Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 104

Revenge Comes with Interest 104

104. Just Ten Minutes

November 12, 2023

A banquet hosted by Grand Duke Vincent was held in the evening.

Everyone, including Leah and Terrence, dressed formally.

Among them, Chenelle, wearing the dress Sonya had given her, was so beautiful that everyone’s eyes widened. She looked like a completely different woman.

“Chenelle, you look like a camellia.”

Leah couldn’t take her eyes off Chenelle in the red dress.

There were two other people who felt the same way as Leah.

Luke and Louis seemed greatly surprised by Chenelle’s appearance, which they had never seen before.

“Sonya’s dresses are the best!”

It seemed like Chenelle might be the star of the day. As they headed to the banquet hall, Louis spoke up.

“Did you know that Grand Duke Vincent’s mistress is a courtesan who was famous in Landes?”

“Mr. Louis Ballerina, what is a courtesan?”

Silence followed Chenelle’s words for a moment before everyone burst into laughter.

“Mr. Ballerina, why don’t you just enjoy the banquet?”

Luke teased Louis, smiling brightly for the first time in a while.

Finally, as they entered the banquet hall, the Grand Duke and his wife were already there.

“Welcome!”

The Grand Duke greeted everyone warmly, and his wife also showed courtesy.

However, even when everyone was seated, the Grand Duke’s mistress still hadn’t appeared.

‘Does the main character appear last? Is that what this is?’

If that was the intention, she was very dedicated to her profession.

She must have a habit of monopolizing the attention and affection of people, especially men.

Just then, the Grand Duchess Vincent looked at Terrence’s hand and asked in a worried tone.

“Duke Courtois, did you hurt your hand?”

The bandage on his hand suggested that it wasn’t a minor injury.

“It’s not serious; I was bitten by a grumpy rabbit.”

“Tsk, tsk! Did you apply medicine?”

“Yes, thank you for your concern, Grand Duchess.”

Terrence replied politely and smiled at Leah.

“Would you introduce that young lady? Is she Miss Vizak?”

At the Grand Duchess’s words, Leah quickly composed herself and introduced Chenelle to the two of them.

“I apologize; I should have introduced her first. This is Chenelle Vizak, my younger sister.”

“Ah, so you’re sisters. No wonder you both have outstanding beauty.”

The Grand Duke offered praise this time. Leah whispered to Chenelle.

“Chenelle, stand up and greet them.”

“Okay!”

“King! Queen! Hello? I’m Chenelle.”

Silence flowed through the banquet hall once again. But it didn’t last long.

The Grand Duke and his wife smiled kindly and accepted the greeting. The Grand Duke even went a step further and asked Chenelle.

“Young lady, do I have the face of a king?”

“King, aren’t you? That’s strange, you’ll be king soon,꼰뒈.”

The Grand Duke Vincent’s smiling face hardened at Chenelle’s nonchalant answer.

Leah quickly assessed his mood, worried that Chenelle’s words might have upset him.

But it was the opposite. The Grand Duke’s eyes sparkled through his wrinkled eyelids.

“Soon to be king. I’m almost sixty years old. Haha.”

“Wow! This pudding is delicious.”

The Grand Duke seemed to be subtly hoping that Chenelle would say something else. But Chenelle was busy eating.

Just then, the door opened, and a strong rose scent wafted in.

Even without looking, everyone could tell it was a woman.

As everyone’s gaze turned towards the door, a woman in a purple dress appeared with a bright smile.

“I’m sorry, am I late?”

Leah sensed that she was the Grand Duke’s mistress and quickly assessed her.

Her white skin showed no wrinkles or blemishes.

Her black hair was glossy, and her figure was moderately plump, which was pleasing to the eye.

Her pronunciation and tone were refined, and her smile was especially wonderful.

‘She doesn’t look forty; she looks like she’s in her twenties!’

As the noble ladies of Landes said, the Grand Duke’s mistress wasn’t exceptionally beautiful, but her clear and flawless skin was very striking.

“Let me introduce you; this is my lovely cat.”

The Grand Duchess’s face stiffened somewhat at the Grand Duke’s introduction.

On the other hand, the Grand Duke’s mistress gave a restrained smile and leisurely looked at the invited guests.

“Hello? My name is Alicia.”

Leah and Terrence bowed politely to Alicia, and then the others exchanged greetings with her.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such beautiful young ladies and handsome gentlemen.”

Alicia’s every word was kind.

“What brings you all the way to Landes?”

Just as Leah was about to answer Alicia’s question, Chenelle interrupted.

“King! You need to eat a lot of vegetables. That way, you can be king for a long, long time.”

“Hahaha, how lovely. If the young lady asks, I must eat them.”

Grand Duke Vincent ate the vegetables as if to show Chenelle. On the other hand, Alicia looked at Chenelle, who was interrupting the conversation, with a puzzled expression.

“Alicia, I’ll tell you why we’re here.”

Leah thought it wasn’t the time to drag things out and say only meaningless things.

“Please tell me, Miss Vizak.”

Her elegant and graceful demeanor showed why Alicia was the best courtesan in Landes.

“We came because we wanted to know about the cosmetics manufacturing method. Of course, we plan to pay a fair price.”

“Miss Vizak is beautiful enough without makeup.”

“It’s not for me; it’s for women who need makeup.”

“For example?”

“Well, wanting to be beautiful is every woman’s desire. But some women have scars on their faces due to unavoidable accidents. Those women want to look normal rather than beautiful. So, I want to manufacture cosmetics for those women.”

At Leah’s words, Terrence finally understood her deep intentions.

Until he heard her words, Terrence thought Leah’s business ambitions were excessive.

He thought the reason for visiting Landes was solely for success.

He was also angry that she had made an unreasonable promise to Theresa for that reason.

But he had forgotten for a moment that she couldn’t ignore the pain of others.

Alicia, who had been listening to Leah’s words, smiled softly.

It was a very ambiguous smile that was neither positive nor negative, so it was somewhat confusing.

At that moment, Chenelle started talking again while eating.

“King will be a good king. Yeah, everyone likes the queen.”

“Chenelle, it’s not polite to interrupt the conversation like that.”

Luke quietly scolded Chenelle. But the Grand Duke and his wife looked at Chenelle with pleased faces.

“I’ll tell you the cosmetics manufacturing method.”

Alicia readily agreed as if to refresh the atmosphere.

“Thank you; I’ll pay any price.”

“I don’t need money. Instead…….”

Alicia’s gaze turned to Terrence, who was next to Leah.

She scanned Terrence with a subtle look.

“Let’s talk about that separately.”

“S……Shall we?”

‘Why did Alicia look at Terrence?’

She was boldly turning her gaze to another man while the Grand Duke was eating right in front of her.

* * *

After the banquet, everyone drank tea in the drawing room.

However, Leah and Alicia went out to the garden to begin full-scale negotiations.

“Please tell me what you want, Alicia.”

“Well, to be honest, I’m tired of the Grand Duke’s residence these days. I’m looking for another sponsor.”

‘That sponsor wouldn’t be Terrence, would it?’

“I like Miss Vizak’s fiancé. Will you give me a chance?”

Alicia was more daring than expected.

“What kind of chance are you talking about……?”

“Just! Ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?”

“I can make your fiancé my man in ten minutes, no more, no less.”

“Excuse me?”

‘Crazy woman!’

Leah’s lungs felt hot as if they were on fire.

Was Alicia’s mind only filled with men?

“So, what if Terrence falls for Alicia’s seduction in just ten minutes?”

“He becomes my man. Instead, I’ll tell you the cosmetics manufacturing method.”

“Is there an objective way to judge that?”

At Leah’s question, Alicia turned to her and said.

“Will you undo three buttons on my dress?”

As she requested, Leah undid three buttons.

Soon, Alicia turned around with a satisfied face and said to Leah.

“The Duke just needs to fasten the buttons on my dress within ten minutes.”

Leah’s face flushed at her provocation.

No man would fasten the undone buttons of a strange woman unless they were close.

At least, not if Terrence was a man who accurately recognized that he had a fiancée.

“Miss, life is a gamble anyway. You lose everything sometimes, and sometimes you gain.”

Leah pondered.

Would Terrence give another woman a glance in just ten minutes? If Terrence was that kind of man, it wouldn’t matter if she lost him.

‘No, I trust Terrence.’

She trusted him, but…… if life was a gamble as Alicia said, it was fair to bet on rewards and punishments of equal weight on both sides.

“Okay. Instead, if Terrence doesn’t fall for Alicia, you have to accept whatever action I take.”

“Okay, oh! He’s coming over there.”

Terrence was where the two women turned their gaze, and he was walking towards them.

Leah quickly hid behind a tree.

She was going to watch closely to see if Terrence was seduced in ten minutes as Alicia said.

* * *

The drawing room, where they were enjoying refreshments, suddenly became agitated. Just as the atmosphere was ripening, the chamberlain hurriedly came with a letter.

“Your Grace, a letter from the royal palace.”

Grand Duke Vincent hurriedly tore open the envelope with the Landes royal family crest.

Soon his drooping mouth twitched.

“Dear, what’s wrong?”

“His Majesty the King is critically ill. I must go to the palace quickly.”

The Grand Duke hurried out of the drawing room.

At the same time, Luke and Louis looked at Chenelle, who was eating snacks, with serious faces.

They felt like Chenelle’s prediction was coming true.

“Luke, I think Chenelle is a genius.”

“I sometimes feel that way too.”

Louis thought he should address this and decided to ask Chenelle again.

“Chenelle, the King of Landes is very ill.”