The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 97

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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 97
I wasn’t in the mood either, so I paid no attention to the banquet food spread before me.
Then, the musical melody began to shift.
The High Priest, who had been conversing with Kiaros, widened his eyes slightly.
“Ah… it appears the dance music will begin shortly.”
He was right. This melody signaled that idle chatter should cease and preparations for dancing should commence.
“Haha, I shall take my leave now. Nothing is more important between men and women than the first dance of the banquet.”
The High Priest smiled brightly and disappeared.
He seemed to have understood what Kiaros meant earlier when he said, ‘You may go now.’
I watched the High Priest’s retreating figure and swallowed hard.
‘But now that he’s here in person… wouldn’t he try to eliminate me as well?’
He rescued the Crown Prince, seized control of the Scroll Department where spies had been planted, devastated the Ministry of Education which he’d long coveted…
How much of a thorn in the side must I be to the Gaejo Faction?
‘Especially today—I turned the trap they set using me against them. How wary must they be of me now?’
Even if I weren’t part of the Gaejo Faction, they’d likely try to eliminate me anyway.
Because I was an irritant despite being the weakest link.
‘I’m terrified. Just thinking about it makes my body tremble unbearably…’
I had to strike first.
Ten days. That’s how long the High Priest would remain in the Imperial Palace.
During those ten days while he devised schemes to trap both Kiaros and me, I had to make my move first.
“Ahem.”
While I was lost in thought, Kiaros cleared his throat.
“Namia.”
Until just before the banquet began, I had assumed I would dance the first dance with Kibon.
“Haven’t you finished everything you needed to accomplish at the banquet?”
When Kiaros asked, I nodded. The banquet had yielded unexpected results—I’d even obtained hints about the mastermind behind everything.
“Of course, the spy business must weigh on your mind, but there’s nothing you need to do about it tonight.”
Kiaros spoke with a faint smile.
Just the slightest curve of his lips, yet it was beautiful enough to captivate the soul.
“For tonight, forget about the spy and enjoy yourself as you wish. You deserve it.”
“Y-yes.”
Golden hair that seemed to gather all the light in the banquet hall, warm yet cool crimson eyes.
Facing that sculpted visage, it felt as though only Kiaros and I existed in this entire hall.
“So… well. It seems the first dance music will begin, as the High Priest said.”
The first dance… it was customary to dance with one’s partner.
That’s why Victor had reserved earlier, saying, ‘The second dance will be mine.'”
In truth, this was my first time attending a banquet. My first time wearing such a beautiful dress, my first time having such a magnificent partner beside me.
‘Ah, so the Crown Prince intends to ask me to dance.’
Since we were partners, it was only natural.
If I danced the first dance with the Crown Prince, everyone would surely watch us and shower us with praise. After all, Kiaros had never danced with any woman before.
But….
[For tonight, forget about the spy and enjoy yourself however Namia wishes.]
I took a moment to breathe deeply.
What I wanted right now wasn’t the first dance. It wasn’t to show off my clothes or jewelry at the banquet.
“Your Highness.”
I stepped back slightly.
“As you said, it seems I’ve completed everything I needed to do at tonight’s banquet. And it does seem fair that I have the right to do as I please for this one evening.”
“…Hmm?”
“Would it be alright if I took my leave?”
“What?”
“It’s just….”
I spoke while gazing at Kiaros’s perfectly beautiful face.
“Just before the banquet, I received word that my secretary had fallen gravely ill.”
Kiaros’s expression stiffened slightly. His eyes wavered with profound bewilderment.
‘No… Did he really think I’d accept the first dance after rejecting his proposal? We’re nothing to each other—what is this self-awareness?’
Though I found it somewhat absurd internally, I continued respectfully.
“However, my secretary isn’t the sort to break a promise so suddenly. Either he’s gone into hiding because he’s a spy, or he’s so terribly ill that he can’t move at all… it must be one or the other.”
“Ah, well… that is….”
“If it’s the former, I’d like to confirm it quickly. If it’s the latter, I’m concerned and feel I should check on him. As an orphan from a foreign land, I know better than anyone what it’s like to suffer alone while ill.”
“That, but… well.”
“Yes. I understand perfectly well how dreadful it is for a superior to visit someone’s home on a day off.”
I spoke calmly.
“However… today is also my secretary’s birthday.”
“Birthday?”
“Yes. It’s on his personnel record card. Lying alone and groaning on one’s birthday while ill… it’s simply too pitiful. I thought I’d stop by with some warm stew.”
Kiaros stammered for a moment, then asked haltingly.
“Do… do you know where this secretary lives?”
“Yes. The address is on his personnel record card as well. He lives in a small house nearby.”
“Ah, right. Yes, of course.”
“Just to be safe, please assign one Raven Servant to accompany me. If I haven’t returned within a certain time, please launch an immediate raid.”
At my words, Kiaros nodded blankly.
Then he blinked and spoke.
“Yes, yes. I’ll go give orders to the Ravens now.”
And he strode across the Banquet Hall faster than I did, heading out.
By the end, he seemed almost to be running.
* * *
Kiaros frantically rifled through documents in the Crown Prince’s Office.
Kibon Altes’s personnel record card… a document he’d hastily scrawled himself and manipulated for approval.
‘Damn it.’
Birthday: November 2nd….
The date was scrawled as carelessly as the name and age, and of all days, it had to be today.
He hurriedly checked the address.
It seemed he’d designated one of the Ravens’ safe houses scattered throughout the Capital—the kind of ordinary residence that intelligence agencies used to maintain secrecy.
‘Damn it….’
Of all places, it was the most dilapidated and ancient of them all, a haunted house that even the Ravens no longer used these days.
But there was no time for further deliberation. He quickly changed his clothes and transformed into the appearance of Kibon.
Then he simply began to run. He had to arrive before Namia if he ran at maximum speed.
‘Is this right? Is this actually right?’
Kiaros remained confused even as he ran. But there was no helping it.
[Either she’s a spy and has already hidden herself, or she’s genuinely so ill that she can’t move at all… It has to be one of the two.]
If he wasn’t lying in that safe house, he would undoubtedly be suspected as a spy.
Of course, a fundamental question had arisen.
Wasn’t Namia a spy? Did Namia truly have no connection to the Gaejo Faction?
‘Catching the Minister of Education alone… there does seem to be a connection, but when I think about it carefully, it’s not entirely without its oddities.’
Catching Riedan was one thing. The inventory scrolls really could have been genuinely strange.
But suddenly implicating the Minister of Education was somewhat surprising.
‘But… is this really right?’
Kiaros arrived at the desolate safe house that looked as though it might collapse at any moment, barely catching his breath.
Fortunately, since there were people who took turns maintaining the house, the interior was clean.
‘How did things come to this?’
Namia Loapi…. There were certainly suspicious things about her.
That’s why he’d tried to surveil her even by changing his appearance.
And she’d readily agreed to it. She said any method of surveillance was fine.
But before he knew it, he’d come to like her….
[Being sick on her birthday and lying alone groaning… it just seemed too pitiful. I thought I’d stop by with some warm stew.]
Now, all of this somehow felt like deceiving her, and guilt gnawed at him….
The beginning had certainly seemed justified, but when he came to his senses, everything was a mess.
“Damn….”
It was just as he squeezed his eyes shut. From outside the door came Namia’s voice, tinged with a sigh.
“Goodness, there’s not even a doorbell here.”
Knock, knock—a careful knocking sound followed.
“Kibon? Are you in there?”

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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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