The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 47

“Your mom’s side too?”

“Yes.”

Dad said Mom couldn’t use magic at all.

From the Tower Lord’s line of questioning, he seemed to suspect that my mom might’ve been his daughter...

[You’re so good with scrolls, Namia. But neither I nor your mom could do magic.]

[That’s possible, Dad. Magical ability isn’t inherited.]

[Really? I heard the Tower Lord’s daughter was so good at magic, she was going to succeed him. That’s why I thought it was genetic.]

From every angle, Mom and the Tower Lord’s daughter seemed completely unrelated.

Still, just in case, I cautiously brought it up.

“I heard the Tower Lord’s daughter is incredibly talented at magic.”

“What? Who told you that crap?”

“My dad. He said my mom—who was from the capital—told him that crap.”

The Tower Lord didn’t respond.

He just narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought before asking again.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any other... strange abilities?”

“...Huh?”

“You know, some weird, unusual power. Strange. Something no one’s heard of.”

“Uh... um...”

Something did come to ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) mind, actually.

[This world is actually from a book, and I reincarnated into it. So I know the future. A war’s coming soon, and I’m doing my best to stop it.]

Was I supposed to say that?

But then the Tower Lord abruptly waved a hand and said,

“Even if you do, just say you don’t in front of others. And don’t go telling people you could create scrolls when you were a kid.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“...Normally someone would ask why.”

“Would you tell me?”

“No.”

After a long silence, he placed a firm hand on my shoulder.

“I think I’ll be heading out again. A long trip.”

“Ah, okay.”

“...Normally someone would ask where and why.”

The Tower Lord clicked his tongue and continued.

“Feels like I’ve found a trace of my daughter. Hmm. I’ll have to look into it more...”

As expected, he was the type who just volunteered what he wanted to say, even if you didn’t ask.

His blue eyes stared straight into mine.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

And then—

‘Huh?’

He suddenly started rummaging deep into his robe.

A moment later, he handed me a scroll.

“Here.”

At a glance, it looked incredibly complex—way beyond my level to decode.

I’d thought I was pretty amazing, but this instantly humbled me.

“A gift.”

“Ah, okay.”

“...Normally people would be surprised.”

“Well, I honestly have no idea what kind of scroll this is. The formula looks crazy complicated... When am I even supposed to use this?”

“When a man confesses to you and says he likes you.”

The Tower Lord stood up slowly as he said it.

“Keep it with you at all times. You never know when someone will confess.”

My eyes sparkled as I looked at the magic circle engraved on the scroll.

No matter how closely I examined it, it was too complicated. I couldn’t figure out the principle, but it was beautiful and amazing.

Seeing me like that, the Tower Lord chuckled softly.

“Finally, some life in those eyes, Minister.”

Then, resting on his staff, he patted my head.

“When I went to fetch you from the Empress’s room, your eyes were completely lifeless.”

“Ah...”

I was so distracted staring at the scroll, I finally looked up.

Then, feeling a little awkward, I muttered,

“It’s just... being there felt kind of...”

“What?”

“Like I was intruding on a family moment.”

Maybe it was because we both had missing family members and were left behind.

I ended up blurting out my honest thoughts to the Tower Lord without realizing it.

“But I wasn’t in a position to say something like, ‘I’ll just excuse myself’...”

After being separated from Dad, I’d always lived like that.

At the Roafi Barony manor, I’d always felt like a foreign object.

‘Of course I’d feel that way... stuck in someone else’s family setting.’

Especially when I saw how much the Emperor clearly cared for Kiaros—it made me feel weird inside.

‘Meanwhile, I have to go figure out where I’m spending the night...’

Since leaving the Roafi manor, I’d been staying at inns.

I’d originally planned to ask Luka to help me find a boarding house today, but it was already too late.

I thought the Tower Lord would mock Dragonbloods as nothing special—but he was surprisingly quiet.

After parting his lips briefly, he let out a sigh and said goodbye.

“Take care until we meet again. My gut says we’ll see each other very soon.”

His voice—usually so eccentric—trembled slightly.

“And when that time comes...”

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

Before I could even say goodbye, he vanished like the wind.

***

The Tower Lord left the palace and mounted his horse.

His destination was already decided.

‘Southern Arbin...’

Namia had said that was her birthplace.

‘Maybe...’

He planned to head there and investigate further into his daughter.

It was still just a suspicion, but Namia was probably Aran’s daughter.

Because of something Namia had said earlier.

[The Tower Lord’s daughter... I heard she was incredibly good at magic.]

But Aran couldn’t use magic at all.

She had obsessed over keeping that fact a secret from the outside world.

Even though no one in the Tower cared.

The only person who would’ve spread such a ridiculous rumor... was Aran herself.

Especially to a man she met in secret, hiding her identity...

‘Aran... did you have a daughter? Huh?’

To be honest, the moment he saw the scroll Namia made, he’d thought of Aran.

[Father, I’m sorry.]

Aran’s last memory: grinning like a lunatic while holding his blood.

[I like power more than love or affection! I’ll evolve and gain strength, no matter what it takes!]

[Evolve? Power? What on earth are you talking about, Aran!?]

Making scrolls alone at age eight—that was not a normal ability.

Namia definitely possessed the abnormal power Aran had been seeking.

‘What kind of experiment did you do to that child? Huh?’

Thankfully, she still seemed unaware of any of it...

It was a relief that she’d already sold her soul to the minister’s position.

‘But this time... I think I can dig out the whole truth.’

Looking closely at Namia’s features—though she was a bit thin—she definitely resembled Aran.

And coincidences like this don’t pile up for no reason.

But the reason he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to Namia at that moment...

‘If the monster my foolish daughter created is you...’

The Tower Lord bit his lower lip and thought,

‘...then no matter what, Grandpa will protect you. Because you’re not a monster—you’re my granddaughter.’

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone else knew Namia’s true identity yet.

If someone had found out, she wouldn’t be living so freely.

The Tower Lord glanced back once at the glittering imperial palace.

‘Hmph. At least that Crown Prince brat will keep her safe here. He was practically bug-eyed swearing he’d protect his subordinate.’

He found the young man unbearably irritating—but he was still the most reliable youth he knew.

Given how things were turning out, the imperial palace had become the safest place for Namia.

‘And since he’s famously uninterested in women, there’s no chance he’d ever lay a finger on her.’