A State of Affairs

‘Why did I confidently say I could make it within four days?’

That, despite the fact that taking ample time was the usual rule as a freelancer.

Shana soon regretted having told Lucian that she would quickly make the first medicine.

‘The medicine isn’t going well.’

Not only was the medicine not going as smoothly as she had hoped, but Lucian kept visiting her every day.

“Shasha, I came to see how the medicine is coming along.”

Coming to see how it was coming along?

That was just a pretext, as it would be completed as they experimented, but it felt like a nudge.

Besides, she didn’t feel like she was resting even during breaks because he was popping in with teleportation.

She couldn’t do anything else in front of him watching her intently.

She even wondered if she had to keep experimenting in public so uncomfortably.

“Not today yet. It’s still a long way before the medicine is complete. So, why don’t you go?”

“Um, then I’ll just watch from the side.”

“…Don’t you think you can go after you check?”

“I have to see if you’re still working.”

She couldn’t tell if the medicine was going into her nose or into the beaker because Lucian was watching her experiments with a grin from the side.

She felt a chill down her spine every time he stared at her.

Thanks to that, Shana’s nerves were extremely frayed.

The reason why it was difficult to make the medicine was that the purpose of making it was completely different from the medicines she had made before.

The aphrodisiac she had given to Grandpa Marcus was not for the purpose of an excitant, but was merely a medicine to boost vitality.

‘Rather, good.’

The goal now was a medicine to stimulate the brain.

To do that, Shana had to make the medicine while going through several trials and errors.

In the process, Shana had sometimes tasted the medicine, so she often had to push Lucian away.

Lucian was desperate to be with Shana, so it wasn’t easy to push him away.

When Shana asked why he wanted to stick around so much, Lucian replied.

‘I don’t know, it’s fun to watch?’

Saying that, Lucian laughed with his eyes crinkling.

She was annoyed by the way he was talking while she was experimenting like she was going to die or live.

‘That Imperial lackey, pawn, watcher, leech.’

Was it because he suspected that she would run away after receiving only the down payment?

At first, she thought he had just come to request something, but now, he seemed like a chaser.

When asked how he came and went so quickly, when he must have time to work as the captain of the guard, Lucian threw out the word ‘teleport’.

“Didn’t you say your body hurts when you use magic?”

“It hurts a little.

But if I don’t use teleportation, the travel time is long. Then the time to monitor Shasha’s experiments is reduced?”

It was hard to believe that someone, whose life was in danger because of mana rejection syndrome, would come using even magic just to monitor her.

Lucian said that as if side effects were nothing. To Shana’s ears, it was sheer madness.

‘Even loyalty is a disease to this extent.’

Thanks to that, Shana began to feel pressured by Lucian, as if something would happen if she couldn’t make the medicine within four days.

Whether it was a desire for money, a sense of responsibility to complete the contract, or Lucian’s surveillance.

Shana made the first medicine for the mana rejection syndrome treatment.

There were more trials and errors than she thought, but Shana was convinced that it was a completed work after the fifteenth attempt.

The reason was simple.

Instinct!

‘It’s different just by smelling it.’

An awakening effect that could disrupt the curse of mana rejection syndrome.

She felt like it was possible.

At first, the effect was weak, but after Shana experimented several times over several days, she was convinced that this medicine would work.

‘How long did it take to make it?’

In the middle of it, Erilot visited and tried to take it away, saying that she was making a new medicine.

It was only after Shana explained that this medicine could have side effects that Erilot stopped.

Shana thought as she looked at the beaker containing the medicine.

Drops of black water were still falling through the experimental tools entwined with glass tubes.

“Theoretically… it’s perfect.”

If she fell asleep after drinking this medicine, it would create a new stimulus circuit in her head and stop the brain’s reaction of excessively rejecting mana.

‘I can look forward to about six hours.’

Would the actual effect be the same?

Shana shook the beaker with her hand.

The completed medicine was black, sticky, and heavy.

Shaking it once, Shana frowned.

“Oh….”

Did she make it too strong?

The bitter and sour smell was so intense that it stung her nose.

However, just by smelling it, her heartbeat was quickening.

‘It’s done.’

Now, all she had to do was drink it.

Shana looked at the medicine.

She hated to drink it more than anyone else, as someone who knew the ingredients and the experimental process inside.

However, if this worked, everything would change.

The incessant demands, the constant concerns about the cost of managing the territory and the survival of her family.

In the meantime, Lucian had visited Shana every morning and then observed her again in the afternoon.

Now it was night.

It was close to the exact time, the only time Lucian would not be there until morning.

The medicine was completed a little earlier. This was also what Shana had intended.

‘Let’s check one last time.’

Shana took off her lab coat and hung it on the chair. Then, she changed into her pajamas.

Shana, sitting on the bed wearing a thin and light slip, picked up the beaker.

‘Since it’ll be fine and I’ll wake up soon if it works.’

She couldn’t know if the mana rejection syndrome would be cured.

Shana would know if this had a proper stimulus reaction even if she drank it.

With her eyes closed, Shana gulped down all the medicine in the beaker at once.

‘I hope it works.’

She started to feel a slight warmth.

It felt similar to the medicines she had made before.

She felt as if she was slightly excited.

Shana didn’t drink alcohol well, but she thought it would feel like this if she got lightly and pleasantly drunk.

‘At this level, it can be given to Lucian?’

Was the effect too weak? Shana was worried for a moment.

It was at that moment, as she sat, that she collapsed on the bed.

What is happening? Her vision was blurred. Grandpa Marcus was right.

‘I feel good.’

In addition, her body felt as if it was floating.

It was a sensation that Shana had never felt before.

Aside from that, her senses were extremely sensitive.

The touch of the thin slip on her skin was as soft as silk, and the blanket next to her felt as warm as feathers.

Every single air touching her skin was an unfamiliar feeling.

‘Wait, something’s wrong?’

Is it possible to feel this good?

It felt like she was drunk, rather than having taken the aphrodisiac.

At that time, a sound of someone knocking on the door was heard from outside.

The dark window brightened, and it seemed that the morning had dawned.

Shana, wanting to maintain this languid feeling, mumbled with her eyes closed.

Soon, the door opened, and a thumping footstep approached the bed.

***

“…Shasha?”

Lucian, who teleported according to the scheduled time, doubted his eyes.

Shana, who had always been wearing a lab coat and smelling of herbs, was today lounging on the bed in a thin slip.

Her cheeks were flushed, like a ripe peach, and her arms and legs, which had always been thin and white, were colored in pink with a strange heat.

Because her body’s curves were revealed beneath the thin cloth, Lucian didn’t know where to look, and he rolled his eyes restlessly.

‘What exactly is this situation?’

Whenever he had visited the pharmacy with teleportation, Shana had always been dedicated to her work.

She hadn’t expected her to be lying down like this at this point, after even making an appointment.

And, in such a revealing outfit.

It was troublesome.

Facing her wearing only a thin slip was more patient than he thought.

Lucian suppressed his burning throat and twisted his gaze upward.

‘Could it be that she collapsed from overwork?’

If so, he had to wake her up right away and take her to a doctor, so Lucian hardened his expression and grabbed Shana’s shoulder and shook her.

Shana, who was reeling from side to side at the shake, eventually opened her eyes, unable to endure it.

“…Why?”

“You’re awake, Shasha?”

“…Yes.”

Shana was still staggering. Seeing Shana, who couldn’t walk properly, Lucian frowned.

“I came today because it’s the day of the experiment, but there was no reaction. Shasha? Are you okay?”

Lucian spoke in a composed tone.

Shana, who then remembered the experiment, exclaimed, ah.

“That’s right. Yes, I should experiment.”

“Shasha, are you okay? You don’t look well.”

“I’m okay, I’m okay. Lucian.”

Shana waved her hand, but her body wouldn’t move as she wanted.

Moreover, seeing the twisted pronunciation, Lucian tilted his head.

“Lucian? Did I hear you correctly? Is there another man?”

“No, Lucian. I said it right.”

Shana was still staggering. She was about to leave the room, or she was about to walk, but she was about to fall down straight away.

Lucian immediately caught Shana.

Shana’s body, which was nestled in his arms, was like a ball of fire.

“…What is this. Why is there so much heat?”

Lucian’s eyes darkened heavily in an instant.

“This won’t do. Let’s go to the doctor right away.”

He planned to move using the teleportation magic. Shana, noticing that, said urgently.

“No, I’m not sick! It’s because I drank something.”

“…What does that mean? What did you drink? Alcohol?”

If that was the case, her slurred speech was understandable.

Lucian frowned and asked, and Shana said.

“Alcohol? I didn’t drink that. I drank something else.”

Lucian looked around and confirmed the medicine bottles in front of Shana.

‘…What did you drink, exactly?’

The anxiety only amplified.

“First, drink some water, Shasha.”

Lucian urgently put a cup of water he had brought with magic to Shana’s mouth.

However, Shana just frowned and didn’t drink the water.

After a long time, the water overflowed from the cup and wet her lips, and only then did she finally take the cup.

“It tastes bad.”

“It tastes bad?”

It was unique for something she drank every day. Was it because of the fever? Lucian frowned.

“Let’s rest today. We can continue the experiment tomorrow.”

“No! I can’t postpone it even for a day. I’m not sick.”

Shana began to boast, pointing her finger at the black-water-filled beaker.

“This is it. What I drank.

A newly made medicine, and if you drink it, you’ll definitely feel the effects, Lucian.”