Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 168

Revenge Has Interest 168

168. Will She Return to Me?

2024.01.15.

While everyone seemed to dismiss Dr. Frank’s words, only Leah showed genuine interest.

She replied that she would consult with Dr. Karen and seek advice from several other doctors before making a final decision.

Of course, her promise to be his patron, allowing him to focus solely on his medical practice, remained valid.

“So many things happened while Grace *unnie* [Korean term for older sister or respected older female friend] was away.”

“What kind of things?”

Channer began to recount the events that had occurred at the Duke’s residence in Leah’s absence.

She also delivered the shocking news that Pauline was pregnant and that Empress Theresa had fallen in love with a nobleman from the Eastern Continent.

“Empress Theresa is in love? With a man?”

“Yes, they say he’s divorced.”

“How did he win Her Majesty’s favor?”

It wouldn’t have been easy to penetrate Theresa’s tightly guarded heart. She was someone who seemed to have lost faith in love more than anyone else.

She often said that love has an expiration date and that she doesn’t trust men.

“Alicia has become a celebrity, because of a cosmetics advertisement.”

Leah wanted to know more about Theresa’s love life, but Channer only shared the essential details.

“I figured.”

She was glad that everyone seemed to be living happily in their own way. Now, all that was left was for her to safely give birth to her child.

“Oh, right! The Empress told me to give you this.”

Channer handed Vivian’s letter to Leah.

Vivian must already know about her pregnancy, but the contents of the letter were still surprising.

‘Type A? Since Channer and I have the same blood type, she can receive a transfusion from Channer if blood is needed?’

As expected, Vivian’s doctors were highly skilled.

Instantly, Leah wondered if Dr. Frank and Karen’s expertise could compete with that of Vivian’s doctors.

‘I should arrange a dinner.’

From the next day, Herrot Street No. 5 became a hive of activity.

Channer and Luke lived next door to Leah, and Dr. Frank lived across the street.

Since they would be staying there for a few months, everyone was busy organizing the luggage they had brought from home.

Meanwhile, Sarah was busy preparing food.

Even though most of it was store-bought, it was enough for a decent dinner.

Besides, Sarah’s dessert-making skills were quite impressive.

“Dr. Karen said she’s coming too, right?”

“Yes, she said she’ll be here by 6 p.m.”

Sarah answered Leah’s question. At the same time, Terrence was laying a linen tablecloth on the table and arranging flowers.

His appearance, without his uniform and with his hair casually styled, had a different kind of charm. He looked relaxed and at ease.

In particular, Terrence, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and holding flowers in his hand, looked happier than she had ever seen him.

‘I don’t think I’ll ever forget this.’

Terrence holding flowers and plates instead of a pen or sword. She was glad that peace seemed to have finally found its way to Terrence.

Soon, the house was filled with the aroma of delicious food. When the grandfather clock struck 6 p.m., there was a knock on the door.

The invited guests had arrived one by one. Terrence took charge of greeting them.

He performed the duties that James would normally handle without a word of complaint.

Finally, everyone gathered around the dinner table. For a while, they enjoyed the food, drank wine, and engaged in light conversation.

Dr. Karen and Frank, in particular, were busy catching up on the stories they hadn’t had a chance to share.

Leah decided it was time to steer the conversation in the direction she wanted.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s something I wanted to ask,” Leah said, looking at the two doctors.

“Grace, what are you curious about?”

Instead of answering directly, Leah showed them the letter Vivian had sent.

She wanted to know if they were familiar with the concept of blood types. Dr. Karen spoke first.

“Frank, Grace is type A.”

“Then Channer is the same.”

The two doctors spoke casually, but Leah was genuinely surprised.

Until now, she had assumed that only Vivian’s doctors possessed such advanced knowledge.

“Since you are not experts in the field, I cannot bore you with the intricate details, but even as we speak, new experiments and research are being conducted all over the world,” Karen said in a gentle tone.

“The problem is that while some of these advancements benefit humanity, there are also very dangerous experiments being carried out in secret,” Frank added, sounding concerned.

“The competition between countries is fierce.”

“Can you give me an example?” Terrence asked, his eyes gleaming with interest.

“For example, the development of chemical weapons. Every country is trying to develop more powerful weapons.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the conversation turned serious. But Leah felt relieved.

She was primarily concerned with whether the two doctors understood the implications of Vivian’s letter.

She didn’t have the energy to worry about world peace or power struggles.

However, Terrence seemed quite invested in the topic. As a leader in Lubeck, he couldn’t simply ignore such matters.

Then Channer, who had been quietly enjoying her meal, completely changed the tone of the conversation.

“Doctor! Can you change my face to look like *unnie’s*?”

Silence hung in the air for a moment at Channer’s question, and then laughter erupted from various corners of the room.

“What’s wrong with your face? To my eyes, Channer is prettier than the lady,” Luke said, expressing his disapproval.

“No, my *unnie* is the most beautiful woman in Lubeck.”

“That’s right,” Terrence replied, as if stating an undeniable truth.

Then Dr. Frank explained the real reason he was so interested in studying plastic surgery in depth.

“My purpose isn’t to arbitrarily alter faces. I want to conduct research for patients who have disabilities or features that cause them significant distress, or who need to reconstruct their original faces due to a major accident. But people often treat me like a madman.”

“Frank, I have a lot of insecurities about my whole face. Would I have to redo everything to be as pretty as Grace?” Karen asked in a serious tone.

“I will refrain from shaving any bones. Even if you call me ‘Doctor,’ it is impossible for Karen to become Grace.”

“Whether you shave the bones or just cut them, if you succeed, you’ll make a great achievement in medical history, right?”

“Dr. Karen, just be reborn.”

At Frank’s words, Channer spat out the juice she was drinking, and the dinner table was instantly splattered. However, the laughter didn’t stop, and everyone continued to eat in a friendly atmosphere.

* * *

They say time flies when you’re with precious people. Leah’s due date was tomorrow.

Since they were planning a cesarean section from the beginning, they had scheduled the date in advance. In the meantime, Dr. Karen and Frank had made thorough preparations.

“They said the surgery will take about an hour.”

Leah was busy trying to comfort Terrence, who had been uncharacteristically silent since morning.

“Grace, don’t worry about me. Just focus on yourself right now.”

Terrence was annoyed that Leah was paying attention to him.

He felt terrible looking at Leah, whose belly had grown enormously without any corresponding weight gain in the rest of her body.

It was hard to watch her feet and hands, no, her whole body, become so swollen.

Most of all, his biggest concern was that Leah wasn’t getting enough sleep as her delivery approached.

“Your suffering ends tomorrow,” Terrence said, comforting her as he gently stroked her hair.

Suddenly, Leah’s nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes. He was worried about her, but for some reason, she felt overwhelmed with sadness.

Indeed, it’s impossible to truly know what’s in another person’s heart. Maybe it was because she was worried about Terrence worrying about her, because they loved each other so deeply.

“Grace, promise me just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Promise me you’ll get through this. Promise me you’ll succeed this time, just like you’ve overcome so many other challenges.”

“I will.”

Leah hugged Terrence. A man with a large frame but a heart as tender as a child’s.

She could fully sense how scared and afraid he was.

Terrence lay down on the bed, facing Leah.

He hoped that Leah would be able to fall asleep for at least a few hours tonight. Suddenly, Dr. Karen’s words came back to him.

[It is difficult to conceive again after a cesarean section. It may be possible in the future as medicine advances, but it’s not something we can consider at this time. Cesarean sections themselves are not widely favored.]

[There is only one thing I want. Please save Grace, no matter what.]

Terrence had asked with utmost sincerity. Now, his heart ached painfully.

Fortunately, Leah had fallen asleep in the meantime.

How many days had it been since she had slept peacefully? It felt so miraculous that his heart was overflowing with emotion. Terrence watched Leah sleeping all night long.

Finally, the day of delivery arrived. Leah had been fasting for almost two days, leaving her with little energy.

The tension in the hospital was palpable. Everyone was speechless at the sight of Leah in a patient gown lying on the hospital bed.

Even Channer, who was usually so boisterous, was uncharacteristically silent.

“I’ll do well, everyone wait for me.”

Sarah and Channer finally burst into tears at Leah’s words as she lay in the operating room.

Terrence felt a surge of self-reproach for getting her pregnant, seeing Leah’s parched lips, haggard face, and the contrast between her bulging belly and her emaciated body.

Soon, Dr. Karen and Frank appeared in white surgical gowns, accompanied by several nurses.

One of them approached to close the operating room door, and Terrence widened his eyes to catch one last glimpse of Leah’s face through the slowly closing door.

Thud, the door closed completely. Terrence collapsed to the floor.

“Your Grace.”

Luke rushed over and helped him up. Terrence clung to Luke and sobbed.

“Will she… come back to me?”

Terrence trembled like a frightened animal, his face ashen and drawn as Leah’s. He clung to Luke as if he were a lifeline.

“The lady has always returned to Your Grace. You know she is a strong person, don’t you?”

Luke felt helpless, unable to offer Terrence anything more than such obvious words.

Then Channer came over, held Terrence’s hand tightly, and whispered.

“*Ajusshi* [Korean term for uncle or a respectful way to address an older man], don’t you remember? *Unnie* even saved *Ajusshi* when he became a stupid idiot in the cabin!”

Channer’s words, though blunt, struck a chord.

“That’s right. She’s a stronger woman than me.”

“You’re going to meet your daughter and son, so don’t cry.”

“Daughter and son?”