The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 84

With both Victor and Keyvon absent from the Scroll Division office—

Luka burst in, practically falling through the door.

“Minister Namia! Oh my god, is it true? The rumor about the Ministry of Education memo?”

Apparently, word had spread throughout the department that I’d sent a disrespectful cooperation request to the Ministry of Education.

“Yeah, it’s true.”

I replied casually, and Luka shrieked in disbelief.

“Are you insane?! You lunatic!”

At that moment, Anastasia, who had been eating a sandwich while reading SSS-Class Overwhelming Jealousy, lifted her head and shouted,

“T-the Minister i-is not insane, you filthy lunatic!”

Luka flinched, took a step back, then calmed his breath.

Shaking his head, he rattled off his words in a flurry.

“I mean… the Ministry of Education is already one of the most prestigious departments—they’re famously full of themselves! You can’t just treat them like your servants for the St. Cairo banquet. Are you only planning to be Minister for a day or two? Are you planning to burn bridges with them completely?”

I could tell he was speaking out of genuine concern. He was trembling, his voice earnest.

“We haven’t even had a real friendly rivalry yet. Are you going to just step down from your post like this?”

When exactly would this so-called “real friendly rivalry” ever happen…?

Luka scanned my face closely, breathing heavily, then added,

“You shot your shot, but you’re regretting it a little now, right? That’s why you look a bit pale? Honestly, you look like your stomach’s churning.”

“Nope.”

I slowly shook my head.

“I’m just worried because Victor and Keyvon went out together. Has nothing to do with the Ministry of Education.”

“Huh? Why’d they go out? Are they friends already?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Wow. So the intern—who gets along with no one—beat out the team leader who gets along with everyone? That means they went out for… not-good reasons?”

Luka tilted his head, but then suddenly smirked as if something occurred to him.

“Don’t worry, Minister. That intern kid doesn’t seem like someone who’d back down no matter what Victor says. Honestly, he looks more like the type to punch back twice as hard.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about. In fact, he might throw two punches depending on the situation.”

Keyvon was a non-regular employee. If things went south, he could be reported and fired on the spot. All I could do was trust in Victor’s peace-loving nature.

Then Anastasia chimed in, eyes gleaming.

“H-has our Minister finally g-gotten interested in men?! S-showing concern over a messy l-love triangle!”

She looked more enthusiastic than ever. Luka shrugged.

“Even if she has started noticing men, she’d probably only half-open her eyes out of sheer laziness.”

He folded his arms and added in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Back in school, even when she was obviously being strung along, she couldn’t be bothered to figure out whether she was in a dating pool or the open sea.”

“A-aah, true… If it’s our Minister… she’d p-probably feed the fish in her tank thinking they were hers, then one day walk out onto land and build a farm instead—driving the poor fisherman mad…”

Luka nodded enthusiastically. By now, he’d completely forgotten why he came in the first place.

I grinned and smacked him lightly on the arm.

“Well, you came at the right time. Let’s go grab lunch. I was going to ask you a favor anyway.”

“You’re not my direct superior, so I’ll hear you out first…”

“As my worthy rival, of course.”

“What are you saying? Let’s just go eat first.”

With resolve glinting in his green eyes, Luka gave a solemn nod.

***

Victor stared at Kiaros and spoke.

“Just so you’re not clueless—the banquet is going to be nothing like the office.”

He leaned against the wall of the nearby building and took another puff from his cigar.

“The St. Cairo banquet isn’t something anyone can attend. Only senior officials or high-ranking nobles get in. But here you are, some clueless nobody dragging Namia down with you. You get that?”

Kiaros gave no reply.

“If you don’t want to be even more of a burden, then remember: you move according to rank in that place.”

To be honest, it was so absurd that he couldn’t even feel angry.

“You’re just a foreign commoner. I, on the other hand, am the heir to House Arwin. So that means you follow my lead. Got it?”

In the quiet space, Victor’s voice rang out low and sharp.

It was unmistakably a warning—blunt and aggressive.

“If I tell you to move away from Namia, you move. If I tell you to get lost, you get lost. Got it? The lower rank should act like it.”

Victor took one last puff, then removed the cigar from his lips with a smile.

“Anyway, I guess I dragged this out a bit too long, right before lunch.”

Though he smiled, his tone mimicked the gentle manner he used at work. That “good-natured Victor Arwin” vibe was back.

“You wouldn’t know this, but Namia never really wanted anything during school.”

He added softly, almost kindly.

“Even so, I was always her number one. Don’t go dreaming about things you don’t understand.”

Kiaros stared at Victor.

Up until now, the absurdity of it all had made him want to laugh. But suddenly, something choked him from inside—like a heavy weight pressing on his chest.

Victor raised his eyebrows with a bright smile.

“Anyway, I hope you got the message, intern friend.”

Finally, Kiaros broke his silence.

“Loud and clear.”

“See? I knew our intern buddy was bright—”

Just then, Kiaros reached out and snatched the cigar from Victor’s hand.

“Wha—what the hell are you—?!”

Before Victor could even finish, Kiaros brought the cigar up to his cheek with slow, deliberate ease.

“Y-you—you crazy—”

To be precise… the cigar grazed just past Victor’s cheek and crushed out against the wall behind him.

Victor’s smiling face drained of all color in an instant.

If it had been just slightly closer, it would’ve left a burn.

“Practice.”

Kiaros said nonchalantly.

The way he slowly, calmly ground the cigar out against the wall only made the gesture more chilling. He stared at Victor’s horrified face and chuckled.

“I extinguished your cigar like the good little subordinate I am. Problem?”

Victor’s expression clearly screamed: What the hell is wrong with this guy?!

“W-what the hell…”

“Glad to hear you’re so well-versed in banquet protocol.”

Kiaros dropped the extinguished cigar on Victor’s shoe. His tone didn’t waver at all.

“I’ll be watching closely to see how well you follow the hierarchy, Team Leader.”

The two men locked eyes. Kiaros tilted his head slightly and smirked.

“Thanks to you, I’m looking forward to the banquet even more.”

Then he turned his back, wearing an expression that said Victor was no longer worth his time.

Behind him, he heard Victor grind his teeth.

…This…

Without looking back, Kiaros found himself thinking:

…was more satisfying than I expected.

As someone who had lived his entire life carefully, constrained by his status as crown prince, the feeling was refreshing in a way he couldn’t describe.

Victor’s pale, stricken face had been quite the sight. But that satisfaction didn’t last long.

Because Victor’s confident words echoed in his head.

[Even so, I was always her number one.]

There had to be a reason for that confidence.

Kiaros had no way of knowing what kind of shadow Victor Arwin had cast over Namia’s past.

What the hell… why…

He raked a hand through his hair, irritated. A dark, crawling discomfort spread through his whole body.

Why does it feel like I can’t breathe? Why does it hurt so much?

That phrase—number one—kept looping in his mind, making his thoughts spin.

It was still lunchtime. There was time before he had to return to the Scroll Division.

In the end, he headed for the Crown Prince’s office.

He needed to carve out a break… and see the royal physician.