I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 169

That night.

With the sound of knocking, the office door opened.

“Brother?”

It was Karl, already changed into his indoor clothes.

Ekian, who had been looking over parchment filled with candidate baby nicknames, raised his head.

“Ah, Karl.”

Alex was already asleep.

Apparently the outing had been exciting and fun, because after chattering endlessly, he started nodding off before it was even eight o’clock and the moment he lay down on the bed, he completely passed out.

Well, wandering around the mountains all day wasn’t exactly easy for a seven-year-old.

“What about Miss Aurora?”

Karl answered in a somewhat tense voice, “She borrowed a few books from the library and went back to the guest room. Today’s schedule is all finished. Now all that’s left is talking with you, Brother.”

“Sit down.”

After offering him a seat, Ekian sat across from Karl.

Then he gently brought up the subject.

“Miss Rose Aurora is quite a smart and lovely girl.”

“She is.”

 Karl rolled his eyes once before answering.

“But as I said before, we’re not in any sort of special relationship.”

“I see.”

For now, Ekian decided to back off.

Because saying something like, ‘Then why did you bring her here if you’re not in that kind of relationship?’ felt like it would only backfire.

“I was a little surprised. You, um, getting close with a girl and all….”

“It’s just a simple friendship.”

“I see…. Judith and I also started from a simple friendship.”

Ekian smiled softly. But Karl somehow felt like Ekian was nervous.

“Um, it’s a little warm… would it be alright if I opened the window?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Since they had sent all the maids away for this private conversation, Karl opened the window himself. A cool night breeze flowed in, filling the room with refreshing air.

“That friendship, well… because you’re a man and a woman, I think it could naturally develop in another direction too. I’m not saying that’s the case right now. I’m only talking about the possibility.”

Ekian spoke while watching Karl’s back as he stood by the window.

“But the other person’s feelings might be different. In that case, would it be alright if I asked how you’d act then?”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean, maybe you only intended to express goodwill… but the other person could feel burdened by it.”

Karl turned around and tilted his head. “Then obviously I should stop, shouldn’t I?”

The answer came faster than expected.

“If the other person feels burdened, I mean. Of course.”

“Would you really be able to?” Ekian asked worriedly.

For a moment, Karl overlapped with Ekian’s former self as the ‘Master.’

Back when he hadn’t thought deeply about anything, he’d vaguely believed that too. But once it seemed like Hud and Judith might actually get together, it felt as though all the blood in his body surged backward.

“It’ll probably be harder than you think.”

Karl answered firmly, “But twisted obsession that the other person doesn’t want only makes everyone miserable in the end. No matter how much you love someone. If they feel burdened, then naturally you should know how to hold yourself back.”

It was such a perfect answer that Ekian was momentarily left speechless.

“You know, Brother.”

Karl wore a somewhat distant expression for a moment before continuing.

“Today, for the first time in a while, I thought about Sarah again.”

The moment Sarah’s name came up, Ekian’s face stiffened.

“At first, Sarah’s feelings probably weren’t that ugly either. After all, they started from her liking both you and me. But the moment those feelings became twisted, victims like me ended up being created.”

Ekian’s expression turned strange as he listened to Karl.

He had forgotten that Karl himself was also a victim of twisted obsession.

In the ‘future’ Judith spoke of, Karl had become that way because he was influenced too heavily by Sarah.

But now Karl understood Sarah’s wrongdoing far too well.

It was thanks to Judith. Judith had personally taught Karl that lesson herself.

“I see, Karl.”

Ekian suddenly realized something.

Karl was growing up well in a sufficiently good environment. So there was no need for him to worry in advance and lecture him preemptively out of fear that he might one day commit crimes against Rose.

“I… I didn’t realize.”

Only now understanding that fact, Ekian muttered quietly to himself.

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

The incident with Sarah was so long ago that he’d forgotten about it. Ekian let out a hollow laugh. It felt absurd that he’d worried over something he didn’t even need to worry about.

At the same time, he also felt sorry for not fully trusting Karl.

Just then.

“So, Brother.” Standing before the open window, Karl looked straight at him and said, “I don’t know what happened, but… it’s probably better not to become obsessive.”

“Hm?”

“I mean being obsessive toward Alex.”

For a moment, Ekian thought he must’ve heard wrong.

“Of course it’s natural for a father to love his child. But right now, it’s excessive.”

“Karl, what exactly are you talking about?”

“Wearing a lion mask and playing tag. Alex must’ve had such a hard time trying to match your energy. Of course, because Alex loves his father too….”

At that moment.

“Ah!”

A gust of night wind blowing through the open window sent one sheet of parchment flying from Ekian’s desk. Karl instinctively snatched it out of the air before freezing in shock.

“…What’s this?”

The parchment was densely filled with cute names.

[Herbs – Mint, Dill, Rosemary, Parsley: because Judith usually likes them]

At first, he thought it was some kind of wife-stalker journal.

[Uncommon flowers – Tulip, Begonia (Rejected, only works for girls)]

But as Karl continued reading the list, his eyes gradually widened.

[Fruits – Cherry, Blueberry, Peach, Plum: because Judith eats them well after becoming pregnant]

Pregnant?

Then….

Karl’s eyes widened.

“Brother?”

He was so shocked that he completely forgot what they’d originally been talking about.

“Sister-in-law… is pregnant?”

“Ah….”

Ekian looked rather flustered. It was difficult to deny it in this situation.

Absentmindedly running a hand through his hair, he said, “Well, it’s not completely certain yet. The attending physician returns tomorrow, so after the examination, we planned to tell the family.”

At the same time, countless emotions flashed across Karl’s face.

“So that’s why… toward Alex….”

When Alex’s name came up, Ekian slowly explained, “Well, I was worried Alex might feel left out or hurt.”

From his perspective, it was only natural.

“Because when Judith was pregnant with Alex, I couldn’t stay by her side like this the whole time….”

As Ekian let out his true feelings, he suddenly understood the situation.

He finally realized why Karl had told him not to become ‘obsessive toward his son.’

And also why his younger brother had suddenly started lecturing him about how ‘obsession that burdens the other person is wrong.’

When Ekian let out a hollow laugh in disbelief, Karl shrugged. “If this is a father’s obsessive strategy, then I think it’ll probably work. Alex said with his own mouth that he wishes he had a younger sibling.”

Then Karl seriously furrowed his brows and muttered, “Fruits, herbs, flowers… all of these feel way too much like girl names though. Don’t you want a gender-neutral nickname?”

“Exactly.”

The topic immediately changed. A far more important task had appeared for the two men to bother clearing up pointless misunderstandings.

“I’m worried it’ll feel too much like we’re hoping for a daughter. If the baby turns out to be a boy, I think he might feel hurt later.”

“Hmm, then a gender-neutral name really would be better. Though I do want to see a younger sister too….”

Karl rolled his eyes.

“Then should we brainstorm together? What about thinking of animal-related names?”

There was no more serious topic in the world for the two men than this.

That night, the two brothers stayed up all night with their heads in their hands, searching through all kinds of books.