Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 66

Lea intended to look for the love letters once she returned to the ducal mansion. It wasn’t out of mere jealousy or curiosity; rather, since she was running a business targeted at women, she wanted to understand the psychology of different people.

‘What would actually change if I checked them?’

However, as she felt the warmth from Terran’s hand interlaced with hers, she felt that such thoughts were all in vain.

‘It’s a useless suspicion.’

Had she ever imagined Allen would betray her like that? She hadn’t even noticed his illicit relationship with Sarah.

‘Our relationship isn’t so fragile that I should be anxious over a few love letters.’

If a connection is meant to break, no amount of effort can restore it. Yet, on the other hand, she agreed with Teresa’s words.

[My Lady, love has an expiration date, and men are bound to change. So, there is no need to give your whole heart.]

In truth, those weren’t wrong. However, Teresa overlooked the fact that human emotions cannot be controlled at will. If one could simply give more or less, no one would ever be hurt by love.

‘Even I was played by a false love.’

To Teresa’s eyes, Lea might have appeared merely innocent, but in reality, she was someone who knew the truth and falsehood of love better than anyone.

‘Humans are beings who crave love again even after being hurt like that.’

Lea looked up at Terran and gave a soft smile. He was a man who poured out blind love without any conditions.

‘I never want to go through something like that again.’

Terran was a completely different man from Allen.

‘I will trust Terran.’

Since it was not an easy decision for her, she did not intend to torture herself with useless doubts. Still, she felt a sudden urge to tease him.

“Terran, you’ll change too, won’t you? What if you feel bored with me one day?”

“Are you bored right now?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a useless question.”

She had briefly forgotten that he was a man with whom jokes didn’t work at all. Lea laughed it off, feeling a bit embarrassed for bringing up such a thing.

“I spent a long time searching for you.”

In his blunt tone, she felt a hint of a complaint, a plea for her to acknowledge his feelings.

“Ah, I was resting in the ladies’ lounge. I was tired.”

“The lounge!”

Terran slapped his forehead as if he were greatly surprised. He truly hadn’t attended many banquets. When men got tired of socializing, they usually went outside to smoke; they rarely went to lounges. Even if they did, those were usually occupied by elderly nobles with aching legs or backs.

“How was the banquet today?”

“Hmm, I didn’t expect much, but it was quite a pleasant banquet.”

“Nothing more?”

“I realized something anew.”

“What did you realize?”

“Even when I am with Grace, I find myself constantly looking for you.”

“!?”

Lea was speechless. Even though she hadn’t hidden on purpose, she felt somewhat sorry toward Terran. Instead, she took his hand and kissed the back of it.

“My whining was worth it.”

Terran smiled, revealing his white teeth, looking quite satisfied. Meanwhile, Lea wanted to ask him a bit more while they were on the subject.

“Terran, what would you think if I couldn’t have children?”

“Why ask such a thing out of the blue? There’s no reason for that to happen.”

“I have a weak constitution. I might not be able to bear a child.”

She ended up repeating the words Emily and Lois had said.

“I don’t want to spend any more time imagining misfortunes that haven’t happened. I’ve done enough of that already.”

Lea realized her mistake at Terran’s answer. Until recently, Terran had suffered from guilt toward Aiden and the scars of war.

‘I shouldn’t be the one poking at his wounds.’

“I’m sorry. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Lea replied with a forced laugh, acting as if it were nothing. However, there was one thing she truly wanted to tell him.

“I hope Terran’s feelings for me never cool down. That way, I can stay by your side for a long time.”

Terran stopped walking and looked at Lea. He raised one hand and caressed her face.

“You should choose your words accurately. Don’t say ‘a long time,’ say ‘forever.'”

“I want to stay by Terran’s side forever. Do you feel the same?”

Terran was bothered by how her eyes flickered with anxiety today. Had something happened that he didn’t know about? Yet, human emotions were truly fickle. While he was worried about her, a part of him also liked it.

‘Your cute wish… it’s not bad.’

After returning to the ducal mansion, Terran contacted many people. He had much to think about after seeing Allen and the Minister of Foreign Affairs together at the Bellis banquet.

‘How should I crush you so that you never harbor foolish thoughts about Grace again?’

He spent several days in deep contemplation. Bertan, across the sea in the Eastern Continent, was indeed a place where the progress of civilization was slow. However, he had heard it possessed a long history, a rich culture, and abundant resources.

Knock, knock. At the sound of the knock, Terran immediately set his thoughts aside.

“Your Grace, Viscount Martenpolo has arrived.”

James escorted the guest Terran had been waiting for into the drawing room.

“Duke Courtois, how many years has it been?”

As the middle-aged Viscount Martenpolo offered a warm greeting, Terran immediately reached out for a handshake. The two were busy catching up for a while. Soon, a friendly and pleasant conversation followed. Terran spoke to James, who had just entered with tea.

“James, join the conversation along with Luke. I shouldn’t be the only one listening to the Viscount’s tales of adventure.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

James happily went to get Luke. Terran met with several people to find out about the situation in Bertan. However, his belief was that no one knew more about the unknown world than an explorer. While the Minister of Foreign Affairs or people from trading companies might have a lot of information, they didn’t travel every corner of the continent like an explorer did. He had heard that Martenpolo explored even the most remote parts of Bertan.

“Now that everyone is here, shall we begin the story?”

Martenpolo cleared his throat once James and Luke were seated. He began to recount his experiences in Bertan as if he were unfolding a grand tale of heroism. Terran, James, and Luke listened to his exploration stories with great interest.

“Viscount, I heard the Emperor of Bertan wants to build a railway. Is that correct?”

Terran began asking the questions he was truly curious about.

“That is correct. But it is not an easy task.”

“Why? People here consider Bertan a goose that lays golden eggs because the Imperial family is overflowing with wealth.”

He asked exactly what he had overheard from the conversation between Allen and the Minister.

“Hmm, if it were me, I wouldn’t invest. Bertan has ideological conflicts; before long, the Imperial power will collapse and civil war will break out.”

“Oho! Civil war… Is that official information?”

“No. What do those fools who stay only in the Bertan capital know? Besides, the merchants who only buy the goods they want are just as ignorant.”

Martenpolo argued that Bertan was not a goose that lays golden eggs. He even asked who would pay the money if the railway was built only for the Imperial power to collapse.

“James, bring it.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Terran’s instruction, James pulled a piece of paper from his desk drawer.

“Give it to the Viscount.”

“What is this?”

The Viscount was startled when he saw the check James handed him.

“You need money for your explorations, don’t you? I wish to actively sponsor Viscount Martenpolo’s travels.”

“Still, such a huge sum!”

He knew well that the Duke of Courtois possessed astronomical wealth. Even so, it was too much money to receive as a sponsorship fee.

“The Viscount only needs to do a few favors for me.”

Terran laughed heartily, trying to ease the Viscount’s burden. Soon, Terran and Martenpolo leaned in close for a private discussion.

“Your Grace, what should we do now?”

After Viscount Martenpolo left, James and Luke asked Terran.

“First, have conversations between yourselves and leak information. To the servants who might act as spies.”

“You mean, tell them the Duke is contacting Imperial officials to invest in the Bertan railway project?”

Luke summarized it clearly.

“Exactly. And spread a plausible rumor that the such-and-such prince of Bertan will soon ascend to the throne.”

“That’s a good idea. That way, we can find out who is acting as a spy in the mansion.”

James agreed as well. It had been quite a task to manage so many employees.

“Still, we won’t be able to stop the spies completely.”

Since hiring and resignations happened every month, there was a limit to performing background checks on all of them. Furthermore, what Terran wanted wasn’t for the spies to disappear.

“He needs to experience firsthand how high-level information can sometimes become poison.”

Allen needed to realize that Richard Hamilton hadn’t built a great merchant guild by mere luck. He might have succeeded in stealing someone else’s property, but maintaining and growing it was a completely different story.

‘I have to crush you so you don’t do anything foolish.’

Lea enjoyed tea and snacks with Pauline and Chenera for the first time in a while. It seemed to be the first time since returning from Bellis. As a result, Vivian had achieved great success and raised the prestige of the Empire. Orders for the riding habits flooded in from all over Lubeck after advertisements were included in the daily newspapers. Of course, there were many customers ordering by mail from abroad, but those were put on the back burner for now.

“How is the workshop going, Pauline?”

“Yes… it’s going very well.”

Even though Lea only asked about the workshop, Pauline’s face turned as red as a radish.

“Sister Pauline is all lovey-dovey with Tom.”

“Hey! Chenera! I told you to keep it a secret for now!”

It seemed many things had happened at the workshop while she was away. Chenera and Pauline bickered, and Lea broke into a sweat trying to stop them. Just then, a maid rushed in.

“My Lady, a guest has arrived. She said you would know her if I said it was the Countess of Armand.”

“Countess Armand is here?”

As Lea rose from her seat, Chenera and Pauline instinctively followed her. Lea hurried to the first-floor lobby.

‘It really is her.’

Countess Armand stood in the lobby with a large trunk. Upon seeing Lea, she ran over and hugged her while crying.

“Lady Vizak, what should I do now?”

Countess Armand wept sorrowfully while holding Lea. Even though Lea asked repeatedly what was wrong, she couldn’t even answer properly through her tears.

“Ah! That lady is in big trouble,” Chenera said, looking at Countess Armand. Of course, Pauline immediately covered Chenera’s mouth to avoid an awkward situation.

“I… I’ve been divorced.”

The words Countess Armand finally squeezed out through her tears were a great shock.

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