Chapter 62
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Chapter 62
I snapped to attention and offered a proper bow.
"Namia Loapi of the Scroll Department, paying respects to Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince."
The Empress immediately sprang to her feet and swept me into her arms, spinning me around in circles.
"Sit, sit down! Oh my goodness! Namia finally came to see me! Hahahaha!"
The presence of Crown Prince Kiaros caught me off guard, but I kept my composure.
He sipped his tea with elegant grace as he spoke.
"What a remarkable coincidence—I had just come to pay my respects. I hope my presence isn't an intrusion?"
His jewel-like crimson eyes fixed upon me with quiet intensity.
I flinched slightly before responding.
"O-of course not, Your Highness."
There was no way I could refuse him here.
In truth, I was relieved. Having Crown Prince Kiaros present would actually help clarify the situation from the start.
'Her Majesty the Empress absolutely needs to know about this, but as Kibon said, there are concerns about trusting her completely with everything.'
While Crown Prince Kiaros's presence was unexpected, it was ultimately fortunate.
I carefully extended the documents toward the Empress.
"Your Majesty, there's something rather unusual that I—"
"Huh?"
The Empress cut me off with a wave of her hand.
She didn't even reach for the documents as she cried out.
"Don't bother explaining to me—I'm hopeless with these things! Why would you bring something so dangerous and dreadful to me?"
I had anticipated this, but it was still our first obstacle.
I was about to mention that this concerned the Young Prince when—
"Why not handle it together with the Crown Prince, who is clever and brilliant and handsome and athletic and absolutely magnificent from head to toe?"
Crown Prince Kiaros's face flushed crimson in an instant.
He appeared genuinely flustered. The Empress leaned over and whispered urgently to him.
"Did I do well, Your Highness?"
The Empress's eyes sparkled as she continued.
"I will continue to do my best. I dedicate myself entirely to supporting you, so fight with all your strength and claim what is rightfully yours, Your Highness. Victory is assured!"
Crown Prince Kiaros let out a long sigh and turned his gaze toward me.
"Did you hear all of that?"
"Yes, Your Highness—the Crown Prince who is clever and brilliant and handsome and athletic and absolutely magnificent from head to toe."
"...Give me those documents."
I immediately handed the documents to Crown Prince Kiaros.
I had assumed summarizing and organizing them would be my responsibility, but suddenly my workload had diminished considerably.
"Hmm."
Crown Prince Kiaros flipped through the documents at an astonishingly rapid pace.
'Is he actually reading them?'
I was furrowing my brow in confusion when—
Crown Prince Kiaros spoke in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the Empress.
"Your Majesty, there appears to be an issue with Jayden Polariud."
It was an incredibly swift reading.
'As if he didn't know I was the author....'
Upon hearing Crown Prince Kiaros's words, the Empress's complexion drained to white in an instant.
"With, with Jayden Polariud?"
Yet she froze, as though about to leap from her seat.
Her gaze darted suddenly toward the letters scattered across the table.
Whether from a habit of poor organization, the letters lay strewn about in complete disarray.
"Hmm...."
The Empress rolled her eyes with an uncertain expression.
"Then... if I may be so bold, I would ask the Crown Prince even more earnestly to...."
Wait, she's entrusting it to Crown Prince Kiaros without even understanding what the matter is?
I gazed at the letters upon the table. Among them was my own correspondence.
Your Majesty the Empress, might you have a moment? I have an urgent matter and shall visit shortly. – Namia Loapi
And beneath it....
Never mind. Don't concern yourself. I find it more convenient to handle things alone. - Jayden Polariud
At a glance, it was an extraordinarily disrespectful letter.
'Yes, that's the one.'
I had anticipated this letter would arrive by now.
In the original work, the Empress dies later, bearing a false accusation.
This was the final letter Jayden Polariud sent to the Empress in the original story.
'Because of this letter, Jayden continues to regret it even as he grows older....'
I had waited all this time for Jayden Polariud to send this letter at precisely the right moment.
Fortunately, the timing seemed to align perfectly.
As I gazed upon that letter, Crown Prince Kiaros's eyes also fixed upon it.
"Hmm?"
Crown Prince Kiaros furrowed his brow. His expression was one of utter surprise.
Watching his startled face, I inwardly shrugged.
'Only Crown Prince Kiaros and the Emperor don't know. That Jayden Polariud is a complete mess of a child.'
Jayden Polariud conducted himself like an entirely different person before Crown Prince Kiaros and the Emperor.
Quiet in speech yet courteous, lacking in sociability yet appearing thoughtful and principled.
In reality, he was openly cursed behind the scenes as a rotten brat....
'The Emperor, well, he's frequently absent from the Imperial Palace due to illness, so it couldn't be helped. As for Crown Prince Kiaros, no one spoke ill of Jayden Polariud in his presence, so it was unavoidable.'
Crown Prince Kiaros displayed obvious displeasure whenever anyone dared mention Jayden Polariud's faults in his presence.
Therefore, no one had ever been able to reveal Jayden Polariud's true nature to Crown Prince Kiaros.
'Naturally, he'd be shocked upon seeing such an ill-mannered letter, wouldn't he?'
Indeed, Crown Prince Kiaros wore a grave expression.
He pointed to the letter and questioned the Empress.
"What is this, Your Majesty?"
"Yes? Ah...."
The Empress spoke with a hint of bewilderment.
"The truth is, the Saint Kairo Banquet is coming up soon...."
The Saint Kairo Banquet.
It was a banquet that only members of the Royal Family, high-ranking nobles, and senior government officials could attend.
The original work contained the phrase "Five days before the Saint Kairo Banquet, Jayden sent a reply to the Empress," so I was able to time everything perfectly.
'Ah, but now I have to go there too....'
A month ago, I never would have imagined I'd be attending.
But now I had to attend as well. After all, I was a Minister.
'When should I have my dress fitted, and who will be my escort?'
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
I quickly set aside those thoughts and fixed my gaze on the Empress.
The Empress spoke with an awkward smile.
"Well... about clothing and such things, shouldn't those be discussed? I sent a letter about such matters, and this is her reply."
The Empress continued, her shoulders sagging.
"Well, it's a fair point. Whenever I've attended such events, I've only become a laughingstock... Looking at Jayden's face, I stopped attending banquets lately, so sending this letter was probably unnecessary."
This is serious, quite serious.
I thought with a heavy heart.
'Fundamentally, I came here to resolve this very issue.'
The cause of this problem was clear.
* * *
At that moment, in the Ministry of Education.
"This is absurd. The Scroll Department received this much budget?"
The Minister of Education hurled the documents across the room.
"The Finance Minister, that cunning old fox... has been outmaneuvered by that tiny girl from the Scroll Department?"
The Minister of Education had opposed Namia Loapi's appointment as Minister from the very beginning.
Since the Finance Minister had drawn his sword first, he had watched with satisfaction.
But now it seemed....
The Finance Minister had polished the blade he'd drawn so eagerly and handed it over to Namia.
"This is absolutely ridiculous. Unbelievable."
The Minister of Education ground his teeth.
"A twenty-three-year-old from a debt-ridden marquessate becoming a Minister. Preposterous."
The Minister of Education valued people's backgrounds and naturally favored those with titles.
There was one type of person this Minister of Education despised most: those with titles who behaved vulgarly.
"Because of places like the Loapi Marquessate, all lower-ranking noble houses get lumped together and criticized!"
The Minister of Education seemed ready to die from his displeasure with Namia, who hailed from the Loapi Marquessate.
He became even more furious upon hearing rumors that Namia enjoyed the Empress's favor.
"Birds of a feather flock together. They're well-matched indeed."
The Minister of Education was the one who most resented the Empress, a former commoner mercenary.
From his perspective, these contemptible people had simply become close to one another.
"Who does she think she is, rejecting the Crown Prince's advances? How arrogant."
Of course, even if Namia Loapi hadn't kicked it away, the Minister would have cursed at her for overstepping her bounds.
"Something seems to be bothering you, Minister."
The Minister of Education was fuming when someone entered the Minister's Office.
"Ridden?"
Ridden Hael.
The Team Leader of the Royal Family Education team who had just finished reviewing Jayden's assignments and returned.
Ridden smirked and stepped on the document written about "Scroll Department Minister Namia Loapi."
Then, raising his eyebrows, he spoke.
"Bothersome things are simply resolved when one takes action."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org