Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 89

Leah was at a loss for how to answer Terran.

Should I say I must succeed to reclaim the stolen Hamilton Merchant Guild and to take revenge on Allen?

To say such things, she would first have to reveal her identity. But would Terran believe her? And even if he did, what about the shock he would receive?

What should I do? I cannot stop now.

“Why do you ask so suddenly?” she asked back, needing to know his intent to give an appropriate answer.

“Hmm. You are far too diligent for someone just doing this as a hobby.”

“It is not a hobby.”

The words came out before she could even think.

“Do you want to start a trading company or something?” Terran asked, looking bewildered.

“Is that not allowed?”

As Leah turned serious, the smile gradually faded from Terran’s face.

A complex web of thoughts entangled him: from the suspicion of why Leah was so desperate about business, to the petty worry that she might stop relying on him because of it. Honestly, Terran wanted to be an absolute existence to her.

It was not that he wanted to bind or dominate her. He simply wanted to be the one she truly needed, both materially and emotionally—the top priority that nothing else could push aside.

“It is because I do not like being pushed back.”

“By whom?”

“By the work Grace is doing.”

The two stared at each other in silence for several minutes. Only then did Leah realize what he was worried about. Instead of answering, she kissed him. After the sweet and tender kiss ended, Leah caressed his eyes and nose with the back of her hand and spoke in a whisper.

“To me, Terran, you are my home, my dream, and my very self.”

Terran’s eyes widened, and the flower of a smile that had vanished bloomed once more.

“Love seems like a childish thing. One keeps trying to confirm it endlessly.”

“Do not forget. The reason I can do the work I love is because you exist, Terran.”

Those words were sincere. However, it was also true that she could not stop her revenge, so Leah had no choice but to avoid a direct mention of it. Suddenly, a great wave of worry washed over her. She remembered the secret negotiation she had with Empress Teresa at the Belice banquet.

[I will find a way to hide Your Majesty’s scars.]

[If you find it, what must I do for you?]

[I do not know when it will be, but there will come a time when I need to ask Your Majesty for help. You simply need to believe in my sincerity then.]

[I can do that, but it is quite vague. On the contrary, what if you fail to find a way to hide my scars?]

[I will gladly accept any punishment.]

[Gladly? Even if I take your head?]

[As I have already said, I came here prepared to die.]

If Terran ever found out about her negotiation with Empress Teresa, he would not stay still. At that point, the very existence of “Grace Vizak” might be doubted.

Terran must not find out. So, I must succeed.

“What would you do if I told you not to do it?”

His question shattered Leah’s serious thoughts. Terran did not miss the anxious flicker in her eyes at his question. Why was she hesitating? She had just said they were one.

“I would not do it,” Leah answered firmly. It was true that Terran was now more precious than revenge. However, she could say it because she was also certain that he would not block her path.

“Ha! With a face that looks like it is about to cry?”

“!?”

“I have no intention of stopping the work Grace loves.”

Terran smiled brightly, took Leah’s hand, and kissed each of her fingers. As Leah’s heart, which had flipped in shock, returned to its place, tears suddenly welled up. It was love, but she felt a bit resentful toward Terran for testing her.

“I also make a promise. I will never go to a battlefield and leave Grace behind again. I could even tell His Majesty tomorrow that I intend to resign.”

“Thank… you.”

Terran, please wait a little longer. Until I can speak the truth with my own lips.

Leah hoped Terran would continue to believe in her as she was. The thought of him finding out that the soul of Leah Hamilton was inside Grace’s body was terrifying. He might call her a shameless woman for stealing Grace’s life and pursuing an unwanted revenge.

I will succeed no matter what.

It was a moment when she realized how difficult it was to have an unspeakable secret from the man she loved.

“Tell me you love me,” he said, tracing Grace’s lips with his finger.

“Love… mmm.”

His finger slipped slightly into her mouth, and Leah punished the intruder with the tip of her tongue. As the sensation of her red tongue tickled his finger, Terran was swept by a sudden, impatient desire.

“I cannot stand it.”

He stood up abruptly and held out his hand. When Leah just stared at him blankly, he pulled her to her feet.

“I want to eat you right now. Let us go to the bedroom.”

Right now? This man, really!

It seemed a man’s desire, once the reins were loose, started as a small whirlpool, grew into a storm, and finally crashed down like a tidal wave. At any time, day or night.

“It is before dinner,” Leah said, looking around to try and calm him.

“People eat snacks before dinner too.”

Am I a snack? Ah! You beast!

“It is not even dark yet, how lewd,” Leah protested, shaking her head.

“What are you talking about? I mean let’s actually eat snacks. Comfortably, in the bedroom.”

Terran looked at Leah, who had turned as red as a carrot, with a puzzled face.

“!?”

Indeed, the man who had been looking at her with burning eyes just a moment ago was gone. Leah headed to the bedroom with an embarrassed face.

Ah! How embarrassing! What if he thinks I’m the one with the dirty mind?

Upon entering the residence, Terran instructed a maid to bring snacks to the bedroom. It was Leah’s complete misunderstanding. However, the problem came after the snacks were finished.

“Now it is time for the real snack.”

His attitude changed completely. The hungry beast that had vanished for a moment brutally pounced on the golden rabbit before him.

“You, you cheater!”

Leah shouted repeatedly, frustrated at being tricked, but she did not hate her sweet snack time with him.

Rivette looked at herself in the full-length mirror, wearing the dress.

“Why is there a goddess in the mirror?”

She laughed, cried, and talked to herself, intoxicated by her own appearance. She was clearly infatuated with Chenera’s dress. Marie whispered quietly to Pauline.

“If she just holds some marigolds, she will look exactly like Empress Teresa.”

“Is it that identical?”

“Completely.”

Marie wondered why Rivette was so insistent on wearing a wedding-style dress to the selection banquet. So, she asked.

“I heard that when Empress Teresa was a bride, she was as beautiful as a goddess. I want the Empress to be moved when she sees me. How happy would she be to see her younger self?”

It was exactly as expected.

“Surely you are not going to carry a bouquet as well?”

When Marie asked out of caution, Rivette looked at her as if to say, why wouldn’t I?

“I also remember it, though I was young. Empress Teresa was as beautiful as Miss Rivette. and she was happier than anyone.”

“The selection is a strategy, after all,” Rivette said.

Pauline was quite surprised. She had thought Rivette only wanted to look pretty without a single thought, but she had actually formed a plan.

Even if I were the Empress, I would be moved.

Pauline understood why the media favored Rivette as the strongest candidate. Just then, Marie took a step toward Rivette.

“Have you decided on a lady-in-waiting, Miss Rivette?”

“Yes, my brother’s lover is going to do it. She is a noble, no less. I cannot take some commoner-born maid with me.”

What? What’s wrong with commoners? Do you even know what kind of woman your brother’s lover is?

Pauline’s mouth was itching to speak. However, she stayed back because there was someone else meant to shatter Rivette’s fantasy.

“I believe that barring any accidents, Miss Rivette will be selected,” Marie said in a soft tone.

“Really?”

“But a critical weakness has appeared for you, Miss Rivette.”

“A weakness?”

Marie clicked her tongue as she watched a pale Rivette.

“From what I know, Empress Teresa loathes women with promiscuous private lives. Of course, I am not saying Miss Rivette is like that. The problem is that woman, Emily Lant, who decided to attend to you.”

“What is wrong with Emily?”

Seeing Rivette ask her back, Marie barely managed to keep from bursting into laughter. Seeing Pauline, who took on a gloomy expression in sync with her serious tone, made her want to laugh even more, so she kept poking her thumb with her index finger.

“Not long ago, Count Armand of the Belice Empire got a divorce. They were a harmonious couple for over ten years.”

“Surely, was Emily involved?”

Rivette’s tone was filled more with the curiosity of a person hearing interesting gossip than with worry. After all, Count Armand’s divorce was a big enough event to make the newspapers. He was a wealthy man in Belice, and as Marie said, the couple was famous for their good relationship, so the news was a major issue.

“If they had just divorced and he married Miss Emily Lant, people would not have criticized them so much.”

“That is true. To others it is an affair, but to them it is a romance,” Pauline added, her mouth itching to join in. Truly, she hadn’t expected to find such a juicy story here.

“But Emily did not seem to tell my brother anything like that…” Rivette said, puzzled. No matter how shameless a woman was, to destroy someone’s home with the promise of marriage and then become another man’s mistress? It didn’t quite make sense.

“Aey! Emily must have had her reasons,” Rivette eventually defended Emily. She thought that going that far was too much.

“Is this reliable information?”

At Rivette’s question, Marie took a deep breath, looked her straight in the eye, and spoke.

“I was the former Countess Marie Armand.”

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