Chapter 09
“It’s not because you liked me, right?”
“Pardon?”
“Surely… surely you weren’t secretly in love with me while hiding behind a mask, never even showing me your face, and creepily watching me all by yourself?”
The Master froze completely.
Then he let out a long sigh and shook his head.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why were you so shocked when I said I was getting married?”
“Because the other person is Ekian Meyus. Anyone would be shocked, not just me.”
That wasn’t wrong, so Judith readily nodded in agreement.
“That is true.”
“And pregnant? Isn’t that a completely ridiculous lie?”
The Master practically shouted in protest.
Judith merely shrugged and answered calmly.
“How do you know it’s a lie? Why do you keep insisting it’s a lie?”
“That’s because—!”
The Master raised his voice, then abruptly stopped himself.
He shook his head and continued in a calmer tone.
“Lady Ailan, you only became an adult less than a week ago. And you’re pregnant?”
“Ah.”
Unlike the agitated Master, Judith remained composed and relaxed.
“Well, kids these days may be rather reckless, but I’ve definitely lived a diligent life for someone my age. That’s a fair point, though. I’ll keep it in mind.”
“…It is a lie, right? You’ll admit it now?”
“Please keep it a secret.”
Watching Judith smile innocently, the Master let out a sigh in a voice that sounded as though he had aged ten years on the spot.
“Well, at least you weren’t scammed by an impostor.”
“An impostor? That’s an amusing thought. Who would dare impersonate Young Duke Ekian?”
Judith chuckled.
“By the way, Master, why did you call me here? To thank me?”
“Ah.”
The Master seemed to regain his senses and straightened his posture.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Trying to act dignified now was somewhat comical after seeing him practically jump out of his seat earlier.
“Lady Ailan, I truly thank you. If it weren’t for you, we would all have died. Me, my subordinates, everyone in this alley.”
“It was also thanks to you for believing me and investigating.”
Judith sipped her tea, maintaining her usual relaxed demeanor.
“And you’ll take care of all the troublesome matters yourself.”
The “troublesome matters” naturally referred to the administrators’ investigation.
The investigators would undoubtedly pester someone about why a bomb had been there and how its existence had been discovered.
Judith could quietly slip away and focus on her own affairs.
The Master would surely piece together enough information to handle everything himself.
Since the report had come from an information guild, the investigators would have little reason to find it suspicious.
“Even so. It was my life that was saved. Naturally, I should repay you properly.”
The Master spoke with the smooth elegance of flowing water.
“Lady Ailan, I will pay off all your debts.”
After declaring this firmly, he clasped his hands together and stared at Judith.
It was the posture of a man fully prepared to bask in her gratitude.
“Huh?”
Judith, however, was not moved.
Instead, she looked genuinely startled.
“You’ll pay off all my debts? Do you even have that kind of money?”
Her debts were enormous.
There was a reason her father had taken his own life.
Even though Judith was recognized as a capable private tutor and worked herself to the bone every day, she could barely keep up with the interest payments.
Only a family like the House of Meyus could pay it all off.
This wasn’t the kind of sum an ordinary information guild could casually cover.
“The Gray Information Guild can actually mobilize that much cash? No way…”
From Judith’s perspective, the surprise was unavoidable.
The guild was led by a man only a few years older than herself.
As far as she knew, it had been established less than five years ago.
And yet he was already that wealthy?
Judith suddenly realized just how extraordinary the Master’s abilities were, and found herself feeling a new sense of admiration.
“We can.”
The Master smiled confidently.
“For someone who knows so much, it seems there are still things you don’t know.”
She truly hadn’t known.
In the original story, this place was supposed to be destroyed.
She had assumed only the Meyus Ducal House could pay off her debts in one stroke.
If I’d known this, I wouldn’t have needed to go to the Meyus family in the first place!
A wave of injustice washed over her.
But it was too late now.
She couldn’t simply march back to the ducal estate and cancel everything.
If she did, they might decide it would be safer to eliminate someone who knew too much.
In the end, Judith could only stare blankly at the Master.
“It’s already been paid off.”
“…What?”
“I said it’s already paid.”
Judith answered weakly.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and one of the Master’s aides entered.
He hurriedly handed over a report.
The Master asked Judith’s permission, then quickly read through it.
“Hm.”
Frowning slightly, he muttered,
“I see. On your way here… you paid it off using a check from House Meyus.”
Apparently the information had only just arrived because the payment had happened moments earlier.
Even so, the speed was impressive.
The Master thought for a moment before making a deduction.
“Don’t tell me… you received that money in exchange for pretending to be carrying Ekian Meyus’s child? To delay the execution of a death sentence?”
Listening to him, Judith couldn’t help thinking that there was a reason he had become rich so quickly.
At any rate, he had grasped the situation immediately, which saved her the trouble of explaining.
“Keep it secret.”
Judith flashed him a grin.
“If you really want to repay me for saving your life.”
He seemed grateful enough to pay off her massive high-interest debts, so surely keeping a secret wouldn’t be a problem.
At least, that was Judith’s relaxed assumption.
The Master crossed his arms and sighed.
“That lie has an expiration date. You can’t give birth to a child that doesn’t exist.”
“It’ll hold up for a few months, though.”
“And after those few months, you’ll become a divorcée. The entire Empire will know you once carried a child.”
“So what if they do? Come to think of it, I wish the entire Empire had known how I’d been crushed beneath debts I never even created.”
“Lady Ailan, even so—”
“Oh, and I think it’s about time you stopped calling me Lady Ailan.”
Judith shrugged.
“I’ll soon be the Young Duchess. Maybe something like ‘Madam Meyus’ or ‘Young Duchess Meyus.’”
“That’s a bit…”
The Master showed an unusually strong reaction of rejection.
Then he sighed.
“May I simply call you by your name? I think we’re close enough for that.”
“Go ahead.”
“Very well. In any case, Judith, of course I will keep your secret. And if there’s anything else you’d like to ask of me, anytime—”
“There is!”
Judith interrupted immediately, her eyes lighting up.
She had been wanting to ask him for something anyway.
“I need some information about House Meyus.”
“I don’t know much about them. We don’t have any informants there.”
The Master answered flatly.
“Aren’t you about to enter the Meyus estate as the young duke’s wife? You’ll be able to gather information yourself once you’re inside.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ll be under even more surveillance in there. There’s something I need to deal with before I move in.”
In truth, Judith had already achieved all of her goals.
She had taken over the role of a villainous supporting character from the original story and carved out a future for herself.
But…
Knowing that the original villain would continue tormenting someone, she couldn’t simply sit back and watch.
For three years, she had taught countless children with sincerity and dedication.
No matter what, she couldn’t tolerate an adult abusing a child.
“At this rate, the second young master is in danger.”
The moment she finished speaking, the Master’s body went rigid.
After a brief pause, he asked in a low voice,
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. But if you don’t know much about House Meyus, I’ll just ask someone else—”
“Please tell me everything.”
“I know the whole story, but since you said you don’t know much about the Meyus family—”
“I will help you.”
“Thank you, but you said you aren’t familiar with House Meyus, so—”
At that point, the Master suddenly burst out,
“No! Actually, I know them very well!”
“My, my.”
