In a room shrouded in deep darkness. Akkia, seated in a chair, quietly murmured.

“Cat’s claw?”

“Yes. It’s a rare herb that only grows in the East. Though not well known in the Empire, it’s said to be a poisonous plant that can even dissolve blood vessels in severe cases.”

‘Ha.’

Akkia let out a dry laugh. Unlike his endlessly curled lip corners, his voice was chilly.

“It seems they’re desperate to get rid of me. To have made such a reckless move.”

Once every three months, the Emperor sent the royal physician to Akkia. Under the pretext of caring for his only sibling.

Strictly speaking, the palace doctor was a spy sent by the Emperor. To the Emperor, Akkia had to remain a sickly duke who could die at any moment.

A man hidden in the dark shadows carefully asked.

“Could it be that they’ve noticed something on that side? The unexpectedly quick visit to the territory, and suddenly resorting to poison… I have a bad feeling about this.”

The royal physician always visited the territory on a set schedule. So Akkia adjusted the timing of taking Poralium to coincide with the royal physician’s arrival.

According to plan, the royal physician’s visit was due in a month. Moreover, perhaps due to the recent effects of evening primrose, the duke’s complexion had improved.

If the palace doctor realized that Akkia’s illness had improved, it was only a matter of time before it reached the Emperor’s ears.

Since an accurate antidote had not yet been developed, Akkia had no choice but to take Poralium again.

And in much larger doses than usual. At first, Akkia thought he would just suffer severely for a few days and be done with it.

But.

“Cat’s claw…”

Being prescribed such a poisonous herb was something he hadn’t expected at all. It could have even led to suspicions that the Emperor was trying to harm him.

‘Well, it wouldn’t be unjust since it’s not a false accusation.’

Akkia tapped the desk with his finger, seemingly lost in thought.

Until now, all the royal physician did when coming here was to examine Akkia’s health and report to the Emperor.

But this time, he issued a prescription that could take his life, pushing him to the brink of death. Akkia quietly asked while stroking his chin.

That meant there must have been some change in the Emperor’s mindset.

“Has there been any news from the capital?”

“No. There hasn’t been any notable news yet.”

“Tell them to look into it more thoroughly. We might have been noticed. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Understood.”

The moment to execute what he had been preparing for a long time was approaching. So he always had to be extremely cautious.

“Still, the pharmacist’s skills seem quite good. At first, I thought they had brought in some half-wit because of her young age.”

At the man’s words, Akkia recalled the events of the previous night. The image of the woman trying desperately to make him take the medicine.

“Yes, she does have skill.”

If it weren’t for Leah, he might have died helplessly.

Although he prided himself on being quite knowledgeable about herbs, even Akkia knew nothing about the herb called cat’s claw.

‘They probably intended to pin everything on the pharmacist.’

The reason they could proceed so boldly was because they had already decided on a scapegoat. But they probably didn’t expect the new pharmacist to know about such an herb.

And that that pharmacist would treat him. Even while hovering between life and death, he clearly saw Leah trying to make him take the medicine.

‘Come to think of it, that face.’

Her left cheek was noticeably swollen. As if someone had hit her.

Who could have hit her? Who struck that woman?

The royal physician? Or the butler Bayern?

Even trying to recall the events in the bedroom that day, he could only remember the terrible pain.

Then suddenly, Akkia realized he was curious about something unnecessary.

‘Why am I curious about that?’

Again. This uncomfortable feeling.

Since last night, something that had suddenly popped up in his mind refused to leave.

She had simply faithfully carried out her assigned task.

As a prince and duke, if he died, even her own life would have been in danger, so she must have been desperate.

But somehow, it didn’t feel bad.

A smile had unknowingly appeared on his lips. So faint it was hard to tell if he was smiling or his expression had just hardened.

The next morning, Leah was examining the duke early.

“How are you feeling?”

“Not bad.”

Akkia gave a brief answer to Leah’s question about his health. Then, as he casually turned his head away, Leah approached.

“Still, you shouldn’t overexert yourself for a while. The Poralium poison, and then the cat’s claw. You may look fine on the outside, but your body has been severely damaged.”

At the voice filled with concern, the duke stared intently at Leah’s cheek. Seeing Leah’s gaze urging an answer, the duke reluctantly nodded.

“Alright.”

Leah glanced at the duke while organizing her medical bag.

In fact, Leah had been wrestling with a concern since before the duke woke up. It was about the misdeeds of Jacob, the palace physician.

‘I heard that His Majesty the Emperor cares deeply for the duke.’

She had heard that because the duke, his only cousin brother, was sickly, the Emperor sent rare tonics and a personal physician every season to look after him, showing how close they were.

But if the physician sent directly by such an Emperor tried to harm the duke…

A red warning alarm was ringing in Leah’s head. That she shouldn’t get involved any deeper in this matter.

“Why are you sighing like that?”

When Leah unknowingly let out a sigh, a low voice came from in front.

He seemed to have noticed something in her hesitant demeanor as she was organizing her bag. After a long silence, she shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

With an expression that clearly showed she had something to say, yet claiming it was nothing. The duke’s brow furrowed slightly.

And just as Leah, having packed her bag, was about to turn away, Akkia’s question stopped her in her tracks.

“What do you think? About me collapsing after taking the cat’s claw.”

The duke’s straight gaze fell on Leah.

“Well, I’m not sure…”

“I don’t think this was an accident due to the incompetence of the physician.”

Akkia’s lips curved askew as a chilling voice flowed out. Leah’s palm became clammy as she clenched her fist, unable to escape the duke’s unwavering gaze.

It was hard to gauge the duke’s intentions in asking her directly.

“Tell me, Leah. Who do you think tried to kill me?”

Faced with Leah’s attempt to brush it off, Akkia posed an even more explicit question. Leah squeezed her eyes shut at the dizzying feeling that washed over her.

This was a question asked with the answer already decided. He intended to observe how she would respond.

“Haa…”

As she let out a deep breath, her tangled thoughts suddenly cleared.

‘The duke isn’t asking because he doesn’t know.’

He’s watching to see how I’ll answer. In that case, I have no choice but to answer honestly. Leah opened her lips.

“There are three possibilities.”

Leah’s calm voice echoed through the room.

“First, the Emperor’s physician mistook the effects of cat’s claw. Second, the Emperor ordered his physician to harm the duke. Third, someone used the Emperor’s physician to try to kill the duke.”

She recited, folding her fingers one by one.

“The first one is unlikely. The Emperor’s physician wouldn’t mistake the effects of an herb. It’s a principle not to prescribe uncertain medications. That means it’s either the second or third case. As you know, both scenarios are the worst possible situations.”

Regardless of who did it, attempting to assassinate a member of the royal family was a crime punishable by the extermination of one’s entire family. It meant that someone was desperate enough to eliminate the duke to risk such danger.

‘If I’m not careful, I could be in danger too.’

Just from observing the attitudes of the servants in the mansion, she could gauge the duke’s position within the Empire.

When saying ‘Your Majesty or someone as high as His Majesty is after the duke’s life!’

Leah feared the consequences. Of getting too deeply involved in the duke’s affairs. She had no reason to risk her life in matters she couldn’t handle.

‘Right. I have no reason to pledge my life in loyalty to the duke.’

Leah’s goal was simple: to safely pay off the penalty and leave this mansion.

And to live happily with her orphanage family using the money received as a contract fee.

If she got involved any deeper here, she might end up being killed by the duke in return. After all, the duke wouldn’t simply let go of someone who shared too many secrets.

“I can’t even imagine who might be behind this. It’s not something for a mere novice pharmacist to judge.”

“…”

“But it’s true that your life is being threatened by someone, Your Grace.”

Leah slowly raised her gaze to meet Akkia’s eyes. A sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through her swept over her, but Leah didn’t shrink back at all.

“If taking poison is related to this incident…”

Leah slowly parted her lips.

“I think you should cover up this incident, Your Grace.”

Leah’s eyes, sparkling with resolve more than ever, turned towards the duke.

Just as the duke was about to open his mouth to ask Leah something-

“Your Grace!”

The bedroom door opened, and Bayern and Jacob approached with hasty steps. Leah’s eyes wavered for just a moment at the sudden arrival of the two.

However, seeing how calm the duke was, it seemed he had been expecting their arrival.

Bayern, who had come close, gaped at the sight of Akkia in good condition. A gaze mixed with all sorts of emotions. The most prominent was shock.

‘As expected, the butler was in on it too.’

At first, she thought it was just the palace physician acting on someone’s orders. Bayern had never looked favorably upon Leah.

So she thought he was displeased with her contradicting the palace physician’s examination. But it was clear that Bayern was also part of the group targeting the duke.

Leah swallowed the sigh that was about to escape. Then she glanced down at Akkia, who was sitting leaning against the bed.

The duke, staring at the two with an expressionless face, showed no emotion whatsoever. What kind of life must this man have lived?

How many assassination attempts must he have endured to remain so detached in front of those who tried to kill him?

As she tried to compose her troubled mind.

“Ah… Thank goodness. It seems the goddess Helena has helped us.”

“…”

“I was so worried about Your Grace’s condition. I was about to send a letter to His Majesty, but I’m so relieved.”

Bayern, who had come close, knelt before the duke with a face full of concern. It was an utterly fake display.

“Lord Jacob. Please come here and examine His Grace.”

“Certainly.”

Bayern called Jacob, who was standing at a distance. Jacob rushed over in one step and took out examination tools from his medical bag.

“Your Grace, Lord Jacob here saved your life! His medicine was so miraculous.”

“…”

“As expected of His Majesty the Emperor’s physician! It was fortunate for Your Grace that it happened to be time for a regular check-up.”

‘Good fortune? More like a disaster.’

Leah almost burst out laughing. The duke nearly died because of that prescription containing cat’s claw!

“Your Grace. Your pulse is stable, and the red spots from the healing crisis have all disappeared!”

Jacob exclaimed in admiration, but he was on the verge of crumbling inside. His eyes trembled incessantly, and his lips quivered slightly.

He had been waiting for the duke to become a living corpse, but hadn’t expected him to wake up like this.

“You’ve become healthy?”

“That’s right. Hahaha, it seems my treatment was effective after all. To recover so quickly.”

Jacob burst into laughter. But unlike Bayern, it wasn’t a perfectly feigned appearance. The stiff eyes and smiling lips were in complete disharmony.

The duke seemed to notice it immediately, as a sneer flashed across his lips. Then the duke extended one hand towards Leah.

Without needing to ask, Leah handed him the paper and pen she was holding. Only the rustling sound of writing something filled the surroundings.

Bayern received the paper Akkia handed over. Then he nodded without hesitation.

“Yes! It was Lord Jacob.”

“…”

“As expected of His Majesty’s physician. I’m truly relieved that Your Grace is safe like this.”

The two were like old friends who got along well. The duke, who had been quietly observing Bayern and Jacob, wrote something down.

And then.

“Thanks to you, my condition has improved, so I’ll petition His Majesty the Emperor to bestow a great reward upon you.”

Leah read the note on behalf of the duke.

“Th-thank you, Your Grace!”

But for someone receiving a reward, his face had turned deathly pale. He had expected a reprimand, but suddenly a reward?

‘Something’s off.’

It was true that he had suffered severely after taking the cat’s claw, so Bayern had expected the duke to severely reprimand him. But instead of a reprimand, he was thanking him and giving a reward.

Bayern couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.