The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 161

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 161
10. Aran’s Circumstances
The Princess of the Magic Tower, Aran’s world had been simple and easy since childhood.
[Father, I want that. The sparkling tiara.]
[Oh, Aran. That’s a precious treasure of the Asana Kingdom. Hmm, well then, could you wait just a little bit? Hmm? Your father will find a way somehow.]
Of course, not everything was accomplished immediately.
But in those moments, I simply had to voice what I wanted and wait.
[There, Aran! It took three years, but your father did it! Here, the tiara you wanted! I renovated the entire Old District of Asana Kingdom and brought it back for you!]
That was how I lived my entire life.
“I underwent the experiment. So why can’t I still use magic? You clearly said that if the experiment succeeded, I’d be excellent at magic—even better, the scroll effects would be incredible.”
“Hmm….”
So Aran voiced her desires to Biberus and waited.
“This happens sometimes. You haven’t coughed up blood yet?”
“No.”
“What’s this… Before coughing up blood, it manifests weakly. You can’t use it at all? Not even the slightest sign?”
“I’m telling you, I can’t use it at all. Not yet.”
“Usually, only part of it manifests, and it becomes complete when you cough up blood… But this is the first time I’ve seen a case with absolutely no reaction.”
Biberus tilted his head while flipping through records.
“Then just wait until you cough up blood. Or how about undergoing another experiment? If you undergo another experiment and cough up blood, the faintly manifested results from the previous experiment often appear all at once.”
“…I don’t really want to undergo any other experiments besides wanting to be good at magic.”
“It won’t be a failure, at least. If it fails, people usually all die.”
“Then I’ll wait. Until I cough up blood.”
I waited eight years that way.
She who had waited three years for even a shabby tiara could wait thirty years for the power of magic.
“I need some kind of change to return to the Magic Tower….”
“Why would you return to the Magic Tower, Aran.”
Biberus spoke with a sly smile.
“You’re a member of the Gaejofa Faction. An executive, at that. We can change the world. The Imperial Family led by the Dragon-kin is finished now.”
“I don’t care about the Imperial Family, but please don’t touch the Magic Tower.”
When eight years had passed that way, Cedric came to their headquarters. He had no idea whatsoever that Aran would be here.
“I heard you’re looking for test subjects. I’ll do whatever you ask, so please forgive the debt in Namia’s name… and also give me more money than that. I need a place to entrust Namia to.”
Only then did Aran learn that the Gaejofa Faction had been collecting her debt from Cedric and Namia.
“I know it’s ethically problematic… but I can’t help it when it comes to my child.”
Cedric was locked in the Underground Prison as is.
Aran went to confront Biberus in anger, but he smoothly brushed it off, saying ‘didn’t you live without caring about such things?’
In any case, she went to the Underground Prison to meet Cedric.
Even so, she felt uneasy about her identity being exposed, so she wore a mask.
“Ah….”
But Cedric, locked in the Underground Prison, stared intently at her mask and suddenly said something strange.
“It was unavoidable for my daughter Namia’s sake. I thought her talent shouldn’t be trampled on like this….”
“What? You’re spouting nonsense the moment we meet?”
“You’re genuinely talented with scrolls. No one even taught you, yet you created one to see distant places just because Father wanted to watch the stars together.”
In that moment, Aran forgot entirely what she had been about to say.
Cedric chuckled softly, muttering to himself.
“I know nothing of magic, but I couldn’t simply abandon a child like that. I had to nurture her talent and let it flourish.”
Aran’s heart began to pound violently.
Though she couldn’t perform magic herself, she had spent her entire life at the Magic Tower watching mages.
An eight-year-old creating new scrolls was utterly inconceivable.
‘Could it be… the experiment…?’
A hypothesis flickered through Aran’s mind.
She had undergone the experiment while pregnant. And Biberus had said the experiment succeeded.
[If you don’t die, it’s a success. Just wait a little longer.]
And as far as she knew, she was the only one who had successfully undergone the experiment while pregnant.
‘This is incredible! My goodness! My daughter is a mage!’
She breathed heavily, overwhelmed with elation.
‘I’m this happy about my daughter’s success, not my own…’
In truth, Aran had paid little attention to her daughter over the years.
Yet when the ability that should have been hers went to her daughter instead, she was surprised to find no jealousy within herself.
‘My goodness… I’ve been such a wonderful mother, haven’t I?’
And she was moved by her own maternal love.
‘Wow, I’ve done everything a mother should do. Things other mothers couldn’t even manage!’
* * *
Cedric said he had sent Namia to the Capital.
“She asked to be sent to the Academy… so she’ll go to the Academy. Then she’ll be able to fully display her abilities, won’t she?”
Namia would eventually go to the Magic Tower. All talented children from the Academy were recruited by the Magic Tower anyway.
Aran’s world revolved around herself alone.
She believed her daughter would be happy because she had obtained what Aran had always desired most.
Eight years ago, her feelings for Cedric had been light. So even now, she felt little regret or guilt.
‘If Biberus learns the experiment succeeded with Namia, he’ll bring her here.’
Aran, thinking purely from self-interest, kept this fact hidden.
‘Absolutely not. For her magical power to stabilize, she must remain at the Magic Tower.’
And so time passed.
Even after years, Aran showed no interest in outside matters.
“I want to manage the test subjects myself.”
Her interest remained singular.
Whether another experiment would grant her magic, or if once connected, the results would continue manifesting through Namia.
She couldn’t tell Biberus the truth, so she had to observe other results on her own.
Yet it was strange.
At some point, Aran began wearing a mask and frequently visiting Cedric in the Underground Prison.
‘This isn’t even my style anymore…’
Then Cedric, without asking anything further, began recounting Namia’s childhood stories. How lovely she had been, how beautiful, how intelligent.
[Aran is my daughter, isn’t she? Isn’t that reason enough to love her?]
Watching him, I was reminded of the Tower Master. Suddenly, I wondered if I had come too far.
I had simply imagined that whenever I returned, she would say, “Father, I became a mage!” and I would embrace her, saying, “My Aran finally did it! My heart has been torn apart all this time, but as long as Aran is happy, that’s all that matters!” But….
“Has the child ever coughed up blood?”
“Not until she was eight years old.”
As Biberus had said, it seemed her abilities were only manifesting partially.
[Usually only part of it awakens, and it becomes complete when she coughs up blood….]
I already knew how to make her abilities fully manifest.
[If she undergoes another experiment and coughs up blood, the results from the previous experiment that had been weakly manifesting often appear all at once.]
Well, but there’s no need to….
‘After all, I won’t be able to become a mage anyway. That much magic should be enough for her, right?’
Meanwhile, the test subjects kept dying one after another. Monsters, humans, animals—the mortality rate was high across the board.
At some point, I began to feel anxious every time Cedric entered an experiment.
I hoped he wouldn’t die. For that to happen, he needed to become an executive who could decide on experiments himself.
‘Why does he refuse to become an executive? Then I’ll erase his memories and make him one.’
With such simple reasoning, I began to persuade Cedric. But he remained steadfast.
He could never be part of such a vile organization.
‘Vile? Are we vile? Wanting to become a better person—isn’t that instinct?’
In any case, I had no intention of leaving this place until I could use magic.
Within the Gaejo Faction was Esther, my first real friend.
Esther was also the first successful subject of experiments using Dragon-kin blood. Though she fell gravely ill immediately after undergoing that experiment.
“Wow, this is really fascinating.”
Esther, breathing heavily, grasped Aran’s hand as she came to visit.
“It’s… really like reading a book from the protagonist’s perspective. I can see the future just like reading a book. It was so fascinating. The protagonist was Jayden Polariud….”
“Jayden Polariud?”
“Yeah! The Young Prince! It unfolds from the perspective of the youngest Dragon-kin….”
Aran had no interest in the Dragon-kin’s future. She merely thought that if it was a book written from the Dragon-kin’s perspective, she would have no way of knowing whether she herself would be able to use magic or not.
“It was quite mundane. Just a comfortable life as the Young Prince, playing and eating in the shadow of Crown Prince Kiaros Polariud. And there’s this Crown Princess, Namia or something, who is incredibly capable, so the Empire will continue to be peaceful.”
At the familiar name, Aran’s brow furrowed.
“…Namia?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————