TLDOWN 03

CHAPTER 03

The Door Was Locked

“Whew…”

Leah let out a deep sigh as she stepped out of the duke’s bedchamber. The memory of what had just happened—which was no better than being thrown out—flashed through her mind.

She had entered the room with a simple greeting, intending to perform a quick checkup. But instead of a diagnosis, Leah was kicked out along with the butler.

She had heard the duke’s condition was too severe for him to speak. Before being sent away, the duke had handed her a note. Leah carefully unfolded the small piece of paper in her hand.

“I don’t need any checkups, so don’t bother coming again.”

“A thorny road, huh…”

She could already picture how hard this was going to be. Leah didn’t need a proper examination to assess his condition—his appearance told her plenty.

‘He’s in worse shape than I thought.’

From a distance, she hadn’t noticed. But up close, the bloodshot eyes and blotchy skin around them were unmistakable.

‘His lower eyelids were twitching badly too…’

That wasn’t all. His lips were cracked and dry, his hair brittle, and his skin was ghostly pale.

All signs that he didn’t even take light walks anymore.

A duke who looked like he could die at any moment. If he were to drop dead while she was employed as his apothecary…

‘What a nightmare.’

Even without seeing it happen, she could imagine the scenario perfectly—and bit her lip in frustration.

‘God, this is insane.’

If a royal duke died, the apothecary assigned to him might as well be buried with him.

She had taken this job under duress, having no choice after failing to pay the 50 silver coin penalty.

‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’

It wasn’t the first time Leah had felt this sort of dread—she’d lived through plenty of bad omens in her previous life.

If there was one thing she had a sixth sense for, it was the scent of money and the whiff of danger. And this one didn’t just smell bad—it reeked.

‘If it really goes south, I’ll just run.’

Whether she paid the penalty or bolted, she’d figure something out. Trying to brush off the unease, Leah turned and headed for the infirmary.

But when she arrived, her expression darkened even further.

“Is this a medical office or a storage closet?”

She looked around the room she had entered. Had the absence of a court physician gone on for that long?

Dust covered everything in the frigid air of the infirmary.

“…This is worse than I expected. Is this really the duke’s mansion?”

Even a minor noble’s home wouldn’t be this bad. The moment she had first stepped into the estate, she had felt a chill.

‘Isn’t he royalty? Why does it look so neglected?’

The smell of mildew was ever-present, and many places were rusted and falling apart.

Clicking her tongue, Leah shook her head as she glanced around.

“Unbelievable.”

Well, she might as well do her job and slip out quietly when the time was right. She opened the window for some fresh air and checked the bookshelf.

Medical texts and herbs were scattered everywhere.

“You can’t store herbs like this!”

Cooling herbs, for example, should be kept in dark, cool places—not tossed by a sunlit window.

“Cleaning alone is going to be a nightmare.”

At this rate, the clinic might make people sicker instead of curing them.

Rolling up her sleeves, Leah began gathering the old herbs into one place.

“This one’s unusable… and this one’s way too old.”

After some time cleaning…

“Phew. That should be good enough.”

She wiped the sweat off her brow and brushed dust from her hands.

“That’s enough for today. I’ll handle the rest tomorr—huh?”

As she gathered the discarded herbs in her arms to throw them out, her eyes caught a pile of white flowers in the corner.

“Lily of the valley? What’s that doing here?”

Fresh as if just picked, and yet in an empty room? Leah tilted her head and then shrugged, placing the flowers back where they were.

Then, remembering her original purpose, she opened the desk drawer.

“It should be here somewhere… Ah, found it.”

She dug through the messy drawer and pulled out a stack of old documents.

It was a record of the duke’s medical condition. But as she flipped through the papers, wetting her finger with spit, her expression hardened.

“You call this a medical record?”

It was a mess.

There was barely any sign that anyone had ever treated him. The records were so clean, they were practically blank.

What should have been filled with detailed notes looked like an unsolved puzzle of empty blanks.

“These people are criminals in white coats.”

She could vividly imagine how the previous apothecaries had worked—or rather, hadn’t.

“So much work to do…”

A hypersensitive patient, zero medical history, and a ruined infirmary.

She had planned to live honestly as a proper apothecary—not a fraud. But from the start, everything was going sideways.

“I think I’ve walked into the wrong place.”

The pitiful number of servants for a duke’s household, the butler’s openly rude behavior, and the state of the medical records…

Just a few days of observation led Leah to a conclusion: the sickly duke had little power or status.

Not just within the estate, but within the empire as a whole. He may have been weak, but he was still the empire’s only prince.

That night, Leah tossed and turned in bed. Though she was tired from her recent arrival, sleep wouldn’t come.

“Sigh…”

Unable to endure her spiraling thoughts, she sat up and stared blankly out at the moonlight pouring through her window.

Thinking a walk might help, she threw on a shawl and left her room. She hadn’t noticed during the busy daytime, but the estate was beautiful beneath the night sky.

She passed through the soft moonlit gardens and walked along a winding cobblestone path.

“The night view’s not bad at all.”

Unlike the eerie house, the stars above were dazzling. Being so far from the capital, the sky here looked ready to spill stars.

She slowly wandered down the path, relishing the quiet of the night.

The cool breeze sharpened her thoughts.

“Wouldn’t it be great if 50 silver coins just fell from the sky?”

Smiling at her own wishful thinking, she adjusted her shawl—only to realize the air had shifted.

“Wait… where am I?”

Lost in thought, she’d wandered far beyond the estate’s gardens.

The well-kept scenery was gone, replaced by wildflowers and thick weeds.

She must’ve crossed into the edge of the woods near the estate. Just as she decided to turn back—

“Ah!”

A gust of wind blew her shawl away.

She reached for it, but it slipped from her grasp, fluttering over a stone wall.

“That was special…”

It had been a gift from her friends back home when she became an apothecary. Not expensive, but deeply meaningful to her.

Determined to get it back, she followed the stone wall.

‘What is this wall, anyway?’

It was taller than she was. As she walked, brushing her hand along it, she stumbled upon a hidden entrance, masked by thick brush.

It was so concealed that no one would find it unless they happened to be feeling their way through like she was.

Leah hesitated.

“Should I really go in there alone at night?”

Her hand trembled on the bush. But the image of her shawl spurred her forward.

‘It’s still inside the estate, right? What could possibly happen?’

She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed through the underbrush.

A fresh lemony scent filled the air as she opened her eyes.

Wildflowers filled a secret garden, and lily of the valley climbed the stone walls, blooming under the moonlight.

‘This scent…’

It was familiar, seductive, and oddly nostalgic.

“Where have I smelled this before?”

Unable to recall, she shook her head.

‘Well, it’s a common flower.’

Finding her shawl was the priority.

She carefully searched near the wall and—

“Found it!”

There it was, caught on a bush. Just as she reached for it—

“It’s a little dirty, but with a wash, it’ll be—huh?”

She felt a breeze through what should’ve been a solid wall of shrubs.

“What is this?”

Wind? Through a wall?

Could it be… not just a wall?

Entranced, Leah slowly pushed.

—Creak.

A rusty iron door groaned open.

Leah froze.

“What is this place…?”

She hesitated. Part of her wanted to run. But knowing herself, she’d just come back later.

She couldn’t resist a mystery.

“Okay. Deep breath.”

Taking a calming breath, she stepped inside.

The darkness was suffocating.

Barely able to see, she spotted candles and matches by the door and lit one.

The faint light revealed a cluttered table covered in…

“Herbs?”

Clearly used recently. Perhaps for making medicine?

Leah approached—and her expression turned grim.

“Why is this here…?”

Among the herbs was lily of the valley—the same flower from the infirmary.

A terrible unease crept over her. She searched the table and found a vial of white liquid and a notebook.

It was a formula journal. She flipped through it quickly.

“Oh no.”

She re-checked the herbs, but nothing changed.

‘Damn it…’

Her knees nearly gave out. She steadied herself and stared at the vial.

A liquid with the telltale hue of lily of the valley.

It was poison.

“Who made this…?”

Individually, the herbs weren’t strange. But mix them with lily of the valley—and it became deadly.

In small amounts, it would only weaken the body.

‘Wait… a poison that slowly makes someone look sick?’

A horrifying thought crossed her mind.

‘No way…’

She swallowed hard.

The kind of dread that comes from discovering something you shouldn’t.

‘I need to get out. Now.’

Every instinct screamed to run. Just as she clenched the vial—

The moonlight streaming through the doorway vanished.

A presence loomed behind her. She turned—

And locked eyes with glowing, blood-red pupils in the darkness.

Cold enough to send chills down her spine.

“…Duke?”

It was Duke Heidern.

And instead of answering her—

—Click.

He locked the door. So she couldn’t leave.