I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 102
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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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Melanie’s maid had clearly said she checked the baby in the womb at ‘Judith’s request.’
Originally, Judith, who should have hidden the fact that she wasn’t pregnant, would never have deliberately requested such a thing. No, rather, even if they offered to let her know about the baby’s well-being, she should have refused.
But the fact that she requested it meant she too wanted to know… and also, date-wise…
Things that had been unexplained were falling into place one by one.
He couldn’t understand why Judith had recklessly left the Duke’s Mansion despite Ron’s threats, why she had urgently demanded a divorce, why she had hidden so thoroughly that not even a strand of her hair could be seen, but now he could guess the reason.
What if she was pregnant?
In nine months, the baby would come. She couldn’t wait indefinitely at the Duke’s Mansion.
“That’s impossible.”
Isabella shook her head firmly.
“Something must be wrong. No, whose child could she have gotten pregnant with inside the Duke’s Mansion?”
Then Alteon cautiously spoke up.
“Isn’t there a possibility she had an affair with the family doctor or a servant? Perhaps Huyd Soden or…”
“Judith isn’t that kind of person.”
Isabella denied it with fire in her eyes.
“Even if that were true, then who’s the baby’s father? What kind of trash leaves a pregnant woman alone! First of all, Huyd absolutely isn’t that type of person.”
“I think so too. Something seems wrong about this.”
Ben also stepped forward as if he wouldn’t back down.
“Ekian, don’t you think so too?”
Ekian was silently dazed for a moment. Only after Ben poked his side did he mutter with a serious face.
“That… the pregnancy… seems to be correct…”
“What? Whose child exactly? Was there someone you suspected?”
“…My… child…”
“What?”
Isabella shot up. And she began hitting Ekian’s back furiously. Anger rippled across her already crazed face.
“You crazy bastard! What kind of trash behavior did you do that made Judith go insane and divorce you first before running away? Huh?”
No one could stop that one-sided rage and violence. Not even Ekian.
Ekian staggered back to his room.
“Find her. She’s the woman carrying my child. No matter what, we absolutely must find her.”
After getting beaten by Isabella and running away, he had given orders to his subordinates with bloodshot eyes. But even he wasn’t confident. Hadn’t the Imperial Palace already done their best but still failed to find her?
Nevertheless, he couldn’t not search for her.
“You should rest for today. Didn’t you travel a long way to get here?”
Alteon patted his shoulder and said.
“And from tomorrow, let’s try a different method. Judith didn’t run away because she was afraid of you either…”
The other method was clear.
Judith had fled to avoid the Emperor, not hidden herself to escape Meius. So if they announced that there was no longer any danger, Judith, hearing the news, could emerge from wherever she was hiding.
Instead of finding the hidden person, it was a method to make her come out on her own.
For that, they now had to gradually reveal the truth.
“I’ll announce that you, Ekian, were the missing prince. And go to Aarten, which is in chaos without a lord, to organize the territory. After that, you’ll reveal that the Marquis of Aarten and the Emperor are dead, and naturally you’ll receive Aarten as a grand duchy.”
In reality, Ekian being in the capital wasn’t particularly helpful in finding Judith. Rather, it was more strategically beneficial for Ekian to become famous in a different way so the news would reach Judith’s ears wherever she was hiding.
And if they gradually released information that Ekian was the owner of the Grey Information Trading House, that would also spread rumors…
It was the truth he most wanted to reveal to her first, but if he could meet her again, there was no reason not to tell the whole world. Ekian sat in his room and held his forehead.
Nevertheless, nothing felt appealing.
The position of Marquis of Aarten, the position of Grand Duke as the Emperor’s brother… all the rewards he had been promised felt meaningless without Judith. That’s why he was indifferent even to Alteon’s words about leaving for Aarten tomorrow.
“Aarten is in complete chaos right now. Someone needs to sort it out. I’ll send you officially, so leave first thing tomorrow. That will raise your reputation and ensure Lady Judith can hear your name even in passing.”
The barbarians who had attacked Aarten were already people bought by Alteon, so they had quickly scattered and defected to Alteon’s side. Meanwhile, Aarten, which had suddenly become a castle without a master, was in chaos.
“It would be troublesome if other barbarians attacked to loot the empty castle during this time. Of course, if you prepare for such attacks, it would be better for establishing yourself in Aarten… anyway, let’s think about that tomorrow. You don’t seem to be in a state to discuss anything further.”
People pushed his back telling him to at least get some sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. He actually hadn’t been able to sleep for several days, and it seemed he would continue suffering from insomnia until he found Judith.
Sitting quietly in his room, memories with Judith came flooding back.
The bed they had shared, the table they had sat at together, the countless conversations they had shared…
More than the glamorous days spent together as Ekian Meius, he remembered more the nights when he secretly entered through the secret passage and stayed up all night having various conversations. The warmth Judith had wanted was surely those kinds of things, but what he had prepared was the position of Grand Duchess of Aarten. That gap tormented him anew.
“And being alone throughout the entire pregnancy without a husband… that’s really anxiety-inducing and heartbreaking.”
Melanie’s words, which he had initially heard without much thought, now pierced his heart. Judith was pregnant alone, and he had left with only a letter asking her to trust him. After that, what he had heard from the Duke’s Mansion servants tore at his heart again.
“Before the divorce, the Duchess left the mansion exactly twice. The first time was to go to Huyd Soden’s annex, and the second time… she said she wanted to go to the Grey Information Trading House. Of course, it was closed so she had to return right away.”
Probably after learning about her pregnancy, she had gone there wanting to inform Master. Even knowing he had left, wanting somehow to contact him.
That woman who couldn’t even make demands of him, who wanted to accept and give up on everything, couldn’t just wait for him indefinitely.
“She just… kept staring endlessly at the shop where the Grey Information Trading House used to be. Her expression was so forlorn that I felt bad the whole time too. I remember how she desperately pressed the real estate agent about when they had started clearing it out, which was unlike the young madam.”
How devastating her feelings must have been standing in front of the Grey Information Trading House that had already closed without her knowledge.
It must have felt like having her loneliness confirmed. Imagining that in the carriage ride back, she felt she had to handle all of this alone, his heart broke. In such a state, sleep couldn’t come, and food couldn’t go down.
Really, did Judith… did Judith truly have to leave alone? Without leaving any contact for him, just by herself…
That’s when it happened.
Something flashed through Ekian’s mind.
There was no way Judith wouldn’t have contacted the baby’s father. She would have left some trace. If she had gone directly to the Grey Information Trading House, she would have somehow left a hint about her destination. Even while staying in this room the whole time.
But where?
Somewhere Ekian Meius wouldn’t know, but Master would…
‘Could it be!’
Ekian shot up.
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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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