Chapter 9
Chapter 9
"I suppose you didn't actually like me, did you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Don't tell me... surely you didn't shamelessly and creepily observe me from behind that mask without even showing your face, secretly harboring a one-sided crush on me?"
The Master froze in stunned silence. Then he let out a deep sigh and shook his head vigorously.
"Absolutely not."
"Then why on earth were you so shocked to hear I'm getting married?"
"The groom is Ekian Meius, isn't he? Everyone would be shocked, not just me."
Since he wasn't wrong, Judith nodded cheerfully in agreement.
"That's true enough."
"And pregnant, no less! Isn't that too outrageous of a lie?"
The Master nearly shouted as if voicing his grievances. Judith shrugged nonchalantly.
"How would you know whether it's a lie or not? Why do you keep insisting it's false?"
"Well, that's—!"
The Master began heatedly before abruptly cutting himself off. He shook his head again and continued calmly.
"Lady Aillan, it hasn't even been a week since you came of age. And now you're pregnant?"
"Ah."
In stark contrast to the agitated Master, Judith remained perfectly composed as she slowly nodded.
"Kids these days do mature faster, but I suppose I have lived rather virtuously compared to most. That's a fair point. I'll keep it in mind."
"...It is a lie, isn't it? Are you going to admit it now?"
"Keep my secret, won't you?"
As Judith smiled serenely, the Master sighed so deeply his voice sounded a decade older.
"Well, at least you weren't swindled by an impostor."
"An impostor? What an amusing thought. Who would dare impersonate Young Duke Ekian?"
Judith chuckled lightly before continuing.
"But Master, why did you call me here? Was it just to thank me?"
"Ah."
Only then did the Master seem to collect himself, straightening his posture.
"Yes, that's correct."
Though his attempt at dignity now was somewhat comical given how he'd been jumping around earlier.
"Lady Aillan, I truly thank you. Had it not been for you, we all would have been helplessly doomed—myself, my subordinates, everyone in this alleyway."
"It was also thanks to you believing my words and investigating, Master."
Judith maintained her usual leisurely demeanor as she sipped her tea.
"And I'm sure the Master will handle all the troublesome follow-up matters too."
The 'troublesome matters' naturally referred to the investigators' inquiries. They would undoubtedly pester them about why the bomb had been there and how they'd discovered it.
Judith had neatly extricated herself from the situation to focus solely on her own affairs, knowing the Master would piece together plausible explanations to resolve everything.
Since the report had come from none other than the Information Guild, the investigators wouldn't find it suspicious.
"Nevertheless. This concerns my life, so formal repayment is only proper. Which brings me to..."
The Master's words flowed smoothly like running water as he spoke elegantly.
"Lady Aillan, I will repay all of your debts."
His tone was resolute as he clasped his hands and stared intently at Judith, poised to enjoy watching her moved expression.
"Pardon?"
But Judith wasn't moved. Instead, she looked utterly startled.
"You'll repay all my debts? Do you even have that kind of money?"
Her loan amounts were astronomical—her father hadn't taken his life for nothing. Even Judith, recognized as a skilled tutor, could barely manage to pay just the interest after working herself to the bone all day.
Only a ducal house like Meius could repay such sums; it wasn't an amount some small-time Information Guild could easily cover.
"The Gray Information Guild has that kind of liquid capital? That's impossible..."
From Judith's perspective, the shock was inevitable. This was merely an information guild led by a man barely older than herself, one that hadn't even been established for five years yet.
But they already had that much money? The Master's capabilities seemed far more formidable than she'd imagined, and the realization struck her so profoundly she felt genuine respect welling up.
"It's possible."
The Master smiled leisurely as he spoke.
"It seems the well-informed Lady was unaware of this fact."
She hadn't known. In the original story, this place wasn't supposed to exist at all.
She'd thought the only place capable of paying off her debt in one go was Duke Meius's household!
'If I'd known this, I wouldn't have needed to go to Duke Meius's family at all!'
A wave of unfairness washed over her. But there was no undoing what had been done now. There was no way she could go back to the ducal residence and cancel their arrangement. If she tried, they might decide to eliminate her—the mouth that knew too much—making her disappear from the capital without a trace.
In the end, Judith stared blankly at the Master and muttered:
"I already paid it off."
"...What?"
"I said it's already paid."
Just as Judith spoke those hollow words, there was a knock at the door, and one of the Master's subordinates entered.
The man hurriedly handed over a report. The Master excused himself briefly before scanning the document with urgency.
"Hmm."
He furrowed his brow and murmured:
"I see. On your way here... you paid it off... with a check from Duke Meius's household?"
The information must have just come in, likely about the incident that had occurred right before her arrival. Even that much was impressively fast.
The Master paused thoughtfully for a moment before deducing:
"Don't tell me—was that the payment for pretending to be pregnant with Ekian Meius's child? To delay the death proceedings?"
Hearing his words, Judith couldn't help but think the Master had earned his reputation. Since he'd pieced everything together so quickly, she wouldn't need to explain further.
"Keep it a secret."
Judith grinned as she spoke.
"Unless you want to pay with your life."
Given how grateful he seemed—enough to pay off her exorbitantly high-interest debt—he'd surely keep her secret. As Judith relaxed into this thought, the Master sighed and crossed his arms.
"This lie has an expiration date. You can't give birth to a child that doesn't exist."
"But it'll hold for a few months, at least."
"And after those few months, you'll be a divorcee. Worse—the entire empire will know you were supposedly pregnant."
"What do I care if the empire knows? Frankly, I wish the whole empire had known when I was buried under a mountain of debt I didn't even incur, suffering like a dog."
"Lady Aillan, still—"
"Ah, and speaking of that—it's about time you stopped calling me 'Lady Aillan.'"
Judith shrugged as she spoke.
"I'm about to become the Young Duchess, after all. 'Duchess Meius,' or something like that..."
"That's a bit..."
The Master recoiled visibly. Then, sighing, he said:
"May I just call you by your name? I think we're close enough for that."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Understood. In any case, Judith, of course I'll keep your secret. And if there's anything else you need from me, anytime—"
"There is!"
Judith cut him off, her eyes gleaming. She'd actually been meaning to ask him for a favor.
"I need information on Duke Meius's household."
"I don't know much about them. We don't have informants there."
The Master shut it down flatly.
"Won't you be entering Meius Manor soon as the Young Duke's wife? You can gather information firsthand there."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'll be under even tighter surveillance inside. There are things I need to settle before going in."
Truthfully, Judith had already achieved her main goal.
She'd hijacked the role of a minor villainess from the original story and carved out a new path for herself.
But... knowing that this villainess would go on tormenting someone, how could she just stand by?
Even as a visiting tutor, she'd spent three years earnestly teaching many children. If nothing else, she couldn't ignore an adult bullying a child.
"If things continue like this, the second young master there will be in danger."
The moment her words left her mouth, the Master's body stiffened. After a brief pause, he asked in a low voice:
"Is that true?"
"Yes. But well, if you really don't know much about Duke Meius's household, I suppose I'll have to ask someone else—"
"Tell me everything from the beginning."
"I know the whole story, but since you don't know the Meius family well—"
"I'll help."
"I appreciate the offer, but you said yourself you don't know them, so—"
Suddenly, the Master burst out in agitation:
"No! Actually, I know them very well!"
"My, my."