The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 121

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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 121
I gnawed at my fingernails, my mind churning relentlessly.
‘If Kiaros discovers I’m an experimental subject, he’ll kill me….’
And if I were Kiaros, I would kill me too.
How could I know what experiments Namia’s Mother would undergo next in the Gaejo Faction? What if I became a monster or a human weapon?
The Tower Master must have sensed this possibility, which is why he kept emphasizing it.
[Don’t tell anyone about your uniqueness.]
When the Tower Master informed Kiaros about Namia’s Mother and the Gaejo Faction, he made no mention of me.
He was doing his best to protect me in his own way.
‘But there’s one thing that bothers me. If the Gaejo Faction knew I was a successful experiment, wouldn’t they have approached me already? They wouldn’t just leave me alone like this, would they?’
I couldn’t fathom how this was possible. I could only assume the Gaejo Faction had no knowledge of my existence. Perhaps they still didn’t know what results would emerge from experiments conducted on a pregnant demon.
‘But wait. Maybe dying would be better?’
Rather than living as an unwilling test subject, uncertain of what my life would become.
Kiaros said he now trusts me completely, but if I lost control of my body and became a puppet of the Gaejo Faction, that would be troublesome.
‘Of course, there are other paths.’
If I revealed that I was Aran’s daughter and a successful experiment, I could become a high-ranking executive of the Gaejo Faction.
Perhaps I could even save Father and live with him.
‘But I don’t want to cooperate with the Gaejo Faction. Because….’
It seemed like a rational choice as an individual, but a strong conviction immediately contradicted that notion.
‘That’s not right.’
I didn’t want to go toward such a contemptible and base organization.
I hated conducting experiments on living creatures. I also despised the Temple, which incited wars and sought to establish authority through the sacrifice of others.
‘Damn it….’
I exhaled deeply.
In the end, I was Father’s daughter too. Whether from early education or not, I had inherited his ethical nature.
‘Rather than be used by the Gaejo Faction, dying would be better, but for now….’
I wiped away my tears hastily.
‘Let me capture the High Priest one last time.’
Even amid all this, I wanted to accomplish what I could. Whether I lived or died, the Gaejo Faction had to be eliminated.
A plan began to crystallize in my mind.
An opportunity to arrest the High Priest.
This was my final gift to Kiaros.
‘Still….’
Death didn’t frighten me, but I wasn’t without desires for life.
‘Before I die, I want to see Father and the Tower Master just one more time….’
Memories of those who had cherished me flickered through my mind.
Father’s smile as he always held young me close. The Tower Master’s letter, worried about me until the very end. And….
Kibon’s broad back, carrying me without hesitation.
The thrilling glances we exchanged just moments ago in this room.
The tender feelings expressed so carefully under the guise of the night air rose softly to the surface.
[That’s nice.]
[That’s nice.]
Tears I had been holding back streamed down my face.
* * *
The next morning.
Kiaros had risen at dawn and was working when an Attendant brought him a letter from Namia.
Your Highness, I hope you had a restful night.
Today, when I am with the High Priest, would it be possible for you to visit my room?
The letter was polite but dry and brief.
As Kiaros wrote a short reply of acknowledgment, he asked out of habit.
“Any other unusual matters?”
“Ah….”
The Attendant answered, rolling his eyes.
“She went out briefly last night. She said she couldn’t sleep and went for a walk.”
“Namia did?”
“Yes. Since you hadn’t ordered special surveillance, I let it pass. She went down a secluded path toward the Temple and returned quickly.”
Kiaros furrowed his brow.
He had told her to call Kibon whenever she went anywhere, and he wondered if she hadn’t called him because it was night.
Moreover, the Temple direction—even within the Imperial Palace, it was dangerous.
He decided he absolutely had to warn her this time. To definitely call Kibon….
‘Or not.’
Kiaros pressed his forehead and fell into thought.
‘If I tell her everything today, will Kibon disappear? Then should I tell her to call me instead? But given Namia’s personality, she absolutely won’t call me.’
His options no longer included ‘having her call a different guard.’
‘If he stays close, the mood will be ruined.’
It was experience talking.
Just as he was earnestly deliberating over this.
Another Attendant entered.
“Crown Prince, Your Highness. The High Priest has entered the Minister of Scrolls’ office.”
Now I had to play along with the crude trap Namia had set.
If all went well, but Kiaros didn’t think anything major would happen.
Unless the High Priest had lost his mind, he wouldn’t attack Kiaros no matter what setup was laid for him.
“Very well.”
Kiaros quickly pulled out a mirror and nodded.
“Let me prepare.”
Namia had certainly said that Kiaros’s exterior was better than Kibon’s.
That was all I could rely on now. I had to keep appealing to this guaranteed advantage.
[Really? Was that exterior that good…. Better than me now?]
[No matter how handsome that New Intern is, he cannot compare to the Dragon-kin Crown Prince, Your Highness….]
When he learned that Kibon was Kiaros, there had to be at least one good thing about it.
* * *
I ended up staying awake through the entire night.
Still, it was strange that my mind remained sharp. I overcame the shock through sheer willpower.
And at dawn, I summoned the High Priest.
“Ugh, I’m so sleepy, but my mind won’t stop racing, so I couldn’t sleep… My condition is really terrible.”
I sighed deeply while gazing at my reflection in the mirror.
Normally I would have been with Kibon, but today I didn’t have the confidence to face him. So I deliberately didn’t call for him.
Actually, I had planned to tell Kibon to hide in case the High Priest attacked…
But if I saw him, I felt tears would spill, so I came up with a different approach entirely.
As I scrutinized my reflection in the mirror for a long time, I muttered with dissatisfaction.
“My skin is rough and I have dark circles under my eyes. Don’t I?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Why do you have to answer so honestly? Ah, you really have no social skills… ”
I mimicked Oson and gave him a displeased look. Then I crossed my arms and spoke.
“Well, could you give me some holy power anyway? I think my condition will improve if I receive it.”
The High Priest looked at me with an expression that said, “If you’re tired, just sleep—why are you making a fuss with me?” But he didn’t voice it.
I yawned and lazily swung my feet.
‘The High Priest must be similar to me.’
The suspicion I had harbored all along now became certainty.
‘Feeling nauseous, coughing up blood, then being perfectly fine… that’s definitely an aftereffect of the experiment.’
In the original work, he never ages either. It’s probably a continuous life-sustaining experiment.
And when he coughs up blood, something grows stronger.
According to Luca, he coughed up blood at the banquet.
Which means he now possesses some transcendent ability.
‘Kiaros doesn’t know the High Priest is an experimental subject. So even though he thinks I’m setting up a somewhat sloppy plan, he’s going along with it.’
But if the High Priest uses the transcendent power unique to experimental subjects to kill Kiaros, and if I can arrest him immediately afterward…
Then it would be an enormous help in dismantling the Gaejo Faction.
That was why I didn’t leave immediately, even knowing that if Kiaros discovered me, it would mean instant death.
“Then I shall offer a prayer.”
The High Priest immediately manifested his holy power. At the same time, my condition improved dramatically.
Despite staying awake all night, my body and mind felt incredibly refreshed.
‘Oh, this is nice.’
I had originally been fussing about setting a trap, but receiving the holy power felt like receiving an incredible gift. Seeing my pleased expression, the High Priest let out a faint sigh.
“This is wonderful. Wow, if you stayed with me like this, I wouldn’t even need to sleep.”
“That… about the promise you made last time… I trust you’ll keep it.”
Of course. That must be his real purpose. How long his body must have been aching to say those words.
I smiled and stretched.
“I know that too. In that regard, High Priest, would you like to have a cup of tea before you go?”
“Pardon?”
“The Crown Prince… I mean, His Highness the Crown Prince will be arriving soon, I’m told.”

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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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