Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 197

Side Story 17: Living as Given (197/200)

February 13, 2024

Leah stared at Aiden, her eyes wide with surprise.

‘How long has he known?’ she wondered.

She had assumed Aiden hadn’t noticed anything, but apparently, she was wrong.

Why had he remained silent all this time, knowing she wasn’t his real sister?

Leah swallowed nervously. It felt like being ambushed, as Terran would say.

‘But I’ve decided to reveal the truth, so I can’t bury it again.’

“When did you find out?”

Even as she asked Aiden, her heart pounded wildly, like a broken wheel. But Aiden just stared at Leah, silent.

She had never seen Aiden’s face so full of anguish.

He always wore a kind smile, but now he looked as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

‘He knew… He pretended not to know on purpose.’

Leah felt a tightening in her chest and became certain of it. At the same time, she felt so sorry for Aiden that she couldn’t even look him in the eye.

‘How awful this must have been for him.’

If it were her, she would have felt that way. Or perhaps she wouldn’t have wanted to believe it.

Then, Aiden’s rigid face began to relax, little by little.

“When you ate the cabbage so well.”

“Pardon?”

He realized she wasn’t his real sister from something so trivial? It was a little puzzling.

“Grace, people can change after being very sick. I’m not that narrow-minded. Besides, people can become completely different after suffering physically and mentally.”

‘Huh? This isn’t what I expected…’

She felt like her arrow had missed its mark.

She was convinced that Aiden had grasped all the facts, but it seemed she had missed by a hair’s breadth.

“Brother, don’t you believe in mysterious things like people coming back from the dead or souls being switched?”

“Hahaha! Grace, I only believe in verified facts. Such things are just fabrications created by people.”

It was the same thing Terran had said at first. Instantly, Leah realized it would be impossible to tell Aiden the truth.

Perhaps he vaguely knew the truth but didn’t want to face it.

She couldn’t give Aiden a lifelong, unerasable wound just for her own peace of mind.

That would ultimately mean taking away his beloved sister.

“Me too.”

Leah smiled bitterly.

“Grace, I want to see the second floor too.”

“Let’s go. I’ll show you around.”

Leah led Aiden to the second-floor staircase.

The two of them toured the second floor, laughing and chatting as if the serious conversation from earlier had never happened.

Then, Aiden stopped at the last store, sighed deeply, and looked at Leah.

“You know, I don’t think about it that seriously.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“What’s important is being alive in some way.”

Aiden’s face was very serious. It was as if he was finally giving a real answer to Leah’s question.

“Just as I couldn’t have predicted that my leg would be disabled, humans can’t know that they will live a completely different life.”

“Brother…”

“What if it’s like this or like that? Just live as given. We should be grateful for that alone and live out the rest of our lives.”

Leah felt like Aiden was acknowledging her as the real Grace.

Was this what it felt like to be blessed? The guilt in her heart quickly disappeared, and a desire to live diligently as Grace until the end welled up.

“It’s not complicated at all. From the moment I lost one leg, I decided to live as if that was normal.”

Aiden tilted his head and looked at Leah.

“Grace, it’s your life.”

He patted Leah’s shoulder and smiled brightly. Instantly, Leah saw the light emanating from Aiden and felt finally at peace.

His words freed her from the complex emotions that had bound her all along.

* * *

Terran and Leah went to the department store together every day.

It was because of the east wing construction. This Wells Confectionery was entirely Terran’s plan, so the construction was carried out under his leadership.

“How about putting the display case by the window that’s visible right from the sidewalk over there?”

As Leah bustled around the store, passionately explaining her ideas, Terran smiled.

“Why do you keep smiling like that?”

“Because you’re cute.”

“Pardon?”

“Like a fairy.”

“Terran!”

Leah shouted, afraid the workers would hear. Calling a mother of two a fairy was childish and embarrassing….

Then Terran strode towards Leah. He still looked great, without an ounce of fat.

He put his arm around Leah’s shoulder and looked out the window, saying,

“Grace, bread isn’t important.”

“If bread isn’t important in a confectionery, then what is?”

“This isn’t just a bakery.”

“That’s right. It’s a confectionery that sells Wells health food.”

“Think about it differently, Grace. Wells is located inside Fantasia Department Store. How do you want this place to be seen by people?”

Leah tilted her head at Terran’s question. He was quite impressive. He was no longer the aggressive and simple Terran Kurt from before.

Before she knew it, all traces of a soldier had disappeared from him, and he smelled strongly of a businessman.

At this rate, Terran would become the second Richard Hamilton, not her.

“Fantasy. Fresh vegetables, healthy bread, and fragrant coffee. We need to make people feel happy spending time here with perfectly ideal food.”

But she also knew well how a huge business works as Richard Hamilton’s daughter.

“That’s right! Then you know why we shouldn’t display bread on that large window side, right?”

“Of course, I know.”

‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I gave up my position as Hamilton’s daughter. I couldn’t find the answer at all,’ Leah thought.

Leah was smiling, but she was quite embarrassed.

Wells was a business that started with the reverse idea that ordinary people’s rye bread is good for the body without being fattening.

It was the product of an ambitious plan to showcase salads and juices with fresh vegetables and fruits, well-aged yogurt, and even exotic fruits.

That was what fantasy should be.

“It’s about buying health food for a lot of money.”

“Grace doesn’t know much about people’s psychology.”

“Yes? Does Terran know well?”

“Human psychology was my favorite subject when I was at the military academy.”

Terran grandly boasted, and Leah’s face turned red with annoyance.

Okay, let’s hear how well he knows about human psychology. She raised her head and forced a smile at Terran.

“The inside and outside are only separated by a single pane of glass, but they are completely different worlds. We have to make the people outside admire the world inside the glass wall. To do that, we have to show people enjoying themselves.”

Leah’s mind suddenly cleared.

She had momentarily overlooked the fact that this place was a department store that sold illusions to people.

‘People who want to show off and people who envy,’ she mused.

Enjoying the city view while drinking coffee, eating bread and salad at a table placed in front of the glass window. You can feel the flow of time and leisure while watching the people passing by.

In addition, you will be able to fully enjoy the envious glances from outside the glass window.

‘You can never tell how good this bread is for your body just by looking at it. What they want is the atmosphere that people create.’

That’s why Terran wanted to make all the walls here into large windows from the beginning.

“Terran is right.”

Leah told him what she had inferred, and he gave a satisfied smile and agreed.

“But how did you know something that I didn’t even think of? Is that kind of content in human psychology?”

“Well, you can apply it. But I realized it after seeing a certain woman.”

“What woman?”

The smile disappeared from Leah’s face. Was there another woman besides her who could give him this kind of inspiration? She felt inexplicably annoyed.

“Grace Kurt.”

“Huh?”

Leah blinked in surprise and looked at Terran.

She had been married to him for several years, but she was happy and relieved that she had given him such fresh inspiration.

“When I first saw you, that’s exactly how I felt. Like a passerby outside that glass window. I like the woman inside, I want to get closer… In the end, that feeling became ‘I want her.’ People have their own big and small desires, only in different forms.”

Leah fell more in love with Terran than she had a second ago.

Why does that man not let her affection cool down, but instead, grabs her ankle with a deep swamp-like charm as the days go by?

Rather than being jealous of him for having better ideas than her, she wanted to kiss him madly.

“I love you, Terran.”

“Suddenly?”

“Originally, love confessions should be sudden to be thrilling.”

“If so…!”

Terran wrapped his arm around Leah’s waist, pulled her close to his body, and kissed her deeply.

Even as Leah kissed him, she thanked God.

She was lucky to be alive, to have met this man, to be able to pursue her dreams, and, decisively, to have fallen in love.

Then, the aura of love that had been swirling around the two of them shattered with a clang. An idea flashed through Leah’s mind.

“That’s it!”

“Wait, we have to finish the kiss…”

“Terran, I’ll stop by the palace and then go home, so please take care of things here.”

“What’s going on that you’re throwing me away like this? Can’t I come with you?”

Terran made a hollow expression at the back of Leah’s head and just clenched his empty hand.

* * *

Vivian seemed to like Leah’s words for now.

She was fine up to the third child, but she gained a lot of weight when she had the fourth.

She thought it would come off quickly after giving birth, but it wasn’t easy.

She had gained 15 kilograms more than before, so she had been feeling depressed lately.

“Your Majesty, please use our department store’s menu.”

“I understand the Duchess’s intentions well. But there are many talented chefs in the Imperial Palace as well. There is hardly a diet that they have not tried.”

Leah fully understood Vivian’s doubts.

“Come to Wells every day for one meal. That alone will help you regain your vitality.”

Vivian’s heart stung at Leah’s words.

She realized that her depressed heart was more serious than her body. Come to think of it, it had been well over a year since she had left the Imperial Palace.

“Duchess, are you confident that you can restore my body to its original state?”

“Your Majesty, you know what I’ve accomplished so far.”

Leah replied in a confident tone.