I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 62

“Please, go up.”

The sleek man at the entrance guided Anais inside.

“The Master is expecting you.”

Having already conducted a thorough investigation, Anais smiled with satisfaction.

‘I’ve heard that the Master doesn’t meet just anyone.’

Following the guide, she entered the designated room and confidently surveyed her surroundings.

‘Judith Mayus was just here earlier, wasn’t she? There’s no doubt that she has ties to this place.’

As she slowly took her seat, she suddenly noticed a man sitting before her. She hadn’t sensed any movement—he had appeared silently, without a trace. It was undoubtedly the Master.

He wore a mask that completely concealed his face. However, his impressive physique and tall stature were impossible to hide, and Anais instantly recognized his strong masculine appeal.

‘Oh-ho.’

Anais smirked inwardly. It seemed she had caught a much bigger fish than expected.

“Greetings, Countess.”

The man spoke slowly. His voice was devoid of any intonation, as if he were deliberately concealing his identity.

“Please, call me Anais.”

Anais flashed a smile.

“After all, we’re about to become quite close.”

“As you wish.”

The man nodded without hesitation. Anais deliberately offered a coquettish smile as she pulled out a checkbook from her bag.

“Alright. Let’s start with business. I’ve already done my research on you.”

In these kinds of transactions, asserting dominance early was key.

She asked smoothly, “How much do you need?”

The Master took the checkbook slowly. Then, picking up a fountain pen, he wrote down a number.

‘Oh?’

It was quite a hefty sum.

But the larger the amount, the more control she could exert. Without negotiating, Anais simply nodded.

“Fine. This much is nothing.”

“Impressive.”

The man crossed his legs, seemingly entertained.

“So, what is your request?”

Anais curled her lips into a smirk. She liked how quickly they were getting to business.

***

“Goodness, how long has it even been since you came home?”

That evening.

Isabella muttered disapprovingly, “Already staying out overnight? That’s too much. Shouldn’t you be spending time with your family and sleeping at home?”

Meanwhile, Judith was quietly surprised. That evening, Ekian’s letter had suddenly arrived. He wrote that he would be attending a party at a close friend’s house and wouldn’t be returning that night.

“He doesn’t even like parties… No way, did he turn into a delinquent over the past five years?”

Karl clenched his fists, fuming. “A party? Has he lost his mind? Leaving his pregnant wife and unborn child behind for a party? And staying out overnight?”

Isabella’s expression immediately hardened. Judith and even Ben were at a loss for words.

Karl’s eyes gleamed sharply. “This is completely unacceptable. I never thought my brother was such an irresponsible man. I thought I had been educating him properly all this time!”

Karl had, in fact, been rigorously educating Ekian. Perhaps he felt guilty about getting along too well with Ekian, so he made a habit of nagging him incessantly. Even when Judith, sweating nervously, insisted that everything was fine, the boy’s earnest concern and lectures only grew more frequent.

“Just wait until he comes back tomorrow.”

Grinding his teeth, Karl stomped his foot.

“I won’t let this slide. Do you know that making a pregnant woman feel neglected stays with her for a lifetime? What is he even thinking?!”

Judith inwardly apologized to Ekian once again. But there was nothing she could do.

Any attack directed at Judith now directly affected the Mayus family.

Judith genuinely didn’t care what Anais did to her. It wasn’t as if she could fabricate a nonexistent crime against her, nor did she believe Anais would go so far as to physically harm her. However, she didn’t want any harm to come to the Mayus Ducal House.

‘No matter what she does to me, even if I have to get divorced…’

Her only concern was that the reality she was now living in had already diverged too far from what she had once known as the original story.

Now, using the future she knew to solve problems was becoming increasingly difficult. Moreover, Anais’s sudden appearance was even more unpredictable.

‘Wasn’t she supposed to torment the Crown Princess? But somehow, the first arrow came to me instead.’

In this troubling situation, Master had stepped forward once again.

“Today, I have arranged to meet with her soon.”

Without her even asking, he had already taken care of everything. Judith found it hard to believe.

To be honest, her relationship with Master was purely transactional. Naturally, they were close, and in some ways, they might even hold some affection for each other. If something like this happened, it made sense that he would at least warn her.

But for him to take the initiative like this? Simply because she might be in danger?

Especially considering that Master rarely met people in person. Whenever possible, he handled matters through his subordinates.

For him to step forward himself meant that this was a serious issue, and it required his direct attention.

Once again, she felt deeply moved. It was the same overwhelming emotion she had felt when he had rushed to her side at the shrine of the last priestess.

The fact that Master saw this as something natural, that he treated it as his own concern, made her increasingly grateful. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like he was truly on her side.

‘It’s certain. Who would go this far for a woman they don’t care about?’

Judith couldn’t contain the fluttering in her heart as she thought to herself.

‘He must like me too. There’s no doubt about it.’

The romance books she had been obsessively reading lately all said the same thing—believe in a man’s actions rather than his words. And Master’s actions were undeniable.

So, before returning to her room, Judith made a quick stop at the kitchen.

“Um…”

She hesitated for a moment before speaking shyly, “I’d like to take a look at the pantry before I go.”

The kitchen staff smiled and nodded without question. Judith casually glanced around before discreetly grabbing a bottle of wine that looked particularly good.

Hud had once taken wine from the kitchen this way. After drinking together, they had grown much closer.

‘He must have been jealous back then. I’m sure of it.’

After all, hadn’t he just said something similar today?

“Even Hud Soden at least got to drink with you. But I, on the other hand, have never received anything.”

He had said it twice.

“In the end, wasn’t that ‘pleasant conversation time’ over drinks more important?”

That was why Judith planned to prepare ‘pleasant conversation time over drinks’ for Master today. It had been quite a while, after all.

Hiding the bottle securely, she headed back to her room.

***

When would he come?

Master hadn’t specified a time. So all she could do was wait.

Since it had been so long, time seemed to pass agonizingly slowly. Surely, he wouldn’t come too late, but the longer she waited, the more anxious she felt.

‘Ugh, why am I so nervous?’

She wasn’t sure what to wear, so she ended up putting on something that was neither loungewear nor formal attire. Even after getting dressed, she kept pacing around the room.

Her gaze drifted to the wine bottle.

‘Will it taste good? Did I pick a decent one?’

She didn’t know much about wine. Back then, Hud had simply assured her that it was ‘good and delicious,’ so she had happily drunk it.

‘I hope it’s alright.’

Now that she was the one offering the drink, she felt oddly nervous. Unable to resist, she decided to take a sip to test it.

‘Mmm… Is this good?’

It was hard to tell.

‘One sip isn’t enough to know.’

Tilting her head slightly, Judith took another sip. Then another. And another. And another.

‘Mmm, since I keep drinking it, I guess it must be fine?’

Before long—

“Huh?”

The bookshelf door opened, and Master appeared.

“…Master, what’s going on? Why is everything double?”

She tried to stand and greet him, but the floor seemed to rise up to meet her. Master quickly rushed forward to catch her.