I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 84

At those words, Hud’s eyes widened. Though he had known she stayed at the ducal estate with the heart of a mere employee, he hadn’t expected her to talk about divorce so resolutely, without hesitation.

“Ah, I… I see.”

Hud was overwhelmed yet couldn’t quite believe it. In a dazed voice, he asked, “As the Young Duchess of Mayus, you’ve had the honor of meeting even Her Highness the Crown Princess… and now you’re giving all that up to get divorced… in a way, that’s really impressive, Judith.”

“It was never mine to begin with, so what’s impressive about it?” Judith replied cheerfully.

That lightness was something Hud had always found amazing. Gazing at her intently, Hud smiled faintly and said, “You look well. It seems like you’ve gained a little weight.”

“Maybe it’s because I’ve decided to get divorced—my heart feels lighter. Now that Young Duke Ekian is back, I feel like I’ve done all I needed to do… and lately, I’ve had a good appetite.”

It was at that moment.

Creeeak—the door opened, and a woman cloaked in a veil entered with a maid. It was Melanie.

“Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

“Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

As Hud and Judith offered their formal greetings in unison, Melanie waved a hand and smiled.

“It’s fine. This isn’t an official setting, so no need for stiff formality.”

She then promptly handed Hud a vial of blood.

“This is the blood of His Highness the Crown Prince I mentioned. Don’t you need to examine it quickly before it coagulates?”

“Yes, I do.”

Hud quickly opened his bag and took out various reagents. His hands moved swiftly as he worked, and Melanie and Judith, surrounded by tension, quietly watched his every move.

How much time had passed?

Sweating as he worked through the analysis, Hud finally let out a long sigh and straightened his back.

Then, in a low voice, he said, “His Highness the Crown Prince has indeed been poisoned. Several toxins are mixed in, most of which impair bodily function and cause deterioration. There are also components that gradually lead to death.”

He glanced at Judith and added, “There are similarities to the poison that the Duke and Duchess of Mayus once ingested.”

“…Ha.”

It was as expected, so Melanie wasn’t too surprised. Still, with a rather dejected look, she took a deep breath.

“Can it be… detoxified?”

“First of all, it’s crucial to stop ingesting the poison. Do you know where or how it’s being consumed?”

“It’s not like he can stop eating entirely… I don’t know what to do. Ah—what about me? Am I poisoned too?”

“Let me check quickly.”

Hud drew Melanie’s blood on the spot and began testing it again.

Fortunately, Melanie showed no signs of poisoning. It seemed she had been left untouched, perhaps to avoid suspicions of a double poisoning that could lead to an accusation of murder.

In any case, Melanie came from a family of little standing, and if Alteion died, she wouldn’t wield much influence.

“Then… I’ll just have to say that being pregnant makes me crave more food. It’s true that I’ve been eating more since getting pregnant, so I’ll say the baby is asking for more.”

Melanie continued with a sigh, “That way, I can share food with His Highness the Crown Prince. I don’t know what to trust anymore.”

At that, Judith cautiously asked, “How long can that last…? The baby will eventually be born.”

Melanie replied ambiguously, “Who knows? For now, we’ll just have to buy time that way… Then, how can the detox be done?”

“Various herbs need to be combined, so I can’t make it immediately, but I can write a prescription. There aren’t any ingredients that are too hard to find.”

“Then I’d like to ask for it. If you give me the prescription, I think I can ask my father to prepare the medicine.”

Although they were meeting in secret like this, it was true that the emperor’s intelligence network was frightening.

It was safest to have the person who wrote the prescription, the one who bought the herbs, and the one who made the medicine all be different individuals.

“Yes, understood.”

Hud began writing the prescription right then and there. Watching him, Melanie said, “Thank you, Young Master of House Soden. We will never forget this favor.”

“Favor? Please don’t think of it that way.”

Having quickly written the prescription, Hud responded as if it were nothing.

“It was Judith’s request, so I was glad to help. There’s no need to feel burdened.”

At those words, Melanie’s eyes narrowed slightly. She had assumed, of course, that House Soden was cooperating to form ties with the Crown Prince’s side.

But instead of taking any credit, he was saying it was all for ‘Judith’s request’?

‘This is… strange.’

Melanie quietly observed Hud’s face.

‘Was the original goal not me, but her?’

In truth, she had heard the full story from Alteion.

That Ekian was Alteion’s half-brother, that he had immediately gone to confront Judith’s birth mother, and from there moved to the East to personally strike down the emperor.

However, Ekian had asked not to tell Judith.

He said he was keeping many things from her, and that he was worried she might be distressed if he told her everything. He wanted to explain it all slowly after returning, since it wasn’t a difficult task.

‘Yes, that’s right. You couldn’t possibly tell her. Judith is pregnant.’

Of course, since Ekian hadn’t told everything to Alteion either, both Melanie and Alteion firmly believed that Judith was pregnant.

‘And Young Duke Ekian Mayus truly loves Judith… Though there seem to be complicated circumstances preventing him from fully expressing it!’

Blood is thicker than water, after all—Melanie wasn’t fully sure, but for now, she was cheering for Ekian’s love.

And yet, at this moment when Ekian had been away for so long, a man suddenly appeared who seemed to harbor deep feelings for Judith!

Moreover, that man was the heir of House Soden, capable and close with Judith for a long time.

‘Judith would never entertain other feelings while pregnant, but still… something about it just feels off.’

Both Melanie and Alteion were burdened with guilt and remorse for sending Ekian to the emperor.

So, for Ekian’s sake, Melanie couldn’t possibly leave Hud and Judith alone together.

‘Normally I would have been the first to leave…’

Now that the matter was settled, Melanie should have returned to the palace. But if she left first, wouldn’t that leave Hud and Judith alone together?

And it seemed both had come without attendants, in the name of secrecy.

‘I will protect my sister-in-law.’

Melanie resolved inwardly. She would never leave the two of them alone.

“Lord Soden.”

So she spoke very gently.

“Miss Judith and I haven’t seen each other in so long. Though it’s only our second meeting, I feel such a strong connection to her.”

“…Ah, I see. Is that so?” Hud looked a bit bewildered but responded normally.

Still gripping Judith’s hand tightly, Melanie declared firmly, “So I don’t want to part from her. We’ve reunited after so long—I want to stay with her for quite a while.”

“Ah… then, of course. I have plenty of time too.”

No, the point was that he should leave first…!

Melanie took a deep breath and said, “I meant that I want to be alone with Judith. Just the two of us. I want to fully experience our bond of friendship.”

Now even Judith’s expression turned odd.

Melanie put on a shameless face, but inside she was dying of embarrassment. It was a conversation that anyone would find strange.

She was, of course, thankful to Judith—but not obsessed with her to this degree.

Still, if she wanted to get Hud to leave, this was the only way.

“Ah… I, I see! I-I also thought Your Highness seemed very nice…?”

Judith awkwardly played along. Inside, Melanie wanted to cry.