TLDOWN 36

chapter  36:

 The Return of the Land’s True Master

The day the Duke collapsed and lost consciousness, Leia’s pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears—Bayern wouldn’t listen.

‘He probably planned to pin it all on me from the start.’

Everything had gone just as expected. The butler, hearing Jane’s report, was convinced the Duke had fallen unconscious. He didn’t even realize she had already been bought.

[Go report to the butler. Tell him the Duke is in a coma after eating the medicated food. Say there’s no hope of him waking up.]

[……]

[And say the Duke will sponsor your younger brother’s treatment.]

[T-Treatment?!]

Jane couldn’t believe her ears. That such mercy would be extended to someone guilty and deserving of punishment.

[All of this comes at a price. Jane, what happened today is—]

[I’ll pretend I know nothing! I didn’t see or hear anything! If it means saving my brother, I’ll do anything!]

Jane clutched Leia’s skirt and sobbed desperately. She was clever—clever enough to deceive even the shrewd Bayern.

Later, Bayern assumed Leia had fled in fear after leaving the mansion. In reality, Leia was hiding at an inn prepared by the Duke.

She waited for the right moment. And the moment didn’t take long to arrive.

[When the imperial physician arrives at the mansion, return, Leia.]

Exactly two days after the Duke had supposedly fallen unconscious, news came that the imperial delegation had arrived.

Step. Step.

Footsteps pierced the silence. From the shadows, Leia stepped into the light.

As she lowered the deep hood of her robe, all eyes turned to her.

“…You.”

Marquis Rodrigo trailed off upon seeing Leia’s face. A young woman, barely past twenty.

He looked her over as if trying to gauge her identity.

“I’m Leia, the Duke’s apothecary and personal physician.”

“You mean the apothecary who ran away?”

A smirk danced at Leia’s lips when the Marquis used the word “ran.”

‘It wasn’t running away. It was a tactical retreat.’

“That’s her! She’s the one who did it!”

Bayern shouted, pointing at Leia with wild eyes.

“She gave the Duke the jujube tea! That’s what caused all this!”

“Jujube? What kind of tea is that?”

Marquis Rodrigo looked to Leia.

“It’s the tea the Duke has always taken for insomnia.”

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem with it.”

The toxins in jujube are mostly removed in the drying process. Leia’s calm explanation caused the Marquis to eye Bayern sharply.

“Yes, yes! On its own it’s harmless. But the problem is she added conflicting herbs!”

“…”

“When I had the storeroom checked, two herbs were missing!”

Bayern pressed forward confidently.

“Heteria and Kiana—those two herbs are toxic when combined with jujube! The storeroom is always locked. Only I and that apothecary, Miss Leia, have keys.”

“If there are two keys, doesn’t that mean you could be the culprit?”

As the Marquis’s suspicion shifted toward him, Bayern gasped, flustered.

“N-No! I lost my key while on vacation. I always take it with me because of frequent theft!”

“So you’re saying only Leia’s key could’ve opened the storeroom?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

Color returned to Bayern’s face. It seemed the situation was finally going his way.

In truth, he hadn’t lost the key—Jane had taken it. After the incident, Bayern had told her to hold onto it, just in case.

‘Who would’ve thought it’d come in handy like this?’

And now Jane should’ve been dead—killed by assassins on her way back to her hometown.

With Jane dead, all evidence would vanish. Bayern was triumphant.

“Is that so? You lost your key, did you?”

Leia should’ve looked panicked. Instead, an eerie smile crept across her lips.

“Come in.”

At her signal, the bedroom door opened.

And the person who walked in made Bayern scream inside.

“…!”

It was Jane—the very girl who should’ve been dead.

“I’m the Duke’s maid, Jane.”

Jane approached the Marquis, stealing a glance between Bayern and Leia. She handed him a key.

“This is the storeroom key the butler gave me. You’ll see his name engraved on it.”

The Marquis turned it over, and sure enough, Bayern’s name was inscribed.

The Marquis’s cold gaze shifted toward Bayern.

“Didn’t you say you lost this on vacation?”

“L-Lord Marquis… I…!”

“One more thing. Jane is a witness. She stole the herbs from the storeroom under the butler’s orders. She nearly fed the Duke the medicated food—but changed her mind.”

Leia’s statement was 100% accurate. Bayern’s face drained of all color.

“I—I was blackmailed! I have a sick brother…! I’ve committed an unforgivable crime.”

Jane fell to her knees, banging her head on the floor. Watching this, Bayern followed suit in desperation.

“Marquis! I swear I’m innocent!”

He looked up with pleading eyes, but the Marquis was cold and dismissive. He brushed Bayern’s hand aside.

“B-Brother! Please listen! The Duke can speak! He’s been deceiving the imperial family all along—!”

Cornered, Bayern began saying what he should never have said. But no one believed him. They merely clicked their tongues.

“Tch. He’s gone mad.”

“There’s nothing more to hear, Marquis.”

Realizing things weren’t going his way, Bayern bit his lip in frustration.

Just as he closed his eyes, as if accepting his doomed fate—

The Duke, who had been quietly observing everything, began to write something.

Leia read it aloud:

“I was never unconscious. I never ate the medicated food in the first place.”

The imperial officials gasped. The Duke—who had lain still all this time—had been acting.

“Arrest butler Bayern for attempted regicide and send him to the capital.”

Leia confirmed the last words with a quiet smile.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, huh?

“All of this is by order of Duke Heidern—the rightful lord of this land.”

After five years of living quietly like a mouse, the Duke finally revealed his claws.

The imperial officials checked the Duke’s condition and then returned to the capital.

Even as he left, the Marquis couldn’t tear his gaze away from the Duke—perhaps because of Bayern’s final words.

With the butler’s position now vacant, the mansion was gripped by silence. No one dared disrespect or speak ill of the Duke anymore.

And not long after, Bayern—sent to the capital—was found dead.

“Ah, this feels nice!”

Sunlight streamed through the window, gently tickling Leia’s hair. It had been a long time since she felt so refreshed.

Stretching, she tucked back a strand blown by the breeze.

For two days after Bayern’s downfall, she had done nothing but sleep. No doubt from the tension that had weighed on her.

“The Duke said I could rest for now.”

Originally, she had planned to return to her work on the antidote.

With clinical trials on the horizon, she was preparing to consult the Duke.

[Your Grace, I was thinking of resuming research at the annex starting tomorrow.]

[No. Don’t go to the annex tomorrow.]

[Why not?]

[Because there’s a reason.]

But the Duke had told her not to come—without explanation. Leia scratched her head, remembering his cryptic words.

“What’s he up to? I thought he’d pressure me to hurry the antidote.”

Maybe he was just being considerate. Thanks to his rare generosity, Leia was now on forced vacation.

‘Well, I might as well organize my research data again.’

She would use the time to plan the clinical trials.

As Leia headed to the apothecary to catch up on work, a maid came running.

“Miss Leia! Someone’s here to see you. He said his name is Baron.”

“Baron?”

Why was someone from Magnolia Trading coming to see her? Was it about the supplements?

Tilting her head in confusion, Leia made her way to the entrance.

Waiting there was Baron, who greeted her politely.

“It’s been a while, Miss Leia.”

“It has. What brings you here?”

“I have a message for you.”

Removing his hat, he spoke with utmost courtesy.

“Our guild master would like to meet you.”

“The guild master…?”

The guild master of Magnolia?!

Leia’s eyes widened. The identity of Magnolia’s guild master was shrouded in mystery—no one had seen them.

Yet now, they wanted to meet her. She had tried to ask about the master before and was politely rejected. Excitement surged within her.

“If you’re willing, please come with me. The guild master is waiting.”

Inside Magnolia’s headquarters, Leia took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She had visited before, but this felt more nerve-wracking than the first time.

As she clenched and unclenched her fists, Baron stopped in front of a third-floor parlor and opened the door.

“Please wait here. The guild master will be with you shortly.”

“Understood.”

Leia stiffly moved to sit on the sofa.

‘What kind of person is the guild master?’

Not even their gender or age was known.

‘They must be older. Running such a large guild isn’t easy.’

She imagined a middle-aged man as she waited. Then—footsteps.

The door opened.

And the person who entered—

“…Your Grace?”

It was Akkia—the Duke.