I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 26

Judith clumsily rolled on the bed, looking quite ridiculous.

“Ma… Master.”

She should have just stayed put, but when she tried to get up, she flailed helplessly, looking like a turtle flipped on its back. There was a brief moment of silence as she struggled.

The Master, watching Judith flounder, asked in disbelief, “…What are you doing?”

“Well, you see…,” Judith sniffled, wrapped up awkwardly in the blanket. “I drank too much… Whenever I drink too much, I lose strength in my body.”

That’s why she hadn’t gotten up when she saw Hud off earlier.

When she drank past her limit, her body would go limp. And once she had lain down, she couldn’t get back up. No matter how hard she tried, all she managed to do was get more tangled in the blanket, making her situation worse.

The Master, though radiating a menacing aura, couldn’t hide his tone of exasperation as he asked, “Why in the world did you drink so much with a man you barely know?”

“What do you mean, barely know? We’re colleagues.”

“Colleagues?”

“We both work for the Mayus family, making a living. Doesn’t that make us colleagues? We had a lot in common, so we had a good conversation and drank a little. Now, can you help me up?”

“Weren’t we working together?”

“That’s a business relationship, not the same as being colleagues. Anyway, can you help me up?”

“Hah, that’s disheartening to hear. So, did we sneak into the Mayus estate under a business relationship?”

“Oh, come on!” Judith shouted in frustration. “If you don’t want to help me up, at least get this blasted blanket off me! I feel like I’m going to throw up!”

At that, the Master panicked and shouted, “Don’t throw up on someone else’s bed!”

“What are you talking about? Instead of worrying about the bed, worry about your business partner!”

“Hah, really…”

The Master strode over and began to untangle the blanket wrapped around Judith.

‘Huh? W-wait…’

Yet, every time his hand brushed against her, she felt a strange sensation.

Judith lay sprawled on the bed, while he carefully tried to remove the blanket wrapped around her, but still…

“Haha…”

Her thin nightwear didn’t help, and unable to bear the awkwardness, Judith blurted out, “This looks… kind of odd, doesn’t it? Being in someone else’s bed like this…”

“……”

She had hoped her comment would ease the awkwardness, but it only made things worse.

As he pulled the blanket away, the Master let out a quiet sigh, clearly displeased.

“Judith, I told you to wear a shawl.”

“In this heat? Who wears a shawl?”

“And you’re drinking with a man in that outfit…”

“It’s not like I started drinking right away. We were talking, and it just led to a couple of drinks.”

“Even worse if you planned to drink from the start, wouldn’t it?”

“Ugh, you’re nagging like crazy! I’m an adult, you know?”

“Not for long. How long have you even been drinking?”

“Today’s probably my second time?”

“So, without even knowing your limits, you drank in a closed space with a man, dressed like this?”

Finally, the Master finished untangling the blanket.

“Phew…”

Judith sighed and collapsed onto the bed, as if utterly drained.

There was a brief silence. Judith lay there, looking at him.

“Master.”

“…Yes.”

“Do you want to lie down too?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I can’t get up, and we need to talk at the same eye level.”

The Master’s masked face stared down at her in disbelief, but Judith scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“You seemed in a bad mood.”

“…What?”

“You just looked like you were in a really bad mood from the start. Is something wrong?”

The Master didn’t answer right away.

Judith, still smiling slightly, added, “You don’t have to tell me, but I thought it might make you feel worse if you’re alone… Why don’t we just talk about something trivial instead?”

The Master remained silent, but he didn’t seem opposed to the idea. So, Judith tugged on his arm, pulling him down beside her. With a bit of reluctance, he lay down next to her.

“Judith.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t drink anymore. Especially not with that physician, Hud.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll end up inviting him to lie in bed with you like this. Men will get the wrong idea.”

“Come on, I don’t do this with just anyone. I only let you because we’ve known each other for a long time, and you seemed particularly upset. I’m giving you special treatment.”

“…Special treatment by inviting them to lie in someone else’s bed?”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it. Though I do feel a bit guilty toward the Young Duke.”

Judith chuckled as she continued, “It does seem like I’ve snuck another man into his bed while he’s away…”

The Master let out a quiet laugh, and Judith lightly hit his arm with a smile.

“See?”

“What?”

The master let out a soft, low groan, then muttered bitterly, “You’re right, Judith.”

His voice was impossibly somber. “To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t be able to laugh again, but here I am.”

Judith blinked slowly, wondering what kind of expression he was making behind his mask.

“I guess subconsciously, I knew that being around you would make me laugh…”

After a long pause, the Master continued, “Now I’m laughing. Even just chatting about meaningless things with someone makes me feel better.”

“…Oh.”

“I guess that’s why I ended up coming to you.”

Judith looked at him and smiled. Though she didn’t say it, she, too, had often felt the same way.

On days when she was sick or in a bad mood, she had wished someone would just lie next to her, sharing warmth.

There had been times when she had prayed that even if tomorrow would be just as tough, she would be okay as long as she had someone to share the burden with.

When Hud mentioned his seven younger siblings, Judith had felt a pang of loneliness, realizing she had no one to be responsible for.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe she was just feeling sentimental that night, but she couldn’t bring herself to send the Master away.

So they continued their conversation, chatting about silly, trivial things.

They joked about how funny it would be if the owner of the room saw them like this, lying in bed together. The Master played along, nodding in agreement, saying, “Indeed, he wouldn’t expect this.”

Eventually, Judith fell asleep mid-conversation.

When she woke up in the early hours of the morning, the Master was already gone, and the blanket was neatly draped over her.

“Oh, goodness,” she muttered as she sat up, blinking sleepily. “I forgot to ask him about looking into the Soden family.”

She had wanted to meet with the Master specifically to ask him to investigate that.

“Oh well, it should be fine.”

Judith stretched and tilted her head.

“Hud said he’d deliver the letter today anyway.”

***

That morning.

Hud was already up early, buying medicinal ingredients and preparing to deliver Judith’s letters.

As someone who had lived diligently as a commoner, he found it odd to delegate something as simple as delivering letters to a servant.

Most of the letters were to the houses where Judith had worked as a tutor. The families were delighted to receive her letters.

“She was such a diligent tutor. She taught very well.”

“Our child was so troubled, but she managed to guide them with such care.”

“We were so sad when she left. It’s hard to find someone like her again…”

Hearing such high praise for Judith made Hud feel warm inside. Even though he hadn’t known her for long, it felt as if he were getting closer to her, hearing the positive opinions from those who had known her for much longer.

She must have been good at whatever she did—smart, kind, pretty, and gentle.

One of the parents even gave Hud a snack as thanks for delivering the letter.

‘As expected, Judith is a good person.’

Delivering her letters wasn’t a burden at all. In fact, it was quite pleasant, as it allowed him to trace her footsteps.

And the final letter…

‘The Grey Information Guild? Did she work there too?’

Without thinking much of it, Hud entered a somewhat shabby alleyway. Having dedicated all his time to medical school, this was his first time visiting an information guild.

‘Information guild? I suppose they sell information?’

He had heard about places like this before, but he wasn’t quite sure what sort of information they sold. Perhaps they sold answers to people’s questions?

‘Oh.’

Hud’s eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind.

‘Maybe I could ask about how to win the heart of a woman I’m interested in?’