The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 63

The Education Minister slammed the table.

“She’s already been appointed as a Minister—how am I supposed to ‘deal with’ that? By principle, she and I are equals.”

Even as he spoke, his fury seemed only to mount, and he ground his teeth in frustration.

Then Ridden shrugged and said,

“But above Ministers, there are royals, aren’t there?”

The Minister narrowed his eyes.

He had a rough idea of what Ridden was about to suggest.

“I believe I can handle this for you.”

The unspoken “price” of that offer was obvious.

It was about his personnel evaluation.

“You know how it is.”

Ridden said this while grinding a fallen document underfoot.

“Prince Jaden listens only to me.”

A shadow darker than the one on the Education Minister’s face clouded Ridden’s own.

The Ministry of Education was a competitive department. He had clawed his way to team leader with all kinds of underhanded tricks.

Even so, it would take another ten years before he could even be considered as a candidate for Minister.

That meant he had to be constantly mindful of his performance evaluations.

‘And now some wet-behind-the-ears kid wins the favor of the Tower Lord and becomes a Minister overnight?’

To top it off, it seemed she had secured an enormous budget from the Treasury Minister as well.

‘I’ll have to get rid of that nuisance. And make sure my evaluations go up while I’m at it.’

Ridden smirked slyly.

“Hm.”

The Education Minister raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly, though he still gave a vague response.

“The Empire’s dignity is… well, important, I suppose…”

Hearing that, Ridden’s eyes gleamed.

“I’ve already been protecting His Highness Prince Jaden from his lowborn mother, haven’t I? Consider this an extension of that effort.”

****

Kiaros’s expression was grave. I stole a glance at his profile as I barely managed to sip my tea.

It was instinctual for any human to tense up in the presence of a dragon.

‘Sorry to bother you when you’re so busy…’

And yet, I cussed him out silently in my mind.

That, too, was a deeply human instinct.

‘But your little brother’s in a state like this. You need to know the truth too.’

After staring at Jaden’s rude letter for a long while, Kiaros let out a heavy sigh.

Then he set the documents down with a sharp thud.

“First, I’ll explain the contents of the report Miss Namia brought.”

The Empress glanced at him nervously.

I’d never seen her so shriveled up before.

“The soundproof scrolls in the detached palace are being depleted at an abnormal rate.”

“Soundproof… scrolls?”

“They’re distributed to royals for confidential discussions. The type modified so they can be activated with a simple tear—Your Majesty likely has some yourself.”

There were scrolls pre-configured by their creators, so the caster could activate them simply by tearing them.

Normally, each royal household kept about five in stock.

‘But the servants from the detached palace kept requesting more from the inventory team.’

I discreetly pointed to a corner of the room.

There, a pile of shredded scrolls was stacked high.

“Oh dear… I didn’t even know what they were. I just used them now and then for paper-cut training…”

We poured our blood and sweat into making those scrolls…

I struggled to keep my expression neutral. At that moment, Kiaros continued his explanation.

“Jaden is still too young to be having confidential conversations. But the scrolls at the detached palace are being depleted faster than even those in the Crown Prince’s palace.”

“H-how could that be…”

“Jaden has no friends. The only people who visit the detached palace are family members or Education Ministry officials.”

Kiaros raised an eyebrow, then stated plainly,

“Since neither of us used those scrolls at the palace, it means Education Ministry officials are using soundproof scrolls during lessons.”

“Hm…”

The Empress blinked with a confused look.

“Would royal education require soundproofing?”

“Of course not.”

Kiaros answered in a low voice.

“It means something’s happening during lessons that they want to hide.”

“B-but!”

The Empress clutched her skirt and raised her voice.

“J-Jaden is excelling academically, isn’t he? He has a good rapport with his instructors, he shows no signs of physical abuse, and unlike me, he’s graceful and dignified enough to be presented anywhere!”

But her outburst felt more like desperate pleading than conviction.

It seemed she simply didn’t want to accept the truth—at least, not yet. Still…

‘I can’t bring myself to lie just to comfort her.’

Kiaros seemed to be thinking the same. He remained silent.

After a long, painful pause, the Empress trembled and said,

“Your Highness… please… if anything foul is happening to Jaden… please, I beg you…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Seeing such a large woman floundering helplessly made me sigh inside.

Amid the tense atmosphere, I spoke up gently.

“Your Majesty, even His Highness the Crown Prince isn’t fully aware of what’s happening.”

Honestly, I was surprised Kiaros had deduced all that just from the documents.

To arrive at such a conclusion without even needing my explanation—he really was a genius.

I took the Empress’s hand and said kindly,

“So how about accompanying us yourself?”

Kiaros frowned and cut in.

“Going now won’t reveal anything.”

His voice, as usual, was flat and composed.

“Even if the Education Ministry really is doing something to Jaden, they’re not the type to confess easily. We need evidence first.”

So I responded just as calmly and evenly.

“According to Article 33, Clause 2 of the Royal Palace Knights Act, a palace knight may, with royal approval, conduct targeted or sting operations on suspicious persons. If Her Majesty the Empress, a palace knight and member of the royal family, approves such an operation, the Scroll Department will spare no effort in full cooperation.”

Silence fell.

The Empress clearly hadn’t understood a word of that, while Kiaros furrowed his brows and asked,

“You want to do a sting operation with Her Majesty the Empress, and the Scroll Department will help?”

He understood every word—perfectly.

Then the Empress, eyes gleaming, stepped forward.

“What should I do, huh? What do I do! I can’t believe it’s come to this, that I have to step in for my own child! Hahahaha!”

“I’ll explain. Um, but…”

I glanced at Kiaros.

He had been helpful in convincing the Empress, but at this point, he wasn’t really needed.

He had to be busy tracking down the masterminds—he could go now.

“You must be very busy. Feel free to head out—”

But the Empress waved her hand and interrupted me.

“His Highness the Crown Prince should come too! My delicate, tender heart can only rest easy if he’s there!”

Huh? That’s not even true or logical.

As I frowned, the Empress whispered to Kiaros,

“You need to stick close to the target. Nailed it, didn’t I?”

Of course I heard everything.

Kiaros put a hand to his forehead. The Empress, eyes still wild, whispered again.

“Fight! Conquer! Never forget: war! Plunder! Imprisonment!”

So I cautiously pointed out,

“Your Majesty, the last three are crimes.”

Kiaros stared at the Empress for a long moment before sighing deeply.

Then he looked at me and said,

“Seems at least one sane person is needed here. I think I’ll join too. What do you think, Miss Namia?”

“…Just one? I’m right here, you know.”

Kiaros gave no reply.

Well, if that’s what the two royals wanted…

In the end, the three of us decided to act together.

“So, what’s the plan?” Kiaros asked, reviewing the documents again.

“There’s no real method outlined in here.”

“Oh, that’s because I compiled the report with my secretary. We didn’t include the plan.”

I hadn’t even told Keyvon what we were going to do.

All I’d asked was for data collection.

At my reply, Kiaros gave me a strange look.

“Why?”

Then he looked me over slowly and asked,

“Do you… not trust your secretary?”