The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 144

The mountain path Shailoh had thought would be steep was gentler than expected. At first, she followed, panting heavily. But eventually she got used to it and could walk up without much difficulty. Whenever they stopped to rest on rocks along the way, she would look around from time to time, trying to memorize the route.

 

“Looking for a way to escape, are you?” Kurd sneered from behind her, holding the rope that bound her.

 

“No.” Startled, Shailoh shook her head.

 

Unlike her, the bandits had blindfolded Caleb as they dragged him along. Perhaps it was because he was a man who could pose a threat if he memorized the route.

 

“It’s just my first time climbing a mountain like this, so I was curious.” Half of that was true, and half was a lie. This was not the first time she had climbed a mountain, but it was the first time she had climbed one this high.

 

Kurd narrowed his eyes at Shailoh, watching her as she spoke a mixture of truth and lies. Then, seeing the tension in her expression, he suddenly burst out laughing. “Of course it is. Would a precious noble lady ever have walked along such a rough road?”

 

Unlike the capital, the North was isolated from the rest of the world. These bandits in particular seemed to live almost exclusively in the mountains, making them slow to receive news. That meant they had little chance of realizing Caleb’s identity either. Relieved inwardly, Shailoh unconsciously glanced sideways at Caleb.

 

“You seem rather concerned about that guard.”

 

At his teasing tone, Shailoh shook her head. “Well, he volunteered to protect me.”

 

“No.” Kurd’s smile vanished completely as he pressed her. “That wasn’t the look in your eyes. Who exactly is that man?”

 

“He’s a guard.”

 

“He’s not just that, is he?”

 

“…” Rather than answering, Shailoh chose silence.

 

Perhaps annoyed by her attitude, Kurd furrowed his brow and spat out the words as if chewing them. “I heard he was a guard left behind by Baron Gardin.”

 

“…So you already know.” Although there was no reason for it, Shailoh had been nervous that they might somehow guess Caleb’s identity, so she deliberately put on a flustered expression. “Baron Gardin is an envoy sent by the king, and that man is the guard brought with him. If anything happens to him, neither you nor your bandits will get away unscathed.”

 

Though she spoke boldly, Kurd replied as if her words were ridiculous. “You think I’d be scared of one measly guard after we’ve already kidnapped a noble lady?” Apparently, he had more nerve than she expected.

 

With their conversation finally having found an opening, Shailoh gathered her courage and spoke again. “…So, is it true that you left your original bandit group because you had the courage to do so?”

 

“…”

 

“Did you even rebel against the leader you served?”

 

After a moment of silence, Kurd suddenly asked Shailoh a question. “Do you know the story of the beast of the mountain range? It’s a story connected to the Yesiol family too.”

 

Instead of answering, Shailoh nodded.

 

“The story of Gorgon.”

 

“Right. A ferocious lion the size of a house that roamed the mountains as if they were its own territory and ate people.”

 

“But it’s only a legend.”

 

“No. It’s alive. But in a form different from what you think.”

 

His voice was strange. As Shailoh pondered the eerie feeling his words gave her, he turned the question back on her.

 

“Now I’ll ask you again. What exactly is that man’s true identity?”

 

Instead of answering, Shailoh chose silence.

 

“I knew you’d be like this.” When Shailoh clenched her teeth and refused to answer, Kurd got to his feet first and forcibly pulled her upright. “If you’ve rested enough, get up. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

 

* * *

The bandits’ settlement was located far up in the mountain range. The path, which Shailoh had expected to remain a series of steep slopes, gradually grew gentler. Before long, a tall wall appeared, made by sharpening trees into spear-like points and joining them together lengthwise. It had the crude appearance of the outer walls surrounding the Yesiol Castle.

 

Leading the group, Kurd approached the gate and shouted loudly. “We’re back. Open the gate.” As soon as he spoke, the gatekeeper checked his face through a small opening in the door and then struggled to open the heavy gate.

 

At the sight that unfolded before her, Shailoh opened her eyes wide in astonishment. Contrary to her assumption that it would be very small, the bandits’ settlement was larger and more spacious than she had expected. And there were not only rough-looking men, but also women, elderly people, and children.

 

Those who had been welcoming Kurd’s group upon their return soon noticed Shailoh and Caleb following behind them. They stepped back cautiously, their eyes filled with wariness. A mother hiding a young child behind her back stared intently at Shailoh. Amid the strange standoff, Kurd walked straight inside and eventually stopped in front of an elderly woman who had come out late to greet them.

 

“You’ve returned, Chief. Did things go well?”

 

“Well, let’s say it was half a success and half a failure, Annie.” Kurd shrugged and shoved Shailoh toward her.

 

The woman caught Shailoh as she stumbled awkwardly and nearly fell. “This lady is…”

 

“A hostage. We’ll use her when negotiating.” As if he could not be bothered to explain further, Kurd roughly brushed the matter aside. “Keep her confined until we need her. Make sure she can’t do anything unnecessary.”

 

“What about the man?”

 

“We’ll take care of him ourselves.” Kurd turned around and gave Caleb a cold glance before ordering one of his subordinates to take him somewhere.

 

It was then that an old man approached. “Chief… Hans, Jenan, and Nick aren’t here.”

 

“They’re dead.”

 

“…”

 

“We couldn’t recover their bodies. We were too busy getting out of there.”

 

The more Kurd spoke, the darker everyone’s expressions became. Those who had returned were injured in various places as well.

 

“Treat the wounded and bring out some food. Wash those two, get them changed, and send them to my quarters.”

 

“But…”

 

“I won’t say it twice. And what are you all staring at? Everyone inside.” Just before the people’s gazes could turn into anger and resentment toward the hostage, Kurd gave Annie her orders and strode into his quarters.

 

“This way, Lady.”

 

“…Yes.” Shailoh glanced toward the place Caleb had been taken before following Annie.

 

Contrary to her expectation that she would be treated poorly, Annie remained polite toward her throughout. She prepared a bathtub filled with warm water so Shailoh could wash herself, and even attended to her by washing her shoulders and back.

 

“You really don’t have to go this far.”

 

“I couldn’t possibly do otherwise. Chief Kurd personally entrusted you to me.”

 

Even if he had entrusted her, Shailoh was merely a hostage, not a guest. As she wondered about it, Annie’s next words answered her question.

 

“I don’t know the details… but judging by your clothes, you’re someone important, aren’t you? If even a single scratch is left on you when you return, people here will die.”

 

Shailoh wanted to tell her that would never happen, but she could not bring herself to deny it. She was convinced that if Declen discovered this place, he would probably sweep through it without mercy. To his younger sister, Declan was still a kind older brother. But Duke Yesiol of the North, spoken of by the world, was an entirely different person.

 

“…By any chance, have you seen a man recently?”

 

“A man?”

 

“Yes. He has reddish-brown hair and golden eyes… Have you ever seen him?”

 

Kianan had definitely gone to the highlands to suppress the bandits. If so, these people must have seen him as well. She waited anxiously for the answer, wondering what news she might hear, but the response that eventually came left her deflated.

 

“No. I haven’t seen him.”

 

She had hoped otherwise, but Annie’s answer was perhaps only natural. Judging from the settlement, it had not been established within just a year or two. If Kurd had truly rebelled against the original bandit leader and split away from them, then they would not have dealings with the previous bandit group said to be in the highlands.

 

“Is he someone you know?”

 

Shailoh belatedly answered under Annie’s inscrutable gaze. “Ah… He’s a shepherd. We exchanged greetings whenever we happened to pass each other, so I wondered if he might have come this way.”

 

“I see. Well, shepherds do sometimes travel through the mountains.”

 

“Shepherds?” The story she had heard before was true. Intrigued, Shailoh leaned in and listened closely to Annie’s words.

 

Annie wrung out the sponge she had soaked in water once, then carefully wiped Shailoh’s arm as she continued. “They sometimes bring us various things from the villages below, and they sell us sheep’s milk or mutton cheaply, so we generally welcome them. Though we don’t let them come as far as this settlement.”

 

“Ah…” The hope that had briefly flared up was extinguished once again. Shailoh clenched her teeth, trying to hide her disappointment, when someone knocked on the cabin door.

 

“Annie. The chief says you should bring the woman over soon.”

 

“Women take so long to wash, and he’s so thoughtless.” Annie sighed deeply, wiped her wet hands on the hem of her skirt, and then brought a large towel to wrap around Shailoh. “It’s time to get dressed and go out now.”

 

Annie knocked on the door, and once Kurd gave permission, she carefully led Shailoh inside. “I’ve brought her.”

 

“You’re late.”

 

Kurd, who had been drinking, gestured for Shailoh to sit in a chair. Shailoh entered hesitantly, and only after sitting in the shabby chair did she look around the cabin. Hunting trophies displaying deer antlers and tapestries made from wolf pelts hung on the walls. Rather than a cabin, it looked like a seasoned hunter’s home.

 

“There’s no one here but me. That man, Kay, hasn’t arrived yet.”

 

“Why did you attack the duchy? Even though you know you had no chance of winning.” Startled by the sharp observation, Shailoh changed the subject and immediately got to the point. “And why are you treating me as such an important guest after invading our territory like that?”

 

“Because I want to ask for two things.” Kurd tilted his cup and took another sip before calmly speaking. “I want you to acknowledge the existence of the people of the mountains and accept us as subjects of the duchy.”

 

It was an unexpected request, but Shailoh understood it to some extent. She had seen elderly and sick people here as well as women and children. It would be difficult for people like them to continue living in such harsh mountains forever.

 

“…And the other?”

 

But the moment she heard the answer to her next question, she froze.

 

“Cooperation in exterminating the ‘Gorgon’ boss who resides in the highlands.”