I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 127

But a temporary structure was still erected over the speech platform.

It looked like it could be dismantled easily, so everyone assumed it would be cleared before the Grand Duke arrived.

There were even workers walking around nearby with tools, apparently ready to dismantle it.

So naturally, they thought the Grand Duke would show up only after the temporary building had been removed.

“Why should I believe you?”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

A low, composed voice from inside the temporary building continued, “Isn’t she your biological daughter?”

This wasn’t a speech. It was a conversation!

The Grand Duke was definitely speaking inside that structure without knowing what was going on.

Who was she, and what was this about a biological daughter…? Then a woman’s voice responded to the Grand Duke’s question.

“But I can’t say that child and I are mother and daughter. I left her when she was seventeen, knowing full well the loan debt would fall entirely on her.”

If nothing else, she was clearly a cruel and cold-hearted woman.

She abandoned her seventeen-year-old daughter to take on all her debt and ran away? Everyone began murmuring and whispering to each other.

“What? Isn’t that voice the same woman who tried to get into the Grand Duke’s manor the other day, saying she was looking for her daughter?”

“Yeah, I think it is!”

One thing was clear—this conversation was far more entertaining than any of the old lord’s speeches.

People leaned in with interest. As silence spread across the wide plaza, the conversation grew louder and clearer for everyone to hear.

***

When she saw the Grand Duke arrive at the Grey Information Guild, Elizabeth inwardly gasped.

‘I knew it, I was right!’

It was the same man who had come to her before.

Jet-black hair, dark red eyes, a gloomy and chilling aura. That cold, icy gaze was exactly how she remembered.

“So.”

He had just returned from annihilating the barbarians, and the murderous aura still clung to him.

“Let’s hear why you wanted to meet me. I should mention—I absolutely hate wasting time.”

“Of course.”

Elizabeth quickly launched into her explanation.

Wouldn’t meeting the new Grand Duchess be a bit awkward with his ex-wife still around? She had raised that girl, Judith, and she could say for certain—Judith would cause trouble. She’d never quietly let her ex-husband live happily. Even His Majesty the Emperor had wanted to deal with Judith first out of concern for the Grand Duke. There were reasons for that…

So wouldn’t it be better to get rid of that girl—for the sake of the new Grand Duchess and the child that would be born? And as her birth mother, she offered to take care of it.

The Grand Duke silently stared at her with an unreadable expression.

His gaze was so distant and cold it sent chills down her spine and made her swallow dryly.

But the fact that she had even made it to this meeting felt like a success.

Otherwise, why would a busy Grand Duke be sitting in front of her?

“Shall we move to another room? These chairs are uncomfortable. And for security reasons, let’s not say Judith’s name again.”

The Grand Duke didn’t respond but said that flatly, and Elizabeth nodded, thinking how even a chair like this was unsuitable for someone of his status.

They followed a staff member from the guild to a deeper room.

The hallways were long and winding, making it hard for Elizabeth to grasp the layout.

Soon, they arrived at a rather cluttered room at the end. Just as she was thinking it felt strangely open, the Grand Duke suddenly asked, “Why should I believe you? Isn’t she your biological daughter?”

She had expected that much. Elizabeth quickly replied. The only thing on her mind was proving that she and Judith were not on the same side.

“But I can’t say that child and I are mother and daughter. I left her when she was seventeen, knowing full well the loan debt would fall entirely on her.”

The Grand Duke remained expressionless.

Growing anxious, Elizabeth hurried to speak again.

Now that he had realized Judith wasn’t the new Grand Duchess, there was no longer any need to pretend to be a remorseful mother.

“If I had even a shred of maternal affection left for that girl, do you think I would have come all the way here to say such things to Your Grace? Honestly, the only reason I paid off the debt and became free was because it was disgust—”

She was about to say “disgusting” when the Grand Duke suddenly cut her off.

“Enough.”

The Grand Duke’s gaze was sharp as he looked at her. Overwhelmed by that single word, Elizabeth shut her mouth. The Grand Duke spoke coldly.

“I don’t want to hear any more.”

Just then—

With a crash, the temporary wall behind Elizabeth collapsed.

Elizabeth screamed involuntarily and fell clumsily.

“Ah… ah…”

She couldn’t believe what she saw behind her now that the wall was gone.

In what appeared to be a slightly lower plaza, the people of the territory were packed tightly.

The wall had blocked the view, so she hadn’t realized it, but this place looked just like a stage.

Countless eyes were fixed on Elizabeth.

“Th-this is…”

Elizabeth stammered, then flinched and fell silent. Incredibly, her voice was being amplified and echoed across the plaza.

That meant… everyone had heard her conversation with the Grand Duke?

At that moment, one of the guild staff approached and helped Elizabeth up.

“Please leave. His Grace the Grand Duke no longer wishes to speak with you.”

“W-what?”

Coming back to her senses and looking ahead again, she realized the Grand Duke was already gone.

The guild staff grabbed her arm and led her out.

“Ah, and one last piece of information for you. Consider it a complimentary service.”

Still dazed and unable to grasp the situation, Elizabeth looked around blankly as he whispered into her ear.

“Aren’t you curious about the real name of the ‘Miss Yuth’ residing in the Grand Duke’s manor?”

Elizabeth couldn’t understand what was happening.

She was being dragged along without even answering when he whispered again.

“Judith Ailan.”

At those words, Elizabeth’s eyes widened.

Her mind began racing at once.

“Judith Mayus is not inside the Grand Duke’s manor.”

That’s what they had said.

So the surname was different!

Indeed, Judith had reverted to her Ailan surname after the divorce.

“We didn’t say anything false, did we?”

The man grinned.

“We clearly told you exactly whose mother you were.”

Elizabeth felt like she might faint.

“Of course. You’re Judith Ailan’s mother. Naturally, he’d want to meet you.”

As she stood there stunned with wide eyes, she saw the Grand Duke leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Don’t try anything foolish. Get out.”

His red eyes stared directly at her.

“You won’t be allowed to remain in my territory anyway.”

Only then did Elizabeth realize that everything had been planned by this man.

He had clearly known her intentions from the beginning.

Now, even if she threw a fit, crying and begging to Judith, she wouldn’t be branded a ‘heartless daughter who cast aside her mother’ by the people.

Because she herself had loudly declared, ‘That child and I can’t be considered mother and daughter.’

“You should thank Judith. It’s only because you’re her birth mother that I’ve made this matter so complicated.”

The Grand Duke added bluntly, “It would have been much easier for me to simply make you disappear.”

His tone wasn’t threatening—it was calm, and that made it all the more chilling.

“Th-then… y-you mean everyone out there heard… all of that…?”

“Only the part of the conversation after we moved rooms.”

The Grand Duke answered, arms still crossed.

“That’s Judith’s deepest wound. There’s no reason to broadcast it everywhere. She’ll hear the rumors eventually anyway.”

Only then did Elizabeth understand why they had changed rooms, why he had silenced her when she was about to say something worse.

He had even stopped her from mentioning Judith’s full name when they moved.

The Grand Duke had carefully arranged things so she would only say, ‘I abandoned Judith with debt and have no affection for her.’

How much… how deeply must he love her, to be this cautious?

How much must he want to keep even a single scar from touching Judith’s life…

“There’s no need to reveal now that you’re Judith’s mother. You’re smart enough to understand that much, I assume.”