I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 108

Because Judith explained everything so kindly and gently, the elders came to like her very much.

The elders then went home and shared their experiences with their children, and the reputation of “the extremely clever niece of the foreign doctor” began to rise rapidly.

“Miss Yuth, but aren’t we bothering you?”

Anne, the first one to barge into her room, asked while cautiously watching her expression.

Since Castin called Judith “Yuth,” she naturally used that alias here.

“Hugely bothersome.”

Judith answered with a soft smile. And before Anne’s face could fall, she added, “So explaining things twice or three times is hard. Anne, you have to learn well from me and teach more kids. Got it? That means you should ask everything you’re curious about. If you don’t understand something, be sure to ask thoroughly.”

Everyone who had been listening smiled gently at her kind words. Bright, cheerful, and knowledgeable, Judith easily won the villagers’ favor. And once anyone spoke with her a few times, they liked her even more.

“Fighting the barbarians is important too, but inner growth matters just as much. The more you know and learn, the deeper your perspective on the world becomes.”

So she was chatting with the children as they headed toward the school.

“Oh?”

Judith stopped abruptly, startled to see a familiar face while walking down a hill path.

“…Hud?”

She had never imagined she would see Hud here.

Apparently, Hud was just as surprised, staring blankly at Judith.

Anne, glancing between the two, tilted her head and asked, “Miss Yuth, is that someone you know?”

Everyone held their breath at Anne’s question. Especially the elders trailing slowly behind Judith and the children wore determined expressions.

They even muttered among themselves, “Is that the father?” “Could it be that jerk?”

In truth, Judith had never once spoken about the child’s father here. But once people learned she was pregnant, they would sneak over and ask Castin.

“Um, Miss Yuth is pregnant, right? Who’s the father?”

“Ah.”

And kind-hearted Castin had answered honestly, just as she knew it.

“She came to the Empire to hear news about him.”

Upon hearing that sad story, everyone had sighed.

Just how much of a scumbag must he be to leave his pregnant wife without even sending a word!

The people of the territory, who had already grown fond of Judith, all stepped up offering to be the child’s godparent once it was born.

Anne’s father, in particular, had been very enthusiastic. He always felt sorry and grateful knowing his daughter pestered Judith daily.

“Miss Yuth, I don’t have much to offer, but I could at least be the child’s godfather. Anne would take care of them like her own sibling…”

At that, Anne had even sparkled with excitement and danced on her toes. Just the thought of being connected to her favorite teacher thrilled her.

But Judith had gently patted Anne’s head and declined politely.

“There’s already someone who promised to be the godparent. I’m sorry.”

In truth, there was no such person. Judith simply didn’t want anyone to be harmed if things went terribly wrong and she became the Emperor’s target again.

Anne had been deeply disappointed, but Judith believed she had made the right decision.

And then suddenly, an unfamiliar man whom Judith clearly knew appeared—naturally, everyone’s gaze turned sharp.

“Ah…”

Judith slowly nodded.

“Yes. A friend of mine.”

“A friend?”

“Yes. Um, an old colleague.”

In an instant, the tension vanished from everyone’s faces.

No matter how you looked at it, using such casual words for the long-lost father of her child was impossible unless she truly had no lingering feelings.

“Just call me Yuth. But what brings you here…?”

Judith, uncomfortable revealing her real name, blinked as she asked. Hud, who had been wearing a dazed expression, slowly responded.

“Uh, for medical volunteer work…”

“Ah.”

Judith finally understood the situation.

Hud was currently running a charitable clinic near the Soden Marquisate.

Though the Soden Marquisate was a considerable distance from here, it wasn’t all that far either.

If medical aid had been requested from foreign lands, then surely even the Soden Marquisate had heard the news.

“All the nearby territories are being audited right now. The lords are extremely busy. No one has the time to send out medical aid or anything like that.”

Hud scratched the back of his head.

“It weighed on my mind, and I found it all strange, so… I came to check it out. It reminded me of how hard it was to see a doctor when I was little.”

Since Hud wasn’t fulfilling any noble obligations at the moment, he wasn’t tied down by things like territorial audits.

Still, because of his parents, he was quick to get information. He must have known that the lords nearby couldn’t send support to Arten.

“I came for a similar reason. The person I’ve been staying with lately is a healer, so I tagged along as her assistant, thinking the situation might be urgent…”

Judith spoke cheerfully.

“But it seems you came by mistake. There are barely any patients here, and it’s not an emergency at all.”

Hud wore a bewildered expression. He looked rather lost, so Judith added brightly, “Still, since you came all this way, stay the night before heading back. It was quite a trip, wasn’t it?”

“Ah, maybe I will.”

Judith grinned. “Then, before that… You’ve got nothing to do, so help me out a bit. I’ve got too many students with questions. You went to the academy, so you know enough general studies, right?”

And just like that, Hud ended up heading to school with Judith.

***

Hud wasn’t a great teacher like Judith, who had a knack for explaining things well.

But he mumbled his way through things with sincerity, and the students were satisfied in their own way.

“Isn’t it ridiculous?”

During a short break, Judith smiled as she drank some water.

“They didn’t educate the kids because they didn’t want them getting ideas… Isn’t this lord just the worst?”

Judith’s appearance had changed quite a bit from what Hud remembered.

First of all, her hair was shorter. Her red hair, now bouncing above her shoulders, looked new. With her large glasses, she looked much younger.

She wore modest clothes with little decoration, the hem reaching down to mid-calf.

Having only ever seen Judith dressed in glamorous gowns at the ducal estate, seeing her in such plain, almost peasant-like clothes felt strange.

But more than anything…

‘Did she gain a bit of weight? Or are her clothes just loose?’

Hud tried not to look at Judith’s slightly rounded belly as he sat across from her and drank the water in front of him.

Still, one thing remained the same.

Judith had a natural talent for winning people over. She didn’t seem particularly outgoing, yet most of the people in this territory already genuinely liked her.

‘It was the same back then.’

A long time ago, when she was working as a visiting tutor in the capital, Hud had once been the one to deliver farewell letters to the students’ parents on her behalf.

Back then, too, everyone had liked Judith and wished her happiness. The people here had the same look in their eyes.

Bright, cheerful, intelligent—being around her simply made you feel good.