Interest Compounds on Revenge - Chapter 53

Terran, while having tea with Grace, kept glancing around before speaking.

“Didn’t I work hard yesterday?”

“You did.”

“Enough to move you.”

‘Enough to make me furious.’

“I’m grateful to Terran.”

Lea replied with a smile, not wanting to show her childish jealousy. Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

“Then, shouldn’t you sign the grape?”

Lea almost said ‘yes’ because Terran’s grumbling face was too cute.

She nearly melted at the whining of a man taller and more robust than the average male.

‘Whew! That was close. I’m not over it yet. Get a grip!’

“I wasn’t that moved.”

Terran, seemingly shocked by Grace’s words, just stared at her with his mouth open.

Yesterday, he had truly worked hard. He had even taught her obstacle-jumping techniques, giving it his all.

“In what way?”

“Well, Terran should think about it carefully.”

He was confused by Grace’s firm words. Being told to reflect on what he did wrong was the hardest thing in the world.

‘I guess I stood out too much yesterday.’

He didn’t need to show off his flashy horsemanship, but as a result, he had drawn all the attention to himself instead of Grace.

No matter how skilled the women were at riding, they couldn’t compare to him, a soldier. He felt he had unnecessarily stepped forward and only damaged Grace’s reputation.

“I’ll get up first, Terran.”

Lea abruptly stood up. Talking about yesterday’s events with Terran reignited the jealousy she had felt at the time.

He had whispered with Mary, touched her calves all over, and even rode horses together. That wasn’t all. The way they smiled at each other so affectionately.

‘Ah! It’s infuriating!’

She thought the feeling would disappear after a night’s sleep. Seeing Terran completely oblivious to the situation made her even angrier. She wanted to confront him point by point.

‘We’ll see about signing that grape.’

As Lea strode out of the greenhouse, Luke, who was approaching from the opposite direction, greeted her politely.

Yet she passed by Luke as if she hadn’t seen him.

‘Why is she so angry?’

Luke had never seen Grace’s expression look so bad. The reason she was so angry that she couldn’t even recognize someone right in front of her…?

‘There he is.’

Luke sighed as he saw Terran still drinking tea. He quickly walked over to Terran.

“Did you have a fight with the young lady?”

“No.”

Terran answered with a puzzled expression.

“She seemed very angry though?”

“Huh?”

He looked completely clueless. Grace had been consistently kind to him.

When she told him to think about why she wouldn’t sign the grape, she might have been a bit cold.

But they hadn’t argued enough to make her angry…

“Luke, yesterday I…”

Terran told Luke everything that happened yesterday. Somehow, he felt his prediction would be correct.

* * *

Lea became serious as she looked at the order forms that had come into the general store. With the start of mail-order sales, the order volume had exploded.

Moreover, Lea’s cherry-colored cape had become a big hit, with orders pouring in from all over the country, even from abroad. Thanks to this, the bank balance had grown significantly.

‘It’s too much for Chainer to handle alone.’

Currently, she was in the middle of making Rivet’s dress, so she had no time to make other items. But she couldn’t break her promises to consumers either.

She needed to come up with a solution, so Lea called for Chainer and Pauline.

“It seems too much for Chainer to make all the lace alone.”

As Lea began speaking, Pauline responded, clapping her hands.

“It’s beyond just a pastime now.”

“So I was thinking, how about setting up a workshop in town and hiring people? People with some skill in lace-making. We could have a three-month probation period and only hire those who can match Chainer’s skills.”

“That’s a good idea. What do you think?”

Pauline asked Chainer.

“It’s good, but I’m lacking, so people will look down on me.”

Lea and Pauline’s hearts sank at Chainer’s words.

They thought she was always cheerful and didn’t worry about such things. But it was upsetting to learn that Chainer had been suffering in her own way.

If only they had understood her feelings earlier.

“Who would look down on you! Baroness Chainer Bizac! You’re no longer a gypsy!”

Pauline shouted heatedly.

She could still vividly recall Grandpa Rapha’s tearful face when he heard the news of Chainer becoming a noble lady.

Meanwhile, Lea had to consider more practical methods.

“I have an idea.”

Chainer and Pauline stopped their bickering at Lea’s words.

“Pauline, stop being my maid now.”

“What? Are you… abandoning me, Miss?”

“That’s not it!”

Lea felt it was time for Pauline to take a step forward. She felt sorry to keep her as her maid forever. She wanted to give her a chance to develop her own life.

“Go as the workshop manager. From now on, Pauline will be responsible for Chainer’s lace business.”

“I love it!”

Chainer cheered first.

However, Pauline, the person in question, just stared blankly at the two of them in turn.

Lea calmly explained what Pauline would do.

She said that if she became the workshop manager, she would guarantee her corresponding profits, and if she further developed her skills, she was willing to negotiate her salary.

Pauline had dealt with many noble ladies, so her etiquette and appropriate speech were excellent.

Conversely, having served others for a long time, she also understood the hardships of subordinates well, so there was no one more suitable than her.

“Then, what about you, Miss?”

“There are so many employees in the duke’s mansion. We can just recruit one more.”

Pauline seemed to be feeling a mix of emotion and disappointment. She just stood there blankly with tears welling up in her eyes.

Lea approached Pauline, grasped her shoulders, and met her gaze.

“Pauline, it’s time for you to grow up and enter society. You know women can do business too, right?”

“I know, I learned it by watching you, Miss. I used to think women could only survive by getting married, but not anymore.”

“That’s right.”

“Can I do well? What if I meet people who sneakily steal Chainer’s skills and run away? I’m not confident.”

“Pauline, you can do it well enough. And leave the eye for people to Chainer.”

Lea and Pauline looked at Chainer simultaneously. People might look down on her as lacking, but Chainer had eyes of the heart. She possessed a mysterious ability to observe things and penetrate people’s souls.

“I’ll try, no, I’ll work hard,”

“I’m so happy to be with Sister Pauline too!”

Chainer ran over and hugged them both tightly.

Lea felt a lump in her throat. Although she had been greatly disappointed in people due to Sara’s betrayal, whom she had believed to be her sister, she was healed by meeting Pauline and Chainer.

The two probably didn’t know how grateful she was.

* * *

Terran slapped his knee after hearing Luke’s words. He had been so enthusiastic on his own that he had been barking up the wrong tree.

[Why did you massage another woman’s legs? And what about the whispering? If Grace had done that with another man, there would have been a murder on the spot.]

Luke’s words hit Terran like a heavy blow to the head. He never expected that his actions would be the reason.

[Among all that, putting another woman in the front seat of a horse? This is truly the worst. It’s almost grounds for breaking off the engagement. Perhaps the young lady is considering breaking the engagement, thinking the duke is a philanderer.] [Breaking the engagement?]

His intentions had been pure. He needed to properly teach her the technique of jumping over obstacles so she could win the competition.

He never dreamed that his sudden competitive spirit would upset Grace.

[How should I apologize?]

Although things had never gone well following Luke’s advice, there was no one else to help him right now.

[Just be honest. Tell her you had no such intentions at all.]

Terran went to Grace’s bedroom at night.

He thought he should give a sincere explanation while they were alone at a quiet hour. Just as he arrived in front of her room, Pauline opened the door and came out.

“Your Grace?”

“Is Grace in?”

“She’s inside.”

“I see.”

Seeing Terran’s stern expression, Pauline sensed that he had come to apologize.

‘Oh right! I forgot to tell the duke about that.’

Pauline was about to leave but stopped.

‘This could be interesting.’

Pauline only moved after confirming that Terran had entered Grace’s bedroom.

Terran knocked and entered her bedroom. Immediately, the fragrant scent of soap tickled his nose.

His feet moved involuntarily following the scent, and at the end sat a fairy who had just finished bathing in the lake.

Dressed in a chemise with a clean bare face like egg white, long wet hair dripping water.

The white calves and pretty bare feet slightly revealed under the skirt stimulated his eyes.

Grace was as fresh as a wildflower wet with rain. Her slightly exposed shoulders and arms looked as soft as delicate flower petals.

“What brings you here at night, Terran?”

Lea was sitting on the bed, drying her wet hair with a towel.

“I have something to say.”

He clearly came with a purpose, but Grace’s scent intoxicated him, making his mind feel completely blank. Especially Grace in such a defenseless state was enough to stimulate any man.

‘Am I crazy, getting excited over wet hair?’

He couldn’t understand his own surging desire.

It’s not like Grace had seductively tempted him. He was getting all worked up on his own.

At that moment, Grace gathered her hair and swept it to one side, fully exposing her smooth nape.

‘This is maddening.’

Terran unconsciously swallowed hard. His desire to kiss her grew stronger than his intention to explain, leaving him at a loss for what to do.