# Chapter 26
Judith rolled around on the bed clumsily, looking absolutely ridiculous.
“Mother...sir.”
She should have stayed where she was, but when she tried to get up, she waved her hands helplessly, looking like a turtle upside down. There was a short moment of silence as she struggled.
Watching Judith flounder, the master asked, “What are you doing?”
“Well, you see...” said Judith, wrapped awkwardly in the blanket. “I drank a lot... The more I drank, the more strength I lost in my body.”
That's why she didn't wake up when she saw Ayoade earlier.
When she drinks more than her maximum, her body becomes flabby. Once she lies down, she can't get up again. No matter how hard she tried, all she managed to do was get more tangled in the blanket, making her condition worse.
Although the master was radiating a menacing aura, he couldn't hide his angry tone as he asked, “Why in the world did you drink so much with a man you barely knew?”
"What do you mean I barely know? We're mates."
"peers?".
"We both work for the Maios, making a living. Doesn't that make us colleagues? We had a lot in common, so we had a good chat and a little drink. Now, can you help me?"
“Didn't we work together?”
“It's a business relationship, not like a colleague relationship. Anyway, can you help me?”
"Haha, that's disappointing to hear. So, did we infiltrate Maius' property as part of a business relationship?"
“Oh, come!” Judith screamed in frustration. "If you don't want to help me up, at least take this damn blanket off me! I feel like I'm going to throw up!"
Then the master panicked and shouted: “Don’t vomit on someone else’s bed!”
“What are you talking about? Instead of worrying about the bed, worry about your business partner!”
“Haha, really...”
The Master stepped forward and began to undo the blanket wrapped around Judith.
huh? N-Wait….
However, every time his hand touched her body, she felt a strange sensation.
Judith was lying on the bed, while he carefully tried to remove the blanket wrapped around her, but still….
“Huh huh...”
The thin nightgowns didn't help, and Judith couldn't bear the embarrassment. "That seems... kind of weird, doesn't it? Being in someone else's bed like this..." she said.
She had hoped her comment would ease the embarrassment, but it only made things worse.
As he pulled the blanket away, the Master let out a quiet sigh, clearly dissatisfied.
“Judith, I told you to wear a shawl.”
'In this heat? Who wears a shawl?'
“And you are drinking with a man in this outfit...”
“I didn't start drinking right away. “We were talking, and it only resulted in two or three drinks.”
“It's worse if you were planning to drink in the first place, right?”
“Oh, you whine so much!” “I’m an adult, you know?”
"Not for long. How long have you been drinking?"
“Maybe today is my second time?”
“So, without knowing your limits, you drank indoors with a man and wore this?”
Finally, the master finished untangling the blanket.
“Foo…”
Judith sighed and collapsed on the bed, as if completely exhausted.
There was a short silence. Judith was lying there, looking at him.
"my lord."
"…Yes."
“Do you want to lie down too?”
"Yes?"
“Well, I can't get up, and we have to talk at eye level.”
The masked gentleman's face looked at her in disbelief, but Judith scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“You seemed to be in a bad mood.”
"…What?".
“It looked like you were in a really bad mood from the start. Is something wrong?”
The teacher did not answer immediately.
“You don't have to tell me,” Judith added, still smiling slightly, “but I thought it might make you feel worse if you were alone... Why don't we talk about something trivial instead?”
The gentleman remained silent, but did not seem opposed to the idea. So Judith took him by the arm and pulled him to her side. With a little hesitation, he lay down next to her.
“Judith.”
"Yes?".
"Don't drink anymore. Especially with that doctor, Ayoade."
“Why?”
"Because you'll end up inviting him into bed with you like that. Men will get the wrong idea."
“Come on, I'm not doing this to anyone. I only let you do this because we've known each other for a long time, and you seemed particularly upset. I'll give you special treatment.”
“…Special treatment by inviting me to lie in someone else’s bed?”
“I guess that's one way to look at it. Although I do feel a little guilty for the young Duke.”
Judith laughed as she continued, “It's like I snuck another man into his bed while he was gone...”
The Master let out a quiet laugh, and Judith stroked his arm gently with a smile.
“You saw?”
"What?"
The master gave a soft, low groan, and then murmured bitterly, “You are right, Judith.”
His voice was incredibly sad. “Honestly, I thought I would never be able to laugh again, but here I am.”
Judith nodded slowly, wondering what kind of expression he was making behind his mask.
“I think I subconsciously knew that being around you would make me laugh...”
After a long pause, the master continued, "Now I'm laughing. Even a simple chat about meaningless things with someone makes me feel better."
“…oh.”
“I think that's why I came to you.”
Judith looked at him and smiled. Although she didn't say it, she too often felt the same way.
On days when she was sick or in a bad mood, she wished someone would sit next to her and share her warmth.
There were times when she prayed that even if tomorrow was equally difficult, she would be okay as long as she had someone to share the burden with.
When Ayud mentioned his seven younger brothers, Judith felt very lonely, and realized that she had no one to be responsible for.
Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe she was just feeling emotional that night, but she couldn't bring herf to send the master away.
So they continued their conversation, talking about silly and trivial things.
They joked about how funny it would be if the roommate saw them like this, lying in bed together. The master played with them, and nodded in agreement, saying, “Actually, he wouldn’t have expected this.”
Eventually, Judith fell asleep mid-conversation.
When she woke up in the early hours of the morning, the master was already gone, and the blanket was carefully draped over her.
“Oh my God,” she muttered as she sat up, closing her eyes sleepily. “I forgot to ask him about researching the Soden family.”
She wanted to meet the master specially to ask him to investigate this matter.
“Well, it should be good.”
Judith reached out and tilted his head.
“Ayode said he would deliver the letter today anyway.”
That morning.
Ayoade had already woken up early, to buy medicinal ingredients and prepare to deliver Judith's letters.
As someone who had lived a hard-working life as an ordinary citizen, he found it strange to delegate something as simple as delivering letters to a servant.
Most of the letters were addressed to homes where Judith had worked as a teacher. The families were happy to receive their letters.
"She was a very hard-working teacher. She taught very well."
“Our child had a lot of problems, but she was able to guide him with great care.”
“We were very sad when she left. It is difficult to find someone like her again...”
Hearing such high praise for Judith Ayoade made him feel warm inside. Although he had not known her for long, he felt like he was getting closer to her, after hearing positive opinions from those who had known her longer.
She must have been good at everything she did – smart, kind, beautiful, and gentle.
One parent even gave Ayode a snack as thanks for getting the message across.
‘As expected, Judith is a good person.’
Delivering her letters was not at all a burden, but was a great pleasure, as it allowed him to follow in her steps.
And the last message...
‘Gray Information Guild? Did you work there too?’ (See, I forgot what the name of the union is, but it is about the color gray or the word means gray, so if I leave it as it is, it is not a problem, but if someone knows, please correct it for me)
Without thinking much, Ayud entered a rather shabby alley. After devoting all his time to studying medicine, this was his first time visiting an information guild.
'Information Syndicate? I think they are ling information?'
He'd heard of places like this before, but wasn't entirely sure what kind of information they sold. Maybe they were ling answers to people's questions?
‘Oh.’
Ayud's eyes widened as an idea crossed his mind.
Maybe he could ask how to win the heart of the woman I'm interested in?