The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 68

Then Keyvon replied with an entirely serious face.

“If you’re worried about that, we can just leave the check on your side of the table.”

“…No, never mind.”

I failed to tease a foreigner. In this kind of conversation, the one who doesn’t get the joke always wins.

Either way, we arrived at the restaurant and leisurely ordered our meals.

‘Hmm…’

I hadn’t noticed before when we ate in a hurry, but Keyvon’s table manners were impeccable.

“Keyvon.”

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and broke the silence first.

“Where did you learn imperial dining etiquette? It’s really impressive.”

Keyvon looked slightly flustered.

This was one of those moments where a superior didn’t need to apologize for bringing up something awkward. That was the privilege of rank.

He looked a bit unsure how to answer, so I redirected the focus to myself.

“I’m from the Empire, but I learned at the academy. It’s pretty complicated. I guess Emote Kingdom has similar manners?”

To that, Keyvon slowly replied.

“My father taught me directly.”

I froze for a moment and swallowed a mouthful of food.

The words ‘Family: None’ from Keyvon’s personnel file floated in front of me.

‘So… he had a father. Maybe he passed away?’

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought this up.

But trying to change the subject now would make it obvious I was being careful.

I gave an awkward smile and said,

“Ah… He must have been a good man.”

“Yes.”

Then, surprisingly, Keyvon continued slowly.

“My stepmother is also a kind person. And my new little sibling is cute.”

Huh.

Is this too sensitive a family issue for me to be hearing?

As I glanced away, he went on.

“If it weren’t for me… everything would probably be perfect.”

“…What?”

I was so startled I almost dropped my fork.

“My father had me through a forced marriage with a woman he didn’t love.”

Keyvon kept speaking, his expression as calm as ever.

“The three of them put up with a lot of discomfort for my sake. They’re good people, which only makes me feel more like I’m disrupting what could have been a perfect family.”

That feeling of being a foreign object in someone else’s household—I knew it well.

But I had the luxury of blaming the Roapia family. They’d done plenty to deserve it. When that’s not the case, I imagine it’s a lot harder.

‘He probably never tells anyone and just bottles it up.’

So are all three of them gone? Is that why it says “none” under family?

Keyvon handed me more food and said,

“Please eat more. You have so many meal vouchers—why don’t you use them?”

He looked disapprovingly at the oversized sleeves hanging off my wrists.

“Whoever gave them to you probably wanted you to enjoy a lot of good meals.”

“…Ah.”

That made me think of Kiaros, the one who had given me the vouchers.

He’d been there earlier today, too—but he never spoke up.

‘Well, I guess it would’ve been awkward.’

The Emperor, the Empress, Jaden…

There was no place for him among them.

‘Different as their positions might be, I guess his situation is just like Keyvon’s.’

Jaden, the Emperor, and the Empress were resolving their misunderstandings.

Just like I quietly stepped away from that scene, Kiaros must’ve done the same.

That final image of him, standing alone at a distance, stuck in my mind.

‘Maybe the reason Kiaros worked so hard for the Empire… was because he needed to justify his existence somehow.’

And then I remembered something else that was gnawing at me.

It was what I’d said to comfort Jaden.

“The Emperor and Empress truly love each other, and their son is the treasure born of that love.”

Ugh. I shouldn’t have said that.

Kiaros definitely heard it.

Sure, I said it for the child’s sake. But adults can be hurt too.

Thinking about that totally killed my appetite.

“Minister.”

Keyvon frowned, seeing me just holding my fork.

“Minister?”

“Ah…”

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“It’s, uh…”

“Do you not like the food here?”

“No, no. It’s not that.”

I forced myself to eat a bite of the food he’d served me.

Then I smiled awkwardly.

“I just… keep thinking about His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Pffft—cough!”

Keyvon, who had previously shown perfect dining etiquette, suddenly choked and coughed hard.

“Drink some water.”

I calmly handed him a glass.

He coughed for a while before settling down and then asked in a somewhat flustered tone.

“Why His Highness…?”

“Oh, just…”

Of course, I had no intention of telling him what happened earlier.

As I glossed it over, Keyvon blinked slowly and then said,

“There’s a rumor going around the palace that you flat-out rejected His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“I didn’t flat-out reject him.”

“Then why are you thinking about him?”

“I just… I don’t want him to be alone. I hope he feels a little better. That’s all.”

Keyvon looked at me silently.

Thankfully, he didn’t press the matter further.

But as we finished our meal, he spoke casually, with a faint smile.

“His Highness is probably feeling quite alright. I imagine.”

Really now. Would it kill him to just say something nice? “Quite alright”?

I muttered back in protest.

“If we’re already saying this behind his back, you could at least say he’s happy.”

As if following orders, he immediately corrected himself.

“If we’re already saying this behind his back, His Highness is probably just happy.”

“…”

He did as told, but the nuance was still off. A limit of his imperial language skills, I suppose.

Walking side by side as we headed toward the palace, Keyvon asked,

“Why not tell him directly?”

“Tell who what?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince. Your thoughts.”

“How could I possibly tell His Highness something like that?”

I replied half-heartedly.

“I’m just an ordinary person.”

“…”

“What’s with that look? Those disapproving eyes?”

“Well… aside from the occasional terrifying moment of madness, you’re fairly ordinary most of the time…”

“Madness? I’m low-energy. I don’t ever get riled up and lose control.”

“That’s exactly why it’s scarier when your eyes go cold. In any case.”

Keyvon said calmly,

“I think His Highness would be… quite happy, perhaps more than you’d expect, to hear that from you.”

I shrugged half-heartedly, looking unimpressed.

We weren’t close enough for me to share idle thoughts like that. It felt like flattery just to bring it up.

Keyvon, sensing my disinterest, continued,

“Perhaps… His Highness doesn’t find that position particularly fulfilling.”

“What? Why not?”

“He bears immense responsibility, but maybe he feels like no one truly needs him as a person.”

“What are you talking about? He’s competent enough to shoulder those responsibilities, and the entire Empire needs him—what nonsense…”

“I mean… the weight of it all is so much, but he has nowhere to rest his heart. Maybe sometimes, he wants to run away—”

I had been listening lazily, but suddenly stopped in my tracks.

“What?”

I felt something snap inside me.

“Run away?”

In the original storyline, when Kiaros died, the entire continent was thrown into chaos.

And he’s talking about running away? Running? Running away?

Keyvon took a cautious step back, looking like he’d said something wrong.

I glared at him and muttered in a low, dangerous voice.

“Don’t say crap like that.”

Keyvon kept backing away until he bumped into a thick tree trunk.

I marched toward him, my expression dead serious—like he was the Crown Prince himself.

He murmured, “T-too close…” under his breath, but I didn’t catch it.

Slamming a hand against the tree behind him, I leaned in and growled, breath ragged,

“Where do you think you’re going to run?”