A beautiful, extravagant banquet hall.
Ladies and gentlemen of high society gathered in twos and threes, dancing or engaging in conversation. Even while discussing trivial matters, their gazes kept drifting toward one person.
“Oh my, that necklace… I believe it’s made with the Ortez Diamond that sold for 4 million gold?”
“Good heavens, I heard Madame Owar closed her salon for an entire month just to make that dress, but it’s worth the price. It’s so beautiful….”
The target of their gazes was a woman enjoying the breeze on the terrace, looking like a painting. Her meticulously groomed hair, elegant attire, well-tended skin, and long, beautifully shaped eyes stood out. And above all, her luscious red hair and clever-looking green eyes caught everyone’s attention.
“Was Baroness Aylan always that pretty?”
“I had no idea. After she turned seventeen, she only ever wore rags like a commoner.”
“I only thought of her as a poor woman running around begging for money here and there….”
Thus, the guests were busy talking about Judith Aylan—no, Judith Mayous—all night long. And rightfully so, for Judith’s recent path was quite intriguing.
Judith Aylan had originally been a destitute, orphaned fallen noble who inherited nothing but a mountain of debt. Her family’s situation hadn’t been too bad when she was young, but when she was seventeen, her father’s business failed and he took his own life, changing everything. Her mother ran away in the middle of the night with a servant, taking whatever meager possessions were left, leaving young Judith to inherit the barony along with the crushing debt.
Judith had approached friends for loans, but it wasn’t a debt that could be solved that way. Afterward, she was spotted several times in shabby clothes, scraping for work.
And so, she was forgotten by the world—just like countless other misfortunes that do not affect oneself.
However.
“Ah, wait a moment. I shouldn’t call her Baroness Aylan anymore, should I?”
“That’s right. Then… should we call her the Young Duchess Mayous?”
A few days ago, she reappeared amidst a storm of rumors: the claim that she was carrying the child of the Young Duke Mayous. The problem was that the Young Duke Mayous had been missing for years.
Nevertheless, it was an announcement officially made by the Mayous Ducal Mansion. It meant that Judith was carrying the clear bloodline of Mayous; even with the groom absent, they recognized Judith as their daughter-in-law.
“Shall we go and ask? Just where she met the Young Duke Mayous and how she seduced him….”
“Is it really the Mayous bloodline? No, the Young Duke has been missing for five years now.”
“But I heard the Duke Mayous himself verified the direct lineage aura.”
“Could it be a scam? She suddenly claims to be pregnant with the Young Duke’s child, yet he hasn’t appeared. Honestly, even though the Mayous family announced it, it’s not very trustworthy….”
“I’m curious, but I can’t ask. Last time I asked to borrow money, she just ignored me….”
That was when.
“Everyone.”
A voice like frost hammered down.
“Why is there so much talk about my daughter-in-law?”
The whispers died instantly.
“Who dares to speak ill of my daughter-in-law, whom the Mayous family has acknowledged?”
The person pushing through the crowd was none other than Duchess Mayous. She was an iron-willed woman, famous for her love of luxury and her volatile temper. The noblewoman, with her platinum blonde hair pinned up, was strikingly beautiful, but her expression dripped with ice.
The Mayous Ducal House was a family with a long, deep history, capable of toppling even the birds flying in the empire. While notorious for clashing with the Imperial Family, they were a power that even the throne could not handle lightly. Duke Mayous was famous for having no blood or tears, and Duchess Mayous boasted a similarly eccentric personality. Ever since their eldest son went missing five years ago, their nerves had frayed even further.
“I suppose you find the Mayous family a laughingstock.”
Duchess Mayous snapped her fan open and glared.
“Since you dare to look down on my daughter-in-law who carries the blood of Mayous.”
At the cold voice, everyone fell silent. One thing was certain: Duchess Mayous was fond of this girl, who had once been no different from a beggar, simply because she carried the blood of her missing son. And she was clearly not taking care of her half-heartedly, given that she had brought Judith—once wearing rags—perfectly dressed from head to toe.
“Let’s go, my dear.”
Duchess Mayous walked slowly and approached Judith.
“The Duke will be waiting. We don’t have time to mingle with such trivial people. The baby in your womb must want to rest now, too.”
Judith smiled shyly and stood beside the Duchess. She even stroked her belly, which remained completely flat, perhaps due to the early stage of pregnancy.
***
Inside the carriage returning to the Mayous Ducal Mansion.
“The rumors in high society must be set in stone now,” Isabella Mayous said haughtily, her arms crossed. “That you are carrying Ekian’s child. And that we ourselves discerned and verified the Mayous aura.”
“Ah, yes.”
Judith, the culprit of the fake pregnancy, sat straight and offered a thin smile.
“I suppose so. Now, they won’t be able to proceed with reporting the Young Duke’s death. Because I’ve shown myself.”
The Mayous couple were accomplices in this fraud. In terms of their relationship, they were more like employers than parents-in-law to Judith.
“Hmph.”
Isabella let out a snort and scanned Judith coldly from head to toe. Judith, watching her reaction, said tactfully:
“I’ve used them with great care. I’ll return the jewelry and the dresses to the mansion immediately….”
“Are you out of your mind!”
Isabella interrupted, shouting, “What do you take the Mayous family for? Do you think we’d take those back? They look quite good on you—just keep them!”
“Pardon?”
“Even if it is a contract, you are my daughter-in-law. Do you think we can’t even afford that much for you?”
Isabella acted pettishly, feigning anger. “I see that pale colors suit you very well! Go and get another one made tomorrow, something similar! Do you hear me?”
“Ah… yes, yes.”
“Even if it’s a fake pregnancy, you’re too thin! We’ll prepare a midnight snack as soon as we get to the mansion!”
Noticing the hidden kindness in Isabella’s words, Judith smiled brightly and nodded. She had suffered so much under the weight of debt. Now, she was living in such luxury that those hardships felt as if they were already fading. This was all thanks to the strange ploy she had pulled by utilizing the original story after suddenly remembering her past life.
*A fake contract daughter-in-law for a villainous family—this is actually quite good!*
She planned to hold out for a few months and then announce a miscarriage, followed by a divorce. In any case, according to the original story, her husband, Ekian Mayous, would never return.
*It’s a temporary job, but let’s enjoy these few months. Everyone is nice, after all.*
Everything was going exactly according to Judith’s plans.
At least, that was the case until she returned from the banquet and arrived in front of the mansion with Isabella.
“You’re home late.”
Judith and Isabella, who were stepping off the carriage, froze. A languid yet low voice sliced through the hot summer night air like a lightning bolt.
“It’s been a while, Mother.”
With the pitch-black night behind him, a gracefully handsome young man smiled deeply at them.
“E, E, Ekian?”
Isabella’s eyes widened as she faced her eldest son, who had appeared for the first time in five years.
“Ekian, you….”
The cool, statue-like man smiled slightly at Isabella, who could not finish her sentence. Then, the man’s intense gaze shifted toward Judith.
“And this is….”
Judith was just as panic-stricken. Ekian Mayous—her husband on paper, a man whose face she had never even seen. According to the original story, he was a man who would never return, even if a wife appeared claiming to be pregnant with his child. His red eyes scanned her—standing there with her mouth slightly agape—as if licking her.
“I suppose it is my wife.”
In the silence, he added, slowly crossing his arms.
“The one who is pregnant with my child.”