I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 152

He started speaking in short sentences before he turned two, and by three and a half, he could read.

“Wow, as expected of the Young Duke….”

“The future of the Grand Duke’s territory is very bright.”

He had black hair and red eyes like his father, but his features resembled Judith. So the child was growing into a gentle-looking boy with soft black curls and chubby cheeks.

“Oh my, Young Duke. You truly are the best.”

“The Young Duke has won again, ahahahaha!”

The child was loved by everyone in the Grand Duke’s territory.

It couldn’t be helped. Judith wasn’t the kind of Grand Duchess who stayed cooped up inside the estate.

She built a school together with the people of the territory and personally taught some of the children, and just like before she became the Grand Duchess, she would take the child’s hand and wander around the market herself.

So from a very young age, Alex was used to going out and receiving praise from people he met for the first time.

Judith and Ekian realized the problem when the child turned four.

“Alex is a genius.”

Alex suddenly said this while eating.

“I finished my soup faster than Father!”

It was no different from an ordinary conversation, but Judith quickly picked up on it.

Yesterday, the day before, and even before that… hadn’t Alex said similar things?

“I’m better at dice games than Paul! I win every day! Ahahahaha!”

With her long experience as a private tutor, Judith realized it. The child was becoming arrogant.

In the Grand Duke’s territory, the child received endless praise, compliments, love, and affection. Of course, that was a good thing, but the problem was that the child was accepting it all too naturally.

After turning four, Alex had started playing various games, but most people intentionally let the heir of the Grand Duke’s territory win.

‘This won’t do. He’s growing up among adults without knowing anything. At this rate, he’ll grow into a child who only shows off everywhere and can’t endure even the slightest frustration.’

Judith swallowed dryly.

‘I think he needs some experience interacting with children his own age.’

But there wasn’t a single child in this territory who didn’t know Alex’s identity.

Even if she put Alex among children his age, it was obvious their parents would panic and strictly warn them to watch what they said.

‘And he’s smart on top of that… it’s only making him more conceited.’

After thinking for a moment, Judith sent a letter to Isabella.

She thought Isabella, who had raised Karl, who was similarly intelligent, would be able to give proper advice.

Isabella quickly sent a reply.

[That’s right. Karl did have that tendency as well.

But Karl had Ekian. Because he had an older brother who was growing up well, he was able to develop the kind of social skills unique to a younger sibling.

Of course, Ekian caused an even bigger problem by running away from home, but still, I think I received a lot of help from him around that time.

How about bringing Alex to the Mayus ducal estate for a visit?

We also have a thirteen-year-old child, after all.

If Alex spends a few days with a smart older brother, wouldn’t he come to realize that his world isn’t everything?]

Judith’s eyes widened with delight.

[We also miss Alex very much. Karl says he misses Alex so much that he sings about it every day.

And these days, Karl is… going through puberty.

He keeps speaking as if to say he was born smart and what have his parents even done, which I find quite unpleasant.

I’m disciplining him strictly, but it seems our family also needs some new stimulation.

To be honest, during the five years Ekian was missing… it’s true we neglected Karl to some extent.

If Alex is alright with it, I’d like him to stay here for a few days. Talk it over with Ekian.]

Alex naturally followed the Duke and Duchess of Mayus very well.

On paper, they weren’t related, but he still thought of the Duke and Duchess of Mayus as his grandparents. That was only natural, since he called them Grandma and Grandpa and saw them so often.

Not yet understanding complicated relationships, Alex once asked, ‘But why do Grandma and Grandpa have a different last name from me?’ Isabella jokingly replied, ‘Because I’m both your maternal grandmother and your paternal grandmother, Alex, of course,’ and managed to brush it off.

“Ekian.”

Judith ran over to Ekian, holding the letter.

“How bout sending Alex to the Mayus ducal estate for a few days? So he can spend some time with Karl.”

The Mayus family often came to the Grand Duke’s territory to visit young Alex. So even though four years had passed since his birth, Judith and Ekian had never once gone to the Mayus ducal residence.

Ekian nodded as he looked over some documents. “Come to think of it, it really has been a long time since we went to the capital. It might be a good idea to go at least once. Alex is old enough now to handle a trip like that.”

“That’s true. Now that I think about it, we’ve never gone on a trip together.”

They had originally planned to go on a honeymoon after the baby was born.

But once the baby actually arrived, neither of them could bring themselves to leave such a young child behind and go somewhere on their own.

Both Judith and Ekian felt that no matter where they went, they would keep thinking about Alex.

“The capital… even though we lived there for so long, it feels like we’re going on a trip. That’s so strange.”

Surprised by the realization, Judith wrote a letter to Isabella.

It said that they would soon visit the Mayus ducal estate with their child. She even added a postscript saying she was excited because it would be her first trip with Ekian.

In response, Isabella sent back this reply.

[Oh my goodness. Come to think of it, you never went on a honeymoon!

When you come to the capital, don’t think about staying stuck in the estate. The two of you should go out and enjoy yourselves as much as you like. Leave Alex to us.

Karl is also very excited to play with Alex. These days, Karl is… deeply into hiding his identity and mingling with commoner children. He says something about feeling a sense of superiority when he sees the shortcomings of children his own age… or something like that.

Can you imagine how exhausting this is for us? I’m sorry, but Alex could grow up like this too. Ben and I have a lot of worries these days. Even when it’s just the two of us, all we ever do is worry about our child.

So while your child is still young, make sure you enjoy plenty of time just for yourselves.]

After reading the letter, Judith and Ekian couldn’t hide their excitement.

They had no intention of leaving Alex behind and going on a trip by themselves. But it seemed fine to sightsee around the capital while Alex stayed at the Mayus ducal estate with the rest of the family.

It was obvious Alex would be well loved among his family, and even if they went out on dates, they could always see him whenever they wanted.

Ekian said with a grin, “Come to think of it, Judith. We’ve never gone on a date in the capital, have we?”

Even though they had spent three years together in the capital, they had never created any memories like a couple.

They were always working. Even when Ekian returned as the Young Duke of Mayus, things weren’t any different.

“Let’s go to a nice restaurant while hiding our identities, wander the streets, and look around at different things….”

Ekian said in a voice that couldn’t hide his excitement.

“And we can visit places that hold old memories… it sounds fun.”

In the Grand Duke’s territory, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t know Ekian and Judith’s faces. So it was impossible to disguise themselves as commoners and live freely while avoiding others’ eyes here.

But the capital had a large population. There were also so many nobles that commoners couldn’t remember all their faces.

That was why Karl could hide his identity and mingle among commoner children. With so many people living closely together, anonymity was guaranteed.

“It does sound fun.”

Judith also couldn’t hide her excitement and smiled brightly.

“The capital changes quickly, so it must be very different now, right? Just thinking about looking around makes me excited.”

“I’ll plan everything.” Ekian pulled Judith into his arms, kissed her forehead, and whispered, “Judith, just follow me.”

“We should also pay a visit to the imperial palace. Since we’re going, we should greet His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”

In the meantime, Ekian and Judith hadn’t visited the imperial palace at all. Because of Ekian’s belief that he didn’t want to get entangled in the politics of the capital, he had kept declining invitations.

“Let’s go quietly.”

Ekian disliked being treated as royalty almost obsessively, and he didn’t like the imperial palace much either.

“I’m not some kind of monster, and I don’t want to come and go from a place where a portrait of the father I killed with my own hands is hanging.”

Of course, when he said that, his older brother, who was now the Emperor, replied, ‘I eat and sleep there, you know….’

Judith thought her brother-in-law was quite an incredible person in a different sense.