The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 34

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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 34
Even the Emperor wore a puzzled expression as he looked at Kiaros.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
Anyone with common sense should have focused on Oson rather than Kiaros in this moment.
‘After all, the accuser had suddenly shouted that he would confess.’
I had observed Oson for three years and seven months.
Though he harbored many secrets, I had grasped his fundamental nature well enough.
The fact that he’d even requested a teleportation scroll showed he was already thoroughly terrified.
‘The mastermind behind the war… Oson… It doesn’t fit. But it fits perfectly!’
I had never thought him capable of such a thing.
Yet simultaneously, he had consistently proven useless to the Imperial Family.
Now that I thought about it, when I’d said six defense scrolls were far too few, wasn’t it Oson who’d told me to keep quiet?
‘An enemy from within was hiding in the Scroll Management Department.’
Looking back, the Scroll Management Department was perfectly positioned for external infiltration.
Wasn’t it the only department that could evade even the formidable Kiaros’s scrutiny?
Moreover, as a member of the Knight Order, he could access classified documents as well…
‘Good heavens, it was my department… my superior!’
Had I not recalled the original story, I wouldn’t have cared whether Oson confessed or not.
I had learned such thorough helplessness under Oson’s command.
‘Is that why I didn’t even appear in the original?’
But now Oson was about to reveal something with his own mouth.
“I, I, I, I am, I, I, I, I’m r-really!”
The moment his eyes met the Emperor’s, Oson collapsed to his knees.
“I d-d-d-did as I was t-told…”
I opened my eyes wide and nodded vigorously.
And I cheered for my superior with more enthusiasm than ever before.
‘Hang in there, Team Leader! Just as always, with that underhanded and cowardly demeanor of yours, hurry and spill who’s behind this!’
Oson seemed ready to divulge anything.
‘That’s right, you were a mess in this organization, so you’d never succeed in another! Consistent as always—I’m rooting for you!’
Then it happened.
With a sharp whistle, a dagger pierced Oson’s heart.
It was so sudden that the spectators’ comprehension seemed to lag behind the event itself.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”
I too jolted up in shock.
Oson, with a blade embedded in his heart, didn’t even manage a scream before collapsing on the spot.
‘This can’t be happening! This is a courtroom! Everyone who entered had their identities verified…’
The dagger had even come from the spectator section.
In such a confined space, apprehending the culprit was only a matter of time.
It was when the Palace Knights rushed toward the direction the blade had come from.
A woman who had been hiding in the crowd and thrown a dagger at Oson cried out in a shrill voice.
“For evolution!”
Amid the spectators’ screams, the woman collapsed, coughing blood.
She had poisoned herself with a drug concealed in her mouth.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
The surrounding spectators shrieked in shock and fled.
And with good reason—the person beside them had just collapsed, vomiting blood.
I stood frozen amid the chaos.
The Palace Knights hastily removed Oson and the woman’s corpse.
‘Good heavens…’
I had been wrong in my assumptions.
[There’s no need to go far. Just let me escape beyond the Imperial Palace walls. Understood?]
I had thought Oson wanted to flee from the Imperial Knights.
But that wasn’t it at all.
He was trying to escape from the organization he belonged to.
‘They must be behind the war, then?’
The woman who had killed Oson to silence him, then taken her own life.
That woman and the Unknown Organization Oson had belonged to.
“Let us adjourn the trial for now.”
The Emperor, who had been observing the situation, issued a brief command.
“There appear to be many other matters requiring attention.”
No one raised an objection to his words.
With things having unfolded this way, everyone was forced to believe that the Empress had indeed conducted a targeted investigation into Oson.
Thus the trial was concluded.
* * *
After the trial ended in such chaos.
The Empress was immediately freed.
The first thing she did after being released without charges was to summon me.
“Your Majesty the Empress, I understand you called for me.”
The Empress’s Chamber was quite remarkable.
Ornate and beautiful wallpaper was covered with weapons plastered all over it.
I met with the Empress there in private.
“Namiaaaaaa!”
She lifted me into her arms and spun me around.
I was so startled I couldn’t even scream.
It felt as though I had been transported back to when I was six years old.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
The Empress even tossed me into the air before catching me again.
My vision spun dizzily, making me quite lightheaded.
“Good thing you didn’t die in that prison that day! Otherwise, we never would’ve caught that bastard!”
I descended to the floor with a cough, barely managing the movement.
The Empress’s eyes gleamed with an eerie light as she recalled the previous trial.
“That man—seeing him with my own eyes in the courtroom today, there’s definitely something off about him. Suspicious as hell.”
The Empress spoke through gritted teeth.
I asked in surprise.
“Why? Do you have some evidence?”
“No. It’s my intuition.”
The answer was anticlimactic, yet the Empress appeared utterly serious.
“I’ve encountered countless criminals. I’ve grown sick of seeing those who hid their identities for years just to harm the Imperial Family. That’s the intuition of my profession.”
“Ah… um…”
“I became Empress by chance, but I’m better suited as a knight. If I were a knight instead of Empress, I would’ve slit that bastard’s throat on the spot.”
“What?”
“In situations like this, it’s more efficient to act before reasoning through the evidence.”
She swung her arm threateningly in wide arcs.
I had no doubt she could swing not just me, but even Oson around like that.
“It might seem a bit reckless, but that’s what you need to do when cornering rats.”
The Empress laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.
The plan I had originally presented was full of holes.
From the suspiciously altered tone to the flimsy logic—there was no way this could pass naturally.
Yet the Empress seemed to sense something amiss as well, which is why she’d pushed the matter this far.
I had nothing to say, so I simply smiled awkwardly.
“Namia.”
“Yes?”
She had begun calling my name casually and familiarly at some point.
“Though I’m an Empress in this pathetic state, I was quite excellent as a knight. I risked my life protecting the Crown Prince back then.”
A deep sense of pride flickered across the Empress’s eyes.
“That day, His Highness even came personally to thank me.”
“Ah…”
“The truth is, the reason I don’t fulfill my duties as Empress is… I was worried it might become a burden to the Crown Prince.”
The Empress continued with unwavering eyes.
“If I carelessly overstepped and ruined things, that would also tarnish the Imperial Family’s honor. And if I performed too well and built up power, it could become a threat to the Crown Prince.”
“A threat? How could you say such a thing…”
“I could never be a threat. But Jayden is different.”
Jayden—the original protagonist and Fron’s son.
Her eyes grew somber as she mentioned the still-young Young Prince.
“If my power grows, someone could attach themselves to that immature child and plant absurd ambitions in his head.”
“That’s…”
“I’ve spent my entire life looking at nothing but a sword. It’s dangerous for me to even think I could be good at politics.”
“…”
“Without realizing it, I could fall prey to cunning schemers. In times like these, it’s better to remain useless to them. It’s basic mercenary wisdom.”
I couldn’t find words to respond, my lips trembling slightly.
Of course, she knew well enough that she was mocked behind her back as an incompetent and vulgar Empress.
“The Empress’s seat was always meant to remain vacant anyway. So I thought it best for only me to be ruined, for the sake of the Imperial Family. I didn’t want to burden the Crown Prince in the slightest. I….”
She smiled faintly.
“I’m still an excellent Imperial Knight, capable of doing anything for the Imperial Family.”
Her firm musculature, her broad shoulders—they inspired confidence.
They seemed more beautiful than any elegant gown I had ever witnessed.
“That’s why I like you, Namia.”
“Pardon?”
“I admire people who excel at their work. And you seem to be an exceptional civil servant. The way you’ve memorized every clause and know all manner of official documents is remarkable.”
My heart raced.
Caught in a strange emotion, I blinked, and the Empress continued.
“I swear it. Thanks to you, I was able to avoid falling into the schemes of those who would harm the Imperial Family. I will absolutely grant your wish, to the best of my ability.”

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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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