Interest Compounds on Revenge - Chapter 58

Paul and Tom stopped their sewing when they saw Terran suddenly appear.

They awkwardly stood up and politely greeted Terran.

“Keep working. I just couldn’t sleep well.”

Terran entered with an awkward smile and sat on the sofa.

“I just came to see if the work is going well.”

That’s not it. Lea immediately recognized Terran’s face, barely suppressing his irritation.

He should just get some good sleep. But the problem was Paul and Tom. When Terran arrived, they became nervous and uncomfortable.

“Ah! I’m tired, so I should go now. Paul and Tom, let’s stop here for today. We have tomorrow too.”

Lea thought they should wrap up the work for today.

“Miss, please go ahead. We’ll just finish cleaning up and be done.”

“Is that so? Don’t stay too long.”

“Understood.”

After saying goodbye to the two, Lea spoke kindly to Terran.

“Terran, are you staying longer? I’m tired, so I’ll go first.”

“Huh? I…”

Lea left the workshop before he could even answer. Soon after, Terran said, “I’m suddenly feeling exhausted,” as if he had been waiting to say it.

Lea walked briskly towards his bedroom, then started running when she heard footsteps chasing her from behind.

Terran also picked up speed, and Lea, who entered the bedroom first, quickly got into bed.

What followed was… as expected, Terran came in huffing, roughly pulled back the blanket, and started scolding.

“How could you just leave me behind and go? You shouldn’t do that, right?”

“I did it so you could sleep comfortably.”

“Do you know how much I had to deal with those insignificant things to get that sewing machine or whatever it is?”

“I know. I’m grateful, Terran.”

“How could someone who knows leave my side in that short time?”

Terran was more hurt than angry.

When he was young, he would wake up from naps to find no one around, and that silence was frightening and saddening to his young heart.

The nannies took good care of him in place of his mother who passed away early, but he still felt an unavoidable loneliness.

He felt the exact same emotion just thirty minutes ago.

When he woke up from a short nap and found himself left alone, he felt upset and hurt.

He even felt resentful towards Grace who left him alone.

“Why are you acting like a baby?”

“What…? A baby?”

Terran asked back, dumbfounded. He had only wanted consideration, but she thought he was whining like a child.

“Did I ask you for milk?”

He said seriously.

‘It would be nice if you did…’

“Pardon?”

Lea was startled.

“Or did I ask you to change my diaper?”

“Well, that’s…”

“I just wanted you to stay by my side, I don’t think I acted like a baby?”

Only then did Lea realize her mistake.

It was her fault for thinking he would understand because he was an adult man and more mature than his peers. Especially since Terran was someone who craved human affection.

“It’s all my fault, please don’t be angry.”

Lea quickly lay down on the bed and patted the space next to her. Telling him to stop scolding and come to bed.

“I’ll sing a lullaby for our big baby, so hurry and lie down.”

“This woman, really!”

Terran was about to get more upset but burst into laughter at her smiling face and lay down beside her.

Inevitably, he held her in his arms.

Lea sang a lullaby without thinking to prevent him from scolding her further.

“!?”

Terran was surprised by Grace’s lullaby. Was she always this good at singing?

Her voice was very clear. Like a gentle breeze by a lake on a warm spring day, it tickled people.

At first, he listened out of curiosity at her singing, but soon drowsiness overcame him. As if a fairy had cast a spell.

Lea sighed in relief as she watched Terran finally fall asleep.

‘I went too far.’

Lea regretted it too. She should have been more attentive to him, should have stayed by his side.

He who used to not express his emotions well had now changed enough to reveal his inner thoughts to her.

When she first met him, he seemed like an impenetrable fortress. Only now was he finally showing his human side to her.

Lea kept stroking his face, then ran her fingers through his hair to help him fall into a deep sleep.

She remembered that when she was very young, she too would drift off to sleep when someone stroked her hair like this.

* * *

The next day, the sewing machine moved without rest.

Lea checked the process of making clothes beside Paul and Tom.

“How can the stitching be so evenly spaced?”

The more she looked, the more amazing it was. Lea couldn’t help but marvel at their sewing skills. No wonder the artisans were protesting.

But the changes of the times can’t be stopped, and soon sewing machines will become commonplace.

Just then, Pauline and Chainer dropped by the workshop.

“Miss, is it going well?”

“Yes. I think we’ll finish everything today.”

“That’s good.”

Pauline and Chainer were also greatly surprised to see the clothes made by the sewing machine.

“We’re going to the workshop. The employees we hired recently should already be there working.”

“That’s right.”

At Pauline’s words, a thought crossed Lea’s mind.

She wondered if Paul and Tom could work together at Chainer’s lace workshop.

After all, they would keep getting orders for riding clothes. Lea shared her opinion with the four of them.

“We’d be happy to, Miss.”

Paul and Tom accepted readily.

But Pauline blushed, seeming shy about working with men.

Chainer, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind much.

“Miss, Sonya and Adolf might not like it.”

Pauline was worried about the opposition of those two.

“I’ll take care of that.”

Lea had a separate plan.

Soon after the two left for the workshop, Lea focused on making the riding clothes. But the concern she had materialized.

Terran appeared in the workshop. Luke stood beside him, holding a bundle of documents.

“Terran, why aren’t you in your office?”

Paul and Tom, who were concentrating on their work, looked uncomfortable.

As expected, with not just Terran but Luke appearing as well, the two stopped their sewing, stood up, and politely clasped their hands.

“I was worried about you. I couldn’t focus on work.”

“What?”

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

Lea knew Terran’s obvious intentions all too well.

“You just focus on your work. I have to work, so don’t pay any attention to me.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Paul and Tom resumed their work, and Terran took a seat on the sofa.

As Luke handed him documents, Terran reviewed and signed them, but his gaze was fixed on Grace throughout.

He hadn’t originally planned to work here. Sitting at his desk in the office, he was bothered by the workshop.

He knew very well that the three were working hard, but somehow he felt left out.

Moreover, the imagination of Grace occasionally leaning in close to Paul and Tom, facing them and smiling, disturbed his mind.

Of course, he couldn’t reveal all these childish emotions, so he ended up coming here with a flimsy excuse.

“Oh my! You can even embroider the crest so easily like this?”

Lea was amazed at Tom meticulously stitching the royal crest onto the jacket.

“I want to try it too.”

“I’ll teach you next time, Miss.”

“Really?”

At the sound of Lea and Tom’s laughter, there was a loud bang from the table.

Lea reflexively turned her head.

“Luke, you should put the documents down gently, it’s disturbing the work.”

“Pardon? Me?”

Terran and Luke bickered. Or more accurately, Terran was unilaterally irritated.

Lea immediately sat down next to Terran, and only then did his face brighten.

‘What should I do with our jealous duke?’

While she sighed inwardly, it was also somewhat amusing. But when Lea sat next to Terran, his attitude changed.

“Luke, take care of it yourself.”

Terran interlocked fingers with Grace and pushed all the work onto Luke. Just then, Terran whispered subtly into Grace’s ear.

“You haven’t done it yet?”

“Done what?”

When Terran wiggled his finger towards Luke, he handed over a paper with grape clusters drawn on it.

“You need to sign, Grace.”

“Ah…! I forgot.”

Lea was surprised to see that many signatures had already been added to the grape clusters. At this rate, soon she and he would… Just imagining it was embarrassing.

“Would ten be enough?”

At her question, Terran’s brow furrowed and he began to speak grandly about how much trouble he went through to get the sewing machine.

“Then, twelve?”

“Twenty.”

“That’s too many. Terran, you’re putting me in prison… mmph!”

As Lea was about to protest, his finger firmly pressed against her lips. Terran also seemed to dislike the idea of people widely knowing that he had imprisoned Grace.

“Let’s compromise on fifteen.”

Even peace negotiations wouldn’t be this grand.

Lea signed fifteen grape clusters, and Terran looked very satisfied. Just then, James came looking for them.

“Your Grace, there’s a message from the hospital.”

At James’ report, Terran, who had been smiling like an innocent boy, quickly returned to reality.

He stood up with a cold expression. It seemed that Anna, who had torn the riding clothes and swung a knife at Grace, had woken up.

“I’ll be back shortly, Grace.”

“Alright.”

Terran and Luke followed James out of the workshop.

Lea waited for them to disappear before following behind at a distance.

‘I wonder who instigated Anna to damage the riding clothes?’

Lea walked as quietly as possible to avoid the sound of her footsteps. Not long after, she heard the voices of the three men talking at the stairs at the end of the corridor.

“She says Allen MacDowell ordered her to do it.”

“I thought as much.”

“Anna is very regretful. She’s hoping for leniency from Your Grace.”

“Leniency, there’s no such thing. Grace could have died. Handle it according to the law.”

At Terran’s words, Luke asked.

“Should we reveal that Allen MacDowell was behind it?”

Since the police would interrogate about the details of the incident to punish Anna.

“No, it shouldn’t be revealed. Not now.”