I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 114

When Ron shouted, the child cried even louder.

Lately, her husband had often been away from the store and frequently wandered outside. It seemed he kept visiting some big city, and in the meantime, Elizabeth had to care for both the shop and the child, which left her completely exhausted.

“What gives you the right to raise your voice at the baby?”

Elizabeth snapped, her eyes blazing with fury.

“What kind of manners is it to keep going out without saying a word? Where have you even been?”

No matter how much more she loved the son she had with Ron, raising a child without a nanny—unlike when she raised Judith—was undeniably difficult.

So Elizabeth’s words were bound to come out sharp.

To make matters worse, a few days ago, people from the Crown Prince came and interrogated them.

They hadn’t even given a proper explanation. They simply listened to everything that had happened to Ron and Elizabeth, looked at them like they were filth, and left.

In truth, the only reason Alteion’s men didn’t go further was because Ron and Elizabeth were still Judith’s family.

With Judith now missing, they couldn’t recklessly touch her birth mother and half-brother without knowing her wishes.

However, having sensed that they meant nothing to Judith, the visitors didn’t bother to share any information about the situation.

Thus, to Ron and Elizabeth—who knew nothing—everything felt stifling.

Elizabeth only learned of Ron’s solo actions after the Crown Prince’s people interrogated them.

She had thrown a fit, shouting, “That man said just wait one month!” But Ron didn’t even pretend to listen.

He simply snapped back, “So we’re just going to throw away our chance to become nobles?”

“Get a grip. Didn’t you see the Crown Prince’s people interrogate us? It’s over. Give it up.”

At Elizabeth’s words, Ron glared and shouted, “I’m not giving up. How can I just give up like this?”

“Then what else can we do?”

“We have to know what’s going on! The imperial family is clearly involved!”

“So where have you been going, exactly?”

Ron spat his answer, “The capital. Trying to find something out.”

Then he snorted and added, “Oh, and about your daughter. She ended up divorced.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “What? Divorced? Judith got divorced?”

“Rumors are all over the capital. She lost the baby, and the two of them divorced.”

Ron shrugged and continued, “And that’s not all. Ekian Mayus received the imperial surname from the Crown Prince and became a Grand Duke. Turns out he was the Emperor’s son.”

News didn’t spread well to remote territories like theirs, so this was the first Elizabeth had heard of it.

“The Emperor went missing in the Arten territory, and so Ekian Mayus, now a Grand Duke, went there to search for him.”

Of course, Ron was still a commoner.

He hadn’t heard this from an official source, just pieced it together from scattered rumors in the capital. So there were a few inconsistencies in the timeline.

“Guess he really didn’t want to marry Judith. Let’s be honest—someone like her can’t be a Grand Duchess. The wife of a Young Duke and a member of the imperial family are on completely different levels.”

At those words, Elizabeth fell into deep thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up with a determined face.

“Ron, we have to go to Arten immediately.”

Elizabeth’s mind was racing.

“I think I know who the man was that came looking for me. And how he could use an imperial magical device. He was the Grand Duke!”

She was no longer paying attention to Petro, who was wailing uncontrollably.

“The Grand Duke had his eye on the throne, but he was worried Judith would cause a scandal. That’s why he told us to wait one month—until she left the Mayus family and the divorce was finalized!”

“W-wait, Elizabeth, what are you talking about?”

“But they’re already divorced, aren’t they? That means the man has no reason to keep watching us! And Judith’s ties to the Mayus family are over, too, right?”

Elizabeth’s eyes gleamed with glistening hope.

“But the promise with His Majesty the Emperor still stands. Since it’s come to this, let’s go straight to the Grand Duke and get his permission to act again.”

Seeing Elizabeth’s confident face, Ron’s expression also brightened.

The title of lord for his son, which he had found impossible to give up, once again seemed within reach.

“B-but… will Judith just back down like this? She once succeeded in seducing the Young Duke. What if she tries the same tactic again?”

“That’s why we need to go check the situation first! Even if that’s the case, it’s not necessarily bad for us. There’s definitely room for us to make use of it.”

Elizabeth explained with enthusiasm.

“And besides, I know Judith’s weaknesses better than you do, don’t I? Honestly, dragging in Baroness Olten like that was too sloppy.”

Elizabeth continued smugly, “The truth is, what she’s really weak against is…”

Her green eyes curved slowly.

“It’s me.”

Her voice turned grim.

“If it’s to be loved by me, Judith would do anything. She was so afraid of hearing a single harsh word from me that she couldn’t even speak when I ran away and abandoned her.”

***

Ekian’s insides began to burn.

He had killed his presence and followed the children, waiting at the school gate. When Hud came out on his bicycle, he followed him again.

At first, he was torn.

Half of him hoped that following Hud would lead him to Judith. The other half hoped she wouldn’t be there, no matter how far he followed.

But after hearing Hud talk with the townspeople, his heart tilted completely in one direction.

“Oh dear, you look so lonely walking alone! Be sure to come back with Miss Yuth next time!”

“You two are always together, right? Is Miss Yuth not feeling well today? Send her our regards. Tell her we’re worried.”

A woman named Yuth, said to live with Hud and always be by his side.

It wasn’t the name Judith, but the odds she was using an alias were obviously high.

“Taking walks together, buying things like this—that’s happiness. Right? That’s the kind of life young couples should have. When you’re living like that, who cares about lords or kings, right?”

That was the life Ekian had dreamed of.

It was what he had thought about the entire way here.

That he wanted to live like that with Judith. That such a life seemed more valuable than this glittering title of Grand Duke.

But to think Hud and Judith were already living that life?

Just imagining it made him sick to his stomach. His mouth went dry, his frayed nerves—already on edge from sleepless nights—stretched thinner.

A splitting headache came on, and his heart pounded with anxiety.

‘Please.’

Ekian took a breath, thinking,

‘Please, let it not be true. Please…’

They even seemed to be living under the same roof. If they were spending every day together, returning home at the same time, sharing meals…

And Judith was pregnant.

No matter how uninterested she’d once been in Hud, if he’d stayed by her side, always looking after her in her most vulnerable state, it wasn’t impossible she could’ve grown feelings.

Concealing his presence, Ekian continued trailing Hud’s bicycle.

Hud pedaled hard, then stopped in front of a flower shop.

“Excuse me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Hud spoke to the flower shop girl.

“These roses are beautiful. How much are they?”

“Is it a gift for Miss Yuth? Good thinking!”

The florist smiled brightly, clearly recognizing them.

As she wrapped the flowers, she tilted her head. “But what’s with that expression? You look kind of sour.”

“No, it’s just… the back of my neck feels prickly. I have a bad feeling for some reason.”