The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 79

No way.

After work hours.

Once I sent the staff home, I made my way toward the Crown Prince’s office, rolling my eyes as I went.

He’s not seriously going to ask to be my partner, right?

Jaden had sent him a letter earlier today.

Not that I needed to think too hard about my answer—my partner was already decided: Kibon.

I only followed an imperial command, after all...

When I arrived at the office, the attendant greeted me.

“Would you care to wait inside? His Highness will be here shortly. He’s not usually this late...”

I nodded absentmindedly. Then, the attendant suddenly burst into tears.

“...Perhaps he’s getting himself ready... sob...”

Startled, I turned to look at him.

Sniffling, he mumbled through his tears.

“P-please... please don’t think strangely of this. There’s absolutely nothing going on that you don’t know, Lady Namia. No romantic feelings, or expectations, or wedding preparations, or anything like that... sob sob sob...”

Good grief. Wedding preparations? Someone’s getting way ahead of himself.

But, well... it’s his business.

I turned my gaze indifferently from the weeping attendant.

The Crown Prince’s office was impeccably neat. Not a single document out of place.

Still working hard, huh...

Publicly, he was said to be in seclusion—but from the looks of this desk, it was clear he was working day in and day out.

Must be tracking whoever’s behind all this.

I had something I needed to say too, with the Saint Cairo Banquet coming up.

It was about time I gave him another nudge from the original novel.

Just as I was sitting quietly, waiting—

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The door opened, and Kiaros entered.

He moved with his usual elegance, but something about him seemed... a little breathless.

Hmm. Did he come in a rush?

Now that I looked closely, even his cravat was slightly askew.

“Your Highness.”

I greeted him without reacting. Kiaros gestured for me to sit, and then took the seat across from me.

And then...

“...Hah.”

A slightly ragged breath escaped him.

Yep. He definitely ran here.

Kiaros took a moment to steady his breathing before speaking.

“Miss Namia, hmm... have you found a partner for the banquet?”

His voice was as relaxed and casual as ever, like it was just polite small talk.

“Yes.”

“I see.”

He didn’t look the least bit disappointed. Didn’t even ask who it was.

I rolled my eyes and asked,

“Is that why you called me here?”

“Oh, no.”

Kiaros shook his head. He opened a drawer and pulled out a report, speaking in a low voice.

“I told you I’d look into your father, Cedric Roafi.”

“Oh—yes.”

I straightened up immediately, startled.

As expected, Kiaros was a man who kept his promises.

With all the other matters on his plate, I thought it would take longer, but clearly he’d prioritized it.

“I don’t even know where to begin. I may need to manage my emotions as well.”

“You can start anywhere. I’ll understand perfectly. And I’ll manage my emotions just fine too.”

“The place your father joined... is a group I suspect was behind the attack on me.”

“...You’ve gotta be f—!”

I shot to my feet before I could stop myself.

“...Miss Namia?”

Kiaros looked a little startled, so I sat back down in a flash.

“Sorry. Emotional control, achieved. Hard to believe, but that was the first time I’ve ever sworn in my life.”

I took a deep breath and collected myself.

That really was just like my dad. Every decision he ever made in ‘good faith’ ended up being the worst possible one.

Of all the illegal groups out there—

Especially in the south, where shady organizations run wild—

He had to join the worst of the worst?

Kiaros might not know this, but those guys end up starting a full-scale war...!

If you’re going to get involved in shady groups, at least... pick better!

I clenched my teeth and gripped the hem of my skirt tightly.

“The one that attacked me—and falsely accused Her Majesty the Empress—your former boss Oson was affiliated with that group. They’re known as the ‘Kaecho Faction.’”

“Wait. Kae...chobap? That’s the name? What a uniquely terrible naming sense.”

I asked sincerely, and Kiaros cleared his throat awkwardly.

Shaking his head, he explained,

“Kae-cho-pa. The ‘Reformation Faction.’ They’re fixated on modifying—reforming—living beings, especially those with special abilities.”

Modifying...

I blinked slowly.

[For the sake of evolution!]

That’s what one of their members had shouted at their trial.

I remembered something Dad had once told me—

[There are dangerous groups out there, Namia. Never talk about paying off our debts with yourself. They might sell you off to some place that does awful experiments.]

So... this really was that kind of group?

But in the original novel... there wasn’t anything like that.

Sure, the war spiraled out of control—but there weren’t any modified humans running around.

As I fell into thought, Kiaros continued.

“I wasn’t able to fully track them, but we did secure one of their experimental subjects.”

“An experiment... Wait, is it human?”

“Not human—a low-tier monster. They’d succeeded in the past at modifying such creatures to have human-level intelligence and speech.”

Kiaros went on to explain in detail.

When he was young, during a blackout period, the one who attacked him with a dagger had been a modified low-tier monster.

“This time, the specimen we captured was a pregnant female...”

He lowered his voice.

“It seems the experiment was conducted on the mother—but she showed no abnormalities. The fetus inside her, however, gave off some abnormal readings.”

“Oh...”

“They believe that experimenting on the mother affects the unborn child. We’ll know for sure once it’s born—which should be soon.”

My god... experimenting on living creatures...

“I don’t know why they’re targeting me, or shaking up the royal family. That’s something I need to figure out. But what I wanted to tell you, Namia, is this—”

His crimson eyes looked directly at me.

“It may take longer to find your father.”

“Ah... I see.”

“He’s one of the most dangerous individuals I’ve been tracking for years—and even I haven’t been able to locate him.”

That was only natural.

These were the people who would eventually plunge the entire continent into war.

“Fifteen years ago, His Majesty the Emperor wiped out their leadership completely. But for them to resurface this quickly... there ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ may be an even greater force behind them.”

“...That does seem likely...”

Even in the original, the true mastermind was never revealed.

Jaden only ended the war through sheer power and strategy.

“Given the circumstances, I trust no one right now. You, Miss Namia, are under suspicion too. But a promise is a promise, so I had to at least tell you this much.”

“...Thank you.”

I felt all the strength drain from me.

Kiaros had done more than enough by telling me this much.

And also... it meant something else.

That I should start preparing myself.

People who conduct forbidden experiments like this might not leave my father unharmed...

...But you never know. He’s so useless, has such terrible instincts, and spouts the most out-of-touch nonsense that maybe he was too worthless to even experiment on. Could be he’s still alive by pure accident...

I took a deep breath.

There’s nothing I can do right now. Just focus on doing my job well.

I centered myself and slowly looked up at Kiaros.

To my surprise, he was still watching me. There was clear concern in his gaze.

“Your Highness.”

I steadied my emotions and spoke slowly.

“Will you be attending the Saint Cairo Banquet?”

In the original story, Kiaros did not attend the banquet.

Of course not—he was already dead by then.

Even now, he was officially still in seclusion, so I doubted he’d show up.

“We’ll see.”

Kiaros leaned his chin on his hand, watching me with interest.

“I wasn’t planning on it, actually.”

“I’d like you to come.”

“All right.”

“...You’re not going to ask why?”

“I was trying to imitate you, Miss Namia.”

“Ah.”

I see. I was about to move on to the next topic—

But then Kiaros, muttering ‘She really wasn’t going to explain, huh’ under his breath, suddenly asked in a rush:

“Actually, I am curious. Why do you want me to come?”