The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success

Chapter 10

Sweat had been steadily dripping down Oson’s forehead the entire time—well, of course it had. He’d basically just been caught red-handed.

Oson’s attendance record was a mess, and he’d been involved in no small number of shady dealings, all hidden from upper management.

I gave a subtle shrug and thought to myself,

“Well, Team Leader Oson... You’re definitely getting disciplined, but you should still be thankful to me. You were probably fated to die a pointless death once the war breaks out anyway.”

With that thought, I suddenly felt like I was everyone’s savior.

“I’ve gotta stop this war. That means I need to find the right moments to naturally feed information from the original story to Kiaros.”

My plan to become the Messenger of the Original was still going strong.

While everyone had their heads bowed, I quietly rolled my eyes around and kept my brain working overtime.

“Originally, I was going to act like a clueless little flower-brained newbie when the commendation came—close my eyes, pretend I had no idea, and go thank him...”

But why didn’t the commendation arrive? Why did Kiaros come himself...?

“If the commendation doesn’t come at all, I won’t even have a crappy excuse to go see him...”

While I stewed in anxiety, the rest of the department still had their heads down like condemned prisoners.

In that heavy silence, Kiaros slowly spoke my name.

“Namia Roafi.”

“Ah, yes.”

I cautiously raised my head and our eyes met.

Ah... he’s so ridiculously handsome...

But for some reason, I also felt instinctively afraid.

“They said the First Emperor, whose dragon blood was especially strong, went through two blackout periods... Maybe His Highness Kiaros was also born with potent dragon blood? Is that why he has this overwhelming presence?”

His gaze wasn’t harsh, but it was intense—so much so that I felt like it was piercing through me. My clasped hands trembled slightly.

“Miss Roafi.”

He said my name again, low and deliberate. Then, after a short pause, he added,

“Come to the Crown Prince’s office. Right now.”

...Huh? Me? Personally? Now?

“Ah—yes!”

Whatever the reason, I bowed deeply and answered. When someone from the absolute top of the hierarchy gives an order, you obey.

“Understood.”

It was a bit of a surprise, but the fact that Kiaros was calling for me directly was a good thing.

“Either way, I get to see him in person! This is way more natural than going to thank him over a commendation while pretending to be a clueless newbie!”

I politely followed him out of the department, calculating furiously what kind of original story info would be most effective to drop in this situation.

***

Upon hearing that Namia had come to work that morning, Kiaros had immediately headed to the Scroll Department himself.

Upon inspection, the arrowheads had all been coated in deadly poison—one that came from a faraway foreign land, completely unfamiliar to him.

A poison to which Kiaros had no immunity.

“They really knew what they were doing. That means they’ve been embedded here for a long time.”

Like all members of the royal family, Kiaros had been exposed to a wide range of toxins from a young age to build immunity.

So he was immune to nearly every poison available in the Empire. And yet this one was entirely new.

“They’re formidable.”

The deeper he dug, the more serious things seemed.

Still, a reward was a reward.

He had planned to thank the person who saved his life directly and give her a proper commendation.

But then—

“If you didn’t have the grades, you shouldn’t have been showing off in the first place!”

Voices from the hallway reached him clearly, echoing off the walls.

“You clean up this mess. Write a report.”

He’d known the department was a disaster, but the more he listened, the more absurd it got.

Kiaros could feel his rage boiling over.

So he burst in immediately. His eyes instinctively