The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 60

Keyvon still hadn’t come out of the men’s restroom.

I waited outside, lost in thought about what lay ahead.

‘As for the original plot… nothing much should happen for a while now.’

Honestly, I had twisted the story way too far already.

‘Kiarios must be doing a good job tracing the people behind it, right? Other than keeping watch on the Scroll Department, there’s really not much more I can do…’

Which meant it was time for me to step in again.

My gaze deepened as I thought.

‘Maybe it’s time I rescue the original protagonist.’

Kiarios’s half-brother and son of Empress Phron.

Currently an eight-year-old child who’s often called a ‘bratty little punk’ everywhere.

‘I’m talking about Jayden Polariwood.’

Jayden’s special ability hadn’t awakened yet.

At this point, even he didn’t know what his powers were.

‘If His Highness’s ability awakens, it’ll be a huge help under the current circumstances.’

If I didn’t intervene, it would awaken on its own a few years later, just like in the original…

‘But that would be a huge waste of such an incredible ability.’

And…

‘If I know a child is being abused and I have the power to help… not stepping in makes me a pretty lousy adult.’

I knew full well the kind of suffering the protagonist went through as a child, but until now, I hadn’t been able to meddle.

But the situation had changed.

‘I can make contact with the royal family now.’

I still remembered the Empress’s face when Jayden was mentioned.

So endlessly sorrowful… and filled with worry.

I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between them, too.

‘In the original, that misunderstanding never gets resolved because the Empress dies. But this time, she’s alive.’

If I stitched together the plot carefully, now was the perfect moment to act.

****

The nosebleed stopped quickly. Kiarios stared at himself in the mirror.

A pale young man with black hair—Intern Keyvon.

He was pretty used to this face now.

‘A human body really is so fragile.’

He could never get used to the Dark Period.

Back then, he could go an entire month without sleep just fine, but now, a few days of short nights and he was getting nosebleeds?

‘I guess I have been pushing myself lately. Yeah, it’s been rough.’

Namiya had always made sure he got off work by 10 p.m. sharp. But that didn’t mean his workday was over.

He still had his duties as the Crown Prince to fulfill until the morning.

Even if the Emperor handled all matters of state, tracking down those behind everything was Kiarios’s job.

‘Still…’

As he wiped under his nose, a thought suddenly came to him.

‘…Today was kind of fun.’

And he was shocked at himself for even thinking that.

He found this grueling suffering fun?

…To be honest, during those late-night hours, he’d felt crushed and suffocated.

But the thrill he’d felt when they finally extracted a sevenfold budget from the Finance Minister—that was something else.

‘I’m always the one designing the board. It’s my first time being a supporting piece in someone else’s game…’

Kiarios blinked. Then smacked himself lightly on the cheek.

‘Get it together. Sleep deprivation is making me delusional.’

He splashed cold water on his face.

‘Things should ease up now.’

They’d secured their first budget—the task Namiya had been most stressed about.

According to her, there wouldn’t be any more crazy busy days ahead.

[“Victor sunbae will be arriving soon. Once he’s here, the workload will drop a lot. Just hang in there.”]

For some reason, that statement didn’t bring much comfort…

Anyway, with more time on his hands, he had something he needed to do.

‘I have to visit the detached palace.’

That was where Prince Jayden lived.

His much younger half-brother—Jayden.

To Kiarios, he was always a polite and proper child, one who knew how to keep his distance.

‘But then why is everyone calling him a bratty little punk…?’

The Emperor cared for Jayden. But because of illness, he couldn’t look after him with the same devotion he once gave Kiarios.

His mother, the Empress, was extremely distant with him.

‘In the end, I’m the only one who can look after him.’

To Kiarios, Jayden was a remarkably mature boy. The teachers’ reports on his progress were glowing.

The only issue was, he had no friends his own age.

Then again, being a potential vessel might explain that, Kiarios figured.

‘I’ll head there after work today.’

Just as he left the restroom with that plan in mind—

Namiya, who had been nervously pacing the hallway, came running toward him.

“Keyvon! Are you okay?”

Kiarios was startled.

Still a bit dazed, he asked,

“Minister? Were you… waiting out here?”

“Yeah. I was worried. I couldn’t go in—it’s the men’s room, after all.”

Namiya cautiously examined his complexion.

“You’re really okay, right? Still looking a little pale…”

Then she took a step closer. Her blue eyes, full of worry, were right in front of him.

And at that moment—

Thump. His heart skipped a beat.

“Sorry. I thought leaving by ten every night would be enough.”

“Ah… um.”

“I didn’t realize you were pushing yourself so hard. You should’ve told me you’re on the frail side. I would’ve taken better care of you.”

The reason Kiarios couldn’t say anything for a second was simple—he couldn’t breathe.

He saw this face every day. Just moments ago, he’d been thinking of her as a demon.

But now, being face-to-face so suddenly—his body flinched involuntarily.

He instinctively stepped back.

“I’m not frail.”

“Don’t worry, fragile one. I won’t bite. I’ll handle you delicately.”

Seeing him retreat, Namiya raised her hands in an ‘I get it’ gesture.

“If you’re feeling really bad, take the afternoon off. Take a few days if you need. I won’t assign you anything, so just head home and rest.”

Trying to calm his pounding heart, Kiarios forced himself to sound composed.

“Is there truly nothing I can assist you with? You always seem to have so much on your plate.”

“Nothing urgent. I’ve prepared a lot in advance, so I actually have some breathing room too. Just something personal I’ve been meaning to check.”

She smiled gently as she explained.

“Really, it’s okay. Just rest up, alright?”

“Personal…?”

Kiarios narrowed his eyes slightly.

It wasn’t official, but personal…

‘Could it be something suspicious? Is that why she’s keeping it from me?’

Even if he was currently groveling under Namiya, he hadn’t forgotten his original mission.

He was still monitoring the Scroll Department. And the primary subject was her.

“Would you mind telling me what that is?”

He felt a sudden tension.

If she tried to hide it…

But Namiya answered without hesitation.

“Oh, you know how I used to be the youngest in the inventory team? The scroll supplies delivered to Prince Jayden’s residence—those inventories always seemed off to me.”

Kiarios’s body stiffened slightly.

“I’ve always been bothered by it, but my old bosses didn’t care when I brought it up. So I figured I’d look into it now.”

***

Keyvon was still a rookie to office life. Asking what additional tasks the boss had?

‘If you’re not careful, you’ll just get saddled with grunt work. Should’ve bolted while you had the chance…’

Then again, unlike his first impression, Keyvon didn’t slack off and lacked any real flexibility—that was part of his charm.

Still, it wasn’t something I needed to hide from him, so I just answered honestly.

“It’s fine. It’s a noble cause, a personal curiosity I’m digging into, so someone like you doesn’t have to help.”

I even gave him a reassuring smile.

“I will help,” Keyvon said, looking down at me.

“Huh?”

“Could you explain in more detail?”

“Uhhh?”

Is this kid nuts?

I’m letting him off the hook for getting a nosebleed, and he still wants to keep working?

I stared at him, bewildered.

As I stayed silent, he added firmly,

“I want to help. I don’t want to rest.”

“Uhh?”

“I want to work.”

“Uhhhhhh?”

Good lord. I was trembling, trying to catch my breath.

So this is what it’s like to meet a legendary workaholic…

“Keyvon…”

Overwhelmed by emotion, I couldn’t help it—I grabbed his hand.

“Let’s go right now. I’ll tell you what you need to do.”