TLDOWN 34

Chapter 34……………..

The Time for Counterattack

“Wh-what did you just say? The supplement contained suanzaoren?”

Jane’s trembling voice quivered as she asked again. Lea’s eyes curved gracefully as she smiled.

“Yes. It’s good for insomnia, so I included it. There are many servants in the mansion who suffer from sleeplessness.”

Of course, that was an outright lie. There was no way she could put a rare Eastern herb like suanzaoren into a nutritional supplement.

But Jane, who knew nothing about herbal medicine, had no choice but to believe the absurd lie. After all, she was one of the people who had eagerly bought the supplement when it was first sold.

“Who would gamble with their life like that?”

The image of Jane gulping down the supplement flashed clearly in Lea’s mind.
If there were actually poison in the food, Jane wouldn’t have been able to taste it at all.

The herbs Jane had stolen would become toxic even with the tiniest trace of suanzaoren.

“And since Jane has been taking the supplement regularly…”

That toxin would now be closer to a deadly poison.
Jane’s spoon rattled uncontrollably in her trembling hands.

— Clang!

Then the spoon clattered loudly to the floor as she lost her grip.
Lea’s lips slowly curled upward into a knowing smile.

“As I thought… it was you.”

A spy from Bayern.

Lea scooped a fresh spoonful of soup and held it out to Jane.

“Oh dear, you should be more careful.”

Her gaze urged Jane to eat.
Jane’s face turned deathly pale, like a mouse cornered in a trap.

Staring at the spoon, Jane’s knees gave way and she collapsed to the floor.

“Come to think of it, you’ve been taking the supplement very frequently, haven’t you, Jane?”

“…”

“That must be why you can’t taste-test anything now.”

Lea crouched down so her eyes were level with Jane’s.

“Because you already know last night’s stolen herbs were mixed into this food. You can’t eat it since it clashes fatally with suanzaoren, right?”

“P-potion master…”

Jane’s voice trembled like broken glass. Lea’s smile instantly vanished.

“How dare you try to frame the empire’s one and only duke? Even if you were acting on the butler’s orders.”

“H-how did you…!”

“You know well enough that attempting to harm a member of the imperial family won’t just end with your own death, don’t you?”

Jane’s whole body shook like a leaf in the wind as she seemed to anticipate what Lea would say next.

“Not only you, but also your elderly mother back home… and your sick younger brother. They would all deserve death as well.”

A crime that warranted the execution of three generations.
Jane’s face crumbled into utter despair at Lea’s icy voice.

“How pitiful. You started all of this to save your younger brother, but now your entire family will be slaughtered.”

“No, please! Please, my lady!”

Jane screamed and crawled forward until she reached the duke.

“My lord! I have committed a mortal sin. Please, please forgive me just this once!”

“…”

“It was all because of my brother’s medicine fees. I… I didn’t want to do this, but the butler threatened me! It’s true, please believe me!”

She clung desperately to the duke’s trousers, sobbing.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, staining the carpet dark.

“To think she asks to be trusted when she tried to kill him.”

If Lea hadn’t noticed, Akkia would surely have died an unjust death.
Her gaze turned frigid as she looked at the shameless Jane.

The duke, silent until now, calmly wrote something down and handed it to Lea.
The message was short and to the point:

[Prove it.]

“Proof of trust…”

Lea’s lips curved ever so slightly.
She understood exactly what he meant.

“Prove it, Jane.”

“H-how?”

Jane’s panicked question was met with a silent glance between Lea and the duke.
Since he didn’t write anything further, he was leaving it up to her.

Yes… If it’s the duke I know, he would say this:

“From now on, you’ll do exactly as you’re told.”

The duke’s lips curled into a faint, loose smile, confirming Lea’s interpretation.

❀ ❀ ❀

Bayern had just returned from his trip and was sitting with the head maid in the parlor.
It was the time of year to place orders with the merchant guild for supplies needed at the mansion.

“Then let’s place the order like this.”

“Yes. The Farcia guild, as always.”

The head maid nodded at his reply.
Since the duke would soon collapse, there was no need to purchase too many supplies.

However, Bayern slyly increased the quantities anyway.

“Once I move to the capital, I’ll need settlement funds. Hehe, this will come in handy.”

As he reviewed the order sheet with satisfaction, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

“Tsk. Who dares run inside the mansion?”

“I’ll discipline the servants more strictly.”

Bayern clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Even if the duke was sickly, this was still the residence of an imperial duke.

“The duke is so weak that even the servants have become lax.”

The footsteps grew closer to the parlor.
Then the door burst open.

“Butler! Something terrible has happened!”

“What is it?”

Bayern met the frantic gaze of a maid.
She was one of the maids who worked in the duke’s bedchamber alongside Jane.

There was only one reason a bedchamber maid would rush to him like this.

“The duke has collapsed!”

Bayern immediately shot to his feet.
Unlike the head maid, whose face paled in shock, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

❀ ❀ ❀

Lea glanced between the unconscious duke and the door.
The maid had already gone to inform Bayern, so he would arrive any moment now.

Jane was clasping her hands tightly, her face tense with fear.
Noticing Lea’s glance, Jane quickly hid her trembling hands beneath her skirt.

“Well… she’ll do whatever it takes to survive.”

Her own life and her family’s depended on it.
Lea turned her focus back to the duke.
Even unconscious, Akkia’s body trembled with feigned convulsions.

Thanks to the medicine Lea had given him beforehand, his pulse was extremely weak.
By tonight, it would look as though he had gone into full cardiac arrest.

Raising her voice dramatically, Lea shouted,
“My lord!!”

Akkia gasped raggedly, his acting so convincing that Lea almost worried something had truly gone wrong.

“He’s not actually sick… right?”

As she pretended to administer first aid, the door burst open with a loud bang!

Bayern strode in without hesitation.
“My lord!”

He froze at the sight of the limp duke, then glanced briefly at Jane.
Something silent and secretive seemed to pass between them.

Had Lea not already known of their collusion, she would have been fooled by how natural it looked.

Bayern rushed forward and shoved Lea aside.
“What in the world happened here?! The duke was perfectly fine earlier, so why has he suddenly collapsed?!”

“Well… he just collapsed suddenly. I was trying to determine the cause, but there was nothing unusual beforehand.”

Lea played dumb, pretending not to know.
Bayern’s brows furrowed deeply at her answer.

“How incompetent must you be to not even know the cause of this?!”

“…”

“He was fine until breakfast this morning. Why on earth—”

Bayern’s eyes narrowed sharply, as if something had occurred to him.

“Wait. Now that I think about it, this is strange. He was perfectly fine this morning…”

His suspicious gaze shifted toward Lea.

“Did you perhaps prescribe the wrong medicine?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Or maybe you deliberately gave him something strange with ill intent!”

His furious glare burned hotter than ever.
He clearly believed Lea to be the culprit now.

“No! I only gave him the usual suanzaoren tea…”

“How do I know it was really suanzaoren and not poison?! Save your excuses for the royal guards—get out immediately!”

“Poison?! I’m the duke’s apothecary! Why would I ever give him poison?!”

Lea shouted in frustration, but Bayern only snorted.

“We’ll find out during the investigation. If the duke dies, you won’t escape execution.”

Bayern turned and barked another order.
“Jane! Fetch the domain soldiers and bring writing materials for a letter.”

“Y-yes!”

Jane quickly scurried out of the room.

“Please, wait! Butler! If you leave him like this, the duke’s life will be in danger. At least let me administer emergency care—”

“Enough!”

Lea clung desperately to his trousers, but Bayern shoved her away with a look of disgust.
He then called to a servant outside.

“Take this apothecary to the apothecary room and keep her there under guard until she’s cleared of suspicion!”

Bayern’s face radiated triumph.
He had no idea what awaited him.

“Foolish man.”

Lea twisted her expression to hide the smirk threatening to appear.
In a more pitiful tone, she cried,

“I… I’m innocent, Butler!”

Even as she was dragged away, she shouted desperately, but Bayern didn’t even glance at her.

❀ ❀ ❀

Two days had passed since the duke collapsed.

At first, there had been a faint pulse, but now it was so weak it was almost undetectable.

“Soon it will look like complete cardiac arrest. And just in time—the imperial envoys are arriving.”

Jane had apparently done her task well, trembling though she was.
As expected, she was a woman who would do anything for money.

After confirming that the duke had lost consciousness, Bayern had sent a letter to the imperial family.
Today, the carrier pigeon returned with the reply.

[By tonight, imperial physicians, the emperor’s secretary Marquis Rodrigo, and the temple priests will arrive to examine Duke Heidern’s condition.]

Jane had stolen the herbs.
Lea had given the duke suanzaoren tea, which clashed fatally with those herbs.

“Thus, there is no suspicion on me.”

Once the imperial officials confirmed the duke’s death, their first suspect would naturally be Lea.
Especially since she had mysteriously disappeared after being locked up in the apothecary room.

“Clever girl.”

Clearly, that quick-witted woman had sensed something was wrong and fled.
In her haste, she’d left behind all her clothes and personal belongings.

“All the better. It makes it easier to frame her.”

Even if the truth somehow came out later…

“The one punished will be that maid.”