TLDOWN 06

Posted by zahid, Released on July 20, 2025

CHAPTER 6:

The Duke is WHAT?!

“Triple the amount?”

“…Yes.”

On the outside, she asked boldly, but her heart was pounding. The amount Rikel had offered was already enough for her to live in leisure for half a lifetime if she spent frugally.

And yet, she had asked for three times that amount.

‘With that kind of money? Forget frugality — I’ll show them what real luxury looks like!’

Leah sneaked a glance at the duke, imagining the lavish future ahead. He looked like he was actually considering her demand.

‘Did I ask for too much?’

As the silence dragged on, Leah began to feel nervous. Even for a duke of royal blood, it was a hefty amount to agree to on the spot.

Just as she considered backpedaling a little—

The duke curled one corner of his mouth and replied:

“I’ll give you five times what he offered.”

As if saying, Is that all you wanted? with utmost arrogance.

“Ah… Yes, I’d be grateful for— Wait, what?!”

For a second, Leah thought she’d misheard.

“F-five times?”

“That’s right.”

‘Is he insane? Five times?! How much is that?’

Forgetting the duke was right in front of her, she began calculating the total with her fingers.

‘500 silver coins… That’s 5 gold coins!’

She almost screamed.

Five gold coins — a sum that, in the low-cost Eastern Continent, could let one live in upper-class luxury for most of their life.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Leah let out a hot breath. She hadn’t even dared hope for this much. As expected, imperial princes operated on a different scale.

“How about it? Will you accept the offer?”

‘Of course I will!’

But this was exactly the kind of moment when you needed to stay composed.

Leah cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant, though she couldn’t stop her lips from twitching upward.

“Well, if you’re offering that much, I have no reason to refuse. I accept. Now, about the payment meth—”

“For now,”

The duke leaned back on the sofa and continued.

“You’ll need to bring me something worthwhile first, don’t you think?”

‘Damn it.’

Leah cursed internally at his condition. No wonder he so casually offered five times the money.

‘He still doesn’t trust me.’

And honestly, she couldn’t blame him. Who would hand over that much money without any guarantee?

She needed to earn his trust. And for that, she’d have to gain Rikel’s trust first.

With a short sigh, Leah met the duke’s gaze.

“Understood. I’ll bring you news that will make you very happy — straight from the man who made me the offer.”

“It better be worth five gold coins…”

The duke’s openly skeptical eyes seemed to ask if she was even capable of it.

“It’ll be worth more than that. You just make sure you have the money ready. I’ll be going now.”

Leah gave him a confident bow.

—Thud.

‘So cheeky.’

Watching Leah disappear from view, Akkia crossed one leg and muttered to himself with amusement.

“Interesting.”

People who chased money were easy to handle. Their decisions were ruled by coin. All you had to do was outbid the competition.

“I’ll keep watching her for now.”

With a slight smile, he recalled the glimmer in Leah’s eyes moments earlier.

❀ ❀ ❀

Later that evening, Leah sat in the clinic poring over books, searching for herbs that could neutralize the poison of Porarium.

—Knock knock.

A quiet knock came from the door.

‘At this hour?’

She glanced out the window at the dusky sky. She had just planned to finish this chapter and return to her room.

“Come in.”

Thinking it might be a sick servant, Leah closed the book. But when the door opened, it was Rikel who stepped into the clinic.

“Am I too late?”

Since she’d just been reading, Leah hadn’t even put on her pharmacist’s coat. Rikel walked over to her desk, smiling with slightly rounded eyes.

Though the man was quite handsome, his smile felt awkward to Leah.

‘Can’t read him at all.’

Leah forced a smile and subtly covered her book with a different document — no harm in being cautious.

“I was just about to leave. What brings you here?”

He clearly wasn’t here for treatment.

As expected… He was probably here to follow up on the deal they’d discussed earlier.

“I figured we had some unfinished business to settle.”

He reached into his coat and — without warning — placed a pouch on the desk.

—Thump.

A small metal pouch hit the desk with a solid sound.

‘Whoa.’

Leah nearly gasped. Even without opening it, she could tell what was inside.

‘That size… It’s gold coins.’

She swallowed hard. Rikel gave her a look that said go on, open it, and Leah quickly snatched up the pouch.

Seeing the glittering gold coins inside made her chest swell with awe.

“One gold coin. That’s double your penalty of 50 silver coins.”

His comment had a sting to it, and Leah winced. It reminded her of what she’d said when he first made his offer.

[“Your lord must be… rather small in certain areas.”]

[“…?”]

[“I just thought the pay seemed a bit low for something life-threatening.”]

Back then, Rikel had only offered her a pouch of 20 silver coins.

‘That’s like four months’ salary for me…’

And the job was to spy on the Empire’s only prince. No matter how you sliced it, the pay was way too low for the risk.

So Leah had deliberately acted money-obsessed to ease the tension. If he thought she was ruled by greed, she’d be easier to manipulate.

Apparently, her tactic worked. Now, he was offering a jaw-dropping sum.

“Your pay will go up with each successful job. Not a bad start, right?”

‘Holy crap.’

One gold coin meant 100 silver coins. Or 1,000 copper coins.

Not just good — it was excessive.

“Absolutely! You’re very generous. As expected of someone in your position!”

“You’ll proceed with the contract, then?”

“Do you even have to ask? Hahaha! I’ll serve you with utmost dedication.”

Her slip of the tongue — saying she’d serve him — made Rikel’s eyebrows rise.

‘Serve?’

Leah flailed her hands in the air.

“No, I mean — I’ll do my best to observe him closely!”

“…Right.”

“I’m actually quite good at what I do.”

Rikel slowly withdrew his hand. Only then did Leah carefully tuck the gold coin into her coat.

Alright. The plan was simple: collect payment from both sides… then run.

Whether she died from failing to develop a cure, or from betraying a powerful man — she was equally dead. Either way, her life was on the line.

Suddenly, the duke’s earlier words resurfaced in her mind.

[“You’ll need to bring me worthwhile information first.”]

Right now, Rikel looked like a walking gold mine.

If she could just bring back info on the man who made this ridiculous offer, the duke had promised to pay five times Rikel’s offer.

She had to find out something — anything. Leah leaned in slightly toward Rikel and casually asked:

“By the way, Rikel. Judging by how generous you are… your employer must be incredibly wealthy, huh?”

“Wealthy?”

Rikel’s brows furrowed at her whispered tone. His narrowed eyes briefly met hers, then looked away.

“Yes. Only a few in the Empire could offer this much in pay.”

“I see… That makes sense.”

Only a few in the empire? That narrowed it down. A royal relative? Maybe a merchant lord like the head of the Farchia Trading Company?

Leah mentally listed possibilities.

“It’s a good opportunity for you too, Leah — serving this man.”

“Oh, of course! I’m honored.”

But she couldn’t risk drawing suspicion by digging deeper.

“All of this is confidential. If, by any chance…”

“Don’t worry. I’m great at keeping secrets. I never speak with two tongues.”

…Even though she’d already done exactly that. Still, survival came first.

Rikel quietly stared at her before turning away. Just as Leah was about to sigh in relief—

“Oh right. I heard you treated the duke. What’s his current condition?”

His tone had shifted — deeper, more serious. The image of the duke flashed in her mind: feeble, clearly suffering from long-term Porarium poisoning.

She couldn’t tell the truth, so she searched for a good excuse. Then she remembered something a maid had said.

[“The duke clearly has issues with… performance.”]

Perfect. Not confirmed, but believable.

With a meaningful smile, Leah leaned in close to Rikel and whispered:

“The duke is… impotent.”

She stepped back.

Rikel’s stunned face was a sight to behold. For the first time, she saw genuine shock flash across his features.

“The duke… is impotent?”

He stood frozen, clutching his forehead.

After a long silence, he finally asked again:

“How do you know that?”

How? She recalled some nonsense from a past life about facial features and… reading body language.