– Knock knock.

Akkia tapped his fingers on the table.

The clock’s second hand pointed to 8:30 PM. Thirty minutes past the time he was supposed to meet Leah at the annex.

“Where on earth is she and what is she doing?”

His quiet muttering was tinged with irritation. Perhaps he had been too lenient with her until now.

He was even annoyed at the pharmacist who was late for their appointment without a word.

Finally, Akkia, whose patience had run out, got up from his seat. Then he immediately headed to where Leah was likely to be.

As he was about to leave the annex and enter the mansion, he heard the servants talking between the mansion and the empty lot.

Akkia was going to quietly pass by them, thinking they would just be chatting about the day’s fatigue. At least until he heard a familiar name among the group.

“So you’re the one who met Leah this time? Why? I’ve been chasing after her so much?”

Someone asked in a very disappointed voice.

“This guy still doesn’t get it. You think she’ll meet you just because you chase after her? It’s all up to Leah’s heart.”

“But that’s too much. I waited all day for Leah to finish her consultations!”

The man who cried out indignantly frowned at the scolding from the surrounding servants.

“Tsk tsk. That’s why it doesn’t work. Use your head, man.”

The men gathered around, leaving behind the frowning man. Akkia’s eyebrows twitched as he watched the servants.

In fact, it was common. For conversations about women to come up among young men. The problem was that Leah was the protagonist of that story.

“How much did you spend?”

“10 gold coins. It’s a bit expensive, but nothing’s too much for my woman!”

The surrounding servants whispered excitedly, urging him to say more. Reluctantly, the man continued speaking secretively at their urging.

Akkia couldn’t hear any more of the conversation, but he could imagine what kind of talk would be exchanged even without hearing it.

‘Did he offer money to win Leah’s heart?’

Scenes from earlier in the day flashed through Akkia’s mind like a kaleidoscope. Leah laughing among the men.

Leah’s actions of touching a servant’s forearm while speaking must have been related to the servants’ current topic of conversation.

‘Ha.’

The duke let out a short breath. It was a sigh mixed with disappointment.

‘What does it matter to me what that woman does?’

In fact, it was none of his business whether Leah met other men or if there was something more.

The woman’s role was simply to make his antidote.

But why…

‘Does it bother you?’

Their conversation stuck out like a rock jutting up from flat ground. The urge to pull it out and remove it from sight surges.

He headed towards the pharmacy with different steps than before. He looked a bit hasty, and even angry.

And the moment he arrived in front of the pharmacy and opened the door.

“James, did you leave something behind?”

Leah called out a strange man’s name in a clear voice. As if that man had been here with her until just now.

At this late evening when everyone should have finished work and be resting.

‘A meeting with another man in the pharmacy where no one would come…’

He stifled a laugh at what must have been quite a secret situation.

At the same time, the servants’ vulgar conversation from earlier left an afterimage in his mind.

“If you tell me, I’ll find it for… Oh?”

As always, her eyes with fresh green foliage blinked. With such an innocent face.

He unconsciously clenched his fist tightly. Because inexplicable irritation surged. So he wanted to check.

“Why don’t you show me too? What you did with James, I mean.”

Leah’s image from the men’s conversation.

‘Show what?’

What did he mean by what she and James did in the clinic?

Leah just blinked her eyes as if she found the duke’s words difficult to understand.

Then.

‘Could it be…’

The thought suddenly crossed Leah’s mind that the duke was making a strange misunderstanding.

‘Did he misunderstand that James and I have that kind of relationship?’

Leah’s face flushed with embarrassment.

James had just stopped by for an examination due to a sprain, how could he think such a thing? She was so dumbfounded she was at a loss for words.

The duke closed the door with a click. Then he slowly approached the office desk where Leah was standing.

‘Why, why are you coming?’

As he approached, Leah shrank back from the strange aura the duke was emitting. Leah unconsciously retreated to avoid the approaching duke.

“You have quite an innocent face.”

Leah’s back hit the hard desk behind her. The distance between the two had narrowed to less than a hand’s span.

“I would have been fooled if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes.”

“What? Wait a moment! Your Grace. Please listen to me.”

Leah frantically waved her hands in the air. The duke seemed to have misunderstood, and quite severely at that.

Where should she start explaining? One thing was clear.

‘I only talked to James for the first time today!’

Leah felt even wronged, guessing what the duke might be imagining.

“What you saw this morning was all a misunderstanding! I was just…!”

But before she could explain, the duke approached and placed both hands on the desk. Then he leaned his upper body close towards Leah.

“So how much was James?”

“Pardon?”

“How much did James offer you?”

‘What is he talking about now? How much I received?’

Leah blinked her eyes, trying to understand his words.

“From James? I haven’t received any money from James.”

Thinking he might be asking about the consultation fee, Leah waved her hands. No matter how much she liked money, she wouldn’t have charged a fee when she was already receiving a salary as a pharmacist.

“What? You didn’t take money? Was it that sincere?”

“Pardon?”

Why is money talk coming up about a medical examination? Leah felt like something was off in their conversation.

“You seem to be quite popular in the mansion. But James was sincere, you say.”

“Ah?”

Then Leah exhaled shortly as if she had realized something.

When he said James, she thought he was talking about the consultation, but now it seems he’s talking about the supplements.

“Somehow everyone seems to like them. To be honest, I didn’t know they would be this popular.”

“Huh?”

When Leah honestly revealed her true feelings, Akkia let out a mocking laugh as if dumbfounded. Only then did Leah understand the situation.

They were supposed to meet at the annex, but she had been engrossed in making supplements. He must be angry that she wasn’t making the treatment he ordered, but doing this other work instead.

Leah lowered her gaze with an apologetic heart. Then she began to make excuses in a shrinking voice.

“I’m sorry. I needed some money, so… That’s why I did it.”

“So indeed, the male servants in the mansion…”

“…I’m sorry.”

When Leah acknowledged her fault without excuse, the duke let out an exasperated sigh.

He had been holding onto a sliver of hope that maybe he had misunderstood, but…

“How many?”

‘Is he asking how many people I sold supplements to?’

Leah counted on her fingers in response to his question.

“About ten so far.”

“This is ridiculous.”

There were only fifteen male servants working in the mansion.

Yet she had received confessions from ten of them. And even bribes on top of that!

His head seemed to ring dully.

“So how much did you rake in?”

“200 gold coins…”

Leah’s voice shrank more and more at his increasingly stern words and behavior.

200 gold coins?

How much are the servants’ salaries that they could give such a large sum of money?

‘The men wanted to win this woman’s favor that badly.’

He stepped back for a moment in shock. Leah, who was biting her lip watching his stiffened appearance, carefully asked.

“Do you perhaps have thoughts about it too, Your Grace?”

“…What?”

“I was wondering if you had thoughts, since you came so suddenly like this.”

Well, now that she’s been caught, what can she do?

All she could do was acknowledge her mistake and assure him that it wouldn’t interfere with making the antidote from now on. She had to ask for permission to sell the supplements!

Thinking a bribe was essential before asking for his permission, Leah hurriedly continued.

“I won’t charge you any money, Your Grace!”

“What kind of girl are you…!”

Just as Akkia was about to reprimand Leah for her brazenness, an unidentified medicine bottle was held out in front of him.

“What’s this?”

“A supplement!”

“Supplement?”

“Yes!”

‘Suddenly a supplement? What. Is she suggesting I take this to boost my strength for something?’

His brow furrowed at the unpleasant thought that suddenly came to mind. But Leah, unaware of his inner thoughts, sighed as if she had expected this and added an explanation.

“It’s a product that boosts vitality. It’s high in vitamins and minerals. In other words, a health supplement. I usually charge 10 gold coins, but I’ll give it to you for free, Your Grace. For life!”

“What?”

“I won’t interfere with the antidote development anymore. So could you please turn a blind eye to me selling these in the mansion…?”

“Huh?”

Akkia began to assess the situation while looking at the supplement in front of him. And after a while. As if he had understood the whole situation, he stepped back from Leah.

“Your Grace?”

– Thud.

As if his legs had given out, he collapsed into a chair and rubbed his face with his hands.

‘This is ridiculous.’

To think that what he had imagined was all a stupid misunderstanding. Then were those servants’ conversations all about this supplement?

Akkia felt pathetic about himself.

“Your Grace? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere…?”

Leah carefully approached, seeing the duke acting a bit differently than usual. Then Akkia looked up and asked her.

“Why are you selling these things?”

Akkia shook the bottle he had taken from Leah’s hand back and forth.

“Going on about contract money and all that, you seem to have quite an obsession with money when I look closely.”

“Obsession? You’ve got the wrong idea about me!”

But as they say, a thief is sensitive about his own feet. Leah felt caught, as if her true intentions had been exposed.

A snickering sound was heard, then Akkia’s narrowed eyes fell on Leah.

“Why don’t you tell me honestly, unless you plan to hand over all the money from sales?”

‘How petty!’

He looked up at Leah with his arms crossed, as if he was serious. But this man, if he said he would do something, he really would.

‘Tch. You think I’ll let you take away the money I earned working day and night?’

She couldn’t possibly say it was an obsession carried over from her previous life. In her past life, Leah had always struggled financially as an orphanage child.

But even when she was reborn in this world, her orphan status hadn’t changed. Here too, Leah was all alone.

But Leah didn’t want to talk about such dark stories. She would have to run away someday, and it was dangerous to leak information about herself.

At times like this, it’s best to appeal to emotions.

“I have a sick younger sibling…”

“You’re an orphanage child, aren’t you?”

How did he know that?

Leah let out a sigh as if dumbfounded. Since he knew she was from an orphanage, if she at least mentioned her difficult financial situation…

“It’s precious money needed for the orphanage’s operating funds…”

This time Akkia snorted at Leah’s nonsensical excuse.

“The finances didn’t seem that difficult from what I saw.”

This doesn’t work either.

The duke seemed to have investigated her in more detail than she thought.

“So in the end, it’s for your own self-interest.”

Just as she was about to argue with the duke.

– Knock knock.

A familiar voice was heard from outside the door along with a knocking sound.

– Miss Leah, are you inside?

The owner of the voice was the head butler, Bayern. The two people looked at each other, startled by the sudden presence.

‘What is the head butler doing here at this hour?!’

“Y-Your Gra… Mmph!”

When Leah, too surprised, unknowingly tried to continue speaking towards the duke. The duke’s large hand blocked Leah’s lips as he approached.

“Quiet.”

He whispered in a small voice that only Leah could hear. Leah nodded her head vigorously at the duke’s words to be quiet.

Leah finally exhaled as the duke’s hand covering her mouth loosened. Then she was startled again by the sound of knocking.

‘What should I do? We can’t let them find out the duke is here like this.’

Then Leah’s eyes fell on the cabinet in front of her.

Yes. She thought it would work if the duke hid in there for a moment while she sent the head butler away.

“Get in here. Hurry!”

Leah urgently whispered as she opened the cabinet door and pushed the duke in. At first, the duke looked at her as if wondering what she was doing, but he was pushed into the cabinet.

Leah quickly turned her head towards the door at the sound of the head butler’s voice, which sounded like he would come in at any moment.

– I’m coming in for a moment.

As the sound of the doorknob turning was heard, Leah hurriedly tried to close the cabinet door.

At that moment, the duke grabbed Leah’s arm.