I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 101

As soon as Ekian returned to the capital, he grasped the whole situation.

Judith had demanded a divorce, Isabella hadn’t delivered his letters, and in the end, she had left the ducal residence before he returned.

And, whatever kind of ability Judith had, no one had been able to find her—even though the Emperor’s men, Alteion’s subordinates, and even the Mayus family’s followers who joined in later were scouring the Empire.

“What on earth…”

Ekian’s eyes trembled in confusion.

“What, what exactly did I miss…”

His subordinate, who had been following Ron Dale, noticed Ron’s scheme in advance and even warned Judith. The Judith he knew would never have acted rashly. She would have waited quietly at the mansion. She wasn’t the kind of woman to be frustrated by being confined or staying still, and above all, she was never one to do anything reckless.

That’s why—even when they were involved in various matters together—she only stepped forward when it was absolutely safe. But now she’d left the ducal residence in such a dangerous situation? Without informing anyone? Why on earth?

What exactly had he missed about her?

“E-Ekian.”

Alteion couldn’t lift his face in front of him.

Everyone looked troubled in the face of Ekian, who seemed as though he had come face to face with a disaster. Alteion, Melanie, Isabella, and even Ben were all gathered there.

Originally, this was meant to be a meeting to announce and praise Ekian’s accomplishments and to reaffirm his lineage.

Isabella and Ben had only just learned what kind of deal Ekian had made with Alteion after discovering the truth about his biological parents upon returning with black hair, and how the imperial surname would be restored. There was even talk of granting him the Arten territory and naming Karl as the heir to House Mayus.

In a way, this was a moment where significant truths and future plans were being revealed.

However, Ekian’s expression was so grim that no one could bring it up. The topic simply circled back again and again to Judith’s disappearance.

“What should we do? This is just… What do we do? Maybe it’s some kind of misunderstanding… No, but even if it is a misunderstanding…”

From Alteion’s perspective, it was no wonder he was uneasy—Judith had left after Ekian had been sent away. The same went for Isabella.

“I-I didn’t know… And even if I had, I don’t think Judith should have remained your wife. She needed to find her own happiness, in her own way, didn’t she?”

Ekian didn’t respond to Alteion or Isabella. He knew they weren’t at fault.

To them, Ekian wasn’t Judith’s husband. And rightly so—Ekian Mayus had never officially stayed by Judith’s side.

The only one who knew their story was Ekian Mayus himself.

And only now did he realize the root of the problem. He had thought he’d taken care of every detail and stepped away briefly for a perfect setup, but it was all meaningless.

Because the most important thing had been missing.

The truth.

He was the only one who knew the truth between him and Judith. That was the problem. Because he had hidden it.

Only now did he face his own fault. A desire so hideous and shameful that even he couldn’t confront it had been festering inside him.

He had wanted to approach Judith as a man who could never be replaced by anyone.

After resolving every problem tied to him, he had wanted to stand before her as the lord of the Arten territory, as the Grand Duke and younger brother of the Crown Prince.

He had wanted to be her savior, the one to rescue her from the unhappiness that made her smile as if it were nothing.

After seeing her ridiculed in high society, he made her the Grand Duchess. He had wanted her to become someone whom no one could laugh at.

He didn’t want her to fix anything for him. He wanted to appear in her life as the one perfect man.

That was why he had hidden it. Because he had hidden it from the most important person—her—he hadn’t told anyone else either.

Because of the desire to keep hiding it again and again, all the goodwill from everyone had horrifyingly come together to bring things to this point. There was no one to blame—it was a matter of regretting his own vile inner self.

‘Judith…’

Ekian felt his blood boiling and his head spinning as he thought.

‘I… I was wrong…’

That was all. It was his fault.

Perhaps what she needed wasn’t someone to lift her out of the swamp of darkness, but simply someone to stay by her side, smiling, and holding her hand.

“I… I hope… you can understand… Judith…”

Looking at Ekian’s vacant expression, Melanie cautiously began to speak.

“A miscarriage… is really a big deal, for a woman. Just imagining going through that alone… I… I think I’d hate even the sight of the person involved…”

At her words, not only Ekian but also Isabella and Ben let out deep sighs.

“And being alone during the whole pregnancy without her husband… that’s truly unsettling and heartbreaking. I sincerely want to accept Judith as family too, but even so, I think we should at least understand that feeling…”

Then Ben slowly stepped forward. “Your Highness, Crown Princess, since we’ve come this far, I think there’s no point in hiding it anymore, so I will speak. The truth is, Judith was never pregnant.”

At those words, Alteion and Melanie’s eyes widened. Naturally, Isabella and Ekian showed no change in expression.

Ben continued with a devastated look, “Since Ekian had been missing all this time, and we couldn’t accept the missing person’s death report that would’ve taken effect after five years, we faked it. I notarized that she was pregnant with the bloodline of Mayus, bribed the attending physicians, and arranged the marriage… Of course, it was wrong. I admit it.”

“W-wait a minute…”

“That’s how Ekian came back, and after that, it was simply that he wanted to continue the marriage with Judith, so the divorce was never carried out.”

“Wait, wait. Just a moment.”

“Since she couldn’t give birth to a child that didn’t exist, saying she had a miscarriage was inevitable. Therefore, Judith was never pregnant, nor did she have a miscarriage. Sharing this might help with tracking her down in the future.”

“W-wait!” Melanie, her face pale, shouted, “S-something’s wrong. Judith was pregnant! I’m certain!”

Everyone looked at Melanie as if she were strange. She hastily pulled a bell cord. A maid quickly approached her side.

“This girl has been trained by a physician to recognize signs of pregnancy. Last time, at Marquis Soden’s annex, at Judith’s request, she checked to see if the baby was doing well. Isn’t that right? Tell us exactly what you felt.”

The maid, who had been urgently summoned by Melanie’s order, answered with a puzzled expression, “W-when I saw her last time, Lady Judith was indeed pregnant. The baby in her womb was perfectly fine too.”

Ben and Isabella looked at each other’s faces. This was a situation they hadn’t even considered.

After a brief pause, Ben tilted his head and asked, “You’re not a doctor… Couldn’t you have made a mistake?”

“Until now, I’ve always been accurate. Of course, I’m not a doctor, so… um… But I’ve never been wrong…”

Something flashed through Ekian’s mind as he blankly blinked. His eyes sharpened as he asked, “When was it?”

“Pardon?”

“The date you confirmed the pregnancy. What day was it exactly?”

Melanie quickly checked a calendar.

“This day… it was this day.”

Ekian’s face grew grave as he checked the date Melanie pointed out.