The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 180

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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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Side Story 9
Jayden’s restless shoulders gradually began to settle. He muttered several times, “I… I don’t know how to handle this… feeling.” Kiaros gently stroked the back of Jayden’s plump hand and spoke tenderly.
“If something like that happens, will you tell me right away? No matter what kind of child you are, I love you. In fact, if I learn that you’re a strong child, my worries might ease a little.”
After finishing his gentle words, Kiaros quietly watched Jayden sniffle.
Jayden sighed a few times with a soft exhale, then broke into a bashful smile.
“Thank you, older brother.”
Finally, a hint of laughter began to dance in eyes as crimson as Kiaros’s own.
“You know, a year from now, you’ll start treating me a bit awkwardly.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You’re definitely kind and wonderful, but I act like someone who’s noticed all my lack of manners. I hated admitting that, so I suffered the whole time. But…”
Jayden gazed at Kiaros quietly and spoke.
“Seeing you without your memories, I understand now. You already knew everything. I wanted to package myself as someone who only speaks up in front of villains, but you definitely noticed—whether it’s villains or our side, I’m the type who speaks my mind first. You definitely saw through me.”
“Hmm, Jayden? Really? Does your true nature disappear that much within a year?”
“…You really don’t know who I am right now. Yes, you definitely noticed my true nature.”
Watching Kiaros’s bewildered face, Jayden sighed like a child who’d grown old too soon.
“But… you still love me, don’t you? You’re really just unsure how to handle it, aren’t you?”
“Perhaps that’s the case.”
Kiaros smiled softly.
I could feel it clearly—a boy who wanted so desperately to look good in his older brother’s eyes, and the warm heart of his fiancée who worked to soothe that boy’s anxieties.
As if repaying that warmth, he added sincerely.
“I could never dislike you… I’m simply uncertain how much I should pretend not to know. I’m certain of this. I stake the honor of the Dragon-kin on it.”
The two brothers’ eyes met. Jayden seemed truly reassured as the tension drained from his body. Kiaros gently patted his back.
In the end, Jayden wiped away tears and murmured.
“Actually… I haven’t been able to sleep. Seeing you like this now is so wonderful, but I kept thinking this isn’t right.”
“What isn’t?”
“You losing your memories… In truth, I’m not returning your memories because of my own selfishness.”
Jayden sniffled, then scrutinized Kiaros’s face anew and added in a dispirited voice.
“You look exhausted too. You pretended to be fine, but you haven’t been sleeping either, have you? Because you’re anxious about losing your memories?”
“Ahem, ahem.”
It was true that I hadn’t slept, but not for such a reasonable cause. My body, not my mind, was restless and kept me awake—circumstances I couldn’t possibly explain to Jayden.
“I’ll restore them right away… Actually, I wanted to see you flirt with Namia more, but I’m getting anxious now too.”
“Anxious about what?”
“That you’ll… reject me again.”
“Reject you again? I rejected you before?”
“Yes. So spectacularly that everyone in the Imperial Palace knew about it, and I went into seclusion.”
“Ha.”
Kiaros was dumbfounded and ran his hand through his hair. What, I rejected him that dramatically? And he went into seclusion?
‘Did he hate being engaged to me that much? Is that why he’s so businesslike? Even after I lost my memories, he didn’t ask me to recover them quickly?’
Having forgotten the entire six-month Dark Period, Kiaros could only misunderstand. But then Jayden continued with a shocking statement.
“In this state, you’ll repeat your old mistakes, and eventually Namia will declare she can’t become the Crown Princess. That would be a real loss for the Empire.”
“The Empire’s great loss? Not a loss to my reputation?”
“Well, the Empire is more important than your reputation anyway.”
Jayden rolled his eyes and spoke dejectedly, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
“But after you recover your memories, if Namia acts like nothing happened and you get upset, that won’t look good.”
“Me, upset? What are you talking about?”
“You can’t imagine it now, but a year from now you’ll become petty like that. Anyway, don’t get upset.”
Kiaros laughed incredulously. Upset? In his twenty-five years of life, he’d never felt such an emotion.
Since no one had ever truly angered him, he rarely experienced anger itself. He was someone with a narrow emotional spectrum—lacking opportunities to feel either positive or negative emotions.
Upset? Such an absurd situation would never occur.
Jayden smiled and spoke.
“Then I’ll restore them now.”
“I just have to stay still?”
“Yes. I’ve done this hundreds of times at the Magic Tower, so it’s easy.”
And moments later.
Kiaros slowly closed his eyes, then opened them. Jayden quietly rolled his eyes once and asked carefully.
“…Brother?”
“Yes, Jayden.”
From that single word, Jayden sensed that Kiaros’s memories had returned. Kiaros chuckled and spoke.
“I’ve made things difficult for you. I’m sorry. The truth is, I realized you weren’t the good child I thought you were, and because of that, it was hard to treat you as before. It wasn’t that I disliked you—it was just awkward.”
“Ah…”
“Still, when genuine feelings are shared like this, isn’t that what family is? Just like you and the Empress.”
At Kiaros’s mature words, Jayden let out a long sigh. Then he squeezed out tears and nodded vigorously.
“Yes, brother.”
Kiaros was right. The awkwardness that had lingered between them melted away like snow the moment they communicated truthfully. The lingering resentment vanished without a trace. Jayden grabbed Kiaros’s arm and grinned widely.
“Namia will be happy when she comes.”
“Will she?”
Kiaros spoke slowly.
“I’ve prepared a three-day gap.”
Jayden watched Kiaros quietly. After breathing heavily a few times, he answered calmly, as if he’d anticipated this.
“You’re upset after all.”
“No.”
“You seem upset.”
“It means I wouldn’t have said three days was fine first.”
“Isn’t that being upset?”
“Not exactly.”
Kiaros grumbled expressionlessly.
“But my fiancée seems to have no trouble spending three days or so with me, so I’m thinking of pretending to have lost my memories for three days.”
“That’s a bit childish—are you serious?”
“No, Namia is really fine with it.”
“You’re completely upset.”
That was when it happened. Knock, knock. The sound of knuckles rapping against the door echoed through the room, followed by Namia’s cheerful voice.
“Young Prince, may I come in?”
Jayden chuckled and called out.
“Namia, this is your room! Of course you can just walk in!”
At that, Namia entered with a radiant smile. But surprisingly, she was not alone.
“Hmm?”
The person behind Namia was none other than Kiaros’s Aide. So when he’d left saying he had someone urgent to meet, it had been the Aide all along.
Kiaros found himself frowning without thinking and spoke.
“You were supposed to have the day off until tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
But it was Namia who responded to those words. She smiled knowingly and said.
“You’ve recovered your memories, Your Highness.”
“What? How did you know?”
“Because you said ‘you were supposed to have the day off until tomorrow’—not ‘I heard you were supposed to have the day off until tomorrow.’ The phrasing gave it away.”
She truly was a master of the Imperial tongue. Kiaros was inwardly astonished when Namia continued.
“And the Aide changed his hairstyle a month ago in a way that looked absolutely terrible. I thought you’d point that out first, but you didn’t seem surprised at all.”
The shocked Aide’s mouth fell open. Kiaros let out a groan and bit his lower lip. He’d planned to feign memory loss and play along for at least three hours, but he’d failed in less than three minutes.

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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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