The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 107

‘If we fall from here, we’re dead!’

If we dropped from this height, we’d die instantly! Even though it was a direct order, a scream rose up to my throat—

—but we didn’t fall. Instead, we landed gently on a nearby tree branch.

Eyes wide, panting hard, I looked over—there was someone dressed in black on a neighboring branch. A Raven in hiding.

“Stay still for a moment. Just watch,” Kiaros murmured in a low voice.

Still cradled in his arms, I blinked rapidly, trying to catch my breath. The man next to us gave a bird-like whistle.

“Just watch,” huh…?

Judging by the timing, it seemed like the birdcall was a signal between the Ravens to indicate “don’t move.”

I blinked in confusion. While I scanned the surroundings, Kiaros whispered softly,

“Miss Namia, you probably haven’t seen many criminal scenes, so you might not realize this—but people sneaking around don’t usually walk that slowly. And they definitely don’t carry their target out so openly.”

Ah, field experience.

Yeah, I couldn’t compete with someone who’d actually been in the field. It wasn’t like you could learn this from books or study it.

Now that I thought about it—Anastasia hadn’t brought in a replacement beaker when she arrived.

I’d assumed she snuck it in somehow, but that would mean she’d have to sneak it out too.

“It’s fine to watch a little longer. She won’t go far like that anyway. It’s liquid in a cup without a lid, so there’s no risk of someone suddenly snatching it or ambushing her to take it by force.”

I was amazed at how quickly he assessed the situation. And though he didn’t have to explain, he whispered it to me anyway—kindness tucked inside quiet professionalism.

“But…”

He glanced at my face and added gently,

“I don’t know why Anastasia did something like this either.”

So we watched from atop the tall tree, gazing at Anastasia’s back. She had exited the office building and was now walking toward the adjacent garden.

As expected, her pace was completely relaxed. There was no trace of secrecy or urgency in her manner.

And then, in one corner of the garden—

“Here.”

Anastasia handed the beaker to Victor.

“All set?”

Anastasia had recently been the last to leave work most days. Though to be fair, that just meant around 6:30 PM.

There wasn’t any deep reason. It was simply because she was engrossed in the book she kept at the office, The Pinnacle of Obsession Is Escape.

‘Should I just take it home? No, I have books at home I want to read separately. This one’s for the office—for lunch breaks or downtime.’

At home, she was currently devouring another great work called The Terminal Illness Escapes. So it was only at around 6:30 PM that she was finally able to pull herself out of her seat.

As she was just about to finish packing up in the empty office—

“Anastasia? You’re still here?”

Victor, who she thought had already left, reentered the office. She tilted her head as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

“D-Do you need a favor or something?”

“Huh? What makes you say that?”

“Y-You know I always leave around this time…”

“Ah… You’re way too sharp, Anastasia.”

“E-Everyone in the office knows. It’s not exactly a secret.”

She shrugged. Victor was undeniably handsome and had been a well-known campus heartthrob since academy days—but she didn’t particularly like him.

It was clear he liked Namia, yet he kept poking around aimlessly. That kind of guy was exactly the type she hated most.

“Well… I do need a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I ran into the Minister earlier. He asked me to bring him the beaker with the Dragon’s blood. Said he’d be conducting experiments in his room tonight since he’s not feeling well.”

Anastasia nodded without much hesitation.

Honestly, considering all you needed for the experiments was a desk and some scroll parchment, she’d been wondering why he kept coming to the fabrication room.

“He said I could bring it over anytime tonight. He knows I’ve got evening plans. Actually, I have a dinner date.”

Victor grinned.

“But then I thought… this might be my chance to be alone with the Minister.”

“Uh… huh?”

“I’m going to confess.”

Anastasia’s eyes widened—her interest piqued like someone hearing a new chapter of a favorite romance novel.

“I’m going to hand her the beaker and confess. Tell him I’ve liked her for a long time, that I can’t hold it in anymore.”

“S-She’s g-going to turn you down. C-Confessions aren’t something you just attempt like a challenge.”

She offered her sincere advice.

“A-A real confession should be like a Christmas gift to a child—it only works when they’re already expecting it.”

“Huh? You mean it has to come from a pure heart?”

“N-No. I mean it only succeeds when they’re already expecting it and excited. Otherwise, if they don’t get it, they’ll be mad and confused.”

Victor frowned slightly but didn’t argue. He simply continued,

“Still, I have to try. Otherwise, the Crown Prince will take her.”

“Ah… because of His Highness…”

Everyone in the Scroll Division knew Kiaros had been openly showing affection toward Namia—even giving her his blood. Honestly, the entire civil service already knew.

Anastasia nodded sympathetically.

“W-Well… then, good luck with the rejection. Hope it’s the kind of heartbreak that turns you into a brooding second lead…”

“But the problem is, I’ve got this dinner, and I’m too much of a coward to walk the dark hallway at night alone. Still, I don’t want to miss the chance to be alone with her. And I can’t exactly show up at dinner with a beaker in my bag…”

With a pleading face, he asked,

“Can you bring it over for me tonight? Only team leaders can access the fabrication room. If you just get it, I’ll handle the rest.”

To be fair, he probably wouldn’t have the guts to confess otherwise.

Getting rejected by the Crown Prince’s love interest could cost you your life.

“O-Okay. But on one condition.”

Anastasia was not the type to come back to the office after hours—but this was way too aligned with her interests to pass up.

“I-I want to know exactly how it goes. E-Every detail. Word-for-word lines.”

“…Why are you so sure I’ll get rejected? You really think Namia will go to the Crown Prince?”

“No.”

She shook her head.

“T-To be honest… I think Keyvon has the better chance.”

“…What the hell?”

In that moment, Victor’s face darkened. Anastasia saw the sudden shadow cross his expression—and it confirmed his feelings.

He really did like Namia. Though it wasn’t quite what she expected…

‘I thought he was going for the classic second-lead heartbreak arc—too late, too bitter, too “just don’t want to lose her”… but this emotion? This lingering, ominous vibe? Kind of thrilling.’

As she stood there slightly flustered, Victor asked in a biting tone,

“He’s just a foreign intern.”

“U-Uh…?”

“He’s not even as good-looking as the Crown Prince, and from what I found out about his address, he’s not rich. No real job, no noble blood.”

“Y-You looked up his address? Wow, you’re… surprisingly creepy. Kind of… swoon-worthy…”

“He’s got nothing on Namia. So why?”

His eyes glinted with a trace of madness.

“I wasn’t enough as student body president, or as her senior, or even as a marquis’s son—but he is?”

“W-Well…”

Anastasia blinked rapidly and answered,

“A-Ask her when you confess. H-How would I know what the Minister feels?”

Though inwardly, she did kind of know.

Either way, she had no reason to refuse his request.

“Here.”

It wasn’t difficult at all.

“All set?”

Victor, sitting on a bench, grinned and nodded.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

He slowly stood and walked toward her. He took the beaker from her and gently placed it on the bench.

“You really helped me out, Anastasia.”

And then—at that very moment—Anastasia sensed a wave of killing intent rushing toward her.