The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 145

“…Gorgon?” Shailoh doubted her ears. She could not tell whether what she had just heard was a misunderstanding or the truth. “I was told it was definitely a lion as large as a house. What do you mean?”

 

“Gorgon is a person. That is what we have called the leader of our bandits for generations.” Kurd opened his mouth heavily and confessed. “We were the ones who created and spread the story of the Gorgon that eats people. That way, anyone who wanted to come into these mountains would be frightened and stay away.”

 

“So the story has been passed down all this time…”

 

“That’s right. Originally, the chiefs inherited that name. But now it has become a legend intertwined with the Yesiol family as well.” Kurd gave a faint smile, as though praising Shailoh for how quickly she understood.

 

After being silent for a moment, Shailoh began firing off questions. “But why are you asking us to help wipe out your own chief? I understand that you split away after a conflict, but you still come from the same roots.”

 

“That’s—”

 

Before Kurd could answer, Caleb opened the door without even knocking and cut in. “Because power cannot be divided between two people.”

 

“No.” Kurd whipped his head around and bared his teeth, denying Caleb’s words. “I didn’t leave the chief and settle in this small fortress merely to take power away from him.”

 

“Then why?”

 

With his arms crossed, Caleb naturally approached and sat beside Shailoh. He had the composure of someone who did not look at all like a hostage, much less one being held unarmed in the heart of a bandit stronghold. Before Shailoh could even register how strange that was, Kurd, prompted by Caleb’s look telling him to continue, found himself spilling the whole story.

 

“We were originally a nomadic people with nowhere to go, driven all the way into these mountains. They refused to accept us into this kingdom, saying we were descendants of outsiders who had crossed the sea from beyond the Alkadara Mountains.”

 

“Because you repeatedly plundered. Why would they accept a people who kidnapped residents of the northern territories and sold them as slaves across the sea?”

 

Kurd clenched his teeth at the cutting remark and retorted. “That was the doing of our ancestors! Of course, we think that was wrong too… That is why we tried for a long time. We continuously offered the precious medicinal herbs that grew in these mountains and the valuable hides of the game we hunted to Duke Yesiol, begging him to accept us.”

 

“But you were not accepted.”

 

“It was only when Duke Yesiol two generations ago came into power that we were barely permitted to stay in these mountains. But settling down and making a living in this harsh and barren environment was truly difficult. To survive, we collected tolls from merchants passing through here and endured by bartering with shepherds. Though our circumstances were poor and difficult, we were still fine.”

 

Kurd let out a heavy sigh. A lamenting confession continued to spill from between his lips.

 

“But dissatisfaction gradually began to build among the hot-blooded ones. Before we knew it, a growing sentiment emerged that we should invade the Yesiol Duchy and take its castles and territories. They said that we needed wealth to support such an endeavor, and those bastards… wanted more than just tolls. The chief was among them.”

 

As Shailoh listened to the story, she quietly clenched her teeth. Although she wasn’t directly involved, her conscience pricked her because she wasn’t completely unrelated to the situation. Perhaps sensing her feelings, Caleb placed his hand over the back of hers. She instinctively tried to pull away, but when he held on firmly, Shailoh gave up resisting. For some reason, the contact that had once made her skin crawl did not feel unpleasant this time. She hated admitting it, but in this unfamiliar place where she knew no one, it gave her some measure of support.

 

“The chief would block even poor people without money who were merely trying to pass through these mountains and demand ridiculous amounts of money from them. And if they could not pay, he would take them hostage and collect it from their families. Women and children who could fetch money… he even sold them as slaves across the sea, just as our ancestors had done before.”

 

“So you could no longer stand by and watch, and started a rebellion, right?”

 

“That’s right.” Kurd swallowed a groan as he answered and reluctantly nodded heavily.

 

Caleb glanced around as though casually appraising the surroundings before replying. “This fortress looks sturdy enough. And if you want to, you could simply leave these mountains.”

 

“You have identified the problem, yet you still say that.” Kurd shook his head and confessed as though he had given up. “If we leave the mountains, there is nowhere for us to settle. And what good is it if the fortress is sturdy? It is all made of wood, so it is vulnerable to fire. Besides…”

 

“There are many elderly people, women, and children.”

 

“That’s right. We are severely lacking in people who can fight compared to them.” Kurd readily acknowledged Caleb’s words. “So even if we have to borrow the hand of Duke Yesiol, we must strike down Chief Gorgon, who has established himself on the plateau. Before he grows his forces any further, before it becomes impossible to turn back.”

 

* * *

After finishing what he came to discuss, Kurd left the dwelling, stationing guards at the cabin as though there was nothing more to say. With only silence lingering in the room, Shailoh spoke first.

 

“I don’t know whether they will accept it, but Kurd asked for two things as ransom. That the people here be incorporated as residents of the territory, and that you lend your strength to subjugate Chief Gorgon.”

 

Now was the time to set aside their accumulated grievances and discuss what to do next. When she was alone with him, Shailoh had always been sensitive, pushing him away and refusing him. But now she stopped doing so and continued speaking quietly.

 

“And as for Sir Kianan… I think he may have been killed by them. Otherwise, he is still being held captive.”

 

“Declen apparently did not anticipate this division. He probably thought that if there were women, children, and elderly people, some of their forces would be pulled away to protect them.”

 

“That’s probably so.”

 

Shailoh sighed heavily and rubbed her face. The situation had been overturned again and again, twist following twist. Kurd, whom she had thought was a vicious and greedy bandit, was merely the leader of a wandering people desperately struggling to survive, and he was protecting the women, elderly, and children. Moreover, contrary to her expectation that everything would end if they simply handed over a certain amount of money, he wanted something much greater.

 

“Brother Declen might be willing to lend his strength, but the former… he won’t accept that.”

 

Shailoh remembered the murderous glint in Declen’s eyes when Kurd’s group had dragged her away. She knew that although he was a kind older brother to her, he was not the same toward others. Like the Dukes Yesiol throughout history, he was someone who would do anything to protect his people and his family.

 

“He would probably accept the subjugation of Gorgon because it is something that needs to be done for the North anyway… But he would make Kurd and the others here pay for trespassing into the ducal castle and kidnapping me.”

 

There was no doubt that Kurd and his men were not good people. They had infiltrated the festival held for the first time in three years, broken into the ducal castle, harmed people, and kidnapped her. Although it seemed that no one had died, there were surely people who had suffered critical injuries and were hovering between life and death. But…

 

“What do you want to do?”

 

Unable to decide what to do and repeatedly letting out heavy sighs, Shailoh quietly raised her head. “What?”

 

“I asked what you wanted to do.”

 

“That sort of thing isn’t important. What matters is Brother Declen. And what you want.”

 

“I’m asking what you want. What do you want to do?” Caleb repeated himself, staring intently at her. His turquoise eyes seemed to look straight through her, as though trying to read her thoughts. That made Shailoh unconsciously swallowed dryly.

 

“What do you want to do, Sasha?” His voice was gentle, but at the same time, there was a firmness that seemed to say he would not tolerate evasion.

 

Shailoh averted her gaze and lowered her eyes. “If possible.”

 

“If possible?” The persistent gaze followed her profile, probing for an answer.

 

Shailoh took a deep breath, then lifted her head and met his eyes. “I want to grant Kurd’s request. Although the way they went about it was wrong, the young children, elderly people, and women who remain here are innocent.”

 

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

 

The moment she voiced the conclusion she had reached after much deliberation, a crisp answer came back. Shailoh blinked in disbelief. “What?”

 

“I’ll do as you wish.” Caleb rose from his seat, then suddenly approached the window. After looking around outside, he flung the window open.

 

Shailoh, who had risen with him without thinking, approached Caleb with a bewildered expression. “What… do you mean by that?”

 

Before she could finish her question, Caleb whistled and extended his hand out the window. The fluttering sound of wings came from somewhere, and a hawk flew over and landed on his hand. “I told you. We’ll escape safely, and you won’t be hurt even a hair. However…” He untied a note from the hawk’s leg and turned to look at Shailoh. “The plan has changed, so we should let them know.”