I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 46

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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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The man who was undoubtedly Ekian was wearing a mask that covered his entire head. But instinctively, he knew this was his long-time close friend.

Ekian was quite a bit younger than him. Nevertheless, he was wise and spirited, easy to converse with, so they had always been close and trusted each other.

“…Crown Prince.”

Finally, a voice flowed out from within the mask.

Alteon let out a long sigh. It was indeed the voice of the friend he had longed for.

“It’s truly been a long time.”

Ekian slowly paid his respects.

“I hope you have been well all this time.”

It was a leisurely yet aristocratic tone. Alteon unconsciously pulled Ekian into a tight embrace.

“Ha, really… it’s you. It’s really you.”

“The security of the Imperial Palace is too strict. I wanted to visit you earlier, but I couldn’t enter unless it was the day of the banquet.”

That was true. Anywhere else might be different, but the Imperial Palace was not a place one could easily enter.

However, the day of a banquet when numerous nobles entered was a different story. Since there were so many servants accompanying the nobles, outsiders wandering around the Imperial Palace wouldn’t stand out.

Of course, security was strict and they checked visitors, but even that was a simple matter if Crown Prince Alteon had arranged things from the inside beforehand.

“Thank you for staying alive.”

Alteon said with deep emotion, patting Ekian’s back.

Though he wasn’t expressing it, Ekian was also feeling quite intense waves of emotion. For the first time in five years, he had revealed his identity to an old acquaintance. It felt like he had found his long-forgotten place.

Moreover, according to what he had discovered, Alteon was his half-brother. Just as he was about to seriously express his joy to Alteon.

“Then all of that was true after all.”

Alteon said in a low voice.

“Pardon? What do you mean by true…”

“That rumor about you getting a promising young woman pregnant and then running away without taking responsibility.”

Al

teon stepped away from his embrace and shook his head with a troubled expression.

“To be honest, I thought there must be some problem. Well, I wondered if Meius Marquis had lied about sensing Meius energy to delay reporting your death.”

In the midst of this, Alteon’s guess was accurate. Looking at the flustered Ekian, Alteon clicked his tongue.

“I thought you would die before acting so irresponsibly… You’ve become complete trash. I can see you’re not the Ekian Meius I used to know.”

Then he looked at Ekian and sighed deeply with the eyes of someone looking at a troublemaker.

“You only told me you had urgent business to attend to secretly. Did you perhaps come to borrow money?”

It was perfectly the attitude of an old friend dealing with a playboy. Ekian’s emotions crumbled completely.

“I don’t know how much you need, but if you’re going to use it for something bad…”

“No.”

In the end, Ekian had no choice but to answer with a serious expression.

“It’s not like that.”

“If not that, then perhaps you’ve turned to some low-quality religion… or is this a situation where I need to sell something for you?”

“That’s not it either.”

Ekian sighed deeply.

“The reason I came here after hiding away is because I wanted to warn Crown Prince about the danger you’ll face today.”

“Hmm?”

Alteon frowned and tilted his head.

“Today? At my birthday banquet?”

“Yes.”

Ekian nodded seriously.

“After the speech at today’s banquet ends, one of Your Highness’s guards will attack you. I don’t know the name, but I know it’s the knight scheduled to stand behind you on the right.”

“…That’s quite a joke, Ekian.”

Alteon answered slowly.

“Sir Sekan is loyal to the Imperial Court. His Majesty the Emperor personally granted him to me…”

“Haven’t you been feeling much slower lately?”

Alteon hesitated at Ekian’s sharp question.

“Your swordsmanship skills aren’t what they used to be. Today, your vision will probably be more blurred and your reactions slower.”

“…You…”

“You’re being slowly poisoned. After the banquet, secretly send your blood to a physician outside the Imperial Palace for examination and ask them to make an antidote. Naturally, the Imperial Palace physician won’t do.”

Alteon bit his lower lip. Ekian’s words continued.

“You must wear armor under your banquet clothes. And be wary of the right side, dodge immediately when a surprise attack comes. If you stay alert, you should be able to dodge even with dulled senses.”

“…”

“Listening to my words costs you nothing. You know that, don’t you? If nothing happens, just consider it an old friend talking nonsense once, and please just be cautious.”

As Ekian calmly urged him, Alteon slowly nodded. After being silent for a while, he asked slowly.

“…Is it His Majesty the Emperor?”

It was a tone that suggested he had expected this to some extent. However, since he knew he had been pretending not to know because he didn’t want to face it, Ekian also remained silent.

The knight personally granted by the Emperor and the Imperial Palace physician personally assigned by him.

The fact that both of them couldn’t be trusted also meant the Emperor was behind it.

“I found out while secretly running an Information Guild.”

Ekian said in a bitter voice.

“Please be careful, Your Highness.”

“Ekian…”

“Then I’ll take my leave now.”

Ekian still had no intention of telling Alteon his true identity. No, to be precise, he didn’t feel the need to tell him.

Telling you that I’m your half-brother would only complicate things further.

Ekian was actually still undecided.

Despite being a prince, he had decided not to associate with the royal family, and even though he grew up as Meius Marquis, he had resolved to distance himself from the Meius family.

He tried to live as an outsider, someone completely unrelated to such things. Without causing harm to anyone, without becoming a source of pain to anyone.

But all of that began to waver when Judith appeared.

Yes, it was all because of that one woman.

When that woman became Ekian Meius’s woman on paper, he wanted to stand naturally beside her wherever she was.

He wanted to care for the beloved family members she was trying to protect.

So he kept looking back at the things he had abandoned before, and it made him feel hatred toward the one who had made him turn away.

“I can’t stay long.”

Ekian said to Alteon in a somewhat cracked voice.

“Your Highness should also leave soon, shouldn’t you? You’re the star of this banquet.”

“…That’s right. The banquet will start soon.”

However, Alteon couldn’t take his eyes off Ekian.

“Ekian, isn’t there a way for me to contact you?”

“I’ll contact you again after some time passes.”

“When will I see you again after this?”

“It’s difficult to promise.”

“Then I have one last request.”

Alteon said, taking a step closer to Ekian.

“…I want to see your face. Can’t you take off your mask just once?”

Ekian sighed slightly.

Then he slowly removed his mask.

Actually, he had expected this from the moment he came here. He had been prepared that if Alteon didn’t trust him, he would have to reveal his face.

When he removed his mask, brilliant golden hair and red eyes were revealed under the night sky.

Originally he had black hair, but for today he had dyed it golden like before. The Empire had expensive but available hair dye, so it wasn’t difficult to obtain.

“You…”

Alteon murmured in a trembling voice.

“You’ve… grown up to be really handsome. I wondered if you might have become so ugly compared to your teenage years that you wore a mask, but that wasn’t the case.”

Just as Ekian chuckled and ran his hand through his hair once.

Something caught his eye.

Even though the banquet hadn’t started yet, it was the sight of Judith standing alone on the balcony in the distance.

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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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