The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 23

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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 23
Of course, resolving this situation took priority above all else.
Naturally, the circumstances were far from favorable.
The Empress had already been arrested in possession of poison. No doubt the records of her transactions with the Black Market had accumulated over time as well.
She wouldn’t actively defend herself, and there were no factions willing to support her.
‘Sigh… With everything already exposed like this, it’s difficult to quietly handle it without others knowing.’
I blinked, lost in thought.
‘Here I am, a mere subordinate, having to take charge again.’
My mind began spinning as I recalled the Empress who had already been captured.
While I was absorbed in my thoughts, an employee from the adjacent team quietly approached.
“By the way, Namia, is that rumor true?”
“Pardon? A rumor?”
“Yeah. They’re saying the Crown Prince fell for you at first sight.”
Ah… Life.
If only things unrelated to the original story would unfold as expected…
I’d already anticipated such gossip would be circulating by lunchtime.
‘I mean, we’re all in the same Scroll Management Department. Would it kill them to show some interest in the fact that I created 166 scrolls and activated 172 yesterday?’
Of course, it seemed no one cared about that at all.
Rather, as if they’d found an amusing topic, other employees had already begun clustering around me.
“Is it really true he was captivated by your dark circles and shabby appearance?”
“Is it really true his ideal type is a lethargic woman with no drive in life, merely breathing as if she exists and doesn’t exist?”
“So that’s why he showed no interest in those fair and radiant noble ladies! How unique his taste is!”
I sighed inwardly.
‘Even the people in the Administrative Support Department were glancing at me earlier!’
However, my expression was so poor that they seemed unable to show it openly.
Especially since the Empress had been taken away.
Well, it’s just a rumor that will disappear in a week anyway…
“Namia?”
Oson approached with a stretch.
“Do you have a lot of work? Is that why you came back?”
“Ah, yes.”
Cold sweat trickled down my back at the strange sense of discord, but I didn’t show it.
Instead, I answered with my usual unfocused gaze.
“The Crown Prince said he would review the documents, so I wanted to correct any revisable drafts…”
“Ugh, you’re so foolish. That’s why you’re no good. How can you be so oblivious? Tsk.”
Hmm, it seemed Oson hadn’t heard about the scandal between me and Kiaros.
‘Well, he’s completely absorbed in being revered right now. I can’t blame him for that.’
Watching me lost in thought, Oson clicked his tongue and waved his hand dismissively.
“Does His Highness even have the presence of mind to review those documents right now? Namia, don’t you have any sense of the situation?”
Then the Minister of Education, whose face had been ashen just moments before, approached.
The Minister of Education’s complexion brightened considerably as he spoke with satisfaction.
“That’s right. That document review is going to take an absolutely, positively, extraordinarily long time.”
His words meant “won’t happen” rather than “will take time.”
Once something fell down the priority list, it stayed there.
“Is our department the problem right now? When the Empress has been arrested?”
His voice was filled with excitement.
“If we investigate the Empress, the Magic Tower might notice something about the Crown Prince’s affairs and intervene. They’re telling us to back off immediately. I’ve even submitted a petition to the Magic Tower. Either way, we’re finished here.”
The superiors began discussing earnestly among themselves again.
I sat as I always did, seemingly present yet absent, flipping through a few documents.
Taking advantage of their chatter, I quietly slipped out of the Department Office.
‘Perfect.’
I smiled inwardly at the thought.
‘An unexpected ally, but thanks to them, everything has actually been resolved. Now I can see the path forward.’
The way to save the Empress, already caught as a current offender.
A method that even someone like me, a mere subordinate, could use while adequately protecting myself.
My pace quickened as I left the Department Office.
* * *
Fron Polariud, the Empress of the Empire, was locked in prison, stripped of all her weapons.
“Your Majesty, I believe in you. But I doubt others will.”
The Minister of Justice spoke solemnly to the Empress.
“If I’m to defend you personally at trial, shouldn’t I at least understand the situation?”
Fron stubbornly kept her mouth shut, staring only at the cold stone floor.
The Minister of Justice sighed and shook his head slowly.
“How can I help if you remain silent like this? At this rate, even I will begin to doubt you.”
….
“So please, tell me. Why were you collecting poisons so secretly? Especially poisons that the Imperial Family has no immunity to.”
….
“You’re aware that poison is involved in the Crown Prince’s assassination, aren’t you?”
….
Fron’s situation was dire.
The Empress of the Empire had left the Palace alone and been caught secretly acquiring poisons from Black Market Dealers who made a living breaking laws.
Being a former commoner mercenary, the Empress knew such unsavory dealers well.
“Without a single escort, going to such a back alley alone….”
The Minister of Justice glanced at Fron’s musculature, then trailed off awkwardly.
Her hobby was still physical training.
Though not as before, she could still protect herself more than adequately.
“If you truly intended to assassinate the Crown Prince, confess now. Confession would reduce your sentence more than silence.”
Still, Fron remained silent. In truth, there was nothing else she could do.
Even silence required considerable endurance from her.
‘Damn it, this is a mess….’
Having lived a harsh life, she was cursing inwardly.
‘Maybe I should just die.’
There was a reason Fron had secretly sought out a rare poison that the Imperial Family had no immunity to.
It was because of the Emperor.
‘No matter how much I rack my brain, there’s no answer to this….’
For a member of the Imperial bloodline to fall ill in middle age was unprecedented.
The Emperor had many enemies. Especially among the hidden races, he was always a target.
Therefore, the Emperor never revealed to the outside world that he had grown weak.
Indeed, when young Kiaros had mentioned the ‘Dark Period’ before, hadn’t an attack come immediately after?
‘I mustn’t mess things up any further.’
The Minister of Justice shook his head and left.
Fron lay sprawled on the stone floor, thinking.
‘I only wanted to be of help to His Majesty the Emperor….’
She theorized that the Emperor’s illness might be caused by poison.
It was because she had seen many lethal toxins while working as a mercenary in the past.
So she had been diligently collecting poisons that circulated in secret.
She couldn’t do anything with them herself, but she intended to show them to the Emperor once he returned.
‘Of course, I can’t say that.’
The moment she revealed in court that the Emperor was weakened, that fact would spread throughout the entire Empire.
So Fron had no choice but to keep silent about why she had collected the poisons.
‘Damn it. It seems the only way is for me to die.’
She was the Empress, but before that, she was a Palace Knight.
She had sworn long ago not to spare her life in protecting the Polariud Imperial Family.
It was better to sacrifice herself than to reveal the Emperor’s weakness with her own mouth.
‘That’s the way to spare the Crown Prince from difficulty as well.’
Would Kiaros suspect her?
But even if Kiaros didn’t suspect her….
As long as she kept silent, he couldn’t simply defend her unconditionally.
‘In any case, it’s fortunate that His Majesty the Emperor is not in the Capital.’
There were many nobles who viewed her as a thorn in their side.
They would all clearly pressure Kiaros.
‘The worst scenario would be if the Crown Prince deduces all of this and mentions the Emperor’s illness in an attempt to save me.’
Fron was not skilled at thinking things through.
But even if someone with a sharp mind came, there seemed to be no way to overcome this situation.
That was when it happened.
‘Hmm?’
From far away, a young woman she had never seen before came hurrying into the prison.
She had shimmering silver hair and blue eyes, a gaunt woman with not a trace of muscle on her frame.

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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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