When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 28

Turning Away (27)

From the looks of it, he wasn’t stopped; he was allowed to come.

Since the Crown Prince was already in the shop, the knights were in a bind. They couldn’t openly reveal themselves, so they let Theo enter.

“There are so many unwelcome guests today.”

Ren’s voice echoed, chillingly soft.

He should have killed him back then.

Kaver had hoped he would end his life, but Theo seemed perfectly fine.

‘Tsk, this is why you need to take care of the trash beforehand.’

Ren’s eyes flickered dangerously as he looked at Theo. Railey leaned against Ren, trembling, trying to catch her breath.

“Hah, hah.”

Her head throbbed. The intense pain, making it hard to breathe, continued to torment her as if squeezing her.

‘What on earth is this pain?’

Confusion mounted in Railey’s mind. She felt nauseous, and the mana [magical energy] in her body fluctuated wildly.

Despite the murderous tone in his voice, Ren’s touch as he stroked Railey’s back was gentle. Leta stood in front of Railey, holding out her hand to block Theo.

“What nerve do you have to come here?”

Leta said, wary of Theo.

After hearing the whole story and understanding the situation, Leta had wanted to rush to the Duke’s mansion, vowing to tear Theo to pieces the day she opened her eyes. Kaver dissuaded her, but she was still grinding her teeth.

Her sister’s happy appearance had been a lie. The smile she showed me that day, the words that she was okay, were just stories she made up.

Railey was still having unhappy and difficult days, even away from home.

“……Did you find my story amusing?”

“Your Highness, I was only here to confirm if she was my wife……!”

Is there no other way?

Kaver realized that it was difficult to hide his identity any longer. Now that Theo was here, it was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed.

In the end, he gave up trying to conceal it.

Theo met Leta’s gaze and then Railey’s, and his legs gave way. He collapsed.

“Wife?”

To call her his wife when they were divorced.

“Don’t you have a wife of your own?”

“Th, that’s…….”

Theo trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

Kaver sneered and stared at Theo. Theo hesitated and stood up.

His gaze turned to Railey, who was in Ren’s arms.

“R, Railey, is that really you?”

Railey’s body flinched at Theo’s voice. He can’t recognize her. He must think she’s just someone who looks like her. Railey tried to calm her confused mind and regain her composure.

‘But why am I here?’

For a moment, Railey couldn’t figure out why Theo had come to find her, or even the situation of her running away and being here.

The moment she saw Theo, she was overwhelmed with the thought that he couldn’t find her, and a sense of revulsion surged within her. Her head was a mess, causing pain.

“Please, take a look at this!”

Railey received a half-burnt piece of paper from Theo.

It was a familiar piece of paper. The writing was smudged and hard to read, but the last sentence caught her eye.

It was a text that revealed sorrow and despair.

“The same despair as me…….”

As Railey read the text, the anger she had buried in her heart pressed down on her chest. She constantly felt a burning sensation and a tingling sensation in her throat.

Her hand clenched, and the paper crumpled miserably. The paper fell from her hand with a soft thud.

“……Ren, what is all this?”

Her body, as she held her head, was shaking violently. Hot tears kept flowing from her eyes.

She couldn’t acknowledge Theo in this state. She wanted to break his neck and cut off his breath right away, but she suppressed her anger at the sight of Leta looking at her.

She wanted to kill him.

Railey felt the murderous intent wriggling inside her, even though she couldn’t remember the reason why he was standing in front of her.

‘How did he find out? More than that, why am I feeling this way…?’

Railey took a breath and struck her stuffy chest. The pain was more intense than usual.

“Get out. All of you, get out of here.”

Ren warned in a low voice, holding Railey. A blue aura flickered around him. Everyone froze in place at the intense murderous intent that made the hair on their bodies stand on end.

Theo couldn’t back down now. He needed her now.

“Railey, I’m asking if it’s really you! And who is that man next to you……!”

He was relieved to have found Railey, but he was anxious seeing the unwelcome faces. Perhaps it was because she looked so comfortable in the man’s arms. Theo felt anger rising from the depths of his heart.

‘Who is that man to be holding Railey?’

Railey shook her head violently at Theo.

“I, I don’t know you!”

“No. You are my wife. Railey, you loved me so much that you even carried my child.”

Shamelessly, he revealed Railey’s wounds in front of everyone. Theo did not give in, even though Railey was trembling all over.

He was convinced when he saw the people here. The woman standing in front of him now was Railey.

Her appearance was a little different, but he could feel the unique atmosphere she possessed.

“I came to ask for forgiveness. Please come back with me……!”

“Forgiveness? You have no conscience at all, Duke……! How can the word forgiveness come out of your mouth?”

Leta grabbed Theo’s arm in a fit of rage. It was a struggle to stop him from approaching Railey.

“Duke, if you don’t leave here now…….”

Kaver stopped Leta and took a step towards Theo.

Theo flinched and quickly reached out to Railey. Theo’s hand touched her arm, slightly brushing it.

“Aah!”

Pajijik [onomatopoeia for crackling sound].

She felt a tingling pain as if her whole body was reacting negatively. Railey screamed and collapsed to the floor.

‘I don’t like it, I don’t like it. Why is everyone doing this?’

It was terrible; her body trembled at the memories that came to mind one by one.

Railey curled up and buried her face in her knees.

Ren quickly bent down and lowered the scarf around her neck to see the pattern. The pattern, which had been shining continuously, was becoming clearer and clearer.

‘……Ability.’

The contract is breaking. Along with the contract that had erased her memories, the contract with Ren that had been suppressed was cracking.

“Ah……. I’m……. I’m just Railey.”

The aura that was manifested with the confusion stirred up her mind. Her black hair was gradually turning into silver hair with a blue tint.

‘Magic?’

People who saw Railey couldn’t close their mouths at the situation that had unfolded. Railey, who had finally returned to her original form, slowly opened her mouth.

As her mana became unstable, Railey’s magic was released. She was Railey herself, and she could no longer hide it.

“Leta…….”

A small wave rippled in her calm heart. At first, there was only doubt and denial. But as they began to gather one by one, the small wave soon became a large wave and began to shake the whole.

She kept hearing someone whispering in her ear to remember, telling her not to run away anymore and to face reality.

“Theo…….”

Railey struggled to open her mouth towards Theo. Her eyes, staggering as she raised her body, had returned to their original color. Her head continued to throb as if trying to remember something.

‘Whose is this…….’

A fleeting illusion passed before her eyes, confusing Railey.

The appearance of a young woman who looked like her, crying. The sight of being abused by a man who appeared to be her father, and the face smiling happily after escaping from that place.

And the memories of her childhood that she had forgotten came to mind one by one.

The memories that had driven her to pain, the blurry pieces, gradually found their place and became clearer.

‘Is this me? Ah……!’

Railey broke away from Ren, closed her eyes, and leaned against the wall due to the strong pain that came again. She was too dizzy to stand. Railey had her eyes closed, but the illusion did not stop.

‘But who is that man?’

Her whole life was drawn before her eyes like a dying man’s passing thoughts.

As the forgotten memories returned, Railey began to calm down.

“……I’m sorry. I want to be alone for a while.”

At Railey’s words, Ren led her inside. Ren watched Railey from behind and closed the door.

She came into the room, sat down, and began to sort out the jumbled memories. Then, the increasingly clear memories were returning to their place as if the puzzles were being put together.

“Was it because my mana was unstable that it was eating away at my memories?”

The memory she had been denying soon became a reality and began to be imprinted. Once she accepted it, the pain also disappeared. Her hair, which used to be silver, had a blue tint.

“The reason why my heart was heavy from time to time, even when I had forgotten, was because I had forgotten even what I shouldn’t have forgotten.”

Railey struck her chest and closed her eyes. The harder she hit, the more suffocated she felt, rather than feeling refreshed.

Her child, the child she loved more than anyone else. Foolishly weak, she could only run away.

After she left, Anna and Theo must have lived happier than anyone else.

Crunch.

Railey gritted her teeth. What kind of stupid things had she been doing so far? How could she forget and try to live, even though she had sent the child she had in her womb away with such resentment and injustice?

She hated herself so much. At the same time, the anger she had in her heart raised its head again.

“……Why. Theo, are you okay?”

Railey felt a sense of futility at the sight of Theo, who didn’t even have a scratch on his face, even though she wanted to escape from that memory so much.

The past was pain and a life she wanted to erase, but Theo in front of her looked fine. It was a face that she knew without having to say how he had lived after she left.

What was fortunate for her was that Leta was alive and appeared in front of her. Tears of relief and joy flowed out and soaked her sleeves.

‘Leta is alive……! Thank goodness……. Really, heuk [onomatopoeia for sobbing]……’

No, no. Don’t cry.

She slapped her cheeks with both hands and glared.

‘Let’s get a grip. Don’t be weak.’

Railey didn’t want to lose her sister and what was precious to her again. She will no longer run away or turn away.

“So, let’s give it back in the same way now.”