The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 25
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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 25
The Guard eventually nodded and began rushing out quickly.
Amused by his hurried departure, Fron chuckled as she watched him disappear.
“Hehehehe, look at him clutching that sword like his life depends on it! What a sight!”
After sending the Guard away, Namia buried her head again and prostrated herself.
Fron, observing Namia lying flat, waved her hand dismissively.
“Hey, it’s fine. Get up now.”
Fron rolled onto her side and spoke while lying at an angle.
“Honestly, this doesn’t hurt any worse than a mosquito bite. Stop making such a fuss. It’s annoying.”
“But I have indeed injured a member of the Imperial Family.”
“You said you didn’t know. That’s enough. Let’s move past this.”
Yet Namia did not rise. Words flowed ceaselessly from her delicate lips.
“However, as I mentioned earlier, according to Royal Family Law Article 1, Section 4….”
“What are you going on about? I don’t know any of that. Just drop it.”
“I cannot simply drop it. The Imperial Family is far too precious for that.”
“Listen, am I some kind of sage? I’m just an ordinary person with some muscle. Why all this fuss over nothing….”
Fron opened her mouth wide in a yawn when Namia lifted her head.
The gazes of the prostrate Namia and the reclining Fron met across the iron bars.
‘What?’
Fron was startled by the look in Namia’s eyes.
‘Why are they shining like that?’
Despite her long years as a mercenary, Fron felt her spirit falter for a moment.
Her body, seasoned by countless duels, recognized it first.
This woman’s spirit was not broken—rather, she was brimming with confidence.
Fron’s expression grew serious as well.
‘She’s not someone who relies on physical prowess, but… clearly….’
During her mercenary days, she had occasionally encountered people like this.
Those accustomed to concealing their true nature in daily life.
‘In other words, people confident enough in their abilities that they’re comfortable hiding their identity.’
This had always been her most highly valued type.
No longer wearing a vacant expression, Namia spoke again.
“Please forgive me for injuring Your Majesty, I beseech you.”
“Hey, do you want to keep annoying me with that mouth? That’s….”
“Instead.”
Namia smiled faintly.
“I shall resolve the troublesome matter that troubles Your Majesty.”
“…Huh?”
Fron blinked blankly. Then she asked, as if bewildered.
“Do you even know what troubles me?”
“I can make an educated guess.”
Namia spoke with unwavering confidence.
“I will ensure that you are cleared of all charges at tomorrow’s trial.”
It was utterly absurd.
“What are you talking about? Cleared of charges? How could you possibly know that?”
Fron chuckled, scratching her ear.
“And I will absolutely, absolutely, absolutely never explain why I had that poison.”
“Yes, regardless of the reason, you need not reveal it—absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“Yes.”
Namia met Fron’s gaze with gentle but unwavering resolve.
Her composed expression betrayed that the frightened voice from moments before had been nothing but an act.
“I will make it make sense.”
Within the shadowed Prison Cell.
The gazes of Fron and Namia collided with palpable force.
* * *
The following day.
Kiaros pressed his weary eyes shut repeatedly.
His mind felt so muddled that a headache seemed imminent.
Yet he had to attend the emergency Imperial trial.
‘The Empress and poison….’
According to the Minister of Justice, Fron had remained silent throughout the entire interrogation.
And the moment Fron was apprehended, Kiaros had sent a letter to the Emperor in the Western Region.
Demanding his immediate return to the Capital.
He knew the Emperor was recuperating, but no other solution presented itself.
‘I can hazard a guess at the truth, but the Empress will never confide in me—she’ll fear bringing scandal upon the Imperial Family.’
Kiaros’s resolve was already set. He would stall by claiming insufficient evidence.
Once the Emperor arrived, he would defer the interrogation to him.
‘That is the extent of what I can do.’
Of course, even stalling would prove extraordinarily difficult.
So while it was not his preferred method, he would have no choice but to suppress the matter through authority.
‘I must be prepared for the backlash of Imperial Family interference in what should be an impartial trial….’
Moreover, if his suspicions were correct, the aftermath would be considerably troublesome.
‘Even if the Emperor arrives, the Empress would sooner die than reveal to the outside world why she sought poison.’
In any case, Fron’s situation had thrown everything into emergency mode. That was why he could not summon Namia Loapi.
It was not urgent enough to warrant it, so he planned to question her after the trial concluded.
‘Now that I think about it, I received a peculiar report.’
Kiaros had already issued orders to all relevant parties: ‘Under no circumstances allow the Empress to confess voluntarily.’
But….
‘Namia Loapi, who came to verify the inventory of luminescent scrolls, apparently used an offensive scroll against the Empress.’
Namia Loapi’s name had surfaced once again.
But there was nothing particularly worth making an issue of.
An Emergency Team civil servant had rushed over like lightning to check on the situation, and according to the physician, everything was fine, perfectly intact, and without any problems.
‘I sent her home, so why did she come back crying and then go check the Prison’s inventory?’
Checking the Prison’s luminescent scroll inventory was part of her duties, but something felt slightly off.
Still, Kiaros forced himself to postpone thinking about that name.
The trial was imminent.
‘In any case, I’ll have to hold my ground as best I can during the trial.’
He entered the Courtroom with a hardened expression.
Imperial trials could be observed by any noble who submitted an advance request.
The hall was packed with people. It was far more crowded than ordinary trials held on regular days.
‘Sigh… there are more people than I expected.’
My head was already aching.
A large audience was hardly favorable for an uncultured Empress.
‘If the Empress opens her mouth, public opinion will undoubtedly worsen.’
The audience didn’t render the verdict. But from the perspective of those delivering judgment, one couldn’t help but be conscious of public opinion.
Kiaros desperately hoped that Fron wouldn’t suddenly cry out something like, ‘If it seems suspicious to me, I’ll kill you, damn it!’
“The Crown Prince has arrived!”
With Kiaros’s entrance, everyone in the Courtroom rose and bowed their heads to him.
Fron, who had been sitting facing the audience in front, also stood.
‘Ah.’
Kiaros’s complexion grew even worse upon seeing Fron.
He had hoped that perhaps being confined for a day might at least earn her some sympathy from the audience…
‘She doesn’t look pitiful at all…’
The properly mannered people sat down again.
Fron also took her seat, and while wearing a dress, she sat with a loose, careless posture and let out a yawn.
In truth, a frilly dress with ribbons looked absolutely dreadful on the muscular Fron.
Yet after taking her place as ‘Empress,’ she had forced herself to wear the dress.
‘Her complexion is even good. There’s not a trace of remorse or anxiety in her expression.’
He had anticipated it, but it was all the more disheartening. No matter how much he guided toward a lenient verdict, the prejudice would be substantial.
Kiaros was someone born with natural authority.
It wasn’t difficult for him to control the Courtroom, yet he still wanted to set aside some of that authority before the law…
Moreover, Fron was not skilled at using her mind.
‘I wonder if she even understands proper trial procedures…’
It would be a blessing if she simply didn’t say something ill-timed and invite further prejudice.
It was when he stepped forward and took his seat.
‘Hmm?’
In the back of the spacious Courtroom’s audience section, at the very edge, he caught sight of a familiar silver-haired figure.
That woman sitting there so demurely was surely…
Kiaros unconsciously furrowed his brow.
‘Namia Loapi?’
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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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