The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 72

Kiaros couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Jayden, though always shy and not one to approach him warmly, had always acted with courtesy and proper manners.

But… the Jayden before him now even had a different look in his eyes.

“Where’s the Scroll Minister?”

Jayden had done nothing wrong, and yet Kiaros always felt sorry toward him.

It somehow felt embarrassing that he, who was born without love, was the crown prince instead of this smart and adorable boy.

[Your Highness, you’re here? Please, have a seat.]

[You don’t need to be so formal. Just treat me comfortably.]

[Oh no. I must follow proper etiquette. Are you working too hard? You don’t look well. Please take it easy.]

[I’m fine. By the way, what are all these stacked books? Have you read them all?]

[Yes. Well, it gets lonely when I’m alone… and reading makes time pass faster.]

Though he himself had once been unable to mingle with commoners at that age, Jayden had always weighed on his mind.

That pensive gaze, seeming both somber and far too mature…

‘That impudent letter he sent to Her Majesty the Empress… wasn’t that forced by Reden?’

At that moment, Namia hurried out of the minister’s office.

She stood before Jayden and gave a proper greeting.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Namia Roapia, Minister of the Scroll Department.”

“Hmph.”

Jayden looked at Namia with an arrogant expression.

Kiaros felt dizzy seeing an expression on Jayden’s face he had never witnessed before.

Jayden rolled his eyes for a moment, then spoke, sounding slightly awkward.

“I heard Reden came earlier. Tried to hurt you, didn’t he?”

“Ah, yes.”

Namia answered politely. Then she added with a cheerful smile,

“But it was handled by our Team Leader here.”

Anastasia blinked blankly, holding a coffee cup. Namia continued with exaggerated gestures.

“She clouded his vision with the dangerous powder she always carries, and when he resisted, she fearlessly subjected him to intense torture.”

Hmm, Jayden himself had called coffee powder “dangerous,” so technically she wasn’t wrong…

Either way, Jayden flinched and stepped back.

He gave Anastasia a sideways glance, then cleared his throat.

“Hmph. So she’s a hidden master. I’m glad you’re not hurt. I was worried, so I came by. And…”

He turned back to Namia.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

“Of course. Would you like to come into the minister’s office?”

Since Kiaros hadn’t followed Namia out earlier, he was still inside the minister’s office.

He looked on in confusion as Jayden and Namia entered.

Jayden glanced at Kiaros—who was in Keyvon’s guise—and asked,

“Who’s that?”

“Oh, my assistant. He’s an intern from abroad.”

“Really?”

Kiaros composed himself as he looked at Jayden’s round eyes and chubby cheeks.

He was just the same sweet child as always.

‘Yeah, he probably just got startled being offered coffee at his age.’

Normally, he was a lovable and polite child.

To think he rushed over after hearing Reden had attacked Namia—so delicate and warm-hearted…

But then—

“What are you looking at?”

Jayden picked a fight.

“You’re just a green intern—why didn’t you stand and bow? Don’t you know that even foreigners must follow the empire’s customs? Your minister is trembling, and yet an intern dares to stare at a prince like that? You wanna keep acting up? I swear, you little—”

That was the moment Kiaros’s entire world shattered.

Keyvon looked completely stunned by the child’s verbal assault.

I quickly forced him to his feet and made him bow.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I will apologize on his behalf. He’s still unfamiliar with imperial customs, hence why he didn’t stand even when I, the minister, did.”

“Unfamiliar with customs? So he’s just dead weight? Then what’s with all the work on his desk?”

Jayden clicked his tongue in suspicion.

Afraid that things would escalate onto Keyvon, I hurriedly explained.

“I’ve been… rather overworking him. He’s still adjusting to the empire, but I’ve been assigning him too much. It’s unavoidable due to staffing shortages…”

“He looks healthy enough to work even more. They say hard work in youth builds character, so grind him harder.”

This child even had the spirit of an old man.

Keyvon trembled as he looked at Jayden.

He always seemed indifferent, but I guess he had a real aversion to rude kids.

“It’s nothing much.”

Jayden crossed his arms arrogantly and sat down.

“Thanks to you, I had a good talk with Her Majesty the Empress. It’s late, but we agreed to stop hiding our feelings and try to get along.”

“That’s wonderful, Your Highness. Truly, that’s a relief.”

When I beamed, Jayden stared at me.

Then he quickly averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. It’s thanks to you.”

“Thank you for the praise. I’ll pass it down as the glory of my family for generations.”

“Good. Um, I also told Her Majesty… I confessed that I’m honestly kind of bratty and have no prospects for character development.”

“Oh my, really…? And how did Her Majesty respond to such an objective self-assessment?”

“She loved it.”

Huh?

“She said that since my reputation’s already terrible from such a young age, those scumbags trying to steal the crown prince’s position won’t even bother coming near me.”

Ah…

Well, I guess this counts as a happy ending.

“So I’ve decided not to hide my true self from Her Majesty anymore. And Her Majesty said she’d do the same—live freely from now on.”

“I see…”

“Of course… for now, I still want to act like a well-mannered child in front of His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince… Since they don’t know the real me yet.”

Jayden gave a bashful smile, twiddling his fingers.

It was honestly adorable, but Keyvon looked at him with a very cold gaze. He really must dislike rude kids.

After a short silence, Jayden spoke again.

“Ahem. I heard you were the first to point out that the inventory of soundproof scrolls was suspicious.”

“Yes. I just did what was necessary.”

“It’s not a given. It was helpful. And so…”

Jayden smiled slyly at me.

“About that event you planned at St. Cairo’s Ball—I want to do it too.”

Ah, here it comes. I gave him a bright smile.

Perfect. Everything was going according to plan.

Now that his relationship with the Empress was repaired, of course he’d want to do that event with her.

“Her Majesty said she wants to do it too. She said she wants to make memories with me, even now.”

“Yes. It would be an honor for the Scroll Department.”

I resisted the urge to cheer. Instead, I smiled gently and nodded.

The imperial family doing an event with the Scroll Department at the St. Cairo Ball?

‘This is the perfect chance to boost our reputation!’

I would give it my all—even if it meant grinding my bones to dust—for the perfect showcase!

We even had plenty of budget left. My heart pounded with excitement at the idea of preparing an event that would amaze everyone.

I made a quiet promise to myself and said warmly,

“I’ll have it prepared and delivered soon. It’s not difficult. Once I give you the scroll, the two of you just need to activate it together. I’m sure it’ll be a beautiful memory for you both.”

Of course, that meant I’d be pulling some serious overtime to get it ready.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Even though the conversation about the event was over, Jayden didn’t get up.

It seemed like he had something else to say.

I patiently waited, not rushing the shy little boy.

“So, uh.”

After a long pause, Jayden mumbled while pretending to look away.

“You rejected my brother, didn’t you?”

…So that’s what this was about?

I nodded gently with a smile.

At the same time, Keyvon coughed in surprise.

“Ku-Kugh!”