The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
‘Why is the Duke acting so strange all of a sudden?’
While mixing various herbs to develop a cure, Leah glanced behind her.
It had been an hour since she and the Duke arrived at the annex. He had remained silent, merely staring into empty space.
Was he lost in deep thought? Or had she made some mistake in the room just moments ago?
Ever since before they came to the annex, the Duke’s words had sharply diminished. Because of this, Leah found herself unable to concentrate properly on developing the antidote.
‘If I keep like this, I might make a serious mistake in creating the treatment.’
Finally, Leah shook her head as if telling herself to stop.
‘I should just focus on making the antidote.’
Even if that man had something on his mind, he wasn’t the type to confide in her anyway. With that thought, Leah once again immersed herself in developing the antidote.
A short while later, Leah, having concocted a plausible antidote, shook the vial. The distinctive yellow hue extracted from evening primrose shimmered inside the glass bottle.
‘I’ll try this combination for now.’
To test the medicine’s effect, she headed toward the shelf to retrieve the Porarium.
“Huh? I’m sure I left it right here…”
She had prepared five bottles of Porarium for the experiment, yet only four remained on the shelf.
‘What? Did I imagine it?’
She tilted her head, wondering if she’d miscounted due to being distracted. Since only the Duke and herself knew about the annex—a secret place—no one else could have taken it.
‘Could it be… the Duke?’
Leah briefly suspected the Duke but then shook her head.
‘Nah, impossible.’
Why would the Duke take the Porarium? He was the one person who should be avoiding that medicine most of all.
Clearly, she must have simply miscounted.
Just as Leah, thinking this, picked up a bottle of Porarium and turned to return to her desk, her elbow bumped against the wooden shelf.
Perhaps because the shelf was old—even though the impact was slight—the vials atop it wobbled dangerously.
“Ah!”
By the time she noticed one tipping toward the floor, it was already too late. The moment Leah squeezed her eyes shut, watching the vials fall—
– Thud!
“Kyaa!”
Along with the sharp sound cutting through the air came a pain unlike what she’d expected. Fallen onto the floor, Leah rubbed her sore backside.
Then, to assess the situation, she turned around.
The vials that should have been on the shelf lay shattered and scattered everywhere. And standing there, looking down at her with an indifferent expression, was the Duke.
“Duke… you don’t mean to say…”
Leah stared at his right foot, slightly lifted in midair.
“…You just kicked me?!”
“Yeah.”
He replied calmly, as if nothing were wrong.
Good heavens! A man who kicks a woman in danger!
“You’re so careless. You nearly cracked your head open.”
He muttered, nudging the broken glass on the floor with his foot.
Had the Duke not pushed Leah away with his foot, she might have not only cracked her head but also suffered serious injuries from the spilled chemicals.
Seeing him click his tongue as if scolding himself, Leah pouted. She hadn’t even expected him to dramatically leap in and save her.
But to kick her?
Leah felt both grateful and secretly annoyed. Perhaps sensing her conflicted feelings, the Duke tilted his head.
“How arrogant. Not only do you fail to thank your lifesaver, but you also wear such a discontented expression.”
“But still—to kick me?!”
“Then I should’ve just ignored you and let your head crack open, huh?”
Tch. He just had to say it like that.
Yet Leah couldn’t bring herself to voice her complaint and instead offered her thanks.
“Thank you.”
What else could she do? Though she disliked his method, he had ultimately saved her. At her words, Akia nodded and prepared to leave the annex.
“Clean all this up. And don’t come to the annex for a while.”
“Huh?”
Leah, who had been grumbling inwardly, looked up at the Duke’s words.
“Why all of a sudden?”
Akia, silent for a moment at her question, finally answered.
“There’s something coming up.”
Leah would only understand what the Duke meant several days later.
[This is the timeline separator]After that, Leah continued her usual busy routine.
Though she didn’t visit the annex per the Duke’s wishes, she kept researching the antidote intermittently in the apothecary.
“Huh? Has it really gotten this late already?”
When she lifted her head, she realized lunchtime had long passed.
No wonder her stomach felt empty.
She must have been so absorbed in work that she forgot to eat. Deciding she should at least grab a snack, Leah left the apothecary.
Walking down the long corridor toward the kitchen, she saw maids bustling about. They were heading toward the third floor, where the Duke resided.
Had something happened to the Duke? Curious, Leah called out to one of the passing maids.
“Is something wrong with the Duke?”
“Oh, no! A letter arrived saying guests from the Imperial Palace will be arriving soon.”
“So it’s today, then.”
They’d been doing a thorough cleaning in preparation for the palace physicians’ visit—today, they must be tidying the Duke’s bedroom.
Leah nodded, and the maid hurried off. Once the palace visitors arrived, they would immediately check on the Duke’s health.
‘I suppose, as his apothecary, I should be there too.’
Worried about how to relay the Duke’s condition, Leah finally turned around.
After all, the Duke’s personal physician couldn’t possibly be eating in the dining hall while palace doctors examined him.
Sighing briefly, Leah headed toward the Duke’s bedroom.
“Duke, it’s Leah.”
She knocked to announce her arrival, but received no reply. Normally, he’d at least drop something.
After hesitating for a moment, Leah turned the doorknob.
“I’m coming in.”
Her suspicion lasted only briefly as she carefully stepped inside. Fortunately, the maids seemed to have finished tidying the Duke’s room.
Passing through the neatly arranged bedroom, Leah walked toward the bed.
The blackout curtains, usually drawn gloomily shut, were now brightly open and neatly tied back. The room was so unusually bright—unlike the Duke’s bedroom at all—that it felt strangely unfamiliar.
‘If only he’d always stay like this.’
Vitamin D was so important, after all.
Leah soon stopped beside the bed where the Duke lay.
“Duke, are you asleep?”
He’d never slept past noon like this before.
“The palace physicians are almost here. You should get ready for your examination…”
The moment Leah bent toward the Duke, his golden hair came into view—soaked through, whether from cold sweat or moisture, she couldn’t tell.
“…Duke?”
As she drew closer, a wave of intense heat radiated from Akia. Alarmed, Leah quickly raised her hand to his forehead.
The warmth transmitted through her fingertips was so intense it burned, even from the briefest touch.
“Duke!”
Only then did she notice his labored, irregular breathing. Likely due to the high fever, the Duke seemed entirely unconscious.
‘Why is he like this all of a sudden?!’
It was strange.
Just last night in the annex, he’d shown no signs of discomfort whatsoever.
Leah shook him to wake him, but he didn’t stir.
He’d been steadily expelling the accumulated Porarium poison from his body by drinking evening primrose detox tea.
Indeed, his complexion had been visibly improving day by day, as if proving the treatment’s effectiveness.
‘Yet now he’s suddenly in critical condition?’
Her confusion lasted only a moment. Just as she reached for the cloth on the nightstand to wipe his cold sweat—
– Thunk.
Something caught her foot.
“What’s this?”
Leah picked up an empty vial from under the bed. At the bottom of the transparent bottle, a small amount of white liquid remained, undrunk and settled.
Suddenly, last night’s incident flashed through her mind—the Porarium display that had seemed to be missing one bottle.
‘No way.’
Please, let it not be true.
Leah’s heart was already pounding uncontrollably.
With trembling hands, she opened the cap and sniffed. The familiar scent brushing her nose confirmed it—Porarium.
‘Damn it!’
With that single fallen vial, everything suddenly made sense.
The Duke had drunk the Porarium poison again—despite having taken it less than a month ago.
Just then, as if regaining consciousness, Akia slowly opened his eyes.
“You… who… are you…”
Then, seeing the empty Porarium vial in Leah’s hand, he added,
“Quickly… hide that… People are coming.”
Leah sighed. Even while barely conscious and suffering so terribly, was that empty vial really so important?
“Why on earth did you do this?! This month alone, you’ve already taken two bottles of concentrated poison!”
Leah demanded in a hushed, strained voice.
Had he gone mad with a death wish? Otherwise, how could he possibly drink that poison again?!
Her hands, clutching the vial, trembled violently.
“It’s… none of your concern…”
“How can I not care? I’m your personal physician!”
‘My life depends on yours!’
Leah cried out, sounding deeply aggrieved. Akia, staring fixedly at her, exhaled a ragged breath and closed his eyes.
“Lower your voice… my head’s pounding.”
“Hah…!”
“Just… hide the vial… quickly…”
Akia replied weakly, twisting in pain. Seeing him suffer so terribly, Leah stood up decisively.
“Wait just a moment. I’ll go get medicine right now…”
“No… need…”
Through half-closed eyelids, Akia’s deep crimson eyes fixed on her. Leah felt utterly bewildered.
She simply couldn’t understand why the Duke would go this far.
Just as Leah parted her lips to speak, the sound of scattered footsteps approached from beyond the bedroom door.
—“Duke, the guests from the Imperial Palace have arrived.”
With a knock, the bedroom door opened.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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