Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 140

Revenge Comes with Interest Episode 140: The Road to Revenge (140/200)

December 18, 2023

Allen was plagued by nightmares for days. Each time he woke, the haunting image of Leah would appear, tormenting him.

He couldn’t get through a day without drinking.

‘I confirmed Leah’s body. She’s definitely dead.’

But the woman who visited him recently *was* Leah, alive and moving.

‘Leah Frank? That’s a lie. This has to be someone’s plot.’

It seemed impossible that two people in the world could look exactly alike.

To think that her appearance, eyes, hair, and even voice could be identical to Leah Hamilton’s… It defied all logic.

‘Did she come back to life just to take revenge on me?’

He anxiously awaited his secretary’s return, having tasked him with investigating Leah Frank.

If she wasn’t a ghost, then she was a real person. He needed a rational explanation to quell his torment.

An hour later, the secretary returned.

“What did you find out? Who is that woman?”

“She is Leah Frank. She is twenty-six years old and has lived in Landes her entire life.”

“Twenty-six years old?”

Only then did his heightened emotions slowly begin to subside.

“Leah is a common name, and her face is quite ordinary, so I believe you simply mistook her for someone else.”

“Is that so?”

Allen’s body suddenly felt drained of all strength.

He had been indulging in foolish fantasies. How could a dead person possibly come back to life?

“Is there any chance Dr. Frank will be released?”

“It’s difficult.”

“Damn it!”

Nothing was going his way. Everything used to proceed smoothly once he initiated it, but things had been going wrong ever since Terrence interfered in his life.

‘That unlucky bastard.’

He noticed that his secretary’s face had been pale for some time, which he found suspicious. He seemed to be holding back some very important news.

The documents in his hand also seemed to irritate him.

“What is it?”

“Sir, what we feared has come to pass.”

The secretary spread the newspaper in front of Allen.

Soon, Allen’s eyes fell upon the front-page headline announcing the fall of the Bertan imperial family.

In addition, the second demand note for construction costs had been returned.

“How can this be!”

Marteen Polo had assured him that Bertan was stable, yet suddenly the imperial family had collapsed.

Moreover, Bertan was now embroiled in civil war.

To make matters worse, the employees sent to Bertan as construction managers had absconded with all the public funds.

“What will happen to my money?”

A wave of despair washed over him, accompanied by a sickening feeling of his heart sinking.

The imperial family, which was supposed to provide the construction funds, had collapsed, leaving the railroad construction project in limbo.

“Sir, you must approach this rationally.”

“Rationally? How am I supposed to deal with this rationally?”

“The imperial family has fallen, but some force will eventually form a new government. Therefore, you should sell the railroad business rights. Of course, it will be difficult to recover your entire initial investment.”

However, he couldn’t afford to wait until a new government was established.

If he entered a state where cash wasn’t circulating at all, the company would go bankrupt.

“Can I get half back?”

“Impossible. You’ll have to lower the price to one-third and put it up for a quick sale.”

“One-third? That’s practically giving it away!”

If he didn’t, he wouldn’t recover a single penny of the construction costs and would lose everything.

Allen fell into a state of panic. Most of McDowell’s capital had been invested in the railroad construction.

He had been so focused on that one project that there was no other source of income. Allen tore at his hair.

“Aaaagh!”

He thrashed around, throwing things and causing a commotion.

* * *

A few days later, Terrence smiled as he read a letter from Vivian.

“Is something good happening?”

Leah asked playfully.

“Allen’s railroad construction in Bertan… It seems he’s going to lose all his capital because the imperial family collapsed.”

“Really?”

It was welcome news to hear.

Of course, the money was originally Hamilton’s capital, but she hadn’t expected to ever get it back anyway.

“He was in such a hurry that he put the railroad business rights up for sale at a bargain price, and the Empress bought them under her personal name.”

Allen wouldn’t have sold it if the Rubec imperial family had approached him directly.

From the imperial family’s perspective, it was money they didn’t desperately need, so they didn’t feel the need to haggle.

“The construction will resume later when the political situation in Bertan stabilizes.”

“That’s right. In that case, the Rubec imperial family will benefit greatly.”

“It’s only a matter of time before McDowell goes bankrupt.”

Leah’s face lit up. Allen must be regretting selling the general store by now.

Suddenly, Leah had a good idea.

‘If he’s short on money, he’ll definitely start selling off his assets one by one.’

“McDowell owns several cargo ships. They’ll be on the market soon, too.”

“We need to buy them before another company gets their hands on them.”

Terrence called Luke and instructed him to contact the lawyer in charge.

He told him to move discreetly and not let anyone know who was trying to buy the cargo ships.

Leah’s heart was pounding.

The day was not far off when she would get back the Hamilton Trading Company building and mansion. No matter what, she had to buy those two with her own money.

‘I can make as much money as I want.’

The cosmetics using Alicia as a model were selling well, so she was wondering if she should mass-produce them.

If so, she would have to have a separate laboratory staffed by chemists.

‘No, there’s no need to spend money to buy the building and mansion.’

Since they originally belonged to her family, it would be better to reveal Allen’s crimes and get them back through legal means. To do that, she had to wait for the right time.

Allen would desperately cling to the selection of a royal consort. After he was rejected, she would ask Theresa to review the investigation based on the reinvestigation.

But if Allen became a royal consort, many plans would go awry, so Louis had to be selected somehow.

Or Allen should be dropped from the selection altogether.

“Terrence, when will they select a husband for Princess Galdenia?”

“It was in the newspaper today, anyway.”

Terrence handed Leah the newspaper he was reading.

It was perfectly timed; an article announced that a selection banquet would be held in a month.

“The Emperor will hold a masquerade ball.”

“Why a masquerade ball?”

“Galdenia’s chief of staff gave me a hint. He said that the princess would have the consort candidates find her during the ball.”

“It’s hide-and-seek.”

Leah couldn’t figure out what Theresa wanted.

She could just do it comfortably like when she was selecting the Crown Princess. Why bother having the princess find her on her own?

Could the rumors be true?

Perhaps the princess has a fatal flaw, so the intention is to win her heart before revealing her appearance.

“Will Louis be able to find her?”

“I don’t know; he’ll find her if it’s his destiny to be with her.”

Leah was a little worried. No man was as picky about a woman’s appearance as Louis. Besides, he tended to fall in love easily.

First with her, then with Chaner, and recently he even dropped a bombshell that he liked men.

Of course, Terrence barely suppressed him, but there was no telling when his fickleness would return.

‘As long as it’s not Allen.’

That was the only acceptable outcome. She had to make sure he had no more lifelines to grab.

The thought alone sent shivers down her spine. Just then, James came to the office.

“Miss, a letter has arrived from the Galdenia imperial family.”

James handed Leah the letter, which bore the imperial crest.

But she could guess what it said without even opening it.

“Grace, shall I guess what it says?”

Terrence said confidently.

“Guess.”

“I bet they’re asking you to design the princess’s dress.”

Leah thought so too. With a month left, that was the only reason Theresa would send her a letter.

Leah smiled and tore open the letter to check the contents.

“Huh?”

“What, was I wrong?”

“Completely.”

Leah read the letter over and over again. It wasn’t a request for the princess’s dress, but for Theresa’s own dress.

It was definitely surprising and welcome news. She must be confident in her face and want to wear women’s clothes now.

“The postscript is a bit of a headache.”

Terrence took the letter from Leah’s hand and burst out laughing.

“‘Make it suitable for me on your own’?”

It was a very Theresa-like request.

She kept it simple without saying much, but the letter contained subtle pressure.

“Is the Emperor trying to find a husband?”

“Surely not.”

Leah laughed off Terrence’s joke.

Really, it was hard to know what Theresa was thinking.

She got angry when she saw Rivet’s wedding dress. In fact, looking back now, it wasn’t something to get so angry about.

The dress itself was very good. It was Theresa who gave meaning to the dress and got angry.

* * *

Allen barely regained his senses and went to work.

He managed to recover some of the construction costs, albeit only one-third of the initial investment. But the company’s capital was woefully inadequate.

‘I have to sell all the cargo ships.’

It was frustrating that the company’s profits were decreasing when they should be increasing.

On top of that, there was only a month left until the selection.

Just then, the secretary announced that a guest had arrived.

As soon as he opened the office door, a strong perfume smell filled the air.

“Long time no see, Allen.”

“Emily.”

She was definitely an unexpected guest. Why had she suddenly appeared?

Allen quickly scanned Emily’s appearance. Judging from the money she had spent from head to toe, it didn’t seem like she had come to ask him to take her back.

“I was passing by and thought I’d get a cup of tea.”

“You came at the right time. I’ve been meaning to make amends with you, Emily, since we broke up on bad terms.”

“Really?”

Emily’s eyes were fixed on the newspaper on the table.

As she expected, Allen was planning to participate in the selection of a royal consort.

A few moments later, the two sat facing each other and drinking tea.

“Empress Theresa is such an oddball. At this point, she should introduce the princess to the world.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I even doubt that the princess exists.”

Unlike the serious Terrence, Emily had a relaxed smile. She briefly put down her teacup and stared at Allen.

“I got some very important information, you know.”

“Information?”

“Well, I have an idea who the princess is.”