The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 153
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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 153
Every time I activated a teleportation scroll, I felt a slight dizziness.
Long-distance travel was particularly severe, as my vision would spin in circles.
From the Capital to the Southern Region, even riding a dragon at normal speed would take four days. I closed my eyes, feeling a wave of vertigo wash over me.
‘Well, I’m just falling onto a sofa anyway….’
During teleportation, even my limbs felt like they didn’t belong to me. As time passed, sensation gradually returned to my extremities.
‘If I prop myself up with my arms, I won’t look too clumsy, right?’
Kiaros had said he would wait for me in his room the entire time.
Based on his nature, I imagined he would be sitting at his desk handling administrative duties.
I had used Victor as bait for this operation, but there were still other matters that needed resolution.
However.
‘…Huh?’
As my body fell with a soft thud, the sensation beneath me felt far more solid than expected.
I grasped the situation faster than my eyes could open.
‘What is this? It feels like a person’s body…?’
My heart sank as I wondered if I had miscalculated my landing position.
Slightly startled crimson eyes appeared right before me.
“…Ah.”
A low, soft voice resonated as my arm braced against Kiaros’s shoulder.
My legs, falling limp and helpless, became tangled.
‘What, what is this.’
Shock froze my body in an instant.
Kiaros, whom I had expected to be sitting at his desk, was lying on the sofa where I had intended to land.
And I had fallen onto his body, my form pressing down against him as if I were pinning him down.
Just like that time long ago when Kibon and I had tumbled in that cramped storage room.
“W-w-wait, I….”
I stammered in surprise.
“Y-y-you were here…?”
It was completely unexpected.
In my memory, Kiaros was always composed and upright. I had never imagined him in a state of rest.
Thinking his posture looked rather improper, I tried to push myself up quickly, but my hand slipped on his shoulder in the process.
“Ah!”
As my body wavered, he reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist to steady me.
We were close enough that our breaths mingled.
“…Ah.”
My toes curled involuntarily and my body tensed completely. Yet it didn’t feel unpleasant, so I didn’t remove his hand and simply remained still.
Sensing my silent permission, he too, despite my body no longer wavering, gradually tightened his grip around my waist.
“To begin with the report: everything proceeded according to plan.”
I spoke quietly, gazing down at his lips, throat, and sharp jawline so close to me.
“I delivered your letter to the Aide, and he was surprised, asking if you had been confined. Then, unexpectedly, I met the Empress and the Young Prince…and the Aide suggested that the contents should be shared with the Empress and the Young Prince.”
“That’s right.”
Kiaros met my gaze with piercing intensity as he answered.
“It’s something the Empress and Young Prince need to know.”
“Then the message was delivered properly.”
Our intertwined legs gradually drew closer together.
Moving slowly, our body heat mingled. I could feel both our hearts pounding against each other.
“And… Victor Awin’s matter went well too. Everything proceeded as I reported beforehand, and, ah, one thing. Victor Awin attached a condition.”
I added with a slight smile.
“He demanded that Kibon Altes be dismissed and falsely accused, then exiled abroad. The approval documents will soon reach the Crown Prince.”
“Ha….”
Kiaros laughed softly as if dumbfounded.
Each time his chest rose slightly, mine tickled in response.
“Based on various circumstances, Victor Awin appears to be Biberus Awin’s biological son… and if that’s the case, Biberus will certainly return to the underground facility quickly. I’m not sure if my mother will come with him, but even if she doesn’t, if we completely destroy the Gaejo Faction, any additional arrests are just a matter of time.”
I had to capture my mother no matter what.
I could roughly guess how things had unfolded, but I still needed to hear her own words to know the exact truth.
And somehow, I had to restrain her and keep her under constant surveillance for life to prevent any further experiments.
‘Then wouldn’t there be a reason I couldn’t sit as Crown Princess?’
Of course, severing the connection between my mother and me would be ideal.
But even just achieving that much, it seemed like neither this man nor the Empire would have to sacrifice anything for me.
“Of course, there remains the matter of dealing with Biberus afterward. When his ability manifests, he reflects the opponent’s attacks twofold, so I’m wondering if there’s a way to suppress him. Even if we were to cause a natural disaster like collapsing the cave, I can’t predict how far the aftermath would spread.”
I whispered softly as I gazed into his wavering crimson eyes.
“While I was away, I thought the Crown Prince would be contemplating that… so, um, I didn’t expect… you’d be lying here.”
At my words, Kiaros laughed once more with amusement.
“Well.”
Seeing his boyish smile curve upward, he did resemble Kibon in a subtle way.
“Just thinking about you and Victor Awin alone in that office having a conversation like ‘Senior, please help me’—I couldn’t focus on anything.”
He pulled me deeper into his firm embrace as he continued.
“That bastard definitely didn’t call you Minister of Education but used your name instead, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did.”
“And he probably spouted some nonsense like ‘Give her to me as a condition.'”
“Yes, he did.”
“So you… even though it was an act, you agreed to it, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
I nodded as I answered.
“If you need an exact recording, I can prepare it in a report….”
“One more terrible report will be added to my life. After your confession report.”
“That wasn’t to Your Highness but to Kibon… ah, you’re the same person.”
“There’s no way you’d genuinely be confused about that. Were you perhaps pretending to be confused on purpose?”
“Yes, I was.”
Kiaros slowly stroked my hair with the hand that wasn’t holding my waist.
Warmth bloomed across my skin with each passing touch of his fingers. I spoke with flushed cheeks.
“Of course Victor must have been thrilled, but for me it was merely a fleeting performance for the greater cause….”
“Hmm.”
“I… well, I gave my heart only to Kibon, enough that Victor remained oblivious until the end.”
“I’m uneasy.”
“But Kibon, you’re the Crown Prince. I knew that, and I’m coming to accept it… so what are you uneasy about?”
The man who had every right to be the most arrogant in the world feeling anxious over someone like Victor was so amusing that I couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
“I didn’t fall for Kibon because he was a poor foreign intern. Well, in any case, isn’t ‘I didn’t fall for you because you’re the Crown Prince’ far more sincere than the alternative?”
The fingers that had been toying with my hair slowly traced across the corners of my eyes, my cheeks, and the curve of my ear.
Heat blazed clearly in his darkened gaze.
“I’ve never asked anyone for anything since the day I was born… but now I want to. I wish you’d accept me faster.”
“I’ve already accepted so much. If I truly hadn’t, would I be here with you like this now?”
“Perhaps.”
He whispered with a faint moan.
“Yet you still use formal speech with me.”
“Ah….”
“I’m waiting for it.”
….
“For you to command me boldly as you did then, to casually order me about without hesitation….”
Truly, what a strange Crown Prince he was.
A man who could command anyone, yet he desired to be commanded like this….
If he wanted it this badly, there was no helping it.
I slowly nodded. Then, raising my eyebrows slightly, I spoke in a low voice.
“Then kiss me already. We’ve said everything we need to say—what are you hesitating for in this moment?”
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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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