Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 23

Lea was so thrilled and excited that she didn’t even realize she was staring at Terran with a silly look on her face. She had gone from feeling disappointed, to shocked, and then ended up in tears.

Terran must have found her unpredictable reaction amusing.

Honestly, no matter what he had said in the past that hurt her, she had now forgiven everything.

“Terran was right. People really are different on the outside from who they are on the inside.”

They would criticize something as vulgar on the surface, but deep down they were full of curiosity about anything new.

Terran felt happy seeing Grace in such high spirits. But the more he looked at her up close, the more excited he became.

He trembled with the urge not only to kiss Grace, but to go even further.

“Terran, if we’re going to start a business, we’ll need a shop, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

Terran’s neck turned red, and he kept swallowing nervously. He was overwhelmed with desire to pick her up and take her straight to the bed. His imagination filled with inappropriate thoughts that stirred his instincts.

“I’m going into town. I’ll look around with Pauline to see if there’s a good spot for the store.”

“Just the two of you?”

“It’s fine. We won’t be late. And to be honest, having Luke follow us around everywhere is a bit uncomfortable.”

“If you come back early, then I’ll allow it.”

“Alright.”

Lea jumped up and ran toward the door. But then she suddenly turned around and walked quickly back to Terran.

“Thank you, Terran.”

Blushing like a young girl, Lea gave him a kiss on the cheek to express her gratitude.

Terran looked at Grace in a daze. Until now, she had always kept a respectful distance. But when she said “thank you,” her sincerity truly reached him.

Terran reached out toward Grace as she walked away. But all he could do was grasp at the air, feeling the disappointment of letting her go.

If you leave me all worked up like this and just walk away…

The heat that had filled his whole body quickly faded. Part of him felt a little resentful that Grace was so unaware.

Just then, James arrived carrying a stack of documents.

“The young lady seems to be in a good mood today.”

“Looks like it.”

Terran gave a half-hearted reply, then suddenly became curious.

Do other men have these same thoughts? Or is it just me?

“James, what do you think about a man who feels… different when he sees a woman crying?”

“Excuse me? What do you mean by different?”

“I mean, say the woman is crying because she’s sad, but the man finds her so beautiful in that moment that he starts to feel aroused. Not that I’m talking about myself, of course. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Even as he asked, Terran worried James might figure out that he was really talking about himself. He had never asked James anything like this before.

“That is actually a perfectly normal reaction.”

James, always quick to understand, knew exactly how a butler should respond. He kept his tone neutral and professional, so Terran would not feel embarrassed.

“Really?”

“Yes. Thinking a crying woman looks beautiful comes from genuine affection. And if a man feels physical desire in that moment, it is still within the range of normal behavior. It would only be strange if he were completely indifferent or lacked desire altogether.”

“I see.”

Terran looked pleased with that answer.

James also felt quietly satisfied. It finally seemed like spring had come into Terran’s life.

“Where did Miss Grace go?”

“She wants to start a business. She went into town to look for a shop.”

“What? And you allowed it?”

James asked in shock. A noblewoman running a business? That was completely unacceptable.

And Grace was no ordinary noblewoman. She was the fiancée of the Duke of Courtois, the most prestigious house in Lubeck. It wasn’t just about Grace herself. The honor of the ducal family was at stake.

“James, the world is changing,” Terran said as he looked at James’s pale face.

“Even so…”

“Whether it’s business or anything else, I intend to help Grace do what she wants. You saw it too, didn’t you?”

“Saw what, sir?”

“Didn’t you once say she looked beautiful when she wrote that letter to the Sultan of Turki so confidently?”

“But that situation was different, wasn’t it?”

“I know how precious it is to have a dream and a clear purpose in life.”

Terran had spent years lost in endless darkness, living day after day in helplessness. It had been a hell with no dreams and no hope. Even now, though not as often, he still had nightmares.

He still saw the mountains of dead soldiers, the souls screaming for mercy, and Aiden—bleeding, his leg gone. Those memories left scars that had not healed.

“Heaven and hell are not far from here.”

Terran gave a bitter smile. He had learned far too young that hell wasn’t only a place people went after death. It could appear in space, in time, in people.

And the most terrifying hell of all was himself.

“I love the Grace who dares to dream. James, I hope you’ll support her dream too.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Only then did James finally agree with Terran’s decision.

Maddox and his men had secured the most extravagant carriage they could find and were now hiding near the duke’s estate.

“Has anyone here ever seen the duke’s fiancée?”
Maddox asked his men. Neither he nor even the head of their organization, Rapa, had any idea what the fiancée of Duke Courtois actually looked like.

“People like us would never have the chance to see a noblewoman like that.”

“True. But I did get a good look at the Duke himself.”

Back when they went to fetch medicinal herbs, they had been so terrified upon seeing him.

The first impression he left was that of a giant black eagle.

Usually, you could read a person’s emotions through their eyes. But with the Duke, all you could see was a deep darkness.

That was why it was absolutely essential that no one discovered this was the work of the Rapa organization.

“Maddox, look… over there!”

One of the men pointed to a carriage leaving the estate. Through the open window, they could see the face of a young woman.

“Could that be her? For now, follow without drawing attention.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was a carriage marked with the Courtois family crest, and the young woman looking out the window was undeniably beautiful.

More confirmation was needed, but something about her made Maddox feel certain she was the duke’s fiancée.

“Maddox, I’ve got a great idea. We can kidnap her without lifting a finger.”

“What is it?”

The subordinate eagerly shared his plan with Maddox, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Soon, a smile spread across Maddox’s face.

He had been worrying about how to grab the girl in broad daylight without creating a scene, but now it seemed they could pull it off easily and without trouble.

“You clever little devil.”
Maddox burst into laughter.

Lea and Pauline got off in the center of town.

“Please be back here by four o’clock.”

Pauline gave instructions to the coachman and then joined Lea. The two of them were bubbling with excitement at the thought of starting a new business.

“We’re going to turn Chainer lace into a luxury brand.”

“It’s not fair if only noblewomen can afford it.”

“Exactly. Regular women should be able to buy it too, as long as they save up.”

“Miss, what if we add a trademark to the lace?”

“A trademark?”

“Yes. Since it’s Chainer lace, we could design a ‘C’ with sparkling wings.”

“That’s a great idea, Pauline.”

Lea and Pauline clapped their hands together and laughed. They had a really good feeling, like everything was going to fall into place.

But that feeling didn’t last long.

They met with a broker and toured several shops. Since they were planning to start on a small scale, they didn’t need a large space.

But they couldn’t find a location that matched what they were looking for in terms of rent, size, and location. No matter how well the lace sold, they would still be losing money after paying rent.

And opening a shop on the outskirts, where there was little foot traffic, was simply not an option. Lea understood that better than anyone.

“If it’s money, His Grace will support you as much as you need.”

“If I start with Terran’s money, it won’t mean anything.”

Lea wanted to achieve things on her own, even if it was with a small amount.

The words Terran said when he took her to the chapel and showed her the necklace were still engraved in her heart and wouldn’t fade.

“If you truly believe in yourself, you won’t need this. I’m sure this necklace contains the wisdom merchants earned through repeated failures. But if you’ve never experienced failure or success for yourself, it’s useless. Just copying others doesn’t mean you’ll succeed.”

He was completely right. Foolishly, she had once believed that simply finding her father’s memoir would lead her straight to success.

But just like he said, unless she experienced things firsthand, it wouldn’t mean anything.

I’ll save the memoir for when I face a real crisis.

“Miss, I’m so hungry. And my legs really hurt.”

They had been walking around all morning. It was only natural for Pauline to be tired. Lea felt sorry for dragging her around all day.

“Should we go to a café and have some dessert?”

“Yes, please!”

Even something as simple as finding a shop location took effort and attention.

Nothing comes easy.

Lea felt a renewed respect for just how incredible her father must have been. After enjoying tea and dessert at a café, the two of them stepped back outside.

“Miss, it’s already four o’clock.”

Lea looked at the clock on a distant bell tower. It seemed like a good time to wrap up for the day. Soon, the carriage from the duke’s estate would arrive at their meeting point to pick them up.

At that moment, Pauline noticed something and pointed ahead.

“Look. That’s our carriage coming.”

“How did they know we were here?”

Of course. Terran is too suspicious for his own good.

It was obvious. He probably told someone to secretly follow them just in case something happened.

“Good thing too. My legs were killing me.”

“True, but still…”

The carriage soon arrived and stopped in front of them. The coachman quickly got down and opened the door.

That scent is strange.

Pauline flinched slightly as the door opened. A strange smell drifted out from inside. It wasn’t a scent she had noticed when they first arrived in town.

But everything about the carriage said it belonged to the duke.

“Oh, wait. I left my parasol at the café. I’ll be right back. Miss!”

Pauline paused just as she was about to climb in with Lea.

“Alright, I’ll wait here. Go ahead.”

“Okay.”

Pauline turned back toward the café. The coachman, his hat pulled low to hide his face, stood silently and held the door open.

“Not yet. Pauline hasn’t come back.”

Lea didn’t get in and waited outside for her.

“Please wait… inside.”

“I suppose I could.”

Lea stepped up and entered the carriage.

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