The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 79

‘No way…’

After work hours.

Having sent the rest of the staff home, I headed to the Crown Prince’s office, rolling my eyes.

‘He’s not seriously going to ask to be my partner, is he?’

Jayden had been sending a letter to the Crown Prince earlier.

Of course, I didn’t even need to consider my answer. My partner had already been decided—Keyvon.

‘I’m just following an imperial command, after all…’

When I arrived outside the Crown Prince’s office, the aide greeted me.

“Would you like to wait inside? His Highness will be with you shortly. He’s not usually this late…”

I nodded absentmindedly.

Then suddenly, the aide began sobbing.

“…Perhaps he’s grooming himself… sniffle…”

Startled, I turned toward him.

The aide wiped away tears and mumbled,

“P-please don’t take this the wrong way.”

“Sorry?”

“I-it’s absolutely not because there’s anything you don’t know about, like pure affection or anticipation or wedding preparations or something like that… sob sob sob…”

He’d apparently already imagined wedding preparations. That was quite the leap.

‘Well, it’s not my business.’

Shrugging off the sobbing aide, I turned my attention back to the room.

The Crown Prince’s office was impeccably neat. Not a single document out of place.

‘Still working hard, I see…’

Although he was officially “in seclusion,” this was clearly the desk of someone working diligently every day.

‘He must still be tracking the people behind everything.’

Conveniently, with the Saint Cairo banquet coming up, I had something to discuss too.

It was about time to offer another hint related to the original plot.

I was sitting quietly, waiting, when—

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The door opened, and Kiaros entered.

As elegant as ever in his movements—but oddly, slightly out of breath.

‘Hmm, did he come in a rush?’

Looking closely, his cravat even seemed slightly crooked.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

I gave a proper bow without betraying any reaction. Kiaros gestured for me to sit and took the seat across from me.

And then—

“…Haaah.”

A faint, winded breath slipped out.

Yup. He’d definitely run here.

Kiaros took a moment to catch his breath, then spoke first.

“Miss Namia, hm… Have you found a partner for the banquet?”

His voice was utterly composed, as if it were just a polite inquiry.

“Yes.”

“I see.”

He didn’t look the least bit disappointed. Didn’t even ask who it was.

I rolled my eyes and asked,

“Was that why you called me here?”

“Oh, no.”

He shook his head and pulled a report from a drawer, speaking in a low tone.

“I said I’d look into your father, Cedric Roapia.”

“Oh—yes!”

I sat up straight in surprise.

As expected, Kiaros was a man of his word.

I’d assumed it would take longer with all the things on his plate, but he must have prioritized this.

“I’m not sure where to begin. You may need to brace yourself emotionally.”

“Wherever you start, I’ll understand. I’ll keep myself composed.”

“The place your father got involved with… It’s the organization that I believe was behind the attempt on my life.”

“WHAT THE HELL?!”

I jumped up without realizing it.

“…M-Miss Namia?”

Kiaros seemed a little startled, so I quickly sat back down.

“Apologies. I’m calm now. Hard to believe, but that was my first time cursing in my life.”

I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves.

Really, this was so like my dad. Every choice made with good intentions always led to the worst outcomes.

Of all the criminal groups out there!

Especially in the South, where all sorts of shady organizations run rampant!

And he just had to join the worst of the worst!

‘Kiaros wouldn’t know this, but these guys… they eventually start a war!’

Seriously, if you were going to pick one… just… wow.

I clenched my teeth and gripped my skirt tightly.

“The group that attacked me and tried to frame Her Majesty the Empress… Your superior, Osone, was part of it. They’re known as the ‘Reconstruction Faction.’”

“The ‘Reconstruction Faction’…? What kind of idiotic name is that?”

I asked sincerely, and Kiaros cleared his throat, slightly flustered.

He shook his head and explained.

“Re-con-struc-tion. It refers to their goal of ‘reconstructing’ living beings. They seem especially obsessed with creating creatures with special abilities.”

Reconstruction?

I blinked slowly.

[For the sake of evolution!]

That was what a member of the group had cried during their trial.

I remembered something Dad once said:

[There are a lot of terrible organizations out there, Namia. Never say you’ll go in place of a debt. They might sell you to some awful place that does experiments.]

Were they really experimenting on living beings?

‘But in the original story… there was no mention of this.’

The war was devastating, sure—but there weren’t hordes of modified humans or anything.

As I fell into thought, Kiaros continued.

“We haven’t tracked them completely yet, but we did manage to secure one test subject.”

“A test subject…? Wait, you don’t mean a human, right?”

“Not a human. A low-grade monster. They’ve apparently succeeded in the past at modifying such creatures to possess human-level intelligence and speech.”

He went on to explain the full story.

When he was younger, during a particularly dark time, the assailant who threw a dagger at him had been a modified low-grade monster.

“The one we’ve secured is a pregnant female… and though she seems normal, there’s something off about her offspring. Unusual energy patterns were detected.”

“Ah…”

“They say that experimenting on a pregnant host seems to affect the fetus. We’ll know more once it’s born—should be soon.”

A living test subject… For experiments…

“I don’t yet know what they want. Why they’re targeting me—or why they’re stirring up the royal family. That’s something I still need to figure out. But what I can tell you—”

His crimson eyes quietly met mine.

“Is that it may take longer to find your father.”

“Oh… I see.”

“He just had to get involved with one of the worst organizations I’ve ever pursued.”

That made perfect sense.

They were the ones who would eventually plunge the entire continent into war.

“Fifteen years ago, His Majesty the Emperor supposedly destroyed their leadership. But they’ve resurfaced so fast… There must be something—or someone—bigger behind them.”

“…You’re probably right…”

Even in the original story, the mastermind was never revealed.

Jayden had simply ended the war through sheer power and strategy.

“Given all this, I don’t trust anyone right now. You’re under suspicion too, Miss Namia. But a promise is a promise, and I thought I should at least tell you this much.”

“…Thank you.”

I answered, feeling completely drained.

For Kiaros to share this much meant he had done his duty to me.

And also—

It was a sign.

That I should prepare myself.

If this organization was conducting forbidden experiments, my father might not be safe…

‘…But then again, you never know. He’s so utterly useless, tone-deaf, and oblivious that he might be the only one not worth modifying—and that might’ve spared him somehow.’

I took a deep breath and told myself:

‘There’s nothing I can do right now. Just do my best where I am.’

I steadied myself.

Then slowly raised my head and looked at Kiaros.

Surprisingly, he was still looking at me.

In those eyes was unmistakable concern.

“Your Highness.”

I gathered my emotions and spoke calmly.

“Will you be attending the Saint Cairo banquet?”

In the original story, Kiaros hadn’t attended.

For good reason—he was already dead.

And now, even publicly, he remained “in seclusion.” So it wouldn’t be surprising if he stayed away.

“We’ll see.”

He rested his chin on his hand and looked at me with interest.

“I wasn’t planning to go.”

“I hope you will.”

“Alright.”

“…You’re not going to ask why?”

“I was trying to imitate your style, Miss Namia.”

“I see.”

Fair enough. I was ready to move on to the next topic.

Then Kiaros muttered, “So she really wasn’t going to explain…” and quickly added,

“To be honest, I am curious. Why do you want me to go?”