I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 159

What reason could there possibly be?

Ekian couldn’t make sense of the flow of this conversation at all.

Grabbing a passerby and telling them about Judith’s well-being… what kind of context was that supposed to be?

He stopped walking and narrowed his eyes behind his mask, and the landlady spoke, “Come on, you’re quite interested in Miss Judith, aren’t you?”

“…Pardon? What do you mean by that….”

“You were the one who noticed she was sick last time too, weren’t you?”

“Last time…?”

“When my husband and I went on a trip, and my younger brother took care of this place for a bit. Oh dear, if it hadn’t been for you back then, it would’ve been a disaster.”

Only then did Ekian start to understand what the landlady was talking about.

Two months ago, the couple who ran this boarding house had gone on a trip.

They had left the place in the care of the younger brother who lived far away.

At that time, just like now, Ekian had been out for a walk to buy an evening paper when he noticed that the light in Judith’s room was on.

That day was one when Judith had a full schedule of evening lessons.

Something felt off. Judith wasn’t the kind of person who would leave the light on and go out.

So Ekian immediately went into the boarding house and said this to the younger brother.

“There isn’t something wrong with Miss Judith, is there?”

“Something wrong? I don’t think she’s come out since noon today.”

“…Then wouldn’t it be better to check on her?”

The younger brother naturally refused.

“You’re telling me to check the room of a woman living alone? That’s ridiculous. Maybe she just left the light on and went out? Maybe her lessons were canceled… anyway, the light’s been on all afternoon, and she hasn’t gone out.”

But Ekian, seized by a bad feeling, spoke firmly, “Then that makes it even more certain something’s wrong. There’s no way all of her afternoon lessons were canceled. Today is a day she has lessons all afternoon.”

He insisted, “If she were sick and had canceled her lessons and collapsed, then given her personality, she would’ve turned off the light before lying down. It would be best to check just once.”

In the end, they went to Judith’s door and carefully knocked, calling out, ‘Excuse me, Miss Judith?’ again and again.

When no answer came, Ekian pressed his ear to the door and heard faint groaning. He immediately opened the door.

“Miss Judith? Miss Judith!”

Judith was collapsed on the floor, covered in cold sweat.

The landlady’s younger brother barely managed to carry her on his back and take her to a nearby clinic.

“It’s a nervous stomach cramp combined with low blood pressure.”

The doctor said as he poured medicine into her mouth while she lay unconscious.

“She’ll regain consciousness soon.”

Ekian stared at Judith, then paid the doctor.

“Do you have something like a recovery potion here?”

“We have various things… but it’s not essential.”

“Please give her the best one. Even if it’s not essential, it will help with her recovery, won’t it?”

“That’s certainly true. But the best medicine is quite expensive….”

“That’s fine.”

For him, ordering a recovery potion for Judith was only natural.

He couldn’t risk her memory deteriorating if she lay sick like this. She needed to continue selling him information.

That information hadn’t been of tremendous help to him so far, but you never knew.

In any case, the source was unknown, but the information was accurate, so someday it might prove decisive for him.

So her memory was precious. It wouldn’t do for her recovery to be slow and for her physical or mental functions to decline.

The doctor hadn’t said to worry about such aftereffects, but you never knew.

“Mm, understood.”

Without saying much, the doctor brought out the best recovery potion.

After briefly checking the amount on the receipt, Ekian said this to the landlady’s younger brother.

“Please don’t mention me. Just say you found her collapsed in the hallway, groaning, and brought her here. And of course, reduce the medical bill when you charge her. She’ll definitely try to repay it.”

“Ah.”

The younger brother nodded.

“It seems you don’t want your feelings to be discovered… I understand. You must want to help her secretly.”

Ekian wondered what on earth he meant by that, but he didn’t think much of it.

That incident ended well like that. And the next day, Ekian was able to see Judith heading to work as usual, her face slightly pale.

After that, when he met Judith, he casually remarked that her complexion didn’t look good, and Judith replied that she had been sick briefly but was fine now. He thought it had all been settled neatly.

But it seemed the younger brother had told the landlady about what happened that day.

And it appeared the landlady had formed a rather firm misunderstanding.

“Goodness, but Miss Judith really has no interest in romance, does she? She must be too busy.”

The landlady clicked her tongue and grinned.

Ekian let out a deep sigh and said, “That’s not the kind of relationship we have.”

“Oh dear, who said it was?”

The landlady tapped his shoulder playfully.

“Well, having lived this long… you start seeing things you couldn’t see before, you know? Youth is actually the greatest weapon.”

Her gaze briefly swept over his mask.

“So don’t keep hiding just because you think you lack in looks. Try approaching her sincerely. A young man’s pure feelings might overcome quite a lot.”

It took Ekian a moment to understand what she meant.

So right now, the landlady thought he wore a mask because he was ugly, and that he couldn’t approach Judith because of that.

Ekian sighed and said, “Ha…. That’s really not the case. I simply happened to notice danger involving someone I’ve traded information with multiple times and helped. That level of goodwill is something any person should naturally show.”

Truly, he was tired of people distorting his intentions based on a single incident. Lawrence, the younger brother, and now even the landlady….

Why was it that people who claimed to have lived longer always made such a big deal out of one example? What did they think they knew about someone else’s feelings?

“I have absolutely no interest in Miss Judith’s private life. I simply pay attention to her safety as someone I conduct transactions with, nothing more.”

He said it firmly, then cleared his throat a couple of times. It was about time he bought an evening paper and returned to the office.

So he would just ask the one thing he was actually curious about….

“But… why does Miss Judith have her light off? Even though she’s in her room, this early.”

It was just a question. Something very casual, like asking, ‘What will the weather be like tomorrow?’

After all, it would feel too distant between neighbors to simply say goodbye and leave without a word.

At that, the landlady chuckled and answered, “She went to bed late yesterday. She borrowed a novel from one of her students and ended up staying up almost all night reading it. She said she might skip dinner and go straight to sleep, so not to call her.”

“What? Sleeping without even eating….”

Ekian clicked his tongue. Watching him, the landlady shrugged, then added casually, “That’s what I’m saying. Ah, and she’ll probably just pick at her breakfast tomorrow too. She’s already thin, and she’ll get even thinner. The thing is, Miss Judith doesn’t like carrots, but all we have at home are carrots and onions, so tomorrow morning it’ll be carrot soup.”

She went on at length.

“I’ve got too much laundry to go out and buy groceries… and my husband will be late today… there’s no one free to run errands, so it can’t be helped.”