I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 125

“If that woman isn’t Judith Mayus, we can also tell you where she is.”

That meant she could find out Judith’s whereabouts one way or another.

If it turned out Judith was at the Grand Duke’s manor, she could go there, weep, and say, “I missed you so much.”

A woman who had just become the Grand Duchess wouldn’t be able to coldly reject her birth mother in front of the residents.

But if Judith was somewhere else… she could negotiate with the Grand Duke and have her killed.

The amount the Grey Information Guild demanded was enormous, but to the Grand Duke, it was nothing.

Whatever the outcome, as long as she clung to the Grand Duke, she could repay it many times over.

“We don’t sell false information. We sign a contract and swear: if we provide incorrect information, we pay five times the penalty.”

Five times the penalty! That meant Elizabeth had nothing to lose.

So she borrowed money from a loan shark in a nearby city and returned to the Grey Information Guild. When she came back to Arten, the entire territory was lively. Word had spread that the Grand Duke had defeated the barbarians and was returning.

The whole territory was brimming with anticipation for their new lord.

In such an atmosphere, the Grand Duke would want to avoid any kind of scandal.

“Here it is.”

Elizabeth slapped the check down at the Grey Information Guild she had returned to.

Then she asked triumphantly, “Now, answer my question.”

***

It was the day Ekian was set to arrive. The Grand Duke’s manor, and the entire territory, were buzzing.

In the midst of it all, Judith sat in restless thought.

It was difficult to grasp Elizabeth’s intentions. Why had she come here? According to Anne, she was alone—why?

Judith had asked Anne to find out what Elizabeth was asking for. Anne had responded, “She wants to know about Miss Yuth in the Grand Duke’s manor.”

That made it even more confusing.

‘No way.’

Judith narrowed her eyes at the suspicion flashing through her mind.

‘No way… no way. If she’s still human… surely not.’

She had no intention of accepting the position of Grand Duchess so easily, but if she did become one?

‘Don’t tell me she’s trying to get money out of it?’

What frustrated Judith was that she didn’t know her mother well enough to even determine whether she was that kind of person.

‘Please.’

Judith trembled as she thought.

‘Please don’t be the worst kind of human…’

But there had to be a reason Ekian kept Elizabeth away from her and kept Judith hidden.

‘Maybe Ekian is just trying to reduce anything that might shock me while I’m pregnant?’

If Elizabeth asked for money… was he just planning to quietly pay her off and send her away?

But someone who asks once will ask forever.

These kinds of things, once permitted, would last a lifetime.

She closed her eyes and imagined herself and Ekian in their fifties.

‘Ekian, what are you doing right now?’

‘Ah, your mother… I’ve actually been sending her money all this time.’

‘W-what? Since when?’

‘About thirty years ago?’

‘You gave it to her?’

‘It’s better than having her clinging to you. We had enough money, so it was fine.’

‘And until when are you planning to keep giving it? Huh?’

‘…For life?’

It would be a problem whether she lived with Ekian or not!

If Elizabeth tormented Ekian that way, Judith truly had no intention of marrying him.

If it came to that, just the existence of her mother would make her unworthy of marrying anyone.

‘Is that why Ekian won’t let me meet her?’

If so, she couldn’t keep pretending not to know.

That’s why she had already spoken with Anne.

“Anne, I want to secretly leave the manor. Is there a way to sneak out without anyone noticing, maybe using a hidden route the staff don’t know about?”

“I’ll find out! I think my dad once said there’s a back alleyway merchants use to deliver goods!”

Fortunately, Judith wasn’t being monitored.

It was because she had remained so docile, holed up in the Grand Duke’s manor, never showing any signs of wanting to go out. And they must have thought that making surveillance too obvious would only make her uncomfortable.

‘But if I said I wanted to go out, they’d probably stop me. With every excuse in the book.’

Judith habitually stroked her belly once.

If she were to do nothing despite knowing something was happening just because she was pregnant, the child inside her wouldn’t like that either.

‘I’m just going to find out what’s going on. Only then can I respond properly.’

It was at that moment, just as she let out a sigh—

“Teacher! Teacherrrr!”

Anne, the precious girl who served as her eyes and ears, came bursting into her room.

By now, even the staff of the Grand Duke’s manor simply assumed, ‘She must have a question,’ and let Anne through without suspicion.

“I have super urgent, seriously huge news!”

***

Ron was boarding the carriage, holding Petro, trembling with anxiety.

‘What is going on? What the hell is this…’

The carriage was large and luxurious, and it moved fast. Ron had never ridden anything like it even when working at a baron’s mansion.

“I told you not to worry.”

The man who brought him chuckled mischievously.

The carriage was so spacious that the man sat inside with them, keeping a constant eye on Ron and Petro.

“You just do what you’re told. We won’t force you into anything—truly, absolutely nothing.”

That only made Ron more afraid, but he had no choice but to believe him.

“By the way, do you mind if someone else joins us?”

“…Pardon?”

“There’s someone else headed to Arten. The carriage is plenty big, so a few more won’t be a problem.”

“Oh… yes, okay…”

Not that he had any say in the matter.

Ron just stroked sleeping Petro’s hair and darted his eyes around nervously.

Sure enough, in a nearby city close to Arten, two burly men joined the carriage.

“Haha, perfect timing.”

“Right? Nailed it. Let’s hurry to Arten.”

They were clearly men who did rough work.

The moment they stepped into the carriage, the roomy interior felt cramped. Crossing their arms, they grumbled non-stop.

“Seriously, our rookie lent out way too much money. Gotta double-check things.”

“Seventy million gold? She didn’t seem like she had any talent, but somehow, just from her words, he handed her all that cash? We need to chase her down and get it back immediately.”

Listening in, it became clear—they were loan sharks.

Apparently, some clueless rookie had recently lent a ridiculous amount to a woman in Arten, and now they were headed there to collect.

‘Seventy million gold? Whoever she is, she’s insane. Borrowing that much in one go? What the hell is she planning…’

Ron couldn’t imagine paying off seventy million gold even if he worked every day of his life.

So he understood why these thugs were on their way to collect the moment they realized the mistake.

‘Hopefully, she hasn’t spent it all yet.’

Ron glanced nervously at the loan sharks’ faces.

‘If she has, her life is over.’

They would slap interest on that debt and squeeze her dry for the rest of her life.

‘Then again… maybe she’ll miraculously land on her feet? Like Judith, who managed to snag a man and get pregnant.’

A few years ago, when they dumped Judith on the loan sharks, Ron had truly believed her life was over.

He and Elizabeth had genuinely thought so.

Still, they were relieved they had at least left her behind.

As long as they could keep track of one person, the loan sharks wouldn’t care much about the rest of the family cutting ties or disappearing.

That’s why Elizabeth and Ron had been hiding in a remote countryside village ever since.

And the loan sharks had never come looking.

But somehow, Judith had survived and pulled through that situation.

Which only went to show—there’s no telling how life will turn out.