I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 167

“What? Obsession and suffering?”

“As you said, Karl and Miss Aurora are getting along well right now, but we still don’t know how Miss Aurora feels, do we? You said she originally falls in love with another man.”

Judith could only nod awkwardly.

“Then if that happens, it won’t be Miss Aurora’s problem. Karl’s problem will become serious.”

Karl and Rose were still young. At sixteen, they still had four whole years left until adulthood.

Right now they were getting along well, and Karl himself was vehemently insisting, ‘We’re not like that,’ but anyone could see Karl liked Rose.

To begin with, what kind of person brings a girl he doesn’t even like all the way to the Grand Duchy?

And Rose seemed rather uncomfortable with Karl’s status.

It might sound strange, but Judith trusted Rose’s character.

In the future called the original story, Rose was always kind, steadfast, and intelligent. No matter what hardships came her way, she overcame them with a good heart. It was precisely because of that side of her that Karl became even more unable to give her up and grew crueler day by day.

If the two of them ultimately didn’t end up together, then it really would become Karl’s problem.

There was… a possibility that Rose would come to like another man.

“Then who’s the man Miss Aurora ends up with in the end?”

“Hmm.”

Judith shifted her gaze.

“The second son of the Soden family.”

“What?”

“Um… Hud’s biological younger brother.”

At that moment, Ekian pressed a hand to his forehead.

The instant Hud’s name came up, his entire mood darkened even further.

The one who’d brought Judith food and taken care of her body when she was pregnant with Alex instead of Ekian….

The thought alone made his stomach churn.

“Ha, Judith.”

Ekian muttered painfully while raking a hand through his hair.

“I think I finally understand Karl’s feelings somehow.”

“What?”

“When you see the person you love more than anything getting close to another man… I understand that feeling of wanting to stop it somehow. Of course, ruining the other person because of it is truly awful, but at least that burning agony, I can deeply sympathize with it.”

“Karl isn’t suffering yet, Ekian.”

“Even so.”

Perhaps because they both had a man with the same surname as a romantic rival, Ekian suddenly took Karl’s side.

“In that case, I really do need to talk to Karl even more. Though personally, I sincerely hope Karl successfully wins over Miss Rose.”

“A moment ago you were calling her Miss Aurora. And you said the fact that Miss Rose is a commoner bothered you too.”

“We brothers can’t allow the Soden family to steal anything from us.”

“What exactly did the Soden family steal from you?”

“My time with Alex.”

Judith finally clicked her tongue.

Whenever Hud’s name came up, he lost his composure exactly the same way he had seven years ago.

Ekian spoke with a gloomy expression, “Anyway, I absolutely need to have a talk with Karl at least once. I hope nothing like that happens, but even if Miss Rose gives her heart to another man, he mustn’t become obsessive.”

After hesitating briefly, he let out a deep sigh. “Of course, now that things have come to this, I still hope Karl absolutely succeeds in winning over Miss Rose.”

“You suddenly started cheering him on.”

Judith laughed in amusement, then shrugged and stroked her stomach.

“Now you’re even getting involved in your younger brother’s love life, so even if you had ten bodies, it still wouldn’t be enough. Treating Alex well, taking care of me….”

“And we also need to decide on our baby’s nickname. Since it’ll be the name we keep calling from now on.”

Ekian softly kissed the back of Judith’s hand resting over her stomach.

Once the attending physician arrived and she received another examination, they planned to inform the family members around them and even decide on the baby’s nickname.

Ekian spoke cautiously, “Hmm, it’ll probably be a girl, right? According to the prophecy….”

“Back then you treated it like random nonsense from a fraud, and now suddenly it’s a prophecy? Let’s just call it a fortune-telling.”

Judith snickered, but she herself was feeling excited too.

Would it really be a girl?

If it was a daughter, who would she resemble?

Judith’s mother never truly loved Judith in the end. But Judith fully intended to shower her own daughter with endless love.

When she was little, she had envied children whose mothers tied up their hair and personally fastened ribbons for them.

Just imagining herself personally choosing and tying her daughter’s very first ribbon made her heart race.

Of course, she loved Alex too deeply to love him any more than she already did, but because she herself had been born and raised as an unloved daughter, there were far more small things she could imagine when it came to having a daughter.

Meanwhile, perhaps because Ekian had grown up receiving abundant love in childhood, he seemed able to love Alex the way Ben had loved him….

Ekian muttered restlessly, “She can’t resemble you too much, Judith. Then I don’t think I’d ever be able to marry her off… I feel like I wouldn’t stay still even if some guy merely hovered around her.”

“What if someone tempted her with shared interests, saying they should visit his brother’s territory together or something?”

“That bastard dies by my hand. Ah, were you talking about Karl by any chance?”

Judith burst into laughter.

Anyway, Ekian had many things to deal with.

Naturally, the appearance of Karl and Rose only made his mind even more complicated.

***

The next morning.

“Father, we’ll be going now!”

Alex said he wanted to go on an outing with Karl and Rose to a place where many fossils were discovered. Ekian offered to attach guards to them, but Karl immediately shook his head in horror.

“One person is enough, Brother!”

Karl earnestly pleaded with Ekian.

Because it was obvious just imagining how burdened Rose would feel seeing an entire group of knights following them around.

Rose was already overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the grand ducal estate and the countless servants. After spending one night there, she seemed even more intimidated.

“Seriously, one person is enough! It’s not like I’m incapable physically either. And please make it a female knight.”

The reason he specifically requested a female knight was because their schedule involved hiking.

Rose, who loved fossils, would definitely want to climb steep paths, and if there came a time when she needed help and someone had to take her hand, wouldn’t a woman be better than a man? Naturally, that included Karl himself among the men.

“Then two people. I’ll attach one man and one woman. Alex is still young too,” said Ekian as though he refused to compromise.

“Yes. Then I’ll leave Alex to the male knight. Please assign someone he’s close with.”

At Karl’s words, Ekian quietly stared at his younger brother. Then he muttered softly, “So you’re trying not to let male guards stay near her either.”

At that, Karl simply nodded without much thought.

“Anyway, have a good trip. Karl, let’s talk tonight. Could you clear some time for me?”

At Ekian’s suggestion, Karl nodded casually without thinking much about it. He assumed Ekian wanted to hear news about their parents or the situation in the capital.

“Haah, Alex… are you really sure Father shouldn’t come too? Will Uncle and Sister really be enough?”

Meanwhile, Ekian kept asking while hugging Alex as though he still couldn’t feel reassured. Alex looked slightly exhausted, but he shook his head maturely.

“It’s okay. Father, you’re busy.”

“Even so, there’s nothing more precious than our Alex….”

“But you have your own circumstances, Father. When I look at other parents, there are plenty who keep wanting to leave their children with other people!”

“Well, no matter what, having time with your son taken away is a painful thing.”

Karl clicked his tongue inwardly. In all the seven years Ekian had raised Alex, he’d never been like this before.

Now he understood why Alex was secretly finding it bothersome while also worrying about him.

‘This is severe. What’s Alex supposed to do?’

No matter what, it seemed like he really needed to have a serious talk with him later tonight.