I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 52

It was a smooth, gentlemanly voice. Judith took a deep breath, feeling like she might hiccup, and hurriedly answered.

“Y-yes, of course.”

The door opened, and a man entered.

A man with dazzling golden hair and red eyes quietly scanned the room. His expression suggested he found it oddly unreal to be stepping into this room through that door.

Judith awkwardly smiled and fidgeted with her fingers.

“Ah… Ha. Hello…”

Ekian’s eyes observed her with interest. Judith swallowed dryly and spoke.

“It’s, um, quite late. Should I stay somewhere else? If I explain properly to the maid, I think it would be fine. As you know, there are plenty of empty rooms here.”

“Well.”

Ekian responded in a leisurely voice.

“Shouldn’t we have a conversation first?”

“Uh… Sure, I suppose.”

Judith hesitantly sat back down on the chair. Ekian strode over with his long legs and sat across from her.

“This must be quite shocking for you.”

His presence was overwhelming. The spacious room suddenly felt much smaller. Strangely intimidated, Judith unconsciously shrank back.

I’ve done nothing wrong. This was all agreed upon. Repeating that thought in her head, Judith forced herself to speak in a bright tone.

“A wife appearing out of nowhere… It must be very unpleasant for you, but the reason things turned out this way, well—”

“I don’t find it unpleasant.”

Ekian propped his chin on his hand and grinned. His gaze briefly flickered to the book on Judith’s lap before returning to her face with interest.

“You don’t need to explain. I already know everything.”

“Ah, I see.”

Judith let out an awkward laugh. It seemed the duke and duchess had explained everything well.

“Still, this will probably be a long conversation. Shall we have some tea while we talk?”

Ekian pulled the bell cord and requested tea from the maid.

The maid, upon seeing the two of them sitting together, whispered excitedly, “Kyaa! You look wonderful together!” Judith wanted to cry.

***

Late at night.

“I see.”

A dark, oppressive voice filled the luxurious chamber.

“So, Ekian Mayus has returned.”

A moment of silence passed before the sound of shattering porcelain suddenly rang through the room.

Crash, crash, crash…

The attendants and maids stood frozen as the emperor continued his destruction. The person smashing everything in the room was none other than the emperor himself.

Black hair, blood-red eyes.

After the crown prince’s birthday banquet had ended without incident, the emperor’s mood had plummeted. The assassination attempt, which he had been certain would succeed, had failed.

Even if Alteion’s reflexes had been exceptional, he should have at least suffered a critical wound. But instead, Alteion remained entirely unscathed.

Worse still, he had casually slung an arm around the assassin’s shoulders and laughed, saying, “This was a planned event we prepared.”

‘Just how much did he know?’

The emperor exhaled harshly as he thought.

‘He clearly knew in advance and took precautions. Where did the information leak from?’

The knight who had attempted the assassination had been swiftly dealt with during the banquet. He had been the first suspect.

That knight had been personally placed beside the crown prince since childhood, just in case. How had this happened?

And now, on top of that, Ekian Mayus had returned.

The emperor knew full well that Ekian was his son. The Mayus family, unaware of the truth, was raising a tiger cub under their own roof.

‘He carries the blood of ruin anyway.’

The emperor vividly recalled the last priestess’s curse. If Ekian was to bring ruin upon the House of Mayus, that was something the emperor would thoroughly enjoy.

The House of Mayus had always been a thorn in his side.

An ancient and prestigious noble house, yet one that never fully obeyed the emperor. They never formed their own faction, but neither did they submit.

Their unwavering stance ultimately became a landmark for other nobles. They refused to obey the emperor’s words, meticulously adhered to the law, and even carried the silent support of the empire’s citizens.

The emperor resented them for proving that one could live well without currying favor with the imperial family. He wanted to see them fall, to set an example for the noble houses—to show them what happened to those who crossed the emperor.

‘Does that bastard know he isn’t actually a true Mayus? He must know, right? Since he showed up with golden hair again?’

The emperor despised unpredictable variables. Instinctively, Ekian Mayus put him on edge.

Already irritated that things weren’t going his way, the unexpected return of this enigmatic figure grated on his nerves.

Moreover, Ekian Mayus’s return was great news for the Mayus Ducal House. They had poured enormous funds and manpower into searching for him.

Conversely, this meant that Ekian had managed to remain completely hidden despite such an extensive pursuit. His abilities had exceeded even the emperor’s expectations.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

A foreboding sense loomed. Alteion might now stand against him openly. If the Mayus family allied itself with the Crown Prince, it would be troublesome.

‘One of them must be eliminated quickly.’

Come to think of it, the woman who had claimed to be carrying Ekian’s child had arrived today. The emperor had wanted to receive a detailed report from Bart, but Bart had already died in the underground prison of Mayus.

‘That didn’t go as planned either.’

Even the assassination attempt on the Duke and Duchess had been thwarted.

The emperor was deep in thought when—

“Your Majesty.”

A figure entered the wrecked chamber.

It was Anais, Baroness Anitas, one of the emperor’s mistresses.

Anais possessed not only a bewitching beauty but also great ambition and enough political prowess to maneuver the imperial social circles as the emperor’s trusted confidante. Though still in her early twenties, she had already earned his favor.

“What is troubling you?”

She smiled sweetly and sat beside the emperor, her voice laced with charm.

“Then, allow me to help until you are pleased.”

Even before Anais entered, the emperor had already begun to suppress his anger. He had vented his fury—now, it was time to focus on what lay ahead.

His sons, who had grown into men, now posed a threat to his throne.

No matter how difficult, he had to break them.

The emperor rang the bell to summon his closest aides. His voice, rough and sharp, issued a command.

“Assign someone to the Crown Princess.”

Alteion’s wife was his greatest weakness, making her the primary target.

“She is the person who can bring the greatest psychological ruin to Alteion. She frequently leaves the palace, making it easy to set a trap.”

Alteion was likely brimming with determination to protect his family. The easiest way to shatter that resolve was to destroy his trust in them.

This was how the emperor planned to strike at his son’s weaknesses.

“Exactly.”

Anais quickly caught on and smiled approvingly.

“Just assign someone, and I will take care of the rest. I have an excellent idea to drive a wedge between that couple.”

“I trust you will handle it well.”

At the same time, there was another matter he needed to investigate using a similar method.

“And one more thing.”

There was another individual he had yet to grasp fully, and that made him uneasy.

“Ekian’s wife, Judith Mayus.”

He had not seen the woman in person today. Until now, she had not even piqued his interest.

But with Ekian Mayus back, the situation had changed.

“Find out everything about her.”