Interest Compounds on Revenge - Chapter 52

Mary approached with a flushed face and spoke about the riding outfit.

“It’s a bit tight around the shoulders, leaving no room.”

Mary mentioned the discomfort, and Lea diligently wrote it down.

“What else was there? Your Grace, what did I say earlier about the boots being uncomfortable?”

“Oh, that’s right. You said it would be nice to have a slight crease at the ankle part.”

Terran’s incredibly gentle voice irritated Lea’s nerves.

“That’s right. The demonstration went well thanks to Your Grace correcting my posture, but it would be better if the boot ankle was more flexible.”

“Mary, didn’t you say it would be good to add a string to the waist part?”

“Oh my! How attentive. That’s right. The back of the waist rose too much when jumping over obstacles.”

Lea carefully wrote down what they both said, then looked at them directly and asked.

“If we add a string to the waist, it will ruin the shape of the outfit. I’ll think of another way.”

What nonsense about strings. I deliberately made a jacket with a crisp shape, and now they’re talking nonsense.

Suddenly, she wondered why Terran rode the horse together with Mary. Honestly, she didn’t care whether the clothes were comfortable or not.

“Terran, why did you ride together? Was there a problem with the clothes?”

Lea asked as professionally as possible, trying not to reveal her uncomfortable feelings.

“Ah! That’s because I wanted to teach Mary a small technique for jumping over obstacles.”

‘He’s so meddlesome.’

Why don’t you just become a coach for the equestrian competition? It would be quite a sight to see.

Not only is his first love, the Empress, here, but also Mary, who isn’t even shy around someone she just met. He must be having a great time.

Lea smirked and wrote on the paper.

“Hey! How about if Your Grace becomes the coach for our equestrian team?”

Mary seemed to have the same thought and spoke in an excited tone. Lea almost broke her pen.

Her gaze then turned to Terran. What would he answer? Her heart was pounding.

‘Just try to accept, I’ll break off the engagement right away.’

Lea smiled broadly while imagining all sorts of extreme scenarios internally. She wanted to not only break off the engagement but also pinch Terran all over his body if she could.

“That’s not possible. It’s a competition to showcase women’s equestrian skills, so having a man as a coach wouldn’t align with the original purpose of the event.”

The Empress sternly reprimanded Mary.

‘As expected, she’s a wonderful person.’

She was a woman who never failed to meet her expectations.

“I will make sure to improve the riding outfit as soon as possible.”

Lea responded respectfully to the Empress. Then the Empress’s hand touched Lea’s shoulder.

“It’s very reassuring to have such an intelligent woman like Lady Bizac by my side.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

As Lea smiled shyly, the Empress looked at Terran and said loudly as if for him to hear.

“If Lady Bizac weren’t engaged, I would introduce her to my younger brother Vitello.”

Terran’s face, which had been smiling broadly at the Empress’s words, stiffened. Even though he knew she was joking, he didn’t like hearing such things.

“Young lady, if you two break up, let me know first.”

Lea laughed and replied to her joke-laced words.

“I will, Your Majesty. I trust your brother as well.”

The Empress seemed to have something else she wanted to say privately, so she grabbed Lea’s hand tightly and led her to a secluded spot.

It was mostly about the equestrian competition, and Lea listened to her words seriously. However, Lea heard something strange from the Empress.

“I must win this competition. There’s someone I really want to show.”

“His Majesty?”

“No, Empress Theresa.”

It was an unexpected answer. As far as she knew, there was quite an age difference between the two, were they in a rivalrous relationship?

Moreover, she thought Empress Theresa was only attending the competition as a spectator, not participating as a contestant.

“She was my hero. A perfect empress who was beautiful, intelligent, and benevolent. For several years, Empress Theresa and her ladies-in-waiting won the equestrian competitions.”

Lea understood the Empress. It must be the desire to become like the object of her admiration.

“But Empress Theresa changed. After suffering severely from smallpox and developing scars on her face, the wise and brilliant ruler became obsessed with power and turned into an autocratic monarch. So I want to show through myself how progressive she used to be.”

The conclusion was to capture everyone’s attention with a perfect riding outfit. After all, that was the only thing she could do for the Empress.

“I will do my best, Your Majesty.”

For the first time, Lea felt an enormous pressure. In the end, the Empress’s words meant that not even a small mistake would be tolerated.

* * *

Terran was bewildered by Lea’s bad mood. He had worked so hard all day to impress her. He had never taught horsemanship so diligently even to his subordinates.

But she didn’t even speak to him until they arrived at the mansion.

‘Is she tired?’

No matter how tired she was, shouldn’t she at least appreciate his efforts to help? He had done enough to deserve signatures on at least three grape seeds.

As soon as Lea got out of the carriage and entered the lobby, she smiled at Terran.

“Terran, thank you for today. You must be tired, so get some rest.”

“Uh…? Is that all?”

Her reaction was quite different from what he expected. No, Grace was smiling, but somehow it felt cold.

Soon, Grace was gone.

‘I must have tried too hard and intimidated Grace.’

She should have been the main character, but it was a problem that he showed off his skills too much.

‘I should have done it moderately.’

Terran shook his head. Still, her mood would probably improve by tomorrow morning, so he thought he’d ask her to sign the grape seeds then.

Meanwhile, as soon as Lea returned to her bedroom, she threw her handbag carelessly onto the sofa.

“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”

Pauline and Chainer rushed over.

Was the reaction to the new riding outfit not good? She had left with such an excited heart, but she returned looking very angry.

“Did the Empress not like it?”

“No, she was very satisfied.”

But she didn’t know why she felt so bad herself.

Lea sat on the sofa with her arms crossed, mulling over the day’s events. She snorted, then laughed dejectedly before pulling at her hair.

“Is it because of the old man?”

As expected, Chainer hit the nail on the head. Then Pauline started badgering Grace.

She made such a fuss, demanding to know every single detail of what happened, that Lea ended up spilling all her emotions to the two of them, even the ones she didn’t really want to talk about.

“Am I being too sensitive?”

Even as she spoke, Lea worried that Pauline might call her narrow-minded. After all, Terran’s only crime was working hard to help her.

“Well, I think it depends on whether there was intent or not.”

Pauline said in a serious tone, with her hand on her chin.

“If the Duke deliberately did it to show off to you, then of course it’s upsetting, but if not, then it’s a case of ignorance being a sin.”

“Ignorance being a sin?”

“It means he’s terribly oblivious.”

Pauline’s words made Lea’s head even more confused. But Chainer said something different from Pauline.

“Ain’t ya upset either way?”

That was the correct answer. Whether intentional or not, Lea’s hurt feelings weren’t resolved.

Pauline, after thinking it over, also felt that Chainer’s words were right. After all, love often can’t be explained rationally.

“Sis! Ya should get revenge on the old man!”

“Revenge? How?”

Lea was intrigued. Even if it wasn’t grand revenge, she did feel like getting a little payback on Terran.

“When I lived with grandpa, I heard the old men say that when men see a naked woman, a wet woman, or a crying woman, they just…”

“Just…? What are you trying to say?”

When Lea couldn’t understand at all, Pauline whispered in her ear to explain.

“What on earth did Rapha teach this child? Chainer, you must never use such words again.”

“Okay!”

‘A naked woman, a wet woman, a crying woman, how is that revenge?’

Inflaming a man’s lust to the fullest and then coldly turning away, that’s revenge?

To think that Chainer knew such vulgar methods. Lea shook her head vigorously.

‘How crude. I won’t take revenge like that.’

It was absolutely out of the question.

* * *

Allen returned home after being discharged from the hospital. Although he wasn’t fully recovered yet, he couldn’t leave the company unattended for too long.

Now only his legs were a bit uncomfortable, but his upper body could move freely.

‘Terran, so it was that bastard’s doing?’

He couldn’t count how many times he had dwelled on it in the hospital. He almost died from stress rather than the fracture.

Since learning that Terran was behind the attack on him, Allen had been pondering how to get back at him. Just then, his secretary entered the office.

“How did it go?”

Allen had instructed him to contact the employee he had planted in Terran’s mansion.

Terran would still be unaware. The fact that there were several of his employees leaking information to the outside.

“Lady Bizac has recruited the royal tailor of Sainte-Bourg to make Empress Lubeck’s riding outfit.”

“Riding outfit?”

Ah! The Royal Equestrian Competition will be held in Bellis soon. It was a large event with a long tradition where empresses and their ladies-in-waiting from each empire showcased their equestrian skills.

“Empress Theresa will also be attending as a spectator.”

“What? Her Majesty?”

Allen’s eyes widened in surprise. Empress Theresa was famous for not attending external events, but she decided to watch the Royal Equestrian Competition?

“Get me an admission ticket. The best seat possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

At that moment, Allen’s face lit up as if he had a brilliant idea.

“Contact the Duke’s mansion. Tell them they’ll be greatly rewarded if they do this job well.”

“Please tell me, sir.”

Instead of speaking, Allen wrote down the instructions on paper. Soon, the secretary’s face turned pale upon seeing Allen’s written instructions.

“If we carry out such a big operation, the spies in the Duke’s mansion won’t be able to function properly anymore.”

“How naive. There’s nothing money can’t do. Spies are disposable anyway. We can just discard them and make new ones.”