TLDOWN 32

CHAPTER 32

: Shall I Let It Slide Just This Once?

“You’ve arrived.”

As Akkia entered the mansion, a man approached him as if he had been waiting.

“And the butler?”

“He should arrive by tomorrow morning.”

Thanks to Akkia leaving Trenn in a hurry, he had managed to reach the mansion before Bayern. He relaxed into the sofa, asking in a tired voice:

“Did something happen in the capital? You came back much earlier than expected.”

Bayern, once on leave, rarely returned to the estate before spending at least a fortnight in the capital. If anything, he was always late, never early. But returning three days ahead of schedule? That was not a good sign.

“Bayern’s schedule was the same. Meeting friends, gambling—nothing unusual.”

“Really?”

Despite the report that nothing unusual had occurred, Akkia tapped his fingers on his knee, still uneasy.

‘Something’s off.’

It didn’t sit right. After the royal physician incident, things should’ve been complicated for Bayern. Yet it was all so quiet.

Especially since Akkia had even sent a thank-you letter, offending the Emperor. Was this the calm before the storm?

Unable to shake the ominous feeling, the Duke gave an order to the man beside him.

“Just in case, keep an eye on Bayern’s every move. Don’t miss even the smallest detail.”

“Yes, understood.”

There was no harm in being cautious.

❀ ❀ ❀

Late at night, Lea stepped out of the carriage and stretched her stiff body.

“Ugh. I thought I was going to die from how stiff I got.”

She was supposed to arrive during the day, but thanks to a carriage wheel falling off, she only reached the mansion at night.

After dropping off her luggage, Lea immediately headed for the herb storeroom.

‘No time to waste. I need to start making the medicine.’

While organizing notes on the venomous spider in Trenn, she had discovered a new clue. According to the theory, it might help her improve her previous antidote.

Eager to start testing, Lea hurried her pace.

‘First, grab the necessary herbs from the storeroom, then head to the lab… huh?’

But Lea stopped in her tracks as she approached the storeroom.

“Jane?”

Maid Jane was sneaking out of the storeroom, looking around cautiously.

‘Why is Jane coming out of there?’

Especially this late at night?

The storeroom wasn’t somewhere just anyone could access. Only Lea, the butler, and the Duke had the authority to enter. Not only were many of the herbs rare, but some required specific storage conditions and could spoil easily.

Lea waited until Jane was out of sight, then entered the storeroom.

“She wouldn’t have come here without a reason…”

There must’ve been a reason she wanted to avoid being seen.

Lea grabbed the inventory list and began comparing the herbs one by one.

“Wildcat grass, dried deer mushrooms, daffodil roots, and… huh?”

She paused while checking the stock.

“Heteria and Kiana are missing?”

Each was short by exactly one unit. She remembered counting everything before leaving on her trip.

The Duke had been in Trenn, and the butler was also on leave, so no one else should’ve had access.

And the storeroom was always locked.

“It must’ve been Jane who took them…”

Neither herb was particularly dangerous. Mixing the two didn’t result in poison.

The issue was one thing:

“They’re expensive.”

They weren’t impossible to find, but they only grew in high-altitude regions, making them costly.

Why would Jane take those, then? As she pondered, something that maid Mari once said came to mind:

“Jane’s had it rough. She said she has a sick younger brother. I heard she’s been saving desperately to buy expensive herbs for his treatment.”

‘Could it be for her sick brother?’

Jane’s brother reportedly had hemophilia. The herbs she took were commonly used as a temporary treatment for the disease.

But they weren’t cures—only temporary measures. Hemophilia was genetic, and there was no permanent remedy.

‘Should I report this?’

Honestly, it wasn’t rare for staff to steal herbs.

Because many herbs were hard to obtain for commoners, those with sick family members sometimes took them.

Lea sighed briefly, contemplating how to handle it.

“Maybe I’ll let it slide this time.”

The herbs weren’t harmful, after all.

If discovered, Jane wouldn’t just be fired—she’d have to repay more than ten times the cost of what she stole.

Lea decided to warn Jane privately and leave it at that. With that thought, she shrugged her shoulders and began gathering the herbs she needed.

There was no time to waste on such a trivial matter. Her hands moved a little faster than before.

…

…

…

The lights in the laboratory were on deep into the night.

Although the Duke had told her she could wait a few days before heading to the annex, Lea couldn’t resist mixing the venom and herbs.

She cast her eyes to the table, where she had organized all her research during the carriage ride.

‘Priapos venom spider…’

Its venom was called “poison droplet” because the clear liquid at the tip of its sharp fangs resembled a drop of water.

The longer the spider stayed defensive, the larger the droplet grew. Lea had collected this venom and stored it in the vial now before her.

“Just one bite can kill within 20 minutes, right?”

It was lethal even in trace amounts. Earlier attempts to neutralize it by mixing it with local spider venoms had failed every time.

‘But this time, I might actually succeed.’

There was hope. She might finally finish the antidote and leave the mansion safely.

Lea immersed herself in research, forgetting her exhaustion.

After a long time of mixing, she finally slumped over her desk. Beside her sat a small vial glowing with a pale ivory hue.

“It’s done.”

Her whisper came with a tremble in her shoulders.

“I… did it!”

She had finally succeeded in creating the antidote.

Lea almost let out a shout of joy, forgetting it was still early dawn. Every time her mixtures exploded, Magnolia’s glare had grown fiercer—but this time, the blend with the Priapos spider venom had succeeded.

There hadn’t been clinical trials yet, but she had never gotten this far before. Excitement bubbled inside her.

“I’ll test it tomorrow!”

She had promised the Duke three months—but the antidote came together quicker than she expected.

She had been mocked for her failed attempts before, but now, the Duke would be surprised.

‘I’ll tell him first thing in the morning.’

Lea leaned back in her chair, a bright smile on her face. Through the window behind her, the morning sun was rising.

❀ ❀ ❀

The next morning, before going to see the Duke, Lea went to find Jane.

‘I need to warn her not to go near the storeroom again.’

No one gets away forever. If she kept stealing, she’d get caught eventually. Lea headed to the kitchen.

She figured Jane was there to fetch the Duke’s breakfast—but Jane was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, Lea approached maid Mari.

“Mari, do you know where Jane is?”

“She’s with the butler right now.”

“Really?”

‘This early in the morning?’

Why would the butler need Jane while she should be preparing breakfast?

As Lea turned to leave, slightly annoyed at the wasted trip—

“You know, the butler’s been calling for Jane a lot these days.”

“Right? It’s like every day now.”

The maids’ conversation made Lea pause.

‘The butler sees Jane every day?’

She stopped and listened more closely.

“Why’s he always calling for her?”

“Maybe there’s something going on between them?”

“Ugh, gross! The age gap is disgusting.”

The maids shuddered, then quickly lost interest and moved to a different topic. But Lea couldn’t shake her unease.

‘Of all people, the Duke’s maid getting close to the butler?’

Bayern had once conspired with the royal physician. Could it be happening again?

‘I’ll need to watch more closely.’

Was it just a personal relationship—or something more?

With a mind full of doubts, Lea turned to leave.

She headed toward the Duke’s chamber with some sour jujube tea. Because of her detour, it was nearly mealtime.

‘I’ll give him the tea and tell him about the antidote.’

She had tested the antidote on a lab rat last night.

Now, she just had to observe over a few days to see if the antidote, Porarium, worked—and what side effects it might have.

If the drug had been wrong, the rat would’ve died instantly. Thankfully, it seemed perfectly fine.

‘This is looking promising.’

Her steps felt light as she approached the Duke’s room. After a quick knock, she entered and saw him sitting alone on the bed.

As she approached the table where he sat, he spoke up.

“You look like you’re in a good mood.”

“Me?”

The Duke didn’t respond—instead, he rested his chin in one hand and looked up at her.

‘Was it that obvious?’

He always was sharp.

It must’ve been because she finally succeeded in creating the medicine. Her heart felt lighter.

“Something good happen?”

“No, not really…”

“You always smile like that right before causing trouble.”