Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 82

Retribution Carries Interest Episode 82: Beside Me Without You (82/200)

Episode 82: Beside Me Without You

October 21, 2023

Terrence stood in the imperial reception room all night, waiting for dawn.

He had arrived late at night, requesting to see the Empress, but his efforts were fruitless. Unable to leave, he waited aimlessly.

Just being under the roof of the Imperial Palace with her was a small comfort.

Then, he suddenly wondered what Grace had been like here alone.

‘Were you like this too?’

Time seemed to slow deliberately, as if to torment him.

He even found himself hoping that Grace might suddenly appear.

What must her heart have felt like, longing for someone who didn’t come, even when she waited? It must have hurt terribly, more than he could ever imagine.

Terrence felt suffocated, struggling to breathe.

‘Do you know how hard it was for me to leave you and go to Basel?’

He had never felt such sorrow since birth. Even though Grace wasn’t his mother, he felt as anxious as a child separated from their mother.

The further he got from her, the more he realized that Grace was his sanctuary.

And he was very happy. Because when he returned after work, there was someone to greet him.

Before, even after surviving countless brushes with death and returning to the estate, he was filled with emptiness. He didn’t know how to comfort himself other than lying down on the empty bed.

‘Without you, I am nothing.’

He admitted that his anxious self was made whole by her. He also confirmed that he didn’t just like Grace, but loved her deeply.

‘That’s why I can’t forgive myself. How could I forget you?’

Throughout the fight, he repeated like a mantra that he had to return to Grace.

Yet, he hadn’t recognized her at all, even when she was right in front of him.

“Kuh… !”

Terrence gripped the window frame with both hands and lowered his head. Then, Rapa’s voice echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

[Really, the Duke was like a wild dog. He would swing his sword and try to kill anyone who came near him. But the young lady didn’t even blink an eye and hugged him. It was as if she had no fear at all. Even if the Duke didn’t remember, he would have been the man she loved.]

In fact, before he was completely lost in the acting and lost his ego, he desperately prayed to Grace, not to God. To save him…

He had never begged anyone for his life, but he wasn’t ashamed to beg her.

Forgetting Grace was like dying, so he begged her to save him. But he didn’t know that his prayer would reach her and she would actually appear before him.

“Ugh… !”

Tears fell on the back of his hand.

‘I want to see you.’

He hadn’t cried even when his father died.

He was young, but he didn’t have time to grieve because of the responsibility of carrying the Courtois Dukedom. Yet, he was trembling with fear and crying.

Even when he was with her, he was always anxious that she would leave him.

‘Without you, I am nothing.’

When did his feelings become so deep? He had lost his entire heart to her, to the point where even he couldn’t control it.

‘Just wait a little longer! We’ll be able to meet soon.’

Terrence whispered, looking at Grace’s reflection in the glass.

It was Grace’s sad face. Terrence brought his trembling hand to the glass.

But the reflection disappeared. Instead, he saw the eastern sky gradually brightening.

As soon as dawn broke, Terrence went out into the hallway and urged the servants to bring the Empress or the Emperor to him.

* * *

The next morning, Vivian was examined by a doctor and then wept in her husband’s arms.

“I’m pregnant, honey!”

“You’re so amazing, Vivian.”

The two hugged each other, reveling in their sudden happiness.

Vivian told her husband that Grace and Chenelle had brought her good luck.

“As you live your life, there are precious relationships that help you. Just like Vivian is to me.”

“You are infinitely precious to me too.”

The two kissed softly. Vivian and Emperor Carl were an exception in the imperial history where arranged marriages were common.

They had loved each other since they were children and continued to love each other even after they grew up.

For that reason, people around them felt even more sorry for them. When a child didn’t easily come to the happy couple, people whispered that God was deliberately giving trials to the perfect couple.

“I have to tell this good news to them too.”

“Do that.”

Vivian came out of Carl’s arms and headed to Grace.

The more she thought about it, the more amazing Chenelle was. How did she know? Was it because she was pure of heart?

Whatever the reason, the two young ladies were always helpful and brought her joy, so they were definitely precious relationships.

‘Should I give them a reward?’

Thanks to the riding suit she wore at the equestrian competition becoming popular in Lubeck and other countries, even people living in the countryside knew the Empress’s face.

In short, Vivian became the most famous Empress on the continent. In addition, she became very popular with the imperial citizens, and she received several invitations a day to attend banquets held in each imperial family.

“Viscount Bizarre’s daughter?”

Vivian raised her voice as she entered Grace and Chenelle’s room. She wanted to share this good news with them as soon as possible.

“Grace, Chenelle?”

Vivian entered the room and kept calling their names, but no one answered.

“Did they go for a walk?”

It was too early for a walk.

Vivian looked around the room alone. If the two had left for a while, she could wait. But she saw a piece of paper neatly placed on the table.

Vivian casually unfolded the paper.

“Ha! Love is scary.”

Vivian folded the letter neatly, chuckling to herself. How impatient must she have been to think of running away from the Imperial Palace?

‘Terrence, what’s so good about that taciturn guy?’

He has no tact and is so rigid that he’s frustrating.

‘It’s a relief that Grace loves Terrence so much.’

He was the most pitiful of her friends after Aiden, but she felt much more comfortable knowing that his sister loved Terrence.

Just then, a maid came in and told Vivian the news.

“Your Majesty, the Duke of Courtois came late last night and suddenly asked for an audience.”

“The Duke of Courtois?”

“I couldn’t tell you because Your Majesty had gone to bed.”

“You did well.”

‘What, has his memory returned? The two missed each other.’

No, I should take this opportunity to make Terrence suffer. He has repeatedly refused my help, so I have to scratch his itch to relieve my frustration.

“Hmm, I’m not ready yet, so tell him to wait another hour, no, two hours. I need time to take a bath and get my hair and dress ready, right?”

“I understand.”

* * *

Leah and Chenelle left the room as soon as dawn broke.

They had committed a great disrespect to Vivian, but their hearts were too urgent to worry about it.

Besides, Chenelle was begging to go to Luke, so it was hard to stay in the palace any longer. But a small problem arose.

“Chenelle, why do I feel like we’re just going around in circles?”

“Ung [yes], didn’t we come this way earlier?”

They had forgotten for a moment that the Imperial Palace was not a place where you could simply walk out the door.

They had managed to leave their room, but the structure of the gardens, cloisters, and palace was so complicated that they couldn’t figure out where they were.

Even when they asked the palace staff who passed by, the same buildings kept reappearing.

‘I’m going crazy, it’s not like I’ve never been to the palace before…’

Well, they had been guided around then, or they came with Terrence.

At this rate, they would be wandering around the Imperial Palace all day. The sun was already high in the sky.

“Chenelle, let’s go to the garden.”

If they passed through the garden, the main gate would be right there. Leah took Chenelle’s hand and headed to the garden.

‘I’m not usually this bad at finding my way.’

Today, she felt like she was possessed by something, and she couldn’t concentrate at all. Or maybe she was just flustered by getting lost.

“Sister! This is…?”

“I’m going crazy, this is the maze garden.”

Of all the places to end up, they had to come here. The path seemed to appear, but it was blocked again, and the two kept going back and forth, like mice trapped in a box.

Leah stopped walking for a moment and decided to calm herself down first.

She must have been so obsessed with returning to the Duke’s estate that her normal thinking was paralyzed. If so, she decided to calm her emotions for a while and regain her reason as much as possible.

Since when was it that whenever she thought of Terrence, her reason was paralyzed and her emotions came first? Maybe it was because she had come to love him so much.

It wasn’t her first love, but it felt different from then.

Back then, her heart didn’t ache so much, and it didn’t feel so desperate and ardent. Everything with Allen went smoothly without any difficulties, so she just thought it was good.

But her love with Terrence felt like it was tearing her soul apart, so it was painful, but it was accompanied by a sense of fulfillment and relief.

“Chenelle, wait a moment.”

Leah shook off her thoughts for a moment.

She looked at the maze again and calculated. She had to get out of here to meet Terrence even a second sooner.

“Let’s go.”

Leah took Chenelle’s hand and walked through the maze.

Was it because she was so focused? Soon, she saw the yard and the main street leading to the Imperial Palace’s main gate.

“We made it, Sister!”

Chenelle’s face lit up when she saw the road.

Chenelle grabbed Leah’s hand and ran towards the gate. Then, they ran into a group of men head-on.

Young men in neat suits. She had seen them before, but she couldn’t remember them right away. Then, one man approached Leah and Chenelle and pretended to know them.

“Aren’t you Viscount Bizarre’s daughter? You both are familiar with us, right?”

“Yes? Who are you?”

It was vague and not exact.

“I am Louis Valliere.”

‘He was the son of the Marchioness Valliere who criticized Chenelle for being a gypsy?’

“We have something to apologize to the young ladies… If you have time, would you like to talk for a while?”

Louis Valliere and his friends had faces full of anticipation.