Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 58

Paul and Tom stopped their sewing the moment they saw Terran appear. They rose awkwardly and bowed politely toward him.

“Carry on with what you were doing. I simply couldn’t get to sleep.”

Terran gave an awkward smile as he entered and sat on the sofa.

“I only came to see if the work was progressing well.”

That wasn’t it. Lea immediately recognized the look on Terran’s face, which was barely suppressing his irritation. She wished he would just get some proper rest. The real problem, however, was Paul and Tom; they were flustered and clearly intimidated by Terran’s presence.

“Yawn! I’m quite tired, so I should be going. Paul, Tom, you should stop here for today as well. There is always tomorrow.”

Lea decided it was best to wrap up the work for the night.

“Please go ahead, My Lady. We will finish up after tidying the place.”

“Will you? Don’t stay too late.”

“Understood.”

After saying goodbye to the two men, Lea spoke kindly to Terran.

“Terran, you’re going to stay here longer, right? I’m tired, so I’ll head back first.”

“What? I…”

Before he could even answer, Lea had already slipped out of the workshop. Immediately, Terran said, “I’m suddenly exhausted,” as if he had been waiting for the cue to leave.

Lea walked briskly toward his bedroom, then began to run when she heard the sound of footsteps chasing her from behind. Terran picked up his pace too, and Lea, reaching the bedroom first, dove quickly into the bed.

What followed was exactly as expected. Terran stomped in, huffing, and pulled the covers back roughly as he began his lecture.

“How could you leave me behind like that? Is that how it’s supposed to be?”

“I did it so you could sleep peacefully.”

“Do you have any idea how much effort I spent dealing with those insignificant thugs just to get that sewing machine or whatever it is?”

“I know. And I’m grateful for it, Terran.”

“If you know, how could you be so impatient that you couldn’t stay by my side for even a moment?”

Terran wasn’t exactly angry; rather, he was feeling a surge of sorrow. When he was a child, he would wake up from naps to find no one around him, and that silence had been frightening and lonely for his young heart. Although the nannies had taken good care of him after his mother passed away early, it was a loneliness he couldn’t help but feel.

He had felt that exact same emotion just thirty minutes ago. When he woke up after a short sleep only to find himself left alone, he felt upset and aggrieved. He even felt a sense of resentment toward Grace for leaving him by himself.

“Why are you acting like a baby?”

“What? A baby?”

Terran asked back, dumbfounded. He felt he was merely asking for consideration, yet she viewed it as the whining of a child.

“Did I ask you to nurse me?” he asked, his face turning solemn.

‘Though it wouldn’t be bad if you did…’

“Pardon?” Lea was startled.

“Or did I ask you to change my diaper?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“I simply wanted you to stay with me. I don’t think I acted like a baby.”

Only then did Lea realize her mistake. Because he was an adult man and was more mature than others his age, she had assumed he would understand. She had forgotten that Terran was someone who craved personal affection.

“It’s all my fault. Please don’t be angry.”

Lea quickly lay back down on the bed and patted the spot next to her, signaling for him to stop lecturing and get into bed.

“I’ll sing a lullaby for our big baby, so hurry up and lie down.”

“This woman, honestly!”

Terran started to flare up again, but then he let out a short laugh at her beaming face and lay down beside her. Without fail, he pulled her into his arms. Lea began singing a lullaby at random to prevent him from lecturing her any further.

“!?”

Terran was surprised by Grace’s lullaby. He hadn’t known she could sing so well. Her voice was incredibly pure. It tickled his heart like a breeze blowing across a lakeshore on a warm spring day. At first, he listened out of curiosity, but soon drowsiness washed over him as if a fairy had cast a spell.

Lea let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Terran had finally fallen asleep.

‘I was too much.’

Lea felt regret. She should have paid more attention to him; she should have stayed by his side. A man who rarely expressed his emotions had changed enough to reveal his inner thoughts to her. When she first met him, he was like an impregnable fortress. Now, he was finally showing his human side.

Lea stroked his face repeatedly, then ran her fingers through his hair to help him sleep deeply. She remembered how she used to fall asleep the moment someone touched her hair when she was very young.

The next day, the sewing machines moved without rest. Lea stayed by Paul and Tom’s side to check the progress of the garments.

“How can the stitching be so perfectly even?”

The more she saw it, the more amazing it was. Lea couldn’t hide her admiration for their sewing skills. No wonder the artisans were protesting. However, the change of the times was unavoidable; the sewing machine would soon become common.

Just then, Pauline and Chenera stopped by the workshop.

“My Lady, is it going well?”

“Yes. I think it will all be finished by today.”

“That’s a relief.”

Pauline and Chenera were also greatly surprised when they saw the clothes made by the machine.

“We are heading to the workshop. The employees we hired recently should already be there working.”

“As they should be.”

At Pauline’s words, an idea flashed through Lea’s mind. She wondered if it would be a good idea to have Paul and Tom work at Chenera’s lace workshop as well. Orders for riding habits would likely continue to come in anyway. Lea shared her thoughts with the four of them.

“We would like that, My Lady,” Paul and Tom accepted readily.

However, Pauline’s face turned red, seemingly shy about working with men. On the other hand, Chenera didn’t seem to mind at all.

“My Lady, Sonya and Adolf might not like it.”

Pauline was concerned about their opposition.

“I’ll take care of that.”

Lea had a separate plan in mind. Soon, the two left for the workshop, and Lea accelerated the process of making the riding habits. But then, the very thing she feared happened.

Terran appeared in the workshop. Luke stood by his side, carrying a bundle of documents.

“Terran, why aren’t you in your office?”

Paul and Tom, who were focusing intensely on their work, looked uncomfortable. Sure enough, with both Terran and Luke appearing, the two men stopped their sewing immediately and stood up with their hands folded politely.

“I was worried. I couldn’t focus on my work.”

“Pardon?”

‘What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?’

Lea knew Terran’s obvious intentions all too well.

“You two, just focus on your work. I have work to do as well, so you don’t need to pay me any mind.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Paul and Tom resumed their work, and Terran settled onto the sofa. As Luke handed him documents, Terran reviewed and signed them, yet his gaze remained fixed on Grace the entire time.

He hadn’t planned to work here in the first place. But sitting at his office desk, the workshop kept weighing on his mind. He knew the three of them were working hard, but he felt somewhat left out. Furthermore, the imagination of Grace standing close to Paul and Tom and laughing with them made his head feel dizzy.

Of course, he couldn’t reveal such childish feelings, so he ended up coming here with a lame excuse.

“Oh! You can even embroider the crest so easily?”

Lea was surprised to see Tom precisely stitching the Imperial crest onto the jacket.

“I’d like to try it too.”

“I will teach you next time, My Lady.”

“Really?”

At the sound of Lea and Tom laughing, a loud thud was heard from the table. Lea instinctively turned her head.

“Luke, you should place the documents gently. You’re disturbing the work.”

“Me? Sir?”

Terran and Luke bickered. Or rather, Terran was venting his irritation one-sidedly. Lea immediately sat down next to Terran, and only then did his face brighten.

‘What should I do with our jealous Duke?’

While she let out a sigh inwardly, she also found it somewhat amusing. However, once Lea sat beside him, Terran’s attitude changed.

“Luke, take care of this yourself.”

Terran interlocked his fingers with Grace’s and pushed all the work onto Luke. Then, Terran whispered suggestively into Grace’s ear.

“You haven’t done it yet.”

“What?”

Terran flicked his finger toward Luke, who then handed over a piece of paper with a drawing of a bunch of grapes.

“You have to sign, Grace.”

“Ah…! I forgot.”

Lea was surprised to see that many of the grapes were already filled with her signatures. At this rate, soon she would… Just imagining it made her blush.

“Will ten be enough?”

At her question, Terran’s brow furrowed, and he began a grand explanation of how much he had suffered to find the sewing machine.

“Then, twelve?”

“Twenty.”

“That’s too many. Terran, are you trying to put me in prison… Mmph!”

The moment Lea tried to protest, his finger pressed gently against her lips. It seemed Terran didn’t want the fact that he had imprisoned Grace to be widely known.

“Let’s settle on fifteen.”

Even a peace treaty negotiation wouldn’t be this grand. Lea signed fifteen grapes, and Terran looked extremely satisfied. Just then, James arrived.

“Your Grace, we have received word from the hospital.”

Terran, who had been smiling like an innocent boy at James’s report, returned to reality instantly. He stood up with a cold expression. It seemed that Anna, who had torn the riding habit and swung a knife at Grace, had regained consciousness.

“I’ll be back shortly, Grace.”

“Okay.”

Terran and Luke followed James out of the workshop. Lea waited for them to disappear before following them at a distance.

‘Who was the one who instigated Anna to ruin the riding habit?’

Lea walked softly, making as little noise as possible. Before long, she heard the three men talking as they stood at the stairs at the end of the hallway.

“She says she did it because Allen McDowell told her to.”

“I expected as much.”

“Anna is very regretful. She is hoping for your leniency, Your Grace.”

“Leniency? There is no such thing. Grace almost died. Handle it according to the law.”

At Terran’s words, Luke asked a question.

“Do we reveal the fact that Allen McDowell is the mastermind?”

If they were to punish Anna, the officer would interrogate her regarding the full details of the case.

“No, it must not be revealed. Not yet.”

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