The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 5

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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 5
How much time had passed?
“Ugh….”
My eyes snapped open with a groan.
‘What? What is this? What?’
I bolted upright. Unlike usual, my entire body felt remarkably light.
‘What is this?’
As I regained my senses, I thought urgently.
‘The only thing that could bring about such sudden vitality is capital—but what is this radiant flow of money coursing through my body?’
Of course. An IV needle was inserted in my left arm. The sound of dripping—drip, drip, drip—echoed, not money, but the IV fluid falling.
I glanced around the room.
‘This is… the Imperial Palace Hospital Ward…. And a private room reserved for distinguished guests at that!’
The calculation was immediate. Kiaros had given me extraordinary treatment.
An IV drip—something so expensive that even high-ranking nobles rarely received one!
“Heavens, this is wonderful….”
The sky outside was still a pale violet, suggesting early dawn.
I lay back down on the bed. The softness enveloped me completely.
“I should head to work from here.”
Just as I closed my eyes again to steal a few more moments of sleep.
“Are you awake?”
The door opened.
A young man with brown hair and green eyes—Luca—approached my bedside in a doctor’s coat.
“You woke up faster than expected. Must be thanks to the IV.”
Luca began examining my IV line. I looked up at him urgently.
“You used the best one, right?”
“Huh?”
“The imperial family would say ‘use the best one’ in a situation like this. You wouldn’t just use something mediocre. You can’t miss this opportunity.”
I continued with a desperate expression.
“If you used something ordinary, switch it to the best one right now.”
“What?”
“You’re accumulating merit for your next life with this. By spending the Imperial Palace’s money, no less. What do you think?”
Luca looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
Luca Class—he had been my classmate at the Imperial Academy.
Second place in the Academy entrance exam.
First place throughout his entire time at the Academy, top marks on the graduation exam, and first place in the Imperial Palace civil service recruitment test.
Unlike me, who wasn’t mentioned even once in the original work, he had secured the role of a competent extra thanks to his exceptional abilities.
‘Honestly, the Finance Ministry would have recruited him….’
Yet the department he chose was the Medical and Health Department.
Since he came from a commoner background, advancement would be limited in other departments due to connections and networks.
‘Well, the Medical and Health Department always prioritizes ability, so in the end, his choice was the right one.’
Luca Class was my cohort from the same year I started, yet he was already soaring through the ranks.
Though we were both in our fourth year, his position had advanced far beyond mine—I hadn’t even managed to gain a single subordinate.
‘Ah, so he did manage to get that New Intern who ran away after a single day.’
As I thought bitterly, Luca spoke with an exasperated tone.
“Honestly, this is ridiculous. Do you know that right now is the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen you?”
He shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“I used the absolute best supplies—the kind reserved only for the imperial family.”
Good heavens, no wonder I felt so energized!
As my mouth fell open in surprise, Luca tilted his chin up and added.
“And by the way, it was me who casually mentioned in front of the Crown Prince that your nutritional status is poor and you need IV fluids.”
“Wow… Luca Class, I didn’t know you had such loyalty?”
At my words, Luca crossed his arms and spoke with a smug tone.
“Are you and I the type to keep loyalty with each other? That’s not why I did it.”
“Ah, okay….”
As I responded, Luca let out an exasperated sound.
“Hey, normally wouldn’t you ask why I did it then?”
“I don’t have the energy for that….”
….
At my words, Luca’s expression showed his frustration rising.
I wasn’t surprised. In fact, our relationship at the Academy had always been like this.
Luca would always bounce around when he saw me, while I would always respond with apathetic indifference.
“Namia Loapi. At this rate, you’re practically malnourished. I just… sigh.”
He stared at me intently, then fell silent before speaking as if he could no longer hold back.
“Your family… it’s still like that, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“The Loapi Baronial Family.”
Even though I didn’t give any particular response, Luca continued on rapidly.
“The Imperial Palace provides decent lunches for those who work here. Yet at this rate, you’re really just surviving on one meal a day….”
He spoke with eyes full of anger.
It seemed he was quite shocked upon seeing my health condition.
“Your salary… you’re not using it yourself, are you? Actually, that rumor’s already widespread.”
“For heaven’s sake.”
I muttered listlessly.
“What kind of cursed people carelessly spread others’ private family affairs all over the place like that?”
“Your cursed parents spread it everywhere that since you have a salary, there’s no need to worry about the debts they’re racking up.”
Damn it.
I knew the civil service world was small, but I didn’t expect rumors to spread this quickly.
‘Besides, debts? Now I’m carrying debts too?’
A bad premonition suddenly washed over me, but I didn’t want to show it in front of Luca.
So I deliberately spoke as if nothing was wrong.
“Well, the overtime pay is still all mine anyway. They pay that in cash at the end of the month.”
“Come on, how much could that possibly be….”
“Quite a bit, actually? Ah, Huan doesn’t mention his overtime pay to the family either. Guess he wants to line his own pockets too.”
The moment Huan’s name left my lips, Luca’s eyes narrowed into sharp triangles.
Huan Loapi.
On paper, my twin brother. We attended the Academy together, and we both took the Imperial Palace civil service entrance exam together.
“Namia Loapi, since we’re at it, let me ask you one thing.”
Luca asked quietly.
“I’ve wanted to ask for a while now, but I held back.”
“Ah…. Then keep holding back.”
“Hey, normally wouldn’t you ask what it is?”
“I don’t have the enthusiasm for that….”
My consistent response was ignored. Luca stared directly into my eyes and asked.
“You wrote Huan’s report for the Imperial Palace civil service entrance exam, didn’t you?”
“….”
“It was a two-person team, and your report overwhelmingly came in first. Since Huan said he did it all, you got the lowest score and he got the highest.”
The Imperial Palace civil service entrance evaluation consisted of 50% written exam score and 50% report score.
Huan had an average written exam score but received a perfect score on the report. That’s how he got into the Finance Ministry, a core department of the Imperial Palace.
“But you’re teaming up with Huan of all people, and you’re not going to do anything?”
Luca looked at me directly and asked sharply.
“Just like how you did all of Huan’s assignments throughout the Academy…. It was the same during the entrance exam, wasn’t it?”
Faced with Luca’s relentless barrage of questions, I casually picked at my ear and answered flatly.
“Why are you so interested in me? Do you like me or something? Could it be that I’ve been oblivious to your long-standing crush all this time….”
“Are you insane?”
Luca shouted in exasperation.
“You’re my rival, my rival! It’s only natural to take an interest in the rival I’ve carried in my heart since the entrance exam!”
Ah, there it is again. That line.
I waved my hand dismissively as if exhausted and spoke carelessly.
“Luca, please just forget about the entrance exam….”
“How could I forget? You’re the perfect scorer in the entrance exam for the first time in 15 years, and there was nearly a 40-point gap between you and me, the second-place finisher!”
“…Hmm.”
“Hey, at least give me a proper answer. Why can’t you ever say anything clearly? Ugh, this is so frustrating!”
Hmm, seeing Luca pout like that, I figured I owed him a proper response.
So I gave him the answer he wanted.
“It was 17 years, not 15, since the last perfect scorer appeared. And 17 years ago was a year when 56 people got perfect scores due to a difficulty adjustment failure, so I’m officially recognized as the only true perfect scorer in Academy history. And while there was exactly a 42-point difference between you and me, you actually beat me by 23 points in the physical fitness test that counts toward the entrance exam score, so if we’re counting only the written exam, the gap would be 65 points. If you’re going to keep remembering the entrance exam going forward, would you mind remembering it that way from now on?”
“….”

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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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