I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 133

Epilogue

Hello, my name is Anne Tyler. I’m the daughter of the third-best bakery in this territory.

Today, I’m wearing my prettiest dress. I even put on my treasured new shoes. And instead of tying up my hair like I usually do, I let it down neatly.

That’s because today is the wedding of His Grace the Grand Duke and Her Grace the Grand Duchess!

Ah, that sounds a little strange, doesn’t it?

Calling Miss Yuth—no, Miss Judith—Her Grace the Grand Duchess even though the wedding hasn’t happened yet.

But we had no choice but to call her that.

Because Her Grace the Grand Duchess was already pregnant before the wedding, and she entered the Grand Duke’s manor as soon as His Grace returned.

The adults of the territory, including my father, used to curse the father of Her Grace’s child as a ‘scoundrel,’ but they decided to keep the truth a secret forever.

“Well, I’m sure there were complicated circumstances among the nobility.”

“They say she was even his ex-wife. Apparently, there was some misunderstanding? It wasn’t a mutually agreed divorce, but some kind of mistake.”

The people of the territory were confused, but they accepted it anyway. The capital is quite far from here, and all sorts of things happen there, after all.

Even without going far, His Grace the Grand Duke often does things we can’t understand.

On the day he returned after defeating the barbarians, he had a short conversation with a strange woman and didn’t even bother to chase her out…

No one still knows who that woman was or why she came to our territory and caused such a strange scene.

Well, from what I overheard, it seems her daughter is the pitiful one. Whoever she is.

Ah, there’s one more pitiful person.

“It’s poor Mr. Hud who ended up in such a sorry state.”

“But His Grace can’t even go against Her Grace now. Mr. Hud doesn’t seem so unfortunate anymore.”

“Still, he’s attending today. They say he’s going to be the child’s godfather. Of course, he was bedridden for days because of that.”

“How generous… And he’s still going to be the godfather?”

“Ah, I think there was a misunderstanding. The one who collapsed was His Grace.”

Even after returning victorious from crushing the barbarians, His Grace, who had never once fallen ill, ended up bedridden over that.

It’s truly unbelievable. The adult world is really hard to understand.

I no longer take lessons from Her Grace the Grand Duchess. She’s far too busy now. Still, she worked hard to build a school and bring in teachers from outside the territory, so not just me, but many children are learning well.

But I miss Her Grace, so I often visit the manor.

Sometimes, I’d see Her Grace with His Grace. While His Grace always looked radiant, Her Grace always looked very tired. When I asked if something had happened, His Grace would answer like this:

“I was learning something from her and doing some practice.”

“Huh? Learning what?”

“What your teacher used to study so diligently every day at the ducal mansion… The ultimate goal spoken of in countless books.”

“At the ducal… mansion? Then it must be something really hard, right?”

“Well, in some ways, yes. It’s very hard to stop once you start.”

Then Her Grace would interrupt with a serious face.

“You shut that mouth of yours immediately.”

Sometimes Her Grace would even curse, but the two of them still seemed to get along well.

So much so that I didn’t even think about Mr. Hud, who went back to the charity hospital as soon as His Grace returned.

But even Mr. Hud said he would attend today! After all, they say he’s Her Grace’s best friend.

My father and his friends didn’t believe that at all before, but these days, they treat that statement like gospel.

“Right, right! The two of them were just friends!”

“Anyone could see they were just friends! Hahaha! No romantic feelings whatsoever!”

That’s the only way to save Mr. Hud’s life, they say.

Anyway, today is a good day. It’s a wedding, after all. Even many distinguished guests have arrived in the territory.

Of course, the Duke and Duchess of Mayus are here, and even their son, the Young Duke of Mayus, attended.

The Young Duke, Karl Mayus, was so handsome he looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale. My face turned red like it was going to burst.

‘Is this… my first love?’

Goodness.

He was so much cooler than the boys I see in the territory every day. I knew he was out of my league, but he was truly such a handsome boy…

“Sister-in-law!”

Lord Karl ran straight to Her Grace the Grand Duchess and hugged her tightly.

“It’s all such a crazy, chaotic, total mess—way too much for a boy who just turned nine to handle… but I’m still so happy. Congratulations.”

Ah.

Oh no.

That tall, handsome boy is… nine years old?

Goodness. That’s how my first love ended. I’m thirteen! He’s four years younger than me—just a little kid. Maybe he eats well, or maybe it’s because the Duke and Duchess of Mayus are both tall, but he was so well-developed that I mistook him for someone my age.

But the honored guests weren’t only from House Mayus.

“Judith! Congratulations!”

Goodness.

His Majesty Emperor Alteion, who ascended the throne not long ago, and Her Majesty Empress Melanie also came.

Her Majesty the Empress was heavily pregnant, looking like she could burst any moment, but she insisted on attending. That’s how close she seemed to be with Her Grace the Grand Duchess.

As expected, Her Grace…

Though she’d worn plain clothes before due to personal reasons, we always knew Her Grace was special. She was incredibly intelligent and wise.

If that’s the man Her Grace chose, then His Grace the Grand Duke must be trustworthy!

His Majesty also seemed to know the full situation and spoke with an awkward smile.

“Goodness. I had hoped Ekian would be accepted in the territory first so that it would naturally lead to you being welcomed… but it seems the opposite happened. In any case, thank you, Judith.”

His Majesty addressed Her Grace in a soft tone, using honorifics. He didn’t need to, but he seemed like such a gentle person. I heard he wept terribly at the funeral of the former Emperor.

As more and more noble guests arrived, I clung to Mom and Dad’s hands, watching everything in a daze.

Of course, I have a very special relationship with Her Grace, but I know I’m not of a status to stand with those people.

Just being formally invited and having a seat is already an honor. In truth, most of the territory’s people are watching from the distant hills, filling them completely just to get a glimpse of the wedding. Even having a seat is a huge privilege.

And then it happened.

“Anne.”

Surrounded by all those important people, Her Grace the Grand Duchess called me in a gentle voice.

“Anne, you look so pretty today. Would you come closer and let me see?”

My heart started pounding and my face grew hot. Goodness, oh goodness!

I gasped as I approached Her Grace. To be honest, Her Grace looked like an angel.

“Y-Your Grace.”

My voice trembled like a fool. In the end, I sniffled and spoke.

“Congratulations, truly. You must be happy.”

Ugh, how stupid I must’ve sounded. I was so embarrassed I didn’t know what to do. Then Her Grace gently stroked my hair.

“Thank you.”

The moment I met those beautifully folded green eyes, I somehow felt reassured.

“Since you said that, Anne, I will definitely be happy. Will you watch over me?”

Her Grace the Grand Duchess—no, my most precious teacher—really did seem happy.

I nodded my head vigorously. “Yes!”

Sunlight poured down softly. Her Grace the Grand Duchess and His Grace the Grand Duke looked at each other again and smiled.

It was clear that both of them were completely, perfectly happy.

<The End>