The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 124

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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 124
Kiaros couldn’t believe what was happening right now.
Even though Namia had told him everything before leaving.
[It’s true that I know the future, and that I possess this strange power.]
There had definitely been something suspicious. So he conducted a thorough investigation.
Neither the Emperor nor the Empress suspected anything, but Kiaros alone had harbored doubts. His suspicions proved correct.
Yet he felt no satisfaction whatsoever.
“Ah….”
From his perspective too, all the mysteries were unraveling.
Namia had said her stomach kept churning, and after coughing up blood once, she recovered completely.
Kiaros was well aware that those symptoms matched the High Priest’s exactly. But it seemed those symptoms were the signs of an experimental subject.
With this, all the suspicious pieces fell into place.
Yet still, nothing felt right.
[B-but even if I die, I will die by my own hand. I will never bring chaos to the Empire.]
Instead, a profound terror overwhelmed him.
Die by her own hand?
At whose discretion?
But if it were Namia, she seemed more than capable of doing exactly that.
‘No.’
His hands trembled violently. No—his entire body shook.
Even when he faced death during the second Age of Darkness, it wasn’t like this.
‘No….’
He couldn’t say anything to Namia.
Not the love confession he’d steeled himself to make, nor the truth that he was Kibon.
Namia left without hearing any of it. Rather, she departed unaware that there was anything he needed to tell her.
‘I have to find her.’
That was the only thought in his mind.
‘I have to find her.’
He didn’t know where Namia had gone, but before she could resolve to end her life somewhere.
He pushed off from his seat and bolted from the room.
It was his first time running through the Imperial Palace.
It was his first time dashing off somewhere without warning.
Everyone in the Imperial Palace who caught sight of him running at full speed wore expressions of utter shock.
After sprinting with every ounce of strength until his breath came in ragged gasps, he arrived at the Emperor’s Chamber.
It was still early morning, before the day’s duties had begun.
An Attendant cried out in alarm.
“The Crown Prince, Your Majesty!”
At the same moment, the Emperor’s door swung open.
The Emperor, the Empress, and Jayden, who had been having breakfast together, looked up in shock at Kiaros.
The Empress was the first to rise, bewildered and uncertain.
“Y-Your Highness, the Crown Prince! I, this is… well, you see, we… the Crown Prince said he wanted to have breakfast separately…”
It was Kiaros who had first refused to join breakfast together.
He hadn’t known when Namia might summon Kibon.
Yet despite this, the Empress’s face plainly revealed her guilt over the three of them sharing a harmonious meal without Kiaros.
The Emperor, equally startled, quietly set down the spoon with which he’d been feeding Jayden pudding.
“Kiaros? Has something urgent come up?”
Kiaros gazed quietly at his beloved family.
They were good people who always showed consideration, lest he feel alone.
Only then could I read the feelings I had long avoided confronting.
I was lonely among those who cared for me.
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Even while presiding as the Empire’s future, I had lived unaware of it all this time.
Working closely with Namia, achieving budgets and such—only then did I understand. That I too actually wanted to be with someone.
“I wish to leave the Imperial Palace for a time.”
So when I spoke to the Emperor, there was no hesitation in my words.
“Leave the Imperial Palace? Wait a moment.”
The Emperor quickly gestured to the Empress. She immediately left the Emperor’s Chamber with Jayden.
Thus the Emperor and Kiaros were left alone.
The Emperor asked in a measured tone.
“Kiaros. What is this about? You’re in your Dark Period. Even with maximum restraint, it’s insufficient—why on earth do you speak of leaving the Imperial Palace?”
Kiaros answered without even considering sitting before the Emperor.
“Namia has fled. I must find her.”
The Emperor’s eyes widened in shock.
“She fled from the Imperial Palace? Is such a thing even possible?”
“Well, it seems the Tower Master assisted her.”
There was no time for lengthy explanation, so I spoke tersely.
It wasn’t a lie anyway—she had disappeared using a scroll the Tower Master provided. The Emperor ground his teeth and muttered.
“That useless old man… No, wait. That’s not the fundamental issue here.”
Then he spoke painfully in a sighing tone.
“…So in the end… Namia grew weary of your confinement and obsession and fled. What am I to do about this…”
“That’s not it. I haven’t even properly confessed yet…”
Then the Emperor, usually so composed, suddenly erupted in anger.
“What, you fool! You’ve been confining her without even confessing properly? What kind of idiocy is this?”
Kiaros had no time to explain the full circumstances, so he simply stated what he needed to say.
“I am truly sorry to burden Your Majesty, who is unwell, but I must ask you to handle the Imperial Palace affairs and the remaining Gaejo Faction matters. I have just arrested the High Priest…”
“The High Priest?”
“Please hear the details from the Ravens. In any case, I am truly sorry…”
As I left the Imperial Palace, the Emperor weighed heavily on my mind.
I was already reluctant to entrust all Imperial Palace matters to the ailing Emperor due to the Dark Period, and now I had to leave the Ravens with him as well…
Yet the Emperor’s expression was peculiar.
“Mm, don’t concern yourself with that.”
“…Pardon?”
“My health is… well… don’t worry about it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
The Emperor fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, then exhaled deeply. As if reaching a decision, he straightened his posture and spoke.
“I’ve recovered completely.”
“…Pardon?”
Just like that?
Kiaros’s eyes widened in bewilderment, his brow furrowing, and the Emperor released a long, weary sigh.
“At the Saint Cairo Banquet, Jayden manifested a special ability, I’m told.”
“Ah…. And?”
“Jayden’s special ability was Dragon-kin healing. For Dragon-kin, healing is possible even on oneself. So that child healed me.”
“But how….”
“I don’t know the details, but an unnatural phenomenon appeared in my body, or so I’m told. Jayden was able to nullify that unnatural phenomenon related to Dragon-kin.”
The Emperor added somewhat sheepishly.
“I thought I should tell you, but Dragon-kin special abilities are kept secret even from family, aren’t they? So I decided to tell you slowly, through other means.”
“….”
“In a way, it’s all thanks to Namia. Because Namia restored the relationship between Fron and Jayden, and strengthened their bond through the banquet, Jayden was able to awaken his special ability… Kiaros? Kiaros? What’s wrong?”
Kiaros’s legs gave way beneath him, and he staggered.
So Namia had deliberately observed Jayden’s ability manifesting at the banquet. Even while being interrogated herself.
Namia had done so much for the Imperial Family.
He had done nothing but harbor suspicions, and under the pretense of being “the future of the Empire” and needing to be cautious, he had never once conveyed his true feelings to her.
“In any case, I am now healthy and sound.”
The Emperor rose slowly and took Kiaros’s hand. Then, smiling gently, he spoke.
“So don’t worry about the Imperial Palace. Go and grab her skirts, kneel and beg, or even confess. Of course she may refuse, but you shouldn’t have regrets either way.”
“Your Majesty….”
“I know that the words ‘future of the Empire’ have weighed heavily on you. Of course, these are important times, but set it aside and go wherever you wish. I am father enough to be that kind of shelter for you.”
Kiaros nodded.
Only then did his mind truly clear.
Where had Namia, suddenly become such a formidable power, gone? Finding the answer didn’t seem particularly difficult. What she had always wanted was her “Father,” after all.
Just as he was about to set off immediately for the Southern Region.
A message flashed past like lightning.
[Please tell Kibon that I left him a letter.]

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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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