Leah walked wearily towards the distant square. After receiving gold coins from Rikel, she had trouble falling asleep.

Someone of high status who readily handed over a large sum of gold coins. Leah was still anxious, unable to uncover the person behind it.

‘Seeing that it’s gold from the Parthia Guild, there must be some connection.’

A few days ago, the gold coins Rikel gave her had the Parthia Guild’s guarantee stamp engraved on them.

The Parthia Guild was a trading company operated by the current emperor’s maternal family, boasting immense wealth ranked among the top five in the Croatean Empire.

Under the protection of the current emperor, it was gaining renown day by day. There was no one in the empire who didn’t know about the Parthia Guild.

‘Surely, it can’t be related to the imperial family? That would be troublesome.’

It was a plausible deduction.

On the surface, the emperor and the duke seemed to have a good relationship, but in the face of power, nothing was certain.

In any case, the duke’s existence would be most threatening to the emperor right now. Leah shook her head as if it hurt.

“Let’s just go to the herb shop for now.”

Leah sighed deeply and approached the distant sign of the herb shop.

Today was the day, once a month, when precious herbs imported from renowned herbalists across the continents arrived in the Haidern territory.

Leah hurried her steps, needing to obtain herbs for various experiments.

‘It takes too long to get them from the capital.’

The duke’s antidote was also an urgent matter. If she delayed any longer, her own neck might be on the line.

As she approached the herb shop, Leah called out to the clerk while searching for something.

“Where are the evening primroses?”

She had recently confirmed at the library that evening primrose had some detoxifying effects on the side effects of polarium related to vascular diseases.

“They’re on the display shelf near the entrance.”

As she turned her gaze to where he pointed, flowers emitting a bright yellow light came into view. Leah moved towards them but stopped.

White ginseng bark. Leah had discovered an unexpected item.

“Oh, white ginseng bark? Do you also handle poisonous herbs?”

“Yes, yes. Ah, it does have toxicity.”

White ginseng bark was toxic. The clerk nodded understandingly and smiled.

“In some regions, it’s used to soothe skin rashes. All herbs can be either poisonous or medicinal depending on how they’re used, right?”

“So it’s used for skin conditions.”

Leah nodded as if she now understood. It was something she had just learned. Well, isn’t deadly poison made by gathering herbs that are good for the body?

“Yes, indeed. You should try using it sometime too, Miss Apothecary.”

Leah had just purchased the evening primrose and left the herb shop.

She was thinking about making evening primrose tea for the duke when she returned to the mansion. At that moment, Leah stopped in her tracks.

“Huh?”

Leah’s face brightened as she spotted Rikel coming around the corner. It seemed Rikel had also come out on an errand in town.

This was fortunate. She had been curious about how involved the Parthia Guild was.

It would be better to ask here than trying to meet secretly at the mansion.

“Ri…!”

Just as Leah was about to call out to Rikel, waving her hand, he disappeared into a building without noticing her.

Leah’s face hardened as she approached the building where Rikel had vanished. The sign on the entrance of the large mansion read:

“Magnolia Guild?”

‘Why did Rikel come here?’

All goods for the Haidern Duke’s mansion were supplied through the Parthia Guild.

It seemed only natural that Parthia would handle the household affairs of the ducal family, given that he was the empire’s only prince.

That’s why she had heard that relations between the Magnolia Guild in the territory and the Haidern Duke’s family were not good.

“How strange.”

Could he have come to place an urgent order for the kitchen? Leah turned back towards the mansion with a suspicious expression.

Upon returning to the mansion, Leah headed to the kitchen as soon as she finished organizing the herbs. She intended to sound out the kitchen staff about Rikel’s suspicious destination in town.

The dining hall was bustling with the movements of maids, likely due to the approaching mealtime.

Walking to the innermost part of the kitchen, heated by sweltering warmth, she saw the head chef, Hans.

“Chef.”

“Oh, if it isn’t the new apothecary miss? What brings you to the kitchen?”

Hans approached Leah, wiping off the beads of sweat that had formed, probably from working in front of the hot fire.

“I bought some snacks on my way back from town. I’m always grateful to the kitchen staff for taking care of me.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to. Ho ho.”

Hans, who was naturally good-natured, received the basket of snacks Leah handed over with a hearty laugh. Leaning against the counter, Leah scanned the surroundings.

Noticing her behavior as if looking for someone, Hans asked.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“I don’t see Rikel. Did he go on an errand?”

“Oh my, that boy has the day off today.”

Hans’s face changed oddly at Leah’s question about Rikel. A sly smile appeared on his lips.

“Does the apothecary miss like Rikel too?”

Since there were many maids in the mansion who liked Rikel, the chef seemed to have misunderstood. Leah waved her hands at the chef’s reaction and asked.

“It’s not like that. But did you say Rikel has the day off?”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to pass it on to Rikel when he comes back. I’ll tell him it’s from Leah!”

Leah blinked twice at Hans’s words, teasing her. She had thought he went out on an errand after seeing him in town.

‘He went to the Magnolia Guild on his day off?’

Why Magnolia, not Parthia?

The Magnolia Guild was a newly emerging guild that had grown rapidly in recent years.

Magnolia, which started in the Haidern territory, was not welcomed by the existing guilds based in the capital.

If it wasn’t a simple errand, then…

‘There’s something going on.’

It was the moment when the suspicion she had on her way back to the mansion was confirmed.

‘I should report this to the duke.’

Her intuition was telling her something was suspicious. Leah gave a faint smile.

The sound of a scratching quill filled the office. A servant standing in front of the butler Bayern spoke up.

“Butler, we received a message that the woman who was supposed to come tonight suddenly fell ill and won’t be able to make it. What should we do?”

“Is that so?”

The butler pondered the servant’s words. Today was the day, once a month, when a woman was sent to the duke’s room.

Of course, the duke never laid a hand on any of the women who visited each month.

Yet, there was a separate reason for persistently sending women. It was to verify that the sickly duke was a useless individual who lacked even reproductive ability.

‘The rumors are spreading well, as planned.’

The butler stroked his chin with a satisfied expression, thinking that things were going as that person desired.

‘Now, if only they would summon me to the capital.’

How many years had it been since he came to this rural backwater? When he first received the order from ‘that person’, he thought the sickly duke would die quickly.

But contrary to his expectations, the duke had stubbornly survived until now, over a decade later.

As a result, to think he would be tied down in such a provincial place.

‘Tsk.’

He was not the kind of talent to rot in a place like this. Just as he was indulging in self-admiration, the servant standing in front of the butler cautiously asked.

“Then should we inform the duke?”

The butler, awakened from his reverie, snorted.

“What for? He would have just sent her away anyway. Just leave it be.”

The butler picked up his pen again to finish what he was doing. For the simple reason that it was bothersome to inform.

Not knowing what might happen because of it.

“It should be fine at this hour.”

Leah muttered, looking at the moon hanging in the sky. The duke’s examination had already finished in the morning.

But if she went to see the duke again, it was obvious that people would become suspicious, so she aimed for a time when people’s activities were sparse.

‘I’ve also got the Parthia Guild’s gold coin to show the duke.’

To explain the connection between the Parthia Guild and the Magnolia Guild, Leah had brought the gold coin given by Rikel.

She even took the precaution of hiding the gold coin somewhere on her body rather than in her pocket, in case of any unexpected situations.

Having reached the door of the duke’s room, Leah carefully knocked.

– Knock knock.

But for some reason, there was no answer from inside.

‘Is he already asleep?’

It seemed a bit early compared to the duke’s usual bedtime. But even after knocking on the door several times, it was the same.

‘He must really be asleep.’

Just as Leah was about to turn away, planning to try again another time.

– Where are you going?

– I left a broom on the third floor earlier today.

‘What?’

At the same time, the sound of footsteps coming up could be heard. The place where Leah was standing was the third floor, used only by members of the duke’s household.

If she encountered someone at this hour, it would surely lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Leah bit her lip as she heard the footsteps getting closer. And just before the maids appeared, Leah quickly hid herself in the duke’s room.

With her ear pressed against the door, waiting for them to pass by. After what seemed like a long time.

“Have they gone…?”

Leah let out a sigh of relief as the maids’ presence disappeared. She made a vow not to come up to the duke’s room at this hour if she could help it.

Just as Leah, having finally calmed herself, grabbed the doorknob to leave, she sensed a presence behind her.

And then.

“Duke?”

‘Wasn’t he asleep?’

In the dim room lit by only a small candle, it was the duke looking at her.

Surely there had been no response when she knocked on the door earlier!

Soon, as the duke confirmed that the woman who had entered was Leah, he frowned.

“Why are you here?”

First surprise, then an expression of displeasure.

‘Maybe this worked out well?’

Remembering why she had come to the third floor, Leah approached him.

“I have something to tell you, Your Grace.”

“At this hour?”

“Well… I thought this time might be better?”

To avoid people’s eyes.

As Leah spoke as if it were obvious, he let out a dry laugh.

“You have something to say at this hour. Well, let’s hear it.”

He gestured as if to say, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Leah felt an inexplicable uneasiness, but she tried to ignore it and moved to show him the Parthia gold coin.

Turning her back to the duke, Leah began to undo the buttons fastened up to her neck one by one.

But then.

“…What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh, this is…”

Without even listening to the end of Leah’s words. Akkia let out a dejected laugh and slumped down on the bed.

‘Why is he suddenly acting like this?’

Could his condition have suddenly worsened? Worried, she approached him.

“Your Grace, why suddenly…”

“Are you prepared?”

Leah looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

‘Prepared? For what?’

As she was racking her brain to interpret the duke’s words, Akkia suddenly grabbed Leah’s wrist and pulled her.

And for a moment, Leah let out a small scream. The duke’s hand wrapped around Leah’s waist.

“What on earth…!”

Leah, who had unexpectedly ended up unable to move in the man’s arms, looked at Akkia with bewildered eyes.

“Well, let’s see what you’ve prepared.”

This man. He must be seriously misunderstanding something.