# Chapter 40
Judith's heart trembled, and she blinked her eyes for a moment and said, "I'm sorry. I was about to fall asleep. I went out early this morning, and I'm a little tired..."
With the Master suddenly appearing, she had no choice in the matter.
But what surprised her was that she was not particularly angry at his one-sided behavior. (Mine is one-sided)
“If it's not urgent, can we talk tomorrow?”
Judith said quietly. From outside, Ayud's frustrated voice could be heard.
"oh well."
The sound of Ayoade's footsteps became distant. As Judith sighed, the Master shrugged indifferently.
She suppressed the slight joy she felt, and whispered in a sharp voice, “Are you in your right mind?”
The master slowly came out of the aisle of bookshelves and sat down in front of her. “Not quite, I admit,” he replied.
"You admit it so easily, I have nothing to say anymore. Wait a minute. Since I said I'm going to sleep, I have to turn off the light to keep my words."
Judith got up slowly and turned off the lamp.
“Oh, to interrupt such an important task as choosing a dress—Ayod Ramis, no, Ayodh Sodin, is really rude,” said the gentleman, watching her jokingly.
This was a ridiculously rude remark, and Judith couldn't help but laugh dryly.
“Who do you think is really interrupting me at this moment?”
“Boycotting is my specialty.”
“Mmm, but I don’t think you’ve ever been this rude before.”
Judith laughed in disbelief, and the master folded his arms, muttering.
“I've decided to move towards fun from now on.”
"What? Are you going through puberty or what?"
“I learned today that my biological mother completely abandoned me.”
“Huh?”
“I already knew that I was an unwanted child and that I was not particularly loved, but I did not expect her to deliver such a sudden and precise blow to me.”
His fragmented explanation left Judith unable to understand the situation, but she instinctively felt that asking questions would not lead to answers.
In a tone more resigned than sad, the master murmured, “However, I think I was wrong to expect anything just because she was the one who gave birth to me.”
"Right. You probably shouldn't have expected anything in the first place."
“It's a fairly quick agreement, isn't it?”
"I just don't like to see you get hurt. So don't expect anything anymore."
Judith sighed deeply as she continued, "I was also disappointed after I expected something from my mother. Thinking that just because someone gave birth to you, they would love you...in the end, it only hurts you."
The master shuddered. In the moonlight, Judith cautiously patted his shoulder.
“Whatever the situation, don't heed your mother's words. The more you meditate on them, the harder it will be to find your happiness.”
“What if her words had a big impact?”
“Even if I were in your position, the more challenged I felt, the more determined I was to find happiness in my own way.”
Judith clenched her fist encouragingly and smiled.
"I've said it before. Even if my mother abandons me, I will never abandon my children. I will create a beautiful family, no matter what it takes. So don't let your mother's words affect you. Go and find your own happiness."
The master did not answer, but looked at Judith through his mask.
The atmosphere became a little awkward. Judith felt strange, so she started fiddling with the catalog in front of her.
Even though she asked him not to come yesterday, she didn't want to argue with him coldly again.
“Since you're here, would you like to help me choose a dress?” asked Judith, actively leafing through the catalog even though she wasn't particularly interested.
“I was initially thinking of wearing something red... but maybe I should match Ayoade's hair color and wear something brown instead...”
She gladly accepted Ayoade's earlier offer to accompany her.
To Judith, Hood was nothing more than a good friend. She never thought of him romantically.
On the other hand, Ayoade intended to start expressing his feelings, but Judith could not even imagine that their relationship would take such a turn.
I simply thought he wanted to return the favor by finding his biological parents.
"Son? That's the worst. It won't suit you at all," the master objected immediately, frowning as he flipped through the catalogue.
He clicked his tongue dissatisfied. “These designs are too revealing...”
Well, from his point of view, covering yourf from head to toe, I think it would look revealing.
Judith jokingly dismissed his complaints.
“Anyway, since I'm 'pregnant', I think the designs on the back would be better.”
Upon hearing the word “pregnant,” the master’s fingers that were tapping on the table froze. Judith tilted her head and looked at his mask.
“Why? Do you think it is unfortunate for a ‘pregnant’ woman to attend an imperial banquet without her husband?”
“Well, even though you're not actually pregnant… it seems a bit unfortunate.”
“Why should I be so pathetic? If that were the case, then Eckian Maius, the young duke, would be even more pathetic.”
"What?".
"Imagine how many people will curse him at the banquet. What will they say when they see a 'pregnant' woman without her husband?"
Judith shrugged and laughed, but contrary to her expectations, the master did not laugh. Instead, he took a deep breath and spoke seriously.
“Judith.”
"Yes?"
“What if...what if Ikian Mayus comes back?”
Although his question was serious, Judith's facial expression remained unchanged.
She simply replied: “That will not happen.”
“But he can come back.”
“I'm telling you, it won't happen. It's sad to say this, but I think Ekian Mayus is no longer in this world.”
“What? No, why...?”
“It's true.”
Judith was so convinced that she announced it without hesitation.
Of course, she couldn't say anything about the original story or the powers of the last priestess, so she tried to explain logically instead.
“If Ekian Maios is alive, doesn't that mean he's a complete despicable person?”
In the original story, when the Duke and Duchess are poisoned, and Karl becomes head of the family at a young age, Ekian never appears.
If he were alive under these circumstances, he could only be described as a terrible person.
Judith continued her sharp criticism, "During this poisoning incident, his mother and father could have died, and Karl could have suffered terribly. He just stands and watches what happens - can you even call that a human being?"
"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. After all, they weren't actually poisoned… Besides, if Ekian Mayus is alive, he's probably been monitoring his family behind the scenes."
“That would make it even more vile.”
In the end, Bart committed suicide in the cell. The evidence against the Emperor was gone, and he had nothing left to confront him with.
Even for the Maios family, there was no way to openly challenge the Emperor in the absence of concrete evidence. So the incident was quietly buried within the family.
“If Ekian had witnessed the assassination attempt on the Duke and Duchess, shouldn’t he have come forward? The Emperor directly targeted the Mayus family!”
Judith's eyes shone brightly.
"If a beloved family member is being threatened by the Emperor, how can he remain silent? This is cowardice. This will not be the last time. Who knows what the Emperor might do next?"
“Young Duke Mayus does not lack ability. Shouldn’t he come to support his father? Right now, his father and mother cannot afford to stand against the Emperor due to the disappearance of the Young Duke.”
“Well, maybe there are unavoidable circumstances...”
“Unavoidable? In this case, if he stays hidden until the end, he is either an ungrateful son who abandoned his parents or a coward running away from the Emperor.”
Judith clenched her teeth as if the mere thought disgusted her.
“If he is alive, he is definitely a despicable person.”
Ekian became hated for no reason