The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success

Chapter 67

The separate palace was quite far from the main palace.

I walked slowly, making my way back to the Scroll Department.

‘Hmm, still some time left before I’m officially due back.’

Things had wrapped up far faster than expected.

I thought it would take longer to sort everything out — but then the Emperor had stepped in, completely unplanned.

‘Well, it worked out.’

I gave a little kick to a pebble on the road. Liden’s words had been so absurd, they were almost funny.

Just because I turned down the Crown Prince’s proposal, they tried to paint me as some high treasonous criminal.

That was just the excuse. What they really hated was that I was the one holding the minister’s seat.

‘Everything worked out in the end. Good job, Namia Roafi.’

Maybe because I wasn’t in a hurry, my steps grew slower and slower. There was still plenty of time before lunch.

Today, Kibon had taken the morning off, too.

He’d left work early yesterday, saying he wasn’t feeling well, and now he’d extended that leave into today.

‘Nice exit. Well done, me...’

As I trudged along, another pebble caught underfoot.

I gave it another lazy kick.

[“Your mother cherishes you more than you know...”]

The Emperor’s words kept echoing in my ears.

So did the Empress’s flustered, panicked expression when Jaden’s name had come up.

[“Of course a mother loves her child! How could you not know that?”]

But... like the Empress had said — if that kind of love was a given, then why...?

A question I couldn’t resolve floated up, heavy and persistent.

‘Then why didn’t my mother love me?’

I remembered my childhood, back when I was in the Academy.

The day our first test results came out after I’d ranked first in the entrance exam.

Most of the kids were sniffling and whining.

[“What do I do? My mom’s gonna be so mad.”]

[“My mom grilled meat for me every day during exam week. She’ll be devastated.”]

[“My mom’s dream is for me to become a palace civil servant...”]

Meanwhile, I sat there quietly, holding my disaster of a report card.

No one would be upset over my grades.

And that hurt.

[“Namia, how’d you do? You were top of the entrance exam, right?”]

[“Yeah! Your mom must be really excited for your results.”]

My friends gathered around, and I just shrugged and showed them my scores.

Their faces instantly turned to surprise — a mix of sympathy and disbelief. The weight of their stares made my head spin.

That’s when I realized how small and pitiful I looked.

[“O-oh no. Namia... Are you going to be okay?”]

[“I saw your mom at the entrance ceremony. She looked strict!”]

[“You’re definitely gonna get scolded. She seemed like she had high hopes for you.”]

My face went stiff. I had no idea how to respond and stammered out the first thing that came to mind.

[“W-well... Juan probably did better, right?”]

Their worried gazes didn’t leave me.

In the end, I awkwardly muttered an excuse.

[“It’s fine. I mean, my mom is...”]

I had never called the Baroness “mother” before.

But somehow, in that moment, the words just slipped out.

Nearby, Juan — who’d been playing with the other kids — chuckled and raised his chin.

[“Yeah, our mom’ll be fine. Right, Namia?”]

I lowered my head. My face burned.

It was more humiliating than the report card itself.

[“After all, our mom likes me way more than she likes you. Way, way more.”]

The other kids blinked in confusion, glancing between me and Juan.

I couldn’t say a word.

[“Right? She doesn’t even care about your grades.”]

The others slowly drifted away, whispering behind my back.

That evening, back at the baron’s estate, Juan teased me nonstop.

“Hey, since when was my mom your mom?”

The Baroness, hearing the story from Juan, snorted like it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.

[“Your real mom abandoned you, didn’t she? Don’t go slapping labels on people.”]

Even so, she let me have dinner that night.

[“Well, you scored lower than Juan just like I asked. That’s good enough.”]

She was in a great mood — Juan’s grades had met her expectations.

[“Our Juan did really well. He might even qualify for the Finance Ministry. Such a clever boy.”]

[“Mom, more meat pie. It’s so good.”]

[“Yeah? Want more? Namia, give me your plate. That was the last piece.”]

Juan had only done well because I gave him a list of likely exam questions beforehand.

I sniffled as I handed over the meat pie I hadn’t even tasted. But the stew was too good to stop eating — I kept scooping it up between sniffles.

That night, I got a stomachache from eating too much stew. I threw up alone and curled up on the bathroom floor.

It never even occurred to me to wake the Baron and Baroness to ask for medicine.

I remember thinking that if my mother had died from illness instead of abandoning me, maybe I wouldn’t feel so pathetic.

It was strange.

All that was in the past, and yet that night — that lonely, aching night from my childhood — came rushing back to me.

‘Seeing another family’s touching moment... and here I am, still like this as an adult. How pathetic, Namia.’

But I didn’t belong in that heartwarming scene, anyway.

I had to step back. Always had.

‘Just wait. Once Father returns... I’ll have a family too.’

As I stared down at the ground, trudging along, I kicked the same pebble from earlier again.

It rolled away, bouncing down the path. But then—

“Huh?”

A foot stopped it mid-roll with a soft tap.

A long shadow stretched across the royal garden path, right in front of me.

“...W-wha?”

My eyes widened when I saw the young man standing there.

“...What are you doing here?”

Black hair, pale skin, and that ever-expressionless face — it was Kibon.

“You said you weren’t coming in until the afternoon. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Kibon replied in a low voice.

For a moment, silence fell between us. Neither of us had anything to say.

But oddly, I felt relieved.

That’s when I realized — I didn’t want to be alone.

‘Get a grip. Just because you don’t want to be alone doesn’t mean you should be happy to see a subordinate!’

Still, subordinates were easy. You could say what you wanted without getting scolded or criticized.

Being around them didn’t hurt.

But from their side, that probably wasn’t the case.

Say the wrong thing, and they’d get reprimanded or lectured.

“Well, then... I guess I’ll see you later—”

I was about to say something along those lines when—

“Minister.”

Kibon looked down at me ? N?v??ight ? (Read more on our source) and spoke in his quiet voice.

“Buy me lunch.”

...Huh?

I blinked at the completely unexpected request.

His tone was flat, his expression as blank as ever — but something about it felt... off.

I couldn’t explain why, but it just didn’t feel like something Kibon would say.

As I stared in confusion, Kibon added calmly,

“You told me, if I ever didn’t want to eat alone, I should just ask you for lunch.”

Ah... right.

[“If you don’t want to eat alone, I’ll join you. Just ask me to buy you a meal — no need to hesitate.”]

I had said that.

“I don’t want to eat alone today.”

“O-oh. Really?”

“There’s still plenty of time if we include the lunch break.”

Since Kibon was using his morning leave, he didn’t need to be at the Scroll Department office yet.

He checked his watch and said,

“We can have a leisurely lunch today.”

He was the one being treated — and yet, he was so absurdly confident about it.

But somehow, that felt... very Kibon.

That strange mix of arrogant phrasing and absolute formality.

A combination I’d never experienced from anyone else before.

“Well... sure, if you want. I’ve got a bunch of fancy restaurant vouchers.”

I still had a pile of meal coupons the Crown Prince had given me back when I was just a bottom-rung employee.

I took out my wallet and spread the vouchers in front of him, telling him to pick whatever he liked.

“It’s not because I’m stingy — I just happen to have a ton of these to use.”

“I’ll go with this one.”

Kibon chose a spot after a bit of thought.

Then he pointed to another coupon.

“We can go here next time.”

He even planned next time.

His brazen confidence left me momentarily speechless.

“...You say that like you’re the one buying.”