The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
On a summer afternoon, the sun blazed fiercely.
A woman was being led toward the gallows by a guard, her wrists bound behind her back.
With every step she took, the iron shackles gripping her ankles let out a chilling sound, but she had no time to care.
After all, in just a few minutes, her body would surely be hanging from that place.
‘It’s all over now.’
Her gaze toward the gallows was hollow. Her parched lips were cracked like a desert, and her once-vibrant, leaf-green eyes were dead.
Was it because the sun burned too fiercely? Or because of her fear of death?
The woman staggered as if she might collapse at any moment.
[Duke Haideorn has been sentenced to death due to the crime of the apothecary Leah!]— Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of the wooden gavel echoing on the day of her sentencing still rang clearly in her ears.
She had cried out that the medicine couldn’t possibly have been wrong, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
The nobles were too busy cursing the incompetent apothecary for putting the Empire’s duke in mortal danger.
‘I should never have come here in the first place.’
No—she should have run away the very day she became the duke’s personal physician. But now, even such regrets were pointless.
She let out a hollow laugh. It had been twenty-two years since she’d been reborn alone into this world.
Memories of her desperate struggles to survive here flashed before her eyes like a lantern show.
“From this moment, the execution of apothecary Leah shall commence. Prisoner, come forward and kneel.”
The guard shoved her roughly from behind, and she sank to her knees as if crumbling. When the face of the woman who had stirred the entire capital was revealed, the crowd murmured.
— I heard Duke Haideorn passed away after taking medicine made by that woman.
— How pitiful. She’s still so young…
— Pitiful? She’s practically a murderer!
Among them were those who pitied her and those who blamed the young apothecary for her childish recklessness.
“Does the criminal Leah have any final words?”
At the judge’s question, she lowered her head.
‘Final words? As if I’d have any.’
The man had died because of the medicine she made.
Heavy guilt and bitter regret crushed her entire body—so much so that even breathing felt difficult.
‘If only I hadn’t done it… would things have turned out differently…?’
But Leah, realizing it was a futile thought, closed her eyes, wishing for this agony to end quickly.
Seeing her resigned expression, the judge raised his hand.
Just as the guard began tying the noose around her neck in response to the execution signal—
“Halt.”
A man’s voice quietly echoed through the hall.
“Who are you?! Do you even know where you are right now…?!”
As the man in the black robe slowly revealed his face, the murmuring crowd fell silent.
‘What is this?’
The moment she felt the air around her freeze, Leah slowly opened her eyes.
Before her appeared a man’s crimson eyes, faintly glinting beneath the blazing sun.
“…Your Grace?”
She murmured in a trembling voice, as if seeing a phantom.
Duke Haideorn—whom she believed she had killed—had returned alive.
[This is the timeline separator]‘So warm.’
How long had it been since she’d felt such warmth? She sensed the soft, plush bedding enveloping her body.
‘Who is it?’
At the gentle caress brushing her ear, an embarrassingly soft moan escaped Leah’s lips.
As if bothered by the touch, she buried her face deep into the pillowcase.
‘Is this a dream?’
It felt like a sweet dream—someone tenderly stroking her face with affectionate hands.
The deep breath tickling her nose, the teasing fingers running through her hair.
‘Why does it feel so real?’
The sensations were too vivid to be a dream, and Leah’s mind gradually awakened. Sensing something strange, she gently opened her eyes—and what she saw was…
Sculpted features, radiant golden hair like the sun itself, and eyes red as blood.
‘Your Grace?’
She blinked as if she’d seen a ghost.
Was she still dreaming? Cautiously, Leah pinched her own skin with her fingers.
‘It’s not a dream…’
Since it hurt where her fingers had pressed, it couldn’t be a dream.
‘Then… am I… dead?’
Hesitantly, Leah reached for her own neck. She was certain she was destined to be beheaded at the gallows.
At that moment, she recalled the duke she’d encountered at the execution ground.
Could her desperate wish have conjured an illusion? Even as she collapsed, Leah couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.
“Are you truly alive? Wh-what on earth…?”
Disbelieving, Leah reached out to touch the man’s face.
The unfamiliar yet real texture of his skin beneath her fingertips confirmed he wasn’t an illusion.
Just as Leah was tracing his face back and forth, he seized her wrist and murmured,
“You’ll wear my face out.”
‘Ah.’
His deep, resonant voice wrapped around Leah’s ears—so familiar… It was the very voice she’d longed for so deeply.
“Are you really Duke Haideorn…?”
So startled she nearly leapt off the bed, Leah scanned the man. Of course—there couldn’t possibly be another man with such a face.
“Good heavens.”
She’d clearly watched him draw his last breath with her own eyes. Stunned into silence, her lips parted wordlessly until he murmured,
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy I’ve returned alive?”
Was this even a matter of happiness? Leah, still unable to grasp the situation, simply froze in place.
Watching her, the man took her hand and guided it.
“I’m disappointed.”
Then he lifted her hand to cup his cheek.
“When I died, you cried and made such a fuss…”
After resting his cheek against her palm for a while, the man rumbled,
“Was it all a lie?”
By now, she could feel his breath on her palm where his lips had touched.
“No, Your Grace—surely, back then, you stopped breathing…”
“You did.”
The man let out a soft chuckle, amused by Leah’s reaction.
“But then I thought of you, gossiping with other men in my absence…”
A cold glint flashed in his crimson eyes.
“It made my stomach turn.”
‘What?’
Not only had the duke—whom she thought dead—returned alive, but now he was saying such things out of nowhere…
Unconsciously swallowing hard, she began carefully surveying the place where she lay.
It was a room she’d never seen before. Though the heavy darkness made it hard to see clearly, one thing was certain—it was astonishingly lavish.
Then, the man softly murmured her name, his voice gentler than before.
“Leah.”
His fingers, gripping her chin as if to keep her from looking away, burned hot.
‘Was the duke always… like this?’
Leah examined him with a strange gaze.
His skin seemed to glow with overflowing vitality, and through the gap in his robe, she saw his firmly defined chest muscles.
Against her will, her eyes drifted past his solid abs and gradually downward.
— Gulp.
Forcing her gaze back up, Leah lifted her head.
Amused by her reaction, the man let out a low chuckle and gently brushed her ear.
“I apologize for having called you a fool all this time.”
His voice, as deep as a cavern, brushed past her ear.
“Thanks to you, I feel reborn.”
His long fingers stroked her cheek as he murmured in a tone that still couldn’t believe this moment was real.
“Everything will change from now on.”
In the dimly lit room, the gazes of the two intertwined in midair.
“…Huh? What do you mean…?”
In an instant, he was atop her. Somehow, the duke now loomed over Leah, who was pressed against the bed.
“Y-Your Grace?”
“I thought you’d be a little happy to see me.”
He replied softly, carefully removing the strands of hair stuck to Leah’s cheek one by one.
“Didn’t you wish for me to get well?”
Yes—she had.
Perhaps in this mansion, no—throughout the entire empire—no one had wished more fervently for the duke’s recovery than she had.
‘But this is way too healthy!’
Hadn’t he been on the verge of death just days ago—or rather, hadn’t he actually died? The Akia she knew certainly hadn’t been this masculine.
The duke, who’d been so frail he’d received a terminal prognosis, was now overpoweringly pressing down on her.
She began to feel uneasy about the unfamiliar pressure against her abdomen—hoping it wasn’t what she thought it was.
But before she could find an answer, Akia’s voice, thick with breath, reached her.
“Leah.”
Swallowing again, she pushed at his shoulders.
“Y-Your Grace…? Can we please talk calmly first…?”
“It’s strange.”
“…Huh?”
“My body is overflowing with strength—strangely so.”
The intense desire in his eyes pinned her down.
“To the point I can’t control it.”
His crimson eyes burned as if ready to devour her. The passionate flames within them made her feel as if her soul would flee her body.
— Thump.
— Thump.
— Thump.
Her heartbeat pounded like a drum, announcing its presence so loudly she feared she might die from it.
“So, Leah.”
From so close that their lips nearly touched, his breath washed over her, thick and heavy.
“Take responsibility.”
Then his fingers slowly climbed up her slender wrist, interlacing with hers, joint by joint.
“After all, you’re the one who made me like this.”
As if determined not to give her even the tiniest chance to escape.
The once-frail duke had become healthy. Extremely so.
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
MANGA DISCUSSION
6 Comments
Chapter Comments (2)
I’m glad you found a job and are starting your life, Latieana.
Your employer is also very good.
You’re lucky, Latieana.I commented on the wrong story. I’m sorry
Please ignore my comment.
YOUR COMMENT
2. Inline comments are now available. Tap the end of any line in a chapter to share your thoughts instantly.
Log in to comment.
agustus_orchid
Leah took responsibility to heal you and she healed you.
What kind of responsibility should Duke take, Leah?
Blairwoods
Is this prologue? So she haven’t died or what? I kinda confused when she suddenly in the bedroom
agustus_orchid
Leah, the medicine was very strong. (⊙_◎)
Could it have caused side effects in the pharmacy?
agustus_orchid
Leah didn’t kill the duke on purpose. Everyone dies one day.
Leah only accelerated his death.
agustus_orchid
Duke has changed his mind.
Duke broke the intention.
Leah, protect yourself.