Lea swallowed hard. How could she explain it to Terran so that he would understand? He must have become more suspicious after seeing her scrapbook.

“Why do I like Allen MacDowell? You’ve got it wrong.”

“Is that so?”

“On the day of the funeral, I was curious about why he was looking for the necklace, so I just clipped the article. I wondered what the reason could be.”

Terran took Grace’s hand and headed towards an unfamiliar corridor. Walking down a long hallway, they arrived in front of a small building.

“Where is this?”

“The chapel.”

“Oh, I see.”

Noble houses had small chapels where one could pray or make confessions at any time.

Of course, the Hamilton Trading Company mansion didn’t have a chapel. Neither her father nor she believed in God.

Terran opened the arched wooden door and went inside.

But Lea couldn’t help but marvel at the unexpected sight. Even though no lights were turned on, the chapel was very bright with moonlight pouring in through the skylight. No, it even felt mysterious.

“I have something to show Grace.”

Terran, still holding Grace’s hand tightly, headed towards the inner part of the sacristy.

There was another door there with a lock on it. It seemed to be a place where valuable items were stored.

Terran unlocked the door with a key and brought out a small box.

“Open this box.”

“Me?”

When she looked surprised, Terran nodded. Lea carefully opened the lid of the box.

And there she saw her father’s necklace that she had been searching for so long. For a moment, she felt dizzy as if a storm was raging in her chest.

“It’s… the necklace of… Hamilton Trading Company.”

Lea’s voice trembled severely. Her nose stung and she tried hard to hold back the tears that were about to fall.

Even at this moment, she mustn’t forget that she was Grace, not Lea.

“Mr. MacDowell must have tried to seduce me. To find this necklace…”

“Seduce?”

“His face was full of confidence that he could have any woman.”

Terran saw Grace’s face contort with disgust towards Allen. It seemed his plan had succeeded.

“This key necklace is probably a clue to find the treasure of Hamilton Trading Company. It might contain the trading methods passed down through generations of the company, or it could tell where hidden assets are located. That’s what Allen MacDowell wants.”

‘I need this necklace too, Terran.’

Lea desperately wanted her father’s necklace. But Terran’s unexpected words confused her.

“I wonder. Even if that Allen fellow finds Hamilton Trading Company’s memo or treasure, I’m not sure if he can use it well. Of course, he’d be confident. He’s in a state of arrogance, thinking he can do anything. He might be under the illusion that he can create an even bigger company than Richard Hamilton.”

Lea felt as if Terran’s words were directed at her.

“If you’re really confident, you don’t need this. The company people would have put in wisdom gained through repeated failures. But if you don’t actually face and experience failure or success, this is useless. Just blindly following won’t lead to success.”

“Ah…”

“No matter what secret is revealed to someone who’s a blank slate, it’s of no use. Rather, what this key points to will be helpful when you’ve gained experience on your own and are about to fail or need to make a crucial decision. Maybe it might not align with your intentions and you’d dismiss it as outdated, or it might only increase confusion due to conflicting values.”

Lea felt as if she had been hit hard on the head.

In fact, she wasn’t much different from Allen. She thought she could handle any business easily if she just found her father’s memo.

She believed that if she just followed what was written in the book, she could overcome this difficulty without failure and easily reclaim the lost trading company.

But Terran was right.

‘Until now, I’ve been mistaken.’

The ‘God of Business’ was Richard Hamilton, not herself. She had been trying to take the easy way out using her father’s tools without any effort of her own.

In the end, what she needed now was not her father’s memo, but to dream, make plans for how to challenge herself, and then have the courage to do so.

“Will Grace keep it?”

Terran suddenly handed the box to Grace. She received the box reflexively. And she stared blankly at the necklace.

“Why are you giving this to me…?”

‘Has Terran figured it out? That I’m Lea Hamilton?’

Although it was just a moment, numerous doubts crossed her mind.

“No special reason. You seemed to like this necklace quite a bit.”

She had failed to manage her expression again.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the necklace and even looked surprised, so he might misunderstand.

Lea was conflicted. Although she wanted to have the necklace, Terran’s words weren’t wrong.

‘Is now the right time for me to use this?’

She pondered deeply, albeit briefly.

“No, I think it’s right to keep this here.”

Lea handed the box back to Terran. Because she hadn’t done anything on her own yet.

Terran just smirked without saying anything else.

“Terran, you told me before to think about what I want to do, right?”

“I did.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

His answer was firm.

“I want to do business.”

“Then do it.”

Lea was surprised by Terran’s approval.

For a noble lady to say she wants to do business, and to permit it without even asking for a reason. Normally, most would try to dissuade her or consider it shameful for a noble.

“Are you serious?”

“Whatever Grace does, I intend to help.”

Lea couldn’t believe her ears and just stared at his face.

“But there’s a condition, Grace.”

His face was quite serious.

“Love me.”

Lea was at a loss for words.

Was he a man who could demand love so openly? But she had no love left to give to a man.

She didn’t want to fall into the sweet trap of love again and turn her life into hell.

However, she couldn’t be honest with Terran either. Regrettably, the reality was that she needed to use him to achieve her dream.

“I’ll try.”

“Grace, it’s not a request.”

“Then, is it an order?”

She felt a slight rebellion rising.

Love wasn’t an emotion that would surge just because it was blindly ordered. That’s when Terran came close and whispered in her ear.

“I help Grace’s dream and Grace loves me. It’s a kind of deal.”

“Can love be a deal? No, do you love me, Terran?”

“I think I need Grace’s love.”

He avoided a direct answer.

Whether he was clumsy at expressing emotions or had other intentions, she could see the desperation flickering in his eyes.

That he was longing for affection to fill his emotions that were more lonely and deficient than anyone else’s.

“I’m engaged to Grace, so shouldn’t I naturally have your heart?”

It hit harder than any other words.

‘Is love a war? Like signing a ceasefire agreement… Really, you’re such a clueless man.’

Was he saying he’d fire a cannon if she broke the promise?

The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. It sounded like a warning that death would be waiting for her in the end if she didn’t love him.

To reveal in this way that he had never loved a woman before.

Well, it was better than a smooth-talking man. At least he wouldn’t plot behind her back while speaking of love.

“I promise.”

Lea tried not to back down either.

“You should sign it.”

Not being such an oblivious woman, Lea approached him and snatched the box he was holding, placing it on the table. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I should, sign it.”

She slightly raised her feet as if about to kiss him, then released her arms and stepped back.

Terran also had quite a bewildered expression. He thought they would seal their promise with a passionate kiss under the skylight where moonlight was pouring in.

‘So you know how to tease too.’

She certainly wasn’t the Grace of before. Well, even so, she would never be able to escape from him now, even if she died.

But more than her, it was himself that was the problem. The size of his desire for her was growing endlessly, becoming very persistent.

Grace held out her hand to Terran. It must mean to shake hands as a signature. Terran shook her hand, though he found it ridiculous.

‘Ouch! It hurts.’

Terran gripped her hand so tightly that it hurt a little. After the handshake ended, Grace asked him in an agitated tone.

“Terran, you disliked me, didn’t you? Why did you suddenly change?”

From what she remembered, Grace had endlessly craved love from Terran, but he had been cold.

“Hasn’t Grace changed?”

“What?”

“You’ve become a completely different person, as if your soul has changed. Don’t you know?”

‘You knew?’

Lea could only move her lips without giving a proper answer.

“I’ve changed too. To escape from a soulless life.”

So that’s what he meant. The thief feels the pain in his own foot, it was exactly applicable to her.

“I like the current you better than the previous Terran too.”

“What was I like before?”

Terran showed interest in her words. On the other hand, Lea was a bit flustered.

He doesn’t know how he was before. She thought he knew well since he said with his own mouth that he had changed.

“You were gloomy, desperate, and lonely. You were so closed off that you wouldn’t let anyone close, and you were a slave to guilt, driving yourself into hell, weren’t you?”

Terran was surprised but didn’t respond. Grace’s analysis was very accurate. But there was one more thing she didn’t know.

‘You’re the one who pulled me out of that hell.’

The previous Grace was a scar created by the atrocities he had committed. But he grabbed the hand she extended to him and courageously leaped out of the quagmire.

“Terran, is it okay if I’m not me?”

Lea took courage. Chainer’s words still rang clear in her ears. The words about having two souls inside her.

She pondered dozens of times a day. To confess honestly to Terran. But even that wasn’t easy. If so, she wanted to be forgiven at least implicitly.

“There’s no one in the world who doesn’t change. And…”

“And?”

“I like the current Grace.”

“That’s… a relief.”

It felt like she had received his permission, even if not completely. That it was okay to live as Grace.

* * *

Allen gritted his teeth at Terran’s actions. He didn’t like him from the beginning. His arrogant expression and his eyes that looked down on people.

‘This so-called duke is despicably low.’

To make Grace meet him in such a way. If there was a mistake on his part, it was not getting rid of Sara earlier. She clung to him like a leech and wouldn’t let go.

‘No, it’s too early to give up. There’s nothing I haven’t gotten when I wanted it.’

Allen comforted himself. Right now, Terran must be drunk on the feeling of victory.

Thinking that Grace would give up after seeing such a sight.

‘Not me. I never give up until it’s in my hands. Even if it takes years, I’ll definitely obtain what I want.’

Rather, it sparked his competitive spirit. The thought of imagining the day he would snatch Grace from that high and mighty Terran sent a thrill through his whole body.

‘It took me ten years to make Hamilton Trading Company mine.’

For someone like him to give up because he couldn’t get one woman? That wouldn’t do.

The match would only be decided at the end, seeing who was more persistently stubborn.

‘Terran Courtois, I’ll make your fiancée my mistress.’