The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 61.2: 5. The Circumstances of Jaden Polariwood

Even in the detached palace, the rumors had made their rounds.

“Did you hear? His Highness the Crown Prince collapsed from heartbreak.”

“They say the one who rejected him was Namia Roafi, the Minister of the Scroll Department.”

The servants whispered and gossiped among themselves as they cleaned.

SLAM—!

The door flew open.

“Don’t chatter while cleaning.”

The voice belonged to a boy with hair as golden as sunlight. He was eight years old, still small, his cheeks round and adorably plump.

The prince residing in the detached palace—Jaden Polariwood.

“You’re disturbing my reading.”

But there was a wooden practice sword gripped between the child’s teeth.

“Just because a child lives here, does that mean you all slack off and gossip while you work?”

The servants immediately fell silent.

Jaden was currently the sole resident of the detached palace, typically reserved for young royals.

Kiaros had lived there too when he was younger.

Kiaros had been a strict master even as a boy, but he only expressed displeasure through his eyes—not like this, not openly scolding people.

“Talking about grown-up scandals in front of a child. What exactly do you expect me to learn from that? Should I go tell my brother next time that I overheard the servants saying such things?”

“We, we apologize, Your Highness. We were very wrong.”

“You should count yourself lucky that I matured early enough to know what not to say.”

Jaden lifted his chin primly.

Then, he handed a letter to one of the servants.

“Give this to Her Majesty, the Empress.”

“Yes, Your Highness! I’ll deliver it at once!”

The servant scurried off with the letter.

SLAM—Jaden shut the door again and opened his book.

But his brows furrowed.

“My brother... got rejected?”

He puffed out his cheeks in frustration as he muttered to himself.

“What in the world... What kind of woman would—”

Jaden silently mouthed the name Namia Roafi. frёewebnoѵēl.com

He didn’t have time to dwell on it—his lesson was about to start.

Before long, a civil servant from the Education Ministry entered.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness. Are you ready for your lesson?”

“Yes, Reden.”

Reden Hyael. He was the team leader of the Royal Education Unit, under the Ministry of Education.

A baron by birth, he oversaw all of Jaden’s schooling.

He was also one of the very few adults Jaden considered approachable.

“You sent the reply to Her Majesty, just as I advised, right?”

“Yup.”

Jaden answered while flipping his book open.

“Just sent it now.”

“Well done, Your Highness.”

Reden smiled brightly.

***

“Look at this.”

It had taken three full days for Kibon and me to gather just the scroll inventory records from the detached palace.

I handed him the completed report.

“The scroll stock at the detached palace—it’s definitely off, right?”

Kibon’s expression turned grim. He furrowed his brows, staring at the document.

“...It’s definitely strange.”

“Right? It’s been bothering me for ages.”

“Then why didn’t you do anything about it earlier?”

“I did do something.”

I shrugged, muttering,

“I reported it to Team Leader Oson and got chewed out for sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. The other team leader was the same.”

“Then the higher-ups...”

“I couldn’t say anything beyond ‘hello’ to the Minister back then. People like me—low-ranking staff—weren’t even worth talking to.”

“Then above that...”

“Above where?”

“...”

“I couldn’t even say ‘hello’ to royalty, let alone report something.”

But things were different now.

Now I could say ‘hello’ to royalty—and even go, ‘I have something to say.’

I picked up the report.

“Anyway, if you think it looks off too, then I’m going to go file a report.”

“A report? To where...”

“To Her Majesty the Empress, of course. She’s the prince’s mother.”

At that, Kibon’s expression turned complicated.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“But the relationship between the two is... well. And I’m not sure Her Majesty would be the best person to handle something like this...”

Hmm. Maybe Kibon had seen the Empress during that incident at the trial?

Then it made sense that he might worry about her.

“Where else would I go? I can’t exactly barge into His Majesty’s chambers with this kind of issue.”

“What about the Crown Prince?”

“Ah...”

But no, this was something the Empress had to be involved in.

Because there was a misunderstanding between her and Jaden that needed to be resolved.

Not that I could say that out loud—it would sound like I knew the future. So I played it off casually.

“His Highness the Crown Prince would definitely be helpful, but... he’s still in seclusion. I can’t bother him over this.”

Just as I stood up, saying I was off to see the Empress—

Kibon suddenly stood up, too.

“Then... I’d like to request an early leave.”

“Hm? Sure.”

He had been working hard. I processed his early leave right away.

Kibon gave me a quick bow and briskly left the office.

I straightened my clothes alone in the minister’s office.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Her Majesty.’

To be honest, the Empress had invited me over several times.

[“Come by anytime! I’ve got no friends, I’m always stuck alone!”]

So I figured it’d be fine to drop in.

I summoned a servant to send a message announcing my visit and then calmly left the office.

As soon as I stepped out, Anastasia shot to her feet.

She moved so fast that the book on her desk, The Double Life of My Secretary, fell with a thud. Judging by the title, she seemed to be into office romances.

“M-Minister? C-c-coffee? Should I make you some?”

“No, it’s fine. But I’ll take a cup when I get back.”

I didn’t want to make her fetch coffee.

I’d told her it wasn’t necessary, but she seemed to have made it a habit.

Every morning she carefully ground the beans and kept hot water ready, just in case.

So to acknowledge her effort, I occasionally accepted a cup.

“A-and, um, do-do-do you know when Victor will be arriving...?”

“Oh, I think he said he’d start work in three days. Why?”

“I-I... um... I’m n-not great with the... uh, administrative stuff... so I thought... if V-Victor came, that’d be helpful...”

“Don’t worry about that. Anyway, I’ll be back soon.”

After that short exchange, I made ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) my way to the Empress’s chambers.

“Namiaaaa! You came! What’s the occasion, hmm? You’ve been so busy ignoring me!”

Hmm?

Surprisingly, the Empress wasn’t alone.

I stopped in my tracks, startled.

“There’s another guest, but it’s fine, right?”

...Why was Kiaros in the Empress’s room?