Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 129

Revenge Has Interest 129

129. What Women Can Do

2023.12.07.

When Leah and Alicia entered the reception room, Empress Theresa was not there.

Instead, only the chief of staff greeted them as if he had been waiting.

“This way, please.”

“Yes.”

Indeed, it would be impossible to do makeup in the reception room. There was no way Theresa would reveal her face in such a public place.

The chief of staff led them down several winding corridors. It didn’t seem like they were going to the Empress’s chambers.

It seemed they were heading to a secret room.

Surely, the secret room wouldn’t be a dark and gloomy space without sunlight.

Everywhere they passed, there were famous paintings on the walls and works by renowned sculptors.

Above all, the chandelier, sparkling in the sunlight, emitted a dazzling light.

“Here we are.”

The chief of staff stopped in front of a red door.

The door, painted pomegranate red with gold decorations, looked very luxurious.

It was clearly a private space, not a place for official duties.

As soon as the chief of staff opened the door, another door appeared.

The chief of staff stopped abruptly in front of that door and said to Leah and Alicia in a low voice.

“I cannot enter. If you open this door and go inside, you will be able to see Her Majesty.”

The chief of staff disappeared, ending his guidance there.

Leah looked at Alicia before opening the door.

Words of encouragement were no longer helpful. They had no choice but to deal with whatever came their way.

Fortunately, Alicia seemed to have read Leah’s eyes and nodded with a determined face.

The two of them carried the cosmetic boxes left by the attendants themselves.

Leah swallowed hard and knocked on the door, waiting for a response from inside.

“Enter!”

After a few seconds, Theresa’s voice was heard.

Leah carefully opened the door, and the scent of flowers wafted in.

And the two were momentarily lost in the sight before them.

‘Is this a flower garden?’

It certainly wasn’t a flower garden. There were beds and furniture, so it was definitely a private bedroom.

The difference was that the entire room was decorated with fresh flowers. And not just one type of flower.

‘Empress Theresa liked flowers.’

She usually wore a uniform and boots like a man, and her tone was stiff, so the combination with flowers didn’t readily come to mind.

Theresa, wearing a black gown and veil, was sitting on a large sofa in the center of the room.

Leah and Alicia put down their luggage and approached her.

“We greet Her Imperial Majesty.”

The two bowed respectfully.

“It’s been a while, Miss Vizak. And you are?”

“Alicia Sephora.”

“The best courtesan in Landes, I heard?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to call myself the best.”

Alicia answered Theresa’s question without trembling.

Terun seemed to have given Theresa some information about Alicia beforehand.

Theresa carefully examined Alicia from head to toe.

“How old are you?”

“Forty-two.”

“What?”

Terun apparently hadn’t told Theresa about Alicia’s age.

Well, Terun wouldn’t be the type to talk about a woman’s age in detail.

Theresa had expected Alicia to be around twenty-eight. But forty?

She wasn’t as beautiful as Grace, but she had a subtle charm, and her tone and accent were refined.

Every movement, from walking to moving a finger, was thoroughly trained and without error.

Above all, she didn’t seem nervous or stiff even when facing the Empress.

There was an air of ease in all her actions.

Only then did the reputation of being the best courtesan in Landes make sense.

Leah was relieved that the room was bright.

She had been worried that Theresa might light only a few candles in a dark place like a mole tunnel because she didn’t want to expose her face.

“Your Majesty, have you been taking care of your skin?”

Alicia asked in a calm tone.

“I just wash my face.”

She hated even looking in the mirror, so she just roughly washed with water and wore a veil. Skincare required peace of mind.

“I will prepare.”

Leah announced the start to Theresa and took out the items she had brought for easy use.

Alicia became serious.

If she had only been washing her face, her face would definitely be full of dead skin cells.

Applying cream would be very painful and would definitely cause a negative reaction.

‘I’m glad I brought aloe.’

The two quickly finished their preparations and looked at Theresa with their hands together.

“May we begin, Your Majesty?”

At Leah’s words, Theresa nodded. Then she took off her veil herself.

Leah had seen Theresa’s face before, but Alicia might be seeing it for the first time, so she might be flustered.

So Leah was worried about Alicia’s reaction.

‘No, Alicia isn’t someone who would act rashly. Besides, she’s done countless demonstrations on even worse people.’

As expected, Alicia showed no signs of surprise even after seeing Theresa’s face completely.

Instead, she approached Theresa with an indifferent face and carefully examined her skin condition.

“The skin is in very poor condition. It’s dry and full of dead skin cells. But it hasn’t been exposed to the sun, so aging isn’t severe. First, we’ll do a facial mask and massage.”

Alicia only spoke like a professional, and Leah quietly assisted her.

“Did you take care of your appearance to become a courtesan?”

There was a thorn in Theresa’s words.

“Taking care of my appearance was essential to captivate men. Men don’t spend money unless a woman is attractive.”

“Hmm, you could have had a job other than living off men and making money?”

Alicia paused what she was doing.

Even Leah didn’t like the question very much.

It was, in effect, a criticism of Alicia’s profession.

“I’ve only just found that job. Thanks to Miss Vizak.”

Alicia replied kindly. Empress Theresa was no different.

She was just like any other upper-class person who didn’t know the ways of the world.

She seemed to be mistaken that since she, a woman, was in the position of Empress, other women could freely have jobs in a meritocratic society.

But what good would it do to argue with the Empress? I should just do my job well.

* * *

Terun paced back and forth in the lobby, waiting for Leah to return.

He didn’t want to be anxious, but it was unavoidable.

Just as he was getting bored, a familiar voice called him.

“Duke Courtois!”

It was Salame, who had stayed in his house until recently.

“Lord Roberto.”

“I heard that the young lady came to the palace and rushed here. Where is she now?”

Seeing the color in Salame’s face, things must have gone well with Theresa.

“I’ve repeatedly told you not to worry about it.”

“What would I do to the young lady? It’s just nice to see a beautiful person.”

“Then isn’t she in front of Lord Roberto? Feel free to admire her.”

Terun pointed to himself and said.

“I hate cold things.”

Salame shook his head roughly, expressing his dislike. Terun wanted to ask Salame at this point.

“Do you like Grace?”

“I like her. I think people are also creations made by God. So I like to appreciate them. But I don’t like people who are only good-looking on the outside. A perfect sculpture is just something to appreciate, but humans can be appreciated in many ways. Speech, eyes, voice, movement, personality, etc.”

“I didn’t know Lord Roberto had such a profound philosophy about beauty.”

“No one knows. Oh! Do you have any cases you want to entrust to me again? Like investigating Tuazo’s corruption like last time.”

Terun chuckled at Salame’s words.

A situation where he had to constantly show his abilities to his mother.

That way, he wouldn’t be driven into a political marriage like other princes and princesses. It would be useless even if he tried so hard.

“Please help Arthur Wellington, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. He is reinvestigating the Richard Hamilton case. There are many suspicious aspects.”

“I see. I was quite surprised at the time. But the evidence was perfect, so Her Majesty couldn’t just ignore it.”

Salame was happy as if he had finally found something to do.

He was upset because he had been scolded by Theresa.

[Royalty must also work. I will not tolerate living extravagantly and wastefully with the blood tax of the imperial citizens.]

I should go to the Metropolitan Police tomorrow.

“Lord Roberto, I have a question.”

Terun wanted to get information while he met him.

Why are they only receiving applications for the selection process and no schedule is coming out?

He couldn’t help but worry because Louis had applied.

“An invitation will suddenly be sent one day. It will be completely different from the existing method, so please look forward to it. Of course, this information is only for the Duke.”

‘Completely different from the existing method?’

Terun quickly guessed. What’s so different? People’s thoughts are all the same.

* * *

Leah and Alicia spent an hour making Theresa’s skin moist.

After removing dead skin cells and moisturizing, they mixed cucumber and aloe to make a facial mask, then gently massaged the entire face with olive oil.

It was finally time to cover Theresa’s smallpox scars.

“Thank you for enduring well; it must have been boring.”

Alicia was grateful to Theresa for not complaining.

“Boring? I fell asleep because I was sleepy.”

“I see.”

“That massage… I think it’s very good.”

She liked gently touching her face and adjusting the strength to give acupressure [a form of massage using pressure points].

Her fatigue was relieved, and her body felt relaxed.

“I will start applying color makeup.”

As Alicia picked up the brush, Leah stood close to her with the correcting cream.

“Miss Vizak always has a talent for surprising people.”

“Is that so? By the way, I barely managed to keep Chaner from following me to see Her Majesty.”