Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 12

Terun wore a self-deprecating expression.

He couldn’t shake the confusion about Grace, who had changed so suddenly.

So, he insisted on confirming with Aiden whether Grace’s claims about her fluent foreign language skills and first aid abilities, which she supposedly learned in childhood, were true.

Aiden said he had never heard of such things, adding his own speculation.

[Doesn’t everyone change? Grace is probably just going through the process of growing from a naive girl into a mature lady.]

‘It was just speculation,’ Terun reminded himself.

He immediately brushed away the remnants of complex imaginings that had piled up inside him.

‘There are so many people in the world, and things happen that cannot be explained by scientific logic.’

The suspicion that Grace’s soul might have been switched was a ridiculous one, he knew.

But he was forgetting the most important point.

Even when looking at the same picture, people can interpret it differently, and personal perspectives vary in likes and dislikes.

Aiden was right. Humans change, and so does Grace.

The problem was that he hadn’t acknowledged that fact.

‘How pathetic, Terun Courtois.’

Terun reflected on whether he had been prejudiced against Grace.

Moreover, he had troubled Aiden by asking unnecessary questions.

‘Human change is natural.’

Terun sent Aiden into the villa first and took some time alone. Aiden’s words still rang in his ears.

[Can’t you cherish Grace as she is, Terun?]

[I just…]

[I know she’s endlessly lacking in your eyes. I also know you got engaged to Grace out of guilt for me.]

The moment he saw the anxiety in Aiden’s eyes, he realized his mistake.

[When I die, you can do as you please, Terun.]

In other words, he didn’t have to spend his life with Grace against his will. The moment he heard those words, Terun realized how big of a mistake he had made.

[What kind of talk is that? Why would you die? You won’t die just because you’re missing a leg. And…]

Due to his taciturn nature, it was difficult to express his true feelings. But he had to do it for Aiden.

[I don’t dislike Grace.]

[!?]

[I mean it.]

Only then did a smile bloom on Terun’s lips.

[That’s a relief. Is it because Grace has come to her senses?]

Aiden joked and ended the conversation.

Terun decided not to struggle any longer.

His head was complicated by the mix of doubt and contradictory feelings towards Grace, but now he decided to accept her as she was, as Aiden had said.

‘Aiden, Grace is never lacking.’

He regretted not being able to say those words aloud. They could live together, adapting to the ever-changing world. Suddenly, a thought lingered in his mind.

‘Yes, I don’t dislike Grace. Rather…’

Terun tried to erase his thoughts by washing his face roughly.

How had he become a person who always suspects, analyzes, and tries to find logical explanations for everything?

‘Oh well, what does it matter.’

* * *

The four people enjoyed their meal. Leah helped Aiden’s wife, Reina, prepare the food.

His sister-in-law, Reina, was a kind, cheerful, and good woman. Above all, she truly loved Aiden.

“I don’t know if you’ll like it since it’s just country food,” Reina said, glancing at Terun.

“It’s wonderful, Reina.”

Compared to the Duke’s table, it was endlessly simple, but it was meaningful because it was made with vegetables grown directly by the two of them.

Grace ate the steamed dish of cooked cabbage, peas, lemon, and anchovy sauce first. Then Aiden exclaimed in surprise.

“Grace, your taste has changed? You’re eating cabbage!”

“Yes…? It’s delicious, Brother.”

Cabbage was originally her favorite vegetable. It digests well and has a good texture. But the real Grace seemed to dislike it.

Leah wondered if she had made a mistake, but it was impossible for her to act exactly like Grace anyway.

“People’s tastes change throughout their lives. I couldn’t even eat meat until I was fifteen. But now I have to eat meat at least two days a week.”

Everyone nodded at Reina’s words.

Terun also agreed with Reina. He used to eat beans without a problem before going to war, but now he wouldn’t even touch them.

That’s because the only food available on the battlefield was thin soup with beans and rough bread.

“By the way, is it okay for you two to sleep together in the guest room on the second floor? Since you’re engaged.”

‘Sleeping in the same bed with the Duke?’ Leah thought, startled.

Reina explained that there were only a few rooms available in the small villa, so she thought Terun and Grace could share a room.

Leah knew intuitively that Terun and Grace had never stayed overnight, even when they came to visit the two of them before.

What should I answer?

‘I have a bit of a bad sleeping habit,’ she thought, panicking.

Grace was worried about her sleeping habit of wandering all over the bed. It would be nice if Terun would just offer to sleep on the living room sofa.

“Anything is better than the stable. Don’t worry about us, Reina,” Terun readily agreed. Aiden seemed surprised by his answer, then retorted loudly.

“Terun, you’ve become much more easygoing.”

“What?”

When Terun looked puzzled, Aiden pointed at him with his chin.

“You were the king of picky eaters, weren’t you?”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you exaggerating too much, Aiden?”

Aiden was surprised to see Terun’s face after a long time. His complexion hadn’t been this bright since the war.

Terun’s face always carried deep loneliness, depression, and the scars of war.

Grace’s face was always clouded with gloom.

His younger sister didn’t hesitate to act excessively because she was struggling with a lack of affection and attention.

But Grace, whom he met today, seemed like a completely different person.

‘Whatever the reason, it’s good if they both change for the better.’

Aiden was glad that he didn’t have to worry about them anymore.

* * *

After clearing the table, Leah went up to the guest room on the second floor first after taking a bath with Reina.

It was a bit small for two people to sleep in, but it seemed fine for one night.

When she opened the slanted window, the stars twinkled in the black sky like scattered jewels.

‘Beautiful.’

Is this what peace is? Leah was lost in the night sky for a moment, as if nothing had happened to her.

In fact, she didn’t have the face to properly see Aiden and his wife. How shocked would they be if they knew that a strange woman was occupying their precious younger sister’s body?

‘Everything has a beginning and an end.’

The day will come when I put it back to normal. For now, I had no choice but to rationalize it that way. Then she heard the sound of someone climbing the wooden stairs.

The person who opened the door and came in was Terun, as expected.

With his already tall height and physique, the small room seemed even smaller.

It felt strange to be alone with him in such a confined space.

But Terun, wearing a simple shirt and pants instead of his fancy uniform and with his unkempt hair, looked different.

Leah unknowingly blurted out her impressions of him.

“You look good.”

“Huh?”

Terun looked slightly embarrassed at the sudden compliment, and Leah didn’t know how to walk it back.

“No, I mean… I meant you look relaxed, but it came out wrong…”

“Were you talking about me?”

“Yes.”

“Grace also looks healthy, so it’s good to see.”

“I… Is that so?”

The awkward conversation seemed to be roughly resolved.

The two stared at the bed at the same time. The bed was the only place to sleep, as there was nothing else in the room except for a small wooden chair.

“Are you worried?”

Suddenly, Terun’s eyes changed. He took a step towards Grace and made a slightly mischievous face.

“N… No! Duke Courtois is a gentleman, so why would I worry?”

‘I’m not worried. I’m just a bad person who feels relieved by your misfortune,’ she thought guiltily.

“A gentleman is still a man, isn’t he?”

“That’s true. Anyway, I trust Duke Courtois.”

‘I just feel sorry that you can’t hold a woman even if you wanted to,’ she added silently.

Leah smiled brightly on purpose and lay down on the bed first.

“I can sleep in that chair.”

Leah looked at the crude wooden chair that Terun pointed to with a nod.

He’s going to sit in that chair all night and sleep? Whose conscience do I have to prick to be satisfied?

“I used to take naps standing up on the battlefield.”

“This isn’t a battlefield.”

Leah tapped the spot next to her and said. But Terun’s eyes looked very conflicted.

Finally, Terun moved. He slowly walked towards the bed and sat on the edge next to Leah. Soon, he took off his shoes and lay down beside her.

Before they knew it, the two were lying in the same bed, looking up at the low ceiling together.

“Um, I have a bit of a rough sleeping habit.”

Leah realized that she had made a big mistake.

Whether Terun had the function of a man or not, lying in the same bed with him was a huge incident. Her heart was pounding, and her body was stiff.

So, without realizing it, she rambled on about how she had a rough sleeping habit, might grind her teeth, or might fall to the floor and wander around.

‘Why isn’t there an answer?’

Leah only moved her eyes to the side.

‘What? Is he already asleep?’

Terun was asleep, making her efforts to relax useless, and Leah couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Leah unknowingly lay on her side and admired his sleeping face.

‘There’s no other handsome man in the sleeping cabin.’

Thick eyebrows and long eyelashes, a sharp nose and a smooth jawline. Even the disheveled black hair on his sculpted forehead.

Besides, he only slept so that the woman wouldn’t have any worries.

Really… ‘That’ was a huge flaw for such a perfect man.

Leah admired the sleeping Terun and fell asleep in that position.

Terun gently opened his eyes at the soft breathing. He was so surprised to see Grace’s face on his pillow. Their faces were so close that their lips would touch if he turned his head the wrong way.

‘Grace, do you know how sexy it is to breathe into a man’s ear?’

She probably doesn’t, because if she did, she wouldn’t just breathe and sleep like a spring breeze blowing in a field.

She was a woman who didn’t know that seduction was seduction.