The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 62

I quickly gathered my senses and bowed formally.

“Namia Roapia of the Scroll Department, I greet Your Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

At that, the Empress sprang up, pulled me into a hug, and spun me around in circles.

“Sit down, quickly! Ahahaha! Namia’s finally come to see me! Ahahahaha!”

Though I was flustered by Kiaros’s presence, I didn’t let it show.

He sipped his tea elegantly and said,

“What a curious coincidence—I happened to be paying my respects just now. Will my presence be an issue?”

His ruby-red eyes calmly fixed on me.

I flinched slightly as I replied.

“N-no, of course not.”

There was no way I could say otherwise…

Truthfully, it was actually a relief. If Kiaros was here, it would help a lot with laying the groundwork.

‘Her Majesty does need to know, but… like Keyvon said, it’s not wise to trust her blindly.’

Kiaros’s presence was unexpected, but in a way, it was fortunate.

Cautiously, I handed the documents to the Empress.

“Your Majesty, I found something strange I think you should see—”

“Ehh?”

The Empress cut me off, waving her hands dismissively.

She didn’t even pretend to take the documents, instead shouting,

“Telling me won’t help, I’ve got a brain made of rocks! Why are you bringing me such scary and dreadful stuff!”

I had expected this—it was the first hurdle.

Just as I was about to mention it involved her son—

“How about handling it with His Highness the Crown Prince here, who’s smart, clever, handsome, well-built, and overall perfect from head to toe?”

Kiaros’s face flushed bright red on the spot.

He looked genuinely flustered. The Empress leaned in and whispered urgently to him,

“I nailed it, right?!”

Then, with a sharp gleam in her eyes, she continued,

“I’ll do my best from here on too. I’ll devote my entire life to helping you—fight, win, and take what’s yours, Your Highness. Victory!”

Kiaros sighed and turned to me.

“You heard all that, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Smart, clever, handsome, well-built, and overall perfect from head to toe—Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“…Let me see those documents.”

I handed the papers to Kiaros right away.

I had assumed summarizing and organizing them would be my job, but suddenly, my workload had drastically decreased.

“Hm.”

Kiaros began flipping through the pages at an astonishing speed.

‘Is he even reading?’

I furrowed my brow and tilted my head skeptically—

Kiaros looked at the Empress and said in a low voice,

“Your Majesty, I believe there is a problem concerning Jaden.”

It was absurdly fast reading.

‘Is he the author or something…’

At Kiaros’s words, the Empress’s face went pale in an instant.

“J-Jaden?”

Just as it seemed she might jump to her feet, she hesitated.

Her gaze drifted to the letters scattered across the table.

Perhaps she wasn’t one for tidiness—none of them were in order.

“Uhh…”

She shifted her eyes nervously.

“T-then… if it’s not too much to ask, perhaps we could depend on His Highness…”

Really? Without even checking the issue, she’s just handing it over to Kiaros?

I glanced at the letters on the table. Among them was mine:

Your Majesty the Empress, if you are available, I will visit shortly with an urgent matter – Namia Roapia

And underneath it…

Don’t bother. I prefer doing things alone. – Jaden Polariwood

A letter that screamed of attitude.

‘That’s the one.’

I had expected this letter to arrive around now.

In the original story, the Empress dies later after being falsely accused.

This was the final letter Jaden sent her in the original.

‘Jaden ends up regretting that letter well into adulthood…’

I’d been waiting for this moment.

And it seemed I’d timed things right.

As I stared at the letter, Kiaros’s eyes also landed on it.

“Hm?”

Kiaros frowned, visibly surprised.

Watching his reaction, I internally shrugged.

‘Only Kiaros and the Emperor don’t know—just how much of a mess Jaden really is.’

In front of Kiaros and the Emperor, Jaden acted like a different person.

Soft-spoken, polite, socially awkward but conscientious.

In reality, everyone privately called him a rude little brat.

‘The Emperor… well, he’s frequently away due to illness. And Kiaros—no one ever talked about Jaden’s faults in front of him.’

Kiaros made it clear he didn’t like people criticizing Jaden in his presence.

So no one had been able to tell him the truth.

‘He must be shocked to see such a disrespectful letter.’

Sure enough, Kiaros looked serious.

He pointed to the letter and asked the Empress,

“What is this, Your Majesty?”

“Ah… well…”

Caught off guard, she stammered,

“There’s going to be a Saint Cairo Ball soon…”

The Saint Cairo Ball.

An exclusive event for royals, high nobles, and top officials.

The original novel mentioned: “Five days before the Saint Cairo Ball, Jaden sent a reply to the Empress.” That’s how I’d timed this.

‘Oh, right… I have to go to that now, too…’

A month ago, I never imagined I’d be invited.

But now I had to attend—as a Minister.

‘When will I even get my dress tailored? And what about an escort…’

Still, that wasn’t important right now.

I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the Empress.

She spoke awkwardly.

“I just… sent him a letter asking about clothes and such. That’s the reply.”

Her shoulders slumped as she continued.

“Well, I guess he’s right. Every time I went to events like that, I ended up a laughingstock… I haven’t gone to any recently for Jaden’s sake. I shouldn’t have sent that letter this time either.”

How serious. It was bad.

I thought grimly to myself,

‘This is exactly what I came here to fix.’

Because the cause of the problem was clear.

****

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Education—

“What the hell. This much of the budget went to the Scroll Department?”

The Education Minister threw down the papers.

“That snake of a Treasury Minister—he got outwitted by that puny girl from the Scroll Department?!”

He had opposed Namia Roapia’s appointment from the beginning.

At first, he had enjoyed watching the Treasury Minister unsheath his sword—but now…

The Treasury Minister had simply sharpened that sword and handed it to Namia on a velvet cushion.

“This is unbelievable. Seriously.”

He ground his teeth.

“A twenty-three-year-old from a bankrupt barony, and she’s a Minister? Hah.”

The Education Minister was all about pedigree and favored those with noble titles.

And the kind of person he hated most?

Those who acted vulgar despite having a title.

“Because of baronies like House Roapia, all low-ranking nobles are lumped together and scorned!”

He despised Namia Roapia for being from such a background.

Even worse, he’d heard rumors that the Empress favored her—which made his blood boil.

“Birds of a feather, huh. What a perfect match.”

The Education Minister detested the Empress, a former commoner mercenary, more than anyone.

To him, their friendship was simply filth attracting filth.

“And who does she think she is, rejecting the Crown Prince’s proposal? Arrogant little thing.”

Of course, he would’ve insulted her as presumptuous even if she’d accepted.

“You seem irritated, Minister.”

As the Minister seethed, someone entered his office.

“Ridden?”

Ridden Hyael.

Having just returned from overseeing Jaden’s assignments, the head of the Royal Education Team stepped in.

He smiled thinly as he stepped on the papers bearing Namia Roapia’s name.

Lifting an eyebrow, he said smoothly,

“Annoyances can always be… dealt with.”