The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night - Chapter 10

Even with a shawl wrapped around her, Leah curled up against the cold wind penetrating her clothes.

Why is it so chilly? Moreover, Leah had been bothered by the intense sunlight illuminating her eyes since earlier.

‘It’s dazzling.’

Dazzling? That can’t be right.

Leah had been up since early dawn, brewing the jujube tea as ordered by the Duke.

She had clearly been stoking the fire while looking at the dim dawn sky, and had just closed her eyes for a moment. Sensing something was off, Leah hurriedly opened her eyes.

“Oh no! Did I fall asleep?”

It seemed she had dozed off when she meant to just rest for a moment due to the fatigue washing over her. Leah jumped up from her seat and quickly extinguished the fire under the medicine pot in front of her.

‘Damn. I said I’d bring the tea first thing in the morning, and I overslept!’

She was supposed to bring it in time for breakfast, but seeing the sun high in the sky made her heart sink.

“Excuse me. Has the Duke started breakfast yet?”

Leah hurriedly looked around and grabbed a maid. If she remembered correctly, she was a maid who worked in the kitchen.

“Yes. Jane should have taken the meal up by now.”

At the maid’s unhesitating answer, Leah’s face turned pale.

‘I’m late. And properly late at that!’

Afraid she’d be in even more trouble if she brewed it again, Leah hastily transferred the medicine. She barely managed to fill enough for the Duke to drink and moved.

Though her mind was hazy and her body felt completely drained of strength, Leah’s insides went cold at the thought of the Duke waiting for her by now.

“Cough, cough.”

Leah let out a dry cough. Having been outside all dawn, it seemed she had caught a proper cold.

Moreover, perhaps from climbing the mountain, every muscle in her body was screaming.

I should hurry and deliver this, then go rest in my room for a bit. Leah quickened her steps towards the Duke’s bedroom.

However, unlike the rushed Leah, a leisurely smile bloomed on the Duke’s face. Leah, who was supposed to bring the jujube tea, hadn’t shown up.

‘I knew this would happen.’

As expected, she was all talk.

There was no way she would bring the labor-intensive jujube tea every morning in the first place.

Yet it was truly strange. Who would have thought the apothecary breaking her promise would make him feel this at ease?

Whether he had been infected by that strange apothecary or not, Akkia shook his head, unable to comprehend his own attitude.

It was then that a knock was heard, causing Akkia’s lips to twitch.

‘No way.’

He moved from sitting by the bed to the sofa. As a sign of permission, he tapped the table a couple of times, and the closed door opened.

“Duke, you’re awake? I’ll prepare your meal.”

Akkia, who had unknowingly let out a sigh of relief, stiffened.

‘It seems stupidity really is contagious.’

Being relieved it wasn’t the apothecary? What was there to be relieved about?

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Just as the maid was about to leave, having finished her task, the door opened with the sound of hurried footsteps.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Leah rushed in, bowing at the waist before Akkia. Her cheeks were flushed red.

At first, he thought it was from running in a hurry. But her red hair, matted with cold sweat, caught his eye, as if she might be ill.

“I fell asleep while brewing the medicine. I’m sorry I’m late. Here, the jujube tea.”

Leah placed the tray she had brought in front of the Duke. It takes a full 4 hours of dedicated brewing to produce the single bowl of medicine now before the Duke.

But because she had dozed off, the medicine had been boiled a bit too much, and there hadn’t been time to make it again, so she had brought it as is.

‘It’s probably going to be a bit bitter…’

Since the herb was already quite bitter to begin with, she looked at the jujube tea with worried eyes, concerned the Duke might dislike it.

Akkia stared intently at the medicine bowl placed before him, then picked it up.

Though it was just drinking medicine, Leah watched with bated breath as the Duke took a sip with the graceful motions of one drinking tea.

‘It’s definitely going to be bitter, he might even spit it out…’

But the Duke’s reaction was more subdued than she had expected.

“You may leave now.”

“…Pardon?”

The Duke had finished drinking all of the medicine she had brewed without any sign of discomfort, as if it suited his taste.

“I’ll drink the rest of the medicine on my own. You can go now.”

“Ah, yes! I’m sorry for being late today. I won’t be late tonight.”

She was supposed to start developing the treatment with the Duke in the annex from tonight anyway.

When the Duke nodded silently instead of replying, Leah left the room with a smile.

— Thud.

Akkia stared blankly at the bedroom door Leah had just exited through.

When was the last time he had felt someone act for his sake? It must have been over ten years ago.

After his mother died, and not long after, the nanny he had followed also passed away.

Yes, he had never felt it even once since then.

The steam rising from the teacup slowly melted the cool air.

What was this feeling? It was uncomfortable, like a protruding rock on flat ground.

‘Useless thoughts.’

But he soon shook his head.

That woman was only acting this way because it would be troublesome for her if he died. Yet here he was, lost in thought.

As if disgusted with himself, Akkia took a sip from the teacup Leah had left behind.

But.

“Ugh, it’s bitter.”

The medicine was so bitter it was barely drinkable. Most likely, it had been brewed incorrectly, making the tea taste this bitter. Why hadn’t he noticed this taste earlier?

Feeling inexplicably irritated, Akkia set down the teacup roughly.

That night, Leah pushed through the thick bushes along the wall and entered the open space. The lemony scent of lily of the valley tickled her nose.

“Phew.”

Remembering the Duke’s curt manner in the bedroom, Leah felt tense at the thought of being alone with him in the annex.

As she stepped inside the walls, she could see the door of the annex open in the distance.

‘He must be here already?’

Peeking her head inside the door, she saw the Duke sitting in a chair at the table.

“Duke, it’s Leah. I’m coming in.”

As if in permission, he stopped tapping his fingers on the table. As the door closed, the Duke’s cool gaze, chin resting on his hand, fell on Leah.

In the pitch-black room, only a single flickering candle illuminated where the Duke sat.

Red eyes glowing brighter than the candle, reflecting the moonlight.

‘That gaze… I just can’t get used to it.’

Unlike his sickly appearance, that gaze alone was like looking into the eyes of a beast. When would she ever get used to that look?

Gently shaking her head, Leah approached him. But the Duke just leaned back in his chair crookedly, staring at her blankly.

‘What’s this? Did I do something wrong?’

Worried, she checked the clock, but she wasn’t late for their appointment.

In fact, she had arrived a whole 30 minutes early, yet the Duke’s gaze on her seemed unusual.

Concerned, Leah carefully spoke up.

“I got caught in the rain yesterday and I’m not feeling well. From tomorrow, I won’t be late, and I’ll bring the medicine properly.”

Though he had let it slide this morning, thinking about it again, she wondered if he was angry that she had been late, so she made an excuse.

At Leah’s timid excuse, the Duke’s gaze momentarily turned sour. His eyes fell on the bag Leah had brought, packed differently than usual.

“What’s that luggage?”

“I brought it to examine you while I’m at it. It’s been two weeks, so I need to check on the progress of your side effects.”

Though she had expected him to scold her for being late without saying anything, contrary to her expectations, the Duke simply asked about her luggage bag.

Feeling relieved, Leah carefully began to unpack her bag.

“Cough, cough. Ahem.”

Leah, still not fully recovered from her cold, tried to suppress the cough that kept trying to escape. Unfortunately, her coughing had worsened since arriving at the annex, much to her chagrin.

It would be terrible if she passed it on to the Duke. Carefully watching the Duke’s reaction, she asked.

“Shall I start then?”

The Duke stared blankly at the examination tools she was holding, then clicked his tongue briefly as if annoyed.

“Do as you wish.”

‘How unusual for him to agree to an examination so easily?’

Normally, it would take a struggle just to get him to agree to an examination. Perhaps because of the herb she had procured yesterday, his wariness towards her seemed to have decreased considerably compared to before.

It was a rewarding moment for all her struggles in the mountains. Leah found herself smiling without realizing it.

Watching her, the Duke spoke.

“What are you so happy about? Looking like that.”

“Ah, the wounds? They’re fine.”

Looking where the Duke was pointing, she saw her arms covered in scratches. They were wounds from falling while searching for the alpharadia.

“Alpharadia normally glows in the rain, right? I was able to find it because it was raining.”

Though the process was a bit difficult, the end result was good. Moreover, hadn’t the Duke started to take an interest in her because of this herb?

‘Well, I’m not sure if it’s positive interest…’

“There’s nothing for you to gain from this, is there? Your already unattractive face is even more of a mess now.”

Unattractive face? For a moment, Leah swallowed the anger that was bubbling up inside her.

‘How nice it would be if he spoke more kindly?’

“This much is reasonable! Thanks to that, you’ve started eating, and my worries have lessened.”

“…”

“And I’m your person, Duke.”

My patron who will give me 5 gold coins, no less.

Recalling the glittering gold coins, Leah continued speaking glibly.

“For the Duke’s long life and health, I can procure anything.”

So that I can leave with those gold coins.

Leah smiled sweetly, her eyes curving, while hiding her cunning intentions. But an awkward silence fell.

‘Huh?’

From what she had observed of the Duke so far, she thought he would suppress a laugh and chide her, saying ‘What nonsense.’

However, the Duke said nothing. He just stared at Leah blankly.

Feeling the atmosphere turn strange, Leah gave the Duke an awkward smile.

“I talked too much, didn’t I? I’ll start the examination. Then, if you could remove your clothes for a moment…”

Leah, moving in close, slipped her hand inside his dress shirt. Her hand, parting the shirt, brushed against the Duke’s skin.

It was just an examination, yet why was her heart pounding so much?

Leah unconsciously swallowed hard. And as she slowly moved her fingertips deeper inside his shirt—

— Snap!

The Duke caught Leah’s wrist and murmured.

“You have a fever.”

“Huh? I didn’t think I had a fever…”

Leah cupped her cheeks with both hands, looking bewildered. The Duke stared at her for a moment before answering.

“Ha, never mind.”

Akkia pushed away Leah’s hand as if annoyed.

“But I haven’t properly examined you yet…”

“This is enough.”

What’s enough? She hadn’t even started a proper examination yet.

Since first meeting the Duke, apart from taking his medical history, she hadn’t done a proper examination.

Leah forcefully swallowed the words that were about to burst from her throat.

“I know my own condition well. You just focus on making the antidote. I’ll tell you if there are any changes in the progression of side effects.”

“But I need to know the Duke’s exact condition to—!”

No matter how knowledgeable the Duke was about medicine composition, he couldn’t be more accurate than herself, an apothecary.

Leah felt frustrated, unable to understand the Duke’s stubbornness.

Why was the Duke being so obstinate?

Seeing Leah’s stubborn gaze, the Duke straightened up in his chair.

“Above all.”

He reached out and pulled on the stethoscope hanging around Leah’s neck.

“You don’t seem to be in any condition to examine me right now. Quack.”

A low voice enveloped her ear from close proximity. He was so close, it felt like they might touch at any moment.

Looking at the Duke who had come right up to her face, Leah’s heart began to pound heavily.

‘Quack, he says.’

Leah blinked her eyes, not understanding what the Duke was saying.

“An apothecary who can’t even diagnose her own body trying to diagnose others.”

The Duke looked at Leah, who was straddling him, and curved his lips. Then he raised his finger and lightly pushed her forehead.

— Tap.

Even with the Duke’s light flick, Leah was pushed back powerlessly. As she was rubbing her forehead where the Duke’s hand had touched—

Akkia approached the shelves piled high with herbs and took out a few. Then he pointed to the table where the herbs were placed.

“Stop this useless act. Come here and mix these herbs as I tell you.”

“Herbs…?”

Leah scanned the herbs the Duke had just taken out. They seemed a bit odd to be ingredients for making the Duke’s treatment.

‘Why is he telling me to mix these?’

She began to examine the herbs carefully.

Pantin, Bryce, Dern.

None of these were herbs suitable for making an antidote for the Duke.

Rather, they seemed more like herbs for making cold medicine…

‘No way.’

Leah looked at the Duke with a different gaze than before. He nodded slightly.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and make it.”

“Ah, yes.”

‘No, that can’t be right.’

There was no way he had prepared these herbs for her.

Given how sickly the Duke usually was, she thought he might be telling her to make his usual nutritional supplement.

The combination of these herbs not only had the effect of curing colds but also of boosting vitality.

Thinking this, Leah quickly began to prepare the medicine.

“Cough, cough.”

The Duke’s sharp gaze bore into her every time she coughed. This was why she had considered not coming to the annex until her cold got better.

Leah finished making the medicine and transferred it to a small bottle. Then she held it out to the seated Duke.

“Here it is. But it seems you take these often. Even though they’re good for boosting vitality, it’s not good to take too much…”

“Drink it.”

The Duke, who had been staring intently at the medicine bottle Leah was holding out, raised his chin.

“Pardon?”

“It would be troublesome if I caught a cold from you. Drink it, hurry.”

*

Save yourself from story hunger — the novel below will blow your mind!

One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.

Intro:

To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.

But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.

It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.

This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.

Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.

Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.

“Let’s divorce!”

***

Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.

Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?

But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.

Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.

Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.

In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.

Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”

Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.

He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”

***

Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.

But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.

“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”

Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?

Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?

[Reading Guide]

1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.

2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.

Link to read

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