Interest Compounds on Revenge (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14

It was the first time in my twenty-five years of life that I’d experienced something like this.

The moment someone imprinted themselves onto my soul.

Could this be how parents feel when they first meet their child, or when a baby opens its eyes and recognizes its parents?

In this vast garden, the only person I could see was Grace.

Terren repeatedly scanned his surroundings, closing and opening his eyes over and over.

‘Now I can’t deny it anymore.’

I’d been uncertain, but now that I realized it, there was absolutely no turning back.

The blow that shook his very soul drained all color from his face.

“Terren, are you feeling unwell?”

Lea asked, startled by Terren’s sudden pallor.

They had just been having an ordinary, uneventful conversation when he suddenly stared at her as if peering into her soul—and his expression changed completely.

“Sit here.”

Lea quickly helped Terren into a chair. Immediately, his gaze fixed on her hand, which was still holding his arm.

He grasped her hand tightly—the one clutching his arm.

Unlike the surprised Lea, Terren looked at her with desperate urgency.

‘Why do I feel like you might fly away from me?’

The emotion he’d just recognized overwhelmed him with a raw, desperate longing.

“Grace, can you always be here to support me like this?”

Taken aback by his sudden question, Lea blinked twice—then smiled brightly and replied,

“Of course.”

She’d needlessly overcomplicated it. He’d simply asked for help.

“You’re… kind.”

Only then did Terren’s face finally relax into a satisfied expression. Just then, raindrops began to fall gently.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Yes.”

Lea picked up the newspaper from the table and tucked it under her arm. Her time with Terren had been brief but pleasant—yet guilt nagged at her all the same.

‘I wonder if I really deserve to live so comfortably.’

That guilt of Lea’s would soon become reality.

[This is the timeline separator]

After parting with Terren, Lea returned to her room and opened the newspaper as usual.

‘Good heavens! How could this happen!’

Her hands trembled violently as she read the article.

Not only had Hamilton Trading Company been renamed MacDowell Trading Company and changed ownership—but they’d even sold off every single general store that formed the foundation of the trading house.

‘You bastard, Allen MacDowell!’

Lea’s limbs shook uncontrollably.

Those general stores scattered across Galdensia had been her father’s most treasured possessions.

The Hamilton family had started with wool trading, earned money from street stalls, and eventually built up those general stores.

That very foundation had elevated them to become the great Hamilton Trading House.

‘I’ll never forgive you!’

It was like cutting down the roots of a tree lush with leaves.

Lea clutched her head with both hands. Her father always said the same thing whenever he visited a general store:

[“Lea, even if the business fails or we go bankrupt, you must protect the Hamilton general stores.”] [“But wouldn’t it be better to protect something more profitable?”] [“No. The general stores are the roots of Hamilton Trading. No matter how fiercely the storms rage, as long as the roots remain strong, we can always recover.”]

Knowing just how deeply attached her father was to those stores made the pain unbearable. This agony tearing through her chest must be what heartbreak truly felt like.

‘What am I even doing here? I should go straight to Galdensia and bite Allen’s leg off!’

The more she thought about it, the more pathetic and infuriated she felt. While her enemy was systematically destroying everything her father had built, his daughter was idling comfortably in a foreign land.

‘I have to stop him somehow.’

Lea’s vision blurred.

From the very beginning, the moment she regained consciousness, she should have returned to Galdensia to find a way.

Instead, she’d kept delaying—using excuses like waiting for the right moment for revenge or needing to find her father’s necklace—and this was the result.

‘I should just shoot Allen right in the heart! This isn’t the time for you to playact as Lady Bizac!’

Lea pounded her chest and wept.

She clamped her hand over her mouth so her sobs wouldn’t escape.

Then she suddenly leapt up and ran toward the window. As soon as she opened the door, wind and rain rushed in violently.

‘Let’s die together, Allen MacDowell.’

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no other way. She’d heard from Pauline that there was a rifle in Terren’s office drawer.

Revenge wasn’t complicated.

‘Allen, if I just kill you, it’ll all be over.’

After all, death was the most devastating form of revenge. No matter how grand Allen’s ambitions were, they’d mean nothing in the face of death.

Just then, Pauline burst into the room, shouting,

“Miss! What’s wrong?”

Pauline quickly shut the window, then immediately dashed out again to fetch a dry towel.

Yet Lea remained half-dazed, utterly motionless.

‘I should’ve killed that bastard that day.’

At her own funeral, one bullet aimed at Allen—whose hypocrisy had reached its peak—would have been enough for revenge. Why hadn’t she thought of it then?

“Why are you standing out in the rain?”

Pauline, who’d somehow appeared without Lea noticing, began drying Grace’s soaked hair with a towel.

“You’re drenched! What if you catch a cold and get sick again like last time!”

To Lea, Pauline’s scolding sounded like meaningless noise floating through the air.

[This is the timeline separator]

Lea opened the newspaper to check the train schedule to Galdensia. The roads weren’t suitable for a carriage, and it would take too long—she absolutely had to take the train.

She didn’t bother packing luggage. She only placed enough money for the trip to Galdensia and the rifle into her handbag.

‘I’m sorry, Terren.’

Around four in the morning, while everyone was asleep, she slipped into his office and took the rifle.

Normally, the drawer would have been locked—but for some reason, it was open that day. Honestly, she’d never even touched a gun before, let alone fired one.

‘Allen, you’re coming with me to hell.’

After finishing her preparations, Lea placed the bag containing the rifle back into the wardrobe.

Even if she had to leave, she wanted to properly bid farewell to everyone at the ducal residence. She refused to run away like a coward.

Though she was hiding in Grace’s body, it was thanks to these people that she was still alive.

But she had no idea how or where to begin explaining things to Terren.

“Pauline, where is the Duke?”

She asked Pauline, who had just arrived carrying some clothes.

“He’s speaking with Secretary Luke, but they should be nearly finished.”

“Is that so?”

Just then, Pauline hurried over and pressed her hand to Grace’s forehead.

“Thank goodness, you don’t have a fever.”

Seeing Pauline’s relieved expression made Lea’s heart ache. Soon, she’d have to say goodbye to her too…

“I’ll go see the Duke for a moment.”

Afraid she’d burst into tears if she stayed any longer, Lea quickly left the room.

As she walked down the corridor toward the office, the faces of everyone who’d helped her flashed through her mind—even Aiden and Leina back in Bern.

To be honest, she’d briefly entertained a different thought while in Bern: ‘What if I just forget about revenge and live as Grace Bizac?’

‘I’m sorry, Father.’

Her father was imprisoned in the prison on Reef Island.

‘Lea Hamilton, how could you possibly forget your father?’

Lea felt disgusted with herself. Finally reaching Terren’s office, she stood outside the door for a long time, hesitating.

She kept raising and lowering her hand, unable to bring herself to knock. Just as she resolved to stop hesitating, the door suddenly swung open from inside.

“Miss! Have you come to see the Duke?”

“Yes, Luke.”

“My report is finished. Please go in.”

Luke politely opened the door, and Terren came into view. Lea’s heart immediately began pounding fiercely.

“Terren.”

“You came?”

Terren greeted her with a faint smile on his lips.

“I have something to tell you.”

At Lea’s words, Terren rose from his chair and walked toward the sofa. Lea sat opposite him.

But her legs and fingers trembled uncontrollably. Her tongue felt heavy, as if it wouldn’t move properly.

Meanwhile, Terren was quietly pleased that Grace had come to see him first.

‘Does the Duke know the rifle is missing?’

Lea’s mind was filled with worry—but judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to have noticed yet.

“Um… well…”

When it came time to speak, the words wouldn’t come easily. What should she say?

“Don’t hesitate. Just say it.”

Terren spoke gently, his voice unusually kind—something rarely heard from him.

“Terren… please… call off our engagement.”

“What?”

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Lea needed time to process the words she’d just uttered; Terren needed time to make sense of what he’d just heard.

“Are you serious?”

Surprisingly, his expression remained unchanged—calmer, even, than usual.

“You don’t love me, Terren. I remember. When I begged you to marry me, you told me to stop whining and said you were tired of it.”

She spoke as if the vision she’d seen before her possession were her own memory.

“I don’t want to bind you to an engagement you don’t want.”

“Why this sudden change of heart?”

Terren’s eyes sharpened as he tried to read her intentions.

“I want to marry someone I love and who loves me in return. Isn’t that a reasonable dream for a woman?”

Marriage and love were no longer her dreams. They’d become luxuries—her greatest mistakes in life.

But she still wanted to give Terren a proper reason. It was only right to show him that respect.

“And if we break off the engagement, what then? Will you go searching for true love?”

He remained unmoved. Perhaps this was exactly what he’d secretly hoped for. He certainly didn’t love Grace.

“I’ll leave.”

“Leave… the ducal residence?”

“Yes. I’ll leave tomorrow.”

Lea kept watching Terren’s reaction closely.

At least he didn’t immediately refuse—that was some small comfort. After all, he owed Aiden a great debt.

“I’ll explain everything properly to my brother, so please don’t worry.”

Even as she spoke, Lea nearly burst into tears. She’d only just grown attached to everyone.

Terren, meanwhile, stayed silent. He seemed unable to decide easily, likely because of Aiden. Then he finally spoke.

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes… I plan to take the train tomorrow.”

“Then go ahead.”

“!?”

“If you want to leave, you may.”

Terren answered with a calm, relaxed expression.