A pitch-black night had descended. Leah was busily moistening a towel by the Duke’s side.

The Duke, who had suddenly told her not to leave and made her confused, had lost consciousness just like that.

Finding it strange, Leah placed her hand on his forehead and found that Akkia’s body was boiling hot. Come to think of it, the Duke’s condition had been abnormal even when he was conversing with her.

His breathing was labored. And his complexion had been pale.

There was no doubt that the Duke’s illness had worsened after his visit to the Imperial Palace.

“Rikel, what’s going on? What on earth happened at the Imperial Palace?”

“He had tea with His Majesty the Emperor,” Rikel, who had come at Leah’s urgent call, replied while looking at the Duke.

“Tea? Is that all he had?”

“Yes, his condition hasn’t been very good since returning from the Imperial Palace…”

“What kind of tea did he drink to be like this…”

If it was teatime, the Emperor would have had tea together with the Duke. It was strange that only the Duke’s illness had worsened like this.

As if reading the suspicion on Leah’s face, Rikel hesitated before answering.

“Have you heard of the herb called ‘haesali’? I think he might have drunk tea made with that. I’m not certain, but…”

“…What did you say?”

Although haesali was known to the public as an energy booster, in reality it was…

‘A stimulant.’

While it might be a tonic for a healthy person, for an addict like the Duke, it amplified the toxicity further.

Especially for the Duke, who had been drinking the porarium poison for a long time, it was no different from a deadly poison.

‘How can this be a coincidence? No, is this really a coincidence?’

Just then, as Leah was looking at the Duke’s pale face, he started coughing dryly while leaning against the bed.

“Your Grace!”

And at the same time, she saw red blood droplets spraying like sunlight. The bright red blood that had burst from the Duke’s mouth at some point soaked the white sheets.

Seeing this, Rikel looked at Leah with a deathly pale face.

‘What should I do?’

Recently, the Duke’s complexion had been improving a lot.

Because he was no longer taking the porarium poison, the progression of the side effects had slowed compared to before.

That’s why they were preparing a new medicine with a concentration adjusted to his condition.

Leah, who bit her lip anxiously, closely examined the Duke’s face.

‘Trembling eyes and hemoptysis symptoms…’

Leah began checking the Duke’s feet and hands, pulling back the blanket.

“His body is stiffening…”

The Duke’s body, which was gradually becoming rigid, was a sign that paralysis was starting.

‘Damn it.’

The fact that he had vomited blood meant that the poison had already spread throughout his body. Leah looked down at the Duke and sobbed.

Leah, who had been biting her lip until it bled, lifted herself from examining the Duke.

‘This is not the time to be worrying like this.’

Rather than agonizing, she needed to give him the new medicine right away.

“Your Grace, please hold on a little longer.”

She murmured to the Duke, who had already lost consciousness and was only breathing heavily.

“I will save you, no matter what.”

Leah’s footsteps quickened as she burst through the door and headed to her room. Arriving in an instant, Leah began rummaging through her luggage.

Soon, she grabbed a mulberry-colored medicine bottle. What she held in her hand was the new drug Leah had developed not long ago.

“There may be side effects, but…”

There was no other choice.

‘Please…!’

Leah muttered as if praying, clutching the bottle containing the new drug. Leah returned to the bedroom without delay and approached the Duke’s side.

He had worsened further in the short time she had been away. His already pale face had turned deathly white.

Deep-set eyes and dark shadows under them.

Realizing that the Duke’s time of death was approaching, Leah hurried.

“Your Grace, please try to take just a little of this.”

Leah’s hand holding the bottle trembled due to the tension. But there was no time to be shaking, so she tilted the bottle over the Duke’s lips.

However, perhaps because the Duke had completely lost consciousness, he couldn’t swallow the medicine, and it flowed down his cheek.

“What should I do…?”

She tried several times, but it was the same.

‘I have to do something.’

The Duke needed to take this medicine no matter what.

Leah, who hesitated while looking at the bottle that was already half empty, muttered with determination.

“…Excuse me for a moment.”

Leah, who had poured all the remaining medicine into her mouth, approached the Duke closely. And she placed her lips on the Duke’s lips, which were exhaling hot breaths.

The man’s dry lips were conveyed to Leah. She slightly furrowed her brows, as if she could feel Akkia’s pain from the rough and cold sensation.

Their lips overlapped without a gap.

As Leah delved into the Duke’s slightly parted lips, the medicine she held in her mouth began to flow down his throat.

Slowly. Very slowly.

It was a fleeting moment, but it felt like an eternity to the two of them.

In the quiet bedroom where only the sound of rustling bedsheets could be heard, the medicine that leaked from between their joined lips flowed down the Duke’s face.

A moment later, when all the medicine had been transferred to the Duke, Leah moved away from him. Then she sighed with relief, holding her forehead.

“Haa, it worked.”

Now she had fulfilled her duty. Leah sank down on the floor beside the bed, her legs giving out.

Since the Duke had taken the medicine, she only needed to monitor his condition for the next few days. Only then did she notice the moonlight slanting through the bedroom window.

She had been so busy that she didn’t know how the day had passed. Leah shook her head vigorously as thoughts flooded her mind.

“This is not the time for this.”

Leah wiped the Duke’s forehead with a damp cloth.

The side effect of the new drug began with a high fever. The only way to minimize the fever was to frequently wipe the Duke’s body to lower his temperature.

Leah unbuttoned the Duke’s shirt completely.

The Duke’s chest muscles could be seen rising and falling heavily. When Leah’s hand touched him, her fingertips burned as if touched by lava.

“Please… Your Grace, you need to regain consciousness.”

Leah continuously wiped the Duke’s body with a wet towel. The heat seemed to cool only for a brief moment when the towel touched, then it boiled again.

Soon, the bedroom became hot and steamy from the scorching heat the Duke was emitting. Leah’s entire body screamed in pain every time she moved her hand.

Her arms felt numb to the point of falling off from constantly wiping the Duke, but she couldn’t stop. Because it would be more painful to watch the Duke suffer.

Leah bit her lip. Perhaps because she had wiped the Duke’s body all night, his fever had subsided a bit.

The pitch-black window had brightened with the morning sun at some point.

Leah, exhausted, lowered her head by the bedside and muttered.

“Your Grace, you can’t leave like this. I don’t care if you call me a quack, so please…”

Perhaps he had heard Leah’s sobbing voice. Or maybe the new drug had taken effect. A familiar voice penetrated Leah’s ears.

“Le…ah…?”

Akkia, who had regained consciousness and opened his eyes, murmured Leah’s name. Leah abruptly sat up and called out to him in a highly agitated voice.

“Your Grace! Are you somewhat conscious?”

“Where is…”

“You collapsed. You said you drank haesali tea. That’s something you should never drink, Your Grace.”

“I…”

Perhaps because he had been unconscious for a long time, he trailed off as if even speaking was difficult for him.

Leah checked his condition and said:

“Don’t speak anymore. But thankfully, the new drug I made seems to be working…”

Just then, as Leah was sighing with relief at the Duke regaining consciousness…

“Cough!”

The Duke, who had seemed to be improving, began vomiting blood again. Leah’s face turned deathly pale at Akkia’s hemoptysis starting once more.

“Your Grace…!”

Leah’s anguished voice echoed through the mansion.

“What on earth is this…!”

The startled Leah hurriedly examined the Duke closely.

His eyes, which had been gleaming red just a moment ago, now had a blurry, unfocused gaze.

When Leah urgently placed her hand on the Duke’s chest, his heart, which should have been beating, was still.

‘His, his heart isn’t beating!’

Leah, her face turning pale, climbed onto the bed and began performing CPR. In a world without defibrillators, cardiac arrest was fatal.

“Your Grace, please…! You need to open your eyes!”

Beads of sweat had formed on Leah’s forehead.

Leah’s hands pressed down on the Duke’s chest and released repeatedly, but his heart rate refused to return.

By rough estimate, it had been about 2 minutes since she started chest compressions.

The remaining time was 3 minutes at most. Leah grew desperate, thinking she couldn’t miss this window.

“Please…! You can’t go like this!”

Just as Leah was sobbing and about to perform CPR again…

– Bang!

Behind the suddenly opened bedroom door stood Jacob, the imperial physician she had seen at the previous mansion. And following him, Marquis Rodrigo appeared.

“I heard the Duke was in critical condition. What are you doing now?”

“Marquis, there’s no time to explain right now! First, the emergency treatment…!”

“Emergency treatment? To me, it looks like you’re suffocating the Duke?”

Marquis Rodrigo’s cold gaze landed on Leah. The cold sweat that had flowed down Leah’s forehead soaked her back.

She was gripped by a tingling tension and an ominous feeling. Marquis Rodrigo, looking at such a Leah, called for Jacob who was standing behind.

“Jacob, go and examine the Duke.”

“Yes.”

The physician who had hurriedly approached pushed Leah off the Duke.

“Move aside! You mere apothecary!”

Jacob checked the Duke’s unfocused pupils and placed his ear against the Duke’s chest. He clicked his tongue and began examining the Duke.

Watching this, Leah bit her lip hard.

‘This is not the time to leisurely diagnose the Duke like that!’

“Oh dear… The Duke has already passed away.”

“He’s not dead! His breathing is faint, but he’s still alive!”

“No need to listen further! Take that wench to prison at once!”

At Leah’s desperate cry, Marquis Rodrigo’s fierce gaze bore into her.

Prison? Going to prison was fine.

But for the Duke, this very moment was the only chance.

Thinking she needed to continue CPR no matter what, Leah stood in front of the Marquis to block him.

“We need to do CPR! I can do it! His heart only stopped a short while ago, so he’ll come back! He definitely regained consciousness a moment ago…!”

“The Duke’s apothecary only speaks nonsense. No need to hear more.”

But it seemed God was not on her side.

Marquis Rodrigo smirked and gestured to the soldiers.

“What are you doing! Why aren’t you dragging this apothecary away!”