I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 40

Judith’s heart sank. She blinked for a moment and then said, “I’m sorry. I was just about to sleep. I went out early this morning, and I’m a bit tired…”

With the Master appearing suddenly, she had no choice in the matter.

But what surprised her was that she wasn’t particularly angry about his unilateral appearance.

“If it’s not urgent, could we talk tomorrow?”

Judith said gently. From outside, Hud’s disappointed voice could be heard.

“Ah, alright.”

The sound of Hud’s footsteps grew distant. As Judith sighed, the Master shrugged nonchalantly.

Suppressing the slight joy she felt, she whispered in a sharp tone, “Are you in your right mind?”

The Master slowly stepped out of the bookshelf passage and sat in front of her, replying, “Not quite, I admit.”

“You’re admitting it so easily I have nothing more to say. Wait a moment. Since I said I was going to sleep, I should turn off the light to keep up appearances.”

Judith slowly got up and turned off the lamp.

Watching her, the Master said playfully, “Ahem. To interrupt such an important task as choosing a dress—Hud Ramis, no, Hud Soden, is truly rude.”

It was an absurdly shameless remark. Judith could only laugh dryly.

“Who do you think is really interrupting me right now?”

“Interrupting is my specialty.”

“Hmm, but I don’t think you’ve been this outrageous before.”

Judith laughed in disbelief, and the Master folded his arms, mumbling.

“I’ve decided to lean into mischief from now on.”

“What? Are you going through puberty or something?”

“I learned today that my birth mother thoroughly abandoned me.”

“Huh?”

“I already knew I was an unwanted child and that I wasn’t particularly liked, but I didn’t expect her to deliver such a calculated and meticulous blow.”

His fragmented explanation left Judith unable to grasp the situation, but she instinctively felt that asking questions wouldn’t yield answers.

With a tone more resigned than sorrowful, the Master murmured, “Still, I suppose I was wrong to expect anything just because she was the one who gave birth to me.”

“True. Maybe you shouldn’t have expected anything in the first place.”

“That’s rather quick agreement, isn’t it?”

“I just don’t like seeing you get hurt. So don’t expect anything anymore.”

Judith sighed deeply as she continued, “I’ve also been disappointed after expecting something from my mother. Thinking that just because someone gives birth to you, they’ll love you… In the end, it only hurts you.”

The Master flinched. In the moonlight, Judith cautiously patted his shoulder.

“Whatever the situation, don’t pay attention to your mother’s words. The more you dwell on them, the harder it is to find your own happiness.”

“What if her words have an overwhelming influence?”

“Even then. If I were in your shoes, the more defiant I felt, the more determined I’d be to find happiness in my own way.”

Judith clenched her fist encouragingly and smiled.

“I’ve said it before. Even though my mother abandoned me, I’ll never abandon my children. I’ll create a beautiful family, no matter what. So don’t let your mother’s words get to you. Go find your own happiness.”

The Master didn’t respond. He simply stared at Judith through his mask.

The atmosphere grew slightly awkward. Feeling strange, Judith fiddled with the catalog in front of her.

Even though she had told him not to come yesterday, she didn’t want to argue coldly with him again.

“Since you’re here, want to help me pick out a dress?” Judith asked, spreading out the catalog busily even though she wasn’t particularly interested.

“I was originally thinking of wearing something red… but maybe I should match Hud’s hair color and go with something brown instead…”

She had happily accepted Hud’s earlier offer to escort her.

To Judith, Hud was nothing more than a good friend. She never thought of him romantically.

Hud, on the other hand, intended to start expressing his feelings, but Judith couldn’t even imagine their relationship taking such a turn.

She simply thought he wanted to repay the favor of finding his biological parents.

“Brown? That’s the worst. It wouldn’t suit you at all,” the Master immediately objected, grimacing as he flipped through the catalog.

He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. “These designs are too revealing…”

“Well, from your perspective, covering yourself from head to toe, I guess they would seem revealing.”

Judith playfully dismissed his complaints.

“Anyway, since I’m ‘pregnant,’ I suppose the designs toward the back would be better.”

At the word ‘pregnant,’ the Master’s fingers, which had been tapping the table, froze. Judith tilted her head and looked at his mask.

“Why? Do you think it’s pitiful for a ‘pregnant’ woman to attend an imperial banquet without her husband?”

“Well, even though you’re not actually pregnant… it does look a bit unfortunate.”

“Why would I be pitiful? If anything, Ekian Mayus, the Young Duke, would be more so.”

“What?”

“Imagine how much people will curse him at the banquet. Seeing a ‘pregnant’ woman without her husband, what would they think?”

Judith shrugged her shoulders and laughed, but contrary to her expectations, the Master didn’t laugh back. Instead, he took a deep breath and spoke seriously.

“Judith.”

“Yes?”

“What if… what if Ekian Mayus were to return?”

Though his question was solemn, Judith’s expression remained unchanged.

She answered casually, “That won’t happen.”

“But he could come back.”

“I’m telling you, it won’t. It’s sad to say, but I believe Ekian Mayus is no longer in this world.”

“What? No, why…?”

“It’s true.”

Judith was so convinced that she declared it without hesitation.

Of course, she couldn’t bring up anything about the original story or the last priestess’ powers, so she tried to explain logically instead.

“If Ekian Mayus were alive, wouldn’t that make him a complete scumbag?”

In the original story, when the Duke and Duchess were poisoned, and Karl became the head of the family at a young age, Ekian never appeared.

If he were alive under those circumstances, he could only be described as a terrible person.

Judith continued her sharp critique, “During this poisoning incident, Mother and Father could have died, and Karl could’ve suffered immensely. To stand by and watch that happen—could you even call that human?”

“Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement. After all, they weren’t actually poisoned… Besides, if Ekian Mayus is alive, he’s probably been watching over his family from behind the scenes.”

“That would make him even more of a scumbag.”

In the end, Bart had committed suicide in the dungeon. The evidence against the Emperor had disappeared, leaving nothing to confront him with.

Even for the House of Mayus, without concrete evidence, there was no way to openly challenge the Emperor. So the incident was quietly buried within the family.

“If Ekian witnessed the assassination attempt on the Duke and Duchess, shouldn’t he have come forward? The Emperor directly targeted the Mayus family!”

Judith’s eyes shone fiercely.

“If someone’s beloved family is being threatened by none other than the Emperor, how could they remain silent? That’s cowardly. And this won’t be the last time. Who knows what the Emperor might do next?”

“……”

“The Young Duke of Mayus isn’t lacking in ability. Shouldn’t he come and support his father? Right now, Mother and Father can’t even afford to stand against the Emperor because of the Young Duke’s disappearance.”

“Well, maybe there are unavoidable circumstances…”

“Unavoidable? In this situation, if he stays hidden until the end, he’s either an ungrateful son who abandoned his parents or a coward running away from the Emperor.”

Judith gritted her teeth as if the mere thought disgusted her.

“If he’s alive, he’s definitely a scumbag.”