Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 43

Lea left the Imperial Palace almost like she was escaping. Even after getting into the carriage, her breathing remained uneven.

“Milady, are you alright?”

Pauline’s concerned voice barely registered. Lea looked out the window, lost in her thoughts.

“What am I even doing here?”

She had thought she was finally used to Lubeck, but in a single moment, everything felt unfamiliar again, as if she were seeing it for the first time.

“This isn’t Galdensia.”

She didn’t belong to this place. She had lived in Galdensia until she was twenty. Her home was there. Her real life was there.

A storm of homesickness swept over her.

She missed her father more than anything. The ache of longing rose like a wave and crashed over her heart. She couldn’t bear to stay in unfamiliar Lubeck another moment.

Lea knocked on the ceiling of the carriage to make it stop. Pauline looked at her in shock.

“Give the coachmen a gold coin each.”

Lea took two gold coins from her purse and handed them to Pauline.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Tell them we’re heading to Brassel, the capital of Galdensia. I need to visit the Hamilton general store.”

“Right now?”

Pauline looked puzzled. A trip like that should have been planned ahead. They should have sent word and prepared. And there was still the matter of the Empress’s riding outfit, which was urgent.

“Pauline, what if we make it both work and a bit of a trip?”

“That sounds good, but what about the Duke…”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

Pauline could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Grace was unusually quiet and looked heavy-hearted. It made sense, though. Anyone would be upset after saying something like that to the Empress.

“Of course. If you go, I’ll go too. I am a little worried about Chenera, but sometimes things just happen beyond our control.”

“Thank you, Pauline. I mean it.”

Lea felt a weight lift off her chest. She had been worried that Pauline might insist on going back to the Duke’s estate.

Pauline quickly got out, handed the two coachmen a coin each, and gave them the new destination. Luckily, they had no objections.

They would have been in a difficult spot returning with an empty carriage anyway.

“I’d like to take the train, but Terran might find out and stop me.”

And besides, train travel leaves a record. She didn’t want to leave a trail behind.

Her heart felt heavy. She couldn’t quite describe the feeling, but she knew she needed to retrace old memories.

She wanted to see, even from afar, the home she once lived in with her father and the staff of the Hamilton Trading Company.

Soon, the carriage was rolling toward Brassel, the capital of Galdensia.

“Pauline, don’t worry. I just want to check on the general store, then we’ll come right back.”

“Yes, but it will still take a few days. I wish I had packed something.”

“We can buy whatever we need at the store. Let’s stay in a hotel, order food to our room, and relax a little. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect.”

Pauline was completely on board now.

In truth, Lea was aching for her homeland. But more than that, she simply wasn’t ready to face Terran.

By now, he was probably pouring out his feelings to the Empress. She had no desire to return to a place where Terran and Vivian were together.

“I’m going to remember who I really am.”

Terran sat up in bed, staring at the Empress with disbelief. It was strange enough that she was in his room, but what confused him even more was the fact that she had come in shouting.

“Vivian, what are you doing here?”

“Do you think I came here because I wanted to? Your poor, clueless fiancée begged me, and I couldn’t say no.”

He had no idea what that meant. Why would Grace go to the Empress and plead with her?

“Terran, was I your first love?”

“When I was about eight, maybe.”

“That doesn’t count. Because of something careless you said, Lady Vizak completely misunderstood everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

“And by the way, I never liked you. You know that. I was in love with His Majesty. So why are you dragging me into some strange drama like this?”

“I don’t have feelings for you either.”

Terran’s voice grew sharper.

He had liked her for a brief moment as a child, but he never saw her as anything more than a friend. That kind of childish feeling meant nothing.

But what she said next felt like a punch to the chest.

Grace had visited the Empress without any notice and said something completely unexpected.

“Your Majesty, my fiancé is very ill.”

“Oh dear. I hope he recovers soon. How can I comfort him…”

“Not comfort. I was hoping you could visit the Duke’s estate. He still holds feelings for you. He keeps calling your name and is overwhelmed with emotion.”

“That doesn’t sound like him…”

The Empress had said that Grace looked like she might burst into tears at any moment. She had seemed completely heartbroken.

The Empress immediately sensed that something had gone wrong between Terran and Grace. More than that, it was clear that the situation was more serious than she had expected.

But she couldn’t help being curious. In a situation like this, most women would never go to the person their man still had feelings for and beg. That was not normal behavior.

She wanted to understand what Grace had been thinking when she came all the way to the palace.

“Lady Vizak, don’t you feel anything? You love the Duke, don’t you? If it were me, I’d be too proud and jealous to act like you did.”

“I…”

Grace had been too emotional to speak at first. Her voice trembled.

“I just want Terran to be happy. Rather than staying with someone he doesn’t love and living in misery, I want him to confess his feelings to Your Majesty. If he does that, he won’t have any regrets.”

When Terran heard what Grace had said, he wiped his face with both hands.

Damn it. He had tried to explain everything between coughs and bitter medicine, but it had completely backfired. What was supposed to fix things only made everything worse.

“Let me make this clear. No woman will ever love you more than Grace Vizak. You fool. You stubborn idiot.”

“Idiot. That’s a word I haven’t heard in a long time. When we were kids, that was the worst insult you could come up with.”

The Empress showed a side of herself the world never saw.

She was always seen as elegant and refined, but in truth, she had been a wild and competitive child. In many ways, she was a lot like Grace.

“Are you really going to lose a woman like her? She’s stunning, talented, and kind. Men would line up just for a chance to be with her.”

Terran knew that all too well.

He remembered when she ran to him like a dove after he was shot in the shepherd’s hut. That was when the fear began. He realized that one day, she might fly away and never come back.

“As Empress, let me give you a warning. If you don’t win Lady Vizak’s heart, the royal family will begin looking for another suitor for her.”

Terran’s face turned cold.

He stood from the bed and stepped toward the Empress, his voice low and serious.

“If that happens, then this empire might end up with a new emperor, Your Majesty.”

“Now that’s the Terran Courtois I remember.”

He looked perfect on the outside, but when it came to love, he was clumsy and often made mistakes.

Still, his loyalty to one woman was something to be respected.

The bell tower struck midnight, and the Duke’s estate fell into chaos.

Lea and Pauline had not returned from their visit to the Empress. Worse, the carriage that had taken them had completely disappeared from Levonne.

Terran dressed in full uniform without hesitation.

“Your Grace, we received word from the Empress. Lady Grace is no longer at the palace.”

James spoke with urgency in his voice.

After the Empress left, Terran had sent a message to the palace, hoping that Grace might have stayed behind. But the reply confirmed that she had left a long time ago.

“Prepare the horses. Search every corner of Levonne.”

Terran led his guards into the city.

Riding beside him was Luke, keeping close while watching his mood carefully.

“All the shops are closed. It’s already past midnight.”

At Luke’s comment, Terran turned his horse toward the train station. If she had left the city, there would be a record of it.

But there was no sign of her on any passenger list.

“Contact the Rapa group. They know every back alley and hidden spot in this city.”

“Yes, but do you really think Lady Grace would go somewhere dangerous?”

“Just send the word.”

Terran raised his voice.

So, this is what it feels like when your world collapses. Even the act of breathing felt like torture.

“Send people to every hotel in Levonne.”

“Yes, sir.”

Terran raced through the empty city streets like a man chasing the edge of the world.

He knew Grace could not hear him, yet he kept calling her name over and over. A wave of regret crashed down on him, so heavy and sharp that he hated himself. He felt like he could collapse from the shame.

But in that pain, his feelings became crystal clear. At first, it had been a vague sense of affection. Then it became certainty. He could no longer live without her. And now…

“I feel like I’m dying.”

He never wanted to return to the hellish life he had once endured.

Back then, he was haunted by the trauma of war and always running away from it. But now, it was the idea of a life without Grace that made him feel lost.

“Please, come back to me.”

He whispered her name like a prayer, over and over.

The woman who had given him a reason to live was now the one walking away. And despair was already close by.

One of the guards rode up and reported breathlessly.

“The Duke’s carriage crossed the border.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. We sent a message to the border station. The reply just came in.”

“Where did it go?”

“That was not confirmed.”

“Are you all out of your minds? She crossed the border and no one asked where she was going?”

Terran shouted so fiercely the air around him seemed to tremble.

“Because it was the Duke’s carriage, the guards let it through without question.”

“Damn it.”

He cursed as the frustration boiled inside him. Once she crossed the border, there were many countries she could have gone to. Galdensia, Bellis, Estro, Lapoli. Too many places to search.

Terran clenched his fists.

“It doesn’t matter where she went. There are still ways to find her.”

Suddenly, he gasped and grabbed his chest. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would explode. The pain hit him in waves, sharp and unbearable.

“She really crossed the border without looking back?”

He was overwhelmed by a rage so intense even he struggled to contain it.

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