Revenge Comes with Interest - Chapter 70

The moment Lea saw Terran’s smoldering eyes, burning with a restless lust, and his broad, bare shoulders, she knew there would be no escaping tonight. However, she wanted to know exactly what had happened. She felt as though she had fallen right into one of Terran’s traps.

“I… I won’t refuse you.”

“Is that so? Then there’s no need for any more pathetic excuses.”

Terran moved to remove Lea’s chemise.

“No, wait. Before that, I need to hear some of those ‘pathetic’ details. How did this happen?”

Lea asked in an agitated tone. She felt like she had been playing an invisible game with Terran, and she was clearly the loser. To put it simply, she felt played.

“Well, I had to stop my meddlesome fiancée from overstepping.”

Terran began to speak, his arms crossed. Despite her annoyance, Lea found him devastatingly sensual; his bare chest and the way his disheveled hair fell over one eye were incredibly provocative.

“Stop… me? What do you mean?”

She had no idea what he was talking about. She wondered how he had discovered the women’s secret plan and why he had intervened.

Terran found her innocent, questioning face maddeningly lovely. In truth, he had let out a sigh when he first heard that the women were gathered and plotting something.

[James, what did you and Grace discuss?]

[She gave me this and asked for the love letters that have been sent to you, Your Grace.]

[Love letters?]

Had there been such things? Ah! That woman named Emily or whatever had been sending letters consistently. He had never once opened or read them. Since then, James had handled them, and they had completely slipped his mind.

[Was Grace jealous, by any chance?]

He had secretly hoped she was.

[Not at all, sir.]

[Ah…! Not at all, you say.]

He was the only one going mad with jealousy. Thinking about how pathetically he reacted, obsessively trying to catch every “fly” that buzzed around her, he let out a hollow laugh at himself.

[James, are you keeping those letters?]

[Yes, I have them. There is quite a large pile.]

[Burn them all.]

[Pardon?]

[They won’t be of any help to Grace. On the contrary, she’ll only get swept up in a scandal because of them.]

Terran knew Count Armand well. When the Count’s wife sought refuge at the ducal mansion, he could already picture the divorce story in his head. Count Armand wasn’t a bad person, but he was a man who was stingy in every aspect.

To fall in love with a woman who spread love letters everywhere? He might have lost his mind for a moment, but such a relationship wouldn’t last. There was no need for Lea to intervene and insert herself between them. It would only provide sordid gossip for high society.

[Your Grace, I shall tell the Young Lady that there are no love letters.]

[No, that won’t do. I don’t want to see Grace disappointed.]

That was a blatant lie. It was actually the perfect opportunity to catch the rabbit who had been teasing him and “roast” her a little.

Terran, having explained the situation, concluded by saying that all the letters had been burned and were gone. He also advised her not to jump into other people’s business so hastily. But then, something unexpected came out of her mouth.

“I was curious.”

“About what?”

“About what someone would write to a man who clearly has a fiancée. Honestly, I was jealous too.”

‘Jealous?’

Terran felt a pang of regret. Had he known this, he wouldn’t have had to cause such a scene by involving Vivian earlier just to stir her emotions.

“I know how to be jealous too,” Lea said poutily, turning her head away.

Terran, on the other hand, was speechless, wanting to kick himself for being so tactless. It wasn’t just meddling to help Lady Armand; she truly wanted to know the contents of those letters. He had to make it up to her now.

“I don’t know what was written in them either. I never had any interest.”

“Hmph!”

“As for Lady Armand’s matter, I will introduce her to a very capable lawyer.”

No matter how much he tried to soothe her, she remained silent, huddled under the covers. This was troublesome. All his planning to get her to come to his bed voluntarily felt like it was for nothing. Terran gently lifted the edge of the blanket and slid inside.

But surprisingly, she leaned her face against his bare chest and began to stroke his skin with her hand.

“!?”

He thought: Is today finally the day? Those silly grapes didn’t matter anymore anyway. If she was going to be this proactive, he had no reason to hold back.

‘Does she even know how much I like her?’

A woman who flew to him like a dove, hopped around like a teasing rabbit, and then tickled his nerves as softly as a goose’s down feathers.

‘You are likely the only person who doesn’t know your own worth.’

Tonight, he intended to plant infinite trust in her heart with his overflowing love. Terran ran his fingers through her voluminous blonde hair. But there was no reaction.

“Hmm?”

He looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep with her face still resting on his chest.

“Dammit!”

He had briefly forgotten how much energy she had spent at the incinerator today.

‘This isn’t bad either.’

Terran spent the night stroking her hair, letting her sleep deeply in his arms until morning.

‘I’m glad I told James to lock the door from the outside.’

Even though he hadn’t achieved his original goal, the mere fact that he could share a peaceful sleep with her all night made him happy. He whispered as he watched her sleeping with her small head against his chest.

“I wish you would only depend on me. To the point where you can’t go on without me.”

Terran cast his own spell on the sleeping woman.

‘If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be alive like this. How much I, Terran?.’

Lea, who was only pretending to sleep, answered his question silently. How could she put into words the presence named Terran that filled her heart?

‘I like you so much it’s frightening.’

There are words in this world that one dare not utter aloud. Lea wanted to hold out longer to hear his whispers, but her exhausted body couldn’t keep up.

‘I’m happy I can fall asleep in your arms.’

Ultimately, Lea’s plan ended in failure.

“I’m sorry, Marie.”

“No, it’s alright. In fact, it’s for the best. How could I live my whole life with a man like that? I’m just glad I know his true nature now.”

“But, I should have gotten your property back for you.”

Lea felt most sorry about that part. However, Marie didn’t seem particularly regretful.

“The Duke said he would entrust the matter to a very capable lawyer.”

“Yes, I heard that too.”

“It is truly something to be grateful for.”

Instead, the one who was disappointed was Lea. She had wanted to land a heavy blow on Emily for stealing another woman’s husband, but it had turned out quite unfortunately.

‘Marie is right. It’s best to throw away a man like that.’

In a way, Emily might have saved Marie’s life.

Lea decided to take Marie and Sonya to look around Chenera’s workshop in the city. She prepared to go out, intending to check on the dress commissioned by Allen’s younger sister, Rivette, which was said to be finished.

When Lea said she was going to the workshop, Terran provided a four-wheeled carriage. Lately, he seemed to be working on something; high-ranking Imperial officials were entering and leaving the mansion every day.

‘What is it?’

She was curious, but knowing Terran wasn’t the type to engage in trivial matters like her, she decided to set her doubts aside. Finally, the three arrived at the workshop.

“Sister!”

“My Lady!”

When Lea visited, Chenera and Pauline welcomed her warmly. Tom and Paul also stopped what they were doing to greet them.

“The workshop is very beautiful.”

Lea scanned the workshop. It looked like a clean, luxurious boutique; she had heard that passersby would stop in front of the workshop at least once to look.

“Chenera, you said Miss Rivette’s dress is finished?”

“Yep. Over there.”

Chenera led everyone to where the dress was. Among them, the one who was most tense was undoubtedly Sonya. She too was in the middle of creating a dress for another Crown Princess candidate. Finally, she got to see Chenera’s dress.

“My goodness! This is trouble.”

Admiration and concern burst from Lea’s mouth at the same time. The lace dress Chenera had made was truly beautiful. That was why she was worried. It would be a disaster if Rivette were selected while wearing that dress. On the other hand, Marie and Sonya didn’t say anything, merely tilting their heads.

“Why? Is there a problem with the dress?” Lea asked them.

“That dress… did Chenera design it? Or did she make it exactly as requested?” Marie asked with a serious face.

Chenera answered, “I just made it the way they asked me to.”

Chenera showed the design sketches Rivette had sent to Marie and Sonya. At that, they gave a short laugh and praised Chenera.

“It’s the best. So, don’t ever sell it cheaply.”

“I wasn’t gonna sell it cheap.”

Lea, meanwhile, was curious about what Marie and Sonya were really thinking. She wondered why the two of them looked troubled upon seeing the dress. Of course, even she could see it looked like a wedding dress. Rivette clearly wanted to look like a pure white goddess.

“It is identical to the dress Emperor Teresa wore when she got married,” Marie said, dropping a bombshell.

“That’s right. One could even believe it is Emperor Teresa’s dress,” Sonya added, mentioning that she had visited Galdensia with the Emperor and Empress of Saintburg when Emperor Teresa got married.

“Miss Rivette used her head quite well,” Lea remarked. The reason for that was most important.

“It will make the onlookers recall a happy moment, so everyone will be moved,” Sonya said in a calm tone as she spoke of the past. “No matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to beat that dress.”

Lea was greatly flustered by Sonya’s words. In truth, when Rivette had asked for a wedding-style dress, Lea thought she had crossed a line. She believed Rivette’s behavior—acting as if she were already the Crown Princess would actually backfire, but her prediction had been wrong.

“Sonya, did the Emperor like the dress back then?”

“Of course. She was so beautiful back then, before she suffered from smallpox.”

‘What should I do? I was too arrogant.’

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