The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 111
“Change your clothes at once!”
“Who do you think you are, telling me what to wear?”
Kibon’s ears flushed crimson as he hastily draped his jacket over my shoulders.
“It’s far too exposed! What will people think when they see you like this….”
“That’s exactly what I want them to see….”
Kibon’s overreaction was becoming excessive.
While the dress was admittedly revealing, I had merely bared my shoulders—hardly a scandalous choice by any measure.
At the last banquet, I’d seen far more daring gowns on display.
The truth was simply that I had been excessively conservative in my appearance until now.
“Absolutely not.”
“I don’t care what you think.”
“But surely… aren’t you cold?”
Cold? Of course I was cold. It was November, after all. And this wasn’t even the banquet hall.
“That’s why I brought a heat scroll.”
I waved my hand dismissively and strode purposefully toward the chapel.
In these dizzying heels—worn for perhaps the first time in my life—my footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor.
With the most ornate fan and heavy makeup added to the ensemble, even I had to admit I cut quite an imposing figure.
“Besides, I’ll keep this on until we reach the chapel to conserve the scroll’s energy.”
“Not even in the chapel. Why would you go to such lengths with a heat scroll just to wear something like that?”
“There’s a reason for everything. Are you interrogating me right now? Get your head straight. Anyone watching would think you were my superior.”
“….”
Kibon’s expression remained thoroughly disapproving. I dismissed him with ease.
The High Priest had said he would remain in the Temple within Imperial Palace after the banquet concluded.
Though called a temple, it was merely a small space containing a chapel and sleeping quarters—quarters that could accommodate no more than five people.
In other words, if I went to the chapel now, I would encounter the High Priest and the few priests attending to him.
“But why are you suddenly going to the chapel?”
“You don’t need to know. Besides, I’ve already reported it to the Crown Prince.”
Of course, I had mentioned only the barest outline regarding my initial approach.
Not disclosing the specifics of my method was admittedly quite deliberate on my part.
‘In any case, the High Priest cannot harm me right now. I’m not his priority.’
He would assume someone like me—a mere pawn—could be eliminated at any time. Therefore, I had to act at an unexpected moment.
Kibon, unable to discern my deeper intentions, merely wore an expression of confusion.
“Then exactly….”
We had arrived at the chapel.
I returned the jacket draped over my shoulders to Kibon.
As I removed it, a sharp, cold breeze swept across my bare shoulders.
I activated the heat scroll I had brought. Like all scrolls, it wouldn’t produce extraordinary effects, but it would serve adequately as a hand warmer.
Then I turned to Kibon and issued my command.
“You speak only two words.”
“Two things?”
“First, you need to tell me, ‘That person is the High Priest.’ And then you need to tell the High Priest, ‘The Crown Prince won’t stand for this.'”
* * *
Kiaros held his breath internally.
‘Could it be… that “approach” means…?’
Namia’s outfit was far too revealing. I had never seen her wear something like this before. And what was with that heavy makeup and those absurdly high heels?
‘Surely she doesn’t mean seduction when she says “approach”?’
Moreover, the line he was supposed to deliver—”The Crown Prince won’t stand for this”—felt unsettling.
According to the Temple’s doctrines, the High Priest was forbidden from romantic relationships.
Yet the meaning of the line “That person is the High Priest”… was she trying to exploit a weakness in that direction?
‘This won’t do.’
Just seeing her exposed white shoulders made my body tremble. My head spun as heat rose within me.
If Namia, in that state, were to give me a flirtatious smile and say something like “I want to get closer to you, High Priest”…
‘Absolutely not. I cannot bear to witness that.’
No matter how much of a trap we were setting for the enemy, I could not stand to watch Namia act familiarly toward another man.
In the meantime, Namia opened the Chapel door. The High Priest, who had been praying inside, turned around.
Their eyes met.
“Wait…”
Just as I was about to say it wouldn’t work and grab Namia’s arm—
“My, my, where are your eyes looking… not even greeting me?”
Namia snapped open her fan with an arrogant flourish and spoke haughtily.
“How dare you be so disrespectful within the Imperial Palace to someone favored by Yongin?”
Instead of seduction, she simply began acting like a spoiled brat.
Both Kiaros and the High Priest blinked in bewilderment, their expressions stunned.
‘What? Why isn’t he delivering his line? I taught him everything, and he’s this oblivious?’
Namia jabbed Kibon in the ribs. When he wore a confused expression, she glared at him with her eyes.
Only then did sudden understanding dawn on him.
Kiaros coughed once and managed to speak.
“That person is the High Priest.”
It seemed to be the correct answer. A faint smile of approval crossed Namia’s face.
The moment he spoke, she opened her eyes wide with an “Ah, ah, ah…” sound.
“Oh, that person is… the High Priest? Ah yes, yes, that’s right. We’ve even greeted each other before! Oh my, how could I forget like this, even after seeing so many people at the banquet?”
And she added with a bright smile.
“Well, surely the Crown Prince would say, ‘My dear Namia is silly, but she’s adorable,’ wouldn’t he?”
Not even as a joke did the words “Yes, that’s right” emerge.
Because the way she conducted herself so rigidly before him clashed far too much with that line.
She was truly capitalizing on her scandal with the Crown Prince once again.
‘She never shows me this side of herself…’
Namia was always respectful in front of Kiaros. Perhaps because of that, seeing this innocent, artless side of her now made laughter spill out of him.
It certainly seemed absurd at first…
In that moment, Namia clapped her hands together with a radiant smile.
“Anyway, I was already looking for you, High Priest.”
“Ah… yes.”
The High Priest regarded her with a bewildered expression.
The question ‘Was she always like this?’ was plainly written across his face.
And for good reason—at the Saint Cairo Banquet, Namia had left the Banquet Hall without even dancing the first dance.
The actual time she had spent there was remarkably brief, and people had scarcely any opportunity to form impressions of her personality.
“Well, my dragon brother kidnapped me and eventually had me confined to the Imperial Palace… I suppose I was too beautiful at the banquet. Though I did act a bit petulant during the first dance… but how can I help it if I don’t understand my own heart? It seems good sometimes and not good other times… hmm? Surely the High Priest isn’t finding my story tedious, are you?”
Namia had already drawn close to the High Priest’s side, chattering away without pause.
“Haha, not at all… but I wonder why the Minister of Education was looking for me?”
“It’s nothing major.”
Namia snapped her fan shut with a flourish, her eyes gleaming.
“Please treat me.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m clearly in terrible pain, but the Imperial Palace Physician keeps insisting I’m perfectly fine—he must be a quack.”
“Where exactly… does it hurt?”
“Yes. My body feels rather chilled…”
The High Priest looked at Namia with an expression that clearly said ‘that’s because of how you’re dressed.’
It seemed Namia had deliberately chosen such an outfit precisely to create this absurdly exaggerated situation.
“My ankles hurt a bit too…”
That was because she was wearing high heels.
“And I haven’t even washed my face properly, yet my skin keeps breaking out…”
The High Priest seemed to barely restrain himself from saying ‘what do you expect when you wear makeup that thick without washing it off?’
“But the Imperial Palace Physician just keeps saying I’m fine, no matter what.”
Namia clicked her tongue in displeasure, then let out a smirk.
“Modern medicine seems unable to treat me. How about you use your holy power to heal me instead, High Priest? You do possess sacred energy, don’t you?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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