Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 50

Terran blinked repeatedly as he looked at the two sheets of paper in front of him.

“One is grapes… and the other is corn?”

“Every time you do something that moves me, I will sign one of the grapes,” Grace replied.

“So, I need to fill in all of these grapes with your signature before we sleep together?”

“Yes.”

Terran’s face twisted in frustration. They had already confirmed their feelings and apologized. It should have been enough to move on, but this woman had developed a strange habit of judging every right and wrong.

“There are too many grapes.”

“Then would you prefer the corn?”

The corn next to it was full of tightly packed kernels, too many to count at a glance. If counted carefully, there would probably be hundreds.

“This is the only option?”

Just thinking about the dark prison gave Lea chills. It was a place she never wanted to experience again.

“Yes. What you did to me left a horrible memory.”

How ridiculous. He had never done anything like this even as a child.

“Then let’s just get married tomorrow.”

Terran looked at Grace with hopeful eyes. Marrying her was the only legal way he could sleep with her.

“This has nothing to do with marriage. Stop avoiding the real issue.”

Repent for your sins, is that it?

Terran quickly counted the grapes. There were fifty. If it had been around thirty, he might have been able to finish this within a month.

“If I complete all of this, you can’t back out. Promise me.”

Terran did feel guilty for surprising her. He wanted to make things right.

“Of course. But”

“But?”

“Until you fill them all, no kissing or hugging. I’ll allow hand-holding though.”

Terran almost tore the paper in frustration. He had no idea Grace could hold such a grudge.

He suddenly felt wronged.

“Fine. But in return, you have to promise me something too.”

A fair agreement should never be one-sided.

“Don’t ever leave me again without a word. If you do, I won’t be responsible for what I might do.”

There was no trace of humor in Terran’s voice.

Lea swallowed nervously. He was the kind of man who could really do something no one would expect.

“And one more thing.”

“Another one?”

“Don’t smile at other men so easily. Only look at me.”

He must be seriously unstable.

Lea gave an awkward smile in confusion, but also felt a stubborn fire rise within her. His demands should not apply only to her.

“You shouldn’t smile at other women either. Only look at me.”

“As much as you want.”

His confident expression made it feel unfair somehow. Terran didn’t usually smile at others in the first place.

It felt like she had been caught in his plan.

Then again, when would she ever have a reason to smile so brightly at another man? She had too much work to do.

Suddenly, Lea remembered Rivette, Allen McDowell’s younger sister. She had promised to make her a dress. Should she tell Terran?

“Terran, I have something to tell you.”

Keeping secrets from him felt far too dangerous.

“Allen McDowell’s younger sister asked Chainer to make her a lace dress. She plans to wear it to the crown princess selection event. I accepted the request.”

Terran stayed silent for a while, simply watching her as if trying to understand her real intentions.

“Grace, I’m sure you had your reasons for accepting.”

“Terran…”

She had expected him to be furious, to demand why she was getting involved with Allen again. But instead, he had touched her heart.

“I just wanted to separate work from personal feelings.”

“That makes sense. I respect your decision.”

Terran hardly seemed to be listening as he walked over to her desk. He dipped a quill in ink and brought it back.

“I moved you just now, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“Then sign a grape.”

He placed the pen in Grace’s hand and laid the paper in front of her. Caught off guard, she signed one of the grapes.

“I’m going to sleep with you no matter what. Every night, in the same bed.”

Lea wondered if it was really necessary to show this much determination over simply sleeping together.

“I have something else to tell you,” Terran added, looking pleased with the signed paper.

He said he had a friend in Galdensia, and that friend’s younger sister would also be attending the crown princess selection event.

The problem was that even though his friend came from a noble family, they were not very wealthy.

“I’ve decided to cover all the expenses. Once she’s selected, her title will be elevated, and she’ll be granted land. Most importantly, we’ll be the ones to make her the Crown Princess.”

“Of course we should help,” Grace replied.

That was exactly what Lea had expected. She had agreed to make Rivette’s dress, but she had absolutely no intention of helping her become the Crown Princess of Galdensia.

After all, royalty was a matter of fate. Still, there was nothing wrong with gently nudging fate in a certain direction.

I need to find out what kind of woman the Crown Prince of Galdensia prefers.

Lea’s thoughts grew heavier.

Allen was resting in the hospital when he received an unexpected visit from Touajot, the Chief of Police.

“We managed to catch one of the men who attacked you, President McDowell.”

“How did you catch him?”

They had all been dressed in black with masks. It must have been difficult to identify anyone.

“Only certain kinds of lowlifes do that kind of thing. If you check bars, brothels, or gambling dens, you are bound to catch one of them eventually.”

“Did he confess?”

“That’s confidential. Don’t ask me about that.”

“Then tell me who was behind it.”

Allen was anxious. He needed to know which group in Bracel had the nerve to launch a terror attack against him.

Touajot, however, slowly stroked his curled mustache and took his time. It seemed he had more to say and was waiting for something.

“My daughter is marrying a foreign noble, but they are demanding a ridiculous dowry.”

Touajot had risen from a commoner background to become the Chief of Police. Because of that, he was obsessed with status and ambition.

This greedy man never stops wanting more.

Allen had helped him gain a fortune when he brought down the Hamilton Trading Company, but now it was clear Touajot had no intention of spending any of it on his own daughter’s marriage.

Allen felt disgusted. At this rate, this man would keep leeching off him for life.

“It’s someone you wouldn’t expect. You’ll be surprised when you find out.”

Is it really the person I think it is?

Allen clenched his jaw. He desperately wanted to know, but the idea of giving Touajot more money made him sick.

Still, I need to know. I can’t let this happen again.

“Your daughter’s wedding sounds like a happy occasion. I wouldn’t want to be left out of something so important.”

Allen smiled and gave in to Touajot’s unspoken demand. Touajot laughed heartily, clearly satisfied.

“It was Duke Courtois. I believe he was trying to keep any man away from his fiancée.”

“Duke Courtois? All I did was invite Lady Vizak to dinner. And as for Rivette’s dress, that was strictly a professional arrangement. You know that, Chief.”

“Of course I do. There are plenty of rumors saying that Duke Courtois lost his mind after the war.”

Touajot nodded as if he agreed, but he did not believe a word of it. He had seen Allen’s desperation that night, trying to claim Grace for himself.

But Allen had chosen the wrong opponent. Duke Courtois was not someone to be taken lightly.

“I should get going. Take care of yourself and recover well.”

Touajot quickly left the hospital after finishing what he came to do.

Allen, meanwhile, was fuming with rage. He felt like he was about to explode.

Terran Courtois, I will destroy you.

Terran was having a serious meeting with James and Luke. The desk in his office was stacked with books piled high like a tower.

“No matter how much I search, I can’t find a solution,” Terran said, throwing a book aside in frustration.

Luke felt restless watching him struggle like this.

If he just did the opposite of what he usually does, he would already know how to move a woman’s heart.

Thankfully, the eldest among them, James, finally spoke up. With the most life experience, he was the only one who could offer some real guidance.

“First, Your Grace, you must hide your intentions. If it’s obvious that you are trying to impress her, she will only pull away. You need to act uninterested. Pretend like you don’t care, but when she is in trouble, step in like a hero.”

“Hmm. James has a point.”

Anything that looked forced or overly obvious would only come across as awkward.

“You have to make it so she signs the grapes on her own. Make it feel natural, like it was her decision.”

“Can you give a specific example?”

“An example? Well…”

Even James had not thought that far.

“Why not just help her with her work?” Luke chimed in. “It’s not complicated. Women are often touched by small, thoughtful gestures.”

“For example, if she is having trouble finding a material for a dress, you could suddenly appear with it in your hands.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“Start by helping her complete the Empress’s riding outfit successfully.”

Terran paused in thought.

How exactly could he support Grace’s work? He could not help her sew directly.

A riding outfit…

For a woman to perform advanced riding techniques, clothing could become a serious obstacle.

And when it came to horseback riding, there were few who knew more than he did.

In that moment, Terran knew exactly what he had to do.

There is always a gap between ideals and reality.

A satisfied smile appeared on Terran’s face. He immediately pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and began writing without hesitation.

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