Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 82

Terran stood in the Imperial Palace reception room all night, waiting for dawn to break.

He had arrived late at night and asked to see the Empress, but his requests were flatly ignored. Still, he could not leave, so he simply waited without a plan. Just being under the same roof of the palace as her brought him a sense of relief.

Then, he suddenly wondered how Leah must have felt being here all alone.

“Were you like this, too?”

It felt as though time was moving slowly on purpose just to taunt him. He even harbored a faint hope that Leah might suddenly appear before him first. What must it have been like for her to long for someone who would not come? It must have been painful, so much so that he could not even dare to fathom it.

Terran felt a tightness in his chest that made it difficult to breathe.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was for me when I left you for Brassel?”

It was the first time in his life he had felt such sorrow. Even though Leah was not his mother, he felt like an anxious child separated from his parent. The further he moved away from her, the more he realized that Leah was his only sanctuary.

At the same time, he had been so happy, happy that someone would be there to welcome him warmly upon his return. In the past, no matter how many times he escaped death and returned to the ducal mansion, there was only emptiness. He had known no way to comfort himself other than laying his body down on an empty bed.

“Without you, I am nothing.”

He admitted that his unstable self was finally made whole through her. He also confirmed that he did not just simply like Leah, he loved her deeply.

“That is why I cannot forgive myself. How could I forget you?”

Throughout the fighting, he had chanted like a spell that he must return to Leah. To think that even when she was right before his eyes, he had not recognized her at all.

“Heh!”

Terran leaned against the window frame with both hands and lowered his head. Rapa’s voice echoed like a hallucination.

“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 did not even blink, she just embraced you. It was as if she had no fear to begin with. Even if you did not remember her, you were still the man she loved.”

In truth, before he had completely lost himself to the smoke, he had not prayed to a god, but desperately to Leah. He had begged her to save him. He was a man who had never begged for his life from anyone, yet he felt no shame before her.

Because forgetting Leah was the same as dying, he had blindly pleaded for his life. He did not know that his prayer had reached her, nor that she would actually appear before him.

A tear fell onto the back of his hand.

“I miss you.”

He had not even cried when his father passed away. Although he was young, he had no time for sorrow because of the responsibility of shouldering the Courtois Dukedom. Now, that same man was trembling with fear and weeping. Even when he was with her, he was always anxious that she might drift away from him.

“I told you, I am nothing without you.”

When had his feelings become so deep? His entire heart had been stolen by her to the point where it was difficult for him to control.

“Wait just a little longer! We can meet soon.”

Terran whispered as he watched Leah’s phantom reflected in the glass window. It was the face of a grieving Leah. Terran reached out his trembling hand to the glass, but the vision vanished without fail. Instead, he saw the eastern sky gradually brightening.

As soon as the sun rose, Terran stepped out into the hallway and pressed the attendants. He demanded they bring either the Empress or the Emperor immediately.

The next morning, after being examined by a doctor, Vivian sobbed in her husband’s arms.

“They say I am with child, darling!”

“You did so well, Vivian.”

The two held each other tightly, savoring the sudden happiness that had found them. Vivian told Karl that Leah and Chenera had brought her this luck.

“In life, there are precious connections that bring us help. Just as Vivian is that existence for me,” Karl said.

“You are infinitely precious to me as well.”

The two shared a soft kiss. In the history of the Imperial family, where political marriages were the norm, Vivian and Emperor Karl were the exception. They had liked each other since childhood and loved each other unchangingly as they grew.

For that reason, those around them felt even more pity. When a child did not easily come to the harmonious couple, people whispered that God had intentionally given the perfect couple a trial.

“I must share this happy news with those two.”

“Do so.”

Vivian stepped out of Karl’s embrace and headed toward Leah. The more she thought about it, the more amazing Chenera seemed. How did she know? Was it because her heart was pure? Whatever the reason, the two ladies were surely precious connections as they always brought her help and joy.

Vivian wondered if she should give them a reward. Because the riding habit Leah wore during the competition became a trend not only in Lubeck but in other countries, even people in the countryside now recognized the Empress’s face. Simply put, Vivian had become the most famous Empress on the continent. Her popularity among the citizens soared, and invitations to banquets from various Imperial houses flew in by the dozen every day.

“Lady Vizak?”

Vivian raised her voice as she entered the room shared by Leah and Chenera. She wanted to share the happy news as soon as possible.

“Leah? Chenera?”

Vivian called their names repeatedly, but there was no answer.

“Did they go for a walk?”

It was too early for a walk. Vivian surveyed the room alone. If they had just stepped out for a moment, she could wait. However, she spotted a single sheet of paper placed neatly on the table. Vivian opened the paper casually.

“To the Respected Empress,

Thank you for looking after us so carefully. I should have met you to say goodbye before leaving the palace, but I am deeply sorry for committing such a great rudeness. Please forgive me with your generous heart.

To be honest, I am so worried about Terran that it is difficult for me to stay in the palace for even a moment. If your feelings are hurt, I will gladly accept any punishment you may give me later.

• • Sincerely, Grace Vizak”

“Ha! Love is truly a fearsome thing.”

Vivian gave a hollow laugh and folded the letter neatly. How urgent must her heart have been to think of escaping from the Imperial Palace?

Terran, that blunt fellow, what was so good about him? He was tactless and stubborn, simply frustrating.

“But I am glad that Leah loves Terran so much.”

Among her friends, she had felt the most pity for him after Aiden. Knowing that Aiden’s sister loved Terran brought her a great sense of peace. Just then, a maid entered to deliver news to Vivian.

“Empress, Duke Courtois arrived late last night and demanded an audience point-blank.”

“Duke Courtois?”

“Since you had already retired to your bedchamber, I did not report it.”

“You did well.”

Vivian thought to herself, “What is this? Did his memory return? They have crossed paths.” Actually, she decided to take this opportunity to tease Terran to her heart’s content. Since he had repeatedly refused her help, she felt she should irritate him a bit to soothe her own previous frustrations.

“Hmm, I have not finished my preparations yet. Tell him to wait one, no, two more hours. I need to bathe, and it takes time to get my hair and dress ready, does it not?”

“Understood.”

Leah and Chenera left their room as soon as dawn broke. They had committed a grave impoliteness to Vivian, but Leah’s heart was too urgent to do anything else. Furthermore, with Chenera pestering her to go to Luke, it was difficult to stay in the palace any longer. However, a small problem arose.

“Chenera, why does it feel like we keep going in circles?”

“Yeah, we came this way earlier.”

Leah had forgotten for a moment that the Imperial Palace was not a place you could just leave as soon as you stepped out the door. They had made it out of the room, but the gardens, corridors, and the structure of the palace were so complex that she had no idea where they were. Even when she asked passing servants for directions, the same buildings kept appearing.

“This is driving me crazy. It is not like this is my first time at the palace.”

Then again, she had always been guided before, or she had come with Terran. At this rate, they were going to spend all day spinning around the palace. The sun was already high in the sky.

“Chenera, let us head toward the garden.”

If they passed the garden, the main gate should appear. Leah took Chenera’s hand and headed toward the garden.

“My sense of direction is not usually this bad.”

Today, it was as if she were possessed, she felt completely out of it. Or perhaps she was just flustered because they were lost.

“Sister! This place is?”

“This is crazy. It is the hedge maze.”

Of all places, they had ended up here. Just as a path seemed to appear, it would be blocked again. The two kept walking back and forth, looking like mice trapped in a box. Leah stopped walking for a moment and decided to compose herself first.

Her normal thinking must be paralyzed by the obsession that she had to return to the ducal mansion immediately. She decided to suppress her emotions for a moment and regain her reason as much as possible.

When had it started? Whenever she thought of Terran, her reason became paralyzed and her emotions took over. It was likely from the moment she began to love him deeply. It was not her first time being in love, but this felt different from before.

Back then, her heart had not burned with such pain, longing, and desperation. With Allen, everything had progressed smoothly without trials, so she had simply thought it was good. But love with Terran felt as if it were rummaging through her soul, it was painful, but it was accompanied by a commensurate sense of joy and relief.

“Chenera, wait a moment.”

Leah shook off her wandering thoughts. She scanned the maze again and calculated. She had to get out of here to meet Terran even one second sooner.

“Let us go.”

Leah took Chenera’s hand and walked through the maze. Perhaps because she was focusing properly, they soon exited the maze and saw the yard and the main road leading to the Imperial Palace’s main gate.

“We did it, Sister!”

When the road appeared, Chenera’s face brightened. She tugged at Leah’s hand and ran toward the gate. However, they ran straight into a group of men.

They were young men dressed neatly in suits. Leah had seen them before, but she could not immediately place them. Then, one man approached Leah and Chenera, acting as if he knew them.

“Are you not the Young Lady of Baron Vizak? You both look familiar to us, do you not?”

“Pardon? Who might you be?”

She almost recognized him, but was not sure.

“I am Louis Valliere.”

Leah realized he was the son of Marchioness Valliere, the woman who had criticized Chenera so much for being a gypsy.

“We have something to apologize to the Young Ladies for. If you have the time, shall we talk for a moment?”

Louis Valliere and his friends had faces full of expectation.

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