IPPCB 04

Chapter 04

“R-R-Romantic interest?”

The Master, who always sat like a painting with the same calm demeanor, asked in a tone of rare surprise. Judith shrugged and replied,

“Yes. Did you think I was the kind of woman who only cared about paying off debts and making money?”

It was, in fact, an accurate description of herself, but Judith continued shamelessly anyway.

“Wasn’t Duke Heir Ekian Mayeus famous for being handsome and perfect in every way?”

Of course, Judith had never actually met him. Ekian Mayeus was not someone a mere baron’s daughter like her could ever encounter.

However, he had been a celebrity since childhood, so pretending she had seen him from afar or heard stories about him was easy enough.

“What’s wrong with being interested in a perfect man?”

When Judith asked casually, the Master fell silent for a moment. Since he wore a mask, it was impossible to read his expression. After pondering quietly, he suddenly said,

“…As far as I know, Duke Heir Ekian Mayeus has never met Lady Ailan.”

“Not formally, no.”

Judith answered calmly.

“I didn’t have any connections who could introduce me to Lord Ekian. But I did watch him from a distance.”

Even as a lie, Judith’s social experience during childhood could hardly be called impressive.

Mothers who cherished their daughters would often pull every string available to introduce them to young noblemen like Ekian.

But Judith’s mother had never shown much interest in her. As befitted a noblewoman, she hired various tutors to educate Judith, but that was all.

Looking back now, Judith sometimes thought that the packed schedule of lessons her mother arranged was simply another form of neglect. While Judith spent her days with tutors, her mother was busy spending time with one particular servant.

Still, Judith had never cared much about it. Learning had been enjoyable, and until the tutors stopped coming because they were no longer being paid, she had been an excellent student.

“Anyway, it sounds like you even know that Lord Ekian and I have never exchanged a single greeting. The Gray Information Guild really is impressive.”

Judith widened her eyes dramatically.

“You seem to know quite a lot about Duke Heir Ekian Mayeus, Master.”

“…Well, I wouldn’t say I know a lot…”

In any case, he was destined to become her husband on paper. Any small piece of information could prove useful later. Judith immediately fired off a barrage of questions.

“Why did he run away in the first place? Where is he now? What’s he doing? Don’t you even know where he was last seen?”

Naturally, she couldn’t remain “pregnant” forever. She could only maintain the role of the fake daughter-in-law for less than eight months.

In the original story, the Duke and Duchess of Mayeus eventually staged a miscarriage and arranged a divorce.

And then she receives an enormous settlement as an advance payment!

The maid who became the fake daughter-in-law lived in luxury until, years later, the villain grew up, tracked down the woman who had abused him, and killed her.

If I can take that position instead… my debts are finished.

Of course, she would become a divorcee on paper, and society would know she had once carried a child. But Judith didn’t care.

If she failed to repay her debts now, she wouldn’t even be able to live a normal life.

“Hmm.”

The Master, who was usually decisive, clicked his tongue awkwardly before speaking quietly.

“I’m sorry, my lady. The truth is, I don’t know much.”

“What? Yet you seem very sure he never met me.”

“That’s old information. After his disappearance, I know nothing. And I doubt any information guild knows any more than I do.”

The Master drew a firm line.

“Duke Heir Mayeus is a young man who left the Mayeus Ducal House of his own accord. The family should forget him as soon as possible.”

“Hmm. But everyone in the Empire knows they haven’t forgotten him.”

“The natural course of events is for five years to pass, a declaration of death to be issued, and for the name Ekian Mayeus to cease to exist.”

“How could that happen?”

Judith shook her head.

“How could parents erase a son who was that exceptional? They’d want to wait as long as possible. They’d keep a place for him, hoping he might return somehow.”

“Even so, once a death declaration is issued, it’s over. Eventually, they’ll forget.”

Judith shrugged.

He really doesn’t know the Mayeus family very well.

They’re already planning a fake pregnancy just to extend those five years.

Of course, it was an ingenious scheme no one could have predicted.

When Judith remained unconvinced, the Master spoke firmly in a low voice.

“In any case, I have no information I can give you about that man. My apologies.”

Judith lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea.

Where had Ekian really gone?

Was he dead? Was that why he never appeared even by the end of the original story?

Then again, the villain had once reflected:

“My brother must be dead. Otherwise, he would have come to stop me long ago.”

Now that she thought about it, if he had been alive, he would have heard that a woman carrying his child had appeared at the Mayeus estate. Yet he never showed up in the original story.

Treating him as someone who no longer exists is probably the right approach.

Even the Master claimed to know nothing. Ekian didn’t seem like a variable she needed to worry about.

As Judith sank into thought, the Master cleared his throat.

“By the way… how exactly did you… um… develop romantic feelings for the Duke Heir?”

“Oh, Lord Ekian was popular.”

She brushed the question aside.

“I was just one of his admirers.”

“…But considering you’re still searching for him even after his disappearance… your feelings must have been quite deep…”

The Master sounded genuinely shocked.

“But you didn’t really have any connection…”

“He’s handsome.”

“But that’s hardly a reason—”

“I care a lot about looks. A lot. It’s just personal preference. Even from far away, he looked incredibly handsome. Really handsome.”

Since Judith had already lost interest in Ekian, she answered carelessly.

“So after coming of age, I just wanted to learn more about him.”

Regardless, her plans hadn’t changed.

If anything, she felt even more convinced that she could safely take the original fake daughter-in-law’s place.

Then it’s time to make my move.

Now that she was officially an adult, she had to secure that position before the ducal family recruited a maid for it.

Strike while the iron is hot. I should visit the ducal estate tomorrow.

At this point, she had nowhere left to retreat.

Now that she was an adult, if she failed to repay her debts, the criminal organizations she owed money to might sell her off somewhere even worse.

“I’m truly sorry I couldn’t be of more help, my lady.”

The Master spoke gently.

“But didn’t you say you had information to sell as well?”

“Yes, that’s right. It was extremely valuable information… but I suppose the transaction won’t be very balanced.”

Judith shrugged, then picked up the parchment and quill lying on the table.

There was, in fact, a piece of information she had intended to give the Master today.

As she quickly sketched something onto the parchment, the Master raised an eyebrow with interest.

“This appears to be a map of the neighborhood.”

“Yes, exactly.”

After finishing the rough map, Judith drew a star over one particular building.

“Here.”

Looking directly at the Master, she said,

“A huge stockpile of bombs has been brought into this building. If it isn’t dealt with immediately, this entire street is going to be blown apart soon.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Please go check it out and handle it properly.”

The building she pointed to was a shop often used for illegal transactions.

A large cache of explosives had been stored there illegally, and an accident would eventually cause them to detonate, bringing disaster upon the entire district.

That’s how I died. The people of the Gray Guild died too. Only the heroine survived because she happened to be out running an errand.

That was the beginning of the original story.

The heroine doesn’t need to suffer unnecessarily. And it would be nice if all these people survived too.

Judith had no power to deal with the situation herself.

But the Gray Information Guild certainly did.

“You can calculate the value of this information later.”

She rose to her feet with a bright smile.

“Just make sure you pay its worth properly, understood?”

She had no idea how much they would value it.

But in Judith’s mind, the true price of that information was the Master’s life itself.