I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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0. Prologue

A beautiful and splendid banquet hall.

Ladies and gentlemen of high society were gathered in small groups, dancing or conversing.

Even while engaging in trivial conversations, they kept casting glances toward one particular person.

“Oh my, that necklace… isn’t it made from the Otez Diamond that sold for 4 million gold?”

“Goodness, I heard Madam Owar closed her boutique for a month to make that dress, and it certainly shows its worth. So beautiful…”

Their gazes fell upon a woman who was taking air on the terrace like a painting.

Her carefully styled hair, elegant attire, well-maintained skin, and long, beautifully shaped eyes stood out.

And above all, her rich red hair and intelligent-looking green eyes drew people’s attention.

“Was Baron Ailan always that beautiful?”

“I had no idea. After seventeen, she only wore old clothes like a commoner.”

“I only thought of her as a poor woman going around begging for money…”

Throughout the banquet, people were busy talking about Judith Ailan, or rather Judith Meius. And for good reason, as Judith’s circumstances were quite intriguing.

Judith Ailan was originally an orphaned fallen noble who inherited nothing but debt.

When she was young, her family’s circumstances weren’t too bad. However, when she was seventeen, her father failed in business and took his own life, changing everything.

Her mother fled in the night with a servant, taking what little remained of their possessions, leaving young Judith to inherit only the baron title along with a mountain of debt.

Judith went around borrowing money from friends several times, but the debt was too large to be solved that way. After that, she was spotted several times looking for work in shabby clothes.

And then she was forgotten by people.

Like countless other misfortunes that don’t affect oneself.

But then.

“Ah, wait. We can’t call her Baron Ailan anymore.”

“That’s right. Then… should we call her Lady Meius Marquis?”

A few days ago, she reappeared amid storm-like rumors. Specifically, rumors that she was carrying the child of the Meius Marquis.

The problem was that the Meius Marquis was currently missing…

Nevertheless, it was an official announcement from the Meius Ducal House.

Judith’s womb definitely carried Meius bloodline, and while the marquis was still missing, they recognized Judith as their daughter-in-law.

Though she couldn’t hold a wedding without a groom, Judith had entered the ducal house anyway.

“Should we go ask? How exactly she met and seduced the Meius Marquis…”

“Is it really Meius blood? I mean, the marquis has been missing for five years now.”

“But they say the Meius Duke personally confirmed the direct bloodline aura.”

“Could she be pulling some kind of scam? Suddenly claiming to carry the marquis’s child, but the marquis doesn’t even appear. Honestly, even though the Meius family announced it, it’s not very trustworthy…”

“I’m curious but I can’t ask. Last time I begged her for money, she pretended not to know me…”

That’s when it happened.

“Everyone.”

A voice sharp as frost cut through the air.

“Why are you all talking so much about my daughter-in-law?”

The people who had been whispering immediately shut their mouths.

“Who dares speak about my daughter-in-law, recognized by the Meius family?”

The person who walked through the crowd was none other than the Meius Duchess.

An iron-blooded woman famous for enjoying all kinds of luxury and having a terrible personality.

The noblewoman with platinum hair pinned up was extremely beautiful, but her expression seemed to drip with ice.

The Meius Ducal House, a prestigious noble family said to make even flying birds fall in the empire.

Though they were notorious for opposing the imperial family, they were such a formidable house that even the imperial family couldn’t treat them carelessly.

The Meius Duke was famous for being ruthless, and the Meius Duchess boasted an equally eccentric temperament.

Five years ago, after their eldest son ran away and went missing, their nerves had become even sharper.

“Perhaps you find the Meius family amusing.”

The Meius Duchess opened her ornate fan and glared.

“Seeing how you’re looking down on our daughter-in-law who carries Meius blood.”

Everyone fell silent at her cold voice.

One thing was certain.

The Meius Duchess cherished her daughter-in-law who had been no better than a beggar. Just for the single reason that she carried her missing son’s bloodline…

Indeed, it seemed she was caring for her quite devotedly.

Seeing how she had brought Judith, who had lived as desperately as a beggar commoner, perfectly dressed from head to toe.

“Come, dear child.”

The Meius Duchess slowly walked directly to Judith.

“The Duke is waiting. There’s no time to associate with such trivial people. The baby in your womb must want to rest now too.”

Judith smiled shyly and stood beside the Meius Duchess. Even stroking her belly that wasn’t swollen at all since it was early pregnancy.

Inside the carriage returning to the Meius Estate.

“Now the rumors have definitely spread in high society.”

The Meius Duchess, Isabella Meius, spoke proudly with her arms crossed.

“That you’re carrying Ekian’s child. And that we personally verified and recognized the Meius aura.”

“Ah, yes.”

The perpetrator of the fake pregnancy act, Judith, sat upright and smiled brightly.

“That’s right. Now the marquis’s death report can’t proceed. Since I’ve shown myself.”

The Meius Duke and Duchess were also accomplices in this fraud. In terms of relationship, they were more like employers than Judith’s in-laws.

“Hmph.”

Isabella snorted once, then swept Judith from head to toe with a cold gaze. Judith, who had been slightly reading her mood, spoke obsequiously.

“I used everything carefully. When we return to the Duke’s Mansion, I’ll return the jewelry and dress immediately…”

“Are you crazy!”

Isabella shouted, cutting off Judith’s words.

“What do you take the Meius family for? Huh? Do you think we’d take back such things? It looks good on you, so just keep it!”

“What?”

“Even if it’s a contract, you’re still a daughter-in-law. Don’t you think we can do that much for you? Huh?”

Isabella scolded primly.

“I see that light-colored dresses suit you very well! Go get another similar one tailored tomorrow! Got it?”

“Ah… yes, yes.”

“Even if you’re a fake pregnant woman, you’re too thin! As soon as we get to the Duke’s Mansion, prepare for a late-night snack!”

Judith, who noticed the hidden kindness in Isabella’s words, smiled broadly and nodded.

She had suffered a lot under the burden of debt. But now she was living so luxuriously that all that hardship seemed already forgotten.

This was all thanks to suddenly remembering her past life and using the original story to pull off this strange scheme.

‘Being a fake contract daughter-in-law of a villain family is really great!’

She planned to endure a few more months like this, then announce a miscarriage and divorce simultaneously. According to the original story anyway, Ekian Meius, who was supposed to be her husband, would never return.

‘It’s temporary work, but let’s enjoy these few months. Everyone seems to be good people.’

Everything was going exactly as Judith had planned.

Certainly, it was still that way when they returned from the late-night banquet and arrived in front of the Duke’s Mansion with Isabella.

“You’re late.”

Judith and Isabella, who were getting out of the carriage, froze in place. A languid yet low voice cut through the hot summer night air like lightning.

“It’s been a while, Mother.”

With the pitch-black night at his back, a gracefully handsome young man smiled deeply at them.

“E-E-Ekian?”

Isabella’s eyes widened as she faced her eldest son who had appeared for the first time in five years after his long disappearance.

“Ekian, you…”

The sculpture-like cool handsome man smiled slightly at Isabella, who couldn’t continue her words. Then the man’s intense gaze turned to Judith.

“And this person is…”

Judith was equally panicked.

Ekian Meius, officially her husband but someone she had never actually met.

According to the original story, he was a man who would never return even if a wife appeared claiming to be pregnant with his child. His red eyes leisurely swept over her as she stood with her mouth slightly agape.

“Probably my wife.”

In the silence, he slowly crossed his arms and added.

“The one who’s pregnant with my child.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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