I Faked a Pregnancy, but My Husband Returned - Chapter 160
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Hmm… I’ll go ahead then. At this rate, I won’t be able to buy the evening newspaper.”
With that, Ekian gave a light greeting to the boarding house auntie and quickly walked into the alley.
After that, he glanced sideways at the grocery store next to the newsstand that sold evening newspapers.
It seemed that pork and tomatoes were on evening discount.
‘If I don’t buy those, they’ll just be thrown away, right?’
Ekian thought as he looked at groceries he’d never been interested in before.
‘Then the pig would have died for nothing.’
What more could be said about the tomatoes?
If those tomatoes were thrown away today, the grocery store would stop bringing in tomatoes, and eventually the tomato farms might go out of business.
Therefore, Ekian stopped by the grocery store. This happened not because he wanted the pig’s death to be meaningless, but because he didn’t want the tomato farms to collapse.
“I’ll take all of these first…”
Ekian swallowed dryly as he looked around the grocery store.
There were grapes and peaches.
He remembered how Judith would eat the fruit deliciously when he occasionally offered it to her at the Information Guild.
‘Ah, she likes those fruits!’
Fruit was quite a luxury ingredient for Judith.
The grapes and peaches weren’t discounted items, nor were they cheap…
“Give me the grapes and peaches too.”
Ekian ended up buying a basket of fruit as well.
This couldn’t be helped. Wouldn’t ordinary people impulsively buy something extra when they came to a store?
Knowing this, the grocery store owner held ‘evening discount events’ as bait products.
This was a merchant’s strategy, and falling for that strategy appropriately was a natural duty as a member contributing to the local economic community.
It absolutely wasn’t because Judith liked fruit. That was just an objective fact that came to mind by association.
Like how seeing maple trees makes you think of autumn even if you don’t like autumn.
When he arrived at the boarding house with his arms full of ingredients.
The boarding house auntie was moving a basket full of new laundry when she raised her eyebrows.
“Hmm?”
“Um…”
Ekian said while holding the pile of groceries.
“Where is the kitchen?”
“…What is all this?”
“Well, you see, I was going to buy ingredients for our Information Guild, but then I remembered that an employee had bought some recently, so I thought I’d give them to you, Auntie…”
The boarding house auntie looked flabbergasted. She blinked and muttered.
“I thought you’d just buy milk and bread… What is all this…”
After staring at Ekian blankly for a moment, she grinned.
“Hmm, alright. There are even fruits that Judith likes. I can give her plenty.”
Ekian thought to himself that it didn’t matter either way. It wasn’t like he had bought the fruit to feed Judith.
He had simply paid money out of appreciation for the grocery store merchant’s sales strategy.
“Come in. This way is the kitchen.”
The boarding house auntie rolled up her sleeves and guided him inside. Then she organized the groceries efficiently while continuing to talk.
“If I’ve received something, I should pay the price. Judith also likes chocolate.”
Chocolate?
Sweet things that children eat?
Since Ekian didn’t particularly like snacks, it was food he never kept stocked at the Information Guild.
“Especially, you know ‘Raimond Confectionery’ right in front? She said the chocolate with almonds from that place is really delicious.”
The boarding house auntie chatted while organizing the tomatoes efficiently.
“When the students she tutors give her a lot of trouble, she makes up her mind and buys a piece to eat slowly. As slowly as possible. It’s a bit heartbreaking to watch. Judith is still young too. When things are hard, all she can do is slowly eat 5-silver almond chocolate.”
She clicked her tongue and sighed.
“It’s pitiful to see how difficult it is for her to even buy that much.”
Ekian nodded expressionlessly.
He had no idea why she was telling him such stories.
What was he supposed to do with knowing what Judith ate when she was having a hard time?
In terms of information value, it wasn’t even worth 1 silver.
“I’ll eat well. Thank you.”
The boarding house auntie giggled and said.
“Originally, having pretty boarders means getting to receive various things – that’s one of the advantages of being a boarding house owner. Can I say Master gave this to me?”
“Absolutely not.”
Ekian shook his head firmly.
He didn’t want Judith to feel burdened or misunderstand for no reason.
“Absolutely not.”
“Since I’ve received something, I should do as you wish.”
The boarding house auntie smacked her lips regretfully.
“If you’re curious about anything else, ask me anytime. I always repay what I’ve received somehow.”
Ekian shrugged. What could the owner of an Information Guild possibly need to ask a boarding house owner?
“Just keep it secret.”
“Of course.”
The boarding house auntie nodded vigorously.
“When third parties rashly try to connect people in the middle, it often backfires. So I’ll stay quiet.”
With that, Ekian left the boarding house indifferently.
Only then did he realize he hadn’t bought the evening newspaper, but the newsstand was probably already closed.
‘I have an awkward amount of money left.’
Eventually, Ekian entered the chocolate shop and bought a whole bag full of almond chocolate.
It absolutely wasn’t because he remembered the boarding house auntie’s words. Well, trying something that’s supposed to be delicious, that much…
The moment he put one in his mouth, he could tell it wasn’t to his taste. Of course, Ekian had never particularly liked chocolate since he was very young.
‘I bought too much. Can’t be helped.’
He sighed as he closed the bag again.
‘Since Judith supposedly likes it, I have no choice but to give it to someone who likes it.’
He absolutely hadn’t bought it for her. He just… bought it out of curiosity because someone said it was delicious.
Wasn’t it natural to give leftovers to someone who wanted them?
Still… like the boarding house auntie said, Judith might misunderstand, so he thought it would be dangerous to be honest about it.
So the next day, when Judith came by as usual with some 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. Judith, do you happen to like this kind of chocolate?”
Then Judith clapped her hands with her characteristic bright smile.
“Oh my! It’s almond chocolate from Raimond Confectionery! This is really my absolute favorite!”
“That’s fortunate.”
Ekian said calmly.
“I thought I’d have to throw it all away.”
“Throw it away! When there’s so much!”
Judith looked at the chocolate bag with an ecstatic expression and said.
“Are you really giving this to me? All of this?”
“Well, I’m just disposing of a gift I received… it’s embarrassing to call it giving.”
“Oh my, but I’m really grateful!”
Judith couldn’t help herself and took out a piece of chocolate to crunch on. Seeing the smile spread across her face made Ekian feel good for some reason.
“I’ll really enjoy eating this!”
Ekian watched that scene intently with his arms crossed. Just because looking at that face made a smile spread across his own face hidden behind the mask.
Ekian woke up to the sound of birds. After opening his eyes and tossing and turning a few times, he realized he had dreamed of a very long time ago.
Now he wasn’t nineteen years old, Judith was his wife, he no longer wore a mask, and they had a young son who was the apple of their eye.
“Hmm?”
Judith, who had been sleeping, slightly opened her eyes.
“Did you have a bad dream? It’s still dawn…”
Ekian stroked her hair and whispered.
“No, I had a very good dream. It seems Mother gave me a gift.”
Since that time was precious, she gave him a dream of that time.
She must have gathered all her remaining strength and given it to him generously.
“I was just a fool who didn’t know my own heart… and I learned that I had kept you in my heart for much longer than I thought.”
“A gift… what kind of…”
Judith murmured and then fell back asleep.
Ekian smiled gently as he watched her.
He thought that today he should probably send gifts to Lawrence and the Boarding House Auntie, who had looked kindly upon his young heart that had been so transparent.
Special Side Story 2 【Complete】
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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