I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 139

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

“You think I don’t know what that guy is scheming?”

Isabella crossed her arms and sighed.

“The real reason he set today as the wedding date.”

“Is there such a reason?”

Judith truly hadn’t given any thought to the wedding. She hadn’t had the capacity to think that far. So she assumed Ekian had simply arranged the date quickly on his own.

But listening to Isabella, it was exactly ‘the schedule that noble families or the Imperial Palace could barely manage if they finished urgent matters, prepared gifts, and arrived quickly.’

“He must have been scared.”

Isabella said with a slight laugh.

“Of outsiders interfering between you two.”

Judith quietly looked at Isabella. Isabella’s expression was strange. She seemed to be laughing, yet also looking exasperated, and somehow pitying.

But one thing was certain. She was thinking about Ekian right now.

“If you think about it carefully, that child’s life has always been ruined when someone interfered. He thought he’d live triumphantly as a beloved young duke, but then his physician interfered saying ‘this isn’t actually your life,’ and when he finally found a woman to love and thought he’d be stable, this time his family interfered and forced a divorce.”

She had never thought about it that way. Judith thought she loved Ekian, but she hadn’t deeply explored Ekian’s life like that. Because she was busy thinking about and planning for future matters.

“So he wouldn’t want to introduce any variables into such an important matter. That child would do that. He was always a child who never repeated the same mistake from childhood. He likes to control situations himself.”

Judith quietly looked at Isabella and smiled slightly. Then she gently stroked her belly.

Isabella was seeing the past in Ekian. She naturally understood by applying the life of the son she had personally raised and watched over.

Judith realized for the first time that this was parental love, and the emotion that she and Ekian would hold for their unborn child for the rest of their lives.

Building up each immature moment, trying to interpret everything about this child.

“Ben said the same thing. That in the end, he acts exactly like when he was young. So he said we should be understanding instead of grumbling.”

Just like the emotions Isabella held, Ben must be thinking the exact same thing.

Indeed, Ekian always followed and respected Ben. He had said many times that he would become such a father too.

In front of them, Judith momentarily thought she was still like a child herself. Even though she was carrying a child in her womb.

“I’m truly grateful that Mother and Father are here beside us.”

Judith ended up saying that.

“That good adults are watching over us like this…”

“If it weren’t for you, I’d already be in my grave.”

Isabella waved her hand with a voice that wasn’t particularly sentimental.

“And aren’t you adults too? Don’t say such things. Now that you each have your own families, you live separately, separately. And don’t forget. Ben and I are also in the middle of child-rearing.”

When the word ‘child-rearing’ came up, Isabella really did touch her forehead as if fed up. Seeing that, Judith laughed out loud.

Isabella told Judith to ‘go inside and rest now.’ She said she would look around the nursery and wet nurse’s room more.

“Aren’t you quite tired today? Leave the guest reception to Ekian and go inside to rest.”

Originally, both the groom and bride should have stayed in the Banquet Hall. But since Judith was pregnant, everyone would understand.

Instead, Ekian had to deal with guests until the end of the banquet. That was unavoidable.

‘…I should tell Ekian it’s a son when he comes in tonight.’

Judith thought as she returned to her room.

‘There’s no choice for now.’

Having changed into comfortable clothes, she couldn’t enter the Banquet Hall now. Actually, she was a bit tired as Isabella had said.

Of course, she could convey it through a note or something, but she didn’t want to tell him about the child’s gender that way. She wanted to look into his eyes and tell him directly.

That’s when it happened.

“Judith?”

In the corridor, Judith encountered Ben. Ben was looking around with a servant.

“Father? I thought you were enjoying the banquet!”

Judith approached Ben with quick steps. But even as she said that, she knew well that Ben wasn’t the type to ‘enjoy banquets.’

Ben didn’t get along well with people due to his characteristically blunt and cold disposition. At first, Judith had struggled quite a bit because she found him intimidating.

But while staying at Meius Mansion when Ekian wasn’t there, Judith always had family meals with him. She had dinner almost every day with Ben, Karl, Isabella, and herself as a group of four.

‘Come to think of it, even when Ekian returned, we often ate as four… Ekian was busy.’

As a result, she couldn’t help but be closer to Ben than to other people.

Though she couldn’t treat him as casually as Karl or Isabella, she knew that Ben was a much more affectionate person than he appeared.

Isabella would often whisper to her, ‘Ugh, that man may not express it well, but he actually thinks about you a lot.’

“Ah, good timing that we met.”

Ben said with a faint smile.

“Judith, do you know where Ekian’s Private Study is?”

“Pardon?”

“I definitely heard from Ekian that it’s inside the eastern wing on the 4th floor, but it’s hard to find. The Marquis’ servants don’t seem to know well either.”

“Ah, that’s understandable.”

Judith answered, blinking her eyes.

“Come to think of it, we didn’t call it a ‘study’ to the servants. People here don’t have the concept of a ‘private study.’ They only divide it into library and office.”

Akiten was an estate far from the Capital. So even though it was a noble mansion, there could be differences in structure, room usage, and culture.

Ekian probably couldn’t escort him personally because he had to receive guests. Ben, given his personality, would have definitely said ‘I’ll find it myself’ and strode off alone.

“I’ll escort you. But why the private study…”

“Ah, I wanted to look through some documents about Ekian’s birth mother.”

“Pardon?”

Ekian’s birth mother was the Last Shaman.

After reuniting with Judith, Ekian finally cleared up the misunderstanding about his birth mother. And seeing pregnant Judith, he seemed to become a bit curious about his birth mother who had carried him for nine months. So he began collecting materials about the Last Shaman from all over the Empire.

Of course, he had only gathered those materials and hadn’t yet analyzed or read them. Just preparing for the wedding was overwhelming enough.

Since it wasn’t urgent anyway, he planned to look through them slowly with Judith. All those materials were in his private study.

But why on earth would Ben want to look into her? Moreover, those materials weren’t well organized yet, and many were written in foreign languages that hadn’t been translated.

Ben said awkwardly.

“Well… the child’s middle name. I want to give that…”

At those words, Judith’s eyes widened. She hadn’t even thought about a middle name yet.

In the Empire, parents usually named the child, and one of the grandparents would give the middle name. Since they followed the paternal surname, the maternal grandparents often gave middle names by taking names of distinguished people from the maternal family genealogy.

“Besides the genealogies of the Imperial Family, Meius, and Ailan Family, I want to reference the lineage of Ekian’s birth mother, the Last Shaman, as well.”

From those words, Judith felt the sincerity of ‘wanting to give the best middle name.’

Even just Meius and the Imperial Family would have more than enough great people, but Ben still thought he should check all genealogies connected to this child by blood.

Not only mentioning the insignificant Ailan Baronial Family, but even saying he’d reference all documents from a destroyed foreign country…

“…Father.”

Tears slightly welled up in Judith’s eyes as she placed her hand on her belly.

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