# Chapter 9
“You didn't… have feelings for me, did you?”
“W-what?”
“Don’t tell me that you were watching me from behind your mask, falling in love with me without even daring to show your face?”
The Master remained frozen in place, then sighed deeply and shook his head.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why were you so surprised when I found out I was getting married?”
“Because your groom is Ekian Mayus. You are not the only one who was shocked.”
He wasn't wrong, so Judith nodded in agreement. "correct."
"And what is this talk about pregnancy? Isn't that a very silly lie?"
The gentleman seemed to strongly object, but Judith merely shrugged and replied calmly: “How do you know he lied? Why are you so confident?”
"because…!"
The master started to raise his voice, but suddenly stopped. He shook his head again and spoke more calmly:
“Miss Ailan, you became an adult less than a week ago. How could you be pregnant?”
"Yes."
Unlike the terrified master, Judith remained calm and nodded slowly.
“Well, young people these days can be reckless, but I lived a responsible life, didn't I? That's a good point. I'll keep it in mind.”
“…So you admit it was a lie, right?”
“Keep the secret, okay?”
As Judith smiled indifferently, the master sighed deeply, his voice sounding as if he had aged ten years.
“Well, at least there wasn't someone in disguise pretending to be Ekian.”
"A person in disguise? What a funny idea. Who would dare impersonate the young Duke Ekian Maius?" Judith laughed softly. “But, sir, why did you summon me here? Was it to thank me?”
"Yes."
The master adjusted his stance as if he remembered something.
"Yes, this is correct."
It was almost funny to see him trying to look solemn after being so flustered earlier.
“Miss Ailan, I really want to thank you. If it wasn’t you, we would all have died. Me, my subordinates, and everyone in this alley.”
"You believed me and looked into the matter. You deserve some credit too, sir."
Judith sipped her tea quietly as usual.
“And also, you took care of all the annoying things for me.”
By “disturbing matters,” she meant investigators’ inquiries. She was sure the investigators would look into how the bombs got there and how the Syndicate found out.
But Judith kept herf out of it completely, leaving the master to handle everything. After all, it was the Information Guild that had submitted the report, so investigators wouldn't find anything suspicious.
“However, I owe you my life, so I must repay you properly. That’s why...”
“I will pay off all your debts, Miss Ailan,” the master continued, speaking as elegantly as running water.
(No, you can rest, because the mother has died and has stopped)
His voice was firm, and he clasped his fingers as he looked at Judith, clearly waiting to see her grateful expression.
"What?"
But Judith didn't look grateful, she looked shocked.
“You'll pay off my debts? Do you have that much money?”
Her debts were very huge. The reason for her father's suicide was nothing but this heavy burden. Although Judith was considered an accomplished private teacher and worked tirelessly day and night, she could barely afford the interest on the debt.
Only a noble family like the Mayus Family could bear such a debt. As for an information syndicate like this, it is impossible to deal with an amount like this easily.
“Does the Gray Information Guild have this much liquidity? It’s impossible...”
So, Judith was naturally shocked. After all, the guild was run by a man only a few years older than her, and she knew that it hadn't been around for more than five years.
How could she have amassed a fortune of this size so quickly? The Master's abilities seemed to be more impressive than she thought, and she found herf feeling a new level of respect for him.
“Yes, she has.” The master smiled confidently. “You seem to know a lot, but you don't seem to know it.”
She didn't know. In the original story, this guild was supposed to disappear.
Judith had thought that only the Maios family could pay off her debt in one go!
“If I had known, I wouldn't have had to go to the Maius family!”
A moment of feeling of injustice swept over Judith. But it was too late to fix what had happened. She couldn't go back to the Maius family now and cancel the arrangement. If she did, she might find herf quietly “disappearing,” without a trace.
So, in the end, Judith just looked at the master and whispered: “I already paid him.”
"…What?"
“I said, ‘I already shot it.’”
Judith sighed, feeling a little resigned. At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and one of the master's subordinates entered.
He quickly handed over the report, and the master asked Judith's permission before hastily reading it.
“Hmm.” The master frowned and said in a low voice, “I see. On your way here, did you… pay off the debt using a check from the Maius family?”
It seems that the information has just arrived, even though it only happened a short time ago. Of course, the speed with which the news arrived was still impressive.
The gentleman paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, and then concluded something
“Don’t tell me… Were you paid to pretend to be pregnant by Ekian Mayos just to postpone the death announcement?”
Hearing this, Judith couldn't help but think that the master's ability to amass wealth so quickly was not without reason. He quickly pieced together the situation, saving her the trouble of explaining.
“Keep the secret.” Judith smiled and said, “If you want to repay me for saving your life.”
Given how grateful he was—enough to offer to pay her huge debt—he was likely to keep the secret. Judith felt at ease, confident that the Master would not reveal the truth. But the master sighed and crossed his arms.
"This lie won't last forever. You can't have a baby that doesn't exist."
“It will last for at least a few months.”
“And in a few months, you will be divorced. The entire empire will know that you ever claimed to be pregnant.”
“So what if they knew? Honestly, I wish the entire empire knew the hell I went through while under that debt.”
“Miss Ailan, but still...”
“Oh, and I think it's time you stopped calling me Miss Ailan.”
Judith continued indifferently and added, "I will soon become the young duke's wife. You can call me something like 'Young Duchess' or…"
“That… no.”
The master visibly blinked, then sighed and said, “Can I just call you by your name? I think we’re close enough for that now.”
“Of course, go ahead.”
“Okay then. Anyway, Judith, I'll keep your secret. And if you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask...”
“I need something!”
Judith interrupted, her eyes sparkling. She had actually planned to ask him something.
“I need information about the Maius family.”
The master answered firmly: "I don't know much about them. We don't have any agents in the Mayus family estate. But since you will soon enter the Mayus family as the wife of the young duke, you can gather the information yourf, right?"
“You don’t understand. Once I enter there, I will be under constant surveillance. There are things I must take care of before I enter.”
In fact, Judith had already achieved her main goal.
She successfully took on the role of the evil supporting character from the original story, and opened a new path for herf.
But... she couldn't stand idly by and do nothing knowing that the villain would continue to torture people.
Although she was just a private teacher, Judith had sincerely taught many children for the past three years. She couldn't bear for adults to hurt children.
“Right now, the son of the Maius II family is in danger.”
As soon as she said that, the master froze. After a moment of hesitation, he asked in a low voice, “Is that true?”
“Yes. But if you don’t know much about the Maius family, I can always ask someone else...”
“Tell me everything.”
“You know, since you said you don't know much about the Maius family...”
“I will help you.”
“I appreciate the offer, but since you said you don't know much...”
Suddenly, clearly annoyed, the gentleman shouted: "No! In fact, I know too much!"
“Oh my God.”
ooo