Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 73

Grace’s answer was of utmost importance to Leah.

How much guilt had she suffered until now? Even if it was not by her own will, she had inhabited Grace’s body and ended up falling in love with Terran.

“Leah Hamilton, you are me. And Grace Vizak is Leah Hamilton.”

“What?”

At first glance, it sounded like a very simple statement, but the exact meaning was difficult to grasp.

“Grace, does that mean we are one?”

Leah shouted toward her again, but Grace did not appear further. Instead, a horrific battlefield appeared before her eyes. Soldiers lay fallen in a forest thick with gray smoke. She saw broken carriages and traces of charred remains.

“Terran! Where are you?”

Leah ran through the forest in nothing but her chemise and bare feet. With every step, her feet caught on corpses. The scene was so wretched it was hard to tell if they were bandits or Terran’s soldiers.

“I am here! Please, answer me!”

She ran blindly through the woods. Then, she spotted an object dangling from a large tree in the distance. It looked like a person, or perhaps it was a beast. She did not want to look, but before she knew it, she was standing right in front of the tree.

“Agh! Luke!”

Luke’s murdered body was hanging from the tree. Leah screamed in agony. Why was she in this hell?

“No! There is no way Terran is dead.”

Leah shook her head repeatedly and walked forward. In this space where no sensations could be felt, she vowed she would not return even if she died until she found Terran.

It was then that she heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

“Grace, help me.”

“Terran? I am coming!”

It was definitely his voice. He was calling out for her desperately, begging for his life. Leah looked around frantically, unsure of where to go. The problem was that her body would not move.

“Why is this happening? I have to go to Terran! Please, do not do this!”

Leafy vines seemed to come alive, binding Leah’s entire body so tightly she could not move an inch. Leah cursed her situation and wailed piteously.

“I have to go to Terran! Ah!”

Leah waved her hands in the air and screamed. Her body was drenched in sweat, and the thick scent of medicine filled the air. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel someone watching her.

“My Lady!”

“Sister!”

It was the sound of Pauline and Chenera crying. Leah’s eyes snapped open, and she bolted upright.

“What about Terran? Is there any news?”

Leah grabbed them and asked bluntly.

“Not yet, My Lady,” James answered in a calm tone.

Leah unconsciously began to babble about the scene she had seen in her dream.

“The soldiers are all dead, and Luke’s body is hanging from a tree. Terran told me to save him.”

“Waaaah!”

At Leah’s words, Chenera burst into thunderous sobs. Soon, everyone in the room either cried with sorrowful faces or turned their heads away. Only then did Leah realize she had been dreaming. It was time to consider how to overcome this ordeal.

“Do not cry, Chenera!”

Leah shouted sharply at Chenera.

“!?”

Chenera stopped crying instantly, as if startled out of a fit. The others were equally surprised because such behavior was unlike her usual self. Leah contemplated for a long moment.

‘Grace said only I can save Terran.’

If Grace’s soul, sleeping deep within this body, had awakened to tell her this, then Terran must truly be in danger.

‘Leah Hamilton is Grace.’

She decided she would no longer be confused about her identity. Whether she was Leah or Grace, her heart was the same. The fact remained that Terran was the most precious person to both women.

“Chenera, we have to save them. Terran and Luke.”

At Leah’s words, Chenera nodded mindlessly. On the other hand, James pressed a hand to his forehead with a troubled expression.

The next day, Leah and Chenera dressed in men’s clothing. Before that, she sent word to Rapa to gather all the organization members. She told him to bring Sarubi’s gang as well if numbers were lacking. She would pay any amount.

“My Lady, the Duke will return. So,”

“Are you telling me to just sit quietly?”

Leah snapped fiercely at James.

“James, if the situation were reversed, would Terran have stayed still?”

“Well, the Duke is a man, and My Lady is,”

“Are you saying I cannot because I am a woman? My man is in danger. Is it right for me to just sit back and wait because I am a woman?”

“That is,”

“Should I just feel sorry if he dies, shed some tears, and offer a prayer?”

“But My Lady, your health is fragile.”

“I will take care of that. Even if I die, I will definitely bring Terran back.”

‘I will save my man with my own hands.’

Leah’s resolve was adamant. Then, Pauline and Marie stepped forward, saying they would go too.

“You two look after the workshop. Make sure the general store runs without a hitch and handle the orders well.”

“But My Lady, who will attend to you?”

“Do not worry about me. Managing the employees is your job, Pauline. Marie, please help her.”

“Understood.”

Finally, Rapa and the organization members gathered in front of the ducal mansion. Armed with guns and swords, they numbered about a hundred. Leah headed toward the main gate on horseback with Chenera.

“Rapa! Did Sarubi’s gang refuse?”

“They agreed to join, but they said there is a premium for mercenary work.”

“I will give them as much as they want, so tell them to join us. If we save the Duke, everyone will receive a great reward.”

The gypsies stirred at Leah’s words. She had heard from Chenera before that Sarubi’s group was exceptionally skilled with weapons. With them, they would be able to hold their own against the bandits.

Just then, Rapa shouted to the members.

“Take the antidote now!”

“Yes!”

Rapa handed the antidote to Leah and Chenera as well. He explained that one of the bandits’ favorite tactics was to cloud their enemies’ minds. Their specialty was burning dried poisonous herbs to create hallucinations before ruthlessly slaughtering their targets. Therefore, they had to take the antidote in advance to avoid being affected by the smoke.

“Rapa, give me one more antidote.”

Leah took another brown pill that looked like goat droppings. She had to be prepared for any unexpected situations.

Finally, Leah’s party set off for the Brassel Forest. Everyone was either on horseback or pulling carts, so their mobility was high. With Sarubi’s gang joining midway, the total number of people capable of fighting the bandits reached nearly three hundred. This was enough to take on any army.

“Sister, when we get to the forest, we are going north.”

“Right, I brought a compass.”

There must be a reason why Chenera insisted on going north. It was likely a glimmer of hope that Terran and Luke were still safe.

“Hold on tight, Chenera!”

“Okay, Sister!”

The two galloped toward the Brassel Forest.

It was late at night by the time they reached the Brassel Forest. As expected, white smoke was drifting through the black woods, visible even from a distance, as if poisonous herbs had been burning for days.

The members all held torches to light up the darkness. Before long, they saw bodies strewn about here and there. Seeing the horrific scene where bandits and soldiers were tangled together, one could guess how fierce the battle had been.

‘I heard they sent reinforcements, but were they all rendered helpless by the hallucinations?’

It made no sense that the Imperial Army could not defeat bandits. However, the bandits likely knew they could not stand against a trained army through normal means.

“Let us go north.”

“Okay.”

Leah held the compass while Chenera carried a torch as they walked through the forest path. Since Rapa and Sarubi’s men had secured the entire forest, it was not particularly dangerous. Furthermore, twenty men were following closely behind the two of them.

“The smell is terrible.”

Chenera covered her nose. The stench of decomposing bodies already filled the entire forest. Then, one of the members following them shouted.

“There are very few soldiers’ bodies here.”

‘You are right, it is strange.’

Leah had also been checking the bodies as they walked, desperately hoping that Terran or Luke would not be among them. Most of the bodies were bandits. Perhaps only one in three was a soldier.

“Let us hurry!”

She constantly urged them forward and walked north without rest. Several hours passed, and dawn began to break.

“Sister! Look, a light over there!”

Where Chenera was pointing, there was a cluster of huts that looked like a bandit base.

“Found it.”

It was no wonder they were hard to find since they were hidden deep in the forest. They probably only came down to the forest to attack passing people and carriages when they intended to plunder. However, as they drew closer to the huts, the smoke became so thick it was hard to see ahead.

“Cough, cough.”

Chenera coughed violently, and the people behind her began to cough in succession. If they had not taken the antidote before coming, they would have lost consciousness and collapsed on the spot.

Leah pushed through the thick smoke and went deep into the village of huts. Soon, she was horrified by a shocking sight.

“My God!”

Soldiers lay unconscious all over the place. Now she understood why there were not many soldiers’ corpses.

“Terran!”

Leah cried out his name. If her intuition was correct, he was definitely here.

“Check the condition of the fallen soldiers and give the antidote to anyone who is not dead!”

“Yes.”

The members quickly checked the soldiers, and Chenera was franticly searching for Luke.

“My brother! Where is he?”

Leah headed further inside, leaving Chenera’s cries behind. Suddenly, cold metal touched Leah’s neck. She looked up and saw the person holding a sword to her throat.

“Terran!”

“Who are you?”

“!?”

Startled, Leah’s lips parted, but no words would come out.

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