TLDOWN 66

Chapter 66………………………….

 – The Kind Duke

Leah couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. It would have been easier if the Duke had scolded her for not knowing table manners.

“Is the fact that I have a pea allergy really something to be so happy about?”

Awkwardly, she smiled at the Duke of Belarus, who seemed to be staring holes into her.

As the three continued eating, Dmitri’s low voice broke the silence.

“How old are you, young apothecary?”

“I’m twenty-two this year.”

“Twenty-two…”

The Duke of Belarus seemed to chew over the number in his mind, and then the corner of his eye twitched faintly.

Could it be that the duchess’s daughter died around the same age as her?

The atmosphere grew somber, as though he were mourning his dead child through Leah. Then he asked again:

“And your parents?”

At that, Leah glanced at Akia and hesitated. It was far too personal a question.

But realizing it was nothing she needed to hide, she opened her mouth.

“The truth is… I don’t really know who my parents were. I was abandoned right after I was born, and grew up in an orphanage.”

Akia, who hadn’t known the full details of her past, turned to her in shock. He had known she grew up in an orphanage, but not that she’d been abandoned as a newborn.

Dmitri’s face darkened at the mention of the orphanage.

“An orphanage… ha. You grew up in an orphanage?”

“Yes.”

He asked quietly, and her unhesitating answer cast an even deeper shadow over his expression.

His lips trembled. His eyes wavered as they fixed on her. Dmitri was already convinced that Leah was Ariel’s daughter.

Leah, not understanding the strange look in his eyes, forced a smile and lifted the glass of water in front of her.

Sensing the odd tension, Akia broke in.

“More importantly, are you truly going to abandon the idea of developing the hot spring at the salt mine?”

It was a topic they had already settled the day before—the Duke had refused.

But Akia deliberately brought it up again, steering the conversation away from the uncomfortable direction it was going.

Dmitri shot him a glare, displeased at the interruption. He opened his mouth again, about to repeat his refusal.

“We already settled that yesterday—”

“A hot spring?”

Leah interrupted, her eyes bright with interest as she turned to him. And again, in that moment, he saw Ariel’s face overlapped with hers.

Ariel too had loved the Bialytskhal salt mines.

Even if not for the mines, the lakeside scenery of Bialytskhal changed each season, always breathtaking. Every summer, they had gone there for retreat.

“Like mother, like daughter…”

She seemed just as fascinated by Bialytskhal as her mother had been.

“Is a hot spring going to open at the salt mine?”

“Whether it does or not remains to be seen. We know there’s a hot spring beneath the mine, but unless we develop it…”

Throughout the meal, Leah had seemed uneasy at the Duke’s barrage of questions, and Akia worried she might become sick from the discomfort.

But now, as the conversation turned to hot springs, her expression grew bright. And seeing her, Dmitri’s stiff face softened.

“Our apothecary, then—you like hot springs?”

“Of course. Who doesn’t like hot springs?”

“Our?”

Akia’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Since when are they ‘our’?”

He gave a short, incredulous laugh. The Duke of Belarus—of all people—acting so familiar, even affectionate, toward a young commoner girl he’d only just met.

The Duke of Belarus—who was known to be the most authoritarian of nobles, the harshest judge of class and rank.

Akia knew him well enough to be certain: this was not a man who treated peasant girls with the warmth of a kindly neighborly grandfather.

“Tch. Has he gone senile in his old age?”

Akia’s gaze sharpened as he watched Dmitri looking at Leah with such tenderness.

With displeasure, he snatched up his glass of cold water and downed it in one gulp.

“So, our apothecary likes hot springs.”

“……”

“Barton.”

Dmitri stroked his beard as if thinking, then beckoned to his butler, who had been waiting nearby.

“Yes, my lord?”

“Send word to the capital immediately. Bring in an expert on hot springs. A salt mine with a hot spring beneath it… that could be quite the enterprise.”

“What?”

Akia’s jaw dropped at the Duke’s sudden about-face. Yesterday, he hadn’t even listened to Akia’s reasons for pursuing the hot spring project.

“And now he’s suddenly decided to develop it? Why?”

Confused, his gaze fell back on Leah, who sat across from the Duke.

Dmitri’s attention toward Leah was more than just noticeable—it was excessive.

At first, Akia thought it was simply because she reminded him of his deceased daughter.

But could mere resemblance alone cause the Duke to overturn his own words? Impossible.

“Then… if not because she resembles the duchess’s daughter…”

A chill ran down Akia’s spine. He gripped his glass so tightly his knuckles whitened.

“That senile old man—who does he think he’s coveting?”

His eyes sparked with fire as they fixed on the Duke.

…

…

“Thank you for inviting me to breakfast.”

“Yes. Did the food suit your taste?”

“It was wonderful.”

Thus ended the eventful meal.

By the end, Leah seemed comfortable, no longer nervous before Dmitri.

“He’s much kinder than I expected.”

She smiled faintly as she looked at him.

“I’d heard he was stern and frightening… but he speaks to me with warmth, like a grandfather to his granddaughter.”

Her wariness melted.

“Miss Leah, since we’ve eaten, won’t you join me for a cup of tea?”

“Tea?”

Leah glanced hesitantly at Akia, who had seemed displeased for some time now.

Sure enough, his cold eyes silently warned her.

“Don’t.”

Leah sighed softly and replied,

“I’m sorry… I actually have urgent matters I must attend to.”

“Well, in that case, I won’t force you. An old man shouldn’t steal time from the young who live such busy lives.”

“Thank you for understanding. Then, we’ll be going…”

Akia was about to lead her away when Dmitri murmured quietly, eyes lowered:

“The weather is so fine today. When Ariel was alive, we used to stroll in the garden together on days like this…”

His voice was low, but the words reached them clearly. They were so steeped in sorrow that they tugged at the heart.

Leah’s gaze met the Duke’s. Her eyes seemed to ask if she could really just walk away.

“Damn it.”

Akia cursed inwardly.

“…Very well. Then we’ll walk with you.”

“Duke Hydern.”

Just as Leah was about to agree to the stroll, Barton approached Akia.

“There is a matter that requires your urgent attention, my lord.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

What urgent matter could there be for him here, as a guest? Akia’s face twisted.

“Well then, if you must go, you go ahead. I can walk with Miss Leah.”

The Duke smiled broadly, clearly pleased with the arrangement.

Akia’s face turned icy cold at the snake-like cunning of the man.

“…No. Butler, I’ll come later.”

But Leah only pressed him further, oblivious.

“They said it’s urgent. You should go.”

Her words, driving the wedge deeper, made Akia let out a bitter laugh. In the end, he had no choice but to follow Barton.

❀ ❀ ❀

“The garden is so beautiful… I thought so last night too.”

“My daughter loved roses.”

They stood in the rose garden. The Duke watched with satisfaction as Leah bent to inhale the flowers deeply.

“The Lady of Belarus must have been truly happy in her lifetime, to have such a kind father.”

“Sadly, I fear she was not. She left my side, after all… Perhaps to that free-spirited child, this mansion—and I—felt suffocating.”

“My lord…”

Shadows crossed his face as old memories stirred.

Seeing his eyes glisten, Leah pulled out her handkerchief and held it out.

“Forgive me, showing such weakness before a young lady.”

“It’s not weakness. It’s all right.”

Leah waved her hand, embarrassed, but Dmitri smiled warmly, moved by her kindness.

“To think a young lady could have such a gentle heart.”

He dabbed at his eyes and looked at her softly.

“So… I have a small favor to ask. Would you stay in the mansion a little longer?”

“Pardon? At the mansion?”

“Yes.”

His eyes pleaded with her in a way that was impossible to refuse.

“…I…”

Leah knew he was seeing his dead daughter in her. That made her hesitate to answer.

What did it matter that he had once ruled the empire?

Now, he was simply a grieving father left behind after losing his child.

For the first time, Leah felt what parental love might be—warm, embracing, heavy in her heart.

“Yes… it should be fine, just for a few days.”

Her heart softened. Leah gave him a small smile.

“I’ll speak with my lord about it.