching.
“Th-this… you are giving this to me… right now?”
“Once this work is finished, I shall give you this much more.”
Isabella raised an eyebrow, her face a mask of indifference.
“I have ruined the marriage prospects of a woman in her prime; surely I am not so shameless as to deny you at least this.”
“Th-th-thank you. Thank you, My Lady….”
From her trembling hands to the flush that suffused her skin, Judith’s entire body seemed to vibrate with ecstasy. It was as if her earlier, noble declaration about refusing to deceive people had evaporated entirely.
Her raw, unconcealable joy revealed the crushing weight of the desperation she had carried. Only then did Isabella truly feel the sincerity behind Judith’s earlier warning: *‘Even if I do this, Young Duke Ekian will not return.’*
“Hmph.”
Seeing Judith so overjoyed, Isabella reflexively snapped open her fan to hide her expression. She felt a sudden, sharp twinge of embarrassment for having lectured such a girl—a girl who had maintained her dignity despite such misery—about not becoming a ‘real’ daughter-in-law.
“This much is nothing to a Mayous. That is why I gave it so easily.”
“Ye-yes….”
“Do not think I gave it to you because I like you, Ms. Judith! Make sure you understand that!”
After snapping at her, Isabella glanced at Judith’s cheeks, which were still burning with excitement.
* * *
Oh my, oh my, oh my!
‘I’m free…! I’m finally free from this damn mountain of debt!’
Clutching the check, Judith gasped for air, unable to believe the reality of it.
In truth, she had expected to receive the money only after the contract ended. But for the down payment to be this much…!
‘The rumors about their wealth were true! They can afford to hand this out without even consulting the Duke!’
Dazed, Judith clutched the check to her chest as she exited the Ducal Mansion. She had already filled out the marriage registration in a euphoric haze.
She went straight to the bank and settled her accounts with the loan shark.
“Baroness Judith Aylan.”
The bank clerk reviewed the contract and smiled.
“With this, your debt is fully repaid. Congratulations.”
Her head felt so light it was dizzying. Judith couldn’t speak for a long moment.
Even the loan shark, who had been collecting interest like a machine, looked stunned. He remarked that Judith was the only soul he had ever seen actually clear such a massive debt.
“Ha, for a man like Paul, who was obsessed with gambling, to have such a daughter… Tell me, young lady, how on earth did you come up with such a sum?”
Judith was in such a state of peace that she could even smile back at him.
“I gambled too. I gambled my life.”
Leaving the clerk and the loan shark with their mouths hanging open, Judith stepped out of the bank with a light tread. With the debt that had suffocated her every day finally gone, it felt as though her feet were floating, as if she were walking on air.
‘This is the best.’
Just getting entangled with the Mayous family had changed everything. And she hadn’t even begun her work yet.
‘I can do anything for the Duchess.’
Judith was a person who understood grace. Since they had paid off her debt so swiftly, she felt a burning need to do her absolute best in return.
Just as she was leaving the bank, a thought occurred to her.
“Ah! Master told me to come!”
Yesterday, the Master had sent word for her to visit the Gray Information Guild.
‘Perhaps he wants to thank me for saving his life?’
Or perhaps, now that he knew she was marrying into the Mayous Ducal House, he wanted the details.
‘Ah, I need some information from him as well.’
She was feeling so generous, and if there was anything she could do to help the Mayous Ducal House, she wanted to do it.
‘I’ll ask the Master for help!’
Judith went to the Gray Information Guild in high spirits. The Master was waiting for her, wearing his mask as usual.
“What on earth were you doing at the Ducal Mansion all day? I heard you were there since dawn.”
“Ah, I was busy filling out the marriage registration, among other things.”
“……What? N-no… h-h-how…”
“It will be spread all over the capital soon, so I’ll tell you first out of loyalty, Master.”
She needed the Master’s help for the sake of the Mayous Ducal House. She had no choice but to tell him the truth.
“The Mayous Ducal House will soon announce that I am pregnant with Ekian’s child.”
The Master fell into a long, profound silence.
Even though she had traded with him for a long time, it was her first time seeing him this rattled.
Even with his mask, she could feel his utter, visceral astonishment.
“Master?”
It was a surprise, surely, but was it really something to be this horrified by?
Judith watched his reaction cautiously. Then, a lightning bolt of realization struck her, and she gasped.
“Master? Don’t tell me….”