Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 42

Lea ran straight to Terran’s bedroom without hesitation.

“Terran can actually get sick?”

To her, he had always seemed unshakable. He wasn’t like ordinary people. She had assumed he never got sick or weak.

But now, he hadn’t eaten for days and had a high fever.

Then again, he was still suffering from the trauma of war. Lea didn’t even stop to knock. She burst through the door and shouted.

“Terran!”

Inside, Luke was sitting beside the bed, tending to him. She had heard that Terran was ill, but actually seeing him lying there in bed hit her like a punch to the chest.

“Does it… hurt a lot?”

His face was pale and sunken. He looked truly sick.

“Grace…”

Terran called her name weakly. Lea immediately turned to Luke and began firing questions.

“Luke, how long has he been like this? Did you call Doctor Wilson? No, if he’s this sick, you should’ve taken him to the hospital. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

She didn’t even give him a chance to respond.

“The Duke told us not to make a fuss about it…”

“Ugh, this is so frustrating.”

Lea couldn’t fully process what she was seeing. The sight of Terran in that state made her panic.

She moved about restlessly, as if half out of her mind, her body trembling like a leaf.

“Milady, please calm down. Once he takes his medicine, he’ll get better quickly. He has just been overworked, that’s all.”

Luke tried hard to keep from smiling, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching. He was holding it back with effort.

Of course the sympathy tactic worked. There was no way it wouldn’t. Terran must have been thrilled inside. Grace had come running the moment she heard he was sick.

“Give me the medicine. I’ll stay with Terran and take care of him.”

Lea’s voice trembled. She felt like this illness was somehow her fault.

She had been too harsh that day. She hadn’t listened to him and just dumped her emotions on him.

She couldn’t deny that he had feelings for her. But her own insecurity about the Empress had made her lash out unfairly.

Now, all she felt was regret. She should have stayed calm and talked things through like an adult.

“Medicine?”

Luke froze. He had planned the whole scene so well but had completely forgotten to prepare any actual medicine.

“I’ll go fetch some right away.”

Luke quickly left the room. Lea sat down beside Terran and gently took his hand.

“I’m fine,” Terran said softly, trying to comfort her. But inside, he was overjoyed. She had rushed to him the moment she heard he was unwell.

Luke had been right about everything. Grace still had feelings for him. As the tension between them began to melt, he felt lighter, like a weight had lifted from his heart.

“You’re so beautiful when you’re worried about me.”

“I’m sorry,” Lea said as she held his hand tightly. “I was too harsh. I didn’t give you a chance to explain.”

She knew now that he must have had his own thoughts and reasons. But instead of listening, she had assumed the worst and exploded in anger.

“Grace, I…”

Terran started to speak, finally ready to explain himself.

At that moment, the door opened and Luke rushed back into the room.

“Milady, I brought the medicine.”

“Is it fever medicine?”

“It should be.”

When he opened the cabinet, he was overwhelmed by how many brown bottles there were. It had taken a while to sort through them.

Since there was no standard fever remedy, he brought a calming tonic instead, one recommended by the head maid.

It was made from jujube seed, dried chrysanthemum, lotus seeds, and lavender. She claimed it worked better than Doctor Wilson’s medicine and was gentler on the body.

It also helped with fatigue, so it wouldn’t hurt even if the illness was exaggerated a little.

“He said it’s a calming tonic.”

Lea touched Terran’s forehead and nodded.

“His fever has gone down. This should help him feel better.”

She took the medicine bottle and spoon from Luke.

“I’ll leave you two alone now.”

Luke stepped out quietly. He had done his part. Now it was up to them to reconcile.

Lea helped Terran sit up in bed.

“Take the medicine and get some rest.”

“Before that, I want to say something to you, Grace.”

“No. Later.”

Lea’s voice was firm. But Terran believed this was the perfect time to explain, now that her heart had softened.

Just as he was about to speak again, Lea poured a spoonful of medicine and brought it to his lips.

“Mmph…”

She fed him the tonic. But the smell hit him like a wall.

“They say medicine that’s good for you tastes bitter.”

“Cough, cough…”

“What is this? It tastes like dirty dishwater.”

Terran had never tasted anything so foul in his life. He started coughing uncontrollably as he tried to swallow it.

“Are you alright? It’s bitter, but you need to take it.”

Lea scooped up another spoonful and brought it to his lips.

“Ugh…”

Terran forced it down. He couldn’t spit it out like a child. But the nausea was unbearable. He kept coughing again and again.

“I… have something to say, Grace.”

“Yes, you finished the medicine. Go ahead.”

Terran was coughing so hard from the bitter medicine that he couldn’t even speak properly. Still, he seemed eager to say something. With a serious look, he placed his hands on Lea’s shoulders.

“Vivian and I…”

“Yes?”

“Cough… I… actually cared for Vivian…”

Lea handed him a glass of water, hoping it would help clear his throat and soothe him.

Even after drinking, Terran’s condition didn’t improve much.

“Vivian and I… since we were young… cough cough…”

If it was that hard to speak, maybe he didn’t need to force himself. But Lea suddenly began to think he was waiting for the right moment to tell her everything.

She thought maybe he was trying to explain how he truly felt about the Empress. But even though she wanted to hear it, it wasn’t easy to listen.

He kept calling the Empress “Vivian” with such fondness.

“So they liked each other?”

“When I meet Vivian… cough cough…”

“He wants to meet her?”

“There’s something I absolutely have to tell her… cough…”

“Stop.”

Lea had heard enough. She understood now what Terran was trying to say. Even while coughing and struggling to speak, he was still talking about Vivian and how there was something important he needed to tell her.

Finally, the tangled mess inside her heart began to unravel.

Terran had loved the Empress deeply since childhood. They had even planned to be engaged, but it never worked out. Afterward, he became engaged to Grace, but there had been no affection between them.

“So he only showed interest in me because I remind him of her?”

The old Grace had been nothing like the Empress. But after she changed, had Terran started to see traces of his first love in her?

“The feelings I thought he had for me were all just misunderstandings.”

The one he truly cared about was in the Imperial Palace.

Now that he had seen her again, perhaps all those buried emotions had resurfaced. That would explain why, even while sick and exhausted, he still kept talking about his connection with Vivian.

At first, Lea thought he was trying to explain that he no longer had feelings for the Empress. But the more she listened, the more hopeless she felt.

She quietly fetched a clean towel and gently wiped the corners of his mouth.

“Get some rest. I’ll go.”

“Where are you going without me?”

Terran was alarmed by the pale expression on Grace’s face. He had a feeling she was misunderstanding him again. But why was he getting so sleepy? His body felt heavy, and his eyelids closed against his will.

He tried hard to stay awake and reach for her, but the sleepiness overwhelmed him. In the end, he passed out completely.

“He’s asleep.”

Lea covered him with a blanket and quietly left the room.

Lea headed toward the Imperial Palace with Pauline.

“Is that really true?”

Pauline could hardly believe what she was hearing. Terran had been calling out for the Empress even while he was sick?

“He said there’s something he has to tell her.”

“Milady, are you seriously going to ask Her Majesty to come to the Duke’s estate?”

“Yes. It’s what Terran truly wants.”

“What?”

Pauline tilted her head, confused. Something about this felt very wrong.

It was strange that the Empress had suddenly become the center of attention between the two of them.

Terran had never mentioned the Empress before. If anything, he had shown increasing interest in Grace.

“I heard it clearly. Terran said he liked the Empress since childhood and that there’s something he really wants to say to her.”

Of course, he hadn’t said it in one smooth sentence. But anyone with sense could piece together the meaning behind his broken words.

At last, they arrived at the Imperial Palace.

“I was never the real one. Not the real Grace, not someone who could fill the Empress’s place. I’ve always been just a stranger.”

So, she had no right to be angry with Terran.

“Lea Hamilton, is this really the time for love or confusion? Can you afford those kinds of feelings right now?”

She scolded herself for losing sight of her real goal, even for a moment. Just because she was in Grace’s body didn’t mean she had become Grace.

“This life doesn’t belong to me. Don’t get greedy.”

Terran was never truly hers. But after living as Grace for so long, she had started to forget. She got lost in the moment, confused by emotions that weren’t supposed to be hers.

Maybe it was better this way. She had promised herself over and over that love was not something she deserved.

Lea stepped out of the carriage with Pauline and walked toward the Empress’s palace.

With every step she took, the pain in her chest grew stronger. She hadn’t realized it before, but she must have cared for Terran far more than she wanted to admit.

Terran finally woke up at five in the evening. That horrible medicine must have hit him harder than he thought, leaving him unconscious.

As he opened his eyes, he noticed a figure standing nearby.

“Grace?”

He rubbed his eyes and sat up. But something felt wrong. The scent in the air was unfamiliar. It wasn’t Grace’s soft fragrance. Instead, a heavy rose perfume filled the room.

“Your Majesty? Why are you here?”

He stared in confusion at the Empress standing before him. Where was Grace? Why had she brought the Empress here?

“Duke Courtois. Actually, since it’s just us, let’s speak openly.”

The Empress stood with her arms crossed, looking straight at him.

“What…?”

“You complete idiot!”

She suddenly raised her voice and shouted at him.

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