The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 98
“Yes, of course.”
Kiaros rose to his feet and opened the door.
Namia looked up at him, her arms laden with packages.
“I know it’s presumptuous to show up like this. But… I was worried.”
Her blue eyes brimmed with concern.
“If you’d cancel a promise, you must be quite ill. I couldn’t bear the thought of you suffering alone.”
Standing in the doorway, she began pressing items into his hands one by one.
“This is tomato stew and beef stew. Heat them however you like and eat. I didn’t make them myself—I bought them.”
Namia was still dressed in her banquet attire.
She clearly hadn’t even stopped by her home before rushing here.
Even though she’d been suspicious that Kibon might be a spy…
Perhaps that’s why relief flickered across her expression the moment she confirmed he was inside the house.
“And this is a cake… Obviously you won’t be able to eat it if you’re ill, but it’s your birthday after all.”
She thrust the cake box into his arms. Just when I thought she was finished, she pulled something else from her bag.
“This is your birthday gift.”
“…I’m sorry?”
“I was planning to give it to you at the Banquet Hall today, but I’m giving it to you now anyway.”
Inside the small ribbon-wrapped box was a pen.
“I noticed you seemed bothered that I’d bought a pen for Victor, so I got you one too. Though honestly, I give pens to all my close friends. They’re inexpensive and not burdensome.”
Kiaros’s heart began to constrict.
Just now—had Namia, of all people, shown concern for someone else’s feelings? And that someone was me?
As overwhelming waves of joy, excitement, and every wonderful emotion imaginable crashed over me, an immense tide of guilt flooded through my entire being.
“Happy birthday, Kibon. I should get going now.”
He accepted the box containing the pen. It was the moment their fingertips brushed lightly.
“Th-thank you so much…”
“Huh?”
Namia’s expression shifted, her eyes sharpening as she seemed ready to leave.
“Wait… you…”
“…Yes?”
“Wait! Does this make sense? Good heavens…”
Suddenly Namia’s eyes widened, and without hesitation she pressed her hand against his forehead.
“Good heavens, how high is your fever? What?”
“…What?”
In that instant, his vision spun. Dizziness washed over him and his body swayed. Namia quickly steadied him.
“If you’re this ill, you should have gone to a hospital!”
She snatched the cake and stew from his hands, her voice sharp with alarm.
“I suspected you must be quite sick to cancel at the last moment, but I never imagined it was this bad!”
Kiaros blinked in bewilderment, wanting to protest that he was fine, but his body felt impossibly heavy—like cotton—and he swayed again. With him leaning against her shoulder, Namia spoke firmly.
“Come inside. Where’s your bedroom?”
Namia dragged him inside, practically pulling him along. She swept her eyes across the cramped interior of the home before speaking with bright energy.
“Wow, the place is so cozy that the bed is practically right there. What a lovely home!”
“…You’re welcome to say it’s shabby.”
My voice cracked as I spoke. Namia supported me toward the only room in the place and practically threw me onto the bed. After rummaging through the dresser, she found a thermometer and shoved it directly into my mouth.
“Mmph!”
“…Good heavens, 39 degrees? How long have you been like this?”
She gasped upon seeing the number.
I gasped too. No—I’d never even caught a cold in my entire life. Where had this fever suddenly come from?
That’s when a voice from the past suddenly flashed through my mind.
[Since this is an abnormal manifestation, aftereffects are inevitable. If you don’t want to suffer for several days, be extremely careful.]
Earlier, when I saw Victor and Namia together on the balcony, my eyes had clouded with jealousy.
They’d been raising their glasses together so tenderly….
Victor had even looked like he was confessing to her. Unable to control my emotions, I’d destroyed part of the balcony.
‘Is this the aftereffect?’
The fever burned fiercely and my voice grew hoarse. Namia gazed at me with concern and asked urgently.
“Even though you weren’t feeling well, you wanted to be my partner and go to the banquet no matter what, didn’t you? So you endured and endured until right before the banquet, but when it seemed impossible to hold on any longer, you sent that note? And you’ve been here in this home the whole time, grieving in sadness, regret, pain, and suffering?”
It was an excessively perceptive deduction.
Namia moved busily and placed a cool, damp cloth on my forehead.
“Don’t you have any emergency medicine? Let’s start with a fever reducer.”
“Ah… No, I’m fine. I don’t need to take anything.”
Then Namia smiled gently and spoke in a tender tone.
“I’ll ask one last time. Do you want to take medicine, or do you want to get scolded?”
Upon seeing that smile, I answered quickly.
“The medicine is probably in the second drawer.”
Namia opened the second drawer and was startled.
“Goodness, you have every kind of medicine in here? So you didn’t just give me that much antacid for nothing? Did you perhaps major in pharmacy in the Imoat Kingdom?”
Of course I had—this was a Raven’s Safe House where we had to hide our bodies and treat ourselves in secret….
She found a fever reducer among the collection and gave it to me. Then she gazed at me intently and asked.
“Did you go to the hospital?”
“Ah… No.”
“I thought so. If you feel a bit stronger, let’s go to the hospital right away.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ll be fine after I get some rest. Minister of Education, please go back.”
“Alright? Get some sleep first. I’ll stay by your side until then.”
“No, it would be better if you just left quickly….”
“I can handle the discomfort. Since you’ve taken the fever reducer, I’ll just watch your temperature come down and then leave.”
Namia was unyielding. I spoke in my hoarse voice.
“The place is a mess. It will be uncomfortable for you. The water probably won’t even be warm….”
“Wow, you need cold water to bring down a fever anyway, so that’s perfect. It’ll be convenient for changing the cloth.”
She even dragged over a chair and sat down beside the bed, as if she were about to seriously monitor my condition.
The unused chair creaked. When I sighed, Namia smiled softly.
“Wow, it’s like a rocking chair, and I love it. I’ve always wanted to have a rocking chair.”
It was truly remarkable thoughtfulness. At the same time, the wind whistled through, and the window rattled back and forth.
“Wow, it feels just like visiting the Guigok Mountain Lodge. I’ve always wanted to go somewhere like that.”
Kiaros stared intently at Namia as she checked the temperature of the damp cloth.
Honestly, it was almost laughable that such a situation had arisen from witnessing Victor and Namia together.
‘Well, at least I managed to avoid suspicion of being a spy….’
It was an entirely unexpected crime.
To that extent… the moment I saw those two together, heat flooded my mind.
[That girl’s first priority was always me.]
Her time that he knew nothing of. Another man claiming to have possessed that time.
Victor Awin—his name had irritated Kiaros even before he arrived.
I was dying to know what Namia thought of Victor. From what I could see, there was no way to tell what Namia was actually thinking.
“Minister of Education.”
Namia had once declared that she would not answer personal questions during work hours. But this was not work time.
Perhaps the fever reducer contained some sedative component, for my mind felt slightly hazy.
Leaning into that haziness, I asked Namia.
“What is your relationship with the Minister of Education and Team Leader Victor Awin…?”
Namia had clearly said ‘no’ on the balcony.
But that answer was not satisfying. Throughout the banquet today, Namia had seemed troubled.
Was she so upset at the possibility that Victor might be a spy?
If she had refused because Victor might be a spy….
“No, what was your relationship?”
“What?”
“Team Leader Victor told me this. That for a long time, he was your first priority.”
At that, Namia, who had been watching me, let out a soft laugh.
Then, as if exasperated, she rested her chin in her hand and asked. Her eyes were filled with a rare glimmer of curiosity.
“Victor dragged you away that day and told you that?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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