The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 75

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

Chapter 75
“Ugh, seriously.”
The Minister of Education had just returned from being summoned by the Knight Order.
Riedan was arrested at the scene this morning.
[We can simply charge him with attempted regicide for releasing fire and mismanaging the Scroll Department. All we need is to request cooperation from Young Prince Jayden.]
He had been so confident that he could bring down Namia Loapi.
Instead, it was he himself who had been brought down.
Naturally, his superior, the Minister of Education, had been summoned. They wanted to know if he had known about this affair.
But without evidence, he managed to slip through without serious consequences.
‘After all, I left no traces. Riedan should know by now that he can’t pull off a drowning man’s counterattack.’
Released without substantial charges, yet deeply unsettled, he left work early.
And now he sat in a quiet bar that operated from midday, chain-smoking.
“I just… can’t believe it. Ugh, seriously.”
Word had it that the Empress and Young Prince had embraced and wept for a long time.
‘Children are hopeless. No matter how talented, at eight years old they still can’t break free from their mother’s skirts.’
Had this been revealed much later, the rift would have deepened, and they couldn’t have reconciled so quickly.
But because the Empress had lavished her love on them from such an early age, the two had grown close again.
‘Young Prince Jayden is finished. He’ll grow up just like that uncultured woman.’
The thought made his chest tighten.
He despised seeing people unfit for their rank occupy positions above him.
‘The department atmosphere is gloomy, but nothing’s happened to me personally, so it’s fine.’
But now, what troubled him most was the absurd document Namia Loapi had sent.
‘What? She’s asking how much Scroll Department shares are in educational materials? Requesting an investigation? Is she insane?’
Namia Loapi had made an excessive and ridiculous demand of the Ministry of Education.
As if saying, ‘You must have committed crimes. Surely you won’t refuse?’
‘Complying irritates me, but refusing feels awkwardly timed.’
It was when he lit a fresh cigarette.
A waiter dropped a note while pretending to clear his ashtray.
‘…What is this?’
The Minister of Education quickly opened the note.
I was disappointed that you didn’t respond to my previous contact.
However, I believe you will agree with our intentions.
It was ‘The Group’.
The Group had contacted him again.
Over the years, far too many people have acquired titles.
Without exception, they overstep without knowing their place.
There is only one solution.
We must distinguish between the superior and the inferior.
The Minister of Education caught his breath.
That’s right. There were far too many people with titles.
Namia Loapi, a daughter of the Baron Family… I never would have imagined.
We trust you will stand with us. We await your decision.
The Minister of Education swallowed hard.
His eyes drifted to the postscript.
P.S. Currently, we regard Minister of Scrolls Namia Loapi as our primary target for elimination.
Of course.
I understand the Scroll Management Department had many of your people there. How grating it must be that Namia suddenly sits in the Minister’s chair.
Can you assist us, Minister?
The Minister of Education stared at the final sentence for a long while.
* * *
“Come out already! I’m dying of curiosity!”
The Empress’s impatient voice rang out again.
From her tone alone, I could picture her bouncing on her feet in anticipation.
Madam smiled with confidence and led me out from behind the curtain.
“Hehe, don’t be too startled, everyone.”
With an artificial laugh, Madam guided me forward.
I walked out with an embarrassed smile, as if deeply flustered.
“She’s definitely going to be incredibly beautiful….”
The Empress, who had been giggling in anticipation, trailed off mid-sentence.
Jayden also let the candy he’d been eating drop from his mouth.
And….
‘What is this.’
Kibon’s expression was peculiar.
He wore a face he had never shown before.
Though he saw me every day, he gazed at me as if seeing me for the first time….
‘What is it. Just say something.’
Kibon’s firmly closed lips did not part in the slightest.
Yet his eyes traced me from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes, as if savoring every detail.
I flinched momentarily at his unabashed, penetrating gaze.
‘What kind of expression is that for a secretary?’
He could at least play along like a subordinate and say “You’re truly beautiful” to lighten the mood….
Though that was impossible for Kibon.
In the brief silence, our eyes kept meeting.
That was when it happened.
“…I have a question for you. A very important one.”
Jayden spoke without even bothering to pick up the candy he’d dropped.
“Namia, who’s going to escort you?”
Suddenly, silence fell over the Empress’s Chamber.
Even the Dressmaking Shop attendants who had been adjusting my collar smiled with anticipation, their expressions brimming with curiosity.
“Ah, an escort….”
I blinked slowly and murmured to myself.
An escort… Well, it’s not as though I hadn’t considered it before.
“Look, what I’m saying is…”
Jayden straightened his posture, cleared his throat, and spoke with crystalline clarity.
“You know the Saint Cairo Banquet Hall only accepts a select few attendees, right? Of course, you can invite someone under the guise of an escort, but the atmosphere usually discourages it.”
I was aware of that much.
I’d visited the Saint Cairo Banquet Hall several times to inspect the decorative scrolls.
“But you don’t have any acquaintances among the high nobility, do you? You don’t, right? So you haven’t decided on an escort partner yet, correct?”
“Ah, yes. I haven’t decided yet.”
At my response, Jayden’s lips began to curl upward.
I could see exactly what he was thinking. The Empress felt the same way, breathing heavily as she whispered, “That’s it, well done!” urging her son onward.
I laughed awkwardly and spoke.
“With the banquet only days away, I’m hesitant to ask someone to be my partner…”
“Why would you ask!”
Jayden clenched his fist and exclaimed.
“You should receive the request!”
“Well… in that case, I haven’t received any requests yet, Young Prince.”
At that, Jayden sighed with the weight of a thousand sorrows upon his face.
He bit his lower lip and muttered, “Brother, what are you doing…”
I raised my eyebrows and continued.
“Truth be told, I don’t even have the luxury of deliberating over who my partner should be.”
“Fine then, how about this? I’ll decide for you.”
Jayden grinned and spoke.
“From now on, you go with whichever man requests to be your partner first, no exceptions.”
“Pardon?”
“You said deliberating was tedious.”
Then he quickly gestured to the Attendant.
He hastily scribbled a note and thrust it into the Attendant’s pocket, urging, “Give this to my brother, quickly!”
Beside him, the Empress whispered, “That’s it, well done! Our brilliant son! A veritable intelligent Cupid!”
“What…”
With him going this far, I couldn’t very well refuse, so I was about to nod in agreement.
“Excellent! Let’s do it! You’re my witness, aren’t you? But looking at you more carefully…”
The Empress turned and said something to Kibon. And before she could even finish her words…
Crash!
A sudden explosive sound erupted.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Mother!”
The Dressmaking Shop staff around me screamed and collapsed.
I blinked blankly.
The Empress, now wielding a war hammer, smacked her lips with satisfaction.
The source of the explosive sound was a mace that the Empress had suddenly swung.
“Tch, this bastard….”
The floor where Kibon had been standing was devastated, cratered inward.
‘Wait, when did she grab that mace from the wall? When did she strike?’
The speed was incomprehensible.
Yet Kibon himself remained utterly expressionless, merely stepping slightly to the side.
“You saw it, Namia? You witnessed it with your own eyes?”
The Empress spoke, raising her eyebrows.
“This cunning fox is no ordinary creature. A nosebleed from a few nights of overtime? Ha, he’s feigning illness to avoid work.”
Kibon didn’t appear particularly startled.
He simply brushed the debris from his sleeves with soft tapping sounds.
“Look at this wretch’s temperament. When a taciturn man has a vicious disposition, that’s truly beyond redemption.”
The Empress clicked her tongue, speaking with clear displeasure.
“I had a feeling from the start. Don’t keep this bastard near you, Namia.”
“I beg your pardon? What do you….”
Even if you dislike gossip, how can you speak so bluntly about someone right in front of them….
I stood there, bewildered and at a loss.
“I truly despise liars.”
The Empress continued, her eyes gleaming.
“This wretch is deceiving you. I’m certain of it.”

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