TLDOWN 30

CHAPTER 30:

 It Wasn’t a Mistake

“Open your eyes.”

As Lea opened hers, she saw the Duke’s face so close that their noses could almost touch.

No — to be precise, Lea was lying on top of the Duke.

‘Then… what my hand is touching right now is…’

Swallowing hard, Lea lowered her gaze and saw her hand slipping between the gaping front of the Duke’s dress shirt.

“Gasp!”

Why was his shirt so wide open?

She had to get up, but Lea’s body was frozen, like a broken machine.

“Lea.”

Then, at the sound of his voice tickling her ear, she lifted her head.

Did the Duke just call her name? Even hearing it with her own ears, she couldn’t believe it and blinked rapidly.

‘Quack.’
‘Apothecary.’
‘You.’

There were plenty of titles he could’ve used to refer to her, yet out of all of them, he had called her Lea.

Before she could even grasp the situation, that gentle voice wrapped around her ear again.

“If you want something like this, just say it.”

‘I never said I wanted this!’

Lea’s face turned crimson as reality hit her. Like a spring snapping back, she shot upright.

“Are—Are you okay?!”

“……”

“I didn’t mean to fall on purpose…!”

Seeing the Duke buried among scattered books made her dizzy. She had knocked him over. What if he was hurt?

She had completely forgotten about the onlookers, their attention drawn by the loud commotion.

Panicked, Lea scooted closer on her knees and checked him frantically. Akia sighed at the sight.

‘She doesn’t even realize how she looks right now.’

The hem of Lea’s dress had ridden up, revealing her thigh.

Her fussing, worried demeanor made it feel like the Lea he knew was finally back. That night, when he had kissed her crimson lips, Akia had acted purely on impulse.

‘Maybe…’

If a similar moment happened again, he wasn’t sure he could suppress that same impulse. He suspected that Lea’s feelings weren’t so different from his own.

Ever since that night, Akia had noticed a change in the way Lea looked at him. And he knew they needed to clear the air between them.

But because he couldn’t explain his own feelings, he had pretended not to notice hers — even though he knew it would sow misunderstanding in her heart.

‘And to be honest, all her grumbling was kind of endearing.’

To the point where he found it… cute.

Even now, while she worried over him, his gaze kept drifting to Lea’s pouting lips.

“This won’t do. Let me help you up. You should check if you’ve been hurt.”

“……”

“It was such a stupid mistake… I didn’t mean to pull you down with me.”

Mistake?

Just as Lea was about to get up, Akia’s hand reached out before hers and wrapped around her waist.

Pulled down again, she found herself seated on his knee and stared at him wide-eyed.

“D-Duke?”

Her voice trembled as she called him. Their eyes met in the air, and hers wavered as much as her voice.

That kiss hadn’t been a mistake. He didn’t want to reduce the kiss that had stirred such deep waves in his heart to something so trivial.

“I wasn’t a mistake.”

“…What?”

Akia reached out and tucked a strand of her flowing red hair behind her ear.

His lips curled slowly into a graceful smile.

“The kiss. It wasn’t a mistake.”

And just like that, all the thoughts Lea had been wrestling with turned to dust — her face flushed a deep red.

The two remained at the library until closing time, only leaving after the sun had set. The books had been more useful than expected.

Especially the book on poisonous plants.

It detailed how certain poisonous herbs could be combined for medicinal use.

There were many entries, but what caught her eye the most was spider venom.

It mentioned that, when used correctly, it could induce paralysis — and that instantly made her think of anesthetics.

‘If developed properly, this could work as a painkiller.’

Depending on how it was mixed, it might even have antidote properties. Once she returned to the Heidern estate, she planned to research it for a potential Foralium antidote.

They had arrived at the library when the sun was high, and now it was already setting. Lea and the Duke were walking down the road when—

“Oh! Miss Lea!”

She turned toward the familiar voice.

“Hello! Heading back to your shop?”

“Yes, I’m just on my way for dinner!”

It was one of the employees from Magnolia Trading Company.

“You should go eat while it’s still warm. Ah, and this is my assistant, James, who came with me to Tren.”

“Ah, I see.”

As Lea introduced them, the employee’s gaze moved to Akia.

“Nice to meet—”

Before he could even finish his greeting, his face went pale.

“I’m James. Lea’s assistant. A pleasure to meet you.”

“J-James… I see.”

The man shook Akia’s outstretched hand with both of his own.

“So, actually—”

“Oh my, look at the time! I’ve got urgent business at the shop! Have a great evening!”

Just as Lea was about to chat with him, the man bolted without listening to a word she said.

“Urgent? Didn’t he say he was going to dinner?”

Is eating dinner that urgent?

As Lea stood puzzled, Akia turned away.

“Maybe something didn’t sit right with him.”

His voice was casual, but his lips were curved in amusement.

Butler Bayern sat in a lavish waiting room, fidgeting with his cup. The appointed time had long passed, yet the master of the mansion was nowhere in sight.

Gilded ceilings, famous artwork on the walls — it was as extravagant as one would expect from the Marquis of Rodrigo, now thriving under imperial favor.

The marquis was Bayern’s half-brother. More precisely, Bayern was the illegitimate son of the previous Marquis Rodrigo.

‘It wasn’t this luxurious a few years ago…’

Both had received “his” orders.

The marquis had become one of the emperor’s closest aides, and Bayern had been sent to the Heidern estate to monitor Akia.

[“I want to serve him in the capital too—”]
[“Bayern. With your background, how could you serve him directly?”]
[…]
[“Make yourself useful in Heidern. Then we’ll talk.”]

The marquis had pacified his resentful brother with false promises of a future capital appointment.

Bayern believed him — and that belief had driven him to dangerous acts, like conspiring against the Duke and his physician, Jacob.

But when the official personnel list came out, his name was conspicuously missing.

Panicked, Bayern had written to his brother, demanding an explanation. The reply had been brutally brief:

[“There’s no place for you in this round of appointments. Try again next time. — L.W.”]

Realizing that writing letters would get him nowhere, Bayern had come in person — even taking leave to do so.

Watching his peers steadily climb the ranks in the capital had left him seething.

His brother had inherited the title simply for being legitimate. Why couldn’t he?

Unlike his brother, who had been born holding the name Rodrigo, Bayern hadn’t even been granted the surname.

Worse, he was a whispered-about bastard. His birth barred him from anything but a remote servant’s role.

How much longer must I cower in Heidern?

Thinking of his disgraceful situation compared to his brother’s made Bayern’s throat tighten.

Just then, the drawing room door opened, and Marquis Rodrigo strolled in and took a seat across from him.

“B-Brother!”

At the word “brother,” the marquis’s brow furrowed.

“Tsk. Watch your language, Bayern.”

“My apologies, Marquis… It’s just that I can’t believe this.”

“What do you mean?”

The marquis leaned on his chin, clearly uninterested.

“The appointments! Why wasn’t I included…? You know what I’ve done to earn a place in the capital!”

Desperation burned in Bayern’s eyes. The marquis removed his elbow from the table and crossed his arms.

“I know.”

Finally, some recognition. Bayern’s face lit up.

“I know exactly how you disappointed him, Bayern. You know better than anyone why you weren’t called up.”

The chilling tone froze Bayern’s expression.

The marquis tapped the table idly with his fingers.

“If you want to come to the capital, prove your worth.”

“…P-Prove it how?”

“There are many ways to please him. I’m sure you can think of one.”

Bayern swallowed hard.

There really was only one way left — the Duke of Heidern’s death.

The marquis stopped tapping and stood up.

“And don’t come uninvited again.”

He gestured to a servant waiting nearby.

“See him out.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Bayern clenched his trembling fists. There was no more time to waste.

If he missed this year’s appointments, the next chance wouldn’t come for years. His ailing mother deserved comfort in her final days.

‘Yes… I’ll do it.’

As his thoughts settled, his eyes glinted with dangerous resolve — he would finally sever ties with the Duke.