Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 90
While Marie and Rivette were heatedly discussing Emily, Pauline went to find Allen. When she appeared, Allen welcomed her warmly.
“President, My Lady asked me to give you the invoice.”
Pauline pushed the invoice for the dress production costs toward Allen.
“She asked for your understanding as the labor for the dress was extensive and the finest materials were used, resulting in a somewhat high total.”
“Lady Vizak is truly meticulous. To even add an explanation to a single invoice.”
“My Lady paid a great deal of attention to Miss Rivette’s dress. She said she truly hopes Miss Rivette is selected.”
“Is that so?”
Allen wore a very satisfied smile at Pauline’s words.
Grace seems to know nothing about the riding habit. Then again, since the employee named Anna changed her testimony, there is no way she could know.
If she had known he was the mastermind behind the damage to the riding habit, Grace would have stopped production mid-way.
“President, there is one more thing My Lady wished to convey.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“She said the dress was made with her absolute best effort, just as Miss Rivette requested.”
“I know. I am simply grateful.”
Allen wrote a bank note for Pauline and even handed over a pre-prepared item.
“Please deliver this to Lady Vizak. It is a small token of my sincerity.”
“Understood. Since our work is finished, we shall head out. May luck be with Miss Rivette.”
Pauline bowed politely and left the office.
“My God!”
For the dress Chenera made, they received an amount that far exceeded the price of a high-bred stallion from Turkey.
President McDowell must be incredibly wealthy. Handing over such a fortune without a second thought.
Pauline marveled anew at Allen’s wealth.
“By now, Marie must have finished her conversation with Miss Rivette, right?”
Pauline headed toward the dressing room with a satisfied expression. Once she and Marie left the mansion, a storm would surely break loose.
Allen looked at the lace dress hanging in the dressing room and marveled. Although he had paid a fortune, it was a garment that was fully justifiable.
I won.
The moment Allen saw the dress, he was certain Rivette would be the one selected as the Crown Princess. He closed his eyes and imagined for a moment—Grace, wearing that white wedding dress, smiling radiantly as she approached him.
His life would be perfect if only he had her. To make that happen, Terran had to be removed.
Should I just kill him?
An opportunity would come eventually. No matter how great Terran Courtois was, he only had one life. If he were caught in an attack while unguarded, he would have no choice but to die.
I will pay you back more cruelly than the way you attacked me.
Allen clenched his fists. Just then, the door burst open. Allen turned around in surprise.
“Rivette?”
His younger sister stood there, her face flushed with rage.
“Brother, kick that woman Emily Lant out of this house right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you know what I just heard?”
Rivette relayed the news that Emily had destroyed someone else’s home. She also told him the fact that one of the women who brought the dress was the former Countess Armand.
“People can choose not to get married. It is not such a big deal.”
Allen believed Emily’s words. A man crazy for a woman would do anything; Count Armand must have been that type.
“Brother, that is not all. The problem is that Emily sent love letters to Duke Terran Courtois for years. She begged to be by his side even as a mistress.”
“What?”
“Do you have no pride, Brother? She is a woman who clung to you as a second choice only because the Duke wouldn’t give her the time of day.”
“Ha! Quite the fox, isn’t she?”
She had told him she only gave love letters to him. To think even he was played by such a cunning woman. Allen stormed out of the room.
Leah was greatly surprised to see Adele, whom Sonya had perfectly transformed.
The jewel was there all along.
“I knew Sonya could do it. You are amazing.”
Adele Wellington, who had looked dowdy with her thick glasses, was now Carmen herself. Of course, she was somewhat different from the Carmen in the novel—more high-class. In particular, her black hair contrasted with her white skin, making her features stand out. However…
Something is slightly missing.
Leah inspected Adele closely from head to toe. It was much better than before, but she needed something more to capture people’s eyes.
“It feels like an unfinished work for some reason.”
Sonya seemed to feel the same as Leah, looking quite regretful. A red top and a voluminous black skirt—Leah was certain no other lady participating in the selection would wear such an outfit. Yet, the feeling that something was lacking did not vanish.
The makeup, hair, and dress are all perfect. But there must be one more thing.
Leah looked at Adele again and again. She had to find the one thing that wasn’t filled externally. Then, her gaze stopped at Adele’s hands.
“It is the hands.”
Sonya tilted her head at Leah’s words. Hands wouldn’t be very visible anyway. But Leah thought differently.
“A woman’s fine hands capture people’s attention. Even a single fingernail can make a woman look alluring.”
“Pardon?”
“Try attaching small jewels to Adele’s nails. If you use wax to attach red stones and clear diamonds, she will look completely different.”
In the end, the one thing Adele lacked was “brilliance.” Leah found an attendant skilled in manicures and entrusted Adele’s nails to her. Additionally, she brought various jewels—the same kind used on the hem of Rivette’s dress—and instructed her to decorate the nails lavishly.
Two hours later, the nails were finished. Leah and Sonya marveled once more.
“Just by adding jewels to the nails, the entire atmosphere has changed.”
“A Crown Princess must be beautiful to her fingertips. People expect women of the Imperial family to be different from ordinary people.”
Sonya saw Adele in a new light. Every time she moved her hands, they sparkled, lending her an air of sensuality.
“It is so pretty. There is a galaxy on my nails.”
Adele liked her nails very much, appearing quite satisfied.
Now it is worth a fight.
Now it depended on who answered Empress Teresa’s questions better.
Leah enjoyed tea and refreshments with Terran and Earl Arthur Wellington. Arthur was quite pleased with Adele’s transformation.
“I am worried Adele might make a mistake. She lives buried in books, so she sometimes says odd things.”
Arthur didn’t seem to expect Adele to be selected as the Crown Princess.
“It might be better than the clichéd answers everyone expects,” Leah said, making Arthur blush.
“Trust Grace’s eye, Arthur,” Terran added, encouraging his friend.
“I do not know how to repay you both.”
“Repay? Between friends…”
While Terran dismissed it as nonsense, Leah spoke to Arthur.
“Repay me when Adele is selected as the Crown Princess, Earl.”
“Pardon?”
Not only Arthur but Terran also looked surprised. Arthur was an aristocrat with no financial flexibility at all, so he wondered how he was supposed to repay her.
“When Adele becomes the Crown Princess, the Wellington family will hold wealth and power. In the future, if a day comes when Terran and I ask for your help, please do not turn us away.”
“Ah… that is what you meant. Of course. However, I am not particularly interested in wealth and power.”
Leah found Arthur’s reaction curious. It was a position everyone desired, yet he was not attached to wealth and power.
“Arthur, you have studied enough socio-politics. Theory and reality are different, are they not?”
“I have been agonizing over the theoretical limits myself. I am thinking of applying for a position at the Police Bureau.”
Terran hadn’t known that Arthur, who was so devoted to his studies, was interested in the Police Bureau. He was a friend who rarely revealed his inner thoughts.
“Even if Rivette becomes the Crown Princess, I intend to take the exam.”
“You are impressive, Earl Wellington,” Leah replied for Terran. Just as Terran said, the two siblings were certainly not greedy. Still, one needed financial stability to do anything.
“I truly hope you become the Police Commissioner.”
“Thank you for the kind words, My Lady.”
“Arthur will become an upright public official.”
Terran was certain of that. At his words, a unique light sparked in Arthur’s eyes.
“Actually, the Brassel Police Bureau has too much corruption. Officers take money from drug addicts and thugs, and even turn a blind eye to smuggling. The Police Bureau that protects the capital has become a group that takes the lead in committing crimes. I want to reform it. Only then can people live in safety.”
Arthur shared his thoughts while looking at Terran.
“That is a wonderful idea. However, it seems His Majesty does not doubt Commissioner Touazo at all.”
“Commissioner Touazo is someone His Majesty personally selected, so his trust is deep.”
Leah felt a tightness in her chest. Commissioner Touazo’s corruptions were numerous. If only he could be dismissed. Furthermore, it would be perfect if his crimes were discovered and he rotted in prison forever. That was the revenge Leah desired.
Leah now had a firm reason why Adele had to be selected. Someone like Allen would know all of Touazo’s corruptions. But since they were in league, it wouldn’t be easy to dig up information.
“President Allen McDowell was once attacked by thugs,” Arthur mentioned an interesting fact to Terran.
That was something Terran had ordered. Of course, Terran did not show the slightest agitation at Arthur’s words.
“It seems President McDowell asked Commissioner Touazo for a favor to find the mastermind, and he finally found them.”
He found them, did he? So that is why he retaliated?
“Who did they say it was?”
“They caught a gypsy and interrogated him, and he confessed who commissioned the attack.”
“And who did he say it was?” Terran asked Arthur in a relaxed tone.
“I do not know that much. I only heard it from an acquaintance. But I heard a rumor that President McDowell will take revenge in whatever way possible.”
“Is that so?”
Terran gave a short laugh and took a sip of tea. Clearly, Allen and he shared an ill fate.
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