He knew deep in his bones that rash action could land him behind bars instead.

‘Then there’s only one way left to secure settlement funds…’

A dark shadow rapidly fell across Sion’s face.

Even Sion, resourceful in all matters, lacked confidence in and was reluctant to pursue this one remaining option. For a moment, the expressionless face of the lady flashed through his mind. Somehow, his thoroughly tangled life seemed to be smoothing out only at the very end. The god of swindling wouldn’t let Sion easily abandon his past.

‘Let’s get out of here for now. I’ll think about it back at the quarters…’

His body, which he prided on being physically superior to anyone, felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. This was probably due to his suddenly harsh reality rather than a day’s labor. Messing up his hair roughly, he turned to leave the basement.

With brisk steps, he reached the first floor and put his glasses back on, intending to head straight to the servants’ dormitory through the main entrance. For some reason, today he didn’t feel like jumping through windows and climbing walls like a petty thief.

“…Sion?”

He was confident he wouldn’t change expression even if someone caught him infiltrating the mansion. Just like now.

“Butler.”

“Why are you here?”

‘That’s what I’d like to ask. Of all people, I had to run into this old man.’

Swallowing his unrefined turbulent thoughts, Sion recited a plausible reason without changing his expression, even adding a natural smile despite encountering Adollo in the first-floor lobby.

“I couldn’t sleep worrying about the young lady. Since it was going to be a sleepless night anyway, I came back. Wouldn’t an extra pair of hands and another concerned person help the young lady recover?”

“…Your way with words is truly something. You’d make a good orator.”

‘I’ve been a lawyer before, actually.’

Adollo’s attentive, steady gaze fell on Sion as he displayed his snow-white teeth with a curved smile. The old man’s eyes were filled with stubbornness, as if staring intently could determine the new butler’s true intentions.

“This is fortunate timing. I was about to brew medicine for the young lady since her fever hasn’t dropped, but I was concerned about leaving her side even briefly. Go and watch over her for a moment.”

“If her fever hasn’t dropped, that medicine from earlier…”

“That Remicon or whatever it was? I cannot let the young lady take an untested, unproven medicine. What if something goes wrong? There’s a herbal infusion she always takes when she has a fever, so it’s fine.”

Sion knew that decades of single-minded stubbornness was harder to break than a rhinoceros horn. He didn’t waste energy arguing and simply nodded. The only annoying thing was having been given a task due to poor timing.

After smiling and waving goodbye to Adollo’s skinny retreating figure, Sion confirmed the old man was completely out of sight before freezing his expression into ice-cold rigidity.

He neither understood nor wanted to understand why someone would insist on old-fashioned remedies while ignoring effective, convenient modern medicine. She’s always taken it when she has a fever? If that herbal water was so effective, Dr. Barten would have prescribed it long ago. In the end, only the sick patient suffered.

He wasn’t in a good enough mood to answer kindly and politely if someone asked why he was in the mansion now. Fortunately, he encountered no one on his way to Agate’s room.

“Ugh… ugh… uugh…”

“Still whimpering like a wet puppy.”

The low m*ans audible from outside the room indicated how feverish Agate’s body was. Sure enough, upon entering the bedroom, he found her tossing and turning, having sweated profusely. Though half-asleep, she couldn’t get proper rest due to the pain.

“You’re suffering because of that stubborn old man, Miss.”

Barely glancing at her, Sion immediately looked for the Reminofen upon entering the room. He had naturally ignored Adollo’s instructions. Fortunately, Adollo hadn’t disposed of the medicine, and Sion easily found it on the bedside table.

“You should know you’re suffering less thanks to me.”

Sion lightly joked as he tore open the medicine packet with his teeth and placed the orange pill in his palm. Then he lifted Agate’s body, which was trying to sink into oblivion despite being unable to sleep due to the fever.

‘Her body’s completely on fire. This is urgent.’

With her white chemise and moonlight-colored hair split from dampness, the thoroughly soaked Agate was even more of a mess than her usual disheveled state. Sion offered a light-hearted comfort at the traces of her hard-fought battle against illness.

“This will make you feel better when you swallow it. After you take the medicine, I’ll help clean you up. I am your butler right now after all… I should earn my pay.”

“Ugh, uugh…”

“How much easier it would be if you made sounds like this normally. Can you sit up for a moment?”

Agate couldn’t move her body or open her eyes on her own. She just furrowed her brow in a half-conscious state. Finally, Sion used his sufficiently broad chest as a backrest, allowing her to lean completely against him.

Just when he thought he had achieved the ideal position for medication, the problem was far from over.

“Open your mouth. You need to swallow this quickly before that troublesome elder returns, Miss!”

Agate, unable to control her own body, was unlikely to cooperate by obediently opening her mouth and swallowing the medicine. Sion tried to force the pill between her lips, but she kept spitting it back out like a disobedient child.

“Sigh… This is getting ridiculous.”

Beads of sweat began forming on Sion’s smooth forehead, as if he too had caught her raging fever. At this rate, even if he forced the pill into her mouth, she wouldn’t swallow it. Sion tossed Agate back onto the soft bed like a sack.

“Ungh…”

Unaware of Sion’s frustration, Agate continued to suffer from the high fever, breathing heavily. Judging by the way she shook her head, she seemed to have a headache from the fever as well. Seeing her writhing in pain, Sion’s momentary thought of leaving her be wavered once more.

“…Miss, tell me honestly. You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Just to torment me.”

Sion’s displeased, drooping eyes fixed on the gleaming pill in his large palm. Then, as if resigned, he put it in his mouth in one go.

He ground the solid tablet to powder with his molars until it was fine enough for even a frail woman who couldn’t open her mouth due to pain to swallow easily.

The bitter taste spreading in his mouth made him grimace, as if proving the medicine’s efficacy. Barely resisting the urge to rinse his mouth with water immediately, Sion took a sip, just a small amount of water into his mouth.

‘Should have done this from the start. Better for both of us.’

His indifferent green eyes slowly traced Agate’s cracked, peeling lips. Once he identified his target, Sion’s movements were unhesitating. He cradled her fragile neck and adjusted her position.

Making sure she wouldn’t move even in her sleep, he fixed her neck straight and without hesitation pressed his lips over hers. He completely sealed her lips, which felt terribly rough from being chapped, ensuring not a drop of water would escape.

Soon after, with his long, supple tongue, he parted Agate’s closed lips, which hadn’t opened even when moaning. There was absolutely no s*xual intent in this series of actions. Sion’s rationality had never been colder.

His sole focus was to ensure that the bitter medicine he had ground up would not be wasted and would be completely delivered to his employer. The man’s stubborn, skilled tongue succeeded in parting Agate’s lips.

Not missing the opening, he mercilessly pushed his lips against hers. Their entangled lips became so thoroughly meshed that not even a breath could escape.

“Uugh……”

When an uncomfortable m*an escaped from the woman who had been quiet all along, the man’s hand gripping her neck tightened.

Her body, which had struggled a couple of times, gradually subsided under the irresistible force.

He gently pressed her tongue down with his own. Then he let the medication, which he had wanted to spit out as soon as possible, flow all the way down her throat without leaving a single drop. Agate had no choice but to swallow the liquid, diluted with his saliva to mask the bitterness.

Agate’s body, hovering between sleep and consciousness, repeatedly twitched for a moment in response to the sudden raw stimulation.