The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 15

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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 15
Baron Loapi’s Residence.
It wasn’t directly adjacent to the Imperial Palace, but it was still a reasonably fine estate located not too far away.
I exhaled deeply and opened the door. At that same moment, a middle-aged couple who had been sitting anxiously in the living room sprang to their feet.
“Namia!”
“You’ve arrived, Namia! Did Huan tell you anything?”
This doesn’t feel right at all.
The fact that Baron Loapi and the Baroness were greeting me like this was an ominous sign indeed.
‘Something has definitely happened.’
Worse still, I had heard from Luca yesterday that they were drowning in debt and peddling my name everywhere, so my premonition was far from encouraging.
“…No, ma’am.”
I unconsciously took a step backward as I spoke.
“I simply told Huan to go home…. Oh, and I did end up passing along the Finance Ministry work as well, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, I see. Well, that’s fine—you’ll handle it well enough….”
The Baroness dabbed at her eyes slightly. Then she heaved a long sigh and spoke.
“Namia, your great-uncle has lost a considerable sum through an investment venture.”
“Ah, yes.”
I nodded without much surprise. Everyone except Baron Loapi himself knew he had no talent for investments.
Though it did sting a bit that my own salary was included in the money he had squandered.
“But the problem is….”
Wait, there’s more to this problem?
“He took on rather excessive debt to fund the investment….”
My eyes widened.
‘Rather excessive debt’ was code for ‘an astronomical amount of debt’, wasn’t it?
I stared at the Baron with an expression of disbelief, and he waved his hand frantically as he cried out.
“They said it was certain information that no one else knew about! How was I supposed to know it would turn out like this!”
Are you serious? Why would they give you information that no one else knew about? They would have exploited it themselves. That’s obvious.
As I let out a deep sigh, he opened his eyes wide as if genuinely wronged.
“I did it all for the family’s sake! What? Did I do it on purpose? Just because I lost some money, you’re giving me that look? Where did you learn such disrespect!”
“I didn’t open my eyes like this on purpose either. I was also hoping things would work out well for you, Uncle. In any case, so….”
I answered without flinching.
“…So why did you call for me?”
I had no reason to feel more responsibility toward them than necessary simply because we shared blood.
I was fully aware of all the unfair things they had done to me over the years. So I regarded them merely as business partners.
Not as family bound by blood, but as a necessary transaction to find my father.
Which meant I had closed the door to my heart toward them long ago.
“Ah, well, that’s why….”
The Baroness smiled faintly and linked her arm through mine.
“Namia, what if you were to marry? You’re of marriageable age, after all….”
What? Marriage?
These people….
They’re crossing lines with a business partner?
“So you’re the Eldest Son of Olten Merchant Guild… and he really does fancy you.”
The calculation came to me instantly.
Olten Merchant Guild was quite a prosperous enterprise. Wealthy enough to repay whatever debts Baron Loapi had accumulated.
But the Eldest Son of Olten Merchant Guild was older than Baron Loapi.
“You know, right? That man’s a confirmed bachelor. He hasn’t seen a single woman since his divorce fourteen years ago. Oh, and he set conditions too. He asked her to quit her job at the Imperial Palace. Said he hated how busy she was earning pocket change.”
“…Wasn’t that divorce because of a violence incident? Is that really what people call a confirmed bachelor these days?”
“Ah, I heard there was a misunderstanding about it. Why does old history matter? Since his family’s wealthy, he can live a lavish life.”
The Baroness smiled wickedly and squeezed my arm tighter.
“Listen, I’m telling you this because I think of you like my own daughter. If you quit your job and just sweet-talk that man, you can live spending money freely, right? If I had a daughter, I’d genuinely send her there.”
“But you don’t have a daughter, do you, Aunt?”
When I spoke bluntly, she added as if throwing a tantrum.
“You should think about Huan too…. Huan is just starting to rise, and we can’t let the family drag him down, can we?”
“Why should I think about Huan? He’s not even my son.”
At that moment, the Baron interjected, as if no further explanation was necessary, waving his hand.
“Enough. Just go through with this marriage.”
It was a clean command. A tone that assumed I would obey.
“Then I’ll tell you right away.”
The Baron laughed viciously, as if bestowing mercy.
“Where your father went.”
I didn’t answer and lowered my gaze.
Father….
The most precious memory I possess. What I must protect, my most valuable treasure.
That’s why I’ve endured until now. Truth be told, it’s been manageable so far.
‘But…. But I must be precious to Father too, mustn’t I?’
A question I’d buried deep surfaced. Would Father be happy if he later learned I’d lived like this?
“Come now, your father’s location will be revealed, won’t it? There’s still more than three years left on the contract.”
The Baron rubbed his hands together as he spoke.
“You’ll marry into a wealthy family, use that money to find your father, and you can even quit your job at the civil service!”
As he spoke, growing increasingly enticed by the prospect, the Baron cried out as if bestowing a great favor.
“This is a complete win for you! You’ll achieve everything you want!”
I stared at the Baron with an expressionless face.
Yes. A profitable deal where I get everything I want.
Everything I’d aimed for could be achieved as quickly as a lie.
‘To know where Father is, to obtain the money to save him….’
My imagination naturally took flight.
[Father! Father!]
[My daughter! How did you get here?]
In my imagination, Father and I reunited with a poignancy deeper than any other.
[I married an ugly man older than Father, quit my good job that I was doing well at, and came here! Oh, that man is famous for hitting his wife? So he’s trash who’s already been divorced once! I sacrificed this much for Father—I really did well, didn’t I?]
[No, what in the world! All my effort coming this far has become completely meaningless!]
The fantasy ended quickly.
I exhaled a long sigh and shook off the Baroness’s arm that had been linked through mine.
“That’s enough. Let’s end this unfortunate connection here.”
It was a line I had rehearsed countless times. There had been more than one occasion when I wanted to storm out of this house.
I had endured and endured. But now the moment had finally come when I truly could not bear it any longer.
“I have no further business in this place.”
“Hey! You… Are you in your right mind? I’m the only one who knows where your father went. Huh? If you go poking around carelessly without knowing anything, your father will be dragged off to prison! Do you understand?”
Baron Loapi flailed his arms trying to grab me, looking utterly bewildered.
“I’m perfectly in my right mind, and I have no desire to discuss the rest with my uncle.”
I dodged his arm without even glancing back. Since there was nothing I needed to take with me, I felt no hesitation.
But something inside me crumbled at the same time.
[Father isn’t struggling at all! Just seeing Namia’s face gives him so much energy!]
Yet because Father loved me, I had to let go of that memory all the more. This was not something Father would have wanted.
I had endured enough until now.
“Don’t contact me from now on.”
The Baron shouted something, but I didn’t hear it.
I had no intention of listening from the start anyway.
“Oh, and I’ll be changing my salary account, so please note that.”
I walked out of Baron Loapi’s Residence without looking back.

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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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