It was the Porarium poison that the Count always drank. Of course, it was a bit more concentrated than what the Count used to have.

“To finish it in one go, I’ll have to drink this much.”

Lea then drank the liquid without hesitation. As the bitter taste spread in her mouth, she grimaced.

“Ugh, bitter!”

How had that man managed to consistently drink something so bitter and tasteless? She suddenly thought the Count was extraordinary.

Having emptied the bottle, she wiped her lips. She then picked up another bottle beside it.

“This is the antidote I made.”

Thanks to the concentrated Porarium, abnormal reactions would appear quickly in her body. So Lea planned to immediately take the antidote she had made.

“This is probably going to taste bad, too.”

After hesitating for a moment, Lea took the new medicine and poured it all into her mouth. A liquid even more pungent and foreign than Porarium went down her throat.

She placed the last bottle of the new medicine on the desk. She seemed to have a solemn expression as if she had completed a great task.

“Now all that’s left is to observe the progress.”

She had done all she could.

For a week starting tonight, Lea planned to document the changes in her body after taking the medicine. She didn’t know what might happen while she was asleep.

And the plan to continue taking the medicine was abruptly shattered tonight.

(This is a time separator.)

“Where on earth is she?”

Deep into the night when everyone was asleep.

When Lea, who he thought would be working late in the annex, was nowhere to be found, the Count became increasingly irritated.

“Something seemed off about her response earlier.”

Clearly, there was an issue with the antidote she was creating.

From what he had observed, Lea couldn’t meet his eyes whenever she was in a difficult or awkward situation.

‘Tsk.’

He had repeatedly urged her to consult him whenever there was a complicated or difficult issue.

Without seeing her, he knew she would be brooding on her own. With heavy steps, he stood in front of her room.

“Lea.”

The Count called her name, but there was no response from inside the room.

‘Could she be asleep?’

Just as he was about to turn around, thinking she might have gone to bed early.

He heard a sound as if something heavy had fallen to the floor from beyond the door. It felt like the sound of someone collapsing. He turned around.

“What’s going on?”

An ominous feeling overcame him. Then he hastily opened the door that was closed.

As he did, an intense heat, making the room feel stuffy, touched his skin.
There was no way Lea’s room could be this hot, especially since it didn’t even have a heater.

“What did you do to make the room this hot?”

Akkia, feeling suffocated by the heat seeping into his whole body, unbuttoned his shirt. Then he looked around the room for Lea and found her collapsed on the floor.

“……Count……”

Seeing Lea calling for him, the Count bent his knee toward her. But her appearance up close seemed strange.

“Lea?”

Akkia quickly reached out his hand, seemingly emitted from the heat of her body.

“You, what is this exactly……”

He lifted Lea in his arms and placed his hand on her forehead.

Then he felt her body temperature, as if she was holding a ball of fire, in his hand.

Akkia was taken aback, as if his hand would burn from the scorching heat.

“You need to take antipyretics right now, get up quickly……”

It was just when he was trying to lift Lea up. She swiftly grabbed the Count’s wrist.

“……Count.”

By the time Akkia came to his senses, he was already beneath Lea. Her eyes halfopen, with a depraved gaze.

Her pupils, which should have shined like a leaf in the ordinary days, were flickering deeply.

‘That gaze is……’

Pupils filled with intense desire.

‘Surely not.’

It couldn’t be what he was thinking.

However, as if dismissing the Count’s assumption, Lea approached as if she would devour the man’s lips.

The hot air expelled from her lips tickled his cheek.

“Count……ha, hah……”

Then she called for him with a voice mixed with air.

“My body is too hot……”