Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 2

Revenge Comes with Interest 2 (2/200)

2023.08.02.

The man said only that one sentence. He left the room immediately.

Leah was dazed. Nevertheless, she jumped up and ran to the dressing table. The reality she faced was shocking.

‘Is that woman me?’

The woman in the mirror with a bewildered face was Grace from her dream.

A beautiful woman with shining blonde hair, a petite frame, and exquisite features.

Leah groped for her memories of what she used to look like.

Taller than Grace, with chocolate-colored hair.

Of course, she had a more stubborn and strong presence than the fragility Grace exuded.

‘Ha! It wasn’t a dream.’

Leah sank powerlessly to the floor. Pauline rushed to her side at the sight.

“You need to rest more. Lie down in bed.”

Pauline supported Leah and laid her down on the bed. But she got up again and stared at Pauline with a blank face.

There were so many things to ask. She was confused about where to start.

“Paul…line, help me.”

“Yes? Help you? I am the young lady’s maid.”

Suddenly asking for help from someone whose livelihood was serving her, Pauline thought it was strange for Grace to say something she usually wouldn’t.

“I… I can’t remember well. After being sick. My head is all mixed up.”

“Of course. You suffered so much from the high fever.”

“My name is Grace…?”

“You are Grace Vizak, the Baron’s daughter.”

“This is the Duke’s residence…?”

She wondered exactly which Duke’s family it was.

Pauline answered all the general information about Grace in a gentle tone.

Grace was from the Rubek Empire and had an older brother. She was twenty years old, and her brother was twenty-five.

Grace’s brother and Duke Terrence Courtois were friends and had been together on the battlefield.

Then, most importantly, she told her that Grace and Duke Terrence Courtois were engaged.

“I… see. I remember little by little, thanks to Pauline. But what day is it today?”

“Today is April 28th.”

Leah was startled. She had married Allen on April 21st.

So, a week had already passed. Leah needed to confirm the most important fact at this point.

“Pauline, can you get me a newspaper?”

“A newspaper? You don’t read newspapers, miss. You don’t even read books usually.”

Pauline almost burst out laughing.

When Grace woke up, the first thing she looked for was a mirror.

Her day began with worrying about what makeup to wear, what clothes to wear, and what kind of perfume to spray to look good to Terrence.

“Is… that so? Still, there must be a daily newspaper in the Duke’s residence, right?”

“Only the Duke mainly reads the newspaper. He’s probably reading it in his office right now.”

Leah jumped out of bed and ran towards the door. Then Pauline was startled and chased after her.

With messy hair, in a chemise [a simple, lightweight garment], and barefoot, where was she going?

“Pauline, where is the office?”

“Yes? Ah, it’s on the left side of the first-floor hallway, next to the study.”

Leah ran down the stairs and searched for the place Pauline had told her.

Meanwhile, the employees who saw Grace were horrified as if they had seen a ghost. They said she was sick, but she had become strange.

Grace was always as pure as a newly bloomed freesia, but now she was so disheveled.

Without any time to care about the employees’ gazes, Leah quickly ran to the front of the office and stopped for a moment.

She needed to catch her breath, and if she knocked, she would hear a response from inside.

Because that was the proper etiquette. Even if she was in a hurry, she wanted to keep the basics.

Knock, knock, she knocked on the door and waited for a sound from inside.

“Come in.”

With the sound, she flung the door open. There was Duke Courtois and those who appeared to be a secretary and a butler.

The three men stared at Leah with surprised expressions.

“Grace, what’s going on?”

Terrence was so surprised that he doubted whether the woman in front of him was Grace Vizak.

Because the woman who never appeared before him without being perfectly dressed appeared in a very disheveled state.

“Duke Courtois, I know it’s rude, but I need to read the newspaper. Uh, so I need a week’s worth of dailies.”

The butler doubted his ears. ‘Duke Courtois.’

Grace had never called the Duke that before.

Unlike Terrence, who was speechless with surprise, the secretary and butler coughed and showed discomfort.

Because Grace was wearing a chemise without properly wearing underwear, and half of her shoulders and chest were clearly visible.

Even worse, she was barefoot. She was closer to a madwoman than a virtuous noble lady.

“James, give her the newspaper.”

Terrence instructed the butler in a dry tone.

At first, he seemed surprised, but he thought Grace was just trying a different way to get his attention.

Butler James brought the newspaper.

“Thank you, James.”

“Yes?”

James was surprised as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have. Did Grace even know how to say thank you?

Leah took the newspaper and headed back to her room on the second floor. Of course, Pauline followed like a shadow, but she had to be alone while reading the newspaper.

“Pauline, please leave me alone for a moment.”

* * *

Leah unfolded the newspaper by date with trembling hands.

Even though this was the Rubek Empire, they would also cover the events of the neighboring country, Galdenia, in the articles.

That was the same for any country’s newspaper company. But when she tried to read the article, she was afraid.

She had a feeling that what she was worried about would become a reality.

The worst situation where she fell off a cliff and died, and her father’s trading company was shattered… But there was still a glimmer of hope.

‘It’s okay! Allen is here.’

Leah took a breath and unfolded the newspaper.

The Hamilton Trading Company’s incident was so big that it filled the front page of the newspaper.

Leah held her breath and quickly read through it.

“Oh my god! How could this happen?”

Leah was so shocked that she trembled like an aspen tree.

She tried to calm down, but the following newspaper article was so cruel to Leah that she couldn’t even read it with her eyes open.

The newspaper published an illustration of the trial situation. It showed Allen testifying and presenting a pipe tobacco as evidence.

“Why, Allen…?”

Leah slumped down and thought of Allen. They had been close since childhood and naturally developed into lovers.

That’s why they got married. But what if it was a scheme prepared for a long time?

“So the carriage…!”

Only then did Leah put the fragmented puzzle together properly.

At times like this, she resented her quick brain and her ability to face reality. Because she came to a conclusion without taking long.

‘Allen McDowell was a bastard worse than a beast.’

His beautiful appearance, soft smile, and ingrained nobility, which had seduced her, hid such a terrible scheme.

“Ugh!”

Leah tried to scream but covered her mouth with her hand.

Unable to bear it in her right mind, Leah got up and ran out of the room.

“Miss!”

Leaving Pauline’s cry behind, Leah passed through the first-floor lobby and went outside the mansion.

She didn’t care whether her body was getting wet from the pouring spring rain or whether stones were embedded in her feet.

No, she had no sensation at all. She already felt like she was going to die because of the tragic reality that had befallen her.

“Aaaah!”

Leah screamed madly somewhere in the secluded garden.

‘What have I done?’

She shook her head violently and sobbed.

Because of her love, she drove her beloved father to ruin. Not only that, Leah Hamilton was dead.

‘It’s because of me, Leah Hamilton, you’re the one who shattered the Hamilton Trading Company that had been protected for generations!’

Leah could not forgive herself. At that moment, she remembered her father’s mournful face looking at her on her wedding day.

[Are you happy?]

[Yes, Father. It’s rare for a woman in this era to be able to marry the man she loves.]

[That’s true.]

Richard wiped the tears from his eyes and let go of Leah from the product.

[Hmm, it’s enough if you’re happy. My daughter’s happiness is the most important thing to this father. I don’t regret anything, and I don’t care what others say.]

Leah, feeling the love of her father stabbing her heart, fell to the ground and wept.

* * *

Terrence headed to the garden with his secretary Luke, holding a black umbrella.

It was to find Grace, who had run out somewhere in the garden. What was going on just a day after recovering from her illness?

Terrence headed to the spruce forest even in the vast garden. He had a feeling that Grace would be there.

“She’s over there.”

Luke found Grace first. She was crying, half-lying on the ground.

“Grace, what is this again?”

Terrence quietly approached and scolded her. If she did this, she would get the flu again.

Then Grace, who had been crying sadly, stood up with a determined face and turned to the two men.

Terrence put the cloak he was wearing on Grace and held up the umbrella.

“Miss, stop acting like a child? What if you get a serious illness trying to get the Duke’s attention?”

Luke scolded Grace. Love is not something that can be obtained by being stubborn.

Leah was reminded of memories that were like dreams or illusions at the words of Secretary Luke.

Grace clung to Terrence and sobbed, but the man was consistently indifferent. At that moment, a fit of pique surged.

“It’s not stubbornness, it’s effort.”

Leah said, glaring at the two men.

“I’m trying my best to get the person I love. If I don’t do anything, the other person won’t know my heart.”

“But people’s hearts are not like that…”

“That’s right, that’s how people’s hearts are. It’s this desperation to make futile efforts for someone who doesn’t even deserve to be loved that caused this mess.”

Leah spat out bitter words, looking at the two men with cold eyes.

She stared directly at Terrence in particular.

{That son of a ××’s desperate effort was successful. It’s all because of this damned love.} [Leah’s internal monologue, expressing her bitterness.]

When Leah spoke to herself in a foreign language, Terrence’s eyes flashed.

“Grace, when did you learn Landes?”

As far as he knew, Grace could not speak any foreign languages other than the common language.

She hated reading books, let alone newspapers.

Leah looked at Terrence with a cold face and retorted.

{Don’t be so sure that you know everything about a person. Because that’s arrogance.} [Leah’s internal monologue, warning Terrence not to underestimate her.]

Leah shook off Terrence’s cloak and headed to the main building in the rain.