I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 7

Originally, Judith had planned to visit the Mayus estate two days later. However, early the next morning, someone arrived in front of her boarding house at dawn.

With the dim light behind him, he spoke politely, “The Duchess of Mayus has personally requested that I escort you to the estate.”

The alley where her boarding house was located was too narrow for a carriage to enter. It might have seemed pitiful for a noble with a baron’s title to be living in such a place, but Judith showed no sign of embarrassment. If she were the type to care about that, she wouldn’t have been able to live like this.

She was always good at accepting things, ever since she was very young.

“Oh, wait a moment. I have a few home tutoring sessions scheduled today… Let me quickly write some letters to cancel them, and then we can leave.”

“That won’t be necessary. The Mayus has already taken care of everything.”

“Oh… I see.”

It was clear that they had conducted a thorough investigation into her, given that they had even canceled her tutoring schedule.

After selecting a neat outfit, Judith walked down the alley and boarded the carriage bearing the Mayus family crest.

The servant was very polite toward her, a clear indication that the duchess had taken quite a liking to Judith. As the carriage rattled along, she rested her chin in her hand, staring at the Mayus crest with the eagle engraved on it.

After a while, the grand Mayus estate came into view in the distance.

‘What could have driven Ekian Mayus to such extremes?’

What could possibly have made him leave behind a guaranteed future, a loving family, and vast wealth to walk out of the estate on his own?

Judith, who had never had any of these things, couldn’t help but wonder, even though she knew she wouldn’t find an answer.

Why had the young duke, who seemingly lacked nothing, become a runaway in his mid-teens?

‘Wherever he is now, he’s probably dead, right? That’s why he doesn’t appear in the original story, isn’t it?’

Ekian had a younger brother, Karl Mayus, who adored him.

Karl, the villain of the original story, was left orphaned, went through hardships, and eventually turned to darkness, becoming a villain. If Ekian had been alive, he would have somehow helped Karl.

‘Wasn’t he terminally ill to begin with?’

Judith rested her chin in her hand and started to imagine.

‘Maybe he hid his illness to spare his family the grief and disappeared?’

The Mayus family was known for their blond hair. Only the duchess had a slightly lighter platinum-blond shade.

The duke, Karl, and, naturally, the young duke were known to have blond hair.

‘Ekian Mayus… They say he has blond hair and crimson eyes.’

Judith had only heard about his appearance, as she had no memory of ever seeing the young duke. As the Master had pointed out, Judith had never met Ekian in person.

‘Blond or platinum blond hair isn’t common. That alone is considered special.’

The Master’s hair, glimpsed through his changing wigs, was jet black. Hair dye was very expensive in this world, and platinum blond was something Judith had only ever seen on the Duchess of Mayus.

While these thoughts occupied her mind, the carriage reached the Mayus estate.

‘Alright.’

Judith smiled slightly and composed herself internally.

‘Now is really the time to make my decision.’

***

Duchess Isabella Mayus had not slept for two days. It was all because of the red-haired woman who had suddenly appeared one day—Judith Ailan.

The information Judith had shared about Ekian was extremely personal, precise, and incredibly trivial.

The kind of information that had no purpose… because no one else would know it.

‘That girl and Ekian must have had some sort of connection,’ Isabella thought with her tired eyes wide open.

Judith Ailan, a baroness in name only, was a woman pursued by debt collectors.

After Judith’s visit, Isabella had followed her advice and looked into Judith’s background.

She was an orphan, having lost her parents at a young age, and had inherited only debt. Yet, despite this, she lived with remarkable tenacity and strength.

She juggled a grueling schedule of home tutoring while selling bits of information to the Grey Information Guild. Yet, all she could manage was to pay off her interest.

‘Did she learn about Ekian’s information through that information guild?’

One thing was clear: Isabella had no choice but to summon her again.

‘Ekian, my precious son…’

Isabella lowered her gaze. She had a rough idea of why Ekian had run away without a word and why there had been no news from him since.

‘We must… we must meet again. We love you. We need to talk.’

Soon it would be five years since his disappearance. If they didn’t find any clues by then, Ekian would be officially declared dead.

She knew she was grasping at straws, but she desperately wanted to delay that outcome. She wanted Ekian to see that they had held off his death declaration, even if it was by force.

To show him that they were waiting for him, as urgently as this.

That’s why Isabella had no choice.

“I can guess what you’re planning, Duchess.”

Judith, who had arrived at dawn, spoke with a sharp gleam in her eyes.

“You plan to announce that there’s a woman carrying the young Duke Ekian Mayus’s child and that the fetus carries the distinct aura of the Mayus family. Even though it will tarnish Ekian’s name, you’ll do it to delay the death declaration.”

“…Yes.” Isabella nodded heavily.

The Mayus family didn’t need a paternity test. The direct descendants of the Mayus line possessed a unique aura that could be sensed even in the womb. The head of the family could feel that presence from the moment the fetus began to develop.

That’s how Isabella had come up with this temporary solution. Of course, they would later have to claim that the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage since they couldn’t create a non-existent child.

‘But surely, this would send a message to Ekian, wherever he is.’

However, Isabella wondered how Judith knew about a plan she had only confided to her closest advisors. But the fact that she had told even one person meant the secret was no longer entirely safe.

“Duchess, if I may.”

Judith spoke politely. Her clothes were shabby, but her posture was upright and firm.

“Even if you announce that there is a woman pregnant with the young duke’s child and introduce her as your daughter-in-law to society, the young duke will not return.”

Isabella’s heart sank. Judith’s words carried conviction.

Just as she had been certain when speaking about Ekian’s past, and when she had guessed Isabella’s inner thoughts.

“The young duke will not return to the family, no matter what happens here.”

Judith continued, her tone calm and composed.

“However, if you still wish to proceed with that plan…”

“If I wish to proceed?”

“I would like to be that contract daughter-in-law.”

“…What?”

“I want to be the one who pretends to be pregnant with Ekian Mayus’s child, and later announces that I lost the baby.”

Isabella was stunned.

Even though it was temporary, the position of ‘daughter-in-law’ was no small thing. It would mean marriage and divorce would be officially recorded. The groom would remain missing throughout the entire ordeal.

Even if Ekian returned, it would be a problem. Since it was all a fabrication, they would have to pretend she had a miscarriage and arrange for a divorce. Divorce wasn’t common in the empire, especially among the nobility, and it was a significant stain on a woman’s reputation.

While Ekian would soon be declared dead, making the situation a lost cause anyway, the woman’s circumstances were different.

That’s why Isabella had been considering using a foreign-born maid, a commoner who desperately needed money.

“Baroness Ailan, I cannot ask you to take on such a task.”

“My motivation is simple. Money,” Judith stated clearly and bluntly. “If you’ve looked into my background, you’ll know that I’m drowning in debt. No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to repay it all. For me, noble dignity and honor became luxuries a long time ago.”

Isabella quietly observed Judith. In the end, the girl had come to propose a deal. Both parties wanted something, and they could offer it to each other.

But still, it didn’t quite feel like a typical transaction…

After a moment of silence, Isabella suddenly asked, “Baroness, do you perhaps not know how to negotiate? You want something from me, yet why did you start by saying such things?”

“Pardon?”

“You said this plan wouldn’t bring Ekian back, didn’t you?”

“……”

“If you truly wanted this deal, you should have said that Ekian might return after a few months. Or if you dislike lying, you could have simply chosen not to mention it at all.”

Judith didn’t appear flustered. Instead, she looked prepared, her expression confident as she opened her mouth to speak.