TLDOWN 49

CHAPTER 49…………..

The Murderer Who Killed the Duke

— Drip. Drip. Drip.

Water seeped through the cracks, falling in a steady rhythm, perhaps from the heavy downpour outside.

Though it was still midsummer, the chill made her shiver. The damp air carried a foul stench that stung her nose.

How long had she been imprisoned here?

With no windows in sight, Lea had no way of knowing how much time had passed since her confinement.

A few days ago, there had been a public trial with countless nobles in attendance. As expected, the trial was stacked against her, a mere commoner.

They claimed the duke’s heart had stopped because of the new medicine she created. That alone was enough to seal her fate.

The nobles had united as one, pointing fingers, branding her a murderer.

“Is it really true… that His Grace is dead?”

That can’t be…

She shook her head and muttered. If her medicine had truly been that deadly, enough to kill, then she herself would not be standing here alive.

She had argued with every ounce of strength, veins straining in her neck, but her words fell on deaf ears.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

Ordinary public trials, when concerning grave matters, often dragged on for days. But hers was finished in less than half a day.

As though someone was desperate to close the case quickly.

[For the crime of worsening the illness and causing the death of Duke Akkia of House Heidern, former prince of the Croatea Empire, the apothecary Lea is hereby sentenced to death.]

She had screamed that it wasn’t true, but the judge had condemned her all the same.

Haunted by the memory, Lea buried her head between her knees.

“So, this really is the end for me…”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking her skirt.

Had the duke truly died? If so, was she truly to be hanged?

Her despair grew heavier at how quickly her life had overturned. Just days ago, she had shared peaceful meals with him.

Those days had been so good—yet overnight, everything had collapsed. Her hunched figure felt unbearably small and pitiful.

“…It’s over.”

A death sentence, once given, was never overturned. The guard had said the execution would be carried out tomorrow.

By this time tomorrow, the rope will be around my neck.

A shiver ran through her body at the loneliness eating her alive. Dark thoughts crept in—perhaps it would be better to end things herself before then.

But then—footsteps echoed, descending into the dungeon.

“Lea.”

“…?”

She lifted her head at the familiar voice calling her name. Before her stood Rikel, meeting her gaze through the iron bars. She had no idea how he had entered.

“R–Rikel!”

She scrambled to her feet and hurried to the bars. In a desperate voice, she asked,

“What about His Grace? What happened to him?”

Everyone at the trial had said the duke was dead, but she had refused to believe it. He couldn’t be.

And here was Rikel, the duke’s right hand, standing before her. If the duke had truly died, he should have been filled with anger toward her.

Clinging to this thread of hope, she looked at him with pleading eyes, silently begging for the answer she longed to hear.

“…His Grace…”

Rikel’s lips parted. His face was troubled, his amethyst eyes wavering.

But Lea had no strength left to read his expression.

“…His Grace has passed.”

What? Passed? Does he mean he returned to the estate? Or does he mean…

Still unable to grasp it, she asked again, bewildered.

“Passed away? What do you mean…?”

The reply was brief, merciless.

“…He drew his last breath.”

With those words, Rikel shattered her fragile hope into pieces.

“…What?”

That the duke had died from the medicine she made—

The absurdity of it froze her thoughts completely.

He wasn’t dead. He had only lost consciousness. She had repeated that to herself over and over.

When he awoke, he would save her from this prison. She had endured hell clinging to that belief.

“This can’t be true.”

It was too absurd. Her legs gave out beneath her, trembling against the iron bars.

“Lea…”

At the same time, her body and spirit crumbled. The vivid green of her eyes dulled into emptiness.

“How…?”

Tears welled again.

“Because of my medicine…”

That man was dead.

[That murderer must be executed!]

The nobles’ shouts from the trial rang in her ears.

Back then, their words had seemed unjust, unbearable. Now…

Tears poured freely down her face.

“Hhic… Did I truly kill His Grace…?”

Memories of the time she had spent with him flashed before her like a lantern show.

He had been rough and arrogant, yes, but considering the life of threats and hardship he had lived, she had understood him.

Beneath it all, he had held warmth.

“I killed him… I killed that man…”

The weight of guilt crushed her shoulders. The realization that her medicine had driven Akkia to death consumed her.

The agony was unbearable—so much she wished for death.

Lea clutched the bars and screamed.

…

Her tears ran dry. She sat hollow-eyed, staring into nothing.

There was no hope left. Everything was over. Tomorrow she would hang, and disappear from the world without a trace.

She closed her eyes, surrendering all.

“Do you want to live?”

Rikel’s low voice whispered at her ear. She didn’t answer.

“If you want to escape, I can help you.”

Her eyes flew open. He was staring at her, earnest.

“…Are you saying I should escape from prison?”

“Yes.”

She almost laughed.

Help the one who killed your master?

The absurdity forced a bitter laugh from her. She was already condemned to die.

Even if she escaped the emperor’s decree, she would live forever as a fugitive. The life of an apothecary, the name Lea—it was all over.

She shook her head slowly.

“No.”

“…So you’ll die here? I can help you, give you a chance to live elsewhere. If you just come with—”

“I don’t need it.”

She wanted only to let go. Her hollow figure drained the strength from Rikel’s grip on the bars.

❀ ❀ ❀

The sun blazed that afternoon. A young woman, hands bound behind her back, was led by guards to the gallows.

With every step, the shackles around her ankles scraped with a chilling sound. She didn’t care.

In a few minutes, her body would hang there anyway.

It’s over.

Her gaze toward the gallows was vacant.

Her lips, parched as desert sand, were cracked. Her once-bright green eyes were lifeless.

Was it the scorching sun, or the fear of death? Her face twisted as though she might collapse at any moment.

I should never have come here.

No, she should have run the day she became the duke’s physician. But regrets meant nothing now.

A hollow laugh escaped her.

It had been twenty-two years since she reincarnated into this world.

The years she had struggled to survive flashed before her in a panorama.

“By the authority vested, the execution of the apothecary Lea shall now be carried out. Prisoner, kneel.”

The guard shoved her forward. She dropped to her knees, about to collapse.

The crowd buzzed as her face was revealed—the one who had shaken the capital.

— I heard Duke Heidern died after drinking her medicine.
— Poor thing, she’s still so young…
— Poor? She’s a murderer, nothing less!

Some voices were scornful, others pitying, but all gazes fixed upon her.

“Prisoner Lea, do you have any last words?”

The judge’s voice rang. She bowed her head.

Last words? What words could I possibly have?

Her medicine had killed him.

The memory of Akkia’s blood-red eyes surged into her mind, pressing her with crushing guilt and bitter regret. It was so heavy she could barely breathe.

If only I had done things differently…

Weary, powerless to resist any longer, Lea closed her eyes, praying the torment would end quickly.

The judge, taking her silence as an answer, raised his hand.

At the signal, the guard looped the rope around her neck.

“Stop.”

A man’s voice rang quietly through the square.