I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 69

Judith was so taken aback that she stood frozen for a moment.

Anais was making a dramatic scene, flailing her arms. “Oh my, oh my, what do we do?! Are you alright? Hm?”

Judith let out a long sigh. Before she could say anything, a desperate cry rang out in her ears.

“I-I’m so sorry!”

It was the maid who had spilled the water on her.

“I-I truly apologize…!”

A young girl immediately fell to her knees, begging for forgiveness.

“I tripped and— I-I’m truly sorry. Please forgive me just this once…!”

She hadn’t simply spilled a cup of water. She had overturned an entire bucket meant for watering the garden plants. Judith was drenched from head to toe.

‘Anais must have ordered this.’

Knowing Anais’s nature, there was no way this was an accident. Meanwhile, the young maid trembled in fear as she pleaded.

“I-I really, really apologize!”

“How dare you make such a mistake toward a guest of our party?!”

Anais widened her eyes and shouted.

“Lock her in the storage room and have her whipped mercilessly! No food or water for a week!”

In this situation, there was only one course of action for Judith to take—

To say it was fine and that she forgave the maid.

If she didn’t show mercy, she would be branded as cruel instead.

Already, many eyes were watching her.

Taking a deep breath, Judith remained still.

Anais immediately grabbed her arm and continued, “Are you still upset? If so, I’ll have her locked up for ten days instead. Ah, what should we do, hmm?”

“…No. Forgive the maid. Mistakes happen,” Judith spoke coldly.

“Oh my, Judith, you’re still as kind as ever.”

Anais clasped her hands together, feigning admiration as she spoke loudly.

“Well, you did work as a servant yourself for a while… So I suppose it feels personal, doesn’t it?”

Judith’s green eyes narrowed as she quietly glared at Anais. Anais took the opportunity to scan Judith’s disheveled state with satisfaction before speaking again.

“This won’t do, Judith. You must change your clothes. Oh my, you’re not in the best condition, and staying like this will make you sick. I’ll lend you one of my finest dresses.”

Anais smirked and shrugged.

“If you were on your own, you might end up in such circumstances again, wouldn’t you?”

The silent wish Judith had made in the carriage—’Let’s go easy on each other’—seemed like it would never come true.

Letting out a deep sigh, Judith pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her face.

It was already soaked, offering little help, but at least it cleared her vision. As she glanced around at the guests gathered in small groups at the garden party, she quickly grasped the situation.

‘She deliberately scheduled different groups at different times.’

Right now, the only people present were those closest to Anais, those who loved gossip, or those too timid to intervene.

That meant no one here would stand up for Judith, no matter how openly Anais humiliated her.

‘Anyone who might have supported me must have been invited for a different time slot.’

Judith also knew exactly why Anais wanted her to change clothes. She would surely offer something revealing.

‘And she planned to stage a scene with Master.’

Droplets of water dripped from her handkerchief. The liquid had an unpleasant smell, making it clear that it wasn’t just clean water.

‘For those arriving later, I’ll already be framed in a certain light. And soon after, the rumors will start—A pregnant woman, wearing a revealing dress, secretly rendezvousing with another man.’

Honestly, Judith had just wanted to let things pass quietly. If she and Master were careful, Anais wouldn’t be able to pin anything on them.

But was all of this truly necessary?

“What are you waiting for, Judith?”

Anais grinned, grabbing her arm and pulling her forward.

“You’re my guest, so I’ll take full responsibility for this. Ah, are you worried about the baby? Should I have our family’s physician take care of you? If not for that child, you wouldn’t even be able to see a noble’s physician. That child is incredibly precious, isn’t it?”

Judith took a deep breath. As she collected herself, something caught her eye. It was Master, stepping out of a private carriage just as she arrived.

The moment he got out of the carriage, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of Judith. He looked ready to rush straight to her.

However, at this moment, even Master didn’t seem all that important.

“Anais.”

Judith smiled sweetly.

“Let go of me.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just let go for a moment.”

Anais, looking puzzled, released her grip on Judith’s arm.

At that exact moment, Judith smacked Anais across the face.

“W-what…?”

Anais was so stunned that she didn’t even have time to react. Before she could register what had happened, Judith raised her other hand and struck the opposite cheek as well.

A sharp crack echoed through the air as Anais stumbled backward. The surrounding maids gasped in shock and rushed toward Judith.

“What in the world are you—”

“Stop.”

Judith calmly crossed her arms. She continued, “I simply made your childhood dream come true.”

“You!”

Anais, finally regaining her senses, screamed furiously.

“Are you insane? Do you even realize what you just did?!”

She immediately raised her hand to strike back, but Judith grabbed her wrist and held it firmly.

“What’s wrong, Anais?”

Judith smiled brightly, tilting her head.

“Didn’t I just fulfill your old dream?”

“What nonsense—”

“Three years ago, when my family collapsed, I had to sell everything of value.”

Water dripped from Judith’s soaked dress as she spoke loudly and clearly.

“But that also meant I held onto everything that wasn’t worth selling. I clung to those things to remind myself that I was still Judith Ailan.”

“Shut up and let go—”

“Among those things were old diaries and letters exchanged between childhood friends.”

Anais’s expression froze. Of course, she couldn’t remember a single thing she had written in the notes they exchanged when they were fifteen.

“Naturally, Anais, I still have the letters you wrote.”

Judith released Anais’s arm. As Anais wavered, Judith reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper.

“Thanks to the good quality of my bag, the contents stayed dry. How fortunate.”

Judith smiled before striding confidently toward the largest table where the most guests were seated. She placed the paper in the center and turned to the nearest noblewoman.

“Read it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You can read, can’t you? Read it aloud. Loud and clear. You only need to read Anais’s part.”

“Ah…”

The content of the letter was simple. It was something like a ‘rolling paper,’ where several girls had written down their dreams.

Among them were Judith’s and Anais’s entries.

[♡ Judith Ailan’s Dream ♡

I will become a good mother.

I will love my child more than anything in the world.]

[♡ Anais Elona’s Dream ♡

I will marry Ekian Mayus.

And I won’t tolerate anyone who dares challenge the Young Duchess.]

Judith grinned confidently. “But you didn’t become the Young Duchess, did you? Somehow, I ended up fulfilling your dream instead.”

As the atmosphere of the garden party froze solid, Judith declared boldly, “Since I’ve come this far, I should see it through to the end, shouldn’t I? You wrote that you wouldn’t tolerate anyone challenging the Young Duchess. Then surely, slapping you for insulting me is perfectly reasonable, isn’t it?”