11. Engagement Ceremony (2)  

Judy quickly took a step back and avoided Wesley’s hand.  

“This is a dangerous place where people might pass by and see, so let’s talk further inside.”  

Instead, she opened the door right next to them and lured him into the room. Watching Wesley’s back as he walked in first without a shred of suspicion, she had to suppress the urge to smash the back of his head. Now that she looked at him, he was not even that tall, and though he was blond, his hair was dull and dry, with no real sheen.  

And yet regret came rushing in—why had that been so handsome to her eyes back then; she really must have been out of her mind for a while.  

“Fine. Now hurry up and tell me, Asilly. You promised you’d be with me forever.”  

At Wesley’s impatient voice the moment he entered the room, Judy clicked her tongue inwardly, silently.  

“That was a long time ago. A very long time ago. You were engaged to Judy, and I came to love Theo. That means our relationship ended long ago.”  

“That’s ridiculous! How could you betray me!”  

He grabbed her shoulders so hard that she flinched in pain. Judy, as calmly as she could and without getting swept up in emotion, slapped his hands away.  

“Don’t do this, Earl Wesley. I just told you. Our relationship is already over.”  

“No. It isn’t over! You said it was thrilling and fun to make love with me behind Judy’s back……! You said even if I married Judy, you wanted to stay by my side as my mistress……! How can you do this!”  

Whether it was obsession edged with madness or love spoken from the heart, Judy could not tell—but either way, Wesley grew wildly agitated and began pressing her hard.  

“I can’t break up with you, Asilly!”  

Wesley seized her shoulders again. This time the force was on another level, and she could not easily shake him off. Judy twisted her shoulders this way and that, trying to break free somehow, but it was impossible.  

“Stop it!”  

It was when she shouted desperately. The curtain in the corner of the room was yanked open hard, and from there Theo—eyes blazing—lunged forward with speed and, without mercy, drove his fist into Wesley’s cheek.  

“Ugh!”  

Wesley fell headlong to the floor without even managing a single act of resistance. It was only one punch, but Theo’s fist was so strong that the corner of Wesley’s mouth split and blood began to pool.  

“What is the meaning of this Young Du-!”  

“Will you shut your mouth?”  

Wesley, brazenly unaware of his own wrongdoing and about to lash out at Theo, then noticed someone slowly emerging behind Theo. He went pale, as if he had seen a ghost.  

“M-Marquis.”  

As Judy looked at her father—his face twisted with anger—her nose prickled for no reason. It was harder than she expected to see her father after so long, only for his face to be filled not with joy, but with betrayal, shaking in pain. Judy subtly averted her gaze.  

“You dare toy with a mistress while keeping my daughter? And as if that isn’t enough, you planned to keep a mistress even after marrying my daughter?”  

“T-that’s not it, Marquis. This relationship wasn’t started by me—it was started by Asilly Leroni! It happened because of Asilly’s vile desires, born from jealousy of Judy, who is kind by nature!”  

Wesley pushed all the blame onto Asilly, trying to smooth over his own wrongdoing. At the sight of how petty and cowardly he was, Judy felt so sick of him she nearly grew dizzy. With no mind left for appearances, Wesley crawled forward on hands and knees and clung to Myka’s trouser leg.  

“It’s not my fault. It’s that Asilly’s fault—that ‘witch’! That woman must’ve put some kind of curse on me. But I’m back in my right mind now. All I have is Judy, Marquis!”  

Myka kicked him off violently. Then, as if a filthy bug had gotten on him, he roughly brushed at the lower part of his pants, dusting it off. Just from his tightly furrowed brow and the tendon twitching along his cheek, Judy could tell—how far her father’s fury had reached.  

“To blame everything on a woman so cowardly……. I’m even more disappointed in you, Earl Wesley!”  

“M-Marquis!”  

“All the support I intended to provide will be considered as never having existed. And of course, the marriage with our house will be considered as never having happened. I have no intention of marrying Judy off to a man like you.”  

“Just once. Please forgive me just once. I’ll make sure this never happens again, Marquis!”  

“Why should I forgive you, when you’ve disregarded our house and insulted my daughter?”  

After warning him as he looked down at Wesley with icy eyes, Myka turned to leave—then his eyes met Judy’s.  

“Fa…….”  

Without realizing it, Judy almost reflexively called him ‘Father.’ If Theo had not been beside her, tugging her arm as if to stop her, she might have ruined everything.  

Myka’s eyes—hollow with a mix of emptiness and indignation, as if his faith in humanity had shattered in an instant—shifted from Wesley to her.  

“I heard you came to our house not long ago and caused a commotion.”  

“…….”  

“I heard you claimed you were Judy yourself. Is that true?”  

Asked with a face that looked incredulous, Myka left Judy with nothing to say. To her father, she had plenty of ways to prove she was the real Judy: memories they had shared in childhood; the burn scar from younger days that only family knew about; and so on.  

But she could not speak up readily, because of the shock her father would receive—and because there was nothing her father could do for her right now. Above all, she could not step forward easily, afraid that if her father realized the “Judy” at home was the “fake Judy,” he might take the wrong measures and push Asilly into dangerous thoughts.  

“It seems I briefly lost my mind.”  

“No matter how jealous you are of those who have much, there are things you do—and things you must not do.”  

“…….”  

“Young Duke, think carefully about this marriage. Betraying someone is hard the first time, but after that, it’s not.”

“In the room where I invited you because I wanted to check on Judy’s condition, I’m sorry you had to go through something so disgraceful.”  

Even at Theo’s apology, her father gave no reply, simply moving his angry steps out of the room.  

“Marquis.”  

Theo called after Myka, stopping him.  

“I have a request.”  

A request? Rather than asking outright, Myka narrowed his eyes, urging him to speak.  

“I hope you won’t reverse your decision to break off the engagement between Earl Wesley and Judy.”  

“As if I’d ever let my daughter marry someone like that unless I lost my mind.”

Myka turned away again, showing his firm resolve once more.  

“M-Marquis!”  

Wesley scrambled out after Myka. From outside came a terrifying voice.

“If you want to keep using that arm, you’d better never grab me again.”  

Given the situation, Judy understood her father’s actions well enough, but the shock still made her sway for a moment.  

“Are you okay?”  

Theo, who had been at her side, pulled her in and supported her.  

“I expected it, to some extent, but it still hurts so much.”  

All of this had been something the two of them deliberately arranged, to break off the engagement between Wesley and Asilly—who was in Judy’s body. Theo had asked her father to meet upstairs, saying he had something to discuss, and Judy, after spotting Wesley glancing at her repeatedly, had deliberately pretended to go change her shoes, luring him in.  

This was the beginning of their first revenge against Asilly and Wesley, but facing her father, who looked at her with such disgust, was unbearable.  

The current situation—being treated like this by her only blood relative—also felt crushing.  

“I need to be strong, but it’s not easy…”

Wishing that this reality—still confusing and painful—would pass by even a day sooner, and hoping to face again the peaceful, small days she had once had, Judy stayed in Theo’s arms until her tears finally stopped.  

For quite a long while.  

***

There had been an uproar, but the engagement ceremony still ended safely. Between the matter with Wesley, then greeting the people invited to the engagement ceremony in a flurry, and standing for a long time to conduct the ceremony itself, Judy returned home utterly exhausted—forgetting even to wash, she flopped down onto the bed.  

“Ah. I’m exhausted.”  

But the hardest part was her heart, still not properly settled…….  

As she lay on the bed and let out pained sounds at her aching body, a knock came, and servants entered.  

“Shall we prepare water for you to wash?”  

“I’ll rest a little first.”  

“We’ll bring you a cup of tea that’s good for fatigue.”  

“I’m sorry, but I don’t even have the strength to drink that. Just…… let me rest a little.”  

“Yes. Understood.”  

After the servants withdrew, Judy quietly closed her eyes. When only her unstable breathing could be heard in the still space, another knock shattered the calm and struck Judy’s ears sharply.  

She said it was fine, so why is everyone like this?  

With both body and mind exhausted, Judy could tell even she herself had become quite sensitive.  

“I said I’m going to rest for a bit—”  

It was Theo, not a servant, who stepped inside carrying a basin full of water. From the towel draped over his arm, it was clear he had brought it to wash Judy.  

“You don’t have to do this. I was going to wash after I rested a little.”  

“You look like you don’t even have the energy to wash. Just keep lying down and rest.”  

Coming up to the bed, Theo gently took hold of Judy’s ankle and slid down, then began washing her feet with water that was pleasantly warm. His long, firm fingers swept over her feet in an instant.  

No, is this body’s feet a little sensitive? Wh-why is it so ticklish I can’t stand it!  

Without realizing it, Judy jerked upright.