The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 128

“Wolves?”

 

The moment Shailoh heard that word, the hairs on her body stood on end and goosebumps spread across her body. Her body stiffened, frozen so rigidly that she couldn’t move. Overcome with fear and tension, she glanced sideways, only to find Rose likewise frozen in terror.

 

Seeing the two women’s reactions, the shepherd pointed toward one corner with a grave expression. “Hide in that corner for now. There are blankets, so cover yourselves with them.”

 

Wolves had keen senses of smell, so covering up was practically useless, but it might at least help them feel a little safer. Shailoh nodded, led Rose over, then crouched in the corner and covered them both with the blanket.

 

The next instant, after trading silent signals with their eyes and hands, the two men threw the hut door wide open. A pack of wolves, each nearly the size of a man, growled as they fixed their gaze on the humans. At the sight of their bared fangs and the drool dripping from their jaws, looking as if they might spring at them any second, Shailoh felt like her heart was going to stop.

 

The shepherd swallowed hard, raised the gun, and took aim at the wolves. The moment he squeezed the trigger, the pack moved. The wolves, lined up in perfect formation, charged as if they meant to tear all four of them to pieces.

 

At the same time, fire spat from the muzzle. Bang! With a deafening blast that made their ears ring, the wolves yelped and stumbled back. The bullet hadn’t pierced a heart, apparently. One wolf, blood running down its leg, let out a low growl and fixed the shepherd with murderous eyes.

 

Caleb, facing off against the wolf in the tense atmosphere, spoke quietly. “How many shots do you have left?”

 

Perhaps because he had just heard Rose speaking, the shepherd was startled when the man he had thought was mute suddenly spoke and turned his head.

 

“What…?”

 

“I asked how many shots you have left.” His voice was so low that the women behind them could not hear.

 

“Ah, about two or three, Sir.” The shepherd instinctively spoke respectfully as he swallowed hard, his hands trembling.

 

Even after being shot once, the wolves showed no sign of retreating. He had prepared this gun precisely because such incidents had occasionally happened before. But this was the first time he had encountered a situation like this.

 

Wolves were generally afraid of guns. Usually, firing a shot or two into the air was enough to send them running far away. If they were unlucky, one or two sheep might disappear, but at least he never had his life threatened.

 

“You haven’t fired a gun much, have you?” Caleb let out a low sigh as he pressed him, and the shepherd silently nodded.

 

Turquoise eyes swept over the wilderness, where snow was gradually starting to fall. In the pitch-dark, there were ten pairs of eyes glinting back at them, watching. His gaze locked with one wolf that looked like the leader of the pack.

 

“Then cover me.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Without waiting for an answer, Caleb charged straight at the leader and swung his sword.

 

Horrified at his retreating figure, Rose squeezed her eyes shut and let out a scream. “Kyaaaa!”

 

The shepherd nearly dropped his gun as the strength drained from his hands, but hurriedly regained his stance. A heavy sound rang out across the wilderness. Bang!

 

* * *

“I-I almost got us into serious trouble…” Rose, whose hands were still trembling, spoke through tears as she blamed herself. “I must have been crazy… Taking Milady to a place like that without knowing anything. And Kay too…”

 

“I’m the one who suggested it first.” Shailoh soothed her and hid her own trembling hands in the folds of her skirt. Although she calmly reassured Rose, she herself had nearly died as well.

 

Whenever she closed her eyes, she could almost see those wolf eyes gleaming in the darkness. Recalling them made her blood run cold, and her legs lose their strength. Even after they had entered the outer castle, returned to their proper place, and made their way back into the inner castle, her startled heart still hadn’t settled. But Rose was a girl much younger than she was. If Shailoh, her master and elder, continued trembling and showing fear, Rose would surely become even more frightened.

 

“Mi-Milady…”

 

And yet, Rose was trembling for another reason as well. She seemed unable to continue speaking, merely opening and closing her lips.

 

Shailoh quietly said what she knew the girl wanted to hear. “Let’s pretend tonight never happened.”

 

“You’ll really… do that for me?” Apparently never expecting those words, Rose’s eyes widened, and her face brightened.

 

“Yes. It’s not as though there’s anything good in it for me, either.”

 

If her brother heard about this, he’d definitely ban her from taking walks at night for a while. He was already on edge because of Baron Gardin and his party. The last thing she wanted was to stir up his temper any further.

 

“Thank you…!” Perhaps thinking that Shailoh was doing this entirely for her sake, Rose’s eyes filled with tears. She clasped Shailoh’s hand tightly and pressed the back of it to her forehead.

 

“It’s fine. Really.” Feeling awkward at the intensity of the reaction, Shailoh gently pulled her hand free, then finally turned to the man who’d been silently guarding their backs the whole way. “Given how things turned out, I’ll have to ask you to keep this a secret too.”

 

Instead of answering, the man gave a small nod.

 

Shailoh started to turn away again, then froze. Something was off. His hair was hidden under a hooded robe, his face covered by a mask, and yet ever since she’d noticed that familiar little habit back at the hut, she’d had this strange, nagging feeling. “You’re only on the night patrol, right…?”

 

The man only nodded again.

 

“I don’t know everyone in the castle yet, but it’s the first time I’ve met such a complete stranger.”

 

Standing between them, Rose glanced back and forth, about to jump in. Shailoh stopped her with a hand and took another step toward the man.

 

“With your face covered like that, you don’t look all that different from Baron Gardin’s guards.”

 

Even with her right in front of him, the man didn’t so much as flinch. If he had something to feel guilty about, he should’ve at least edged back, but his composure only made her more unsure.

 

Shailoh tilted her head, then reached out and took hold of his mask. “Sorry, but could you show me your—”

 

“Oh dear!”

 

Just as she was about to pull off the mask, a shrill voice interrupted her. Wondering what it was, Shailoh turned to Rose, who was pointing at something.

 

“B-Blood…!”

 

Rose was pointing at his left arm. They’d only just noticed it. Through the torn sleeve, a long, deep gash was visible, and bright red blood was running from it. The metallic tang of it, dulled before by tension, finally hit Shailoh’s nose.

 

Shailoh’s face went ashen. Her lips parted soundlessly before she forced herself to change the subject. “Le-Let’s at least get you some first aid.”

 

Since no one could be allowed to see them tonight, the three of them naturally ended up in Shailoh’s room.

 

“Please, sit here.”

 

The man seemed taken aback that he was actually being led into a noble lady’s chambers. He hesitated, but sat on the couch, pretending he couldn’t resist Rose pulling him.

 

Rummaging through the bag she always kept at her waist, Rose pulled out a small vial. “Good thing I’ve got a hemostatic medicine. I’ve been carrying it around just in case…”

 

“Thank goodness.” Shailoh let out a sigh of relief and was about to sit a little ways off so she wouldn’t get in the way of the treatment when a trembling voice stopped her.

 

“Milady, could you apply it for me instead?”

 

“What?”

 

“M-My hands… are like this…”

 

On the verge of tears, Rose flicked her eyes down at her own hands. Shailoh followed her gaze. The terror she’d gone through at the hut must still have been vivid. Her hands were shaking like leaves in a storm.

 

“What do I need to do?”

 

“Spread this hemostatic medicine gently over the wound, then wrap it with a bandage… This one’s disinfectant, so you pour it on first…”

 

“Got it.” Taking the disinfectant and the vial from her, Shailoh sat down beside the man. “Excuse me.”

 

“…”

 

The moment he gave a small nod of permission, Shailoh grabbed his ragged sleeve and ripped it up the seam. Her face went stark white at the sight of the wound laid bare beneath.

 

“It’s worse than I thought… We really should call a doctor.”

 

The flesh was gouged deep, as if it had been torn by a wolf’s fangs.

 

“Rose…!”

 

As Shailoh turned, about to tell Rose to go fetch the doctor, the man caught her arm. Startled, she looked back at him, and the look in his eyes told her to keep going.

 

Awkwardly half-rising to peer at the wound, Rose added, “It looks bad, but I think what I’ve got will be enough to treat it.”

 

“…Alright.”

 

Swallowing hard, Shailoh began slowly pouring the disinfectant over the wound. The man clenched his fist so tightly that the veins stood out on the back of his hand, as if the pain were throbbing through him. Wanting to spare him as much as she could, she worked as quickly as possible. As soon as she finished disinfecting, she pulled the stopper from the vial and carefully spread the coagulant over every part of the torn flesh. By then, her own racing heart had begun to calm, and her movements grew steadier.

 

“… I’m going to tie this tight. It might hurt a little.” Taking the bandage Rose handed her, Shailoh shifted closer to him. And in that instant, a familiar scent slipped into her nose. No way…

 

At the same time, that strange sense of dread that had been lapping at her ankles surged up to the base of her throat. It felt like she was slowly drowning. Trembling, she slowly lifted her head. “Ca…leb?” She’d hoped she was wrong, but the eyes visible beyond the mask were unmistakably familiar.

 

He slowly took off the mask, and as Shailoh instinctively pulled her arm away, he caught it like a hawk snatching its prey. “Been a while, Sasha.”