The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 130

Shailoh’s actions were louder and clearer than any words. At the sight of her expression, which seemed to say she would rather die, Caleb’s turquoise eyes wavered for the first time.

 

Shailoh didn’t miss that opening and parted her lips. “If you intend to take me away like this, then I’d rather end my own life here.” Fear, anger, and confusion became entangled in her sapphire-blue eyes.

 

At the sight of those eyes looking at him as though he were a monster that might devour her at any moment, Caleb gritted his teeth. It felt as though she had stabbed him in the left chest with an invisible dagger. The next words left his mouth almost without passing through thought. “What if I said I wouldn’t spare anyone here?”

 

“What?”

 

“What if I told you that if you don’t come quietly, I won’t spare the people here and your brother, Declen?”

 

Her already deathly pale face turned almost ashen. As the anger disappeared from her eyes and they gradually filled with fear, the headache he had felt moments ago grew worse. A pain surged through him as though someone were squeezing his heart however they pleased.

 

“If you’re going to do that, then I have no choice.” Mistaking Caleb’s distorted expression for anger, Shailoh brought the blade even closer to her neck. A red line appeared, and fresh blood trickled down.

 

“Put your hand down.”

 

“No.” Her voice was resolute, but her hand trembled uncontrollably.

 

Caleb let out a breath and raked a hand through his hair. “I told you. I haven’t decided anything yet.”

 

“…”

 

“But if you put a little more pressure on it, I think I might change my mind.” His low voice was almost like the growl of a beast. It was a wounded beast’s final warning. But to the person hearing it, it was nothing more or less than a threat.

 

Biting down hard on her lower lip, Shailoh spat the words out like she was chewing them to pieces. “…What do you want me to do?”

 

“Don’t run.”

 

As though he had never threatened her, Caleb reached out and gently caressed Shailoh’s lips, stopping her from biting her lower lip. She had bitten it so hard that a drop of blood had already formed. He furrowed his brow and let out a small sigh.

 

“Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

“I have no intention of hurting you.”

 

But you could hurt everyone else, couldn’t you? Instead of answering, Shailoh lowered her head. Perhaps displeased by that, Caleb raised her chin with his index finger.

 

“Until I decide what to do, don’t do anything. Just stay as you are.”

 

It was a declaration that her execution had been postponed. Relief came together with complicated feelings. Shailoh nodded instead of answering.

 

When his hand, which had been stroking her cheek, lightly tapped the bridge of her nose, an old memory surfaced. She instinctively slapped his hand away roughly. “Ah…” It was an action she had taken without thinking.

 

When Shailoh had stayed by his side without knowing anything, that gesture had made her heart flutter and swell. But now, it felt like nothing more than deception.

 

“I’ll take my leave for today.” After the silence dragged on, Caleb pushed himself to his feet. “Make sure you get that neck treated properly.”

 

Instead of answering, Shailoh hunched in on herself, as if to shield her body. Caleb withdrew the hand that had been about to stroke her head and approached the door with a bitter expression. The moment he reached for the knob, it swung outward from the other side.

 

“Shailoh!”

 

“Milady!”

 

It was Declen and Rose.

 

Declen, panting from how hurriedly he had run there, glared at Caleb with murderous eyes. “What are you doing?”

 

“Declen.”

 

“What were you doing in my sister’s room? If you have harmed Shailoh in any way—”

 

“How insolent.”

 

“…”

 

“Is your family all that matters to you?” Caleb looked at the hand moving toward the sword at Declen’s waist and warned him in a low voice.

 

Declen, who had lost his reason and was about to rush at Caleb at the risk of committing treason, regained his senses at the last moment and withdrew his hand. “Forgive my rudeness.” He bowed his head respectfully, but the murderous intent in his eyes remained.

 

Caleb gave him permission to raise his head, letting out a hollow laugh. “Your sister is safe.”

 

Instead of answering, Declen shot a look at Rose, ordering her with his eyes to go check. Rose nodded, hurried to Shailoh’s side, and then let out a shrill cry. “Milady, your neck!”

 

“I did it myself.” Before the two men could clash again, Shailoh spoke quickly to calm Rose. “It just grazed me. It doesn’t even hurt that much. His Majesty was injured worse while dealing with the wolves.”

 

Only then did Declen’s gaze drop to Caleb’s left arm. “…You’re injured.”

 

“Did you not hear that from the maid?”

 

With a sharp little gasp, Rose flinched away from Declen’s cutting stare.

 

“I insisted on going to see the shepherd. I felt like I was going to suffocate.”

 

“Shailoh.”

 

“I wanted to hear the story of someone who lives freely. I thought it might give some breathing room… And then we ran into the wolves.” With a bitter smile, Shailoh then pressed Declen with calm eyes. “By the way, Brother, you figured out His Majesty’s true identity a step ahead of me”

 

“That’s…” Declen faltered, at a loss for words.

 

While he hesitated, Caleb glanced between the two siblings and brushed past Declen. “I’ll be taking my leave now.”

 

“Your Majesty.” Calling after Caleb as he turned around, Declen continued in a somewhat softened voice. “I will prepare a separate room for you. And I will call for a doctor right a—”

 

“No.” Caleb cut him off without a second’s hesitation and started walking again. “It’s better that no one here knows my identity, other than those present right now. There’s no need to call a doctor either. The bleeding has stopped.” That meant only very few people knew about his absence from the royal castle.

 

“But still…”

 

“A king does not go back on his word.”

 

At the firm declaration, Declen finally shut his mouth. Only after Caleb’s figure had receded into the darkness of the corridor did Declen step back into the room, his steps heavy, and close the door behind him.

 

“Shailoh. I believe we have much to talk about.”

 

“Indeed.” Nodding at Declen’s words, Shailoh turned to Rose. “Rose, you may go to bed now?”

 

“Pardon? B-But…” Rose, who was applying medicine to the wound on Shailoh’s neck, blinked her worried eyes.

 

Trying to reassure her, Shailoh forced the corners of her lips up. “You’ve finished treating it. You must have been really shaken too, so go get some rest.”

 

“Understood. T-Then…” Bowing her head, Rose left the room with reluctant steps.

 

Only when the siblings were alone did a heavy silence settle over the room. Declen stared fixedly at the wound on Shailoh’s neck, then stepped closer and brushed his fingers lightly over it.

 

“Ah!”

 

The moment he touched it, pain flared, and Shailoh let out an involuntary groan.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“If it hurts that much, we can still call a doctor…”

 

“I’m fine. As I said earlier, it just grazed me.”

 

Her resolute appearance closely resembled Caleb’s from a moment ago. Declen almost pointed out the resemblance without thinking, but caught himself in surprise and closed his mouth.

 

“How long has Brother known His Majesty’s true identity?”

 

“Not long ago.”

 

“How?”

 

“Just in case, I had Baron Gardin followed. I had no idea that guard was His Majesty, though.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“The decisive moment was the night you went out for a walk. It seems Kianan followed you in secret. His Majesty was exposed by Kianan.”

 

The more Declen spoke, the paler Shailoh’s face grew. It was hard to believe that on what had seemed like just another ordinary day, so much had been happening under the surface.

 

“The man I’d assigned reported seeing him being subdued.”

 

“…What about Sir Kianan?” Shailoh opened her mouth in surprise. “No wonder I haven’t seen him around lately. He’s all right, isn’t he?”

 

“I deliberately ordered him to reflect in isolation. He wasn’t harmed much.”

 

“That’s a relief…”

 

It meant that at least no one had been hurt because of her. Not yet.

 

“Did you have a private meeting with His Majesty?”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“What did he say? Did he tell you why he came here?”

 

“He said…” Declen looked away, finding it difficult to speak, before finally speaking in a heavy voice. “He said he would take you as his queen.”

 

“What?” Springing up to her feet, Shailoh paced back and forth in the same spot, unable to hide her restlessness.

 

“Why are you so surprised? Was it something you hadn’t expected at all?”

 

“I knew he came looking for me. But…”

 

Only now did the question that had been buried under shock and fear rise to the surface. Shailoh remembered exactly what she’d written in that letter. It was the sort of thing that would have made it perfectly reasonable for him to draw his sword on sight. She’d been sure that if Caleb ever came for her, it would be nothing but rage, that he’d come to kill her, driven by the fury of betrayal and the humiliation of being cast aside.

 

“And yet… he protected me instead.” The words slipped out under her breath.

 

Declen’s brows shot up. “Shailoh?”

 

She didn’t seem to hear him. Shailoh scrubbed her face with both hands, over and over. At the anxious set of her shoulders, Declen rose as well, took hold of her shoulders, and turned her to face him.

 

“You are the lady of a duke family. Nothing you don’t want will ever happen, no matter if the other party is the king himself.”

 

“The lady of the duke family… Lady Yesiol…” Stopped short by his hands, Shailoh stood still and echoed his words under her breath. Then a thought flashed through her mind, and a bitter little laugh escaped her. “That’s right. I… am the lady of duke family.”

 

“Shailoh.”

 

“The reason he wants to make me his queen… is because I’m Lady Yesiol.”