The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 83

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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 83
Meanwhile, Kibon’s words continued.
“Rather than just saying I was upset, I would have grabbed him by the collar first.”
“No, but I couldn’t do that to a young person either…”
“If it were me.”
Before Victor could even make his good-natured excuse, Kibon cut him off coldly.
“I wouldn’t have had the luxury to deliberate, nor the self-restraint.”
By now, Victor’s friends chattering outside had also fallen silent.
Nothing could be heard except Anastasia’s ragged breathing.
That was when it happened.
Noticing something amiss, Kibon spoke up.
“My apologies. I didn’t quite catch that.”
Seriously.
That’s not what you use it for…
“Ahahaha, our New Intern friend here is introducing his shortcomings in quite an odd context. He’s a foreigner, after all, right?”
Victor chuckled heartily and patted Kibon’s shoulder.
This man truly had an exceptional temperament.
Then he gave his friends a subtle wink.
“Go on ahead. Our New Intern friend seems to have some grievance with me, so let me clear it up real quick.”
Victor’s friends eagerly nodded in agreement.
“Sure, Victor! We’ll be waiting.”
“Hey, don’t be too lenient. Just because he’s a foreigner doesn’t mean you should give him everything. Got it?”
“Right. If you come to the Empire, you follow Imperial law.”
Having each offered their piece of advice, they filed out like the receding tide.
Victor threw an arm around Kibon’s shoulder with a grin.
“There might be some misunderstanding between us… and honestly, these things only get messier when others are around. Let’s step out for a moment, friend. Yeah?”
* * *
Southern Alley.
“Hah…”
A burly old man ground his teeth as he leaned on his cane.
“… This is driving me mad, truly.”
The identity of the old man who had laid waste to the entire alley was none other than the Tower Master.
Standing amid the ruins, the Tower Master let out a sharp whistle.
At the same moment, a messenger bird came flying with a sharp cry.
“What on earth…”
Deep furrows etched themselves across the Tower Master’s brow.
“How am I supposed to handle this… Aran, truly… you… I…”
Tears glistened in his eyes.
“This is… something I simply cannot resolve on my own…”
His only daughter, Aran, was his most precious treasure. That was why he had raised her like a princess in the Magic Tower.
[I want to use magic too….]
[Magic? You don’t need to! Our Aran just has to lift a finger, and Father will do anything for you, understand?]
[Father uses magic well, so why can’t I?]
[Ah. Magical ability isn’t hereditary, so our Aran has absolutely no talent for it, you see?]
Looking back now, I realized I’d spoiled her rotten and ruined the child.
[But I want to succeed you as Tower Master too!]
[Oh dear, that won’t do, Aran. The Magic Tower is an organization that values ability above all, so there’s no place for a talentless fool like you, understand?]
Yet the Tower Master believed he’d taught his daughter about reality reasonably well.
[Aran lives so comfortably because of Father’s influence, but truthfully, our Aran couldn’t even assist a low-rank mage, let alone become Tower Master, you see?]
[I hate it! I want to use magic too!]
Since Aran was so upset about lacking magical talent, I’d even thought of a solution for her.
[Then marry the next Tower Master. That way, our Aran can live by commanding him instead of Father, understand?]
[I want to do it myself!]
[Oh my, even your temper tantrums are adorable. But that’s something even our precious Aran’s worst tantrum can’t change, you see?]
In truth, magic wasn’t such a tremendous power. There were plenty of scrolls released for ordinary people.
In reality, the world outside the Magic Tower didn’t hold magic in particularly high regard.
But the problem was that Aran’s entire world was the Magic Tower.
During her adolescence, after she ran away briefly and returned, her eyes began to change subtly….
‘She probably met those Gaejo Faction bastards back then.’
The Tower Master let out a groan.
Originally, I would have done anything to bring Aran back and keep her in the Magic Tower. I was terrified she might face punishment from the Imperial Family.
‘But… now I understand.’
The Tower Master stroked the Messenger Bird for a long while, thinking.
‘Aran has stepped too deep into this. And now the Gaejo Faction… is not a problem I can solve alone.’
Secretly bringing back a daughter who’d briefly been part of an evil organization.
I’d decided to abandon that hope. If things continued this way, that evil organization would overturn the entire Continent.
‘If I don’t act, that child will be in danger too….’
The Tower Master slowly closed his eyes.
The face of Namia, whom I’d last seen at the Imperial Palace, flickered before me.
[Families should be together alone, but it feels like I’m intruding.]
By my deduction, Namia was Aran’s daughter and my granddaughter.
My granddaughter had grown up so lonely, habitually reading the room among other people’s families.
Was it thanks to ‘Gaejo’?
She possessed the innate magical ability Aran had always wanted. Yet her eyes were filled with loneliness.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Though I’d always been wary and bickered with them, the Dragonkin were still the only ones I could trust.
I wrote down all the information about the Gaejo Faction I’d investigated alone until now, then tied the paper to the Messenger Bird’s leg.
[Our precious Aran, Father loves you. I love you more than anyone in this world.]
[But I’m a talentless fool who can’t even use magic, so why do you love me?]
[Because you’re my daughter. That alone is enough for me to give everything.]
The memory of the love I had poured upon my daughter pierced my chest.
‘Aran, this twisted love must end.’
Was this the price of that love? And was the outcome already predetermined from the start?
‘No matter who I am, I can no longer cover for you. You… must face the consequences of your sins.’
However, the note attached to the Messenger Bird did not mention that Namia appeared to be Aran’s daughter.
I could not bring myself to write it.
‘The Dragonkin show no mercy. If they learn of Namia’s true identity, they may execute her immediately.’
The Tower Master closed his eyes tightly for a moment.
‘Namia will grow stronger without even realizing it, more and more as time passes. Stronger than anyone could imagine.’
In the meantime, the Messenger Bird flew swiftly toward the Imperial Palace.
‘Then I…’
The Tower Master opened his eyes again. He swung his staff once and began to move.
‘I should go rescue that worthless son-in-law of mine.’
* * *
Victor led Kiaros to a secluded corner of the Imperial Palace Garden.
‘Hmm?’
Kiaros pondered sharply to himself.
‘This place… I never would have thought of it.’
Even Kiaros, who was born and raised in the Imperial Palace, found this place unfamiliar. He knew such a space existed, but he had never paid it much attention. It was a desolate place that few people ever passed through.
“Sigh…”
Victor rummaged through his pocket while Kiaros stood before him. The bright smile that had always graced his face had vanished completely.
Kiaros frowned at Victor’s sudden change in atmosphere.
He had expected Victor to laugh and ask, “Is there something bothering you about me?”
Surprisingly, what Victor pulled from his pocket was a cigar.
‘A smoker? I never smelled anything from him.’
Despite his keen sense of smell, he had never noticed.
Feeling a sense of incongruity at this fact, Victor lit the cigar and exhaled smoke.
“Hey.”
Through the hazy cigarette smoke, Victor’s murky eyes spoke in a low voice.
“Keep your indulgence in check from now on, got it? You little brat…”
Kiaros stood expressionless, but he was taken aback.
“Act like a three-month-old should act.”
It seemed that not only Namia but everyone else was unaware of this side of Victor.
Was he showing this side of himself because Kiaros was, quite literally, only three months old?
“You think I treasure you? It makes me cringe so much I can’t stand it, you bastard…”
Or was there another reason?
“That woman, I’ve had my eye on her for a long time, so you little foreign friend should go back to your homeland and find yourself another woman. Understand?”
It seemed to be the latter.

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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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