I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 146

Ekian was the boy who always appeared in the girls’ shared diaries and occupied their wildest imaginations.

He was courteous to everyone, but always maintained a boundary. Girls who had just entered adolescence constantly tried to interpret that boundary to their advantage. And that always led to drama.

Judith, in truth, had no interest in any of that. She simply hated the trouble. Besides, there was a vast difference in their social standing. She had no mother or father to push her forward, telling her to catch the eye of the empire’s most eligible bachelor.

So Judith had never even properly greeted Ekian, nor did she plan to.

‘It’s a masquerade ball, better be extra careful.’

Judith reminded herself again.

‘If I accidentally dance or talk with someone, and it turns out to be the Young Duke, I’d probably get bombarded with annoying questions.’

Of course, just because it was a masquerade ball didn’t mean one could completely hide their identity.

The real hair color peeking out from under the wig, body shape, personal belongings, or any unique physical traits—there were plenty of clues.

But Judith didn’t know Ekian well enough to distinguish him by those things. That’s why she had to be careful.

“Hmph, her intentions are obvious.”

Anais was annoyed right up until Garnet’s masquerade ball began.

News had quickly spread through the capital that Ekian would be attending to congratulate Garnet on her birthday.

“She’s the only one who knows what mask he’ll be wearing and plans to approach him pretending not to. She probably bribed the fortune-teller too. Told them to say something like, ‘This is your destined man.’ But I won’t just stand by and watch.”

Judith only tilted her head, neither agreeing nor denying.

Anais clenched her fists. “I already know what mask Ekian will be wearing.”

“Oh, really? How?”

“The servant from House Mayus bought a mask from the store run by my maid’s nephew. He just told them to pick something common that others often choose.”

Anais grinned smugly and crossed her arms.

“Well, Judith? Aren’t you curious too? What kind of mask the Young Duke will wear?”

“Very curious.”

Judith replied seriously. She had to know to avoid him.

“Please, tell me, Anais.”

“Then promise me something in return.”

Anais knew well that Judith wasn’t particularly interested in Ekian. So she made a bright-eyed suggestion.

“If you see the Young Duke before I do, bring him to me. Okay?”

“Sure, I will.”

Judith answered immediately. Of course, she had no intention of doing so. She’d simply pretend not to see him.

“It’s a lion mask.”

Anais whispered as if revealing a great secret.

“He bought a lion mask.”

“Got it. Easy. I’ll remember that.”

Judith nodded. So, all she had to do was avoid lion masks at the ball. Having gathered this essential information to avoid future headaches, she quietly listened to Anais chatter on.

***

On the day of the masquerade ball—

Anais and Judith arrived with steely resolve, only to wear the same dismayed expression. Because…

“What the…”

Anais, wearing a butterfly-shaped mask, muttered with a pout.

“Why are there so many lions?”

More than half the noble boys wore lion masks. Judith silently concluded that avoiding lion masks was impossible.

One of the passing noble boys in a lion mask responded to Anais’s complaint.

“It’s because most guys don’t think these masquerade balls are all that fun.”

Garnet was fifteen, and all the invited boys were in their teens.

So the young boys probably thought, ‘Well, I was invited, so I’ll go, but I’m not really interested.’

“We’re not really passionate about the masks, and it’s a hassle… so we just told our servants to get whatever everyone else is buying. And this is what they brought back.”

Another lion mask chimed in from beside them.

“A suffocating and bothersome masquerade… Can’t even see a pretty girl’s face. What’s the fun in this, really?”

So Ekian wasn’t the only one who had said, ‘Just get me something common, doesn’t matter.’

Judith shrugged her shoulders and muttered, “Didn’t think of that. Since he asked for something popular, there was no way he’d be the only one wearing a lion mask. This really turned into the perfect masquerade, didn’t it?”

She had thought to avoid him, but since she wasn’t dead set on it, Judith’s tone was relaxed. Of course, Anais wasn’t relaxed at all.

“Ugh, then there’s no choice. I’ll have to guess from height or something. Garnet’s side should be thinking the same thing.”

Anais looked around with determination. Then—

“Oh my, young ladies!”

A young lady in a rabbit-shaped mask approached. Her face was completely covered with a mask and a white wig, but the voice made it obvious—it was Garnet.

“Would you like to have your fortune told? I invited the capital’s best fortune-teller!”

“No, thanks. It’s probably all prearranged,” Anais answered curtly.

Garnet seemed to recognize Anais’s voice as well. She chuckled and replied, “Don’t you know what it means to be the best fortune-teller? If they were someone who gave fake readings for money, they wouldn’t have made it this far in the first place. I didn’t bring them here just to spice up the party with sweet words.”

Then she turned on her heel and added, “Well, if you don’t want to, fine. We’re heading there now anyway. They said they can only stay for an hour because they’re so in demand.”

At the mention of “one hour,” Anais flinched.

It was fine to take her time finding the lion-masked Ekian, but the capital’s top fortune-teller might not come again.

Only parents like Garnet’s, who doted on their only daughter, would invite such a person to their home. Most noble parents considered such “superstitious games” unwholesome.

And it wasn’t common for a girl barely into her teens to venture alone into a dark alley to find a fortune-teller.

“…Let’s go.”

Anais tugged Judith’s wrist.

“We came all the way here, we might as well get our fortunes told.”

Judith didn’t care one way or the other about fortunes. But she had no reason to object, so she joined the long line near the fortune-teller.

Everyone in line was a girl. The boys, trying to act gentlemanly, had stepped aside.

“No way we can compete with ladies for this.”

Still, curious, they hovered nearby and listened in. It also helped them guess who was who based on the voices of the girls receiving their fortunes.

Since Judith and Anais had arrived fairly early, girls began lining up behind them. Soon enough, nearly all the girls had joined the line.

“You go first.”

Now in front of the fortune-teller, Anais whispered nervously. Judith nodded without much thought and sat down.

‘Wow. Even here, the lion masks are everywhere.’

She couldn’t see the girls in line behind her, but all she saw nearby were lion masks. It felt like she was being hunted.

“Hmm, young lady… let’s see. Give me your hand.”

The fortune-teller closely examined Judith’s palm. Then, pulling out a pouch full of beads, he told her to pick one.

She handed over a random bead, and the fortune-teller frowned.

“Oh? Wait a second… There’s a sign of divorce here.”

The atmosphere chilled in an instant. In noble society, divorce was extremely disgraceful and rare.

“Is that so?”

But Judith’s voice remained calm.

“That’s great. If I really do get divorced someday, I can tell myself it was fate, not my fault.”

“Hmm. The fortune and the young lady are both quite unusual.”

Tilting his head, the fortune-teller now took out a set of cards and spread them before Judith. He hadn’t used these for the other girls’ readings.

“Draw one more.”