I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 160

“Hmm… I should get going for now. At this rate, I won’t be able to buy the evening paper.”

With that, Ekian gave the landlady a casual farewell and quickly walked deeper into the alley.

After that, he glanced sideways at the grocery shop next to the evening paper stand.

It looked like pork and tomatoes were on evening discount.

‘If no one buys those, they’ll just be thrown away.’

Ekian thought as he stared at groceries he had never cared about in his life.

‘Then that pig would’ve died for nothing.’

And as for the tomatoes, it went without saying.

If those tomatoes were thrown out today, the shop would stop stocking tomatoes altogether, and then the tomato farmers might end up going out of business.

Therefore, Ekian stepped into the grocery store. This was something that happened because he didn’t want the pig’s death to be meaningless, and because he didn’t wish for the downfall of tomato farmers.

“I’ll take all of these first….”

As he looked around the store, Ekian swallowed dryly.

There were grapes and peaches.

He remembered that whenever he offered fruit to Judith when she stopped by the information guild, she would eat it happily.

“Ah, I love that fruit!”

Fruit was quite a luxury ingredient for Judith.

The grapes and peaches weren’t discounted items, and they weren’t cheap either….

“I’ll take the grapes and peaches as well.”

In the end, Ekian bought a basket of fruit too.

It couldn’t be helped. When people come to a shop, don’t they usually end up buying something extra on impulse?

The shop owner knew that, which was why they ran an ‘evening discount event’ as bait.

This was a merchant’s strategy, and falling for that strategy to an appropriate degree was a natural duty as a member contributing to the local economic community.

It absolutely wasn’t because Judith liked fruit. That was simply an objective fact that happened to come to mind in association.

Like how seeing a maple tree makes you think of autumn, even if you don’t particularly like autumn.

By the time he arrived at the boarding house carrying groceries in both hands—

The landlady, who was moving a basket full of fresh laundry, raised her brows.

“Hmm?”

“Um….”

Ekian spoke while holding the pile of groceries.

“Where is the kitchen?”

“…What is all this?”

“Well, I was going to purchase ingredients for the guild, but then I remembered that one of my employees had already bought some not long ago, so I thought I’d give these to you instead….”

The landlady looked stunned. She blinked a few times and muttered, “I thought you’d maybe bring milk and bread… but what is all this….”

She stared blankly at Ekian for a moment, then grinned. “Hm, alright. I see there’s fruit Miss Judith likes too. I’ll be able to give her plenty.”

Ekian thought to himself that it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t as if he had bought the fruit specifically to feed Judith.

He had simply paid for it because he appreciated the grocery store owner’s sales strategy.

“Come in. The kitchen is this way.”

The landlady rolled up her sleeves and led him inside. As she neatly sorted the groceries, she continued, “If you’ve accepted something, you should pay for it. Miss Judith also likes chocolate.”

Chocolate?

Something sweet that children eat?

Ekian didn’t particularly like snacks, so it was something he never stocked in the information guild.

“Especially that shop right up front, ‘Raimond Confectionery,’ you know it? She said their chocolate with almonds is really delicious.”

The landlady chatted away as she sorted the tomatoes one by one.

“When the students she teaches cause her a lot of stress sometimes, she buys a piece with a heavy heart and eats it slowly. As slowly as possible. Watching that makes me feel a bit sorry for her. Miss Judith is still young, after all. When things get hard, the only thing she can do is slowly eat a 5-silver almond chocolate.”

The landlady clicked her tongue and let out a sigh.

“Knowing how hard it is for her to even buy that makes it even more pitiful to watch.”

Ekian nodded expressionlessly.

He had no idea why she was telling him all this.

What was he supposed to do with the knowledge of what Judith ate when she was struggling?

In terms of information value, it wasn’t even worth 1 silver.

“I’ll enjoy the food. Thank you.”

The landlady chuckled.

“Well, having pretty boarders has its perks. As a landlady, you get to receive things like this now and then. Can I say the Master gave this?”

“Absolutely not.”

Ekian shook his head firmly.

He didn’t want Judith to feel burdened or misunderstand for no reason.

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, if I’ve received something, I should grant your request.”

The landlady smacked her lips as if regretful.

“If there’s anything else you’re curious about, feel free to ask. I always repay what I receive somehow.”

Ekian shrugged. What could the master of an information guild possibly need to ask a boarding house landlady?

“Just keep it a secret.”

“Of course.”

The landlady nodded firmly.

“Things like this tend to backfire if a third party tries to meddle and connect people carelessly. So I’ll stay out of it.”

Like that, Ekian left the boarding house indifferently.

Only afterward did he realize he hadn’t bought the evening paper, but the newspaper stand was probably already closed by now.

‘The money is left in an awkward amount.’

In the end, Ekian entered a chocolate shop and bought a bag full of almond chocolate.

It absolutely wasn’t because he remembered what the landlady said. Well, since she said it was good, he was just curious enough to try it… something like that.

The moment he put one in his mouth, he could tell it wasn’t to his taste. Of course, Ekian had never liked chocolate much since he was young.

‘Bought too much. Can’t be helped.’

He sighed as he tied the bag again.

‘Since Miss Judith likes it, I might as well give it to someone who likes it.’

He absolutely hadn’t bought it for her. It was just… he got curious after hearing it was good.

Giving leftovers to someone who wants them is only natural, isn’t it?

Still… like the landlady, Judith might misunderstand, so he thought it would be risky to say it honestly.

So the next day, when Judith came as usual with trivial information, Ekian held out the bag of almond chocolate and said, “I received this as a gift, but it’s not to my taste. Miss Judith, do you happen to like this kind of chocolate?”

At that, Judith clapped her hands with her usual bright smile.

“My goodness! It’s almond chocolate from Raimond Confectionery! This is actually my favorite!”

“That’s a relief,” Ekian said calmly. “I thought I’d have to throw it all away.”

“Throw it away? There’s so much of it!”

Judith said with a blissful expression as she looked at the bag of chocolate.

“Are you really giving this to me? All of it?”

“Well, it’s just disposing of a gift I received… it’s a bit embarrassing to say I’m giving it to you.”

“My goodness, thank you so much anyway!”

Judith finally couldn’t hold back and took out a piece of chocolate, crunching as she bit into it. Seeing the smile spread across her face, Ekian somehow felt pleased.

“I’ll really enjoy it!”

With his arms crossed, Ekian stared at her. Simply watching that expression made a smile spread across his own face hidden behind the mask.

***

Ekian woke up to the sound of birds.

Only after opening his eyes and turning over a few times did he realize he had been dreaming of something from a long time ago.

He was no longer nineteen, Judith was his wife, he no longer wore a mask, and between them was a young son so precious it could be cherished to the point of pain.

“Mm?”

Judith, who had been asleep, opened her eyes slightly.

“Did you have a bad dream? It’s still early….”

Ekian brushed her hair back and whispered, “No, it was a very good dream. It seems my mother gave me a gift.”

Since he had thought those days were a waste, she gave him a dream of those days.

She must have gathered all the strength she had left and given it to him without holding anything back.

“I was just a fool who didn’t understand my own feelings… and I realized that I’d been holding you in my heart far longer than I thought.”

“A gift… what….”

Judith murmured before drifting back to sleep.

Watching her, Ekian smiled softly.

Thinking that he should send some kind of gift today to Lawrence and the landlady, who had looked kindly upon his younger self that had been so clearly revealed.

Special Side Story 2 <End>