Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 62

Lea pushed Salame away. This was not a situation where she should be seeking comfort in his arms.

“Tell me about it. I’ll listen to everything,” Salame said softly.

At first, Lea wondered if there was any point in speaking, but since the matter involved his mother, she wanted to hear whatever answer he might have. So, she recounted the incident at the equestrian grounds in detail, and Salame listened intently. However, Salame’s expression shifted by the second.

“Hmm. To our mother, the scars on her face are like a bomb’s detonator. Usually, she is a benevolent and merciful Emperor, but she lacks all patience when it comes to her face.”

Salame was quite serious when he spoke of his mother. He didn’t act flippant or say anything random. Most notably, he mentioned that her personality had become this violent after she suffered from smallpox. As a woman, Lea could empathize with that part. No, even for a man, those scars would be a difficult burden to bear.

“Has she not made any effort?”

Lea was curious if the Emperor had sought any other way besides hiding behind a veil, even though she knew such scars were difficult to recover from.

“Why wouldn’t she have? She tried makeup, she wore masks, and she even sought out people who claimed they could fix her face with sorcery. All of them failed.”

Lea thoughtfully recalled Teresa’s face. Although it was terrifying to even return to that moment, she felt she needed to examine the details.

‘Her face isn’t distorted or deformed. It’s just that the skin is heavily scarred.’

If that was the case, it should have been possible to cover them with makeup.

“Prince, aren’t there many people in the Imperial Palace who are skilled at applying makeup?”

“As I said, she tried makeup. But the problem was that in an attempt to hide the scars, she used harsh cosmetics, and her skin became progressively worse. Later, due to makeup poisoning, her complexion turned blue. She is fine now because she consistently takes detoxifying medicine, but…”

Lea felt, for some reason, that Teresa hadn’t truly given it her best. There were countless people on the continent. As society advanced by the day, new inventions were emerging. It was a pity that she had given up so early compared to her desperation. As an Emperor, she surely had more opportunities than an ordinary person to find a solution. If there was no solution, she should have at least tried to create one.

For example, if she had selected chemists and supported their research consistently for several years, she would have seen great results by now.

‘Her emotional wounds were so deep that she simply grew exhausted quickly.’

Or perhaps her desire to return to her former self was greater than the desire to simply hide the scars, leaving her unsatisfied with anything less. Lea fell into deep thought. While she understood Teresa as a woman, she couldn’t stop thinking about a potential solution. However, Salame seemed to have his interest elsewhere.

“Lady Vizak, wouldn’t you like to date me as well?”

“Pardon?”

Lost in thought, Lea was snapped back to reality by Salame’s words.

“That’s not going to happen.”

Before Lea could respond, Terran walked down the hallway and answered for her. Lea’s gaze immediately went to his hand. Fortunately, Doctor Wilson had wrapped the bandages well, which allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Are you all right, Terran?”

She immediately approached him and gently took his hand.

“It’s nothing.”

His voice was infinitely soft toward Lea, but he let out a low sigh when he looked at Salame.

“Sir Salame Roberto, you appear whenever I’m about to forget you.”

Terran gave a mocking smile toward Salame.

“How disappointing. It’s never pleasant for anyone to forget me. Especially, I hope I am never forgotten in Lady Vizak’s mind.”

“Oh, you won’t be forgotten. Once she learns the truth about you in the future… Hahaha!”

At Terran’s reply, Salame’s smile, which had been turned up, flattened into a line.

“Duke Courtois, I have feelings for Lady Vizak. Furthermore, I hope for them to develop into a friendship.”

When Terran burst out laughing again, Salame’s face turned pale.

“Dreaming of friendship isn’t a crime, but if you laugh like that…”

“Friendship?”

The man who had been responding so calmly was shaken by Terran’s laughter. Salame stepped closer to Terran and glared at him fiercely.

“No one has the right to mock another’s feelings. Friendship doesn’t have to exist only between the same sex…”

“Stop…!”

Terran raised his hand, cutting Salame off.

“I have no interest in your theories on friendship, Sir Roberto. I only hope you don’t dream of friendship with just anyone.”

“Lady Vizak is not your property, Duke.”

“Correct. Grace is not my property; she is my precious fiancée. So, I hope Sir Roberto doesn’t forget that point either. In this world, there is such a thing as moral ethics.”

He meant that Salame should not include making advances on another man’s fiancée under the guise of pure friendship. When Terran spoke with such a solemn face, Salame raised both hands to signal him to stop and calm down. Salame didn’t want to bicker with Terran any further.

“My Lady, I shall see you at the banquet tonight.”

Salame left after an awkward farewell. Terran and Lea watched Salame’s retreating back. Soon, Terran walked to the terrace and let out a curse.

“Damn it. I need to hold the wedding as soon as possible. All sorts of things are getting tangled up.”

Terran, who had been calm throughout the conversation with Salame, was suddenly irritated, and Lea hugged him tightly from behind.

“!?”

“I’m sorry. Because of me, Terran…”

Lea was tearful. Her heart was so heavy that she didn’t even feel worthy of apologizing to him. She decided to reveal her inner thoughts for the first time.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I’m a woman who is helpful to you.”

“Grace.”

When he tried to turn around, Lea held him back with all her might. It was a plea for him to listen to her just like this for a moment.

“Because of me, Terran gets hurt, suffers, and ends up in trouble. Is it right for me to stay by your side?”

“So, do you want to leave me?”

Terran asked point-blank. No matter how much he tried to persuade her or speak in circles, it was obvious this stubborn woman wouldn’t understand. She would just go on blaming herself needlessly.

“No.”

“Then that’s enough. Because I want you more.”

“Still, tell me if it gets hard.”

“That will never happen as long as I live.”

Terran turned around, caressed Lea’s cheek, and spoke in a deep voice.

“Do you feel sorry for me?”

At his question, Lea nodded.

“There is absolutely no need… that is my rational stance. However…”

“However?”

Lea swallowed hard. What if Terran said that while he didn’t care about her self-reproach rationally, his actual feeling was that he wasn’t happy about being hurt because of her? Lea’s heart was in her throat.

At that moment, Terran pulled a piece of paper and a portable pen from his coat with one hand.

“Reason and emotion are clearly two different entities.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sign this.”

The paper with the bunch of grapes was spread before her eyes, and Terran pressed the pen into Lea’s hand.

“My reason is fine, but this thing called emotion is telling me to get a reward from Grace.”

“What!”

As the tight string of tension snapped, Lea suddenly became angry. She hit Terran’s chest with her small fist. At that, Terran put on a serious face and added one more thing.

“The number of signatures increases with every hit.”

However, this time, she couldn’t not give him a reward. Still, because she was annoyed with Terran for teasing her, Lea intended to get a small revenge.

‘By the way, when did it get so many signatures?’

Lea’s hand hovered as if she were about to sign at any moment, and Terran stared intensely at the paper. Every time she signed one, he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Lea found it amusing to see him watching so anxiously to see how many signatures she would give, so she dawdled even more.

‘One, two, three… just five more to go.’

Terran only looked at Lea’s hand. Only five grapes remained. The day he would conquer the peak was not far off. But Lea wasn’t so easy. She left exactly five grapes, folded the paper neatly, and handed it to Terran.

“Congratulations. There aren’t many left.”

‘She should have just done them all while she was at it. I even hurt my hand.’

He felt a bit slighted, but he wanted to experience the thrill of this moment again next time. Instead, he couldn’t hold back anymore. Terran pulled Lea’s waist with one hand and kissed her just like that. As the wound on her lip opened, he tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

To an observer, the sight of two people kissing while covered in blood might look bizarre, but for Terran, the blood-stained kiss was sweeter than any fruit nectar. As the kiss deepened, the hand holding Lea’s waist lifted her gradually into the air. As they pressed closer together, their breaths became one.

‘I love you, Terran Courtois.’

As night fell, a grand banquet was held at the Bellis Palace. Although the original purpose was to celebrate the winners of the “Royal Equestrian Competition,” it was essentially a social gathering for the royals of various nations. Still, the ones who received the most attention at the banquet were undoubtedly Vivian and her ladies. They enjoyed the praise of the royals to their heart’s content.

However, Lea’s heart was still heavy. It was a banquet meant for enjoyment, yet she felt so burdened.

‘I have to meet Emperor Teresa.’

She couldn’t afford to be at odds with her like this. Given how many Hamilton general stores were in Galdensia, it was a catastrophic situation for the business. Lea shared her thoughts with Terran.

“You have a point. We can’t just let things stand with Emperor Teresa. But it’s dangerous for Grace to go alone. I’ll go with you.”

In truth, Terran’s anger had still not subsided. Whenever he recalled the memory of Teresa trying to harm her, his chest felt hot with rage.

“Thank you for understanding. But please give me a moment so the two of us can talk privately.”

“Then I’ll wait outside the door. I won’t back down on this.”

“All right.”

Lea went looking for Teresa with Terran. The ballroom floor was hectic with couples dancing together.

‘I guess she’s not dancing; she’s not here.’

While wandering, Lea fortunately met Salame and headed toward the place where Teresa was with him. Terran waited outside the door as promised.

“I’ll be back.”

“Shout if you think it’s dangerous. No, if it takes too long, I’m coming straight in.”

Terran couldn’t take his anxious gaze off Lea until the final moment she went to meet Teresa. Lea knocked on the door of the drawing room outside the ballroom and entered with Salame. Teresa, dressed in her uniform, sat on a large sofa in the drawing room with her legs crossed. As she swirled her crystal glass, the caramel-colored whiskey inside rippled.

“Prince, please step out for a moment.”

“Of course.”

The quick-witted Salame also dismissed all the attendants who were by Teresa’s side. Finally, only Lea and Teresa remained in the drawing room.

“Did you come here because you want to die?”

Her voice was significantly less angry than it had been during the day, but it remained just as cold.

“I came because I have something I must say to Your Majesty.”

Lea clasped her trembling hands and began to speak with difficulty.

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