Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 81

Having regained his memories, Terran went on a rampage trying to catch up on the lost time. Above all, the fact that he had harmed Leah with his own sword was something he absolutely could not forgive himself for.

“Tell me right now! How exactly did I end up stabbing Leah!”

As if by some trick of the gods, almost all his memories had returned in an instant, but the specific memory of stabbing Leah with his sword was blurred. He needed to know the details—whether to bash his own head against the floor or how to apologize to her.

Driven half-mad, Terran grabbed James by the collar.

“I… I do not know. I only wish I knew myself.”

“Then who on earth does know?”

“Luke. He knows the details.”

“What?”

Terran immediately began looking for clothes, ready to head down to Luke’s estate. However, James stood firmly in his way, desperate to stop him.

“It is past midnight. Please, restrain yourself.”

“You’re telling me to restrain myself when I’ve treated Leah like something less than human?”

He roared like a madman. If she did not forgive him, he felt he had no reason to live.

It was shameless of him; while he couldn’t clearly remember the moment he stabbed Leah, the words she had said to him echoed vividly in his mind.

‘I… love you. Enough to die.’

Her words pierced his heart like an awl. Terran slumped to the floor and let out a harrowing cry. He pounded the ground with his fists and struggled like a trapped beast, overwhelmed by agony.

“Duke, Old Man Rapa was at the forest as well, so he must have seen the whole situation.”

At James’s words, Terran snapped back to his senses. That’s right; there was no way Rapa wouldn’t have followed Chenera to the battlefield. Terran threw on some clothes and bolted out of the ducal mansion.

‘You crazy bastard! How could you do that to Leah…!’

Even as he galloped his horse, he cursed himself relentlessly. He could not forgive himself for losing his reason, even for a moment. Even in the midst of fighting the bandits, Leah was the only thing in his mind. He had fought tooth and nail just to keep his promise to return to her.

‘She must resent me so much.’

If she did not forgive him, he felt he should carve out his own heart with the very sword that had pierced her.

‘How much pain must she have been in?’

It was hard to even imagine. Facing a man who didn’t recognize her, she didn’t run away; instead, she threw herself forward, prepared to die.

‘I will wait until you remember me, Terran.’

‘Isn’t a fiancée supposed to be someone precious? The fact that I don’t remember you feels like proof that we weren’t actually much of anything.’

To think he had uttered such bullshit when they met again at the palace. Not only had he wounded her with a blade, but he had also shredded her heart.

Terran cut through the cold wind and arrived at the gypsy village in a single breath. Had Rapa’s house always been this far? He pounded on the door indiscriminately.

After a short while, the hunched figure of Rapa appeared.

“Duke?”

“How did I end up stabbing Leah?”

Terran asked, gasping for breath. Rapa hesitated, seemingly reluctant to answer.

“Old Man Rapa! Speak up! I was definitely conscious. So why did I swing my sword at Leah?”

“Well, it’s because your head had gone completely loopy, obviously.”

Terran found it hard to simply accept Rapa’s words.

“You remember everything else, but that part is blurry?”

“Yes, and it’s driving me insane.”

“That’s just how that poisonous smoke is. Even if you’re conscious, you’re trapped in a hallucination. Even after the antidote, the memories don’t come back clearly.”

At those words, Terran lost his strength and staggered. Was it really just the poisonous smoke? Or was the guilt buried deep within him toward Leah forcing him to deny the memory?

“I no longer know what the truth is.”

“You already know the truth. It wasn’t your fault, Duke. Don’t blame yourself.”

“Even so, I should never have forgotten Leah.”

“You are not a god, Duke. You did your absolute best.”

Rapa felt pity for Terran. The man’s only sin was struggling desperately to survive, and Leah had simply been trying to save the man she loved. Neither was at fault.

“I will tell you everything.”

Since the subject had been broached, Rapa decided to tell Terran exactly what had happened. There was a reason Terran had come to him before going to the Imperial Palace.

“Tell me.”

“The Young Lady was prepared to die with you, Duke.”

“!?”

Rapa described the desperate situation. From the conversation they shared to how Leah had held the antidote in her own mouth and transferred it into Terran’s.

“Truly, Duke, you were like a mad wild dog. Anyone who came near, you lunged at them with your sword as if to kill. Yet, the Young Lady didn’t even blink; she just embraced you. It was as if she had no fear to begin with. Even if you didn’t remember her, you were still the man she loved.”

Terran felt his heart wasn’t just aching; it felt like it was being shattered into pieces. Her actions were something no one could do without the most sincere of emotions.

“But why didn’t you lose consciousness despite the smoke?”

Rapa was most curious about that. It was astonishing that a human could endure for days after inhaling such toxic fumes.

“Because I was afraid… that I would forget.”

“Who? The Young Lady?”

Instead of answering, Terran nodded. Even though, in the end, he had forgotten her completely. Rapa thought it was incredible that Terran had held onto his consciousness for a week. Poisonous smoke intended to kill is not something that can normally be overcome by human will alone.

“The Young Lady will be waiting for you to come and get her.”

“Do you think so?”

“A man who can love to the point of risking his life is rare, isn’t he?”

Terran pushed himself up from his seat. He had to go to the Imperial Palace right this instant. Terran wasn’t ignorant of Vivian’s true intentions. She likely intended to fix the Duke’s habit of constantly defying the Empress’s words.

“It is late, so be careful on your way back.”

As Terran was leaving the house after Rapa’s farewell, he turned back and said:

“Thank you, old man.”

At Terran’s gratitude, Old Man Rapa laughed awkwardly and went back inside. Why is it so creepy when he’s being kind? Rapa chuckled and shuddered.

Today, Leah had the stitches removed from the wound in her side. The doctors at the Imperial Palace were very unique; they were completely different from the doctors she had seen outside. It was as if they were people from another world. The smell of medicine, stronger than alcohol, and the strange pills were fascinating.

“Empress, is the red liquid you put on my wound a medicine?”

“Ah, that is a disinfectant.”

“Disinfectant? Ah, the kind that gets rid of germs…?”

“That’s right.”

Leah had other questions. Usually, sword wounds do not heal easily. Infections often become severe, or the skin might even become necrotic. However, after taking the medicine prescribed by the palace doctors, the wound healed like magic and the pain vanished. She wanted to ask about the process, but she was at a loss for where to begin.

“The doctors in the palace seem a little different.”

“In what way?”

“Well, the medicine and the treatment methods seem to be several levels higher than the current standard of hospitals.”

At her words, the Empress smiled softly and nodded. In fact, the reason Vivian had gone to Brassel was to help wipe out the bandits. She never expected to meet Leah there. Vivian had been impressed by Leah, who bravely chased after her man to such a dangerous place to save him.

Vivian had judged that Leah’s sword wound was serious and that she might lose her life if not treated quickly. To others, it might have been a mere graze, but to the physically fragile Leah, it was fatal.

“Just as you do not settle for the present, Lady Vizak, neither do His Majesty and I. We must constantly progress and invent new things. It is at a stage where it cannot be shared with the public yet, but we are conducting medical research.”

“I see. So eventually, the people of Lubeck will be able to receive advanced treatment like I did when they are sick.”

“Exactly. That is why we invest in medicine and science.”

Looking at Vivian, Leah felt they were very similar. Not staying within existing frameworks but coming up with new ideas. In any case, she enjoyed talking to Vivian; it felt like speaking to a soul twin.

Just as their conversation was reaching its peak, Chenera, with a lollipop in her mouth, came running and stared intently at Vivian from head to toe.

“Empress, do you have twin boys in your tummy?”

“Pardon?”

Both Vivian and Leah were startled. In truth, while Vivian was a perfect Empress to the public, there were rumors that she had been suffering internally because she hadn’t conceived a child despite being married for a long time.

“You’re… joking, right?” Vivian asked, looking at Leah. It was a question asking if she could trust Chenera’s words—even though her face showed she desperately wanted to believe.

“Check for yourself. Nothing Chenera has ever tossed out as a joke has turned out to be wrong.”

“My God!”

Vivian clasped her hands together, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Please, go and get a check-up from the doctor immediately.”

At Leah’s words, Vivian stood up and headed outside. Leah looked forward to seeing what news would follow her departure.

“Sister! I want to go home!”

Once Vivian was completely out of sight, Chenera began pestering Leah, as if she had been waiting for the moment.

“We’ll go as soon as I see the wound is fully healed. Let’s endure just a little longer, okay?”

“I don’t want to. I want to see Brother Luke.”

Chenera’s lips quivered, and then she burst into tears. Leah didn’t want to comfort Chenera, because her own heart felt the same.

“I miss Terran so much, too. I wish his memory would return quickly and he would come to find me.”

Leah pulled Chenera into an embrace, and they cried together.

Support Revenge Comes with Interest