The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 16

The fairly nice mansion the Baron had prepared as payment for taking me in faded into the distance behind me.

Leaving wasn’t difficult—there wasn’t much to pack anyway.

Dad, I’m sorry.

It wasn’t that I was abandoning the Baron’s household.

But I’m smart enough to know... this is the best I can do.

What I left behind wasn’t the barony, but my blind desperation clinging to my father.

The Baron and his wife, and Juan too—let them all eat shit.

From now on, the entire paycheck is mine.

And today was payday.

As far as I knew, salaries were deposited in the afternoon.

Starting with this paycheck, not a single coin goes to the Baron. From this moment on, not a single penny.

I immediately headed for the Imperial Palace to change my salary account.

I started thinking of all the things I could now finally do—the things I had always wanted to do.

First, I should find a place to live. Didn’t Luka live in a boarding house? I’ll sleep at an inn today and ask him if there’s a spare room.

Any weird boarding house would still be better than the Roafi baron’s home.

At least they won’t pathetically withhold meals.

It’s going to start getting chilly soon... should I buy some clothes? Oh, and the soles of my shoes have long been worn out...

Of course, there were so many things I wanted to buy.

But none of it made me happy.

Now I could finally receive my paycheck in full, go to restaurants I could never afford before.

And I could sleep soundly in a place where there was no one watching me with judging eyes.

Still, I should save the money. I can’t give up on finding Dad.

I wasn’t sure what situation Dad was in, so up until now, I just listened to the Baron out of fear that something bad would happen to him.

But you make deals with people—not with dogs.

There has to be... there has to be another way. If I think it through, there’ll be another path...

Even though I felt that certainty, I was scared I’d regret the choice I was making now.

Dad, I’m not giving up on you. I’m never going to give up. I mean it.

As I walked toward the Imperial Palace, tears kept streaming down my face. I kept wiping them away as I murmured to myself.

“Dad... Where are you? I miss you...”

***

The Legal Affairs employee had already died ten minutes before the palace knights arrived.

The unseen enemy, still without a clear form, seemed to be provoking Kiaros—like it already knew exactly what he’d do.

“That Legal Affairs employee, Renon, was originally from the Scroll Management Department. Ten years ago, he transferred departments due to poor adaptation.”

Hearing the report inside the palace, Kiaros’s face turned cold as he thought:

That confirms it. The Scroll Management Department is involved.

It was a department that had been floating in limbo—an ideal entry point for enemies.

That’s why he had infiltrated the department to begin with.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

They’d found a few half-burnt documents in the fireplace, probably encrypted. The team was tearing the place apart, searching for secret compartments.

Progress wasn’t bad. If they found anything there, it meant they had responded quickly.

And they’d only been able to move this fast thanks to Namia.

Everyone else was off guard, and that clueless low-level civil servant was the only one actually doing her job.

Was she really clueless, though? Somehow, that didn’t seem right.

He sighed and sent the carrier pigeon flying back out the window.

First thing tomorrow, I’ll call Namia Roafi and promise her any reward she wants...

And just as he was about to turn around—

He caught a glimpse of silver hair and a familiar quick-footed gait crossing the imperial garden.

Huh? That woman...

It didn’t take long to realize who it was. Namia.

Didn’t she say she was going home?

Her head was bowed as she walked somewhere.

Without realizing it, Kiaros found himself watching her—and then his eyes widened.

Namia quietly wiped her eyes. She was crying, deeply.

He opened the window wider. Then, her tearful murmurs reached him faintly.

“Dad... Where are you? I miss you...”

While Kiaros stood there staring at her, dazed—

A knock sounded, and his aide entered.

“Your Highness.”

The aide held a report with a black cover.

“I’ve looked into the Roafi baron household.”

Kiaros gave a small nod, signaling him to continue. The aide referenced the report as he spoke—an account that sounded ordinary at first.

They were fallen southern nobles who came to the capital fifteen years ago, slowly squandering their fortune. Recently, they took out loans and made a failed investment.

“But their actions fifteen years ago are a little odd.”

Kiaros’s brow furrowed slightly at that.

“Just before they came to the capital, they belatedly added Miss Namia Roafi to the family register. As the twin sister of Juan Roafi.”

It was the name Namia Roafi that made Kiaros react.

“The strange part is that the Baron had a younger brother. That brother and his daughter went missing that same year. There’s no birth record for the daughter.”

In the provinces, it wasn’t unusual to file a birth report first and register a name later. The aide continued.

“It’ll take more time to look into it, but the crows believe that the younger brother’s daughter might actually be Miss Namia Roafi.”

“The South...”

“Yes. It’s already a region where many of the crows have been dispatched.”

At that, Kiaros fell into thought.

“There’s still no information on the girl from the South?”

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“Ah, yes. Seems there’s just too little to go on, even for the crows...”

The aide answered with a grim expression.

“No age, no appearance—just that she used to frequent a library in the South long ago. One of the librarians remembers her as ‘a quiet girl who read a lot, then stopped coming one day.’ That’s it.”

“Hm.”

“If she had that kind of skill at that age, wouldn’t she already be a mage in the Magic Tower by now?”

That had long been one of the crows’ main theories.

“But the Magic Tower doesn’t release any names until mages reach thirty-five. And even then, only with the permission of the Tower Master.”

At the mention of the “Magic Tower,” the aide glanced at Kiaros nervously.

“But since Your Highness secured access to the Scroll Management Department documents... the Tower Master won’t be cooperating with you anytime soon.”

“Unbelievable. Never cared about palace affairs before.”

“Still, they probably think you’re infringing on their territory. And you know how that one thinks—always assumes the worst.”

Kiaros let out a frustrated sigh.

If only Namia hadn’t revoked that intern’s access, none of this would be so complicated...

But he decided not to resent her for it.

She had simply been thorough.

Even the way she treated that intern... was surprisingly kind.

He had learned her sincerity by accident. The misunderstanding that she’d been indifferent to the intern now felt embarrassingly wrong.

Kiaros cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Come to think of it—was the report sent to the Magic Tower? I remember ordering a formal response from the Tower Master.”

“Yes, but...”

The aide hesitated, then pulled out a letter.

It bore the Tower’s seal—but not the Master’s. It looked like a secretary had written it.

Kiaros irritably unfolded the letter.

The Tower Master is currently away.

There is no estimate on when he will return.

Upon return, we will promptly inform him that the Crown Prince has requested a formal response.

P.S. The report stated that the Scroll Department employee activated 172 scrolls.

Was that a typo for 17? [N O V E L I G H T] Please confirm.