Chapter 4
Chapter 4
"A r-r-rational interest?"
The Master, who usually sat as still as a painting, asked in an uncharacteristically surprised tone. Judith shrugged her shoulders in response.
"Yes. Did you think I was just some money-grubbing woman only concerned with paying off debts?"
Though it was an accurate description of herself, Judith continued with feigned innocence.
"Young Duke Ekian Meius was famously handsome and perfect in every way, wasn't he?"
Of course, Judith had never actually seen him. Ekian Meius wasn't someone a mere baron's daughter like Judith could ever meet.
But since Ekian had been a celebrated figure since childhood, it was easy enough to pretend she'd glimpsed him from afar or heard about his reputation somewhere.
"Is it so strange to have some interest in a perfect man? What's the problem with that?"
When Judith asked nonchalantly, the Master fell silent for a moment. With his mask on, his expression was completely unreadable. After sinking deep into thought, he suddenly spoke.
"...To my knowledge, Young Duke Ekian Meius never met Baron Aillan."
"We were never formally introduced or met, no."
Judith answered calmly.
"I didn't have the connections to be introduced to Young Duke Ekian. But I did watch him from afar."
Judith's childhood experiences in high society couldn't even be called decent by lying standards.
Most noblewomen who cared for their daughters would mobilize distant connections just to introduce them to young noble heirs like Ekian.
But Judith's mother had shown no particular interest in her. Though as nobility, she did hire various tutors for Judith's education—but that was all.
Looking back now, even packing Judith's schedule with lessons might have been another form of neglect. While Judith was occupied with tutors, her mother was busy keeping company with a certain servant.
But Judith had never particularly cared about such things. After all, she enjoyed learning, and she'd been an excellent student—at least until the tutors stopped coming when their salaries went unpaid.
"Anyway, you seem well aware that I've never once exchanged greetings with Young Duke Meius. The Gray Information Guild truly is impressive."
Judith's eyes widened as she spoke.
"Master, you seem to know a great deal about Young Duke Ekian Meius?"
"...Well, I wouldn't say I know much..."
In any case, he was the man who would be her husband on paper, and even small clues might prove useful later. Judith rapidly fired off questions.
"Why did he run away? Where is he now and what's he doing? Do you not even know where he was last seen?"
Of course, she couldn't remain "perpetually pregnant"—the fake daughter-in-law act couldn't last even eight months. In the original story, the Duke and Duchess of Meius would fake a miscarriage before arranging a divorce.
'And in exchange for cooperation, they'd pay an astronomical settlement fee!'
Until the villain grew up and came to kill the abusive maid who'd pretended to be his sister-in-law, she'd live in absolute luxury.
'If I can just get into that position... my debts are finished.'
Sure, on paper she'd be a divorcee with a past pregnancy known throughout high society, but that didn't matter to Judith. If she couldn't pay off these debts now, she couldn't even live normally as things stood.
"Hmm."
The usually decisive Master clicked his tongue awkwardly before speaking quietly.
"My apologies, my lady. I actually know very little."
"What? But you knew we'd never met?"
"That was from the past. Since his disappearance, I know nothing. Probably no information guild knows either."
The Master drew a firm line.
"Young Duke Meius is a young man who left the Meius Ducal House of his own will. The Ducal House should hurry up and forget him."
"Well, the whole empire knows the Ducal House hasn't forgotten their young duke..."
"The natural course would be for five years to pass so his death can be declared, making Ekian Meius a name that no longer exists."
"How can you say that?"
Judith shook her head vigorously in protest.
"How could they turn such an outstanding son into a name that no longer exists? They'd want to wait as long as possible, wouldn't they? To keep his place ready for his return, no matter what."
"Still, once the death declaration is issued, that'll be the end of it. They'll gradually forget him."
Judith shrugged, thinking the Master didn't know the Meius family well.
They're already considering a fake pregnancy just to extend the five-year wait.
Of course, it was an absurdly clever scheme—one no one would ever expect. When Judith didn't respond, the Master cut in sharply, his voice low.
"Regardless, I have no information to give you about him. My apologies."
Judith lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea. Had Ekian really gone off somewhere and died? Was that why he never appeared until the very end of the original story?
Come to think of it, the villain had later reminisced, "My brother must be dead. Otherwise, he would've come to stop me long ago."
If he had been alive, he would've surely heard about the woman who came to the Meius Duchy claiming to carry his child—yet he never showed up in the original story.
Guess it's right to treat him as nonexistent...
If even the Master had no information, then Ekian likely wasn't a variable worth considering. As Judith sank into thought, the Master cleared his throat and spoke again.
"But... how exactly... did you come to have, well... romantic interest in the Young Duke...?"
"Oh, the Young Duke was popular, wasn't he?"
She brushed it off casually.
"I was just one of many admirers, that's all."
"...But to still be searching for him even now, after all these years... You must've been deeply attached..."
The Master seemed genuinely taken aback, stumbling over his words.
"But... you never had any... real connection...?"
"He was handsome."
"No, but surely that's not enough reason to—"
"I really care about looks. A lot. That's just my personal preference. Even from afar, he was incredibly good-looking. Incredibly. "
Having already lost interest in Ekian, Judith answered carelessly just to get it over with.
"I just wanted to learn more about him as a coming-of-age thing, that's all."
Either way, her plans wouldn't change. If anything, the idea of stepping into the role of the original story's fake daughter-in-law felt even more solid now.
Then I should start moving soon.
Now that she was of age, she had to secure that position before the ducal family resorted to hiring a maid as their fake daughter-in-law.
Strike while the iron is hot—I should visit the ducal estate by tomorrow.
There was no turning back now. Now that she was an adult, if she failed to repay her debts, the underground syndicates could sell her off to even worse places.
"I truly apologize for being of no help, my lady."
The Master spoke gently.
"But didn't you say you had information to sell as well?"
"Ah, right. It's very expensive, but... the cost-benefit doesn't add up."
Judith shrugged once before picking up the parchment and quill left on the table. There was something she'd intended to pass on to the Master today.
As she swiftly sketched something on the parchment, the Master raised his eyebrows in interest.
"This... looks like a map of the neighborhood?"
"Yes, exactly."
After roughly finishing the sketch, Judith marked one of the buildings with a star.
"Here."
She looked straight at the Master.
"There's a large stockpile of explosives here. If they aren't dealt with immediately, this whole district will be blown sky-high soon."
"...Excuse me?"
"Go check it out and handle it properly, would you?"
The building she'd indicated was a shop where illegal deals often took place. They'd been hoarding explosives there illegally, and in the original story, an accidental explosion had brought disaster upon the entire district.
And in the process, I died, the Gray Information Guild's people died—only the heroine, who happened to be out on an errand, survived.
That had been the original story's beginning.
The heroine doesn't need to suffer needlessly either. And it'd be nice if the people here could live.
Judith didn't have the means to deal with it herself. But the Gray Information Guild did.
"Charge me for this information later."
She grinned as she stood up.
"And make sure you charge me properly. Got it?"
She didn't know how much it would cost, but she figured the price of this information would be worth the Master's life.