The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 99

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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 99
Now that I thought about it, the timing did seem a bit premature.
Kiaros was too embarrassed to respond when Namia spoke.
“You were my first priority, that’s true.”
At Namia’s casual answer, Kiaros’s heart plummeted. Even as his limbs tingled with shock, she replied without hesitation.
“Because back then, I had no other priorities at all.”
“What?”
“I had no friends, no family, nowhere to place my heart. Victor cared for me, and he was the only person who thought of me as special. If he had confessed back then, I probably would have accepted him.”
Namia continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
“But I knew he wouldn’t confess. It seemed like he wanted me to cling to him desperately. Still, there was no reason for me to indulge such selfish desires.”
Kiaros clicked his tongue inwardly. That was so typical of Namia.
She perceived others’ intentions but simply didn’t care.
“Besides, Victor remained my senior, so I never actually received a confession. If I rejected him preemptively, things would become awkward between us. I liked him as a person, so I just stayed quiet. But today he made something like a confession.”
Hearing it laid out so plainly, I couldn’t fathom why I’d been so anxious about it.
“But it wasn’t a sincere confession either. It felt more like he was doing me a favor. I was offended and rejected him outright. Now that I’m his superior, rejection isn’t difficult anyway.”
Namia spoke as indifferently as if she were describing the weather.
Then she added a question.
“But why are you asking about that?”
Suddenly, I came back to myself. I couldn’t calculate what to say in response.
No…
Whenever I faced Namia Loapi, all my calculations crumbled. I’d approach with a plan, but everything would go awry.
“That is… well.”
He blinked slowly before speaking.
“Actually, Minister of Education. I have a secret from you.”
“What? A secret?”
“Yes… It’s something I absolutely cannot reveal right now. But I swear, it’s nothing that would harm you, the Scroll Department, or the Empire.”
“I see. You can’t tell me yet?”
“…Not yet…”
Someday I would have to tell her everything, and truthfully I wanted to tell her now, but not yet.
She had genuinely helped me greatly. But the suspicious aspects of Namia remained unresolved.
The fact that I’d told her about the Gaejo Faction was already a major decision on my part.
This was a matter upon which the Empire’s future hung. Kiaros clung desperately to reason.
* * *
I swallowed dryly and reflected.
‘So the fact that I came all this way means… Kibon must be quite special to me too, doesn’t he? Because being with Kibon tonight is truly what I wanted.’
Someday I might be able to express my feelings to him, but not yet.
Kibon had shown me considerable kindness. But he could be a spy.
The fact that I came here at all was already a major decision for me.
This was a matter upon which the Empire’s future hung. I clung desperately to reason.
“I see, so you do have a secret. I suspected as much.”
I nodded quietly and spoke.
I wasn’t particularly surprised, given what Kibon had told me before about his stepmother and such matters.
And it was clear that being beneath someone else was something he found deeply uncomfortable.
“So you had a secret about your birth… You’re an illegitimate child of some noble house….”
“Pfft—cough! Cough cough!”
“Or not? Could it be… royal blood? No, no. Don’t answer. You don’t have to. It’s fine.”
Kibon wore a peculiar expression, but his eyes slowly blinked as drowsiness began to overtake him.
I rose quietly and went to the Restroom for a moment to fetch a fresh damp cloth.
The Home was truly… desolate. It was clean, certainly, but rather shabby with very few possessions.
‘At this rate, he could probably afford the rent… he has such a resourceful and admirable spirit.’
Regardless of which noble house he belonged to as an illegitimate child, it was clear he wasn’t receiving a single coin from them.
My heart ached anew at the thought of how he’d scrimped and saved from his meager means to buy all manner of digestive aids.
I’d told Kibon that ‘this narrow, worn Home is quite nice’ so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed, but the state of the place was truly dire.
However, one must never intimidate a person because of poverty. To voice an objective assessment of this shabby place—no, this Home—would be a character flaw.
‘That’s why he asked me to buy so much food. He has such hunger and ambition—it’s admirable.’
By the time I rinsed the cloth and returned, Kibon had already fallen asleep.
I placed the damp cloth on his forehead.
* * *
Flicker, flicker.
Kiaros opened his eyes.
‘…What?’
Memories from the past slowly began flooding back.
No matter how ill he was, he couldn’t believe he’d simply fallen asleep like that.
The fever didn’t seem to have completely subsided, but he felt considerably better than before.
‘Ah….’
As he tried to sit up, he caught his breath in alarm.
Leaning against one of his arms, Namia was sleeping, lying face-down.
He didn’t know exactly when she’d fallen asleep, but it was clear she’d dozed off while continuing to check his fever from beside him.
He felt her body heat from where their arms overlapped. The moment he became aware of it, his blood rushed faster and his heart began pounding.
‘What is this….’
His body stiffened just as it had when she’d stood before him, striking the Tree and threatening to ‘pull him up to the very end.’
But back then, they hadn’t been in direct contact like this….
That was when—bang—the door shattered.
Just as the Banquet Hall’s Balcony floor had cracked or the Railing had broken, it wasn’t of his own volition.
Kiaros’s complexion turned deathly pale.
[So there’s nothing to be cautious about except jealousy?]
[Ah, please try not to get too excited. That could be even more dangerous.]
[Excited? What do you mean by that?]
[Well… never mind. This should be fine. Surely Namia wouldn’t touch the Crown Prince at close range without even having mutual understanding….]
No, blast it all—that kind of excitement was this kind of excitement?
‘But I… just barely brushed my arm while providing sacred care, and now I’ve destroyed the door?’
To make matters worse, the sound of the door breaking caused Namia to open her eyes.
“Oh, Kibon? You’re awake? What was that noise?”
“Ah… well, the door was old and just… fell apart.”
“I see! A broken door means better ventilation—how convenient!”
Namia responded with a remarkably positive attitude and attempted to sit up.
Or rather, she tried to sit up.
“…Ow!”
Having remained in the same position for so long, she cried out before her back could fully straighten.
Draped across his chest, she laughed sheepishly and pressed her forehead against his.
“Hmm, you still have a fever.”
Their bodies pressed closer together as a result. Her face was mere inches from his. His face flushed crimson.
At that very moment, the kitchen sink right beside the door collapsed.
With a tremendous crash, dishes scattered across the floor with a deafening clatter.
“Aha. The kitchen is quite old too, isn’t it? I was thinking I should organize things anyway, so this works out perfectly!”
She sat up fully. Simultaneously, the bathtub in the restroom cracked with a sharp sound.
‘No, why is everything falling apart like this…’
The warmth of Namia’s body, which had been against him moments ago, lingered. An overwhelming urge to pull her back into his arms consumed him.
‘I’m a patient. I’m a patient…’
Kiaros squeezed his eyes shut, chanting this to himself to maintain composure. Yet her character was truly admirable.
“Oh, I noticed earlier that the water wasn’t draining well from the tub. Now it’ll drain completely! Perfect, just perfect!”
Please, stop being so considerate…
Namia fully rose and picked up a damp cloth.
“Your fever hasn’t broken yet, so let me change the compress once more.”
Kiaros squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Getting her to leave seemed like the wisest course of action.
He had no idea where or how things had gone so wrong, but they had definitely gone wrong.
“Yes. It’s late, so please go back to your room and—”
That was when it happened.
Namia coughed. Kiaros’s eyes snapped open, and he furrowed his brow as he looked at her.
“No, you’ve already caught it…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Blood was trickling from Namia’s mouth.
“Wh-what is this… cough!”
Namia, her expression panicked, coughed again, and blood poured forth once more.

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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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