Chapter 94
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 94
After delivering his opening address, the Emperor returned to the VIP Seating Area. He glanced around before turning to the Empress with a question.
"Where is Crown Prince Kiaros?"
"Well, I'd suggest you don't bother looking for him."
The Empress's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"Namia Loapi is gone too."
She giggled and her shoulders trembled with mirth.
"Come on, Jayden! I'm starving to death! I was so nervous about the event that I barely ate lunch... Let's go grab something to eat!"
She headed toward the table with finger foods, Jayden in tow. The Emperor watched her departing figure with an amused smile.
Beside him, the Finance Minister cleared his throat meaningfully.
The Finance Minister's adopted son, Victor, was also nowhere to be seen.
"It seems His Highness the Crown Prince hasn't given up on the Minister of Scrolls."
Throughout the banquet, everyone had been watching Crown Prince Kiaros and Namia Loapi with knowing looks.
Rumors had spread that Crown Prince Kiaros had been rejected by Namia Loapi, but in truth, everyone whispered behind closed doors: "Why would Namia Loapi refuse?"
[If it were me, I'd accept his proposal the moment His Highness confessed.]
[Surely Namia Loapi must be having second thoughts? A few words spoken close to her ear would change her mind in an instant.]
Crown Prince Kiaros looked exceptionally beautiful today, as if he had deliberately dressed for the occasion.
Though he had been in seclusion, his complexion appeared worse than usual, as if he were overworking himself.
"Well."
The Emperor shrugged with an ambiguous expression.
"He was rejected once, but she explained it wasn't because they're incompatible—just that it was too sudden and they weren't close enough. So if he approaches her carefully, there's still a chance, wouldn't you say? Honestly, I wonder if there's a better man than Crown Prince Kiaros in this entire Empire."
The Finance Minister chuckled and simply took a sip of his drink.
The Emperor immediately understood that his "chuckle" meant: "You're the Emperor, so I won't contradict you, but I don't actually agree."
"Why? Do you have a different opinion, Finance Minister?"
"Hehehehe."
"Speak honestly. I don't mind if my feelings are hurt a little."
"Well, it's nothing major, really..."
The Finance Minister smiled knowingly as he spoke.
"I know the Minister of Scrolls quite well. I've had several conversations with her, and I can read her immediately. In a way... she's quite similar to me."
"Hmm? Well, you do have a rather rough appearance. Perhaps you should look in a mirror more often..."
"I meant her inner nature. Namia Loapi is essentially a born, rigid bureaucrat. She loves power and achievement, but she wants to be recognized for her abilities rather than through flattery."
The Emperor could only nod in agreement.
Namia Loapi spoke little relative to her ambition for power, and while she didn't hide her abilities, she wasn't particularly ingratiating either.
"If she can't shine by her own light, she becomes helpless. She knows this about herself very well."
"Hmm..."
"So from the beginning, she would instinctively never see His Highness the Crown Prince as a man. After all, he would certainly overshadow her own brilliance. Someone of her type would be drawn to a capable subordinate instead."
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively at this.
"Come now, where would you find someone who loves power but refuses to be the wife of a powerful man?"
The Finance Minister shrugged in response.
"Isn't that exactly what happened with Aran, the Tower Master's Daughter?"
The moment the name of Aran—the very embodiment of ambition—left my lips, the Emperor's expression hardened instantly.
Only a select few knew that Aran lacked magical talent and harbored a deep complex about it.
The Tower Master had offered to arrange a powerful figure from the Magic Tower as her husband, but Aran insisted it would be meaningless if she couldn't showcase her magical abilities there.
She had run away and remained missing ever since, causing the Tower Master considerable distress, though I knew nothing of the details that followed.
"...Why is your analysis so unnecessarily thorough? And the examples are so easy to understand. Are you some kind of stalker of Namia Loapi or something?"
That was when Victor, who had stepped away earlier, returned.
The Finance Minister's adopted son wore his usual affable expression, but he was limping noticeably.
"Victor? Did you injure your foot?"
"I twisted it while lost in thought. I didn't want you to worry if I stayed away too long, so I stopped by. I'll visit the Medical Room briefly. It's not a serious injury."
The Finance Minister nodded readily. His thoughts about Namia Loapi had been triggered by Victor precisely because of this.
Three years ago, right after his adopted son had taken that position and left for a foreign assignment.
[Everything else is fine, but there's a woman I like, and I'm a bit regretful about that.]
[A woman you like? There was such a woman? Who is she and from which family? If it troubles you, why not get engaged before you go....]
[She's just a junior colleague in my department. Besides, the timing isn't right now anyway.]
Victor had laughed awkwardly, deflecting the question.
[She doesn't need me yet, after all. Even if things are miserable, she's gotten into the department she wanted....]
[Hmm?]
[I think she'll come to rely on me only when things become truly difficult. Unless she descends into actual hell, she probably won't....]
At that moment, the Finance Minister had sensed something unsettling in Victor's mild-mannered face.
[She must hate being a shadow beside someone who shines brighter than her. But I can't help but shine, can I?]
Back then, he had simply thought that young people these days made romance unnecessarily complicated and moved on.
But after encountering Namia Loapi several times, he immediately recognized that she was Victor's 'junior colleague.'
[If you marry Victor, I approve.]
That was why he had made such an abrupt statement to Namia Loapi before.
[I originally planned to bring her to the Ministry of Finance, but it seems she'll do well rolling around here too.]
And today, seeing the anxious gleam in Victor's eyes as he looked at Namia Loapi, he had become certain.
"In any case, Your Majesty. To be perfectly honest...."
After Victor left, the Finance Minister chuckled and spoke.
"Crown Prince Kiaros is far too perfect, the most radiant man in the Empire, which is precisely why he won't be attractive to Namia Loapi. But our Victor is different. He's now her capable subordinate."
"Amusing, Marquis. Are you suggesting we compete for a daughter-in-law?"
"I'd lose decisively in a competition for a son, but in a competition for a daughter-in-law, I might have a winning move."
The Finance Minister remained composed even at the Emperor's retort. Paradoxically, it was this very confidence that made the Emperor trust him.
"If my foolish son loses his mind and clings to pride rather than bowing down, spouting nonsense about the past, victory will be far away indeed."
"Hmm, well. By your logic, wouldn't the possibility of eye contact be higher with a subordinate in that department rather than with your son, the Team Leader?"
The Emperor chuckled teasingly. Of course, internally he was thinking, 'This is an emergency, a real emergency. What am I to do about this,' and was visibly flustered.
* * *
As Victor left at Crown Prince Kiaros's behest, only he and I remained on the balcony. I turned to him and spoke awkwardly.
"Well, um... I originally came out here alone to get some air. I didn't expect Your Highness to arrive so quickly... It seems the letter from the Tower Master wasn't anything urgent."
"That's not quite right."
Crown Prince Kiaros approached slowly and stood beside me.
"Nothing unusual. It's about the Gaejo Faction."
"Hm? The Gaejo Faction, all of a sudden?"
"He finally confessed everything just now. He said he's been investigating the Gaejo Faction all this time."
Wait—the Tower Master neglected the Scroll Management Department all this while for such a noble cause?
My eyes widened in disbelief as I asked.
"Why are you only telling me such a beautiful, self-sacrificing story now?"
"It's not really self-sacrifice... It turns out the Tower Master's Daughter is a key figure in the Gaejo Faction's leadership. He wanted to quietly extract her before the Imperial Family found out."
It was genuinely shocking. I clicked my tongue in exasperation.
"Good heavens... The Magic Tower's princess, who lacks nothing, why would she join the Gaejo Faction...."
"Ah, there was something she lacked."
Crown Prince Kiaros spoke matter-of-factly.
"She couldn't use magic at all."
"...What?"
Something felt off.
Father had said the Tower Master's Daughter was exceptionally skilled in magic and would inherit his position, hadn't he?
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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