The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 132

“Engaged? Are you out of your mind?” Shailoh gaped at him, dumbfounded. She hadn’t even imagined he’d say something like that. “You do know who you’re up against, right? One wrong move and you could end up dead.”

 

“I am aware, but leaving things as they are simply doesn’t sit right with me,” Kianan said nonchalantly with a faint smile. “Under imperial law, a woman who breaks an engagement can never become queen. We use that to our advantage.”

 

Shailoh was ready to dismiss it as utter nonsense, but she paused and listened carefully. It wasn’t entirely without logic. If she were merely ‘Sasha Griche’, it wouldn’t matter. Caleb could simply keep her as a concubine rather than a queen. But as ‘Shailoh Yesiol,’ the situation changed completely. A king couldn’t very well take a lady of the duke family as his concubine. But what if he couldn’t take her as his queen either? Her thoughts ran that far before she reconsidered.

 

“It’s a clever suggestion, but it’s far too dangerous regardless. Don’t you value your own life?”

 

Shailoh had no desire to drag anyone else into her mess. Yet Kianan refused to back down.

 

“Of course I value my life. But even if it’s His Majesty, he won’t be able to touch me so easily once an engagement is publicly announced.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“I may be from a collateral branch, but I’m royalty myself. Just not from this kingdom.”

 

“…”

 

“No matter how powerful His Majesty is, he won’t want to spark a diplomatic incident with a foreign power so early in his reign.” He revealed a staggering secret as casually as if it were nothing.

 

Unlike his composed demeanor, Shailoh’s mind went completely blank. “D-Does my brother know?”

 

“About the engagement, or my identity?”

 

“Both.”

 

“He doesn’t know either. At least for now.” Kianan shrugged, as if none of it was a big deal. “Truthfully, it wasn’t something anyone needed to know. Even if I’m royalty, I’m from a distant branch far removed from the line of succession. I simply drifted until I ended up here and settled down.”

 

The moment he finished speaking, Kianan picked up a faint presence outside and rose abruptly from his seat. “Then let’s leave our discussion here for now.” Speaking softly to avoid being overheard by whoever was outside, he approached the door and pulled it open.

 

Caleb was standing right beyond the threshold. For a fleeting second, Kianan subtly sized him up. This was the man who had silently approached and overwhelmed him in an instant that night. Perhaps because Caleb had been wearing a mask, Kianan still found it hard to believe that this man was the king.

 

A king who, in the unstable days right after his coronation, had stayed alone and unprotected in this closed-off, hostile place for the sake of one woman. For a king with a screw loose somewhere in his head, he looked far too normal. Just facing him was enough to make him falter under the sheer pressure he exuded. But since Caleb was here under the guise of the bodyguard ‘Kay,’ Kianan couldn’t show excessive deference in front of others.

 

In the end, Kianan settled for a silent bow in greeting and brushed past him. Even in that fleeting moment, the killing intent he felt made goosebumps prickle along his skin.

 

* * *

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Caleb strode straight toward Shailoh. “Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

“Why were you alone with that man?”

 

At his icy tone, which sounded as though he were interrogating an unfaithful wife, Shailoh concealed her inner tension and replied calmly. “And what about you, Your Majesty?”

 

“What?”

 

“Why are you still here? Surely you have urgent matters to attend to. The period right after coronation is supposed to be the busiest time.”

 

“Well.” He clearly hadn’t expected her to throw the question back at him. Caleb fell silent for a moment, then his lips moved. “Because you’re here.”

 

Is this place truly such a vital strategic location? Is it a region that demands this much vigilance? Shailoh racked her brain. But no matter how she thought it, that conclusion didn’t make sense. The North was far too vast, an open stretch of plains, to secretly raise private troops and prepare a coup. Anyone could see that after staying here only a few days.

 

Declen might have shown hostility a few times because of his sister, but he had no intention of rebelling against the king. He was a lord who cherished his people more than anyone. So after discussing it with him, they had prepared gold equal to her own weight. She’d hoped the king would accept it as a token of loyalty. It was shameless, and she felt horribly guilty, but she intended to spend the rest of her life paying it back. But Caleb hadn’t accepted even that.

 

“Sasha.”

 

Her thoughts went no further. As if he disliked seeing her lost in thought, Caleb reached out, turned her head, and made her look at him.

 

“I answered your question. Now it’s your turn.”

 

What if she said here and now that she and Kianan were in love? Shailoh imagined herself saying the words out loud. Would he fly into a rage over his wounded pride, or would he react with glacier-like coldness? Either way, she wanted to see him suffer. But she couldn’t recklessly put the plan she’d just discussed with Kianan into motion… In the end, Shailoh chose the safest option.

 

“Well… Sir Kianan is my brother’s close aide. He only stopped by for a moment to discuss managing the castle’s affairs.”

 

“Discuss.”

 

“Since there is no lady of the house in this castle, I’ve taken charge of part of the household management for the time being.”

 

Sometimes a lie laced with a bit of truth was more perfect than a pure fabrication.

 

Caleb seemed convinced by her calm explanation and nodded. “I see. It’s work you should have taken on in the first place.”

 

Daughters born into notable families were taught more than just embroidery or music from a young age. They learned everything from bookkeeping and storing provisions for the winter to supervising servants. One by one, they learned the duties of the lady of the house they would marry into. Since Shailoh had not grown up under such circumstances, it was hardly strange for her to start learning now.

 

With his mood quickly softening, Caleb withdrew his hand from her chin. “How is the work? Does it suit you?”

 

It was an odd question, but Shailoh was simply relieved the subject had changed. She nodded obediently. “It was difficult at first, but I’ve been getting used to it. Finding that the numbers balance out is surprisingly satisfying.”

 

“I didn’t know you had a talent for calculation.” Caleb smiled, apparently pleased with her answer.

 

Above all else, the position of queen required someone exceptionally skilled in calculation. Managing the royal household was on a far grander scale than this ducal castle, and it fell upon the queen to host and entertain foreign delegations without flaw. Things couldn’t be lacking or sloppy, of course, but neither could that hospitality be so extravagant that it made the royal finances totter. In many ways, it was a position that demanded a great deal of ability.

 

“Calling it a talent is embarrassing,” Shailoh replied awkwardly, averting her eyes. She rose from her seat and walked over to the window. Inside the castle, which had regained its liveliness since Baron Gardin’s party departed, the maids’ children, young errand boys, and the children of the commoners were running around together. She watched them quietly and smiled faintly.

 

Declen was a more charismatic and strict lord than anyone, but he was kind and generous to children. He was a brother she was proud of.

 

“Now it’s my turn again.”

 

In this domain he had built, no one should be hurt.

 

Having savored the winter sunlight for only a brief moment, Shailoh drew the curtains and turned back around. Though it was broad daylight, the room instantly fell into shadow, feeling as if it were a domain completely detached from the outside world. Far from being frightening, the room felt as cozy as a secluded cave.

 

Shailoh parted her lips, speaking clearly and deliberately. “Please answer me, Your Majesty. What must I do for you to return?”

 

“The answer has already been made clear, Sasha.” Like a patient teacher explaining something to a slow student, Caleb replied gently. “I’ll leave this place right now if you go back with me.”

 

“Go back with you?”

 

“We’ll start over from the beginning.”

 

“How?” Sounding genuinely curious, Shailoh leaned back against the windowsill. “Even if I return with Your Majesty, even as ‘Lady Yesiol,’ I can never become your queen anyway. Realistically, it would be difficult.”

 

Appealing to his emotions was something she had already tried once. But it hadn’t worked at all. Shailoh forced herself to stay as calm as possible.

 

“Is there anyone in the castle who doesn’t know I was at the side of Your Majesty’s half-brother, the third prince?”

 

Caleb kept silent, as if telling her to go on.

 

Shailoh continued in the same even tone. “If someone like me were to sit in the queen’s seat, surely countless people would rise up in opposition. That wouldn’t be good for Your Majesty’s reign either.”

 

She remembered the day she’d fled from him. The desperate days she had struggled to escape his grip. Even after settling in the North, she had spent countless nights tormented by nightmares that visited her whenever her guard dropped. She’d thought she’d finally escaped, but that had been an illusion. Now there was nowhere left to retreat.

 

Without averting her gaze, Shailoh enunciated every single word. “Your Majesty, do you really mean to turn me into your scapegoat whore?”