The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night - Chapter 38

The peaceful morning at the mansion, which had been long-awaited, was instantly shattered by a single letter.

“Come to the capital, it says.”

Akkia snorted and tossed aside the letter bearing the imperial seal. He had felt uneasy since hearing that a messenger from the palace had arrived, and his instincts were proven right.

“What nonsense.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you went to the capital? The Emperor is your cousin, after all.”

At that, Akkia glared at Leah with piercing eyes. The mere mention of His Majesty had noticeably changed the air around him.

‘As I thought, the recent events must be related to the Emperor.’

Rumors in the capital said that the Emperor particularly cherished the Duke.

But what Leah had seen and experienced here directly contradicted that. Seeing the Duke’s reaction, her vague suspicions were confirmed.

‘It must be related to the imperial throne.’

Akkia, the eldest legitimate son of the previous emperor, had not become emperor due to his alleged poor health. Instead, his older cousin Ilei had taken the throne in his place.

From his perspective, Akkia, who held legitimacy, must have been a thorn in his side. In fact, if one were to judge based solely on facts, the person who would most want the Duke dead was the Emperor.

‘Sigh. I don’t know.’

She had thought that issues like imperial succession and power struggles were completely unrelated to her. Yet somehow, she had ended up in the same boat as the Duke.

Learning the Duke’s circumstances had made the apothecary’s life more difficult. Leah had only intended to make the antidote for the Duke and then quietly leave the mansion.

She let out a heavy internal sigh.

A few days after Bayern was expelled, news came that he had died while being transported to the capital. Shortly after, there was a major personnel change at the mansion.

With Rikel at the center, the servants were reorganized with people related to the Magnolia Group, and all of the butler’s close associates were driven out of the mansion.

‘Of course, Jane was expelled too.’

Originally, she was supposed to pay for her crimes with her life, but her cooperation at the end was taken into consideration.

‘It was also because of her sick younger brother…’

Though it wasn’t right, thinking that she did it for her ill brother left a bitter taste. Fortunately, the Duke had agreed to support the treatment for Jane’s younger brother.

It couldn’t have been easy to forgive someone who had tried to kill him. The more she got to know the Duke, the more her opinion of him changed.

‘He seems like quite a good person.’

Of course, remembering how he had teased her in front of Rikel a few days ago, he was also mischievous. As Leah was recalling the events at the mansion over the past few days…

“You’re making good progress on the antidote, I assume? It’s almost been two months, yet I haven’t heard any news.”

“…Pardon?”

Lost in thought, Leah was startled by the sudden inquiry about the antidote.

“Is there some problem?”

“No! Not at all.”

Akkia eyed the flustered Leah suspiciously. He had been worried about this very issue of the antidote lately.

“How far along are you now?”

“A-almost at the final stage. Please wait just a little longer.”

“Don’t forget, the promised deadline is approaching.”

Leah avoided the Duke’s gaze, which carried an unspoken threat. After staring at her intently for a while, the Duke finally turned and left the room.

– Click.

As the door closed, confirming the Duke’s departure, Leah let out the breath she had been holding.

“What should I do?”

In truth, the antidote was already complete. Only the most crucial final step remained.

“I need to conduct clinical trials, but…”

However, a deep concern weighed on Leah once again.

‘Clinical trials are fine. But on whom?’

It was unlikely that anyone would volunteer to take a drug with unknown risks.

Moreover, this new drug was created by a novice apothecary who had been appointed less than a year ago.

‘Who would agree to participate in this experiment? I wouldn’t even do it myself.’

And if she told the Duke about this, he would likely insist on taking the antidote immediately, without any need for trials.

She recalled how the Duke had been willing to eat the food laced with Alpharadia, trusting it completely.

‘The Duke has no qualms about sacrificing his own body.’

He was someone who didn’t know how to take care of himself. So she resolved not to mention the antidote until its safety was assured.

‘Then there’s only one answer.’

She let out a deep sigh. From the start, there was only one person suitable for this clinical trial.

Leah gazed at her reflection in the window opposite her.

‘I guess it has to be me after all.’

Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with it. But it was impossible to predict what variables might occur when administered to a person.

‘Even if there are problems, they probably won’t be life-threatening.’

Leah tried to reassure herself.

“It’ll be fine! Trust yourself, Leah.”

After standing still for a while, Leah, seemingly having made a decision, picked up a vial from the table.

Although her physical condition wasn’t the same as the Duke’s, she needed to observe the antidote’s effects in a situation as similar to his as possible.

That’s why Leah picked up one of the two vials on the desk.

It was the Plorarium poison that the Duke always drank. Of course, it was a slightly more concentrated dose than what the Duke usually took.

“To finish it in one go, I need to drink this much.”

Without hesitation, Leah downed the contents of the vial in one gulp. She wrinkled her nose at the bitter taste that spread through her mouth.

“Ugh. So bitter!!”

She wondered how that man had managed to consistently drink something so bitter and unpalatable. She found herself newly impressed by the Duke.

– Clunk.

She put down the empty vial and wiped her lips. Then she picked up the other vial beside it.

“This is the antidote I made.”

Thanks to the concentrated Plorarium, her body would quickly show abnormal reactions. That’s why Leah planned to take the antidote she had made right after.

‘This will probably taste bad too.’

After hesitating for a moment, Leah picked up the new drug and emptied it into her mouth. A liquid more pungent and foreign than the Plorarium slid down her throat.

– Clunk.

She set down the vial of the new drug on the desk as well. There was an air of gravity about her, as if she had just completed a momentous task.

“Now all I can do is observe the progress.”

She had done all she could.

Starting tonight for a week, Leah planned to record the changes in her body after taking the drugs. She didn’t know what might happen while she slept.

And on this very night, less than a full day after taking the drugs.

Her plan to consistently take the medicine was about to be shattered.

“Where on earth is she?”

In the dead of night when everyone was asleep.

Unable to find Leah, who he had assumed would naturally be working in the annex, the Duke felt an inexplicable irritation rising within him.

“I thought her reaction earlier was strange.”

There was clearly a problem with making the antidote.

From what he had observed so far, Leah couldn’t meet his eyes when there was something troubling her or something she wanted to avoid.

‘Tch.’

He had told her to consult him anytime if there were difficult or complex issues.

He could already picture her stubbornly struggling alone without even looking. Akkia stood before her room with impatient steps.

– Knock knock.

“Leah.”

The Duke called her name, but there was no answer from inside the room.

‘Don’t tell me she’s asleep?’

Just as he was about to turn back, thinking she might have gone to bed early…

– Thud!

The sound of something heavy falling to the floor came from beyond the threshold. Feeling as if a person had collapsed, Akkia turned back.

‘What’s this?’

An inexplicable sense of foreboding enveloped Akkia. He then flung open the closed door in one swift motion.

As he did, a dense heat that made the room feel stuffy touched Akkia’s skin.

It was impossible for Leah’s room to be this hot when there wasn’t even any heating.

“What did you do to make the room so hot?”

Feeling stifled by the intense heat permeating his body, Akkia unbuttoned his shirt. Then, as he looked around the room for Leah, he found her collapsed on the floor.

“…Your… Grace.”

The Duke knelt down towards Leah, who was calling for him. But something seemed off about her appearance up close.

“Leah?”

Akkia immediately reached out, sensing the heat seemingly radiating from her body.

“You, what on earth…”

He lifted Leah into his arms and placed his hand on her forehead.

He felt her body temperature, hot as if harboring a ball of fire. Akkia was startled by the scorching heat on his hand, as if he might be burned.

“You need to take a fever reducer right away, quickly get up…”

Just as he was about to support Leah, she suddenly grabbed the Duke’s wrist.

“…Your Grace.”

When Akkia came to his senses, he found himself pinned beneath Leah. Her half-lidded eyes had a decadent look.

The two eyes that should have been shining with a leaf-green light were now rippling deeply.

‘That look…’

Eyes seemingly imbued with intense desire.

‘It can’t be.’

Surely it wasn’t what he was thinking.

However, as if easily dismissing the Duke’s expectations, Leah approached as if about to devour his lips.

The hot air exhaled from her lips tickled his cheeks.

“Your Grace… ha, hah…”

Then she called out to him in a voice half-mixed with air.

“I’m… so hot…”