Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 96

Revenge Bears Interest 96

96. The Beginning of Revenge

2023.11.04.

Terran, leading the Galdenian secret service, was lying in wait in a small canal in Brasel.

‘Why do I have to catch thieves from another country?’

The more he thought about it, the more absurd the situation seemed.

[Duke, please help us. To raid Chief of Police Tuazo, we can’t use anyone predictable.]

[Are you worried about information leaks?]

[That’s right. The public service system is so rotten that information could be leaked from anywhere.]

Salamé had quietly started an internal investigation from the day he received the information from Terran and learned that the police department was more corrupt than he had imagined.

[While I’m raiding the site, Roberto, you know what to do, right?]

[Raid the police department. According to the information we’ve gathered so far, the officers haven’t been paid for two months.]

That was why he, an unexpected foreigner, had to catch Tuazo and the smugglers.

Past midnight, the canal was dark, with mist rising like smoke.

He even doubted whether weapons deals actually took place in such a place. The agreed time had long passed, but there wasn’t a single sign of anyone.

‘Did they notice something?’

That was the only explanation. What could be more important than keeping the agreed time when dealing weapons?

‘Damn it, things could go wrong.’

Terran tentatively concluded that things had gone wrong. He would know soon enough if he waited a little longer.

He kept scanning the canal with his binoculars. Then, a wooden boat covered with a tarpaulin appeared leisurely, and another boat of the same shape was waiting under the bridge on the opposite side.

‘Why didn’t I see those boats?’

He hadn’t expected them to come in crude wooden boats to trade weapons.

He thought they were merchants selling goods by boat.

Terran waited for Tuazo and the smugglers to show themselves.

As expected, they would check the goods and switch boats to disappear. Then, a middle-aged man wearing a hat pulled low and a man in shabby clothes each got off a boat.

The two men talked briefly and went down to the boat to check the goods inside.

‘They got the goods; now they have to pay.’

As Terran hoped, the middle-aged man checked the goods and took out a wad of cash from his pocket.

It would be definite evidence if he used a bill of exchange [a document guaranteeing payment of a specific amount on a set date]. But they wouldn’t exchange bills of exchange that leave a record when smuggling.

The moment the money was handed over, Terran signaled to the secret service.

Soon, the dark canal lit up like daytime.

“Move and I’ll shoot!”

In an instant, the officers surrounded the two men and aimed their guns at them. Terran walked towards them to confirm the smuggling site.

“Identify the two men.”

At Terran’s command, one of the officers took off Tuazo’s hat and shone a light on him, also checking the smuggler’s face.

“It’s Chief of Police Tuazo.”

At his words, Terran approached Tuazo, his back to the darkness.

“Chief of Police Tuazo, I’m arresting you on charges of weapons smuggling.”

At Terran’s words, Tuazo shouted with a bewildered expression.

“Duke Courtois, what authority do you have to arrest me?”

He wasn’t even from Galdenia. No law stated that a foreigner could arrest the chief of police.

“I find this very annoying too, but someone earnestly asked me to do it, so I have no choice.”

Terran showed Tuazo the arrest warrant and letter of delegation issued by the Imperial Family.

Then Tuazo’s face turned pale, and the smuggler didn’t miss the opportunity to run away.

Bang, bang. The sound of gunshots echoed through the canal at dawn, and the smuggler fell, shot, without even taking a few steps.

‘Damn it! I should have involved Allen McDowell too.’

If it had been a bill of exchange, it would have been irrefutable evidence. Terran’s disappointment was great.

“Duke! You have no right to do this to me! Have you forgotten that you hired gypsies to terrorize President McDowell?”

“Do you have any evidence that I instigated it?”

“Of course, the evidence is……!”

Tuazo stammered.

At the time, he didn’t think it was a big deal to catch a gypsy, so he just got a confession and let him go. Now he didn’t even know where the guy was.

“I’m asking if you have any evidence?”

Terran grabbed Tuazo by the collar and shouted.

“That’s in the future…….”

“I didn’t know you were stupid enough to think that a personal grudge is equal to smuggling weapons from the country. Don’t you think the police department is in ruins by now?”

“!?”

“Tuazo, you’re finished!”

Terran turned around only after confirming that Tuazo’s wrists were handcuffed.

* * *

Leia approached the noblewomen staying at the Imperial Palace to see the Crown Prince’s wedding.

Today, they were enjoying refreshments under the shade of the garden.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Grace Vizak from Lubeck.”

Leia greeted the Landes noblewomen in a bright tone. The Landes women, known for their haughtiness, scrutinized Leia from head to toe.

‘I knew this would happen, so I paid a little extra attention to my appearance.’

She was dressed in the finest clothes today so as not to be outshone by the high-brow noblewomen.

After a while, they seemed to have sized up Leia and smiled slightly, inviting her to sit down.

“I am Countess Leanon. And that lady is Marchioness Bardo, and finally, this lady is Duchess Deligneux.”

‘Their names are so difficult.’

“I am the younger sister of Baron Aiden Vizak.”

“Oh! Is the war hero Baron Vizak of Lubeck your brother?”

“Yes, he is.”

She felt like the conversation would go smoothly. Leia thought it was the perfect time to give each of the three women a small gift box.

“This is my way of showing that I want to become friends with elegant noblewomen.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

The three women opened the carefully wrapped boxes, and their eyes sparkled. They even twitched their lips as if they liked it.

But they quickly changed their expressions and said with a sulky face.

“There are plenty of these lace scarves in Landes. But I’ll take it as a token of your sincerity. Thank you, Miss Vizak.”

‘Plenty? Even in Landes, you can’t get this kind of lace, can you?’

She knew that upper-class Landes women didn’t openly admire or praise, because they were so famous for being snobbish.

Still, she needed information from them, so it was right for the needy to be persistent, so she told them that she had made Rivet and Adele’s dresses for this selection at the boutique she ran.

{That tacky wedding dress was the worst.}

{Is she bragging about that? I would never wear such clothes.}

{And what about that terrible red dress that was modeled after Carmen?}

The Landes noblewomen were talking among themselves, and Leia’s body stiffened. However, she judged that it would be wise to pretend not to understand for the time being.

‘Ha! They’re putting on airs. They’re the ones who wear dresses made of cheap linen.’

It wasn’t completely cheap, but it wasn’t the highest quality linen that noblewomen preferred.

Leia cursed inwardly, but she pretended not to understand at all.

Instead, she praised them, saying that the Landes pronunciation was so beautiful.

“Let me ask you directly. Actually, I want to know about the makeup that the noblewomen wear. I don’t think you’re wearing powder, but I was surprised that your skin is so clear without any blemishes.”

“People only plastered their faces with powder in the Middle Ages. Who wears that kind of makeup these days?”

“That’s right. Really, your faces are glowing. As a woman, I’m jealous.”

Leia matched their rhythm appropriately.

“Miss, I’m sorry. This is our secret, so we can’t tell just anyone.”

“Yes?”

They couldn’t even tell her that much after receiving a gift. It was absurd that skin makeup was a secret, a grand excuse.

“There are many people who want to use our secrets commercially.”

“I see.”

After that, the noblewomen kept talking in Landes, and Leia blankly looked back and forth at their faces and listened carefully.

They thought Leia didn’t know Landes, so they talked a lot, from how to make cosmetics to skin care.

Among them, the most surprising thing was that they made a separate cream to cover blemishes on their faces before applying powder.

At the end of the conversation, they also said that the lace scarf Leia had given them was so pretty.

“I’ve taken up too much of your precious time. I’ll be on my way. I’ll say hello again if I have the chance next time.”

“Yes, goodbye, Miss Vizak.”

Leia got up from her seat and walked a few steps before returning to them.

“I’m embarrassed that I gave such a humble gift to the noble ladies. Please pretend you didn’t receive this.”

Leia quickly collected the boxes in front of the three women. Then their faces showed regret.

{Wouldn’t it be better to have high-quality linen if possible? Or, why don’t you have a dress made of thin, brightly colored Bertan silk? In our Lubeck, only maids wear that kind of linen.}

Leia said goodbye to the three women in accurate Landes pronunciation.

Behind her back, Landes curses poured out.

* * *

Under the dim light, the table was piled high with documents. Theresa looked through the documents one by one and let out a hollow laugh.

“I let a cat out to catch a rat, but the cat became the leader of inciting the rats.”

Theresa learned about the reality of the corruption committed by Tuazo and was greatly shocked.

She had trusted Tuazo, who had risen from a commoner to the position of chief of police, so she was feeling a deep sense of betrayal from this incident.

“He gambled with the officers’ salaries? He sold the police department’s weapons to foreign countries—one, two, three… fifteen.”

In the end, she couldn’t even finish reading and slammed the desk with the documents. Soon, her gaze turned to Allen, who had been taken into custody with Tuazo.

“Your Majesty, I only lent money to the chief of police. I have nothing to do with that.”

“It seems so. You’ve been very meticulous in destroying the evidence.”

“I wasn’t being meticulous. I was just helping the chief of police because he was having a hard time.”

Theresa didn’t answer Allen’s rebuttal.

“What was the intention of exchanging such a large sum of money for cash to help him?”

Theresa tapped the table with her finger and asked Allen.