The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night - Chapter 12
– Butler, it’s me, Jane.
Bayern raised his head at the quiet voice that followed the knock. He set down the fountain pen he had been using to sign documents.
“Come in.”
Jane carefully entered the office, looking around to see if anyone was watching. She approached with small steps and greeted him.
‘Has it already been a week?’
Bayern had been using Jane, the duke’s bedroom maid, to check on Akkia’s movements every week. Too frequent reports might draw people’s attention.
He received reports on the duke’s situation from Jane, who visited like this once a week.
‘The duke’s daily life is always the same anyway.’
Whether he received reports daily or weekly, the duke’s routine wouldn’t be different.
‘A sickly prince who doesn’t leave his bedroom.’
Though there was no official diagnosis, the duke was growing weaker by the day.
If only he would die quickly. When first hired, he thought the duke would die soon, but his lifeline was longer than expected.
Bayern clicked his tongue. He then raised his chin towards Jane, who had already approached.
“So, how is the duke?”
“His condition is the same as usual. There’s still no improvement in his complexion, and he coughs frequently.”
Jane took out a parchment from her bosom, placed it on the desk, and pushed it towards the butler. The paper was a detailed record of the duke’s daily activities.
It contained quite specific information, from the duke’s food intake to his complexion and records of servants entering and exiting the bedroom.
As usual, he skimmed the paper, but his gaze stopped on one phrase.
[Food intake: Started eating 3 days ago. Consumed about 1/3 of the food.]“He started eating?”
“Yes, yes. Not a large amount though. Just a few spoonfuls.”
The duke had barely eaten any of the food brought from the kitchen until now. To the point where one might wonder what he was living on.
‘Such a duke started eating?’
Bayern’s brow furrowed at this report, different from usual. He couldn’t tell if this was a positive or negative change.
The maid seemed to be watching the butler’s reaction.
“He seems a bit different since the new apothecary arrived. Maybe because the medicine was changed? He started eating too.”
Jane continued speaking as if a dam had burst. At the mention of the apothecary, Bayern immediately thought of Leah.
‘The apothecary…’
She must be about twenty-two now. For such a young apothecary, she had an unusual look in her eyes from their first meeting. Leah seemed to laugh and smile outwardly, but she was quick to assess situations.
She showed her adaptability by immediately changing her attitude at the mention of a penalty fee.
Moreover, she was the only apothecary who examined that extremely sensitive Duke Haidern daily.
And that wasn’t all.
‘That hair is really bothersome.’
Her crimson hair, as if soaked in blood, stood out wherever she was in the mansion. In the Croatea Empire, red signifies nobility.
It’s also why Belarus, one of the three guardian deities in the empire’s founding myth, symbolizes the color red.
Bayern had been irritated more than once by Leah’s appearance, which seemed too grand for an apothecary from an orphanage.
“Ah! He’s also been coming out of his bedroom more often. Though that’s just walking the hallway of the third floor where the duke’s bedroom is.”
“Is that so?”
The duke had changed. Though subtle, Bayern too felt that change.
“Jane, keep a closer watch on the duke. For now, I’ll receive reports twice a week.”
Whether this change was due to the new apothecary as Jane said, or if there was another reason, remained to be seen.
“Yes, yes. Then for two reports, perhaps…?”
Jane smiled, revealing her ulterior motives. Bayern immediately realized she wanted additional compensation and inwardly clicked his tongue.
Tsk. Such a money-hungry wench.
Bayern opened his desk drawer and took out a pouch of copper coins, dropping it on the desk.
– Thud!
Jane’s face flushed at the sound of the heavy coins landing.
“Thank you. I’ll report every little detail without missing anything, butler!”
Jane bowed deeply in gratitude, tucking the pouch into her bosom. After she left, a heavy silence settled in the office.
“I suppose I should check once before he arrives.”
Bayern tapped his fingers on the desk, seemingly deep in thought, then curled his lips in a sardonic smile.
[This is the timeline separator]It had already been two days since Leah shut herself in the infirmary making nutritional supplements.
She had been busy making supplements all day, except for occasional meal times and consultation hours. At this pace and workload, she should have fainted from exhaustion.
‘How much is all this worth…!’
Leah forgot her fatigue, even finding joy in the thought that everything she was making was money.
Just as she was focusing on mixing medicines again.
– Knock knock.
With the sound of knocking, a man poked his head into the infirmary.
“Who is it?”
“Are you the apothecary?”
The man with dark blue hair looked familiar.
She could tell he was a servant of this mansion, having passed by him a few times.
“Yes. But what brings you here…”
As Leah looked the man over with a wary gaze, he gave an awkward smile. Then he approached Leah’s desk, dragging his limping left leg.
“This is our first greeting. I’m James, who manages the garden. I slipped off a ladder while trimming trees earlier today.”
Leah lowered her gaze to the man’s left leg. Judging by how he winced with every movement, the pain seemed worse than expected.
“It was fine earlier in the day, but when I tried to sleep, my leg hurt too much so I came. I hope it’s not too late…”
“No, it’s fine. I was just working… Come this way. I’ll take a look.”
At first, Leah thought she was only the duke’s personal physician.
But seeing sick patients visit the infirmary, she realized that treating the mansion’s servants was also part of her job.
Leah examined the condition of the man’s leg as he rolled up his pant leg.
Seeing the swollen ankle, she put her hand on the affected area to palpate it, and James grimaced.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes. It hurts whenever your hand touches it or I move.”
Leah nodded as if she had expected this.
“It’s a sprain. Looks like you twisted it when you fell. It’s not too serious, but if the swelling continues, come see me again.”
“Ah…”
“It’s best to rest well and soak your foot in cold water often. Cold compresses are good for swelling.”
Rest was actually the best treatment for a sprained ankle. James stared at her as she continued with her clear prescription.
He had heard rumors that the new apothecary was obsessed with selling nutritional supplements due to greed.
So he had been hesitant to come to the pharmacy, doubting her qualifications as a medical professional.
But after actually receiving treatment, James changed his opinion of Leah. She was quite a skilled apothecary.
After finishing the splint treatment, Leah straightened up from her bent position.
“Here’s some medicine. Don’t overexert yourself for a while. If the pain is severe, I can prescribe more medicine.”
“Thank you.”
James, after repeatedly expressing his gratitude to Leah, left the room. As soon as the door closed, Leah clapped her hands and muttered.
“Shall we start again?”
She had forgotten while examining the patient, but smelling the cornstarch tickling her nose brought her back to her senses.
‘I need to focus and finish quickly.’
She had barely completed half of the reservation list. Turning her head, she saw the pitch-black night sky through the window.
‘I should finish this much and then head back.’
Leah sighed as if there was no choice and was about to start the work she had put off.
– Creak.
The sound of someone else entering was heard.
“James, did you forget something?”
With her head lowered, thinking of focusing on work again, Leah asked cheerfully. But there was no answer from James.
Only the sound of footsteps approaching her desk could be heard. Leah slowly raised her head.
“I’ll help you find it if you tell me… Huh?”
Leah paused as she looked straight ahead. She had naturally thought it would be James.
The man facing her was not James. He asked Leah in a chilling voice.
“Who is James?”
“Duke?”
Leah’s gaze towards the duke was tinged with bewilderment.
“I asked who James is.”
The duke’s eyes flashed sharply as he again questioned who James was. His deep red eyes glinted in the flickering candlelight.
‘Why is he like this?’
It was incomprehensible to her. Moreover, why did the duke look angry?
“The gardener, James is the gardener.”
“The gardener…”
He quietly murmured James’s name as if trying to remember that fact.
“More importantly, how did you come here?”
“Why? Did I come somewhere I shouldn’t have?”
He tilted his head, as if asking if there was a problem.
“That’s not it, but…”
It was the first time the duke had visited the pharmacy in person. And at such a late hour.
Leah’s mind raced, trying to gauge why the duke had come to the pharmacy.
But Akkia looked around, as if uninterested in what Leah was thinking.
“What were you doing here at this hour? Today was supposed to be the day you came to the annex.”
“…The annex?”
Leah, who had been blankly repeating his words, clapped her hands as if realizing something important.
‘Ah, that’s right!’
Today was the day she was supposed to research the antidote with the duke in the annex. But she had completely forgotten about it, being so absorbed in making nutritional supplements.
Leah let out a small sigh, as if finding herself pathetic.
‘So that’s why he came all the way here.’
Clearly, he must have come here after waiting in the annex. Now she seemed to understand why the duke was angry.
Thinking of the duke who must have waited for her in the annex, Leah hurriedly packed her things, feeling apologetic.
“I’m sorry! I completely forgot. Let’s go now! It’s not too late yet, we can still research for about an hour…”
Just as Leah, having finished preparing, was about to hurriedly leave the pharmacy.
– Thud.
The half-open door suddenly closed again. By the duke’s hand. Leah tilted her head, puzzled by the man’s sudden action.
“Duke?”
“I’m curious.”
“…About what?”
An inexplicable unease began to rise at the sight of the man exuding an atmosphere somehow different from usual.
“About what you did in this room.”
“…”
“Why don’t you show me too? What you did with James.”
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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