Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 3

Revenge Comes with Interest 3 The Transferred Life (3/200)

3 The Transferred Life

2023.08.03.

Terran watched Grace’s retreating figure as she spoke sharply and left.

Soon after, Luke chuckled and said to Terran,

“It seems Lady Grace has changed her strategy.”

“No matter how hard she tries to win the Duke’s heart, there’s no reaction, so she must be thinking of taking a more aggressive approach now.”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

Luke looked at Terran with a puzzled expression, who was firmly denying his words.

It was the first time he had ever refuted his words so decisively.

In fact, Terran initially thought so too. But the Grace from just now seemed like a person with a completely different personality.

‘Please be a little kinder to me now, Duke.’

Luke was now feeling sorry for Grace.

Terran wasn’t always as cold and indifferent as he is now.

Not only did he lose his parents early in his childhood and take over the family, but the seven-year war with Wales changed him as a person.

He was pessimistic about everything, thoroughly controlled his emotions, and prevented others from invading his world.

‘Grace speaks the Landes language?’

What surprised Terran about Grace wasn’t just that she spoke a foreign language. Landes is a fictional language in this world.

He felt that she was not the person he knew before, from her tone, behavior, and even the look in her eyes.

‘Could that son of a bitch be me?’

Terran smirked, raising one corner of his mouth.

“Duke, don’t you think it’s strange no matter how you look at it? Lady Grace read the newspaper, rushed out here, burst into tears, spoke a foreign language, and went back in alone?”

Luke couldn’t understand any of Grace’s actions today except for running out in the rain.

Besides, her tone was different from usual.

[Luke, when is Terran coming back? Grace is so lonely.]

It was a cute and friendly tone, but just now, it was chillingly sharp and stiff.

On the one hand, he felt sorry for Grace. But Luke suddenly thought of a woman who was even more pitiful than her.

“Duke, what should we do with the body of Leah Hamilton? Should we hand it over to her fiancé in Galdenia?”

Terran had recently gone hunting and accidentally witnessed Leah Hamilton’s accident, and he had personally gone down the cliff to recover her body.

He couldn’t ignore it because the accident happened in his territory.

“Where is the body?”

“It’s in the church. We’ve already taken thorough embalming measures.”

“We should hold a funeral for her; it is the duty of a human being.”

Even if the body were sent back to her home country, the Hamilton family had committed a serious crime, so they would probably cremate it roughly and scatter it anywhere.

‘Richard Hamilton, that he smuggled poppy flowers… Something’s strange.’

Terran didn’t believe the newspaper articles. The Hamilton Trading Company was one of the oldest and most famous trading companies on the continent.

In particular, he knew that they earned money through fair trade and contributed a lot to society. Above all, he had met Richard Hamilton in person when he was young.

It was the day when an opera was held for nobles and the upper class.

At that time, there were many children selling flowers, matches, and cigarettes around the opera house.

As if they had a sense of privilege, everyone ignored the children.

But only one person, Richard Hamilton, bought things from the children one by one.

‘He didn’t seem like that kind of person, but it feels forced somehow.’

* * *

Leah finished her bath with Pauline’s help and lay back in bed. During that time, she had a lot of thoughts.

‘Accept reality.’

It was the hardest thing to do, but the fact that her soul had flowed into someone else’s body might be God’s arrangement.

Originally, the blood of a cold-blooded merchant flowed in her body.

Perhaps because of that, even as Grace, she had no intention of going to Allen, crying and complaining about how love changes.

Rather, her mind cleared, and she began to see reality properly.

‘From now on, I have to live as Grace Bizac.’

Even if she coldly calculated, it would be difficult to survive in Galdenia under the name of Hamilton.

Instead, she would have to become someone else and reveal Allen’s ugly schemes.

‘The Chief of the Metropolitan Police is probably in on it too.’

They said that hunters wait for a very long time and put in a lot of effort to catch ferocious beasts.

Allen must have been the same. He must have been gathering Hamilton’s information bit by bit through her. He must have also been recruiting helpers to assist him.

‘I didn’t know that boiling ambition was hidden behind that gentle face.’

He wouldn’t have been satisfied with just becoming the son-in-law of the Hamilton Trading Company. What was his ultimate goal?

‘He’s already amassed a huge fortune, so all that’s left is honor and power. He wants to rise to a higher position than he is now.’

To confront Allen in the future, the status of Grace Bizac, the young lady of the barony, was absolutely necessary.

Leah got out of bed and headed to the dressing table. Soon, she stared at the dazzling beauty looking back at her in the mirror.

‘I don’t know how I ended up in your body, but I’ll give it back to you when my work is done.’

Even if it was possible, she definitely wanted to keep her promise. Furthermore, she swore.

‘I won’t do anything that would tarnish Grace’s honor.’

Although it was a transferred life against her will, she wanted to live properly while this state was maintained.

Just then, Pauline, who had gone to get a dry towel, returned.

“Miss, I have some new news about the Duke’s schedule.”

Seeing Pauline making such a fuss, it seemed that she usually reported Terran’s every move to Grace.

‘I’m not really interested.’

When Leah made a lukewarm expression, Pauline made an even more determined expression.

“You know the body of the woman who fell off the cliff a while ago.”

Leah was startled and turned away from the dressing table.

“The body?”

“I overheard that the dead woman is the only daughter of a very large trading company in Galdenia.”

“Where is the body?”

“It’s in the church. But I heard that the Duke is going to hold a funeral and bury her in the church cemetery.”

“When is that?”

“In three days. And he’s going to contact her fiancé in Galdenia too.”

Leah’s heart was beating fast.

If so, the man she saw when her body was dying was Terran. So, he must have recovered the body.

In an instant, Leah’s mind flashed.

‘That’s right, my necklace.’

The precious necklace that her father had given her on her wedding day came to mind.

[Take it, Leah.]

[Father! What is this……?]

It was a necklace with an old brass key, and it was a meaningful object to him.

The key was engraved with the phrase symbolizing the Hamilton Trading Company and a golden carriage. Terran must have seen the necklace and known the identity of the body.

[It’s your father’s gift. I wanted to give you a meaningful gift.]

[I can’t accept it. I know better than anyone what that necklace means, so how can I……?]

[Take it. There’s no one else to give it to but you. Your father is old. If something happens to the trading company, you have to solve it. To do that, you’ll need the necklace.]

‘Did Father foresee this tragedy?’

If so, she had to get the necklace back.

‘Ah, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have been rude to Duke Courtois.’

Leah fell into serious thought.

To attend her own funeral, she had to find a reason that Terran would accept. Above all, it was important to win his favor.

* * *

Leah shook off her illness, put on makeup, and dressed properly.

At first, Pauline had put on so much makeup that it was a bit of a struggle to fix it.

“Grace, no, I look better with less makeup, Pauline.”

Pauline was puzzled at first, but after changing her makeup and hair as Leah said, she clapped her hands and nodded.

“Oh my, heavy makeup was ruining Miss’s face!”

She neatly combed her hair and tied it up, and chose a dress that was as simple as possible. And she made sure that the earrings and necklaces were not too flashy.

“Go on, you’ll be late for dinner.”

“Okay.”

Still, it was fortunate that she had breakfast with Terran every morning.

She had to meet him to talk about the funeral. However, she wished she knew more about Grace before meeting Terran.

‘Didn’t Lady Grace keep a diary?’

As she was thinking about this and that, she was soon in front of the dining room.

Leah put on the brightest expression she could and entered the dining room.

“Good morning, Duke Courtois.”

Leah bent her knees slightly towards Terran, who was sitting at the head of the table.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“It’s thanks to your consideration.”

Leah could now see Terran properly.

His sculpted features, which had been hidden by his gloomy expression, came into view. He had a sturdy build and a tall height, a typical cold-hearted beauty.

In contrast, Allen was a handsome man who melted people’s hearts with his cream-like smile.

‘Why did I fall for that son of a bitch……!’

Leah shook her head roughly, feeling pathetic for even thinking of Allen for a moment. Anyway, she had to apologize to Terran first.

“I was very rude last time. I will never do such a reckless thing again.”

Leah apologized very politely.

But Terran only narrowed his eyes and watched Leah, sparing his answer. It was as if he was trying to dig into her inner thoughts with his sharp eyes.

“Grace.”

Terran called her after a long time.

“Yes, please speak.”

“The ‘son of a bitch’ you said in Landes, does that perhaps mean me?”

“How could that be? The son of a bitch is someone else. It’s not Duke Courtois.”

At Leah’s answer, Terran put his hand on his forehead and laughed out loud.

At that, the servants who were serving the meal all stopped moving temporarily. They were quite surprised, as if they had never seen the Duke laugh before.

“{When did you learn the Landes language?}”

Terran asked Leah in fluent Landes.

‘When? I learned it when I was young.’

Leah was embarrassed. In fact, she had learned many foreign languages since she was young and had read all the related books.

Thanks to that, she could speak many foreign languages. But she didn’t know when Grace had learned the Landes language.

“{I studied it myself because I liked Landes clothes. I wanted to buy them directly by letter.}”

“{Self-taught, you did that to buy them directly by letter, hmm.}”

Only then did Terran nod as if he understood.

Leah thought it was time to bring up her main point to Terran.

“Duke Courtois, I heard that you recovered the body of Leah Hamilton of Galdenia, and that you’re going to hold a funeral for her.”

“That’s what I intend to do.”

“May I attend too?”

‘Now, he’s going to ask me why I want to attend, right?’

Leah prepared her answer and waited. But no matter how long she waited, he didn’t ask.

“Do so. It’s a good thing to have even one more person in a situation where there are few mourners.”

“Th-thank you.”

Terran, who had casually agreed, tilted his head at Grace’s words of gratitude.

Come to think of it, was Grace the type of person to attend the funeral of someone she didn’t know? What kind of relationship did she have with Leah Hamilton?

In fact, when he saw Grace entering the dining room, he felt it again. She was not the Grace she used to be.

It wasn’t just because her attire had changed that he judged her that way. It was like, it was the same feeling as that rainy day.

‘It’s like she’s not the Grace Bizac I know.’

There was a biggest reason why he concluded that.

The old Grace was busy paying attention to him all day long. Even when eating, her eyes were busy following him, but the current Grace was indifferent.

‘She’s making me more and more curious.’