The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 100

What is this, what the hell is this.

This had never happened before—what the hell was this?

I was completely thrown off.

At the same time, Kibon threw off the blanket and shot up.

"Are you all right?"

Even while sick, his movements were sharp. He urgently grabbed my shoulder and asked,

"What are your symptoms? Has this happened before?"

"Ah, no..."

I quickly wiped my mouth with the wet towel I was holding.

"I’ve been feeling a bit nauseous for the past few days, but..."

"Haa... I knew it. We should’ve gone to the hospital back then."

But who goes to the hospital over plain indigestion...

Obviously, I figured I was just nervous because of the upcoming Saint Cairo banquet.

But somehow, the nausea that had been building up was suddenly gone.

Aside from vomiting blood, I felt fantastic. For the first time in days, I was actually hungry.

"Get on my back for now."

Kibon crouched in front of me.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"To see a doctor."

"What? What doctor at this hour?"

It was 3 a.m. No clinic would be open now.

But he picked me up without hesitation. My body rose in the air.

Right then, the bed he had just been lying on collapsed with a thud.

"Hey, where are we going?"

"If we go to the palace, the royal physician—"

"No!"

Was he out of his mind? Why would the royal physician treat me? They only treated royalty by default.

"And this is... suspicious."

Kibon was already running flat-out outside. I could feel his fever, but that didn’t stop his sprint.

I whispered into his ear,

"Stop for a second, Kibon. It’s not that I don’t want to go to the hospital. It’s just that this is the first time I’ve had these symptoms..."

At that moment, a roadside tree toppled over nearby. Kibon gritted his teeth and muttered, “You sick perverted bastard, even now...?”

"The truth is, there might be a faction targeting me. You wouldn’t know this, but you’ve gotten involved in royal matters without realizing it..."

I had already finished my calculations with a cool head.

I thought the Reformists would make a move on me at the Saint Cairo banquet. That’s why I planned to lay low starting tomorrow. But if they already made a move beforehand...?

If that was the case, spreading news about my condition would only expose my hand to the enemy.

I gave a direct order to the momentarily stunned Kibon.

"Take me to Luka. I know his boarding house address."

I had asked him about his lodging once and made sure to remember it.

"He’s the only doctor I can trust."

Luka Class. The one who, in the original novel, saved all of Prince Jaden’s people.

Even Jaden had once said, ‘He’s more skilled than the royal physician.’ That meant Luka’s abilities could be trusted.

"But the royal physician—"

"That’s an order. Don’t argue. Just do what I say."

To the guy still harping about the palace, I replied firmly.

"I have enemies. If the whole palace gets stirred up over my illness and I end up in more danger because of it, are you going to take responsibility? Stop talking and move."

"Then I have a condition."

Kibon, who had obediently shifted his tone at the word ‘order’, spoke.

"In the morning, you must see the royal physician. I’ll inform Crown Prince Kiaros myself."

"You?"

"Yes. When I met with the Crown Prince during the Howard Olten incident, he gave me direct communication privileges."

Ah, that eldest son of the Olten Trading Company who got sent to the provinces for sexual harassment of a civil servant...

Kibon had testified to Kiaros about it, hadn’t he...

"Ugh, what royal physician... If you bother the Yongin with this kind of thing and get scolded for it, don’t come crying to me."

I grumbled in displeasure, but he didn’t answer.

"And it’s not ‘when I met the Crown Prince,’ it’s ‘when I had the honor of an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince’..."

Meanwhile, Kibon had already started running again, carrying me toward Luka’s boarding house.

* * *

"Hmm."

Luka greeted Kiaros and me in his pajamas.

At first, he stared at us in a daze. But as soon as I said, “Your rival is dying!”, he began the checkup in earnest.

Apparently, he couldn’t let me die before they even started competing properly.

After a long battery of tests, he tilted his head and muttered,

"...This is strange..."

Kiaros felt like his chest was collapsing. So this is what it felt like when the world shook.

And then came the guilt.

When she said her stomach felt off, he should’ve dragged her to the royal physician, no matter what. Or even just a regular clinic...

His heart burned with pain.

"Haa... This is really weird..."

Luka kept tilting his head. Kiaros was breathing heavily.

When Namia vomited blood, he’d truly felt like the world was spinning.

Even if it was an incurable disease, he would save her. He would do anything. Absolutely anything.

"What’s weird?"

I asked, unimpressed even now.

Luka hesitated like something felt off, then said,

"Everything is completely normal."

The tension in Kiaros drained all at once, and he staggered on the spot.

I shouted,

"What the hell! If everything’s normal, why is it weird?"

"Because that’s what’s weird. I’ve never heard of a disease where someone vomits blood and everything’s normal."

Luka clicked his tongue and continued,

"And you said your stomach’s been queasy for days? But now that you’ve thrown up blood, you’re fine? I’ve literally never heard of symptoms like that, Namia."

"Really?"

"Yeah. In any case, right now everything’s normal, there’s no medicine to prescribe, and no surgery to perform."

Luka folded his arms and declared confidently.

"But just in case, I’ll do more research. Let me draw more blood."

"Okay."

I nodded obediently.

Kiaros watched silently as she had her blood drawn.

He couldn’t just accept the public health department’s evaluation. He’d find a way to get her to the royal physician no matter what.

"You’re bleeding a lot today."

Luka mumbled as he drew more blood.

"Huh? What blood?"

"Ah... the High Priest also suddenly coughed up blood. I was urgently contacted to examine him, but he insisted he was fine—said it was due to a chronic condition—and refused treatment."

"The High Priest...?"

"Yeah."

Luka yawned and continued.

"I felt awkward seeing him enjoy the banquet food just fine afterward, so I left."

Kiaros’s brow twitched slightly. He definitely said earlier that he wasn’t feeling well.

"...I see."

I replied slowly. My eyes, which had been sparkling after vomiting blood, suddenly dimmed.

I thought for a moment and then changed the subject.

"Luka, then can you take a look at Kibon ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) too? He had a pretty high fever. It’s gone down some with antipyretics, but his temperature’s still not normal."

"Huh? Why me?"

Luka shrugged.

"Clearly, it’s nothing serious. He’s healthy, so he’ll recover quickly."

"And if he gets worse?"

"Then he goes to the hospital. It’s not urgent. Don’t ask a high-end professional like me to treat some nobody."

As far as he knew, every public health official dreamed of examining a royal just once...

Anyway, Kibon had no intention of getting a checkup from Luka either.

So he grabbed my arm as I began glaring with dagger eyes.

"I’d like to take my leave now. I truly am fine."

"But still—"

"His Highness the Crown Prince said I could contact him anytime, so I will now request a royal physician."

"Oh, really?"

My eyes sparkled.

Kiaros flinched.

Just a while ago, she had scoffed at the idea of a royal physician.

Why the sudden change of heart?

Namia beamed. His instincts screamed. Whenever she smiled like that, she became completely unpredictable.

"Then when you contact him, pass on a message from me."

"Um... what..."

"I have a secret favor to ask, and I want to know if I can use His Highness’s name. He’ll probably say yes without thinking too hard, but just make sure to get that yes."

Having once casually said "yes" and then suddenly found himself promoted to "Dragon Brother," Kiaros muttered without meaning to:

"What... exactly are you planning to do with my name this time..."