The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 65

Ridden was the only commoner Jaden regularly interacted with.

From the start, Jaden had never been close with peers who were beneath him in ability.

“Her Majesty the Empress never wanted to take that position. It was only because His Majesty the Emperor, as a dragonblood, commanded it that she had no choice.”

Ridden sighed deeply as he spoke.

“She’s always hated her position, but now she can’t even step down, all because of you, Your Highness. They can’t depose an Empress who bore a royal heir.”

“B-because of me?”

“She hides it in front of you, but she’s long since lost His Majesty’s affection. Back when their relationship was good, it was different—but now, Her Majesty finds the palace utterly suffocating.”

At that time, the Emperor had stopped staying in the palace regularly.

He was actually convalescing, but of course, Jaden didn’t know that.

“So every time Her Majesty sees you, she feels pain.”

In the end, the implication was clear: his mother was unhappy because of him.

Jaden had never been able to speak of what Ridden told him to anyone.

Kiaros didn’t have a birth mother, and he couldn’t exactly say something like “Father was cruel to her” to the Emperor.

“Then… what should I do? What can I do?”

“If you care for Her Majesty, you must keep your distance from her, Your Highness.”

Ridden taught him gently.

“Seeing you must already be a burden on her heart. Lessen that burden for her.”

“You mean I should stay away from her?”

“Yes. That way, the guilt she feels for not loving her child might ease, and she may be able to breathe a little easier.”

So Jaden had done as Ridden told him: he distanced himself from the Empress.

Even so, part of him still wished she would pull him into a hug and say, “Jaden, why are you acting this way?”

But instead, the Empress only grew more distant, almost as if she had been waiting for that very moment.

“Didn’t I tell you? I was right, wasn’t I?”

In the end, Jaden had no choice but to believe Ridden’s words.

“Thanks to Your Highness’s maturity, Her Majesty is probably finding life a little more bearable.”

And so, two years passed.

His relationship with the Empress grew increasingly strained.

At official events, whenever they happened to meet, she looked visibly nervous when facing him.

Still…

‘This Scroll Department event… it didn’t seem like a bad idea.’

Even at age eight, Jaden still needed his mother.

And just seeing the invitation from the Scroll Department filled him with a flutter of excitement.

The event involved setting off indoor fireworks using scrolls—with his mother.

‘It might be fun, like when she used to play with me when I was little…’

Noticing that wistfulness, Ridden sternly said:

“This event, orchestrated by the Scroll Minister, is extremely insolent.”

Insolent?

Jaden blinked in surprise.

“Huh? Why?”

“She’s someone who had the audacity to reject the dragonblood Crown Prince in pursuit of her own life—now she’s mocking the Empress, who remains trapped in misery.”

Ridden placed his hands on Jaden’s shoulders, locking eyes with him.

“Your Highness, you’ve been living in the detached palace, so you’re not familiar with adult matters.”

There was a reason young royals were raised in the detached palace: so they could grow up as children, unburdened by political concerns.

So it was natural for him to be unaware of certain things.

“Think about it, Your Highness. You don’t want to hurt your mother further with this, do you?”

“…No.”

“Then.”

Ridden tilted his chin upward and declared:

“The Scroll Minister must not be allowed to continue. If she remains in that position, she’ll keep mocking Her Majesty in this way.”

“Th-that’s not right! How can a Minister insult royalty like that? That’s unacceptable!”

“I have an idea.”

“What is it? Tell me!”

At Jaden’s urging, Ridden’s eyes glinted as he spoke:

“Set a fire. Get lightly injured in the process. Then say the scroll was misdelivered.”

“You… want me to frame her?”

“Frame is a harsh word. Think of it as… reframing the charge. The essence is the same: punishing the guilty.”

Ridden smiled coldly.

“Isn’t mocking Her Majesty like this an even greater crime?”

“B-but…”

“Proposing this kind of event to an Empress who doesn’t even want to see her own son—how brazen…”

That’s when it happened.

“You filthy, goddamn bastard!”

The Empress’s furious bellow rang through the detached palace.

Before Jaden could even gasp, her enormous fist smashed straight into Ridden’s jaw.

In an instant, the palace was in chaos.

I clicked my tongue internally.

‘Knew it.’

Jaden had always been exceptional—physically and intellectually—like a true dragonblood.

It was no wonder the Empress eventually came to feel that “love alone might not be enough.”

‘Of course she felt inadequate as a mother…’

The Empress, proud and confident in all things, couldn’t maintain that confidence when it came to her son.

Even as Empress, she couldn’t just say to Jaden, “Hell, I don’t know anything, I’ve got rocks for brains!”

‘And then Jaden started pulling away first…’

Naturally, the Empress assumed her son was ashamed of her.

The Education Ministry hinted as much when reporting on his progress.

‘The truth is, they were both just too careful with each other because they cared.’

That’s why I’d come up with a simple solution: switch out the real soundproof scroll with a fake, inactive one.

But even with that swap, there was a risk.

There was no guarantee that the official from the Education Ministry would say anything incriminating at the right moment.

‘So I made sure to create an event provocative enough to bait them.’

By scheduling the event for tomorrow and announcing it officially, I figured they’d move today.

That gave me the perfect chance to bring the Empress to the detached palace.

‘We were already inside, in hiding, before Ridden even arrived.’

Naturally, the servants had kept quiet and maintained security.

Unaware of anything, Ridden came in as usual, used the fake scroll, and started blabbing.

‘The Education Ministry is an organization we must stay wary of.’

I already knew their general atmosphere—barely masking their disdain for the Scroll Department.

It made sense that eventually, that contempt would turn toward me.

And from the way Ridden was talking about framing me with arson, my prediction was spot-on.

‘Of course. Someone like me, who doesn’t “match their rank,” holding a ministerial post… they were never going to leave me be.’

Even the time seven fifth-year Education Ministry officials laughed at our department in a café—I still hadn’t forgotten that.

I still remembered their names.

‘If anyone messes with my team, I won’t stand for it.’

I ground my teeth.

Meanwhile, the Empress had snapped and was pounding Ridden mercilessly.

“I should tear your limbs apart and feed them to carnivorous plants, you worm!”

Ridden, having taken a direct hit to the jaw, crumpled with a choked gasp.

The Empress didn’t stop—she kicked his stomach while he was down.

“You think you can run your disgusting mouth to my son? Huh?!”

Naturally, Ridden had no chance to fight back.

Jaden, stunned, staggered back in alarm.

But there was one thing I hadn’t expected.

‘…Didn’t think this many royals would come.’

Standing beside me now were…

The Emperor and Kiaros.

“Your Majesty, is it alright not to intervene?”

Kiaros asked as he watched the Empress’s rampage.

The Emperor murmured grimly.

“Well. I’m furious too, but… given the current situation, it may be better to wait for now.”

I rolled my eyes silently.

It was one thing when the Empress insisted on bringing Kiaros along.

But as I’d timed our infiltration of the detached palace, the Emperor had decided to visit her.

‘Didn’t think it would turn into a full family reunion.’

After hearing the details, the Emperor declared that he, too, would join.