Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 116

Revenge Has Its Interest 116

116. Heart-Rending Pain

2023.11.24.

The lightning and heavy rain persisted the next day, making travel impossible.

Terrence, after consulting with Luke, decided to stay another day before heading back.

In truth, Terrence felt much lighter after hearing Luke’s story.

Moreover, he was glad to have finally understood his own feelings.

He would no longer foolishly see his fiancée as two separate people.

‘Leah Hamilton is Grace.’

He would no longer hesitate or waver when it came to her. However, the longing that followed this painful realization was immense.

‘I miss her.’

He missed Grace terribly and wanted to berate his past self for leaving her and traveling to a distant province.

“Now that the inspection is complete, shall we discuss the current state of affairs?” Emperor Carl asked.

Terrence abruptly stood up from his seat and said, “I am tired and need to get some sleep.”

“Me as well, Your Majesty,” Luke quickly followed suit. It was no wonder Louis kept begging Terrence to take him on as a secretary.

Now Luke fully understood how Louis felt.

“Duke, since it’s raining and there’s nothing else to do, how about a drink?” Emperor Carl suggested.

“Good idea. It’ll make the day go by faster,” Terrence replied.

Suddenly, Terrence wondered what he was doing there. Why had he come?

If he hadn’t come, he would be enjoying Grace’s sweet scent right now.

“Luke, did you send a letter to your parents?”

“Yes, but I haven’t received a reply yet. I already know what it will say, though. I think I’ll have to visit the estate.”

“Since your mind is so firm, your parents won’t oppose you forever.”

“My father values appearances, so he won’t approve. But it’s my life, so what can he do? No matter how strong a parent’s wishes are, they can’t live their child’s life for them.”

Terrence saw Luke in a new light.

Now that he had made up his mind, he seemed as steadfast as a deeply rooted tree. Though just a subordinate, Terrence felt there was something to learn from him.

“I have a favor to ask,” Terrence said, taking a sip of his drink and looking at Luke with a serious expression. “Tell Chenelle to stop calling me ‘Uncle,’ please.”

“Hahaha, I understand,” Luke answered, knowing it was all up to Chenelle. No one could control her.

Terrence and Luke both became quite drunk.

“The rain is still coming down? It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop,” Luke said, looking out the window and sighing.

“Why? Do you miss Chenelle?” Terrence teased.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Yes, it is,” Terrence conceded. It was a foolish question. Just then, there was a loud knock on Terrence’s door.

Luke quickly got up and opened the door. “Messenger, what’s going on?”

“A telegram has arrived for the Duke.”

“A telegram?” Luke took the telegram from the messenger and handed it to Terrence.

Terrence, who was about to take another drink, hurriedly put down his glass and took the telegram.

‘Did something happen at the Duke’s residence? No news is good news, that’s for sure,’ he thought.

But that thought was immediately proven wrong.

“Goddamn it!” Terrence stood up with the telegram in his hand, causing his glass to fall to the floor.

“What’s wrong? Is it bad news?” Luke asked with a puzzled expression.

“Let’s go back. I received word that Grace’s health has taken a turn for the worse.”

“I’ll prepare to leave right away,” Luke said. The alcohol wore off instantly.

The telegram was crumpled in Terrence’s hand. What exactly was wrong with Grace’s health? He needed to know.

* * *

Allen received news that Sarah had gone to Lubeck.

“Why Lubeck of all places?” He was severely restricted in his actions there, unlike anywhere else.

“She’ll be quiet for a while,” his secretary reassured him.

“I suppose so.” Sarah had done many wrong things, so she wouldn’t be able to act rashly.

“You don’t know where in Lubeck she is?” Allen asked.

“No, we only found a record of her getting off at Lubeck Station.”

“No contact from the person we planted in the Duke’s residence?” Allen suspected that Sarah might have gone to Terrence.

In a way, the enemy’s camp might be the safest place for her.

Besides, Terrence was his enemy, but now he had no connection to Sarah.

“The Duke’s residence has replaced a large number of employees, as if they were trying to cover something up.”

“So, you’re saying we don’t have any informants sending us information right now?” At Allen’s question, the secretary only bowed his head. Of course, Terrence wouldn’t just sit back and take it. He would try to change employees regularly.

“Not right now, but plant someone again when the time is right.”

“Understood.”

It seemed like most of the garbage had been taken care of, but Sarah remained a nuisance.

Anyway, he didn’t like the newly appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Agency at all. He didn’t even meet him when he stopped by to say hello.

“Is he acting all high and mighty because his sister is the Crown Princess?” He was the youngest Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Agency in the history of Galdenia.

As soon as he became Commissioner, he dismissed all corrupt officers.

He didn’t hesitate to warn that anyone who tried to bribe or accept bribes would be severely punished.

‘The Emperor likes him very much.’

Empress Theresa liked such a rigid man.

Allen slammed his fist on the desk. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

“Libet should have been the Crown Princess.”

It wasn’t just because she was his sister, but she was the most beautiful of all the young ladies who participated. It was hard to find any flaws in her.

‘No, there’s still a chance.’

The Princess hadn’t married yet, so he had to become a member of the Imperial Family himself.

It would be great to have information about the Princess at times like this. It would be much easier to influence her in advance.

But all he knew was that there was a Princess, but he didn’t even know her name or where she was.

Allen suddenly realized the importance of connections.

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Agency, who used to clean up after him, was gone, and many nobles who used to bring him high-level information had turned their backs on him.

The reason was that he was involved in Tuazo’s corruption.

‘That’s why intelligence is so important.’

* * *

Terrence and Luke rode horses and took trains in between. That was the only way to shorten the time to the Duke’s residence as much as possible.

He hadn’t felt it was that far when he went to the province, but now that he was trying to return, he felt overwhelmed.

No matter how far he went, the capital, Lebon, seemed far away.

‘I’ve come exactly halfway.’ Terrence was waiting for the train to arrive.

Meanwhile, Luke took advantage of the break to go to the nearby post office and send a telegram.

He needed to know what Grace’s condition was. Shortly after sending the telegram, a reply from Louis arrived.

Luke was startled when he read the telegram.

‘This is a disaster. How can I show this to the Duke?’ He was so horrified the moment he read the telegram, what would Terrence, the person involved, be like?

‘What do you mean, he’ll go crazy.’

Luke took the telegram and headed to the train station.

He was going to find out anyway, so it was better to know sooner rather than later. That way, he could calm his mind while going to Lebon.

“Duke.”

“Did a reply come from Louis?”

“Yes, it did.” Luke handed the telegram he was holding to Terrence. He unfolded the telegram with sparkling eyes, but soon Terrence’s face hardened.

As if time had stopped, he couldn’t take his eyes off the telegram and remained frozen.

“I don’t know what words of comfort to offer……” Luke had thought about it for a long time before saying that.

“A miscarriage……?” Terrence asked Luke as if he had seen a ghost.

The telegram could not contain a long message, so the news was only exchanged briefly, so he could not know the details.

“Grace was pregnant……was she?”

“Yes.”

At Luke’s agreement, Terrence looked distraught.

Grace was subjected to that terrible ordeal by Alicia and her gang without even knowing she was pregnant.

Not only that, but before she had even fully recovered, he had abandoned her and traveled far away.

“Ha! I’m not even human,” Terrence severely berated himself. He didn’t even know that Grace was carrying his child and made her endure that terrible pain alone.

Finally, the train arrived at the platform. Luke forcibly dragged the half-crazed Terrence onto the train.

“Duke, get a grip. You have to go to the young lady!” Luke sat Terrence in first class, stared him straight in the face, and laid down the law.

“I……have to.”

“If you weaken, the young lady won’t be able to hold on!”

“What?” Terrence’s eyes flashed at Luke’s words.

* * *

Leah barely regained consciousness, but what awaited her was devastating news.

“I had a……miscarriage?” she asked again, unable to believe Sarah’s words.

In fact, they had discussed for a long time who would tell the truth to Leah, who had woken up.

But everyone was too weak-hearted, so they just avoided it. So, she had no choice but to step up and say she would do it.

“Yes, it was in the early stages of pregnancy, so you didn’t even know, miss,” Sarah said in a calm tone. If she got excited or cried, Leah would collapse.

As expected, tears streamed from Leah’s eyes.

“Don’t cry!” Sarah said sternly, and Leah stopped crying.

“You’ve been through worse than this. You can have another child. So, save your tears!”

“Yes, I……have to.” Leah wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She knew what Sarah’s intention was in speaking so firmly to her.

If she set her mind to being miserable and sad, she would flounder in pain from which she could not escape.

“You’re not as healthy as you used to be, so you need to take care of your body first.”

“I……know. I have to get stronger. I don’t have time to be sad.”

She knew, but the heart-rending pain had already hurt Leah.

But Sarah was right. Sometimes you have to persevere.

Rather, Leah was worried about Terrence. How much pain would he be in if he knew this fact? For his sake, she would overcome it with resilience.

Still, she needed some time to grieve for her dead child.

“Sarah, lend me your arms. I want to comfort my child with Terrence.”