I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 14

Judith sent the letter to the servant of the Mayus estate. Since she had mentioned the garden, the Duchess would likely prepare tea time in the garden.

After the servant left, Judith turned to the Master and asked, “Master, is there a secret passage in the garden by any chance?”

“There isn’t.”

As she had expected, the secret passage only existed within the mansion. Judith nodded slowly, and the Master crossed his arms as he spoke.

“However, I can sneak in close and hide behind the trees or somewhere discreet.”

“Oh?”

“But only on my own. It’s impossible to take you along.”

Before Judith could reply, ‘I didn’t ask you to,’ the Master spoke in a chilling voice.

“I thought about it last night. Killing Sarah might be a good solution.”

Just as Judith was about to open her mouth to speak, the Master shook his head firmly.

“Don’t think I’m going too far.”

“Ah, that’s not…”

“If we don’t stop her, Karl might die.”

“What I meant was…”

“Anyone who does such evil to a child deserves death.”

His tone was so resolute that it felt as though he were preparing to go into battle. Judith, who had been lost for words, finally yelled out, “Enough! I know you don’t care much about life, but…!”

She stared at him directly and continued, “Do you think killing Sarah will free Lord Karl from her influence?”

“…What?”

“What Lord Karl needs is to believe, ‘Sarah was wrong.’ Even if Sarah dies, if Karl continues to act according to her words, what’s the point?”

The Master flinched as if she had hit the mark.

After a brief silence, the Master, who had been staring at Judith, slowly began to speak.

“Judith.”

“Yes?”

“You…”

The Master rested his chin on his hand over the mask. Judith found herself staring at the elegant motion, almost mesmerized.

Up until now, she hadn’t noticed it, but after they had been pressed together in the secret passage, she became acutely aware that he, too, was a human with warmth and blood.

She had also started to notice just how graceful his gestures and words were, and for the first time, she found herself curious about the face behind the mask.

“…You’re right.”

Judith hurriedly averted her gaze as the Master spoke with a cracked voice.

“I was too agitated. I’ve made a fool of myself.”

“Ah, yes.”

Judith cleared her throat, fiddling with her fingers. Though the Master had said he had made a fool of himself, Judith found his display of emotion made him feel more approachable.

‘Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I do feel like we’ve grown closer since we went through the secret passage together. I still don’t know his face or his name, but…’

Sharing anger over the same thing and thinking through a solution together felt like they were close friends or comrades. For Judith, who had lived alone since her father’s death, it was a rare warmth she hadn’t felt in a long time.

As she pondered these thoughts absentmindedly, the Master spoke up abruptly.

“I’ll follow your lead, Judith, no matter the plan.”

“Yes.”

Her half-hearted reply earned her a playful nudge from the Master on her arm.

“Judith, you need to understand the weight of my words.”

“What weight?”

“I don’t usually follow anyone’s lead. I don’t trust anyone, so I always act alone. But I’m telling you I’ll stand aside and let you handle things this time.”

Judith burst into laughter at his overly serious words. “So, what exactly are you going to do if you don’t stand aside and watch me?”

Even though her words were clearly teasing, the Master didn’t laugh. Instead, he slowly added, “I’m saying I trust you, Judith, both logically and emotionally.”

“Uh… Isn’t that obvious? Haven’t we been working together with that trust for the past three years?”

“Exactly.”

The Master crossed his legs leisurely as he agreed. Though his mask always concealed his expression, Judith felt an intense gaze from behind it.

“Just a reminder.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll make sure to live up to that trust.”

Judith smiled softly as she looked at the mask that felt like a barrier between them.

“By this afternoon, everything will be resolved. Don’t worry.”

“Yes.”

As the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, light streamed through the window.

Between the Master’s brief response and the sunlight filtering in, there was a sense of calm that seemed both familiar and yet subtly different from usual.

“Let’s watch.”

Though his voice, as always, vanished from memory almost immediately, the sunlight falling between them lingered with an odd sense of weight.

***

‘I wanted to have lunch together.’

Isabella sighed as she ate lunch with Karl.

‘I know I was harsh with her, but still…’

She had wanted to show Judith that living in the Mayus estate was worth it.

Inviting Judith to lunch had been a ploy of hers.

She liked Judith. Her assertive tone, the grace that came from her noble upbringing, and even her righteous values impressed Isabella. After all, what Judith was doing was essentially selling herself for money, but she carried herself with dignity, which was remarkable.

‘If Ekian were to return, she’s exactly the kind of daughter-in-law I’d want.’

Yet at the same time, she couldn’t help but sigh again. That girl, who dreamed of the future, had been firm in saying that Ekian wouldn’t return, no matter what they did.

Still, Isabella wanted to go through with this charade.

‘She’s so thin… It must have been hard for her to survive alone for three years.’

It was a miracle that Judith had managed to endure such hardship. Honestly, Isabella was surprised that a girl raised as a noble could live so tenaciously on her own. She wanted to see how Judith would react to a good meal as quickly as possible.

“Karl, you’re eating well.”

As she ate lunch without Judith, Isabella smiled at her eight-year-old son.

“Yes, you need to eat well to grow.”

“Yes.”

It seemed that her words from a few days ago had worked, as Karl was now eating diligently. His spoon moved steadily between his plate and his mouth.

Watching her son eat for what felt like the first time in ages, Isabella finally felt relieved. His complexion still wasn’t great, but if he continued to eat and rest, he would recover over time.

Karl had been called a genius since he was young. He had learned to read by the age of two and displayed adult-level intelligence by the age of three. So even though he was only three years old at the time, Karl remembered Ekian.

Since Ekian had been so fond of Karl, his disappearance had been a great shock to the boy. Even now, at eight years old, Karl hadn’t forgotten his older brother.

The ducal couple had taken their time, allowing Karl to come to terms with the situation gradually.

As she watched Karl finish his meal quickly, Isabella cautiously brought up a new topic.

“I heard you sent the tutor away recently, and you haven’t been going to the knights’ training either…”

Karl, his head bowed, stuffed a piece of steak into his mouth before mumbling, “I don’t feel motivated.”

Isabella nodded without pressing him further.

Her second son had always developed quickly. She wouldn’t be surprised if he was going through an early adolescence. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if things might have been different had Ekian been around.

“Well, at least Sarah is still here…”

Karl, once the darling of the famil, had begun to withdraw from everything. Isabella couldn’t help but think it was due to Ekian’s absence.

At least Sarah was still around. Sarah, Ekian, and Karl had spent a lot of time together when they were younger. Karl had always been fond of Sarah, and if her presence brought him comfort, that was enough for Isabella.

“Yes, don’t worry too much, Mother,” Karl replied maturely.

“That’s right. I don’t know what we would do without Sarah.”

Isabella wasn’t the type to pay much attention to the maids, so she didn’t have any particular fondness for Sarah. She simply appreciated that Karl was especially attached to her, and she had heard from the head maid that Sarah was unusually clever for a maid.

‘If Judith hadn’t come, I might have asked Sarah to be our temporary daughter-in-law.’

Though she hadn’t mentioned it to anyone yet, Sarah had been her top choice for the role.

Sarah had been close to Ekian since childhood, and her pretty face made her perfect for fooling others.