TLDOWN 14

CHAPTER 14:

 Their Night Was Long

Clack.

As the butler entered the room, the cabinet door closed at the same time. Lea collapsed helplessly between the Duke’s legs.

Had he arrived even a moment later, the butler chief might have caught the two of them together. Lea, who had barely managed to hide herself in time, felt like her heart might explode.

“Miss Lea?”

She heard the butler calling for her from outside the cabinet.

‘Why did this man pull me in here?!’

The Duke could have hidden by himself.

This is the dispensary! Of course the pharmacist would be in here!

In the pitch-black darkness of the cabinet, Lea caught a glimpse of the Duke. It seemed like his actions had been impulsive, as he avoided meeting her eyes.

‘What on earth are you thinking, Your Grace!’

Lea had to swallow her protest and frustration.

“Shh.”

The Duke pressed a finger to her lips, signaling her to stay quiet. He then carefully braced both arms against the cabinet walls.

Unlike earlier when he had leaned on the desk, he was now so close that their noses might touch.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

As the realization hit her, her oblivious heart began to pound uncontrollably.

‘Too close.’

Their bodies were pressed tightly together, almost like magnets. They were close enough to feel each other’s heartbeat through their skin.

Gulp.

Lea instinctively swallowed. Every time the Duke’s breath touched her forehead, a flush of heat spread across her skin.

On top of that, there was the deep, heavy scent that had been tickling her nose from earlier.

He had looked so frail before. But in this moment, he felt like the most robust man in the world.

“Did they go to the restroom or something?”
The sound of Bayern rummaging around the room echoed.

‘Please don’t come over here…’

But of course, desperate wishes are rarely granted. Footsteps came to a stop right in front of the cabinet. And then—

Click.

Bayern grabbed the handle as if to open the cabinet. The door creaked open ever so slightly.

Creeeak.

A chill-inducing sound rang out as the rusty cabinet shifted.

‘No—!’

Lea shut her eyes tightly at the light seeping into the cramped, dark space. What on earth could she say to explain this situation?

Just as panic began to overwhelm her—

“Ah, there it is.”

Mumbling to himself, Bayern shut the door again. Thankfully, it seemed he’d found what he was looking for, and she heard the door to the dispensary close behind him.

As the butler’s footsteps faded, both the Duke and Lea exhaled the breaths they had been holding. Their mingled breaths filled the cramped space.

Perhaps because of the tension, they still hadn’t realized how closely their bodies were pressed together.

“Did he really leave, Your Grace?”

Lea whispered, and the Duke nodded.

“Seems like it.”

Now that the tension had eased, Lea felt a pang of resentment.

She hadn’t needed to hide in the cabinet in the first place. Why had he dragged her in and created this mess?

Lea couldn’t help but feel it was all unfair.

“I was so startled when you suddenly pulled me in. Why bring me with you?”

“I was planning to observe what the butler was up to.”

At her bold questioning, the Duke let out an incredulous laugh.

“And you nearly got caught because of it.”

Wanting to observe was one thing, but if they’d been discovered together, all their previous efforts would’ve gone to waste.

“But we weren’t caught, were we? And really, there was no need for the butler to even check this cabinet.”

“What? So you knew what he was looking for?”

“Roughly, yes. But more importantly—”

He gestured toward the door with his chin.

“Let’s open it and get out first.”

At his words, Lea flinched. In the middle of their conversation, she’d completely forgotten they were still inside the cabinet.

“Oh! Sorry!”

For some reason, whenever she talked with the Duke, she found herself too caught up in the moment.

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Lea pushed against the cabinet door.

But—

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh… that’s strange.”

Frowning in confusion, Lea tried again, this time with more force. But the door wouldn’t budge.

Clack, clack. Tap, tap!

“It won’t open…”

“What?”

The Duke looked incredulous. Reaching out from behind her, he stretched his long arm toward the door.

Bang! Bang!

Even when he pushed with all his strength, the door didn’t move.

“It really won’t open?”

Lea had wondered if it was just her own weakness, but judging by the Duke’s grim expression, it was clear he couldn’t open it either.

“…Why? Is this cabinet not designed to open from the inside?”

Akkia asked, clearly flustered. His typically proud red eyes trembled with uncertainty.

“H-how should I know?! I’ve never tried opening it from the inside!”

Lea fumbled around for the lock mechanism.

“Oh no. It’s a double lock—looks like it can only be opened from the outside!”

Really, who opens cabinets from the inside? It made sense that it was designed this way.

Lea looked helplessly at the Duke.

“What do we do now? Unless someone opens it for us, we can’t get out… and then we’ll have to explain why we were in here together.”

Panicking, Lea squirmed, trying to push herself free. At first, she hadn’t felt so trapped, assuming they’d get out quickly.

But now the reality of being locked in a tiny, enclosed space was sinking in, making it hard to breathe.

The Duke, whose expression darkened at her frantic movements, murmured quietly,

“Stop moving.”

“Pardon?”

The cabinet shook as she moved, and she couldn’t hear him clearly. As she turned to face him, the Duke let out a low groan.

“…I said stop moving.”

“Why? Are you hurt?”

His voice had a strange, low edge. Concerned, Lea turned fully to face him.

“It’s just… when I say stay still, just do it.”

“You’re not in pain or anything, right? This isn’t the time to stay still—we have to get out before someone finds us.”

Though he was frowning deeply, he didn’t seem injured.

Lea couldn’t understand why he was telling her to stay still when they were in such a desperate situation.

In response to her determined tone, the Duke swept his sweat-dampened hair back and muttered even more softly,

“Sigh… You keep touching me.”

“…Huh? Touching what? What do you mean by—”

Suddenly, she felt something unfamiliar.

A heavy, pressing sensation against her.

A distinct, unmistakable sensation poking at her.

‘Ah… No way.’

A cold drop of sweat slid down Lea’s forehead.

‘Is it what I think it is…?’

She squeezed her eyes shut, as if denying the reality would make it go away. In that moment, she almost thought it would’ve been better to be caught by the butler.

And from that moment, Lea stopped moving entirely.

Not only did their movements cease, but so did their words. A heavy silence filled the narrow cabinet.

Both of their faces turned redder than her crimson hair.

In a cabinet barely big enough for two—

The space was tight, the night was long, and neither of them slept.

❀ ❀ ❀

Sigh…

Early in the morning, dark circles showed beneath Lea’s eyes, betraying her sleepless night.

They had eventually escaped the cabinet—though its door had been destroyed beyond repair in the process.

“What do I even say to the butler…”

The Duke had simply told her to come up with a good excuse and returned to his room, leaving her to clean up the mess.

But more than the scolding, something else consumed her thoughts.

[Stop moving.]

The memory hit her with such vivid shame that she wanted to kick off the covers and scream. Lea now faced a very real dilemma—how was she supposed to face the Duke?

‘Ugh. I don’t want to go to the medical round today.’

If only she didn’t have rounds. The item the butler had taken from the dispensary last night turned out to be none other than the Duke’s most recent medical record.

She had to report on it, so seeing the Duke was unavoidable. With heavy steps, Lea made her way to his bedroom.

‘What’s going on?’

From the first to the third floor, maids were bustling around the mansion, cleaning frantically.

It wasn’t cleaning day. Watching the maids scrub as if determined to leave no speck of dust behind, Lea was puzzled.

‘Are we expecting guests? They’re cleaning the guest rooms too.’

The guest rooms, which weren’t usually used, were being cleaned thoroughly. As she passed through the hallway, she stopped one of the maids.

“Are we expecting guests? The house seems a bit chaotic.”

“Oh, yes. We’re expecting visitors from the Imperial Palace tomorrow.”

“Visitors?”

Surprised, Lea widened her eyes. The maid added,

“Yes. The palace physicians are coming. It’s the Duke’s annual check-up.”

“Oh, thank you.”

So that annual examination she’d heard about was tomorrow.

Lea finally reached the Duke’s chambers and entered after knocking.

She saw the Duke sitting in the distance. The memory of last night flashed through her mind, and she quickened her steps.

She had to get her work done before her thoughts went to strange places again.

Since taking Alpharadiah, the Duke had begun eating a bit more. Seeing a third of his plate empty today filled Lea with quiet satisfaction.

She approached him and handed him a cup of sour jujube tea.

“I’m glad your appetite’s improved, Your Grace.”

“Don’t say unnecessary things. So, did you check it?”

At her casual comment, the Duke frowned slightly.

“Yes. As you said, it was your medical chart. A recent one, at that. The butler seems suspicious—I’ll keep an eye on him.”

The Duke nodded silently as he drank the tea. That was his way of giving approval.

‘Alright, that part’s done.’

Lea took out her tools, preparing for a brief examination.

“Oh, right. I heard guests from the palace are coming tomorrow? For your regular check-up?”

“…”

“You knew about it… right, Your Grace?”

She had assumed he already knew. But the Duke, still holding his teacup, froze.