TLDOWN 02

CHAPTER 2: I Became the Personal Physician of a Terminally Ill Duke

“…I’m sorry, could you repeat that? Who did you say?”

“I said it’s the former imperial prince of this empire, the Duke of Heidern.”

‘Ah. I’m screwed.’

Leah, who had been sitting in the drawing room listening to the butler, murmured quietly. The Duke of Heidern—there probably wasn’t a single citizen of the Croatea Empire who didn’t know that name.

Because he was…

‘Isn’t he supposed to be on the brink of death?’

The Duke of Heidern was the legitimate son of Emperor Phillips III, the previous ruler of the Croatea Empire.

He was the ill-fated prince who should have become the current emperor. It was well known throughout the empire that the duke had been sickly since childhood.

Which meant everyone also knew he didn’t have long to live. In fact, most people probably already assumed he was dead.

That’s why Emperor Phillips had no choice but to name his nephew from a collateral branch as crown prince.

After Emperor Phillips passed away, the sickly prince was passed over, and his cousin became the new emperor.

Since then, the duke had left the palace and vanished from public attention.

‘Then the duke must be basically at death’s door by now… right?’

As the thought sank in, a slight tremor ran through Leah’s body.

She had heard that when a member of the royal family dies from illness, their attending physicians and apothecaries often don’t escape punishment either.

‘No wonder the salary was ridiculously high.’

Why had she forgotten? Nothing in this world comes free.

Especially in her past life—didn’t she learn that firsthand in South Korea? And yet she had forgotten such a crucial truth.

‘I should’ve known something was up when they offered five silver coins a month. Ugh, I’m going crazy.’

Five silver coins were enough to support a family of three for two or three months. And they were offering that as monthly pay?

‘To a total newbie with no experience, at that!’

In her 22 years of life, she had never heard of an apothecary being paid that much. Especially not in some remote estate she’d never even heard of.

A silent scream curled at her lips. Her fingers clutching her skirt trembled.

It was obvious everyone else had declined the job. Who in their right mind would risk their life trying to save a dying duke?

At eight years old, while doing menial chores, Leah had suddenly remembered memories from her past life.

As time passed, those memories grew clearer—and they turned out to be quite helpful in her current life. At the very least, she never went hungry.

But those memories taught her one important thing:

“There’s nothing more important than staying alive.”

After remembering how she died while trying to escape in her previous life, her obsession with survival became stronger than ever.

‘Live quietly and for a long time.’

That became her new life motto.

‘As much as I love money, I can’t work a job that might get me killed!’

Having seemingly made up her mind, she lifted her head.

“Sir, there must be some mistake. I’m just a novice apothecary. Someone like me can’t possibly be the Duke of Heidern’s apothecary… I’m not worthy of the position. Please, find someone more qualified…”

“We don’t mind. The best in the empire have already come and gone. Frankly, we’re curious to see the boldness of someone like you.”

Though she had politely tried to decline, the butler brushed her off with ease.

‘Then I’ll be blunt.’

“I’m sorry. I’m not cut out for the duke’s household. Let’s consider the contract void.”

Hoping the room she’d stayed in back in the capital was still available, she declared her intent to break the contract.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Seeing the butler sigh and stroke his chin, her expression eased in relief.

“Thank you for understanding, sir.”

“Please pay the penalty of 50 silver coins by the end of this week.”

“…Excuse me?”

‘Penalty fee?’

Leah froze at the unexpected mention of a penalty. The butler, as if expecting this reaction, handed her a document.

“You should’ve received 50 silver coins as a signing bonus before coming here. Take a closer look at the contract. See what happens if you cancel after accepting the advance.”

With trembling hands, she read through the contract.

‘I’m doomed.’

To her disbelief, the contract did mention a penalty.

‘The penalty is ten times the signing bonus. It’s written in the tiniest damn font!’

Was it desperation? The lure of easy money? If she could go back, she would’ve slapped her past self.

After a long silence, Leah handed the contract back to the butler with a sigh.

“…On second thought, I’d feel terrible abandoning a sick duke. My skills may be lacking, but I’ll do my best.”

She had no such sum. Fifty silver coins were far beyond her means. Having accepted reality quickly, she nodded.

“So, about that. May I meet with the duke’s personal physician? I’d like to review his medical history and the physician’s notes before preparing any medicine.”

But the butler, Bayern, cut her off with a serious tone.

“Ah. Miss Leah, I suppose you haven’t been told yet.”

“Told what…?”

“The duke doesn’t have a personal physician.”

“…What?”

Leah blinked in disbelief. No personal physician? At first, she thought she had misheard.

“What do you mean…?”

With a cryptic look, the butler closed the folder in his hands and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

“The reason the salary is five silver coins is because the apothecary must also serve as a physician. That’s why we chose someone with medical skills like you.”

‘What?’

Leah recalled something odd from the interview.

Before heading to the Duke of Heidern’s estate, the agent who interviewed her in the capital hadn’t asked her typical questions.

[How are your medical skills? Are you proficient?]

Asking an apothecary about medical knowledge or healing techniques?

It had struck her as strange, since that wasn’t standard for her profession.

‘No wonder… they didn’t even ask about my experience with prescriptions and jumped straight to my medical background.’

A dull ache throbbed in her head. In the end, Leah was roped into becoming the Duke of Heidern’s apothecary and personal physician.

❀ ❀ ❀

“Follow me.”

Perhaps he hadn’t noticed the look on her face—like she was about to cry. The butler led the way up the stairs, claiming he would introduce her to the duke.

He was saying something, but Leah couldn’t focus. Only one word echoed in her ears—Heidern.

“Understand? Miss Leah, when serving the duke, there are a few important things to remember…”

They walked for a while before stopping in front of a large door at the end of the corridor.

“Oh, and just so you know…”

‘There’s more?’

Leah’s face darkened at the thought of more hidden conditions.

“The duke is extremely sensitive.”

“…What?”

Sensitive?

Something felt off about that description. Leah stared blankly, confused.

Click.

Right as he finished speaking, the butler opened the duke’s door. A strange scent wafted past Leah’s nose as the door creaked open.

‘This scent is…’

As she tried to place the smell—

CRASH!

Something flew at her and shattered with a sharp, explosive sound.

‘Huh?’

As Leah blinked slowly to understand what just happened, a hot liquid trickled down her left cheek.

‘What the…’

She raised a hand and wiped her cheek. On her palm, she saw—

“…Blood?”

Broken shards of glass were scattered across the floor. That finally snapped her back to her senses.

‘This isn’t just being sensitive!’

Her hands shook slightly as she raised her head—just as a dark shadow loomed over her.

A shadow so overwhelming, it radiated not just sensitivity, but violence. Leah gulped.

The room was dark, every window covered by heavy curtains that blocked even the faintest light.

She couldn’t see clearly, but she knew—the person standing before her had to be the infamous duke.

A heavy silence settled between them as they assessed one another.

‘…Is this really the Duke of Heidern I heard about?’

It couldn’t be. The sheer pressure from his presence made it hard to breathe.

Gripped by an unfamiliar fear, she clenched her fists.

Most rumors about the duke carried an air of pity.

The legitimate son of the emperor, born of noble blood, but cursed with poor health and awaiting death.

A sorrowful man, stripped of everything and exiled to the outskirts by his cousin. And every rumor had one common assumption—

‘He’s terminally ill and doesn’t have long to live.’

Yes, the Duke of Heidern she knew was frail—so weak that no one would question it if he dropped dead on the spot.

‘But…’

From within the darkness, crimson eyes gleamed as they scanned her.

‘Those aren’t the eyes of a dying man.’

Had she misunderstood something?

Whoosh.

With the sound of curtains drawing back, light suddenly flooded the room.

“Ah…”

Leah winced as the sudden brightness assaulted her eyes.

“You’re still keeping the curtains closed?”

As if this wasn’t the first time, the butler casually tidied the curtains.

“No wonder your condition never improves, my lord.”

His tone felt too familiar to be addressing a duke, but Leah didn’t have the capacity to care.

“…What?”

Because the light now illuminated the duke.

Startled, Leah opened her tightly shut eyes.

‘What… is this?’

As her vision adjusted, she finally saw the man who had been standing before her.

The Duke of Heidern.

He looked nothing like what she had imagined minutes ago.

Though his eyes were intimidating, his frame was gaunt, his face sunken. Most shocking of all—he looked younger than her.

‘Younger than me?’

She was certain the duke was four years older than her.

But the boy before her—no, the young man—looked, at most, seventeen.

Still reeling from the unexpected appearance, her eyes trembled as she studied him.

Then their gazes met.

‘He looks just like…’

A stray kitten, hissing warily at a stranger.

His hostility seemed almost pitiful—fragile, insignificant.

That was Leah’s first impression of the Duke of Heidern.