The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 33

At my signal, the Empress shot to her feet and shouted,

“Silence! My plan to capture the real culprit was a success! I got him into this courtroom in the end!”

“Your Majesty, the one currently identified as the suspect… is you, Your Majesty…”

Spitting as she ranted in her excitement, the Empress wreaked havoc.

The knights assigned to protect her were drenched in sweat as they held her back.

It was utter chaos.

Meanwhile, Kiaros tilted his head—then formed the same heart gesture with his hands as I had.

That serious look of his was truly dizzying.

“We’ve got to catch that bastard, pour water into his nostrils, and drag out whoever’s behind this!”

Even while yelling at the top of her lungs, the Empress kept glancing my way.

She knew she was being a bit of a lunatic.

‘I can’t stop now, either.’

But what pushed me to go all the way was the fact that Osone had asked for a teleport scroll.

That confirmed my hunch—I was on the right track.

I raised my hands above my head and made a big heart.

That meant: Sell whatever you must, just push through to the end.

***

In the square in front of the Imperial courtroom.

Beneath a great, towering tree, a middle-aged man landed lightly with agile grace.

“Huff…”

Rising slowly, the man swept back his slightly graying blond hair.

Even while catching his breath, his face was strikingly handsome.

He was none other than Pedwin Polariwood, Emperor of the Polariwood Empire.

“I really am getting old and frail. This isn’t like before… Exhausting.”

The Emperor had just used his special ability: long-distance teleportation.

The older he got, the harder it became to use his power.

Even a yongin could not escape aging.

And right now, the Emperor was in especially poor health, which made it all the more taxing.

“Still… I’ll push through, for the power of love.”

Bracing his trembling legs, he took a deep breath.

He had come as soon as the news reached the western region—that Fron had been caught purchasing poison.

Even with teleportation, it wasn’t instantaneous. It had still taken a full day.

“I can’t be late. Are they still in session?”

Appearing like this meant everyone would find out about his special ability.

That would lead to a great deal of exhausting fallout.

‘From now on, even the slightest odd incident will have people whispering: “Did the Emperor do it?”’

Having powers different from others—

It inspired awe and fear alike, but also unease.

‘But still… I have no choice. For the family I love…’

If this went wrong, Fron might take her own life.

She was the type to avoid causing trouble for others, even to that extent.

The Emperor believed in Fron. He had a rough idea of why she’d collected poison.

Kiaros probably understood too. Which would make it all the more difficult for him.

‘I don’t want to burden Kiaros with more than he already bears.’

Kiaros must be having a hard time in the courtroom right now.

Even without seeing, the Emperor could vividly imagine it.

To protect a silent Fron, Kiaros would endure immense backlash.

And if Fron were to grab someone’s blade in the process—it didn’t bear thinking about.

‘Maybe I should just reveal my condition and pass the throne to Kiaros…’

There had never been a case where a yongin unable to manifest as a dragon had passed on the crown.

But the situation was so dire, he had to consider it.

‘Kiaros would be a fine ruler, even by my own standards.’

A bitter smile passed across the Emperor’s face as he hurried to the courtroom.

‘The only thing that pains me is how much weight he’s had to bear from such a young age.’

A sculpted appearance, a bearing made to rule.

An oppressive aura and a voice that made others tremble.

He never gave others any excuse to criticize him—meticulous to a fault, not letting a single needle slip past.

‘Though perhaps as a side effect, he’s become overly fixated on some girl he doesn’t even know the face of…’

The Emperor quickened his pace toward the courtroom.

“Your Majesty!”

“His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Wait—how did he get to the palace so fast…?”

Palace staff who saw him stared in shock and bowed.

The Emperor brushed it all off with casual indifference.

‘Even so, our son carries such weight and gravity for his age.’

A son who bore far too much on his shoulders.

‘And Fron… Even while sitting in the Empress’s seat, trying her utmost not to cause me trouble.’

A wife so fiercely loyal to the yongin, it bordered on excess.

‘What a fortunate man I am, to have such a family.’

Thinking of his beloved yet heartbreaking family, the Emperor flung open the courtroom door.

And finally—he laid eyes on the people he had so missed.

“His Majesty the Emperor will prove my innocence! I can’t tell you everything, but he found that bastard suspicious too!”

His wife, selling him out…

‘…Huh?’

And his son, in the middle of a solemn courtroom… forming a huge heart above his head.

***

‘Well… nothing I can do now.’

I quickly rationalized as I watched the chaos unfold in the courtroom.

‘This was the best choice available…’

In response to my signal—Sell anything you’ve got and push through—the Empress had sold the Emperor.

He was the grandest thing she had to offer.

And Kiaros, likely misunderstanding my signal, also made a big heart.

‘It’s fine. Not my problem…’

One of my talents was being emotionally detached from other people’s business.

So I decided to be indifferent to Kiaros’s public humiliation.

At this point, everyone had noticed Kiaros’s bizarre behavior.

“Did you see His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Is he… making a heart right now?”

“In this courtroom? No way…”

“I’m not seeing things, right?”

People buzzed, unsure where to even look.

The Empress and Crown Prince were just too entertaining.

And then—

The Minister of Justice suddenly looked toward the courtroom entrance behind me and shouted.

“His Majesty the Emperor! Wh-what brings you here…?”

All eyes turned, as if by miracle, toward the back.

“What?! The Emperor?”

“Wasn’t he in the west?”

I quickly lowered the arms I’d used to make the heart.

Thankfully, no one seemed to have seen me.

I checked behind me and breathed a sigh of relief.

Perfect!

A handsome middle-aged man with graying blond hair had arrived.

Just like in the original story—and just as I expected—the Emperor had come.

He must’ve used his special ability after hearing about the Empress.

‘Of course he’d come. I figured he’d arrive right about now.’

I smiled to myself, eyes gleaming.

Kiaros might be a yongin, but the Emperor’s presence was overwhelming.

He was the only one capable of manifesting as a dragon.

‘Osone won’t be able to endure this.’

Sure enough, Osone was now trembling down to his torso.

And now the Empress had even dragged the Emperor into it.

Saying he was suspicious of Osone—his brain had likely shut down from the shock.

‘There’s no way he’d guess the Emperor got here via special ability. He’ll just assume this was all part of the Empress’s elaborate trap.’

The shadowy figure behind this mess probably believed they’d been manipulating the Imperial family all along.

But with the Empress insisting it was all a sting operation—and the Emperor arriving now—

“I-I-I-I-I’ll tell you everything!”

There it is. As you should.

I smiled serenely. This confirmed the Empress’s claim that the man was suspicious.

We got him.

And I politely bowed slightly toward Kiaros.

See? I did well, didn’t I? You probably had your doubts, but thanks for letting me go wild.

“……”

Kiaros lowered his arms slowly, wearing a vaguely betrayed expression.