The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 112

But the life in the North that she’d heard about in her brother’s letters was harsh. Of course, for high nobility, food, clothing, and shelter would be comfortable enough. But there were no fine dress boutiques, no cosmetics shops, no fancy restaurants. It couldn’t even be compared to life here in the capital. She couldn’t bring herself to demand such a sacrifice from Doris, who had stayed by her side all this time. Yet she had no idea how to even start. Her lips just opened and closed soundlessly for a long while.

 

“Milady.” The guard standing watch outside knocked on the door without preamble, then announced the arrival of a visitor. “His Highness has come.”

 

“…Alright. Just a moment.” Asking the guard for a little time, Shailoh patted Doris on the shoulder. “Doris. Let’s talk later.”

 

“Okay…” Doris, looking reluctant, nodded and opened the door to leave. As she did, a man brushed past her and came in.

 

“Sasha.”

 

The door that had been open was closed again. Shailoh stood quietly to receive him. She folded her hands together and greeted him with proper courtesy. “It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

 

“…”

 

“Have you been well?”

 

Caleb. The noble man who would soon be king was standing right in front of her. Only a few steps away. When Shailoh silently waited for his answer, he belatedly nodded.

 

“I’ve…”

 

“…”

 

“Been well.”

 

Shailoh quietly studied him. Platinum-blond hair like strands of woven silver, and beautiful lake-like turquoise eyes. He was a man so perfectly handsome he looked drawn by an artist’s hand. That much was no different from when they’d first met, but something in his aura had changed a little. Searching for the reason, Shailoh quickly found the answer.

 

“For someone who’s been well, Your Highness looks a bit pale. I suppose you must have a lot on your plate.”

 

Instead of answering, Caleb gave a small nod. She found his oddly off-kilter attitude strange for a moment, but then Shailoh simply gestured toward the couch.

 

“Please, have a seat here. I’ll ask the maid to bring some hot tea.”

 

Caleb strode over and sat where she indicated. Shailoh sat down across from him with the table between them and quietly looked at his face.

 

Two months. Whether that felt like a long or short time, his face had kept surfacing in her mind that whole time. The face of the man who had taken everything from her, whether it was hatred or love. And yet now, he was someone she had to let go.

 

Silence settled calmly between them. Caleb, who had been staring down at his own hands without a word, finally lifted his head. “How have you been?”

 

“Haven’t you been getting reports? I’ve just been quiet. Like I’m here and not here at the same time. No one can know I’m here, after all.”

 

It was the obvious answer to a trite question. Feeling awkward, Caleb nodded.

 

After Shailoh disappeared, Albert had gone more frantic than anyone trying to find her. The tailing on Caleb had increased, and they’d even reached for the people around him. That was why she had met no one. It had been the same in the months she’d stayed by Albert’s side, but strangely, those two months felt more like two years.

 

The face across from him was neither filled with rage nor steeped in sorrow. She was so calm that it felt like looking at an ancient statue worn smooth by time. Eyes in which everything had lost its meaning. Or eyes that had let go of everything and found peace. When those sapphire-blue eyes stared straight at him, Caleb suddenly felt parched. He forced down a dry swallow, trying to endure the thirst.

 

Shailoh, who had been watching him with an unreadable gaze, suddenly asked, “It’s in a week, isn’t it? The coronation.”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

“Congratulations in advance. It was always Your Highness’s seat to begin with.”

 

“Do you mean that?” The question burst out of him on impulse. He regretted it the moment it left his mouth, but it was already too late. Caleb pressed on, asking Shailoh, who was staring at him as if to ask what he meant. “Don’t you hate me?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

Contrary to his expectation that she’d nod, the denial came at once. Shailoh continued in a steady voice.

 

“I don’t know much about politics, but as a subject of this kingdom, I think it’s only right that Your Highness takes the throne.”

 

“…Because I have the proper bloodline?”

 

“It’s not just because of your blood.” Shailoh gave a faint smile and shook her head. “Because you’ll be a wise king who cherishes his people more than Queen Ingrid of Prince Albert ever did. Even if it’s only just beginning.” Her voice sounded like she was talking about someone from a far-off land.

 

Caleb gripped his knees and forced the corners of his mouth up. “You’ve been through a lot, Sasha.”

 

“Please, it was nothing. I only lent a little strength. That’s all.”

 

“Everyone knows that was your best. And that you were the crucial spark that set everything off.”

 

Caleb’s voice was gentle and kind. Shailoh listened to it as if savoring it. It was the first time in a long while she’d felt such a peaceful atmosphere. She realized that, strange and ticklish as this air was, she had secretly missed it. Now that she thought it was over, only the good memories drifted through her mind. Even if everything had been done to use her, the fact that he had saved her from the brink of death, supported her in every way so she could become a singer, and even helped her take revenge, did not change.

 

“I have something to say, Your Highness.” So she wanted to offer him a farewell as her last courtesy. That was why she’d sent word that she wished to see him alone.

 

Shailoh couldn’t reveal who she really was yet, for fear of causing trouble for her brother, Declen. So she’d simply planned to say she would be leaving for somewhere far away. That she probably wouldn’t see him again while she lived, but that she hoped he would be happy, truly happy, and end it there.

 

The moment her lips parted, Caleb dropped a bombshell, like a bolt of lightning crashing down on her head. “Once the coronation is over, I plan to give you a position befitting you.”

 

“Befitting… position?” Caught off guard by something she’d never even imagined, Shailoh slowly lifted the gaze she’d had lowered.

 

Holding up two fingers, Caleb replied quietly, “By my side. I intend to have two queens.”

 

“Two…?”

 

“I’ll make Lady Yesiol my first queen, and you’ll be my second queen. You’ll stay by my side, support me, and help govern the kingdom.”

 

Riiiing. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears, and Shailoh bit her lip. His words rattled around in her skull, turning her vision stark white. The blood in her body froze, and the air in the room turned icy cold.

 

“The first queen will appear at official functions, but there’s no need for you to feel slighted. I’ll entrust the running of the inner castle to you.”

 

“So… what you’re saying is…”

 

Caleb, who had clearly already thought through this and that, trailed off when he saw how pale her face had gone.

 

“Your Highness… you’re telling me to live my life watching another woman stand beside you as your wife, right in front of my eyes?”

 

He was briefly glad to hear the stiff honorific that had clung to her lips fall away, but that feeling vanished at her next words. Caleb’s brow furrowed in frustration. “I’m not talking about taking you as a mere concubine. You’ll be a legitimate wife as well. I’ll make sure of it.”

 

“Stop.” Unable to listen any longer, Shailoh raised her hand, palm out, and covered her ears, refusing to hear more.

 

“Shailoh.”

 

The moment Caleb rose from his seat and reached for her hand— Slap. Shailoh swatted his hand away hard and stood up, slapping his left cheek. Caleb’s head snapped to the side with a loud crack, and he pressed his palm to his stinging face.

 

“How could you!”

 

Though Caleb was the one who had been struck, it was Shailoh’s face that was flushed bright red. Unable to speak at first, she took several deep breaths before finally managing to continue.

 

“How could you… say something like that to me?”

 

“Something like what?”

 

“You saw me as nothing but a pawn from beginning to end, and you used me until you’d wrung me dry!”

 

“Sasha.”

 

“Don’t call me that!” Shailoh screamed, almost in a fit, and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him. “And now you’re saying there’s still more you can squeeze out of me? That I should just sit by your side and wither away? Let you use me while you have children with your wife and live happily ever after?”

 

The very thought was horrifying. It would be a life worse than death. He meant to keep using her until she died, keeping her in his grasp and wielding her as he pleased.

 

“I refuse.”

 

She wanted nothing more than to spit in his face. Scraping together the last of her self-control, Shailoh moved to brush past him. A strong hand clamped around her wrist and yanked her back around.

 

“Ah!”

 

“Have you found another man?”

 

“What?”

 

“Be honest. Who is he? Declen? Or someone else?”

 

She flinched for a heartbeat at the name Declen, but only for a heartbeat. Then, utterly exasperated, she tore her hand free again. “I told you before. I don’t love you anymore. That’s all there is to it.”

 

Once she got out that door, she planned to leave this mansion as fast as she could. With that anxious thought, Shailoh reached for the door.

 

“Stop her!”

 

A thunderous roar blocked her path. At the same time, the guard stationed outside the door stepped in front of her. She turned back stiffly. In the darkness, she met a pair of eyes gleaming savagely.

 

Caleb, with a gaze like he might chew her bones to pieces on the spot, ground out his order. “From this moment on, don’t let Sasha Griche leave. Until I give a separate command, she is not to step one foot out of this room.”