The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 47

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 47
I felt oddly embarrassed.
Truth be told, I’d deliberately avoided mentioning my mother’s appearance precisely because I feared this kind of reaction.
‘Well, Father might have exaggerated about Mother’s looks.’
Father had always been the type to speak highly of Mother, so it was entirely possible.
Eventually, I cleared my throat and added carefully.
“…Right now, you’re thinking I don’t resemble my mother at all, aren’t you? I was embarrassed saying it too.”
“No.”
The Tower Master waved his hand dismissively, speaking with utmost seriousness.
“You’d be fine if you gained some weight. Right now, you’re far too thin—like a twig carelessly scattered and trampled on a cold winter street.”
The Tower Master continued with a grave expression.
“Are there any mages in your family?”
“No.”
“On your mother’s side either?”
“No.”
According to Father, my mother couldn’t use magic at all.
Based on the Tower Master’s questions, it seemed he suspected my mother might be his daughter….
[Who did you inherit this scroll-crafting talent from, Namia? Neither your mother nor I could use magic at all.]
[That’s possible, Father. Magical ability isn’t hereditary.]
[Really? I heard the Tower Master’s daughter is exceptionally skilled at magic and will inherit his position. That’s why I thought magical ability was inherited too.]
In every way, the Tower Master’s Daughter and my mother seemed completely unrelated.
I cautiously opened my mouth, just to be safe.
“I heard the Tower Master’s daughter is exceptionally skilled at magic.”
“What? Who told you that nonsense?”
“My father. He said my mother, who’s from the Capital, told him that.”
The Tower Master said nothing.
He simply narrowed his eyes, lost in thought for a moment, then asked again.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any other special abilities?”
“…Pardon?”
“Other strange abilities, I mean. Something unusual, something you’ve never heard of anywhere else.”
“Um… well….”
Something suddenly came to mind.
[Actually, this place is inside a book, and I was reincarnated here. So I know the future. A war is coming soon, and I’m trying to prevent it.]
Should I say something like that?
Just then, the Tower Master waved his hand first and spoke.
“Even if you do have something, just say you don’t in front of others. And try not to mention that you’ve been able to create scrolls since childhood.”
“Ah, understood.”
“…Don’t you usually ask why?”
“Will you answer me?”
“No.”
After that, he remained lost in thought for a moment before resting his chin on my shoulder.
“It seems I must embark on another long journey.”
“Ah, yes.”
“…Don’t you usually ask where I’m going and why?”
The Tower Master clicked his tongue and continued speaking.
“I feel as though I’ve found traces of my daughter. Well, I’ll need to investigate further, but….”
As expected, he was the type to speak his mind without being prompted.
The Tower Master’s blue eyes pierced through me with an unwavering gaze.
Then….
‘Hmm?’
Suddenly, he began rummaging frantically inside his robes.
After a moment, the Tower Master handed me a scroll.
“Here.”
It looked incredibly intricate—far beyond my ability to decipher.
I’d thought myself quite exceptional, but I found myself humbled.
“It’s a gift.”
“Ah, yes.”
“…Don’t you usually show some surprise?”
“To be honest, I can’t even guess what kind of scroll this is…. The principles seem extraordinarily complex. When exactly would I use it?”
“When a man you fancy confesses his feelings to you, that’s when you use it.”
The Tower Master answered slowly as he rose to his feet.
“Keep it on you always. You never know when someone might confess.”
My eyes gleamed as I gazed at the magical circle inscribed on the scroll.
No matter how closely I examined it, it remained impossibly complex. I couldn’t fathom its principles, yet it was beautiful and wondrous.
Seeing my expression, the Tower Master chuckled softly.
“Now your eyes have come alive, Minister of Education.”
He then gently stroked my head while leaning on his staff.
“When I came to fetch you from the Empress’s Chamber, your eyes were utterly vacant.”
“Ah….”
I lifted my head, having been absorbed in studying the scroll.
Then, feeling slightly embarrassed, I murmured softly.
“It’s just that being there felt a bit….”
“Why?”
“Family should be together intimately, but I felt like I was intruding.”
Perhaps it was because we shared the common thread of missing family members and solitude.
I found myself confessing my true feelings to the Tower Master without thinking.
“And since I’m in a position where I can’t even excuse myself and leave….”
Ever since parting with my Father, I’d always lived that way.
At Baron Loapi’s Residence, I had always been a foreign object.
‘Of course I’d feel this way, wedged between someone else’s family.’
Especially whenever I caught the Emperor’s gaze, which so plainly revealed his affection for Kiaros, my heart would flutter strangely.
‘I need to find an inn where I can stay alone tonight itself….’
Ever since leaving Baron Loapi’s Residence, I had been staying at an inn.
Originally, I’d planned to contact Luca today to look into a boarding house, but time had slipped away again.
The Tower Master, whom I’d expected to mock me for such trivial concerns, was surprisingly quiet.
He moistened his lips briefly, then sighed and bid me farewell.
“Take care of yourself until we meet again. My instincts tell me we’ll see each other soon.”
His usually gruff voice trembled slightly.
“When that time comes….”
The Tower Master didn’t finish his sentence.
Instead, before I could even say goodbye, he vanished like the wind.
* * *
The Tower Master left the Imperial Palace and mounted his horse.
His destination was already decided.
‘Southern Arvin….’
In other words, the birthplace Namia had mentioned.
‘Perhaps….’
He intended to go there and investigate further regarding his daughter.
It was only suspicion so far, but Namia seemed to be Aran’s daughter.
It was because of what Namia had said earlier.
[I heard that the Tower Master’s daughter is exceptionally skilled in magic.]
Aran couldn’t use magic at all.
And she’d been anxious that this fact might spread beyond the Magic Tower, though the people there didn’t even care.
There was no one but Aran herself who would spread such baseless rumors outside.
Especially not to a husband she’d met briefly while hiding her identity….
‘Aran, could you have given birth to a daughter? Hmm?’
In truth, from the moment he saw the scroll Namia had created, he’d thought of his daughter Aran.
[Father, I’m sorry.]
Aran’s final image, laughing like a madwoman as she inherited the Tower Master’s blood.
[I… like power more than love and affection! I’ll evolve to gain abilities!]
[Evolve? Abilities? What on earth are you talking about, Aran!]
Creating a scroll alone at eight years old—that was an abnormal ability.
Namia clearly possessed the abnormal ability Aran had desired.
‘What kind of experiments did you conduct on that child? Hmm?’
Fortunately, she seemed to have no awareness of it yet….
It was fortunate that she’d already sold her soul to the Minister of Education.
‘But this time, I should be able to uncover everything.’
Examining Namia’s features, though somewhat gaunt, she bore a striking resemblance to Aran.
And it was difficult for such coincidences to overlap by mere chance.
However, what I couldn’t tell Namia in that moment was….
‘If you are a monster created by my inadequate daughter….’
The Tower Master bit down on his lower lip as he pondered this.
‘…I will protect you with all my might, grandfather will. You are not a monster—you are my granddaughter.’
Fortunately, it seemed no one had yet discovered Namia’s true identity.
If someone had uncovered it, Namia wouldn’t be able to live so freely as she did now.
The Tower Master glanced back at the resplendent Imperial Palace.
‘Hmph, at least that Crown Prince bastard will keep her safe here. His eyes gleamed so brightly when he spoke of protecting the civil servants under his command.’
He thought the young man was truly troublesome, yet he remained the most trustworthy youth he knew.
With matters as they stood, the Imperial Palace had become the safest place for Namia.
‘He’s been famous since childhood for having no interest in women, so he won’t lay a hand on Namia.’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————