Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 76

Revenge Has Interest 76. The Moment of Acknowledging Love (76/200)

October 15, 2023

As soon as Terrence arrived at the Basel Forest, he split his troops in half and launched an attack.

[Luke! My unit and I will attack the thieves’ base.]

[Your Grace, do you know where their base is?]

[North.]

[Pardon?]

It seemed he was listening to Chenelle, not just ignoring her.

[Take care of the small fry and come north.]

[Understood.]

Luke lay in ambush in the forest to prepare for the upcoming surprise attack.

Meanwhile, Terrence led his troops along a somewhat rough but shorter route. Nevertheless, skirmishes broke out frequently as they moved north, resulting in injuries and deaths.

However, since he had anticipated this, no significant damage occurred. Terrence never expected the thieves to attack in a conventional manner.

[Look over there! Huts!]

A village of huts located on the northern mountaintop, a place not easily accessible without a determined effort.

As the army appeared, the thieves retaliated.

Bang! Bang! Bang! As gunshots rang out, birds perched on the branches flew away in a flurry.

[Shoot them all, leave no one alive!]

Terrence shouted to his troops. In any war or barracks, key figures of the organization gather.

To win the battle, this place had to be crushed first. Soon, countless bullets flew through the air.

Terrence’s marksmanship was almost supernatural. Not a single shot missed, and he hit the enemies with every shot.

‘Once we suppress this place, it’s over.’

The battle instinct he had momentarily forgotten slowly filled his heart, and he stood in the middle of the battlefield as he used to.

Loud gunshots and screams echoed from the forest where Luke was, indicating that the battle had begun there as well. Terrence had been through many battlefields with Luke and believed he would not be defeated.

[How many are left?]

[We’ve killed almost all of them. But the huts and the forest are intricately connected.]

Moreover, both sides were out of ammunition. To receive supplies, they had to go back down the forest. Terrence drew his sword.

[Are there any women, children, or elderly?]

[No.]

It was truly a den of black-hearted thieves. Inside the huts were the goods they had plundered.

At that moment, thieves wielding swords appeared from all directions, and Terrence subdued them one by one. Blood splattered everywhere, and screams filled the air.

However, Terrence made a grave mistake. He overlooked the fact that the opponents were not soldiers. Soon, they succumbed to the thick smoke that covered the huts and the forest.

[Cough!]

Enemies who had been waiting for this moment rushed out and attacked the soldiers.

[They are the dogs of the Imperial family! Slit their throats!]

As the enemies swarmed the disoriented allies, Terrence covered his nose and mouth and desperately swung his sword.

Even as his soldiers fell one by one right before his eyes, he held on to his consciousness until the end.

‘A week is too long.’

Grace must be worried a lot by now; a desire to finish this as quickly as possible and return to her side surged within him.

[Argh……!]

Terrence roared fiercely and attacked the enemies. He became increasingly disoriented and killed the enemies mercilessly, like a bloodthirsty demon.

Just in time, Luke and his unit joined in and quickly subdued the enemies.

[Luke, are you okay?]

[I injured my leg.]

Terrence carried Luke on his shoulder and walked towards a tall tree. He tied Luke tightly with a rope and hung him on the tree.

[Rest. I’ll take care of all the enemies here.]

[Your Grace, your nose and mouth…….]

Luke also lost consciousness, and Terrence fought the enemies again. That was the last thing Terrence remembered.

He did not lose consciousness, but his cognitive abilities were significantly impaired, and he swung his sword indiscriminately, not knowing who anyone was.

Trapped in a strange space that was neither reality nor dream, he fought like a beast, endlessly repeating the battle.

Even in the midst of all that, Grace did not forget him and called out to him.

‘Terrence, you must come back to me.’

To not forget her, to return as quickly as possible, he clung tightly to the fading thread of consciousness.

Shining golden hair, a sweet smile, her lips as soft as feathers, and above all, her purplish-blue eyes flickered before his eyes like a signpost of survival.

‘Let’s go back, Grace is waiting for me.’

He fell into a trance in the battle, thinking that it would end if he defeated just one more enemy. He endured, constantly chanting her name like a spell.

* * *

James and Doctor Wilson looked at the sleeping Terrence with serious expressions.

“Did His Grace lose his memory because he inhaled poisonous grass smoke for several days?”

“Yes, I gave him a detoxification injection, so his memory will gradually return.”

“It doesn’t come back all at once?”

“Hah! It would have been better if His Grace had lost consciousness quickly, but he seemed to instinctively think he might die. So, he desperately held on to his consciousness, which made him even more severely poisoned.”

Still, Doctor Wilson gave more hopeful news. There were no external injuries, and he would return to normal if he continued to receive detoxification injections for a few days.

“Grace…….”

Just then, Terrence called out for Grace in his sleep.

“He doesn’t even remember the young lady.”

“It’s instinct. Rather, he may be retaining all his memories in an unconscious state.”

James sighed deeply at Doctor Wilson’s words.

He was so shocked to hear Luke’s words after returning to the Duke’s residence. It was too terrible to even put into words, so he tried not to say it out loud as much as possible.

‘His Grace tried to kill the young lady, how is he going to handle it later.’

If Terrence regains all his memories and learns about what he did to her, he will surely fall into self-loathing and suffer again as before.

Just as James and Doctor Wilson were about to leave the bedroom, Luke, leaning on crutches, came to visit.

“How is His Grace?”

“He will regain his memory if he gets a detoxification injection for a few days.”

James spoke instead of Doctor Wilson. But Doctor Wilson was strange from the beginning that the young lady was not seen in the mansion.

James had said that she went to the Basel Forest to find Terrence. But since then, there has been no word.

“Luke, where is the young lady?”

Doctor Wilson couldn’t stand his curiosity any longer and asked abruptly.

“Don’t try to find out. I can’t say anything for the time being.”

“!?”

When Doctor Wilson looked surprised, James patted him on the shoulder and said.

“You will know naturally when His Grace recovers.”

“What do you mean?”

Doctor Wilson looked at James and Luke alternately.

Luke was very embarrassed at times like this.

It was surprising that Grace and Chenelle came to rescue them that night, but Terrence had made such a mess.

Not only that. Soldiers in red robes had come to the hut. Among them, the person at the head was riding a white horse and wearing a golden mask.

He looked over the situation and shook his head, then approached him.

[I will protect the Bizac young ladies for the time being.]

A woman’s voice, very familiar, and Luke immediately recognized her identity.

[The fact that I took the two of them is a secret. That applies to Duke Courtois as well.]

[That’s……! What if His Grace finds out later?]

[I said it’s a secret.]

The woman spoke gently, but her tone was very firm.

She came to Luke, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Soon, Luke’s eyes widened.

But Rapa and Sarubi didn’t know who they were and threatened to kill them.

[Rapa! Don’t block their way.]

[Huh? They’re taking the young lady and our Chenelle, how can we just let them go?]

[You can stop them if you want to die.]

Rapa hesitated at the woman’s cold words. The red soldiers took Grace and Chenelle, and there has been no news since.

Later, he learned that the imperial couple was worried because Terrence had strongly refused even though the imperial family had offered to send reinforcements.

“The young lady and Chenelle are both doing well, so don’t worry.”

Luke clearly explained to James and Doctor Wilson.

Even if they asked more, there was nothing he could say. If he revealed it, a tragedy might befall him as she said.

* * *

Leia stayed with Chenelle at the Imperial Palace.

After being stabbed by Terrence’s sword, she didn’t know how much time had passed or why she was here. When she came to her senses, her wound had been treated.

Vivian visited Leia and Chenelle every day. Chenelle was busy traveling around the Imperial Palace as if she had never looked for Luke.

Vivian told Leia that Terrence was receiving good treatment at the Duke’s residence and that his lost memories would gradually be restored.

“I thought it would be better to keep you away from that guy, no, the Duke, for the time being, so I brought you here.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

“Fortunately, the sword only slightly grazed her side.”

Leia thought that even that was Terrence’s will. Even if he didn’t remember her at the time, their bodies would know each other.

“That stubborn guy! I even sent reinforcements, but he sent them back and seems like he can only be satisfied if he does it himself.”

“Isn’t it because of his pride?”

“Even though he almost died in vain because of his pride?”

“Many soldiers have been sacrificed in the long war, so Terrence wanted to resolve it on his own.”

“I know. That’s why I’m even more angry. Because he tries to shoulder everything alone.”

Vivian said that losing Terrence would be a great loss to the Lubeck Empire, so she had no choice but to step in.

Leia’s mind was focused on the Duke’s residence, but she decided to follow Vivian’s advice to stay at the Imperial Palace and receive treatment until her body recovered.

Thanks to Vivian’s consideration, Leia received treatment from the Imperial Palace’s exclusive doctors, and her wound healed quickly.

After Vivian left, Leia was left alone. Chenelle, who had gone to see the Imperial Palace, showed no sign of returning.

Suddenly, clear tears welled up in her eyes.

‘I miss him.’

Her whole heart yearned for Terrence. Now that she had acknowledged that she loved him, she had no intention of hiding or enduring it any longer.

Before, she thought that Terrence was just good because he was her benefactor. But this time, she realized for sure.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t recognize her. She loved him so much that it was enough, no, she was grateful just that he was alive.

‘Terrence, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it if you had died.’

Until now, she thought she was enduring with revenge and passion towards Allen.

But that was not the case at all. She could not escape from despair with intangible emotions alone. Because Terrence was there, his strong heart had protected her weak self until now.

‘Get well soon and come to me quickly.’

When she meets him again, she can now say it proudly. That she loves him.