I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 47
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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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‘What is this.’
Ekian frowned as he looked at Judith.
Judith, dressed up with Isabella’s utmost care, was literally breathtakingly beautiful.
Her red hair was elegantly pinned up, and emerald accessories that matched her green eyes sparkled and shone.
The dress that suited her white skin perfectly, along with the flawless makeup.
“Ah.”
Alteon, who had turned his head toward Ekian’s gaze, widened his eyes.
“Do you recognize Judith Meius?”
Alteon looked back and forth between Judith and Ekian as he spoke in a serious voice.
“She is quite a beauty indeed. So you played with her as a toy for one night and then discarded her?”
“That can’t be.”
Ekian shook his head in shock. He was already getting a headache about how to clear up this misunderstanding.
But he couldn’t say it was a fraud orchestrated by the Meius Duke and his wife either. He couldn’t snitch about a crime against the Imperial Court.
“There are circumstances… I’m not that kind of scoundrel.”
In the end, that was all Ekian could say.
“Just irresponsibly spending one night and then pretending not to know afterward—Your Highness the Crown Prince knows better than anyone that I’m not that kind of person, don’t you?”
“Hmm.”
“Think about it again. I didn’t even come to borrow money.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Alteon nodded seriously but didn’t ease his grave expression much either. He lowered his voice further and asked.
“Then, that… did that woman really drug you with an aphrodisiac, confine you, and assault you for several days to make a child?”
“Whaaaaaaat?”
“No, I didn’t believe it either, but there were such rumors.”
Seeing Ekian’s face filled with shock, Alteon waved both hands dismissively.
“Everyone was whispering after seeing Judith Meius today. She’s more beautiful than expected, and also the Meius Duchess cherishes her more than expected, so the gossip keeps circulating.”
“…”
Ekian pressed his forehead as if he had a headache.
This was a situation he had anticipated from the beginning when she suddenly appeared claiming to be pregnant with Ekian’s child and offered to play the role of daughter-in-law.
That she would get caught up in unnecessary gossip. That she could become the subject of malicious rumors.
Now if they announced that she had miscarried and even divorced, those rumors would become even more exaggerated.
“You wouldn’t feel good about it. Even I think it was a bit harsh.”
Alteon said quietly.
“They were talking about Judith Meius right until I came here, so hasn’t the degree of gossip gotten even worse?”
Ekian looked at Judith in silence.
Judith definitely had a dejected expression. Her profile as she gazed into the distance looked somehow lonely.
Though she always acted spirited, being pointed at in this glamorous banquet hall naturally wouldn’t feel pleasant.
Ekian’s hand unconsciously reached out toward her.
Seeing her profile, he felt a very strange, truly strange feeling. Somehow it felt like she would run away far, very far away.
It was when he unconsciously narrowed his eyes.
“Judith, Judith… Where on earth did you go.”
Suddenly, some strange afterimage overlapped in his vision.
“She’s the woman carrying my child. Find her. Find her somehow. Even if you have to turn the entire continent upside down!”
It was a symptom he had never experienced before. Ekian momentarily couldn’t breathe.
He would learn later, but that was Ekian’s first future vision. He had inherited even a tiny bit of his birth mother’s spiritual power.
But since Ekian at this time didn’t know that fact, he could only turn pale and stagger.
“…kian? Ekian!”
And the person who brought him back to reality was Alteon.
“What’s wrong?”
After blinking several times, he saw the cool night breeze and Alteon’s worried eyes. He sighed and asked.
“Still, since she’s the woman pregnant with your child, are you concerned about her?”
Ekian, who had completely regained his senses, slowly nodded.
“Who was it?”
He tried to ask calmly, but a chilling voice came out naturally.
“If you tell me who was leading such gossip, I’ll somehow…”
That was sincere.
Ekian was leading the Grey Information Guild and had the ability to pay back those who tormented Judith several times over.
If information power wasn’t enough, he could use force. Anyone who made Judith wear such an expression, whoever they were.
It was when he was unconsciously emanating killing intent like that.
“Whoever led it, if you don’t appear and protect her, the same gossip will continue to circulate.”
Alteon said calmly.
“Ekian, since I’ve lived a few more years than you, let me presumptuously give you some advice. It’s also payment for the warning you gave me.”
His advice continued in a voice that truly cared for Ekian.
“I don’t know what circumstances you have, but I can see that you’re staying away from what you truly cherish. I can also see that you want to protect it from afar.”
“…”
“But there are things you can’t see from a distance. Just like how you couldn’t hear the gossip about Judith Meius inside that banquet hall.”
Alteon smiled gently and patted his shoulder.
“Whatever you’re afraid of, it’s nothing compared to what you’ll lose by not being by her side.”
“…”
“I’m now going to completely turn away from my father who’s trying to kill me. I’ll even accept the unfilial act of killing my father. It’s not that I’m not afraid of that unfilial act, but I have no choice. Because I too have precious wife and children.”
Before he knew it, Alteon’s eyes held strong power.
“Actually, I knew His Majesty the Emperor might harm me, but I was running away because I didn’t want to face it. But rather than letting go and losing precious people, wouldn’t it be better to face it head-on no matter what happens?”
Ekian quietly stared at Alteon.
“Protect them directly, Ekian.”
“…”
“Don’t run away. Otherwise, the truly precious things will run away.”
Alteon faced Ekian, who stood with his back to the moonlight, and smiled broadly.
“From what I can see, you want that too.”
Then he said with a regretful voice.
“I’d like to stay longer with an old friend, but I have to go now. It’s my birthday banquet, after all.”
Ekian also knew he couldn’t delay any longer. He grasped Alteon’s hand once and nodded.
“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I’m the one who’s grateful. I’ll definitely secretly call a doctor who’s not from the Imperial Palace, and I’ll make sure to wear armor too.”
“Please stay safe.”
“Yes.”
Alteon grinned.
“Keep praying that I’ll continue to stay safe.”
He embraced Ekian tightly once more, left a final message to contact him again, and departed for the banquet hall.
Even after he left for the banquet hall, Ekian couldn’t leave that rooftop for a long time.
He was just quietly watching Judith, who was gazing somewhere far away as if enchanted.
How much time had passed? Huyd, the handsome brown-haired man, came looking for her all the way to the balcony.
Judith giggled when she saw Huyd. Her laughing face was clear and pretty. Pretty from afar, and pretty up close. Huyd smiled back at her.
Suddenly, Ekian thought that he and she had never faced each other and smiled. He had always worn a mask when dealing with her.
Huyd exchanged a few words with Judith, then led her back inside the banquet hall. They would probably dance the first dance.
“Protect them directly, Ekian.”
Suddenly, Ekian recalled Alteon’s advice.
“From what I can see, you want that too.”
Alteon’s words were accurate.
Ekian turned around and left the rooftop. He briefly looked at the mask he had taken off earlier but didn’t pick it up.
Tonight, he intended to stand before Judith with his mask off.
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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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