The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 29

Suddenly, a young man in a hood appeared out of nowhere.

He effortlessly pried my wrist away from Howard.

“Uwaaaah! Aaaargh!”

He even twisted Howard’s arm.

It was a very simple movement—yet Howard couldn’t move an inch.

“Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to butt in?!”

Howard screeched.

“This is just between the two of—ow!”

Of course, when the young man applied a bit more force, Howard collapsed immediately.

“You’re asking who I am?”

I looked at the young man’s face under the hood—and my eyes widened in shock.

“This woman is my superior.”

He spoke coldly. And I couldn’t say a word.

Was he insane?

I was so taken aback that I froze completely.

“Looking out for your superior is only natural.”

The hooded young man was the foreign intern who had quit after just one day.

I never imagined I’d see his face here again. I was completely stunned.

What was this intern doing here?

Did he come to watch the trial? Is this kind of event entertaining even to foreigners?

“Leave. Now.”

The intern growled lowly as he released Howard’s arm.

Howard glared but didn’t say another word—he ran off immediately.

I didn’t even think to watch him go. I just stood there, dazed, staring at the intern.

Covered from head to toe in a hood: Kiborn Altes.

Unlike the last time I saw him, he wasn’t wearing glasses.

“Are you all right?”

His pitch-black eyes met mine in an awkward silence.

***

Kiaros looked into Namia’s startled eyes and felt a twinge of regret.

‘Maybe I didn’t need to get personally involved…’

He had only meant to go to the restroom.

Then he saw Namia being grabbed by a middle-aged man.

‘It was obviously an uncomfortable situation…’

Of course, at this point, Namia was still just a low-ranking civil servant.

Her personal affairs weren’t something the Crown Prince needed to worry about.

‘But she saved my life.’

Still, even if she was a benefactor, the Crown Prince didn’t have to intervene personally.

If it bothered him, he could’ve just sent a knight.

‘But she might be someone I marry.’

It wasn’t certain yet.

But if it really bothered him, he could’ve sent a higher-ranking knight.

‘But it looked suspicious. That’s why.’

In the end, Kiaros decided to step in himself.

She clearly had ties to Fron.

She couldn’t be treated like just any passing benefactor.

‘I need to observe her myself. It’s a rational decision.’

But he couldn’t show up as the Crown Prince.

That would draw too much attention—and fuel unnecessary rumors.

After a brief moment of deliberation, he transformed himself in the restroom.

The mirror reflected a young man with black hair and black eyes.

It was the appearance of Kiborn Altes—the intern who’d once joined the Scroll Management Department.

‘If only I could change into completely different appearances… but this is the only one I’ve got.’

Or perhaps it was better—since he’d already met Namia in this form, it might be easier to intervene.

In the restroom was a loose-fitting hoodie used by workers.

He put it on to hide his uniform.

Then he immediately separated the old man from Namia.

“Ah… Mr. Kiborn Altes.”

After Howard ran off, Namia looked flustered, her eyes darting nervously.

“I thought you went back to your home country. What brings you here…?”

“I ran.”

It was reflexive—he’d always been in the Empire, after all—but the answer just slipped out.

Namia narrowed her eyes slightly.

She tilted her head and murmured,

“Your pronunciation is good, but… you’re not exactly fluent in Imperial, are you?”

“I am fluent.”

“Oh… so that’s what you think.”

“Yes. That’s what I think.”

“Ah…”

Kiaros had always received clear, formal reports from subordinates.

He’d never had a friend to converse casually with.

Naturally, he had no idea how to speak informally to a superior either.

“Ahem.”

Regardless, Namia looked completely overwhelmed.

She hadn’t even said thank you.

Not that he was fishing for gratitude, of course.

But still—wasn’t it proper to at least say thank you?

“Do you have nothing more to say?”

“Huh? Oh, um… actually, I do.”

“Go ahead.”

Kiaros replied kindly. Namia answered slowly,

“Most people wouldn’t say, ‘This woman is my superior.’”

“…Sorry?”

“You’d normally say, ‘This lady is my superior.’ Hmm, I didn’t realize you were so unfamiliar with the Imperial language. I must have misunderstood your tone before.”

“What? You’re the one acting suspiciously.”

Kiaros furrowed his brows and instinctively retorted.

Namia tilted her head and asked,

“What do you mean, suspicious?”

“Uh, well… um…”

He couldn’t exactly say, “You said you wanted to protect me.”

That was something she had said only to Kiaros directly, when they were alone.

He stumbled over his words and said nothing.

Namia nodded as if understanding.

“It’s okay. You’re doing great, all things considered.”

Great at what?

Kiaros was baffled, but she added sheepishly,

“Anyway, thank you. That man… well, he was someone my family tried to force on me for money. But as you saw, I never agreed to anything.”

“Marriage? With that man?”

Kiaros asked in shock.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand her words—he was just reacting instinctively to the word “marriage.”

Because he’d been seriously considering marriage between her and himself.

“Oh, sorry. Was that hard to understand?”

Namia widened her eyes and spoke slowly.

“To put it simply, I mean no matter how rich he is, I would never marry someone like that old man.”

“I see. So… what are you going to do about him? He doesn’t seem like he’ll go away quietly.”

“I’ll handle it. You don’t need to worry about it, Mr. Kiborn. Thank you.”

Her answer was polite, but somehow it left him unsatisfied.

She was still so thin… and it seemed like her family was no help at all.

Of course, he planned to take care of things from behind the scenes. Still—her lack of urgency bothered him.

Kiaros frowned and asked,

“I understand your thanks. But what exactly are you going to do?”

“Um, Mr. Kiborn.”

Namia rolled her eyes and calmly replied.

“In this context, ‘thank you’ means ‘I’m done talking about this.’”

“What?”

“You just need to remember that I’m not marrying that guy. That’s all.”

“Not marrying him…”

Kiaros cleared his throat at that line.

After taking a deep breath, he asked,

“Ahem. Do you dislike marriage itself? Or do you just dislike marrying that old man?”

“That’s not exactly the context here, but… no, I don’t dislike marriage.”

“I see. Then…”

Kiaros hesitated, then took a deep breath.

This was just a casual question—since marriage had come up anyway, he wanted to hear her thoughts.

Definitely not because he was curious. Absolutely not.

“Would you be okay with marrying the Crown Prince?”

“…What? That’s so sudden…”

Namia frowned, looking a bit flustered.

Kiaros quickly added,

“In my homeland, such conversations are very common. We casually ask things like, ‘How would you feel about marrying the Crown Prince?’—like it’s just small talk.”

“Ah, I see…”

“So please, just answer honestly.”

“Alright…”

Thankfully, she agreed! Her “alright” had never sounded so sweet.

Namia tilted her head and murmured uncertainly,

“Well, if it’s the Crown Prince…”

“The Crown Prince…?”

Kiaros swallowed dryly without realizing it.

Namia added slowly,

“Given my current situation, if I could marry someone like him… I probably would.”