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

“Ah, yes.”

Kiaros stood up and opened the door.

Namia looked up at him, arms full with bags of things.

“I know it’s rude to drop by like this. But... I was worried.”

Her blue eyes were filled with concern.

“If you canceled a promise, it must mean you’re seriously ill. And being sick alone would feel so miserable.”

She stood outside the door and began handing him the things she was holding.

“These are tomato stew and beef stew. Heat whichever you like. I didn’t make them—I bought them.”

Namia was still in her full banquet attire.

There was no doubt she’d come straight here without stopping home.

Surely, she must have suspected that Kibon might be the spy...

Maybe that’s why a slight sense of relief passed over her face when she confirmed he was inside.

“And this is a cake... I know you probably can’t eat it if you’re sick, but still, it’s your birthday.”

She handed him the cake box. Just as it seemed she was done, she pulled something else out of her bag.

“This is a birthday gift.”

“...Huh?”

“I was going to give it to you when we met at the banquet, but I’m giving it to you now, one way or another.”

Inside the small, ribbon-wrapped box was a pen.

“You seemed kind of self-conscious about the pen I gave Victor, so I figured I’d get you one too. But honestly, I’ve given pens to everyone I’m close with. They’re cheap and not burdensome.”

Kiaros’s heart started to clench.

Right now, Namia—of all people—was showing concern for someone else’s feelings? And that someone was him?

Overwhelmed, happy, flustered—every good emotion in the world surged through him... and then an enormous guilt swallowed him whole.

“Happy birthday, Kibon. I’ll be going now.”

He accepted the box with the pen inside. The moment their fingertips brushed—

“Th-Thank you...”

“...Huh?”

Namia’s eyes, which looked like she was about to leave, suddenly changed.

“Wait... you...”

“...Yes?”

“Wait! Are you serious? My god...”

Namia’s eyes flew open and without warning, she reached up and pressed her hand to his forehead.

“My god, how high is this fever?! Huh?”

“...Excuse me?”

In that instant, his vision spun. The dizziness hit him, and his body swayed. Namia quickly caught him as he staggered.

“My god, if you were this sick, you should’ve gone to a hospital!”

She grabbed the stew and cake back out of his hands and shouted.

“I had a feeling you must be really sick to cancel at the last minute, but... this bad?!”

Kiaros blinked blankly in shock. He wanted to say he was fine, ask what she was talking about—but his body felt like cotton, and he swayed again. Namia propped him up on her shoulder and said,

“Let’s go inside first. Where’s your bedroom?”

Practically dragging him along, Namia pulled him further inside. She scanned the tiny house with her eyes and spoke cheerfully.

“Wow, the place is cozy so the bed’s close. What a great house!”

“...You may say it’s shabby.” freёweɓnovel.com

His voice cracked as he spoke. Namia guided him into the only room and threw him onto the bed. She rummaged through drawers, found a thermometer, and shoved it in his mouth.

“Mmgh!”

“...My god, it’s thirty-nine degrees! How long have you been like this?”

She paled when she saw the number.

Kiaros also paled. What fever? He had never even caught a cold in his entire life.

Then, suddenly, a voice from the past flashed through his mind.

[“It’s an abnormal manifestation, so there will definitely be side effects. If you don’t want to be bedridden for days, be careful.”]

He had... admittedly lost his mind a bit earlier when he saw Victor and Namia together on the balcony.

The two of them had been drinking very warmly together...

And it even looked like Victor had confessed to her. Overwhelmed with emotion, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) he’d kind of... shattered the balcony a little.

‘So this is the aftermath they meant?’

His body was burning, and his voice kept cracking. Namia looked at him, full of concern, and asked with urgency,

“You were feeling awful but still wanted to be my partner for the banquet, didn’t you? So you pushed through and pushed through, but by right before the banquet you knew you couldn’t anymore, so you sent that note, right? And you stayed here the whole time feeling miserable and lonely and in pain, right?”

That was... an unreasonably detailed inference.

Namia bustled about and then laid a cold wet towel on his forehead.

“Do you have any emergency meds? Let’s get you some fever reducers.”

“Ah... um, it’s fine. I don’t need them.”

Then Namia smiled sweetly and asked in a gentle tone,

“I’ll ask one last time. Want meds or a scolding?”

Kiaros looked at that smile and replied quickly,

“I think there’s medicine in the second drawer.”

Namia opened the second drawer and gasped.

“What the—every kind of pill is in here? So that’s why you gave me all those antacids? Did you major in pharmacology in the Kingdom of Imoth or something?”

It made sense—this was a crow safehouse, after all. Crows had to treat themselves in hiding...

She found the fever reducer and fed it to Kiaros. Then she gazed at him and asked quietly,

“Did you go to a hospital?”

“Ah... no.”

“Figured. Once you can move a bit, let’s go.”

“No, it’s fine. If I just sleep a bit, I’ll be fine. You should head back, Minister.”

“Really? Okay, then sleep a little. I’ll stay here until then.”

“No, it’d be better if you just went...”

“Too bad. Even if it’s uncomfortable, deal with it. I’ll stay until the fever goes down since you took the medicine.”

Namia was firm. Kiaros spoke in a rough voice.

“This house is a mess. You’ll be uncomfortable. The hot water probably doesn’t even work...”

“Perfect! If I need cold water to change the cloth, that’s even better.”

She pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed, clearly planning to take care of him thoroughly.

The chair hadn’t been used in ages and creaked loudly. When Kiaros sighed, Namia grinned.

“Wow, it’s like a rocking chair. I always wanted one.”

Her care was overwhelming. Just then, a gust of wind blew, making the windows rattle.

“Wow, it’s like a haunted house experience! I always wanted to visit one of those.”

Kiaros silently stared at Namia as she checked the temperature of the towel on his head.

It really was absurd that all of this happened just because he saw her and Victor together.

‘Well, I guess at least she doesn’t suspect me as the spy now...’

It turned out to be the perfect cover crime.

That moment... when he saw those two together, his head overheated.

[“I was always her number one.”]

Time with her that he didn’t know about. A man claiming he had it.

Victor Arwin. Even before the man arrived, Kiaros had always found that name irritating.

He was dying to know how Namia really felt about Victor. On the surface, Namia was impossible to read.

“Minister.”

Namia had said she didn’t answer personal questions during work.

But this wasn’t work hours.

Maybe the fever reducer had a drowsy component—his head felt a little foggy.

Leaning into that haze, Kiaros asked her,

“What’s your relationship with Team Leader Victor Arwin?”

Namia had definitely said “rejected” on the balcony.

But that answer didn’t satisfy him. All throughout the banquet, she’d looked troubled.

Was it because she was upset that Victor might be the spy?

If she’d rejected him only because he might be a spy...

“No, what was your relationship with him?”

“...What?”

“Team Leader Victor said this to me. That for a long time, he was your number one.”

Namia, who had been looking at him, suddenly burst out laughing.

Then she rested her chin in her hand and asked, as if in disbelief. Her eyes sparkled with rare amusement.

“He dragged you off that day to say that?”