I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 118

Just thinking about those days made her want to crawl out of her skin.

The guilt she’d felt returning to the Mayus estate after sleeping with the Master now felt completely unfair.

“Everything from start to finish feels upside down. No, the delusion that Hud liked me in the first place doesn’t even make sense…”

“Judith.”

Hud gently cut her off.

“That’s not nonsense.”

“…What?” Judith blinked in disbelief.

“That’s harsh, Judith.”

Hud let out a resigned smile.

“Saying it’s nonsense to the end—do you know how much that hurts the one who’s been in one-sided love?”

“H-Hud?”

Judith’s eyes wavered wide.

Hud poured milk into her cup and continued softly, “Actually, everyone in the territory knows. That I like you.”

“Th-that so…?”

“This is the first time I’ve said it out loud, but that just means I’ve done a poor job hiding it.”

<Wait, is this a confession?>

Castin interjected, puzzled.

<From the look on Hud’s face and Yuth’s surprise, it really seems like he’s confessing!>

It seemed even Castin had noticed.

Judith couldn’t even give a proper response—it all felt too surreal.

“B-but, I’m pregnant…”

“But you’re still Judith.”

Hud spoke calmly, with a smile.

“The fact that only you didn’t realize what everyone else already knew… that just means you never had any interest in me.”

Judith, overwhelmed, lowered her gaze.

She had never once thought of it that way.

Hud was the son of a high-ranking noble family—someone destined to live in a different world from her.

“Anyway, I just thought there was no point in hiding my feelings anymore in this situation, so I confessed.”

Hud spoke plainly.

“I thought that if I stayed by your side till the end, I could earn even a sliver of your heart. But…”

He muttered bitterly.

“Now that I know he’s the baby’s father… in the end, you’ll probably go back to him. I mean, that’s only natural.”

Natural.

The moment that word came out, Judith’s face darkened.

Truthfully, there had been something nagging at her since earlier.

It was the fact that Ekian was the son of the Last Priestess.

[Please make my son happy.]

That had been the final request of the Priestess. Now she understood why it had been said to her.

‘Was it for a time like this?’

Judith rubbed her eyes and sighed.

‘Should I just forgive him quickly and, like Castin said, throw a party for landing such a handsome man?’

She had truly believed looks didn’t matter.

She never imagined that those finely chiseled features would be hidden beneath the Master’s mask.

Of course, thanks to the Last Priestess, she had been able to pay off her debts, alter the future, and save many lives.

Still, the idea of accepting Ekian and pretending nothing had happened just because of that felt wrong to her.

“Maybe I should call him Prince Ekian… anyway, the Grand Duke will become the ruler of this land, and you’ll be the Grand Duchess… the baby will grow up to be a stable heir.”

Hud continued with a gentle voice, “And everyone here already loves you. As Grand Duchess, you could even improve the educational system you always used to complain about. I’m sure you’ll be a beloved, respected Grand Duchess.”

He slowly lowered his gaze and let out a deep sigh, like a man accepting defeat.

“So if I were to say I can’t let you go to him… it’d just sound pathetic now.”

“Hud.”

Judith took a deep breath. Then she looked straight at Hud with unwavering eyes.

There was something she truly wanted to say to him.

“If I’ve ever hurt you because I was careless… I’m really sorry. I sincerely apologize.”

There was a conversation she needed to finish with Hud first.

“Honestly, I always thought someone like you—being the eldest son of House Soden—lived in a completely different world from me. So I never even considered such thoughts.”

She decided not to say things like, ‘You should meet someone better than me,’ or ‘You deserve someone better.’

It felt disrespectful to the feelings Hud had shown her, even when she was pregnant.

“I’m sorry I can’t accept your feelings.”

At Judith’s words, Hud gave a bitter smile. He didn’t seem particularly surprised.

After all, the reason he hadn’t confessed until now was probably because he had already anticipated her response.

“But, just because it’s the natural thing to do—going to the child’s father—doesn’t mean it feels natural to me.”

That was her honest truth.

To be frank, there were plenty of reasons Judith should accept Ekian.

Because he was the child’s father, because of the Last Priestess’s request, because Ekian must’ve suffered a lot too, because he hadn’t hidden things with bad intentions, because he had done his best for her, because—even if misguided—he had come this far to give her a powerful background.

Even so, she didn’t want to make her choice simply because of all those reasons pressing down on her.

Judith sat with a straight posture, hands folded, and added, “The reason I can’t accept your feelings, Hud, has nothing to do with this baby, nor with the baby’s father. I wanted to make that absolutely clear.”

At her words, Hud looked mildly surprised.

After a brief silence, he gave a soft smile. “Hmm, well, I can tell that was an even more definitive rejection.”

“In that case, I hope you also understand this comes from a place of respect.”

At that, Hud let out a hearty laugh and nodded.

Judith smiled and added, “Being Grand Duchess doesn’t matter to me. If it did, I wouldn’t have so easily divorced the Young Duke and left. So…”

Their eyes met calmly.

“It’s perfectly fine if you say you can’t let me go to Ekian. It’s not pathetic at all. Anyone is allowed to judge what kind of person someone is.”

She felt Hud might have been thinking ‘I’m lacking in every way compared to the Grand Duke,’ and wanted to make this clear.

Hud asked playfully, “Really? So even if I said I absolutely won’t let you go to the Grand Duke, that’s okay?”

“Of course. Naturally.”

Judith nodded firmly.

“I mean, I don’t exactly listen to what others say. Remember? Even when the Duchess pleaded with me, I still went ahead and divorced her son.”

At that, Hud burst out laughing.

Judith’s words—‘no matter what you say, I’ll act according to my own thoughts’—seemed oddly satisfying to him.

With a mischievous grin, he said, “I get the feeling you won’t listen to the Grand Duke either, and honestly, that’s a bit satisfying. Sounds like he’s in for a tough time. Even he should face some challenges in life, don’t you think?”

Then he slowly stood up.

“Well then, Judith, I’ll get going. Seems like you’ve got a lot on your mind, and if I stick around, you probably won’t get to finish dinner.”

Seeing his cue, Castin awkwardly stood up as well.

<Wait, was that a rejection?>

Judith answered,

<Yes.>

Technically, she had been the one to reject him, but Hud didn’t understand Castin’s words.

At that, Castin clicked her tongue and patted Hud on the back.

<Too bad. If Yuth had chosen you, things would’ve been simple and happy.>

Then she looked up at him and added,

<But it can’t be helped. You can’t control feelings. I guess Yuth really is swayed by looks.>

Hud didn’t understand what she said, but he seemed to take it as comfort.

He nodded gently. “Thank you.”

Having spent time in the territory, Castin had at least learned what ‘thank you’ meant, and she muttered with a twisted expression,

<I was actually saying your looks are a bit lacking…>

Judith decided not to bother translating that part.