I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 128

Even if that truth were revealed, there was nothing to be gained.

She would only be further scorned and incur the Grand Duke’s wrath.

The Grand Duke was insisting that she was entirely unrelated to Judith and urging her to leave the territory.

“Now then, let’s go.”

The guild agent tactfully dragged Elizabeth out. She nearly stumbled down the stairs, and at the guild entrance, he opened the door and pushed her out.

“It was a good transaction.”

Bang—the door shut behind her.

Elizabeth collapsed on the roadside in a daze. Her vision went dark, and she could see nothing for a moment.

Only after a while did she realize a crowd of spectators had gathered in front of her.

Expecting that she would exit through the Grey Information Guild’s front door, curious onlookers had gathered on the street.

“Oh dear, what’s going on here?”

“That’s the woman, right? The voice was unmistakable!”

Elizabeth slowly pushed herself up.

No matter what, she wasn’t someone to be laughed at in a place like this.

She had a child she cherished more than her own life, a husband she had loved for many years, and a trinket shop that still made enough to live on.

She would have to give up on returning to noble life, but she wasn’t alone. Ron had failed and returned empty-handed anyway.

She was just about to curse and leave the territory to go back home when—

“Hey, stop right there.”

“Hold on.”

Two large, burly men blocked Elizabeth’s path. Only then did she realize what she had forgotten in her panic.

“Our rookie made a bit of a mistake. We’d like you to return the 70 million gold immediately.”

“We don’t lend that kind of money to a woman with nothing. We’re here to collect. Don’t tell us you’ve already spent it?”

***

Ron’s jaw dropped.

After arriving in Arten, he’d been dragged around nonstop by a mysterious man while carrying Petro.

He had heard all of Elizabeth’s words in the plaza and was now being pulled toward the Grey Information Guild’s front entrance.

He thought to himself, It’s over.

Elizabeth was finished. Her plans had all been seen through by the Grand Duke, and there was no angle left to exploit.

But the real problem came when they reached the Grey Information Guild.

Two loan sharks approached Elizabeth with menacing expressions the moment she stepped outside.

‘Th-then… that woman, who took on that ridiculous debt…!’

He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Seventy million gold!

Even if they poured their entire lives into repaying it, it was uncertain whether they could pay it off before old age.

That enormous debt… that terrifying debt collector… and the person who owed it was his wife?

‘No, wait.’

Ron blinked and thought.

‘Officially… she’s not my wife.’

Near the capital, records were properly managed, but in rural towns, most commoners didn’t even register marriages.

Ron and Elizabeth had never officially registered their marriage either.

Everyone just referred to her as ‘Elizabeth Dale,’ but her official records still said Elizabeth Ailan, her noble name.

And even if she were his wife…

Loan sharks were satisfied with just catching one person. They wouldn’t go chasing the rest of the family. That was how Ron and Elizabeth had survived by offering Judith as collateral.

“Waaahhh!”

Just then, Petro spotted his mother and started squirming and crying.

Elizabeth turned with startled eyes.

“Petro!”

Her expression clearly asked, Why are you two here?

Ron quickly covered Petro’s mouth and turned to run.

‘Right, your mom wouldn’t want you growing up as a loan shark’s son either.’

As he sprinted away, he rationalized it in his head.

‘It’s not because I’m scared of sharing the debt—this is all for Petro’s sake!’

He ran like mad, then hitched a ride on any wagon leaving the territory.

There was no longer any need to return to Garceia. He just needed to flee somewhere Elizabeth and the loan sharks could never find him.

***

She really was a detestable woman, right to the very end.

Ekian remained in the Grey Information Guild building, looking out the window with a complicated expression.

It had been his instruction to bring Ron and the boy to Arten.

It was also his idea to set the amount at 70 million gold—a deliberately ambiguous figure. It was similar to the amount seventeen-year-old Judith had once been burdened with.

If the two of them had worked hard together, they could have paid it off by old age. If Ron had truly loved Elizabeth, he wouldn’t have run.

But Ron had fled—right in front of Elizabeth.

It was bound to make her suffer even more.

‘They really are a disgusting couple, to the very end.’

Now Elizabeth would quietly leave the territory. Then the loan sharks would likely take her away.

But just then, Ekian’s eyes widened as he stared silently out the window.

The one person he hadn’t expected.

The woman he had missed every single day.

The one he had been so afraid of hurting, to the point of restlessness…

was standing right in front of the Grey Information Guild.

***

“Oh my, really… she even went into debt?”

“She went into debt just to meet His Grace the Grand Duke.”

People were murmuring and gathering in front of the Grey Information Guild.

Among them stood a young woman in a maid uniform, her cap pulled low over her face, standing vacantly.

It was Judith.

“Do you know the name of that information guild?”

“The Grey Information Guild!”

From the moment Anne had brightly said those words, Judith had made up her mind to leave the Grand Duke’s manor.

She had to know what was happening out there.

If Elizabeth was threatening Ekian for money, Judith planned to nullify everything and leave. She didn’t want to become a burden to anyone—least of all to Ekian.

If she gave up everything, Elizabeth would leave her alone.

Just like when she was seventeen. That’s why Judith had decided to leave everything behind and quietly raise her child.

“Anne, it’s time. I need to go. Can you help me?”

“Of course.”

Because she had behaved so obediently all this time, there had been no surveillance on her at the Grand Duke’s manor.

It didn’t seem like Ekian had posted anyone to watch her, either. He had probably just given firm instructions not to allow her outside.

But since she had never once expressed a desire to go out, the guards had grown lax.

Moreover, the staff at the Grand Duke’s manor were still adjusting to one another.

There was a clear divide between the original staff and those Ekian had brought from the capital—they weren’t fully integrated yet.

“I need to see for myself what’s happening.”

“I’ll help you!”

Her loyal student Anne immediately pulled out a wig from her bag.

She added the maid cap she had once filched from the laundry room, wore glasses she hadn’t touched since arriving at the manor, and layered an apron over a plain dress.

She even stuck on a bunch of freckle stickers, currently trendy among the children, and carried an armful of baguettes Anne had brought—transforming herself into an unrecognizable maid.

“Let’s go, quickly! Everyone at the Grand Duke’s manor is busy preparing to welcome His Grace right now!”

And so, Judith escaped the manor through the side gate used by outside merchants.

She, too followed the crowd to the plaza and overheard Elizabeth’s words. Blending in with the people, she headed toward the Grey Information Guild’s front entrance.

It felt like a dream.

Only now was Judith beginning to understand the setup Ekian had prepared for her.

The reason her name hadn’t come up during their conversation.

The reason Ekian had interrupted Elizabeth when she got too worked up.

‘And the reason he kept me inside the Grand Duke’s manor, shielding me from being named.’

He had planned everything to minimize harm to Judith and to ensure Elizabeth could never reenter her life.

‘Was that why he left the territory… to arrange all of this?’