The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 157

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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 157
After the Emperor departed and word came that Biberus had taken the bait.
Father and I had little to do but wait. Kiaros had declared he would handle the rest himself.
[You missed your father so much. We need to spend plenty of time together to make up for being apart.]
True to Kiaros’s word, we spent those days inseparable while waiting for Biberus and my mother, as if our separation had never happened.
Father tended his garden peacefully while I read beside him.
At night we watched the stars together, and I even debated ethical theory with him.
‘But what exactly is he planning to do with Biberus…? They say he doubles the attacks of whoever strikes him…’
Spending time with Father was one thing, but my curiosity was another.
I remained endlessly curious about how to deal with Biberus, but Kiaros wouldn’t tell me.
‘Is he really planning to sacrifice innocent people?’
Had he prepared subordinates willing to detonate themselves like bombs, prepared to die in the process? Was that why he wouldn’t tell me?
I was curious, but I wasn’t worried. By his abilities, Kiaros wasn’t someone I needed to worry about.
Of course, that didn’t mean Kiaros refused to share information about the situation.
“I thought we might receive regular contact from the researchers at the laboratory, so I left things as they were for now.”
He told me everything except for the method to deal with Biberus.
“According to what I heard from Cedric Loapi, the researchers have virtually no combat ability. The Red Knight Order could suppress them in an instant, so there shouldn’t be many variables. The experimental subjects are locked away anyway.”
“I see.”
I nodded, but I had no doubt there were Plans B, C, D, and F lined up after that.
While Father, the Tower Master, Kibon, and I rested comfortably and waited at our leisure.
“Namiaaaaaaaa!”
An unexpected visitor arrived.
“Oh my goodness, our dear Namia! So you were here, weren’t you? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?”
It was the Empress. The moment she saw me, she lifted me up, tossed me several times, and laughed heartily.
“So, you’ve been caught after running away—are you ready to become the Crown Prince’s bride? Hmm? Bwahahaha!”
It felt like being kidnapped by a villain.
Even as my vision spun dizzily, I managed to ask.
“Your Majesty the Empress… why are you here…?”
“You said you were going to catch bad people! I had to come! Bwahahaha!”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ve been itching for action these past few days, and this is perfect! You said they wouldn’t be particularly skilled, just small fry, right? Perfect for an old warrior who’s retired from being the strongest knight due to injury!”
It seemed the Empress had rushed down in the fastest carriage the moment the Emperor returned to the Capital.
But the Empress hadn’t come alone.
“So that muscular man is the father you were looking for all this time? My goodness, he doesn’t resemble you at all except for the eyes and hair color. But what is that man doing right now with those incredible muscles? Is he planting seedlings? That’s hilarious. He looks like he could tear someone’s neck off, but here he is plucking fertilizer bags? What’s the point of those muscles? So they’re labor muscles after all? The man has no sense of efficiency, does he?”
She had come with Jayden, who still had that sharp tongue.
Father dropped his seedling spade with a soft thud while planting flowers in the garden. Kibon beside him also forgot to bark and stood with his mouth agape.
“No, ma’am. These are experimental muscles.”
I answered respectfully, and Jayden burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha, so there are such creative muscles…”
That’s when Kiaros appeared. Jayden’s expression instantly shifted to innocent politeness as he bowed respectfully.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
Without a doubt, he had been planning to tease me mercilessly again, but Kiaros’s presence seemed to have made him suppress his true nature. I regarded Jayden with pitying eyes.
‘He’s completely caught on… I should have made more of a fuss with Kibon.’
For some reason, Kibon Altes ground his teeth every time he looked at Jayden.
Kiaros bowed respectfully to the Empress before breaking into a gentle smile.
“Thank you for traveling such a long distance.”
“Oh, not at all! I enjoyed the journey after so long! Especially since this is my first trip with Jayden!”
The Empress laughed heartily and tapped the sword at her side with her fingers.
“So, which villains should I cut down for you?”
“…Pardon?”
“Didn’t you summon me all the way to the Southern Region because you wanted me to slash something? You remembered the legendary Count Fron, after all!”
At the Empress’s bold declaration, Kiaros’s pupils wavered.
I grasped the situation in an instant.
‘The Empress has misunderstood something again. The message must have been conveyed incorrectly.’
I should have avoided sending a letter… Her Majesty the Empress’s literacy comprehension was quite limited.
‘But without the letter, there was no other way to communicate properly anyway.’
Even by my assessment, we didn’t lack the military forces enough to require the Empress to come all the way south.
Biberus with his special abilities was the problem, but the Gaejo Faction members in the underground facility were at a level we could suppress easily enough.
‘What exactly did she misunderstand? Regardless, she seems to have interpreted things quite arbitrarily—I’ll have to ask her about it later.’
It was at that moment when Kiaros wore a slightly troubled expression.
A Raven Servant rushed over urgently.
“Your Highness.”
It was a Raven Servant who had been lying in wait near the underground laboratory.
Kiaros’s face hardened gravely.
“Intruders are entering. They appear to be a middle-aged man and woman.”
A middle-aged man and woman….
It was almost certainly Biberus and my mother.
“Ah.”
At those words, Kiaros’s gaze turned toward me. Our eyes met immediately.
The moment he said “a middle-aged man and woman,” I was already gazing at him earnestly.
Sensing my unspoken desire that I couldn’t express in words, Kiaros maintained his silence for a moment before speaking.
“Namia, do you perhaps… want to witness Aran Sertiz’s arrest?”
I nodded without saying anything.
My throat felt tight, and I couldn’t manage a proper response.
The thought crossed my mind that my mother might die. After all, the leader of the powerful Gaejo Faction had entered, and I didn’t know what other devices might be in the laboratory.
I harbored no affection for my mother… but it felt like I might have something to ask her at the end, and regardless, it felt crucial that I face her.
Observing my expression, Kiaros spoke.
“But you must keep yourself in a safe place. Bring offensive and defensive scrolls, and teleportation scrolls too.”
Regardless, I was still the strongest with scrolls, and there was no reason I couldn’t go.
As if anticipating my thoughts, he spoke tenderly before turning his gaze toward the Empress.
“W-well, yes. Since you’re here, it would be wonderful if you could stay by Namia’s side.”
The Empress’s eyes widened as she cried out.
“Are you asking me to guard Namia right now?”
I was equally taken aback. Wait, asking the Empress to guard me? That didn’t make sense. I was about to wave my hands in protest when—
“Kyaaaaaah! This is amazing! Kyaaaaaah! I’m so excited I could die!”
The Empress pulled me into another embrace and bounced up and down. Then she noticed my Father hunched over behind us and tilted her head curiously.
“So that muscular one is your father, hmm? He won’t become a rival for my guard duty, will he?”
But my Father simply kept his head covered, repeating “S-so scary…” over and over. It was because he’d encountered Kiaros.
“Woof woof woof!”
Kibon in dog form stood guard beside him. Kiaros gazed at Kibon and my Father with a distant expression.
Just seeing my Father like that made my heart ache… No matter what circumstances surrounded my Mother, I could never forgive her.
“Hmm, he’s not a rival then. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
While the Empress swiftly retracted her declaration of rivalry, the Raven Servant urged us onward.
“We should move quickly, it seems.”
“Understood.”
Kiaros nodded rapidly. Then he looked at me and the Empress and spoke.
“The laboratory is divided into two main sections. If you follow this Raven Servant, you should be able to reach the safe area. Wait there.”
“What about you, Your Majesty?”
The Empress asked without a trace of concern, and Kiaros replied with equal composure.
“I intend to face the others and the leader of the Gaejo Faction. I have a plan, so don’t worry. And in the meantime…”
He turned his gaze toward me and added.
“If I can manage it, I’ll send Aran Sertiz your way.”
It was a clear act of consideration.
For me, who still had so many questions. So that I could face my Mother directly—the one who held all the secrets about me.
“Then let’s move. If it’s the Empress, I can trust Namia to her care, and my mind will be at ease.”
“Ahahahahaha! Yes, yes! Ahahaha! Let’s go, let’s go!”
And so the Empress and I followed the Raven Servant, departing first for the Underground Laboratory.

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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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