The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 63

The Education Minister slammed the table.

“She’s already a Minister! How do you expect me to ‘handle’ her? Technically, she and I are equals now.”

Even as he spoke, he ground his teeth in frustration.

Ridon simply shrugged.

“You have royalty above you, don’t you, Minister?”

The Education Minister narrowed his eyes, already guessing where Ridon was going with this.

“I believe I can take care of it.”

There was no need to voice the “price” for such a favor.

Everyone knew what it was: performance evaluations.

“You know how it is,” Ridon said, grinding his shoe over the scattered documents on the floor.

“Prince Jaden only listens to me.”

A darker shadow passed over Ridon’s face than even the Minister’s.

The Ministry of Education was a popular department. Ridon had clawed his way to team leader through all kinds of dirty tricks.

And even after that, he would need to wait ten more years just to be considered for Minister.

He always had to be mindful of his evaluations.

‘And now some clueless brat suddenly gets named Minister just because she caught the Magic Tower Master’s attention?’

On top of that, she had won over the Finance Minister and secured a hefty budget.

‘Annoying pests need to be squashed. This is the perfect opportunity to boost my record too.’

Ridon smirked, oily and smug.

“Hmph.”

The Education Minister also lifted an eyebrow and nodded slightly, though he left things vague.

“The Empire’s dignity is... well, it’s important, you know...”

At that, Ridon’s eyes gleamed.

“I’ve already been protecting Prince Jaden from his lowborn mother. Think of this as an extension of that.”

***

Kiaros looked grim. I glanced at his profile as I nervously sipped my tea.

Instinctively, humans tense up in the presence of a Dragonblood.

‘Sorry you’re busy, really...’

Still, I cursed freely in my head. That was human instinct too.

‘But seriously, your little brother’s a total mess. You need to know the truth.’

Kiaros stared at Jaden’s rude letter for ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a long time before letting out a heavy sigh.

Then he set the documents down with a thud.

“First, let me explain the contents of the documents Namia brought.”

The Empress glanced at him nervously.

I had never seen her look this small and hesitant before.

“The soundproofing scrolls in the Separate Palace are being depleted far too quickly.”

“Soundproofing... scrolls?”

“They’re scrolls distributed to the royal family to ensure privacy. They’ve been modified so they can be activated with simple calculations. Your Majesty should have some as well.”

These scrolls, once crafted by specialists, could be activated just by tearing them open—very simple.

Typically, each royal was allotted around five for personal use.

‘But lately, the servants from the Separate Palace kept requesting more scrolls from the inventory team.’

I pointed silently to a corner of the room.

There, a mountain of shredded scrolls was piled high.

“Oh my, I had no idea what they were... I just used them sometimes for paper-cutting exercises.”

Our blood, sweat, and tears... reduced to practice scraps.

I struggled to keep my face neutral. Kiaros continued explaining.

“Jaden is still too young to be having conversations that require soundproofing. Yet his scroll usage is depleting faster than mine.”

“Huh... what does that mean...?”

“Jaden doesn’t have friends. The only people visiting the Separate Palace are family and education officials from the Ministry.”

Kiaros raised an eyebrow, then stated calmly:

“Since neither I nor my aides ever used scrolls there, it means the education officials have been using soundproofing scrolls during lessons.”

“Hm...”

The Empress blinked, clearly confused.

“Is... is soundproofing necessary for royal education?”

“Of course not,” Kiaros answered in a low voice.

“It means something is happening during those lessons that they don’t want anyone to hear.”

“B-but!”

The Empress clutched her skirt and shouted.

“J-Jaden’s grades are excellent! He gets along with his tutors, there are no signs of physical abuse, and unlike me, he’s always so elegant and refined in public!”

But her words sounded more like desperate pleading than confident claims.

She didn’t want to believe it—yet deep down, she clearly had doubts. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

‘Even if I wanted to comfort her, I couldn’t lie about this.’

Apparently, Kiaros felt the same, remaining silent.

After a long silence, the Empress trembled and added,

“Your Highness... please... if something wretched really is happening to Jaden, then... please, I beg you...”

She couldn’t even finish her sentence.

Seeing her large frame shaking helplessly made me sigh.

In the heavy silence, I spoke quietly.

“Your Majesty, even His Highness doesn’t know exactly what’s going on yet.”

Honestly, I was impressed by how much Kiaros had inferred just from the documents.

He’d gone straight to the conclusion without even needing my explanation. Truly a genius.

I gently took the Empress’s hand and spoke kindly.

“So why don’t you come see for yourself, Your Majesty?”

Kiaros frowned and cut in.

“Going there now won’t uncover anything.”

His tone was flat and calm, as always.

“Even if the Ministry of Education is doing something to Jaden, they’re not the type to admit it. We need solid evidence first.”

I matched his calm tone as I replied.

“Under Article 33, Clause 2 of the Imperial Guard Code, palace knights may conduct targeted and sting operations with royal authorization. Since Her Majesty is both a palace knight and royalty, if she authorizes it herself, the Scroll Department will provide every means of support.”

A moment of silence followed.

The Empress clearly didn’t understand.

Kiaros furrowed his brow and asked,

“You’re saying Her Majesty should conduct a sting operation as a palace knight... and the Scroll Department will assist?”

He got it right away.

The Empress suddenly burst forward, eyes wide.

“What do I do?! Tell me what to do! I can’t just sit by while something awful might be happening to my child! Hahahaha!”

“I’ll explain. But first...”

I glanced at Kiaros.

He had helped a lot in persuading the Empress, but now I didn’t really need him anymore.

Besides, he had more pressing matters, like tracking whoever was behind all this.

“You must be very busy, Your Highness. Perhaps you could—”

Just then, the Empress interrupted, waving her hand.

“Let’s have the Crown Prince join us! My poor delicate, pure, fragile heart will feel safer if he’s with me!”

...Huh? That’s not even factual or logical.

I frowned, and the Empress leaned in to whisper to Kiaros.

“You need to stay close to the target for a sting. Didn’t I do well again?”

Of course, I heard every word.

Kiaros rubbed his forehead.

The Empress leaned in again, eyes glinting.

“Fight! Win! Don’t forget—war! Seize! Imprison!”

I gently pointed out,

“The last part is... criminal, Your Majesty.”

Kiaros stared at the Empress for a long moment, then sighed deeply.

Then he turned to me and said,

“Seems like at least one sane person needs to be there. So I suppose I’ll have to come too. What do you think, Namia?”

“...At least one? I’m right here, you know.”

He didn’t respond.

Well, if both royals were insisting...

In the end, the three of us decided to move together.

“But what’s the plan?” Kiaros asked, flipping through the documents again.

“There’s no specific method written in here.”

“Oh, that’s because I compiled it with my secretary. We didn’t include the plan.”

I hadn’t even told Kibon how we’d proceed.

I just had him gather the data.

At my answer, Kiaros gave me an odd look.

“Why?”

He stared at me intently, then asked slowly,

“...Do you not trust your secretary?”