# Chapter 23
That night, in Ekian's room where Judith was staying.
Judith sat opposite the gentleman, who had come to visit her late at night.
The Master played an important role in notifying her of the appropriate moment that day. He could have left after completing his mission, but he chose to stay, insisting on having a conversation with her.
“How did you know?” he asked.
Judith shrugged, "I think I saw this guy named Bart while I was wandering the streets a long time ago. I heard something about him being undercover for poisoning."
As was usually the case, the master's face was hidden behind a mask, making it impossible to read his expression. However, he seemed calmer than usual.
“I thought he was really loyal to the Maios family.”
“I doubt it,” she replied, shaking her head. “He probably didn't have any real loyalty to the Maios family from the moment he arrived.”
"What?".
“I don’t know why he was rated as loyal, but everything he said were just lies, right? If they weren’t lies, it means he had malicious intentions from the beginning.”
Judith yawned and waved her hand dismissively: “Anyway, you should go. You must be tired, and need to rest.”
“I'm not particularly tired.”
“But it's strange to be in a lady's room, just you and me like this. I feel like I'm being flirted with.”
“What…? If a man and a woman are alone in a room at night, does this always mean flirting?”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Miss Judith?” A voice called from outside. “Do you have a moment?”
It was Ayoade's voice.
The voice outside the door was of someone unexpected.
“I want to talk a little.”
“Oh, yes,” Judith replied quickly, annoyed. “Give me a moment. I'll just tidy up the place.”
She hurriedly motioned for the master to leave, but the master, looking somewhat incredulous, whispered, “Are you going to let him in?”
"What? What are you talking about?"
“There's no one else in the room right now. Are you really going to be alone with him?”
"so what?".
“He knows you're not really married to Ikian, right?”
“How about that?”
“What if he tries to flirt with you...?”
“Oh, what nonsense.”
Judith, confused, struck the Master's back several times. “You just said that talking at night doesn't necessarily mean flirting.”
She was throwing his words at him, but despite this, the master showed no intention of leaving. Finally, Judith stomped on his foot in frustration.
"Aren't you leaving? Maybe Ayoade just wants to talk to me. Things are getting serious, after all."
Ayoade, a distinguished doctor, did not notice the poisoning, but Judith, who had no medical experience, did. Naturally, he wanted to talk to her. If for no other reason, perhaps he wanted to know more about the herbalist I worked with. There was reason enough for Ayoade's behavior not to surprise her.
But the Master did not look pleased when Judith tried to get him out. He stared at her angrily and said, “Wear something more modest. Where is that dress you used to wear? It will be perfect.”
“The Duchess threw it.”
At that moment, we heard Ayoade's voice again from outside. “Is something wrong, Baroness?”
Upon hearing this, the teacher let out an angry laugh. “Baroness? Baroness? He calls you Baroness, and yet you're staying in Ekian's room, he still calls you Mrs.... Baroness?”
Judith began to push the master towards the secret passage. “Why are you acting like a jealous husband? Stop getting attached to me and just go.”
The word “attach” seemed to shock the master. When Judith saw his confidence wavering, she took the opportunity to push him into the secret passage and slam the bookshelf shut.
Only then did Judith take a deep breath and straighten her clothes.
“Come on, Ayode.”
A handsome young man with brown hair and green eyes cautiously opened the door and entered.
“Sorry, Baroness.”
As the gentleman had pointed out earlier, Ayoade seemed a little embarrassed when he addressed her. He hesitated, as if he was not sure how to address her, because he knew that she was not really the young duke's wife.
Judith gave him a warm smile to ease his discomfort. “I'm also not used to being called 'Ma'am'. Until the marriage registration is complete, just call me 'Judith'. Feel free.”
“Okay then.”
Ayud's face lit up with a smile, and he was clearly relieved. Judith blinked and asked, “Has Bart confessed to anything yet?”
"No, the Duke has just finished his interrogation. Well, maybe it's not over yet. Knowing the Duke, he might start again within the hour."
“I see. Sit here.”
Judith motioned for him to sit at the table where she had been sitting with the gentleman earlier.
She always thought Ayoade was very handsome, but up close, he had a gentle and respectful aura. His fair skin, slim body, and tall stature fit his medical coat perfectly.
“I wanted to thank you first, Judith.”
Ayode continued with a serious expression, "In hindsight, I'm ashamed. I'm the personal doctor of the Maios family, and yet I didn't even know what they were drinking."
"Oh, analyzing Bart's prescriptions was never easy. I've only worked here for two years. How can a junior doctor question an older doctor's prescriptions?"
“Ha... Thank you for your understanding, but...”
Ayud's face turned grim, as expected. Then, as Judith had predicted, he asked her the question she had been waiting for.
“But can I know more about that expert you mentioned? If he shared this knowledge with an ordinary person, I would like to meet him.”
“Ah... well...” Judith smiled softly, having expected this. "He's already moved abroad. He's made a lot of money, you see. And as you know, no matter how much wealth commoners in the empire accumulate, they can't become nobles. He's moved to a place where he can buy a title."
“Oh.”
Ayud looked a little disappointed but continued to smile warmly at her.
"This may sound like an excuse, but Bart teased me and took me off my prescriptions. It wasn't easy to take the lead in matters like this."
Judith nodded slowly, imagining the situation.
Bart, who wanted to handle everything on his own, must have found Ayoade's presence annoying and would have tried to get rid of him.
“Oh my God, this must have been difficult… but with your talent, Ayud, you could have gone anywhere, even if you left the Maios family.”
“Okay...” Ayoade smiled sheepishly. "It's because of the money. There's no other place that pays as well as the Maios."
correct. Judith completely agreed. Nowhere else did he treat his subordinates so generously as the Mayos.
“Honestly, signing the pregnancy confirmation was… in a way, a betrayal of my conscience as a doctor….”
Judith, who had asked him to betray his conscience, felt a twinge of guilt. "However, I couldn't refuse the money I gave him. I have seven younger siblings to take care of..." Ayoade continued, looking somewhat remorseful.
"What?"
“They sold the farm to pay for my medical school fees, and during my studies my second brother had to take care of others. Now it is my turn to return the favor to them.”
“Ah… I understand. But where are your parents?”
“They had a small farm but they died when I was young.”
Judith was taken aback by this unexpected revelation and stared at Ayoade in astonishment.
Seven younger siblings, who are responsible for their care, and whose parents have passed away...
Oh, wait.
Judith tried to keep her smile, even though her thoughts were racing.
Could it be...this man...?
I quickly remembered the original story.
A male character who is a little older than Carl, and has a missing older brother — Ayoade seemed to fit that description. In the original text, he said:
Many years later, Marquis Sodin discovered evidence of their eldest son's disappearance.
He was adopted by a farmer couple who raised him like their own son.
However, when the farmer couple died, the eldest son had to take care of seven younger siblings.
As a result, the eldest son, who was originally a skilled doctor, had already left for a foreign land where they offered him higher wages.