The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 109

“I finally understand… Your Highness’s heart.”

 

“Then…”

 

With a face full of anticipation, Albert slowly leaned in to kiss her. But just before their lips could touch, Shailoh turned her head and pressed a kiss against his palm instead. Then she whispered. “I pledge my loyalty to you as my true master.”

 

His face, which was on the verge of disappointment, transformed into one of deep emotion. Shailoh quietly allowed herself to be held against his chest, carrying a shred of gratitude toward this foolish man, who had willingly handed her the very blade that would pierce his own heart.

 

* * *

From that day on, Albert seemed to have shed all his suspicions about Shailoh and often took her to his hideout. Each time, she maintained a delicate boundary with him, gradually uncovering who had been buried in the lake and how the aftermath had been covered up.

 

Shailoh usually passed along clues through a messenger from her favorite café. Pretending to hand over an order and money, she discreetly conveyed the information she had gathered to Caleb, avoiding the eyes of Albert’s attendants.

 

It was a month later when she received word from him that it was enough. A small commotion suddenly erupted in the city, which was in a festive mood for the founding day celebrations.

 

“Search everywhere! Make sure no one escapes!”

 

It all started when Albert received a confidential tip about Octavia Ferus. Deploying his guards and servants among the passersby, Albert himself scoured the area, frantically searching for his fiancée’s whereabouts.

 

“Octavia Ferus is over there!”

 

“It seems to be her!”

 

“Chase her immediately!”

 

While Albert’s attention was drawn towards Octavia, Shailoh found herself suddenly alone. She wondered if this was the ‘plan’ in action. With trembling hands, she clenched her fists and began to push through the bustling crowd, trying to escape the servant. Someone roughly grabbed her arm. Her heart sank as she spun around, causing her to stumble.

 

“Sasha.”

 

The scent of bergamot brushed past her nose as she fell into a firm chest.

 

“Your Highness…”

 

As her legs gave out, Caleb wrapped his arms around her shoulders and spread his robe, concealing her completely within his embrace. Simultaneously, the extreme tension dissipated, and a profound sense of exhaustion washed over her as if she had just finished a full-speed sprint. Drained, Shailoh clung to his arm.

 

* * *

Not long after, unsettling rumors began to circulate in the capital.

 

“Have you heard the news? You know, about how women are disappearing one by one.”

 

“I’ve heard. But it seems it’s not just the women working the night streets. My neighbor’s acquaintance’s daughter left one day, saying she’d earn some money and never returned.”

 

“Did she say where she was going?”

 

“Well, all I heard was that a black carriage took her away…”

 

“My goodness. But… aren’t black carriages only used by the royal family?”

 

“Shh, what if someone hears you?”

 

The rumors, which had only been spoken of in hushed whispers among those in the know, spread like wildfire precisely because of a certain ‘source.’ It began as a piece of propaganda by an anonymous publisher and author, satirizing Queen Ingrid’s extravagance and Prince Albert’s debauchery. Although the security forces tried to crack down on them with eyes blazing, the propaganda quickly established itself as a vital piece of media among the public, spreading like wildfire across a dry field. The biggest reason was the comical illustrations that caught the attention of even those who couldn’t read. At the same time, the speaker’s podiums and orators that appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as suddenly played a significant role.

 

“Queen Ingrid killed the king’s first wife and her eldest son to steal their positions! And now, she even covets the throne itself! The kingdom is crumbling because of that woman’s extravagance!”

 

Though their ages, genders, and voices varied, the hooded speakers all echoed the same claims. The public, who had initially brushed them off as mere agitators leveraging the chaotic political climate to delude people’s hearts, gradually began to believe their credibility due to the rumors passing from mouth to mouth. Of course, there were certainly those who refused to believe.

 

“How dare a mere agitator disrupt the kingdom! Begone at once! Unless you want to be dragged away!”

 

“Yeah! Get lost!”

 

To the people spitting and throwing stones, the man unfurled something. “Here is the proof!”

 

“What is that?”

 

It was the propaganda material distributed onto the streets once a week, currently the hottest topic and the most famous source of information. Intrigued, people began to gather around him one by one.

 

“Look at this!” Distributing the sheets below the podium as if scattering them, the agitator poured out shocking words. “This is none other than a letter stamped with the seal of Duke Ferus! And on the opposing side is the violet-shaped seal used exclusively by Queen Ingrid!”

 

“It’s true.”

 

Several people nodded in agreement.

 

“As you will see upon reading, the contents of the exchanged letters are as follows.” Pausing to catch his breath, the man lingered for a more dramatic effect. Once the buzzing crowd fell silent in anticipation of his words, he finally spoke. “If the king makes an unexpected recovery, or if Prince Caleb seeks the position of crown prince with external forces backing him, the queen will have no choice but to raise the private army she had raised and moved from western Diponz Duchy to the south. The most efficient approach would be to seize the control of the capital swiftly, besiege the royal castle, and have the throne of this kingdom abdicated to Prince Albert.”

 

The letter’s unbelievable contents left people pale and breathless. Without waiting for a reaction, the man continued speaking, seizing the moment of silence.

 

“In this kingdom, keeping a private army is strictly forbidden except for the king. If anyone has raised a private army without permission, it is considered treason. Yet, Duke Ferus conspired with Queen Ingrid to maintain a private army within his territory!”

 

“My goodness!”

 

“To think they’re plotting such a treacherous scheme!”

 

“If it’s all true, such a heinous act!”

 

Faced with a daily worsening lifestyle, coupled with the rumors of the queen’s extravagance and the vanishing women taken by royal carriage, the grievances of the people had been compounding day by day. They now began to waver.

 

Glancing over the unsettled crowd, the man dropped the next bomb he had prepared. “The missing women were also the doing of Prince Albert and his subordinates! Prince Albert established a secret social club, using money as bait to lure in women from the night streets and impoverished backgrounds to engage in debauchery! And those who died from the lethal overdoses of opium were secretly dumped into the bottom of the lake!”

 

For a moment, the crowd, as if struck on the back of the head, looked at each other in shock, then quickly began to stomp their feet in outrage.

 

“My god, an act deserving of divine punishment! They’re nothing short of demons!”

 

“This is truly unforgivable!”

 

“We can’t let this continue! At this rate, the kingdom will be doomed!”

 

The simmering anger had begun to spread, threatening to fill the streets. It was a moment when voices condemning Queen Ingrid, Prince Albert, and their faction resounded thunderously through the streets.

 

“Seize them! Arrest them all! Don’t let a single one of these blasphemous bastards escape!”

 

The security forces, armed with batons, charged in, indiscriminately beating and subduing the gathered crowd.

 

“Catch that agitator! Don’t let him escape!”

 

“Yes!”

 

The officers, responding in unison to the head’s orders, turned their gaze towards the platform.

 

“S-Sir! He’s gone!”

 

“Damn it!”

 

They had intended to apprehend and bind him swiftly, but somehow he had already slipped through the crowd and was nowhere to be found. The head of security, veins bulging in his neck, continued to curse as he scanned for any sign of the man’s whereabouts.

 

* * *

Having escaped the chaotic streets, the man brushed past people and soon found himself in a deserted alley. Navigating through the maze of tangled alleys, he eventually arrived at a shabby inn. When he showed the pass he had hidden in his coat, the old woman guarding the entrance nodded and stepped aside.

 

As the man climbed the creaky wooden stairs to the second-floor room, the person waiting for him was none other than Eric.