The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 23

Of course, for now, the priority was to deal with this situation first.

Naturally, the situation wasn’t good.

The Empress had already been arrested while carrying deadly poison. There were probably records piled up of her previous dealings in the black market too.

She wouldn’t actively defend herself, and she had no political supporters to take her side.

'Haa... The incident has already exploded, so it’s hard to clean it up quietly.'

I blinked slowly, sinking deep into thought.

'In the end, I’m just a lowly civil servant, but I’ll have to stick my neck out again.'

Thinking of the Empress, already captured, my brain started spinning fast.

While I was lost in thought, an employee from the adjacent team sidled up to me.

"But Namia, is that rumor ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) true?"

"Huh? Rumor?"

"Yeah. That His Highness the Crown Prince fell for you at first sight."

Ah... Life.

How come only things like this, not the original story, go exactly as expected?

I had already predicted that by lunchtime today, such a rumor would be making the rounds.

'Seriously, we’re from the same Scroll Management Department. Couldn’t they spare a little interest for the fact I made 166 scrolls and activated 172 of them yesterday?'

Of course, it didn’t seem like anyone cared about that.

Instead, as if they had found an entertaining topic, the other employees started crowding around me, buzzing noisily.

"Is it true he fell for your deep dark circles and shabby outfit?"

"Is it true his type was a lethargic woman who looks like she has no will to live, just barely breathing?"

"Ahh, so that’s why he showed no interest in all those radiant noble young ladies! His tastes are so... unique!"

I sighed inwardly.

'Haa, no wonder everyone at the Administrative Support Department was sneaking glances at me earlier!'

Still, my expression must have been too terrible for anyone to blatantly tease me.

Not to mention, Her Majesty the Empress had been arrested, after all.

Well, it was a rumor that would disappear within a week anyway...

"Namia?"

Oson stretched lazily and approached.

"Got too much work? That’s why you came back?"

"Ah, yes."

Cold sweat ran down my back at the strange sense of dissonance, but I didn’t show it.

Instead, I answered with my usual unfocused eyes.

"His Highness the Crown Prince said he would review the documents, so... I wanted to revise the drafts that can still be corrected..."

"Tsk, you idiot. That’s why you’re no good, huh? How clueless can you be?"

Hmph, seemed like Oson hadn’t heard about the scandal involving me and Kiaros.

'Well, judging by his face, he’s completely drunk on the praise he’s getting. No wonder.'

As I stayed lost in thought, Oson clicked his tongue and waved his hand dismissively.

"You really think His Highness has the time or the mind to be reviewing documents right now? Namia, you seriously have no sense?"

Just then, the Minister—whose face had been deathly pale earlier—walked over.

Now looking all cheerful, the Minister said smugly,

"Exactly. Reviewing documents is going to take a loooooooooong time."

Saying "it’ll take a long time" basically meant "it’s not happening."

Once something got pushed down in priority, it stayed there.

"Is our department the problem right now? Her Majesty the Empress just got arrested!"

His voice was practically gleeful.

"While investigating Her Majesty, the Magic Tower might notice something about His Highness and intervene. They could tell us to keep our hands off the department altogether. I even submitted a petition to the Tower myself. It’s every man for himself at this point."

The senior staff started chatting excitedly amongst themselves again.

I sat there as usual, pretending to mindlessly flip through a few documents, blending into the background.

And using the commotion as cover, I quietly slipped out of the office.

'Good.'

I smirked to myself inside.

'It’s a more unexpected opponent than I thought, but thanks to that, everything's solved. I can see the path clearly now.'

How to save the Empress, who had already been arrested in the act.

And how to do it in a way that would keep me, a lowly civil servant, reasonably protected.

My steps quickened as I left the office.

***

The Empress of the Empire, Fron Polariwood, had been stripped of all her weapons and thrown into prison.

"Your Majesty, I believe in you. But others will not."

The Minister of Justice spoke solemnly to the Empress.

"If I’m going to defend you at trial, even I need to know the situation, don’t I?"

Fron stubbornly kept her mouth shut, staring only at the cold stone floor.

The Minister of Justice sighed and shook his head.

"If you stay silent like this, even I might end up doubting you."

"......"

"So please tell me. Why did you secretly go around collecting poisons? Especially those poisons to which the royal family has no immunity?"

"......"

"You are aware that poison is involved in the assassination attempt against His Highness the Crown Prince, aren’t you?"

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"......"

Fron’s situation was very bad.

The Empress of the Empire had sneaked out of the palace to secretly purchase poison. From a shady black market dealer, no less.

Being a common-born mercenary herself, the Empress knew well how to deal with such low-life traders.

"Without even a single bodyguard, wandering through those back alleys alone..."

The Minister of Justice glanced awkwardly at Fron’s muscles, then trailed off, embarrassed.

Her hobby was still strength training.

Even if she wasn’t what she used to be, she could easily protect herself.

"If you really intended to assassinate His Highness, you should confess now. It would lessen your sentence more than remaining silent."

Still, Fron said nothing. In truth, there was nothing else she could do.

Even staying silent took immense patience for her.

'Damn it, I’m screwed...'

Having lived a rough life, she cursed inwardly.

'Should I just go ahead and die?'

There was a reason Fron had secretly been searching for poisons that royals had no immunity to.

Because of the Emperor.

'No matter how much I rack my stone head, there’s no answer...'

It was unprecedented for a Dragonblood—a royal—to fall seriously ill in middle age.

Dragonbloods always had many enemies. Especially among hidden non-human races.

That was why Dragonbloods never revealed any weakness to the outside world.

Even back when young Kiaros had so much as mentioned his "blackout," an attack had come immediately after.

'I just have to make sure I don’t screw up any worse.'

The Minister of Justice shook his head and left.

Fron flopped onto the cold stone floor, deep in thought.

'I just wanted to help His Majesty somehow...'

She suspected that the Emperor’s illness might have been caused by poison.

Because in her mercenary days, she had seen many lethal poisons.

So she had quietly gone around gathering poisons circulated through the black market.

It wasn’t like she could solve the issue herself; she had planned to present them when the Emperor returned.

'Of course, there’s no way I could explain that.'

If she tried to defend herself in court, she would have to reveal that the Emperor was weakened—and that news would spread across the entire Empire.

That’s why she could only keep her mouth shut about why she was collecting poison.

'Dammit. In the end, dying is the only way.'

Though she was the Empress, she had once been a palace knight.

She had sworn long ago to give her life for the Polariwood royal family.

Revealing a weakness of the Emperor’s was unthinkable. It was better to sacrifice herself.

'That way, even His Highness the Crown Prince won’t be troubled.'

Would Kiaros suspect her?

Even if Kiaros didn’t suspect her, though...

As long as Fron stayed silent, no one could recklessly defend her either.

'Still, it’s a relief His Majesty isn’t in the capital.'

Many nobles thought of her as a thorn in their side.

They would surely pressure Kiaros heavily.

'The worst-case scenario would be if His Highness deduced everything and, trying to save me, revealed the Emperor’s illness.'

Fron wasn’t skilled at using her head.

But even if someone brilliant came along, there probably wasn’t a way out of this situation.

Just then.

'Hmm?'

From a distance, she spotted a young woman she had never seen before, scurrying toward the prison.

A woman with gleaming silver hair and blue eyes, so scrawny she didn’t seem to have a single muscle on her.