The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6

“Three times?”

“……Yes.”

Outwardly, she asked brazenly, but her heart was racing. The sum Rikel had already offered was enough to live comfortably for half a lifetime—if she spent it frugally.

Yet she had just asked for triple that amount.

‘With that kind of money, who cares about being frugal? I’ll show them what real luxury looks like!’

Leah glanced subtly at the duke, thinking of a future that hadn’t even begun to unfold. He seemed troubled by her demand.

‘Did I ask for too much?’

As the man remained silent for a long while, Leah began to feel uneasy.

Even for a duke of imperial blood, that sum could be somewhat burdensome.

Just as she was about to take back her words, fearing she’d been too greedy, the duke lifted one corner of his mouth and replied.

“I’ll give you five times what that man offered.”

He spoke with an arrogant air, as if that paltry amount were barely worth considering.

“Oh—yes, I’d be grateful even for just that much… Wait, what?”

For a moment, Leah blinked, wondering if she’d misheard.

“F-five times?”

“Yes.”

‘Crazy. Five times? Just how much would that even be?’

Leah forgot she was standing before the duke and began counting on her fingers to estimate the sum.

‘Five hundred silver coins—that’s five gold coins, right!?’

She nearly let out a scream. Five gold coins! In the cheap-price Eastern Continent, that amount could afford her a luxurious lifestyle rivaling nobility for half her life.

Excitement surged through Leah, and she exhaled a hot breath through her nose. She hadn’t expected things to go this well. Truly, as the imperial prince, his scale was extraordinary.

“Well? Will you accept my proposal?”

‘Of course I will!’

But precisely at times like this, she needed to stay calm.

Leah forced herself to sound composed, though she couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from rising.

“Well, if you’re offering that much, it’s certainly a deal with no downside for me. I’ll accept your proposal. Then, about the payment method…”

“For now…”

He leaned back onto the sofa and continued.

“You’ll need to bring me credible information first, won’t you?”

‘Damn it.’

Leah cursed inwardly at his demand. No wonder he’d so easily agreed to five times the amount.

‘He still doesn’t trust me.’

In truth, the duke’s attitude was understandable. Who would hand over such a huge sum without proof?

She needed credible information—something convincing enough to earn his trust. And to get that, she first had to gain Rikel’s confidence.

Leah let out a short breath and met the duke’s gaze.

“Understood. I’ll bring you news—through the one who proposed this deal to me—that will surely please you, Your Grace.”

“It had better be worth five gold coins…”

The duke’s blatant, dismissive look plainly asked, ‘Can you really do it?’

“It’ll be worth even more. Your Grace, you just prepare the money you promised me. I’ll take my leave now.”

Leah bowed respectfully to the duke with dignified poise.

– Thud.

‘How audacious.’

Akia, recalling Leah vanishing from sight, crossed one leg and murmured haughtily,

“Amusing.”

Those who chased money were easy to handle. Since every decision they made was swayed by coin, all one had to do was offer more than the other side.

“I suppose I can watch her for now.”

Remembering the woman whose eyes had sparkled just moments ago, he smiled with evident pleasure.

[This is the timeline separator]

Leah sat in her clinic room late into the evening, poring over books. She was searching for herbs to counteract the poison of Porarium.

– Knock knock.

A brief knock sounded at the door.

‘Who could it be at this hour?’

Outside the window, dusk had settled into a hazy darkness. She’d planned to return to her bedroom after finishing this book.

“Come in.”

Thinking it might be an ailing servant, Leah closed the book she’d been reading. The door opened, and Rikel walked into the clinic.

“Is it too late?”

Since she’d only intended to read and leave, Leah wasn’t even wearing her apothecary’s robe. He approached her desk, eyes wide and smiling.

Though the man was quite handsome, his smile struck Leah as awkward.

‘I can’t read his intentions at all.’

She gave him an uneasy smile and covered the book she’d been reading with another document. Better safe than sorry.

“I was just about to leave. What brings you here?”

There was no way that man had come to the clinic because he was unwell.

Sure enough… he must have come to hear her answer about the deal she’d proposed earlier.

“I thought we still had something to discuss.”

He reached into his coat and abruptly placed a small pouch on her desk.

– Thump.

A small metal lump landed on the desk with a surprisingly dull sound.

‘Wow.’

At the sight of the little pouch, Leah nearly let out an exclamation. Even without looking inside, it was obvious what it contained.

‘Judging by the size, it must be gold coins.’

Leah swallowed hard. At Rikel’s silent gesture to open it, she quickly snatched up the pouch.

Seeing the gleaming gold coin inside, Leah’s heart swelled with excitement.

“One gold coin. That’s double your original deposit of fifty silver coins.”

Rikel’s pointed remark made Leah flinch. She suddenly remembered what she’d said when he’d first proposed the deal.

[It seems His Highness might be a bit… small.] [……?] [I just wondered if the reward for a life-risking task might be a little too modest.]

She’d said those words after seeing the pouch of silver coins he’d brought as a deposit. After all, his initial offer had been only twenty silver coins.

‘Twenty silver coins is four months’ worth of my salary.’

Wasn’t the task to monitor and supervise the empire’s sole imperial prince? Even as a deposit, that amount was far too low for such a heavy responsibility.

Leah had deliberately shown greed to ease any hostility—making him believe she could be easily controlled with money.

Perhaps because of her words, Rikel had now brought an unimaginably large sum—enough to leave her utterly speechless.

“The reward will increase with every successful task. For a first payment, it’s hardly small.”

‘Good heavens.’

One gold coin equaled a hundred silver coins! A thousand copper coins!

That wasn’t a small amount—it was overflowing wealth.

“Of course! Now I see just how generous you are. No wonder you’re held in such high regard.”

“You’ll proceed with the contract, then?”

“No need to ask twice! Hahaha. I’ll serve you with all my heart.”

The words “serve you” slipped out before she could stop them, and Rikel’s eyebrows shot up.

‘Serve? Serve what?’

Leah waved her hand dismissively in the air.

“No, I mean—I’ll watch over you to the best of my ability!”

“……”

“I may not look like much, but I’m actually quite good at my job.”

At Leah’s shamelessly cheerful smile, Rikel withdrew the hand he’d been reaching out with. Only then could she tuck the gold coin safely into her clothes.

Right. Once she’d collected generous payments from both sides, she could simply run away.

Whether she died in a month for failing to create the new antidote, or was killed for betraying His Highness—it was equally life-threatening either way.

In that moment, Akia’s words flashed through Leah’s mind.

[You’ll need to bring me credible information first, won’t you?]

Right before Leah’s eyes, Rikel now looked like a massive gold ingot.

If she brought the duke information about the man who’d made this outrageous proposal, he’d promised a reward five times the amount this man had offered.

She had to find out something—anything. Leah stepped closer to Rikel, lowering her posture slightly, and asked casually,

“By the way, Rikel… seeing how generous your superior is, he must be an incredibly wealthy magnate, right?”

“A magnate?”

At Leah’s hushed question, Rikel’s brow furrowed. His narrowed eyes flicked toward her briefly before looking away.

“Well, there are only a few people in the empire capable of offering such a large sum as payment.”

“I see… Of course.”

Only a few in the empire? Did that mean he was imperial kin? Or perhaps the head of a major trading company like the Parthia Guild?

Leah’s mind raced, quickly narrowing down the possibilities, when—

“Leah, serving this person is a great opportunity for you too.”

“Oh—yes! Absolutely! It’s an honor.”

But she couldn’t press further without arousing Rikel’s suspicion.

“All of this is strictly confidential. In case…”

“Don’t worry. I’m famously tight-lipped. My word is my bond.”

Her conscience pricked her slightly—after all, she’d already broken that promise—but what choice did she have? She was doing this to survive.

Rikel stared at her silently for a moment, then turned away. Just as she watched him head for the door to leave the clinic, about to sigh in relief—

“Oh, right. I heard you treated the duke. How is His Grace’s current condition?”

Rikel asked with a more serious, composed look than before. The duke’s condition… Leah pictured the duke, so weakened he might die at any moment from sheer exhaustion.

It was due to prolonged Porarium poisoning, of course.

Unable to reveal the truth, she searched for a plausible excuse—when a maid’s voice echoed in her memory.

[His Grace clearly has issues with his male functions.]

Right. She hadn’t verified it herself, but it was a believable rumor. With a meaningful smile, Leah approached Rikel.

“His Grace is…”

Then, as if sharing a deeply confidential secret, she whispered into his ear,

“He’s impotent.”

Leah stepped back a pace.

The news that the duke was impotent clearly shocked Rikel—his face showed visible panic for the first time.

“The duke is impotent…?”

Rikel stood frozen in place, hands covering his forehead. After a long silence, he turned to Leah and asked again,

“How could you possibly know that?”

How could she know? She recalled a facial analysis method she’d seen on YouTube in her past life.

‘Well… if it’s the duke… maybe he fits the description?’

No—that wasn’t important right now. Leah fixed Rikel with sparkling eyes brighter than before and continued,

“I happen to be quite knowledgeable in that area.”

“……”

“It’s obvious just from looking at someone’s face.”

After all, it was common knowledge that women who entered the duke’s bedroom always left unchanged—making her claim quite plausible.

“I should head back to my room now. I’ll take my leave.”

Even as Leah bowed, Rikel still seemed unable to recover from the shock. She left the clinic with him, locked the door behind her, and returned to her bedroom.

“The duke is impotent…?”

Rikel kept muttering to himself as he watched Leah’s retreating figure. He looked thoroughly shaken.