I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 129

Realizing that, Judith caught her breath.

Ekian was the one who hadn’t hesitated to go and kill the Emperor.

And yet, he had gone to such lengths just to deal with someone like Elizabeth. No doubt, even when facing the Emperor, he hadn’t taken this many calculated steps or done his utmost this thoroughly.

And it was all for Judith.

“Waaahhh!”

Just then,

A child within the crowd began to cry.

Startled, Elizabeth suddenly shouted loudly, “Petro!”

Judith, mingled with the crowd, looked on.

Ron was holding a little boy with light brown hair.

It was immediately clear that the child was his and Elizabeth’s.

Ron, holding the boy, quickly turned and disappeared from view.

It must have been because of the debt the loan sharks were shouting about.

This, too, must have been part of Ekian’s plan.

Elizabeth gasped and caught her breath.

Judith stood rooted in place, staring straight at Elizabeth.

She had never once thought she had overcome that woman. In truth, she had always been terrified of seeing her again.

She was afraid of hearing Elizabeth say, ‘I never loved you. You were always a burden of a daughter to me.’ So afraid, in fact, that she hadn’t even been able to grab her mother’s sleeve when she walked away.

But as an adult, something even scarier had formed.

If they met again… she might act the same way she had before—wanting love so desperately that she did whatever her mother wanted. Maybe it was because she didn’t trust herself that she’d decided to leave everything behind.

After Elizabeth left her, Judith had lived wisely and steadfastly.

But if she returned, Judith feared she’d become that helpless daughter again who obeyed everything her mother said.

“Petrooooo! Rooooon!”

But now, seeing Elizabeth struggling and flailing as the loan sharks dragged her away—

In that moment when her past was playing out again right before her eyes—

Judith, as if it were a lie, overcame her old fears.

She had feared this moment so much, had dreaded and imagined it over and over.

And yet, surprisingly, she felt nothing. Only the emotions of her past self resurfaced, making her all the more clear-headed.

Unconsciously, she placed a hand on her belly.

Because she fully understood that everything unfolding now was out of the care and love of one man who had tried so hard to protect her.

A man who had everything had gone to all this trouble, mobilizing so many people—just to avoid hurting her.

“Teacher?”

Anne blinked beside her, still too innocent to guess what was going on.

Judith smiled gently and patted Anne’s head.

“Just a moment, Anne. I need to go to His Grace now.”

“You’re going inside?”

Anne blinked and asked again, “Is that why you came? To go see the Grand Duke?”

“Yes. Thank you for everything. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.”

Judith took off the maid’s cap and wig and handed them back to Anne.

Her short red hair, which had been pinned up beneath the wig, fell into view.

She removed the apron and glasses and peeled off the freckle stickers.

“See you later.”

Judith waved once more to Anne, then stepped through the crowd and headed for the front entrance of the Grey Information Guild.

“Oh? Miss Yuth?”

“Oh my, isn’t that Miss Yuth?”

The townspeople recognized her.

Judith smiled faintly and greeted them, walking slowly. Even Elizabeth, who had been thrashing wildly, looked back at her.

“…Oh? Oh?”

Their eyes met. But Judith only glanced briefly.

Her expression was indifferent, completely unaffected.

Their eye contact lasted no longer than a moment.

Judith turned her head away.

Just like Elizabeth had, three years ago, when she couldn’t bear to meet the gaze of her seventeen-year-old daughter.

At that moment, the door of the Grey Information Guild burst open.

Ekian appeared, rushing down the stairs, slightly out of breath, eyes wide with surprise.

“Ekian.”

Judith looked at him calmly with a smile.

“Let’s go inside. We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

Elizabeth stood, feet nailed to the spot, watching her back.

Ekian looked at her in a daze and blurted out a somewhat foolish remark.

“The… stairs are steep.”

As if, even in this chaos, the only thing he cared about was her next step.

Even after everything that had happened, that tiny detail seemed to be the most important thing in the world.

“Watch your step.”

He looked down at Judith’s feet with worried eyes, then hastily reached out his hand.

His expression, terrified that she might trip, made the cold voice that had echoed through the plaza earlier seem like a lie.

He didn’t even appear to notice the townspeople curiously peering at them.

Watching him like that, Judith truly felt that she no longer needed the vague yearning for maternal love.

Without the slightest hesitation and never once looking back, she took Ekian’s hand.

And until the door behind her closed with a thud, she never once glanced at Elizabeth.

She treated her like a stranger. Yet her face seemed relieved, as if finally free of any entanglement.

Just like Elizabeth, who had walked away without turning back to look at seventeen-year-old Judith—left behind in despair and surrounded by debt collectors—while she clutched Ron’s hand and disappeared.

Judith left Elizabeth behind forever.

And she also left behind the little girl who had once been abandoned in that ruined baron’s estate.

***

“What happened?”

Ekian couldn’t hide the confusion on his face. As he held Judith’s hand and they climbed the stairs, Judith calmly replied with a question.

“Is it safe to answer?”

“What?”

“I was asking if what we say here will be heard out in the plaza.”

She spoke evenly and clearly.

“Because I think the residents of Arten have already had their fill of drama for the day. Any more might be too much.”

“Ah, don’t worry.”

Ekian gave a soft laugh.

“The range of the voice amplification was actually quite narrow, and all those makeshift rooms have already been dismantled. No one can hear us now.”

“That’s a relief.”

Judith shrugged her shoulders slightly as she slowly climbed the stairs.

“Then we can speak freely. Not everyone in the duchy needs to hear the scandal of our lives.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s a full-blown scandal. It’s not like we’ve committed any crimes.”

“I got pregnant by another man and divorced my ex-husband. Then my birth mother came to threaten said ex-husband, and the father of my child had to hide me away…”

“……”

“It becomes even more of a scandal because there’s only one man involved in the whole story.”

“You haven’t changed, Judith.”

At Judith’s concise summation, Ekian shook his head.

“There’s no one else who could leave me speechless like you do.”

Just then, the two reached the final step.

Even though there was no longer a need to hold her hand, Ekian didn’t let go. Instead, he gently guided her into the next room.

“This information guild may have been hastily set up just for this moment… but I do have a room. It’s soundproof. Come in.”

“Still not letting go of my hand?”

“Ah.”

Ekian gave a soft laugh and gripped her hand tighter.

“Forgive me, but I haven’t changed either.”

“Hm?”

“No matter the situation, once I’m touching you, I can’t seem to let go.”

In other words, he had no intention of releasing her hand. Using the stairs as an excuse, he had locked her hand in his, and she hadn’t slipped away.

As he led her into the spacious room, the door slid shut behind them.

Ekian smiled playfully as he continued, “Even knowing I shouldn’t, I kissed you. Even knowing I had lingering doubts… I couldn’t help myself.”

He glanced toward Judith’s belly with a slight smile.

“And that’s how things ended up like this.”