The Reason Why the Forsaken Fake Returned Chapter 54

“What kind of person is Lady Perus?”

 

“Hard to say. I don’t really know.”

 

He was tempting her with the idea that there were other options, but it seemed that breaking free of her uncle’s grip wasn’t so easy since she hesitated.

 

“I just hope the chess piece moves the way it wants to.”

 

Something about the way he muttered that made the fine hairs on the back of Shailoh’s neck stand up. She shook off the strange feeling and shifted the direction of her questions. “What sort of person is the third prince?”

 

Unlike a moment ago, when he’d answered right away, there was a brief pause. “We weren’t all that close. I only saw him a few times. He adored my brother, though.”

 

“Does he… know about his death too?”

 

“Of course.” Caleb gave a faint smile, then suddenly looked down at her with a serious expression. “Sasha.”

 

Instead of answering, Shailoh waited for him to go on.

 

“Would you do anything for me?”

 

“Of course.” She nodded without even a second’s hesitation.

 

“My lovely Sasha.”

 

A soft, yielding touch brushed her forehead. Shailoh naturally slipped her arms around his neck as he leaned in. Light kisses trailed over her eyelids, the bridge of her nose, then her lips.

 

“Sweet dreams.”

 

* * *

Now that her sentence had been finalized, Claire sat there in a prison uniform, looking haggard. Heavy restraints weighed down both her hands. After slipping the guard some money to send him away, Shailoh faced her through the bars. Maybe all the venom had finally drained out of her. Claire didn’t lunge at her or start spewing curses the moment she saw her. But the way she glared was still as icy as ever.

 

“What’s the meaning of this sudden visit? Didn’t you say we’d never see each other again? Change of heart? Come to gawk at the loser’s face?”

 

“Looks like the duke’s family really didn’t come for you in the end. Just like I said.”

 

“…Get to the point.”

 

“You might’ve heard already, but Baroness Boris is dead.”

 

At the sudden news, Claire’s eyes flickered for an instant. But she quickly curled her lip in disdain. “…That woman was doomed to die anyway, whether I went after her or not.”

 

“I think she was murdered.”

 

“What are you trying to say?”

 

“Evan killed her.”

 

“What…?” Claire’s face twisted at the completely unexpected words.

 

Shailoh explained calmly. “The baroness died coughing up blood, just like the Grid Merchant Guild Leader, from a colorless, odorless poison.”

 

“And how do you know it was colorless and odorless?”

 

“Because he left it at the scene.”

 

Claire looked utterly thrown.

 

Shailoh added, “I doubt he did it for your sake. More likely he found out Baroness Boris was secretly digging around behind his back, so he killed her.”

 

And the evidence had ended up with her. If Shailoh had to guess, the reason the baroness had been clutching that handkerchief at the very end was to tell her to see that investigation through to the finish.

 

“It doesn’t make sense. Leaving the poison behind like that. He’s not the kind of man who’d deliberately leave evidence.”

 

And it wasn’t just any poison, but one that hadn’t even been identified yet, left out in the open. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t reconcile it with Evan’s meticulous nature.

 

“Pfft…” The heavy silence was shattered under the weight of sudden laughter. “Pfft… Hahahaha!” The way Claire threw her head back and laughed like a madwoman was tinged with insanity.

 

Shailoh had to force her own feet to stay planted when she almost stumbled back on her own. “…Claire?”

 

After laughing for a long while, Claire finally caught her breath and answered, belatedly. “You idiot. Don’t you get it? He’s found out about you. He’s realized you exist.”

 

“What?”

 

“That poison is something only a tiny handful of people know about, people like you, who were once family. Even if they analyze it, they won’t get a single useful lead. Other than the fact that it’s poison, they’ll learn nothing.”

 

As Claire went on, a chill crawled up Shailoh’s spine, and goosebumps prickled across her skin.

 

Claire gripped the iron bars with both hands and added in a low, eerie voice, “So he left behind a poison only you would recognize. You’ve already been exposed.”

 

“…”

 

“The only reason he hasn’t done anything yet must be the person standing behind you. Whoever it is, they must be terrifying, right? So it looks like he’s decided to wait and see how things play out…” Mid-sentence, Claire’s expression suddenly lit up as something occurred to her, and she fired off a barrage of questions. “I didn’t really think so, but… is Baron Cal actually the one backing you? He’s not just a front with someone else behind him?”

 

Shailoh didn’t answer.

 

Taking her silence as confirmation, Claire kept chattering to herself. “So on the surface, he just pretends to be a shrewd businessman, but he’s actually a very scary man. All the people I sent after you vanished without a trace.”

 

“I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of character, though.”

 

“…”

 

“Despite appearances, he gives off a cruel impression. He’s the type who won’t hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve his goals. That’s why you shouldn’t get too deeply involved…”

 

Out of nowhere, Wyson’s words flickered through Shailoh’s mind. Just then, a sharp voice snapped her back to the present.

 

“Now tell me why you’re really here. You didn’t come all this way just to ask that one thing.”

 

Shailoh hadn’t come just for that. There was one more reason she’d come. Pushing aside her wandering thoughts, she got straight to the point. “What are the ingredients for the poison the duke’s family uses? What does the duchess’s family grow, how do they cultivate it, and how do they process it?”

 

“Have you lost your mind? Why would I tell you that?”

 

“If you tell me, I’ll get you out of this prison. It’ll just take a bit of time.”

 

“How?” Claire pressed herself right up against the bars, aghast.

 

“There’s a law that says if a criminal renders a great service, they can be pardoned before their sentence is up.”

 

The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place. The murder of the Grid Merchant Guild Leader. The murder of Baroness Boris. And on top of that, tax evasion and double bookkeeping. If all of that were to be fully recognized as admissible evidence, the downfall of the Diponz family would no longer be impossible. But the sliver of hope that had begun to rise was snuffed out in the very next moment.

 

“Tch.” Claire spat on the floor with a disappointed look, then let out a derisive snort. “How the hell am I supposed to trust a promise like that? You think I’ve lost my mind enough to help you?”

 

“You’re mistaken. You don’t have a choice, Claire.” Shailoh had expected to be turned down. Forcing down her disappointment, she gave a gentle smile. “You know what, Claire? I heard the place you’re headed to is so bad it’ll make you think a convent would’ve been a blessing by comparison.”

 

“…”

 

“So if this conversation ever comes back to you later, contact me.”

 

“You—!”

 

“Before I find out on my own, that is. Then.”

 

Leaving Claire, who could neither cry nor laugh, behind, Shailoh turned and walked away. Once she left the gloomy jail. Doris was waiting outside. The moment she climbed into the carriage, Doris bombarded her with questions.

 

“Milady, how was it inside? Did the conversation go well?”

 

“It was just the way I imagined. I got answers to what I was curious about, but the thing I most wanted to hear is still out of reach.”

 

In such harsh, filthy conditions, a person’s pride withered away, and they were bound to cling even to the thinnest thread of hope. When Shailoh told her everything except the part about Caleb, Doris’s expression shifted in rapid succession: surprise, anger, hope, then disappointment.

 

“So the duke’s family has caught on. In that case, it’d be better not to go on stage anymore. We don’t know when or how they might attack. It’s dangerous.”

 

“No. I need to be even more active. The reason they can’t lay a hand on me right now, even knowing who I am, might be because they’re wary of His Highness behind me. But it’s also because I’ve made a name for myself here in the capital as a singer.”

 

“Ah…” With a look of sudden understanding, Doris nodded. “Wherever you go now, there’ll be people who recognize you, so they can’t move recklessly. Stirring up a scene for no reason would only hurt them too. And they still don’t know what cards you’re holding.”

 

“I need to build up my name even more and protect myself with it. I’ll keep expanding my connections to gather allies, and I’m going to track down clues about the poison that killed the Grid Merchant Guild Leader and Olivier.”

 

“I understand what you mean. Where to now?”

 

“To the troupe’s rehearsal room.”

 

* * *

Even with everything that was going on, Shailoh kept tirelessly juggling stage practice and socializing, and at last, the curtain rose safely on the second play. Unlike her debut performance, this one was a pure, devoted love story between a fairy and a human, and with each passing show, the theater was packed to the rafters. All over the streets, Sasha Griche’s posters went up once again.

 

After the fourth performance, Shailoh wiped off her makeup with the help of the makeup artist and Doris and was just letting down her hair. At that time, Wyson, who had grown quite close to her, came into the waiting room.

 

Catching his eyes in the mirror, Shailoh spoke first.