The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 18

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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 18
I couldn’t feel the aura that I habitually gathered and controlled.
‘What is this?’
For a moment, my mind went blank.
My body moved properly, but the flow of mana that I wielded as naturally as breathing had become impossible.
“Will.”
Kiaros turned to the guard knights behind him in sudden alarm.
“I think the Dark Period has arrived.”
The two guard knights he had brought to the Library were among the finest in the Knight Order.
“I’m certain. This suffocating sensation is unmistakably the Dark Period. I should summon the other guards.”
“They’re already standing by outside the Library. I’ll return quickly, so please remain here with Knight Fron for now.”
Will, one of the two guard knights, rushed away swiftly. Fron was the more skilled of the two.
Kiaros was left alone with Fron, the large female knight.
While Fron surveyed her surroundings with a tense expression, Kiaros swung his sword several times.
‘This doesn’t feel right at all.’
Is this the Dark Period? I couldn’t even display one-twentieth of my usual ability.
It was just as I reluctantly lowered the sword I’d been holding.
“Your Highness!”
With a sharp whistle, a dagger flew through the air. Fron, who had remained vigilant, immediately shielded Kiaros.
“Fall back behind me!”
Kiaros stumbled backward in shock.
He was appalled that he hadn’t sensed the dagger flying at him.
Normally, he would have detected the assassin’s presence from the start!
Fron deflected several daggers in rapid succession.
“I’d be satisfied ripping out these bastards’ guts and scattering them in the sewers, you pathetic worms daring to—”
She spat out her characteristic coarse curses while defending with all her might. But ultimately, one of the incoming daggers struck her directly.
“Knight Fron!”
She collapsed with a thud. The dagger appeared to be coated with poison. Fron’s body instantly became paralyzed and rigid.
In that moment, the Emperor’s warning flashed through Kiaros’s mind.
[You must never let the outside world know that you’ve become far weaker than you appear.]
A chill ran down his spine.
In my panic, I had carelessly shouted about the Dark Period in an open place like the Library Courtyard.
It seemed the assassin who overheard those words had seized the opportunity to attack.
If I hadn’t spoken those words, they would never have dared target me!
“Fron!”
Fron had fallen into this state because of me.
As regret washed over me, two more daggers flew in succession.
Under normal circumstances, even with the Dark Period, I could have easily evaded them. But the usually confident boy was no longer thinking clearly, consumed by self-reproach.
‘Ah.’
Holding Fron’s rigid body, Kiaros stood dazed as a thought crossed his mind.
‘Is this how I die?’
Born stronger than anyone else, I had believed death was a distant thing.
Yet here I was, falling into danger so easily. It was almost absurd.
I instinctively dodged the first dagger, but as I lost my balance, a second one flew straight toward me.
That was when it happened.
“Activate!”
With a sharp voice, two scrolls flew toward me as I stood frozen in place.
A magical circle materialized from the scrolls and deflected the dagger that had been flying at me.
“Ah….”
But it wasn’t perfect, perhaps because the distance was too great. The redirected dagger grazed my arm.
If it had hit me directly, I would have been paralyzed instantly, just like Fron.
Clutching my arm, I spun around to look behind me.
Through the Library window, I saw that young girl from before.
“Hah, hah….”
The girl, leaning slightly out through the window, was breathing heavily behind her mask.
The hat pulled down over her head made it impossible to read her expression.
Yet the girl also appeared to be tense. She muttered to herself in a daze.
“This… actually works?”
What?
Did that mean she had just activated the scroll for the first time? That was unsettling in its own way.
“Seize them!”
At the same moment, Will rushed out of the Library with the knights.
They swiftly dragged out the assassin who had been hiding behind the trees.
“Kwaaack! Kek kek! Kuuuugh!”
The culprit they had captured was a small monster with pointed ears and green skin—a Goblin.
Will muttered in shock.
“A Goblin…?”
“We thought they had been wiped out, but it seems some stragglers remained.”
“But did Goblins possess this level of intelligence?”
It was shocking.
Goblins were low-rank monsters.
Yet this low-rank monster had not only tracked me but also eavesdropped on our conversation and attempted an assassination?
It was something no one could have imagined.
“For now, I don’t want to cause a commotion here.”
I looked around and gave a quiet order. My paralyzed arm was stiff, but I tried to maintain my composure.
We had captured the Goblin alive, and we would need to investigate it further back at the residence.
Will also lowered his voice and whispered.
“Yes, Your Highness. Let us return quickly.”
“Very well.”
The escort knights also agreed to quietly withdraw for now, keeping their identities concealed.
Kiaros turned around, surrounded by them. The Young Girl stood at the Window, watching them.
Given the distance between them and the fact that he had spoken in a hushed voice, she wouldn’t have heard his conversation with the knights.
Yet she surely knew that she had saved him.
“You there!”
In any case, I owed my life to this mysterious Young Girl. There was no time to ask her to come down for a proper conversation.
Kiaros shouted loudly enough for the Window to hear.
“I am in your debt! Come to Count Kalto’s Residence later!”
Count Kalto’s Residence was the nearest noble estate from here.
I desperately wanted to repay her, but I couldn’t publicly reveal where I was staying. So I gave her a nearby location instead.
‘I must send someone to Count Kalto’s Residence immediately.’
I planned to instruct them to treat any Young Girl who arrived with the utmost courtesy and send her to me.
The silhouette of the Young Girl I had barely noticed in passing was now vivid in my mind.
‘If she wraps her face that tightly, does she perhaps have some kind of social anxiety?’
The way she had gripped the pen with her small hand at the Window, concentrating like a painting come to life.
‘I don’t know for certain, but she seems to be quite a shy person….’
The Young Girl, whose appearance I still couldn’t discern, tilted her head at the Window.
Then she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted without hesitation.
“How dare you order around your lifesaver like that!”
She had no idea he was the Crown Prince, of course, but Kiaros was nonetheless taken aback.
The ten-year-old arrogant boy had only ever been surrounded by people who deferred to him.
This was the first time anyone had ever scolded him in such a teaching tone.
“If someone saves your life, you should at least face them and thank them in person!”
Kiaros flinched in surprise.
Was that how it worked? Did that come before promising a great reward?
Since I had never imagined anyone would save my life, it was something I had never considered.
“Don’t you need to understand exactly what you should be grateful for?”
The Young Girl spoke with admirable composure. It was clear she wasn’t a shy person at all.
That was when it happened.
“Your Highness, Fron’s breathing is deteriorating. If this is a deadly poison, you may be in danger as well from the blade’s contact.”
Will whispered urgently while carrying Fron. Fron’s tongue had now stiffened to the point where she could barely speak. Of course, Kiaros’s arm was also becoming increasingly rigid.
“Both Fron and Your Highness should see a physician as soon as possible.”
Now there truly was no time to continue this conversation with the girl.
To make matters worse, the captured Goblin was also resisting fiercely.
This could draw unwanted attention and become troublesome.
In the end, Kiaros shouted once more toward the Young Girl at the Window, whose face he couldn’t see.
“Come to Count Kalto’s Residence, and I will grant you whatever you desire! I swear it on my honor!”
“Anything?”
“Yes! Anything you ask!”
“Hmm….”
As they hurried away, the Young Girl, lost in serious contemplation, called out after them.
“I want to marry a man with an absolutely, absolutely, absolutely enormous amount of money!”

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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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