# Chapter 30
The gentleman seemed puzzled by Judith's comment, so she continued to speak kindly.
"It's not that I don't like you, but I think it would be better if you didn't visit me so often. It makes me feel uncomfortable towards the palace owners."
“What do you mean by that? Are you afraid that I will be arrested? If so...”
“Imagine how the homeowners would feel when they find someone wandering into their house uninvited. It's a rather worrying situation, isn't it? Up until now, I could overlook it because it was for the sake of the family, but from now on, if it's not urgent, we should communicate via formal methods.”
Judith asserted her point with a more principled motive. The master folded his arms and tilted his head.
“Formal methods?”
“Yes, like through Eud Ramis or something like that.”
“It seems that Eud Ramis has become closer to you than to me.”
“Well, isn't that normal? Aud and I live under the same roof.”
“That's true, but we shouldn't put it that way.”
His tone seemed dissatisfied.
Judith was on her way to see the Duchess, so she did not stop at this remark and immediately asked the gentleman what had brought him there.
“If you have something to discuss, can you tell me quickly? I need to get permission from my mother to leave.”
"My mom…?".
"She asked me to call her by that name," Judith replied, shrugging indifferently. "Why is she acting so strange? She's my mother-in-law, so I call her mother."
The master was silent for a moment, then let out a light laugh.
"…Show."
“Honestly, I love her more than my mother, so even though I am just a temporary daughter-in-law, I don’t feel uncomfortable calling her by that name.”
Judith explained, then paused, rolling her eyes.
"Hmm... Is it strange that I mention my mother here? There's no way I can compare them... Do you think it's strange for me to say that to anyone else?"
“I'm not sure.” The master answered slowly, “In my case, the person who gave birth to me and the person who raised me are different. In fact, I only recently learned about the existence of my real mother.”
“Oh.”
Judith was taken aback for a moment, but quickly gathered herf together. Although she was shocked on the inside, she did not show it.
Even on the night he came into her room and revealed to her that he knew “the truth,” he didn’t share any details with her. She didn't ask him because it seemed too dangerous….
Sensing Judith's nervousness, the Master quickly turned his attention to the bookshelves, pretending to arrange the books as he changed the subject.
“Where do you plan to go?”
Judith saw no reason to hide her plans, and since the master was the head of the Information Guild, he would find out soon regardless, so she answered honestly.
“To the shrine of the last priestess.”
The master's movements froze at her words.
He turned his head towards her slowly.
His slow, deliberate voice sounded strangely cold. Although it was difficult to understand his tone, Judith felt cold and instinctively took a step back.
“Why are you going there?”
“Okay…” Judith swallowed dryly and looked around before answering, “I want to pray for my child’s safety...”
“We all know there is no baby.”
“I also have something personal I want to ask you about...”
“I heard that no one ever received an answer at the Shrine of the Last Priestess.”
This was followed by the gentleman's sharp question.
“Does this have anything to do with the fact that Marquis Soden and his wife visit this shrine every morning?”
Judith bit her lower lip in shock. After all, it was the gentleman I had asked about the Soden family earlier that morning. It will be difficult for her to lie to get out of this situation.
“Okay, sir,” she said firmly. “I don't have any obligation to tell you everything about my life, do I?”
This time, it was the master who retreated. After a short silence, he slowly replied, "...You're right. Ever since you became the fake daughter-in-law of the Mayus family, I've been very curious. It seems I've crossed the line."
The master's calm confession made Judith blink in surprise.
“You're just an employee here, but they treat you like you're part of the family... I was so confused.”
Judith nodded slowly. Everything he said was true, and she knew that better than anyone.
“If you don’t have something urgent to say, I have to go now and get permission for my exit.”
But hearing this from someone else made Judith feel a little foolish. She had spent the whole day worrying about helping Ayaud find his real parents, despite being a temporary employee, brought into the family for money, with no real interest in the affairs of the Duke or the Marquis.
Among parents who loved their children so dearly, Judith suddenly felt a bout of loneliness.
The Duke and Duchess of Maios, as well as the Marquis and Marchioness of Soden, were eagerly awaiting the return of their children. But there was no one waiting for Judith. Once this is all over, she'll be alone again.
The feelings she had tried so hard to suppress began to bubble up inside her.
"Like I said, I'm a fake. I was hired out of necessity, and I need my employer's permission before I can act."
Her voice came out cold, almost unintentionally.
She turned to leave, but as soon as she opened the door, she regretted speaking harshly. However, when she turned to say goodbye, the master was already gone.
'What's going on here?'
Judith unconsciously bit her nails as she sighed.
'I was acting strange today, but Master was acting strange too.'
Although they had always agreed, today was the first time they had clashed in this way.
The reason for the misunderstanding was clear, neither of them had been honest about their feelings.
Judith was unable to say, “I'm just feeling a little down, and I know I'll be alone in the end.” When the gentleman reminded her that she was “fake,” emotions that did not belong to the conversation spilled out.
‘Does the master have something he couldn’t tell me as well?’
She relaxed her shoulders and thought.
‘From the moment you mentioned the Shrine of the Last Priestess…’
Ekian spent the entire night awake, thinking about his irrational behavior.
When Judith asked him if he had anything to say, he had nothing. In fact, he had no reason to visit her.
Ever since Ayud had come to him, and spoken to him about the woman he loved, Ekian's mood had been tense. Although he succeeded in discouraging Ayodh by playing dirty tricks, the thought of Ayodh and Judith remaining in the same palace pained him.
Ekyan was not at the palace, but Ayoade was. Ayoade knew that Judith was not really pregnant.
The image of Judith laughing and drinking carelessly with Ayud made Ekyan feel even worse.
Even the fact that Ayoade had delivered the letter to Judith upset him, because this meant that they would meet again.
“Why is Eud Ramis closer to Judith than I am?”
The idea seemed ridiculous, given that he was Ekian Mayus – on paper, her husband. He went to her room out of spite and impulsiveness. Or rather, it had once been his room.
But when he received Judith's cold, unexpected response, he froze.
“I don't have any obligation to tell you everything about my life, do I?”
This was the reality of their relationship. They maintained a business partnership for three years. In the end, they became strangers.
She didn't have to share anything she didn't want to, and there was no need for them to reveal everything to each other.
If there was no goal, they would not have met, and even if they lost touch, that was the way things were supposed to go.
Ekian had completely forgotten about that. Ever since she entered Maius' family as his fake wife, staying in his room and living like she was part of the family, he had forgotten this basic fact.
Without realizing it, he began to think that they shared something special… as if it was a contractual agreement, but somehow they were like a real couple.
He stupidly fell into this delusion on his own.
“…You're right. Since you became the fake daughter-in-law of the Maios family, I've been very curious. It seems I've crossed the line.”
She's a fake, a temporary presence, hired only to play his wife.
However, he had crossed his limits, even without revealing his identity to her. Worse still, he showed a feeling of jealousy towards Ayoade, as if he was protecting his wife.
Looking back on it now, the whole situation seemed completely ridiculous.