I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 31

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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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‘How ridiculous must Judith think I am.’

Ekian pressed his forehead and sighed. Her back as she turned away coldly wouldn’t disappear from his mind. It was the first time he had seen such a cold expression from the usually gentle her.

‘I need to meet her.’

At dawn as the sun was rising, even though it was drizzling, Ekian eventually got up and put on his mask.

‘I need to meet her…’

He didn’t know what he should say when he met her, but he still felt like he had to meet her.

He just felt suffocated inside. Judith had even said that coming to the Duke’s Mansion to find her wasn’t ‘courtesy toward one’s master.’ If he just let time pass after that awkward conversation, he felt like his insides would turn even more.

And he knew where she would go this morning.

‘Going to the Shrine of the Last Shaman must be because of the Soden Marquis and Marchioness. Though I don’t know the reason.’

She had done many inexplicable actions until now. And all those actions had reasons behind them. He didn’t know what connection the Soden Marquis and Marchioness had with her, but Judith surely had a purpose.

‘…I should be able to meet her if I go there.’

Eventually, Ekian slowly walked into the rain.

‘Since I’m not going to the Duke’s Mansion to find her, she won’t have anything to say about it.’

The Shrine of the Last Shaman.

“I’ll tell you the truth.”

After learning that terrible truth Bart had spoken of, he had actually thought he should visit that place at least once.

“That would torment you the most, Your Cursed Highness.”

For some unknown reason, he kept feeling reluctant and his steps wouldn’t come easily.

“In my case, the one who gave birth to me and the one who raised me are different.”

Come to think of it, he had impulsively said such things to Judith too. Thinking about it now, that was also ridiculous. To say such things when she hadn’t even asked.

‘Perhaps it’s fate.’

Ekian severely contorted his face hidden behind the mask.

He didn’t know why Judith had said she would go to that shrine, but that shrine was a meaningful place to him as well, in any case.

As Ekian quickly headed toward the shrine.

There was already a long line in front of the shrine. Even though they knew the shaman’s shrine wouldn’t give any answers.

In that line, Ekian could easily find Judith. She was standing in line right in front of the Soden Marquis and Marchioness.

Having apparently received permission from Isabella safely, Judith was wearing modest clothes and holding an umbrella. With her hood up and her already delicate frame hidden under a large umbrella, no one recognized her.

Her face wasn’t well-known to begin with, and she hadn’t officially declared that she was ‘pregnant with Meius Marquis’s child’ by fully entering society.

‘Probably… they’ll announce it at the upcoming imperial banquet.’

Given Isabella’s personality of not liking banquets much, she wouldn’t create a banquet that didn’t exist, and since she needed to show Judith to as many people as possible, she wouldn’t bring Judith to a small banquet for her first appearance.

There would soon be an imperial banquet commemorating the Crown Prince’s birthday, so she was probably planning to officially introduce her to society then.

Judith stood upright, quietly waiting for her turn. Unknowingly, standing right in front of the Soden Marquis and Marchioness was probably also a calculated move.

He naturally knew that the Soden Marquis and Marchioness made efforts in various ways to find their lost eldest son, and whenever they came to the Capital, they would pray here. He didn’t know how that fact related to Judith though.

‘Judith and the Soden Marquis and Marchioness have no connection at all. Today would be their first meeting.’

He was also curious about what Judith was thinking when she deceived everyone to meet the Soden Marquis and Marchioness.

Only then did Ekian realize that the numerous emotions tangled within him were not simple.

The desire to quickly meet her and have a conversation, the desire to somehow make up for last night’s awkwardness, along with those feelings… he was curious about her.

He was just so curious about her.

He was so curious about what Judith was planning and what she was thinking, he wanted to know everything.

If this could be called possessiveness, then he definitely wanted to take all of her for himself.

‘How pathetic.’

He sneered in front of the shrine that was small but sufficiently displaying its presence.

Near the shrine that could barely fit two people, tulips were blooming densely. The tulips that bloomed like a painting throughout all seasons and weather, as if forgetting the seasons and weather despite snow, wind, and rain, added to the mystique of this shrine.

That wasn’t all. Despite no one touching the place, the roof, walls, window frames, and even door cracks were clean without a speck of dust. Even the candles surrounding the shrine were glowing brilliantly regardless of the rain.

Without dropping a single drop of wax, consistently throughout all that long time.

Though the last shaman had disappeared long ago, the shrine maintained an appearance as if time had stopped, so it wasn’t strange that people gathered to make their respective wishes.

‘Even in this place, I’m only thinking of Judith.’

Even in front of this shrine that he couldn’t bring himself to visit due to complicated thoughts, in the end…

“I’ll tell you the truth.”

Looking at Judith’s back, Bart’s voice echoed once more.

Old memories overlapped over the image of Judith standing in front of the shrine.

Ekian Meius was a happy boy. Everything was perfect.

Though his reputation wasn’t good due to bad relations with the Imperial Family, he was still the eldest son of the Meius Ducal House, which possessed enormous wealth and power. It was natural that he had occupied the position of Marquis from a very young age.

It was the same after his much younger brother Karl was born.

His father, Meius Marquis, designated Ekian as his heir and told him all the family’s secrets. Of course, this included all the family’s secret passages that only the heir could know.

A respectable father, a kind mother, a cute younger brother. Everything was perfect. Ekian always worked hard to keep that perfection intact.

Though he was born excellent and all learning came easily to him, he still worked hard. He loved his family and was proud of the Meius Ducal House.

“Wouldn’t the excessively poor relationship with His Majesty the Emperor be a problem?”

“Still… I cannot agree with His Majesty the Emperor’s various policies, so there’s nothing I can do. Well, when His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the situation might improve somewhat then.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince is a rational person. However, I’m worried that His Majesty the Emperor keeps His Highness the Crown Prince, his own son, in check.”

The age difference between the Crown Prince and the Emperor was exactly twenty years. The Emperor, who had no intention of giving up his position, openly kept his own adult son in check and threatened him.

“Anyway, wouldn’t things improve somewhat in your generation? If His Highness the Crown Prince safely ascends to the throne.”

Those were peaceful days when such minor political problems were the only worries. No matter how much the Emperor disliked Meius, Ekian was the center of society wherever he went, and there were many people who wanted to get on his good side.

When he turned seventeen, more people began bringing up engagement talks. Of course, Ekian didn’t have any particular thoughts about it. He simply thought he would have to marry a woman chosen by the family when the time came.

He wasn’t particularly interested in women anyway, and his only goal was to keep the family he inherited strong and protect his family.

Therefore, he spent more time with his family than outside. He was especially close to his young brother Karl, and often spent as much time as possible with Karl. Along with Sera, the maid Karl liked.

Though Sera was a maid, she was beautiful enough to not fall behind any noble lady and was intelligent at the same time. The reason Karl followed her was obvious. Of course, Ekian wasn’t particularly interested in her.

Then one night when he was seventeen.

Bart, who had been the ducal house’s longtime physician, secretly came to visit.

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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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