Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 55

Each time the woman swung the knife, the wind sliced sharply through the air.

Lea tried to dodge, but since she was still holding onto the woman’s clothes with one hand, it was hard to move quickly.

“Get lost before I mess up that pretty face of yours”

“Who sent you? Tell me right now”

“You think I’d just tell you? How cute”

The woman swung the knife with all her strength, trying to stab Lea. When Lea ducked to avoid it, the woman lost her balance and stumbled toward the window.

Lea was still holding onto the woman’s clothes, so her body was pulled along with her.

At the last second, Lea managed to grab the edge of the window with both hands.

But the woman grabbed onto her ankle, now hanging in the air below her.

“Let go of me”

Lea shook her leg, trying to break free, but the woman refused to let go. She clung to her ankle with desperate strength.

“I’m not dying alone”

She held on with everything she had. This was the top floor of a five-story building, and because of the high ceilings, it was even taller than usual. Falling from this height would almost certainly lead to serious injury or worse.

“Please help me”

Lea screamed with all the strength she had left. But her hands were already weak. Holding onto the ledge with just her own weight was hard enough, and now she also had the woman hanging from her.

Lights started to turn on one by one across the dark estate. Lea’s hands lost color, trembling violently as she clung to the ledge.

She didn’t know how much longer she could last. Maybe less than a minute.

“Is anybody there?”

She knew shouting would drain her energy and make her body sway even more, but there was no way she could handle this alone.

The woman seemed to be slipping too. Lea’s shoe suddenly came off and fell down.

A terrifying scream followed.

Then there was a heavy, sickening thud.

The woman’s body hit the ground, and the sound tore through the silence of the night.

Servants ran outside in a panic, their voices growing louder.

“Someone’s hanging up there”

“Who is it”

“Looks like a woman”

“Wait, isn’t that Miss Grace”

People looked at the woman lying on the ground. Then their eyes went up to the window and saw Grace hanging there. Shock spread quickly and the male servants rushed into action.

“Bring something we can catch her with”

“Get a mattress or anything soft. Hurry”

They were moving as fast as they could, but Lea could not hold on any longer. Her arms were numb, her strength almost gone.

I can’t hold on anymore.

She lost her grip with one hand. A scream came from below.

The servants could only watch, unable to do anything.

Her strength was completely gone. Just a few seconds left now.

I don’t want to die like this.

There was still so much she wanted to do. How could death come before she even had a chance to begin?

She had survived so much already. It felt so unfair to die now.

Terran…

She whispered his name and let go of the ledge.

All the voices below disappeared. It felt like time slowed down as her body began to fall.

Right before she let go, she had heard someone call out to her. It was a familiar voice, but she couldn’t understand what it said.

This is the end.

She surrendered to the fall. But just then, a powerful force grabbed her and stopped her in midair.

She looked up quickly.

Terran

He was gasping, out of breath from running. He held her wrist with one hand and pulled her back inside the window in one strong motion.

They fell to the floor together. Lea landed on top of him, his body cushioning the impact.

The sound of their heavy breathing filled the dark room.

Then Lea noticed something was wrong.

Terran’s white shirt was soaked in blood.

“Terran, you’re bleeding”

Her voice trembled as she cried out.

“It’s not me. It’s you”

“What”

Only then did Lea realize her arm was covered in blood. She must have been cut when the woman swung the knife earlier.

In the panic of nearly falling, she hadn’t even felt the pain.

Just then, people burst into the room. That was the last thing Lea remembered.

“Grace”

The only thing she could still hear was Terran’s voice calling her name, full of desperation.

Lea regained consciousness quickly. But what she woke up to was heartbreaking.

Even before she opened her eyes, she could hear Chenera and Pauline crying. She also heard the heavy, serious voices of Terran, James, and Luke.

“What happened”

Lea sat up in bed and immediately asked about the situation. Then pain shot through her arm, making her flinch.

“Unnie, are you ok…”

Before Chenera could finish her sentence, Pauline pulled her out of the room. James and Luke also quietly left with solemn faces.

“Terran”

When she called his name, Terran silently pulled her into his arms.

She could feel cold fury radiating from him.

“From now on, I will never let you out of my sight. Not even for one second”

She could understand his grief and anger, but that wasn’t what she wanted to hear right now.

Still, Lea gently rubbed his trembling back, trying to comfort him.

Terran thought he was having a nightmare. Somewhere, he could hear Grace’s voice. She was crying, begging for help. At first, he believed it was just a dream.

But even after opening his eyes, her voice still rang in his ears, vivid and real. That was when he knew something was terribly wrong.

He searched the entire estate, following the faint sound of Grace’s voice like a thread. Then, a whisper from upstairs drifted down like a fine thread and reached his ear.

He ran all the way to the fifth floor without stopping. Even while sprinting at full speed, the thought that she might have already fallen made his chest tighten with fear.

He had promised himself that he would never again let someone precious die in front of him. But if Grace had been harmed too…

When he reached the room and saw only the curtains fluttering at the open window, his vision went black for a moment.

But then he saw Grace hanging from the narrow window ledge. In that instant, he silently thanked every god that existed.

“If I had been just a little later, I would have lost you”

If that had happened, it would have been the end of the world for him.

“Thank you for saving me”

“I don’t want to hear that”

He wasn’t looking for gratitude.

Of course, Lea understood how he felt. Every time she was in danger, Terran had appeared like a savior. And yet all she could offer him in return was one small sentence.

Still, she knew she couldn’t imagine her life without him anymore.

After a long while, Terran gently let her go and brought her water and medicine.

“This will help calm you down”

They shared the medicine together. It was hard for Lea to fall asleep after what had happened, but Terran was also too shaken to relax.

He laid down beside Grace and gave her a deep, reassuring kiss. As he touched her face, he spoke gently.

“Try to sleep. Just for tonight”

The pain they had just gone through was too much. Before facing the reality of it all, they needed just a few hours of peace.

“Okay”

Lea knew exactly what had happened to her. But tonight, she just wanted to feel safe in his arms.

She rested against Terran’s broad chest like a feather.

As their breathing slowly calmed and their bodies relaxed, sleep finally came.

All night long, Terran never once let go of Grace.

The reality that hit the estate the next morning was harsh.

Sonya and Adolf collapsed in tears as they looked at the torn riding outfit.

“Who was the servant responsible”

“Her name is Anna. She was newly hired. She’s in the hospital now, but she’s unconscious”

James spoke in a quiet voice.

“She must not die. Assign someone to watch her and question her as soon as she wakes up. And also…”

Terran’s voice was cold as ice. His dark eyes were clouded with fury and no longer focused.

“Yes, sir. Go ahead”

“When she wakes up, I want her right arm cut the same way she tried to cut Grace. Ten centimeters, with a knife”

“What”

James and Luke both looked shocked. No matter how angry they were, this was far beyond what any decent person could accept.

“We understand your feelings, sir, but harming a patient like that… we can’t support it”

“You can’t support it? Are you seriously telling me that is too harsh? Have you forgotten that Grace nearly died”

Terran’s voice roared so loud it shook the room. Everyone flinched in shock.

Lea was speechless, as if she were seeing a different person. Chenera and Pauline clung to each other in fear and backed away.

“I want to end that woman right now. I am only holding back because I still have a shred of self-control. If you will not do it, then I will drive the knife into her heart myself”

“We understand. We will take care of it”

James tried to calm the furious duke.

“If we do not root out the remaining spies in this house, both you and Luke will be dismissed”

“Understood, Your Grace”

Both of them responded firmly, their voices filled with tension.

Terran was furious to realize that there were more infiltrators in the estate than he had expected. He had no solid proof yet, but he had a good idea who was behind it all.

Still, jumping to conclusions would be dangerous. He needed to hear the truth from Anna’s own mouth.

“It’s all over. The riding uniforms for the Empress and her maids are ruined”

Sonya and Adolf were in despair. They had completely given up. Lea said nothing and just stared at the shredded fabric on the floor.

There were only three days left until the royal event in Bellis. Including travel time, that left them with just two days.

Somehow, they had to fix this.

Lea focused all her energy on finding a solution. What could they possibly do to restore the outfits in such a short time?

Even if Sonya and Adolf started right now, it was impossible to finish by the deadline.

Then she remembered something from long ago. A device brought over by a merchant from the New Continent.

The Hamilton Company had bought a few of them, but since they were expensive and didn’t sell well, they had stopped carrying them.

“I am not giving up”

Lea murmured as she looked at the torn riding outfit. Everyone turned to look at her.

“If we have a sewing machine, we can do it”

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