Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 49

Lea returned to the Duke’s estate with Terran. But as soon as she entered the lobby, she froze.

The floor was completely covered in luxurious roses.

They weren’t ordinary roses either. Each one shimmered in delicate shades of white and blue. The cost must have been enormous, especially since there were enough to carpet the entire space.

“Grace, walk over them.”

“Terran, they’re too beautiful to step on.”

It felt wasteful. More than that, stepping on living flowers just seemed cruel. They would be crushed beneath her feet.

“It means I want you to walk only on a path of flowers from now on.”

“A path of flowers?”

Before he spoke, she had felt uncomfortable. But now that she understood the meaning behind it, the gesture touched her deeply. She could no longer resist the kindness of someone who had laid flowers across her path just for her.

Lea slowly stepped forward. Each time her foot pressed down on the soft blossoms, she shut her eyes tightly. But she didn’t want to reject the path Terran had prepared for her.

“I want to walk on flower paths too.”

Lifting the hem of her dress slightly, she stepped lightly across the floral carpet. Terran followed her, walking over the flowers as well.

“I feel sorry for the flowers, but walking with you here feels like I’m in a blooming field.”

A bright smile lit up Lea’s face.

Terran’s heart stirred when he saw her smiling so freely among the roses.

A dove that had flown far away had finally returned to his arms. She was being so good.

He wondered if there could be anything in this world more beautiful than flowers. He was pretty sure he had just found one. And he sincerely wished that for the rest of their lives, they would continue walking on paths just like this.

“Did you prepare this to surprise me?”

“Something like that. Does it matter?”

“Thank you.”

He smiled back at her.

In truth, the flowers had been sent by Allen McDowell. Terran had simply decided not to waste them. After all, it would have been rude to ignore such a gesture.

A shameless man, constantly flirting with another man’s fiancée.

Naturally, such behavior deserved consequences.

Terran enjoyed walking through the flower-covered lobby with Grace at his side, just like strolling through a secret garden.

Grace introduced Sonya and Adolf to Terran.

Terran seemed to have already done a background check and agreed to hire them. The couple was thrilled to be able to work again.

“I’ll prepare a small guesthouse for you. You can stay there and work comfortably.”

Terran spoke kindly, but Sonya and Adolf were clearly intimidated by him.

“If the Empress’s riding outfit is a success, I plan to entrust you with a boutique in the city.”

“Truly?”

Adolf’s eyes welled with emotion. Owning a boutique under his own name had always been his lifelong dream.

Being a royal tailor was a great honor, but owning your own business was something far greater.

“Of course, that will only happen if you understand my vision and produce excellent results.”

“Naturally. We understand.”

After hearing their reply, Lea finally laid out her design sketches on the table.

But as they looked over the drawings, Sonya and Adolf’s expressions darkened. They seemed a little stunned.

“You plan to dress Her Majesty in a men’s suit?”

Adolf examined the sketches again as he spoke.

“Yes, but not a full gentleman’s suit. I want you to create a black jacket that comes down to the waist, tailored to highlight the feminine silhouette. The waist needs to be cinched and elegant.”

“Then we’ll need to use fabric that allows for easy movement.”

Adolf adjusted his glasses and studied the sketches carefully.

Lea turned to Terran.

“Terran, what happened to the camel hair fabric we brought back from Turki?”

“I had it handled exactly as you requested.”

At his signal, James entered the room.

“Bring the fabric from Turki.”

“Yes, sir.”

But Sonya still looked uneasy.

She could understand the shirt and tie being adapted from men’s fashion, but the real issue was the bottoms.

“Lady Grace, surely you don’t mean to dress the Empress in trousers? A proper lady on horseback, sitting with her legs apart?”

“You’ll need to make the bottoms, Sonya. A riding skirt.”

“A riding skirt?”

“It needs to be designed so that even when she rides astride, it doesn’t look obvious. The challenge is mobility. If the garment is too loose or gets caught on the legs during advanced riding, it becomes dangerous. I want a skirt that looks elegant and luxurious but functions well for horseback riding. And the undergarments must not be visible, even when the wind blows.”

Sonya tilted her head, clearly troubled.

“If a former royal tailor from Saintebourg can’t manage that, then maybe we should reconsider. You can back out now if it’s too difficult. I already have a personal tailor who’s quite capable.”

Terran cut in sharply.

No one is respected just for past glory. They had to prove their skills.

Sonya looked down, her pride clearly wounded.

Even Lea agreed with Terran. Sonya and Adolf often spoke of their vast experience, so this was their chance to show it.

“I’ll use the same material as the jacket for the riding skirt. I’ll add knife pleats around the waist so that it won’t look like pants when seated in a saddle. The hem will fall just below the calf.”

Sonya, who had seemed hesitant before, suddenly spoke with confidence.

At that moment, Lea remembered something from her time with the Hamilton Trading Company.

“She should wear tall boots made from deer leather. And gloves to match. That way, nothing underneath will show, and it’ll look even more polished.”

Adolf’s eyes lit up. Deer leather was known to be soft like human skin, making it the ideal material for horseback riding or hunting gear.

Just then, James returned carrying several rolls of fabric.

“This is a blend of camel hair and wool from Turki. It’s thin, but extremely warm.”

“Look at that sheen.”

When Lea showed Sonya the fabric James had brought, Sonya’s face lit up with excitement.

Just then, Terran, who had been reading the newspaper, shared some surprising news with the room.

“The Royal Equestrian Tournament in Bellis is drawing nearly every royal family on the continent. Even Empress Teresa of Galdensia is expected to attend.”

“Really?”

The Empress of Galdensia was famously reclusive. Few had ever seen her in public.

The only known image of her was a single official portrait.

Rumor had it that she had suffered from smallpox in her late twenties, leaving severe scarring on her face. Since then, she was said to hide behind a black veil.

“This is going to be a major event.”

Adolf nervously rubbed his hands together. The weight of the task before them was beginning to sink in.

“You both understand I do not want to be disappointed, right?”

Terran folded the newspaper and tossed it aside, his tone stern.

“We will do our very best to make sure Her Majesty is pleased.”

“Not Her Majesty.”

“I beg your pardon? Then who?”

“Grace. I don’t want you to disappoint Grace. Of course, I trust her judgment in bringing you here.”

“Understood.”

Sonya gave a small smile.

Throughout the meeting, the Duke had maintained a sharp gaze, his attention unyielding.

But that gaze had never once left his fiancée, Grace. Sonya noticed immediately.

He’s completely obsessed with his fiancée.

In truth, Grace’s design sketches posed no real difficulty. Sonya was more than capable of bringing them to life.

What had unsettled her wasn’t the assignment itself, but the intensity in the Duke’s eyes. Every time Grace spoke, he hid behind the newspaper, revealing only his eyes, and stared at her without blinking.

He seemed determined not to miss a single expression on her face, not even the stray strands of hair that slipped along her neck.

But it made sense. Grace wasn’t just beautiful. She was bright, confident, and remarkably modern. A rare kind of woman in any era.

“We only have a month until the final fitting. Please give it your all.”

Grace offered her encouragement.

Sonya and Adolf gave a respectful bow and began gathering the fabric to leave. But just before exiting the study, they turned back and spoke with sincerity.

“Thank you for taking us in when we had nowhere else to go after our country fell.”

It came from the heart. Who else would recognize their worth instantly and even pay their hotel bill without hesitation? Let alone trust them with something this important.

Meeting Grace had been a stroke of pure fortune.

“You don’t need to thank me.”

Terran spoke indifferently.

“If Grace is not satisfied, I will simply fire you both.”

“Terran.”

Lea shot him a look. There was no need to say something that would make the couple feel uncomfortable, especially after they had just expressed their gratitude.

That evening, Terran finally had Grace all to himself.

He had dismissed Chenera and Pauline. The two of them were now alone in her bedroom.

“Grace, I want you to stay in my room tonight.”

Now that they had finally confirmed their feelings for each other back in the prison, there was nothing else standing between them.

“Are you asking me to share a room with you?”

“Exactly.”

His hand gently brushed against her cheek.

Even though he had just eaten, he still felt strangely hollow. The hunger he felt whenever he looked at Grace was something no food could satisfy.

“Terran, since you brought it up, we need to talk seriously.”

“Talk about what?”

“You locked me in a prison under attempted murder charges. That was too much.”

He had done it to show how desperate he was, how much he had suffered because of her. And yes, he had nearly gone mad.

“Do you have any idea how terrified I was? I was locked in a place I should never have had to see in my life. I was shaking with fear.”

Her voice broke as she fought back tears. Terran stood there, clearly at a loss.

“What kind of fiancé throws the woman he loves into a cell?”

No matter how many times she replayed it in her mind, she couldn’t help feeling angry and betrayed. For a moment, she had even questioned his sanity.

“I wasn’t in my right mind.”

Terran admitted it openly. He had been consumed by love, acting without reason. Even Luke, when he heard what had happened, had looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“That’s why I prepared something. A way to repay you for everything you did to me.”

Lea pulled out two sheets of paper and handed them to him.

Support Revenge Comes with Interest