The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 37

At Kiaros’s words, I politely bowed my head and responded.

“Yes. Please ask me anything.”

Even as I said that, my mind was spinning.

Surely I wasn’t about to be fired, right?

‘All of my past paychecks were snatched up by the Roapia barony. I only ever received one month’s salary in my own account!’

But no one in the organization would care about personal circumstances like that.

Especially now that the minister and others had been thoroughly removed.

‘Our department was already seen as a backwater post—what are the odds it’ll survive this?’

Honestly, unless the Tower Lord rushed over in person, the odds were close to zero.

Just then, Kiaros called my name slowly.

“Namia Roapia.”

“Yes, please speak.”

While I was mentally evaluating the stability of my employment, he suddenly threw out a very unexpected personal question.

“You grew up in the south, right? Did you happen to visit the library often?”

“…Excuse me?”

The library?

Why was that coming up now?

Blinking in surprise, I replied,

“Uh… yes. My father couldn’t look after me because of work, so he’d often leave me at the library.”

At that, the Empress cut in quickly.

“You really turned out well—raised by a stiff old dad and a garbage mother. Actually, my parents were crap too. We must be destined.”

“Thank you. I’m happy you think so.”

I bowed politely, and the Empress, looking proud, patted my head.

Kiaros cleared his throat once before continuing.

“Then… did you perhaps study scrolls there? Maybe even start crafting them?”

“Oh, yes. I read scroll books there and practiced making some too.”

Once again, the Empress jumped in fast.

“Playing with scrolls from a young age! I used to mess around with wooden swords back then! We’re so alike! Wahahahaha!”

“Thank you. I’m honored to be thought of as similar to you.”

I replied politely again, and the Empress let out another booming, satisfied laugh.

Kiaros cleared his throat—twice this time.

Then he wedged himself back into the conversation between me and the Empress.

“Then, by any chance, did you ever save a boy there?”

“…Pardon?”

“Using a defensive scroll to deflect a dagger thrown through the window.”

The atmosphere around our table changed immediately.

Something flickered in my memory.

‘Of course I remember that!’

After that incident, I never went back to the library again.

It had been the first time I used a scroll in front of anyone.

[T-This actually works?]

I think I’d muttered something like that at the time.

Blinking rapidly, I stammered,

“Wait… wait…”

A dagger flying into the library courtyard.

A boy in a hood standing with a burly knight.

“In that library… the boy I saved using a scroll…”

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand.

“The one who later told me to visit the Count of Kalto’s estate…”

When I accurately mentioned the Kalto estate, a spark of realization flashed across Kiaros’s eyes.

‘Oh my god… the arrogant brat I saved was the Crown Prince?!’

At the time, the Emperor and Crown Prince had visited the south.

Kiaros must’ve been around ten years old…

‘There was a line in the original story—Kiaros’s first period of darkness began when he was ten!’

If his “dark age” started then, it made sense that he wasn’t prepared for assassination.

He’d also been hooded to hide his identity.

Trembling, I thought of my dad.

‘Dad…’

I remembered clearly what he said as he held me in his arms on a pitch-black night.

His warm, desperate voice…

[It’s not like getting a few coins will change our situation.]

As I recalled it, my chest tightened as if someone were squeezing my heart.

It felt like I couldn’t breathe.

‘How could you be that oblivious…’

A tidal wave of indescribable regret washed over me.

‘I should have gone to the Kalto estate, no matter what!’

A few coins? Please.

I saved the Crown Prince.

If I’d gone there, I could’ve paid off the debt in one go—maybe even more.

Instead, I ended up with someone like my mom… without even registering the marriage properly…

“…Why didn’t you come to the Kalto estate?”

Kiaros asked in a cracked voice.

His crimson eyes swirled with emotion.

Everything felt surreal, like I was floating.

“You really… really are that girl…”

At that moment—

“Whaaaaat?! No way, no way, no waaay! You’re that girl?! The one who saved us?!”

The Empress sprang to her feet.

“I can’t believe it! To meet the one who saved my life—what kind of fate is this?!”

She blocked Kiaros’s view and hoisted me into the air.

My vision spun again.

“Damn! We must be damn soulmates!”

She babbled excitedly, completely losing it.

“I don’t normally believe in this stuff, but you saved me twice! This can’t be a coincidence, right? Right? Right?!”

She kept tossing me into the air, hugging me, and I was getting dizzy.

Still spinning, I urgently asked,

“Your Majesty? What do you mean by that…?”

“It’s me! Me! That knight from 15 years ago—I was there!”

She squeezed me tightly and stomped her feet.

Eyes glistening with tears, she cried out,

“I was the one left alone at His Highness’s side! I almost died from that dagger!”

“Then… that big, muscular knight from back then was…?”

I gasped.

The knight who’d been left behind at the library… was the Empress?!

“Yeah! I almost kicked the bucket there!”

The Empress patted my back hard.

“If you hadn’t used that scroll, the poison would’ve spread to my heart. I wouldn’t have made it!”

“Kahek—keh…”

“Unbelievable! Crazy! Amazing!”

She squealed, throwing her whole body into dramatics.

“Twice! You saved us twice! Something’s going on between us—seriously! Whoa, whoa, whoaaaa!”

“Kh-Kehk…”

“I’m so happy we met like this! I’ve wondered about you for years! I’ve lived a good life ever since you saved me—including becoming Empress, which was never in my stars!”

Now practically jumping in place, she flung me over her shoulder.

“Ahem! Ahem!”

Kiaros, looking flustered, cleared his throat as he glanced at me and the Empress.

“Act-actually… the person Lady Namia saved… twice… is me.”

“Ah, I see, Your Highness.”

The Empress finally came to her senses and gently lowered me.

Then, in a formal tone, she said,

“Thank you, Your Highness, for helping me find my savior. Was it the crows who uncovered her identity?”

With that, it became clear—the Empress wasn’t incapable of formal speech. She simply chose not to use it.

Perhaps because of their past relationship, the Empress and Crown Prince used formal language and kept a respectful distance.

Kiaros let out a long sigh and replied,

“She is my savior. And it wasn’t the crows….”

He took my arm gently and guided me back into the seat I’d been lifted from.

“I deduced it after looking into Lady Namia myself.”

“Hmm? You already ran a background check? On the ordinary, unfortunate, and innocent civilian Lady Namia?”

At the Empress’s teasing tone, Kiaros flinched, then stammered,

“S-S-Suspicious…!”

“…Pardon?”

“S-S-She was suspicious! Even though everything went well…”

A cold sweat trickled down my back.

Kiaros’s intuition really was something else.

I had behaved differently ever since I started remembering my past life.

‘I do have secrets no one else knows about…’

And as a yongin, Kiaros must have incredibly sharp instincts.

Maybe he sensed something off even I hadn’t noticed.

“Ahaha… yes, that’s understandable.”

I replied respectfully.

“If His Highness suspected something and investigated, I’ll fully cooperate. I believe it’s in service of the Empire’s peace.”

At that, the Empress waved a hand.

“Still, I’ll back Namia unless solid proof shows up. She’s saved the Empire multiple times.”

“Ahem!”

Kiaros cleared his throat again, this time urgently.

“She is my savior, Your Majesty. I brought this up to express my gratitude. I fear being underestimated—that my sincerity may not compare to yours.”

“Ah. I see. My apologies, Your Highness.”

The Empress bowed politely at his words.

She even extended a hand toward me like she was presenting a treasured offering.

“Now, Your Highness, it’s time for you to express your thanks.”

Then, perhaps still hung up on that “fear of being underestimated,” she added with a formal flourish:

“Uh… please make it more dramatic than mine. Naturally, Your Highness is capable of that, yes?”