The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 121

 I bit my nails, lost in thought.

 

‘If they find out I’m an experiment, Kiarios will kill me…’

 

And honestly, if I were Kiarios, I’d kill me too.

 

Who knows what kind of experiments Mom would put me through again with the Modification Faction? What if I turned into a monster, or became some kind of human weapon?

 

That’s probably why the Tower Master kept repeating himself.

 

[Don’t tell anyone about your uniqueness.] 

 

Even when the Tower Master told Kiarios about Mom and the Modification Faction, he never mentioned me.

 

In his own way, he was doing his best to protect me.

 

‘But there’s one thing that doesn’t add up. If the Modification Faction knew I was a successful experiment, wouldn’t they have approached me already? There’s no way they’d just leave me alone like this.’

 

I couldn’t figure it out. I could only assume the Modification Faction had no idea I existed. Maybe they still didn’t know what would happen if they experimented on a pregnant monster.

 

‘But wait. Maybe dying would be better?’

 

Better than living as an unwilling test subject, never knowing what would become of my life.

 

Kiarios said he trusted me completely now, but if I lost control of my body and became a puppet for the Modification Faction, it would be a disaster.

 

‘Of course, there’s another way.’

 

If I revealed that I was Aran’s daughter and the successful product of their experiments, I could probably become a high-ranking member of the Modification Faction.

 

Maybe I could even save Dad and live with him.

 

‘But I don’t want to cooperate with the Modification Faction. Because…’

 

It seemed like a rational choice for me as an individual, but the thought immediately felt wrong.

 

‘It’s not right.’

 

I didn’t want to join such a despicable, base group.

 

I hated experimenting on living beings. I hated the temple, too, always trying to start wars and assert authority at the cost of others’ sacrifices.

 

‘Damn it…’

 

I let out a deep sigh.

 

In the end, I really was my father’s daughter. Maybe it was the early education, but I’d inherited his sense of ethics.

 

‘It’d be better to die than be used by the Modification Faction, but for now, at least…’

 

I wiped away my tears.

 

‘Let’s take down the High Priest, just once.’

 

Even in the end, I wanted to finish what I had to do. Whether I lived or died, the Modification Faction had to be destroyed.

 

Plans began to fall into place in my mind.

 

A chance to capture the High Priest.

 

This would be my final gift to Kiarios.

 

‘Still…’

 

I wasn’t afraid of death, but that didn’t mean I had no wishes left in life.

 

‘Before I die, I’d like to see Dad and the Tower Master one more time…’

 

Memories of those who’d cherished me flashed through my mind.

 

Dad’s smile as he always hugged me tight when I was little. The Tower Master’s letters, always worrying about me until the end. And…

 

Kiavon’s broad back, lifting me up without hesitation.

 

The thrill in his eyes just moments ago, exchanged in this very room.

 

The feelings I’d carefully expressed, using the night air as an excuse, floated gently to the surface.

 

[That’s nice.] [It is.] Tears I’d been holding back streamed down my cheeks.

 

* * * 

The next morning.

 

Kiarios was up at dawn, working, when an attendant brought a letter from Namia.

 

Your Highness, I hope you had a restful night.

 

If you could come to my room while I’m with the High Priest today, I would appreciate it.

 

The letter was polite but brief and dry.

 

Writing a short reply of agreement, Kiarios asked out of habit,

 

“Anything else unusual?”

 

“Ah…”

 

The attendant rolled his eyes, then answered.

 

“She went out briefly last night. Said she couldn’t sleep and went for a walk.”

 

“Namia did?”

 

“Yes. Since you didn’t order her to be watched, I let it be. She took the secluded path toward the temple and came back quickly.”

 

Kiarios frowned.

 

He’d told her to call Kiavon whenever she went out, but maybe she hadn’t because it was nighttime.

 

And the temple side, of all places—even inside the palace, that was risky.

 

He decided he’d have to warn her this time. She must call Kiavon, no matter what…

 

‘Or maybe not.’

 

Kiarios pressed his forehead, sinking into thought.

 

‘If I tell her everything today, will Kiavon disappear? Then should I tell her to call me instead? But knowing Namia, she’d never call me.’

 

He’d already ruled out the option of ‘having her call another guard.’

 

‘If we’re together, we’ll end up falling for each other.’

 

He spoke from experience.

 

While he was agonizing over this, another attendant entered.

 

“Your Highness, the High Priest has entered the Scroll Department Head’s room.”

 

Now, he had to play along with the flimsy trap Namia had set.

 

Kiarios didn’t think anything major would happen, but he hoped for the best.

 

Unless the High Priest had gone mad, no matter how much he was set up, he wouldn’t attack Kiarios.

 

“All right.”

 

Kiarios nodded, quickly pulling out a mirror.

 

“Let’s get ready.”

 

Namia had said herself that Kiarios’s shell was better than Kiavon’s.

 

That was all he could count on now. He had to keep playing up his one guaranteed advantage.

 

[Really? Was that shell that good… Better than me now?]

 

 [No matter how handsome that intern is, he can’t compare to Your Highness, the Dragon Lord…] 

 

When she found out Kiavon was actually Kiarios, there had to be at least one good thing about it.

 

* * * 

 

In the end, I stayed up all night.

 

Strangely, I still felt clear-headed. I’d overcome the shock with sheer willpower.

 

And at dawn, I called for the High Priest.

 

“Ugh, I’m so tired, I couldn’t sleep with all these thoughts… My condition is a mess.”

 

I let out a deep sigh and looked in the mirror.

 

Normally, I’d be with Kiavon, but today, I didn’t feel up to seeing his face. So I’d deliberately not called for him.

 

Honestly, I’d planned to tell him to hide in case the High Priest attacked…

 

But if I saw him, I’d probably cry, so I’d come up with a different plan.

 

Staring at myself in the mirror, I grumbled in dissatisfaction.

 

“My skin’s rough and I’ve got dark circles under my eyes. Don’t you think?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“You really had to answer honestly? Ugh, you’re hopeless at socializing…”

 

I mimicked Oson, glaring at him in mock annoyance, then crossed my arms.

 

“Well, anyway, I’d like some holy power. I think I’ll feel better if I get some.”

 

The High Priest looked at me as if to say, ‘If you’re tired, just sleep—why are you bothering me?’ But he didn’t say it out loud.

 

I yawned and swung my legs absentmindedly.

 

‘I bet the High Priest is just like me.’

 

The suspicion I’d harbored had become certainty.

 

‘Nausea, coughing up blood, then being fine again… It’s definitely a side effect of the experiment.’

 

In the original story, he never aged. It must be some experiment to keep him alive indefinitely.

 

And when he coughs up blood, he gets stronger.

 

According to Luka, he coughed up blood at the banquet.

 

So right now, he must have some kind of transcendent power.

 

‘Kiarios doesn’t know the High Priest is an experiment. That’s why he thinks I’m setting up a sloppy plan but goes along with it anyway.’

 

But if the High Priest used his experiment-induced powers to try to kill Kiarios—and if I could catch him right then—That would be a huge help in dismantling the Modification Faction.

 

That’s why I hadn’t left, even knowing Kiarios would kill me if I was found out.

 

“Then, let us pray.”

 

The High Priest immediately channeled holy power. Instantly, I felt much better.

 

Even though I’d been up all night, my body and mind felt refreshed.

 

‘Oh, this is nice.’

 

I’d only gone through all this to set a trap, but receiving holy power felt like a huge gift. The High Priest let out a faint sigh at my satisfied expression.

 

“This is great. Wow, if you stayed with me all the time, I’d never need to sleep.”

 

“Um, well… You’ll keep your promise from last time, right?”

 

Of course. That must be his goal. He must have been dying to ask.

 

I grinned and stretched.

 

“I know. On that note, High Priest, would you like a cup of tea before you go?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“The Dragon Lord—ah, no, His Highness the Crown Prince—said he’d be coming soon.”