The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 35

“Shailoh.”

 

A voice she missed was heard. Shailoh opened her eyes. The face she missed so dearly appeared before her, drawn from her deepest memories.

 

“Mom?”

 

“You’re awake, my daughter.”

 

Her mother, looking younger than Shailoh remembered, gently stroked her head as she lay down. Startled, Shailoh bolted upright as if lightning had struck her very soul.

 

The place she found herself was a dilapidated shack. It was a house haphazardly constructed with planks gathered from here and there, like a crow trying to hide its black feathers by collecting those of other birds. Before, they managed to live in a rundown house on the outskirts of town, but after her mother fell ill, they couldn’t even afford the rent and had to live like mice hiding in a hole.

 

She had returned to a house she barely remembered from long ago. It was only after examining her own body that Shailoh slowly began to understand. Small hands and feet. She was no longer the twenty-three-year-old Sasha Griche. She was a child again, perhaps seven years old. This must be a dream.

 

“Mom…!”

 

As realization bloomed in her chest, Shailoh threw herself into the arms she had missed so much. Fourteen years had passed since she last saw her mother. Though her mother’s face showed signs of illness, it wasn’t the skeletal visage she had before she passed. This was her mother’s face she had carefully tucked away in memory’s secret corners, protected like a treasure too precious to lose.

 

Was this how she looked? Whenever Shailoh tried to recall, her heart ached too much to remember.

 

Since the real Claire Diponz had returned, Shailoh hadn’t known a single night of peaceful sleep. Behind her was a cliff, and ahead was a precarious tightrope. She lived by taking each step forward carefully, always looking ahead.

 

“I missed you.”

 

“Why? We’ve always been together.” Her mother smiled with the gentle warmth of summer evenings, patting her young daughter’s back with hands that felt like home. “Did you have a nightmare?”

 

“A nightmare…” Shailoh murmured, burying her head into her mother’s shoulder like a child seeking shelter from thunder. “It might have been a nightmare. But there were good things too.”

 

When the real lady returned, and she fled away, Shailoh met Caleb. When she returned to the duchy to end things once and for all, she’d been caught in circumstances as inescapable as a spider’s web and nearly died—but there, in that darkness, she reunited with Caleb. Everything she went through was terrible and unfortunate, but meeting him was a stroke of luck and a blessing.

 

“But you weren’t there with me, Mom…” With tears welling up, Shailoh hugged her mother tightly.

 

Her mother, who had been silently stroking her hair, slowly released the embrace. “Shailoh, if it ever happens that I must leave your side, you must go to the North.” Her gaze was serious, weighted with the gravity of unspoken truths, as if she had made a decision that would echo through time.

 

Shailoh looked at her mother with wide eyes. Even if this was just a dream, the house was just as she remembered, so this voice must be coming from her memory…

 

Had this conversation ever happened before? Even if it had, it was buried in the mists of childhood, beyond the reach of conscious recall.

 

“North…? But you’re not from the North, Mom.”

 

“Actually, it’s not me, but your father…”

 

Father. It was the first time her mother had mentioned him, having always deflected questions about her real father.

 

Lifting her lowered head, Shailoh grabbed her mother’s hand. “Please, tell me more.”

 

“Shailoh… you are actually of very high…” Her mother, who had pursed her lips for a moment at her daughter’s insistence, continued speaking seriously.

 

“Milady!”

 

But a familiar voice interrupted, and suddenly everything around her turned pitch black. Before she could even frown at the sudden intrusion, the urgent voice called out to Shailoh once more, waking her up.

 

“Milady, wake up! His Highness is here!”

 

“…Mmm.”

 

Just like rising up from deep water, Shailoh wakes up from her sleep. Doris, who had been holding her shoulder, withdrew her hand.

 

“What kind of dream were you having to sleep so soundly? You usually sleep so lightly.”

 

“My mother appeared after a long time.”

 

“Your mother? Milady means your real mother?”

 

“Yes. It seemed like she was about to tell me something important.”

 

“Something important?”

 

“Mmm. I can’t remember what, though.”

 

“Maybe you just miss her.”

 

The hand that was brushing back her disheveled hair paused. The moment Shailoh saw the man standing behind Doris, she belatedly pulled the blanket up.

 

“Yo-Your Highness?”

 

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Doris, glancing between the two of them, tactfully left the room, leaving just the two of them in the bedroom.

 

Avoiding his gaze, Shailoh instinctively scooted back until her back touched the headboard. “You came without any notice. As you can see, I’m not exactly dressed.”

 

“I came because I missed you, Sasha.”

 

His calm tone made her look up. Caleb looked tired but annoyingly perfect as always. His usually neat bangs hung loose today, and that small change stirred her heart.

 

“For someone who missed me, you didn’t even send a letter.”

 

“I was so busy that I couldn’t find a moment to breathe. I kept meaning to send, but never did, since I thought it would be better to see you in person. That’s why I worked even harder.”

 

Caleb approached naturally and sat at the edge of the bed. Worried that the thin blanket might reveal too much, Shailoh pulled it up a bit more to cover herself. Caleb’s eyes twinkled mischievously at her action.

 

“What’s the point now? I’ve already seen everything I shouldn’t have.”

 

“How can you be so shameless after barging into a sleeping woman’s bedroom?”

 

“It’s dark, so I can’t see much anyway.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah.” Caleb shrugged, all innocent expressions and guileless eyes.

 

Curious, Shailoh lowered the blanket and found him glancing at her. That’s when she grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

 

“Liar!”

 

The soft moonlight seeped into the room, revealing her large breasts and navel through her nightgown. Embarrassed by the more provocative sight than she had imagined, Shailoh wrapped the blanket around herself like a cloak. She then glared at Caleb, who was chuckling softly.

 

“I didn’t think you were such a liar.”

 

“What did you think I was? A priest?”

 

“Not quite that, but a bit more…”

 

While she fumbled for words, Caleb moved closer and pulled her into his arms, blanket and all.

 

“Ah!”

 

“I’m a man, Sasha. I said I’d wait for you to open your arms, but I never said I wouldn’t do anything.”

 

His warm breath tickled Shailoh’s ear, making her shiver like a bird caught in the rain. She was frozen, unable to move. To push Caleb away, she’d have to lower the blanket that was her shield, but staying like this felt like she might be devoured at any moment. Her heart pounded fiercely. Though Shailoh didn’t dislike the contact, it scared her. She had the feeling that if they went any further, there would be no turning back.

 

With her eyes lowered and her face flushed, Shailoh spoke. “Of course, I didn’t dislike it. I like you, Caleb. But not yet.”

 

“Heh.”

 

As she stammered out her serious words, a sound of air escaping was heard. She looked up quickly and saw Caleb barely holding back his laughter. Annoyed, Shailoh raised her eyebrows.

 

“You were teasing me again?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You were teasing me again, weren’t you?”

 

“No, ahem. Not at all.” Caleb forced a cough and waved his hand.

 

Shailoh, thoroughly exasperated, glared at her mischievous lover. “You’re really mean.”

 

As Shailoh was about to throw the last remaining pillow, Caleb caught her raised arm. Her vision tilted, and she found herself gently laid down, as if she were a baby being placed in a cradle.

 

Caleb smiled softly. “So as long as I don’t peek at your breasts, we’re fine?”

 

“What?”

 

“As long as I don’t look, it’s okay, right?”

 

His confirming tone made Shailoh nod without thinking. The moment his mischievous smile deepened, she realized her mistake.

 

“No, that’s not—!”

 

Caleb lowered himself, lifted the blanket, and, like a beast searching a shelter, pushed aside her nightgown and settled between her legs. The moment his breath touched her below, Shailoh trembled as if struck by lightning.

 

“W-What are you… Ah!”

 

Caleb held her struggling thighs, pulling down her underwear, and licked the joined mound with his tongue.

 

“Caleb!”

 

Shailoh let out a sharp moan, lowering her hand to push his head away. He remained unmoved, tracing her delicate clitoris with his finger.

 

“Sasha, do you know that this perks up with a little touch from me?”

 

“I don’t know, about… Ah!”

 

Her body, which had been touched a few times before, opened as if welcoming a guest. Caleb, who was folding her clit as if cherishing it, took it into his mouth and rolled it with his tongue.

 

“Hah… Ah… Hng…”

 

Shailoh grasped his platinum blond hair, breathing shallowly as she squeezed her eyes shut. A tingling sensation started from below and traveled up her belly. Her toes curled involuntarily. Something warm trickled down between her things.