The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 115

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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 115
The atmosphere was decidedly delicate.
But what surprised even me was that in this moment, with our bodies pressed together….
‘I don’t hate it. If anything, I’m thrilled.’
I recalled all those digestive aids I’d left behind at home in my rush, and the cold night air from when he carried me on his back as we ran frantically.
On that night when the bitter wind blew, Kibon’s back—fevered as it was—had been unbearably warm.
Even then, I’d thought I would never forget this night.
‘Ah.’
My heart raced.
It was a feeling I’d desperately pretended not to notice under the guise of being busy, but in this moment, I couldn’t deny it any longer.
A truth I’d known for a long time.
‘I… like him.’
This moment, and Kibon too.
‘What is Kibon feeling right now?’
He’d always seemed to like me from before….
But precisely because of that, I needed to keep my wits about me.
It didn’t matter what I felt privately, but if I revealed it, there could be problems.
‘Imagine it.’
Because I was his superior. I had to constantly keep the power imbalance in mind.
‘If it were me and Oson doing this….’
It was truly horrifying. The mere thought made my skin crawl.
‘And all because of something Oson made me do….’
Thinking back on it now, Oson himself had mistakenly believed that I didn’t ‘dislike’ him. That at least our relationship wasn’t bad.
‘So I absolutely cannot let a subordinate become convinced that I like him.’
I quickly engaged in self-reflection and spoke first.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m sorry. For having you do something so reckless… and ending up in this state.”
“Ha….”
“Truly, I’m so sorry. I have no excuse for this. As your superior, I’ve dragged a subordinate into an unforeseen situation and caused you trouble… this shouldn’t happen.”
“That was a sigh of guilt. And doesn’t that apply to the Crown Prince as well?”
“You’re right about that.”
This whole mess was caused by Kiaros giving me such an overpowered bomb.
I answered quickly.
“Then let’s just… blame it all on the Crown Prince.”
“That’s not just blaming him—that’s the truth.”
“Look at you, pinning everything on someone who isn’t here. You’ve picked up some organizational savvy.”
I chuckled. Then I added sheepishly.
“Still, I’m sorry. This could be an uncomfortable situation….”
“I’m not uncomfortable.”
He answered immediately.
“Minister of Education, are you perhaps displeased?”
“Hm?”
Dark eyes fixed upon me with quiet intensity. Beneath the faint moonlight, my reflection wavered in his pupils.
My heart pounded relentlessly.
Between us existed a line drawn distinctly by the simple fact that we worked at the same place.
Whether that line would fade or become more defined depended entirely on my answer in this moment.
I gazed into his eyes and whispered.
“…No.”
At that instant, with a tremendous crash, the warehouse collapsed entirely.
“Ugh!”
Kibon’s hand clamped over my mouth just in time, stifling my scream. Simultaneously, he gripped me tightly and rolled us both to the side.
Throughout it all, he held me securely and rolled on his back, ensuring I remained unharmed.
After tumbling several times across the ground, he finally pushed himself up. The warehouse was now completely in ruins.
“I’m… I’m terribly sorry.”
Kibon continued apologizing for something that wasn’t even his fault.
“I was just startled by what you said about marriage…”
“Hey, get a grip. I said ‘no.’ And why are you apologizing for the warehouse collapsing?”
Once I separated from Kibon’s warm embrace, I could finally breathe properly. With the moon at his back, Kibon exhaled a long, deep sigh.
“It… seems like it’s all over now. Let’s go.”
I was just about to rise to my feet as well.
“Ow!”
I couldn’t get up and simply collapsed back down. Kibon, startled, grabbed my shoulders.
“Are you injured somewhere?”
“No, it’s not that. I think my body was too tense—my legs just gave out…”
Kibon looked at me with an amused smile, then began brushing the dirt from my clothes. Though his own body was equally covered in dust.
I murmured apologetically.
“There’s… more dirt on this side…”
After all, if he was going to brush me off anyway, it made more sense to clean the side with more dirt.
He chuckled once more and meticulously brushed away all the dust.
Then he turned around and offered his back. The meaning was unmistakable.
“Hm?”
When I blinked as if I didn’t understand, he spoke matter-of-factly.
“This isn’t your first time being carried. Why hesitate now?”
“Right. Why am I hesitating?”
I brushed the dirt from his back and quickly climbed on.
With each slow, measured footstep, the night air mingled around us. With my legs suspended in the air, it felt as though I were flying through the sky.
On the night I had coughed up blood, I had been carried like this too, but then Kibon had been running frantically, so I hadn’t felt this comforting sensation.
“…This is nice.”
The Imperial Palace Garden in the dead of night was serene and tranquil.
At my soft whisper, Kibon answered immediately.
“I like that.”
Our shadows merged into one, stretching long beneath the moonlight.
I tightened my arms around his neck as I spoke.
“Let’s come back here again sometime.”
“Here?”
“Yes. I like this path.”
“It’s so remote there’s really nothing here.”
“Really?”
Looking around for anything worth seeing, I spotted a bench sitting vacant nearby.
It was quite weathered, and since hardly anyone sat on it, vines had crept all the way up to its backrest.
“Oh, that bench is pretty. So natural and charming. Before we leave the Imperial Palace, let’s definitely sit there together once.”
Here I was, being carried on a man’s back, saying such things—I was clearly guilty. Even with a confession, I would have to pay the price for my crime.
“That’s actually the ugliest bench I’ve seen in the entire Imperial Palace….”
Kibon chuckled softly and spoke in a low voice.
“Still, let’s definitely come back again later.”
Kibon’s voice reached my ears like a lullaby, warm and soothing.
“Because I think that bench might become my favorite in the Imperial Palace from that day on.”
One thing was certain: if I was the criminal tonight, then Kibon was my accomplice.
* * *
The High Priest, assigned a room in the Imperial Palace, ground his teeth in frustration.
On the final day, he had planned to lure the Crown Prince into the Chapel and bury him there alongside him. He had even prepared a potion to cloud the mind momentarily, ensuring he couldn’t escape quickly.
‘I was going to sacrifice a few priests as well, so we could claim it was an unforeseen accident on our end….’
Now that the Construction Department officials would be coming and going constantly, his original plan had fallen through.
That was when it happened.
‘Wait.’
The High Priest, lost in anguish, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
He had just remembered Namia’s words, which he had let slip past him earlier.
[If you listen well to what I say, I’ll call you when it’s just me and the Crown Prince. At that time, I’ll ask him to take good care of the Temple, and you can subtly mention your requests.]
Namia and Kiaros. If he could reach a place where only the two of them were present….
He could approach Kiaros without any great sacrifice or suspicion.
‘After all, Namia Loapi is just an ordinary woman with no power whatsoever, and given Kiaros’s suspicious nature, he would never reveal that he’s in a dark period.’
In other words, there would be no guards.
A Yongin meeting with a lover while bringing guards was unimaginable.
Namia Loapi was irritating in her own right anyway.
‘I’ll kill Kiaros and then pin it on Namia Loapi. That way I can dispose of both of them at once.’
The High Priest smiled wickedly.
No matter how much of a Yongin Kiaros was, assassination through close approach seemed far from difficult given his dark period state.
Having grown tremendously powerful through recent experiments, it would be all the easier.
‘Yes, having come this far, I must accomplish my goal.’
Until I gained a certain degree of trust, I would need to bow and scrape before Namia to some extent, but that humiliation was a small price to endure for the greater cause.
And the very next morning.
The High Priest received a letter from Namia Loapi.
I heard the Temple collapsed last night? My goodness, even the gods seem indifferent to our plight.
That letter possessed the power to turn one’s insides upside down from its very first sentence.

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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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