The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 91

Of course, there were scrolls in green boxes in both Warehouse 113 and Warehouse 241. Those scrolls had already been repositioned so that even if they were used at the banquet, no accidents would occur.

‘But those scrolls had marks only I could recognize.’

When the projection of Kairo disappeared, the original scroll should have required five hand waves, but the scroll from Warehouse 113 required only four, and the one from Warehouse 241 required six.

‘That way, I could tell not only whether the scrolls were swapped, but also which group was behind it.’

If I had divided them into more groups, I could have checked more thoroughly, but due to time constraints, splitting them into two was the best I could do.

‘There’s no way anyone could have swapped all of them alone. They obviously needed cooperation from the Education Ministry staff moving the scrolls...’

In other words, if there was a mole in the Scroll Department feeding information, the Education Ministry would act on it.

I took a deep breath to calm my heart.

I had set this trap expecting there to be a mole, but seeing the results with my own eyes still made my heart drop.

‘Did I go through more stress than I realized because of this? My stomach’s been queasy all day.’

My nausea, which had started yesterday, grew worse. I forced it down and leaned in to whisper into Kiaros’s ear.

“Your Highness.”

If Kiaros had already become suspicious of me earlier, then it was better to throw out a half-baked excuse now than nothing at all.

“I was looking at Prince Jaden because he’s cute. I wasn’t paying attention to his special abilities or anything like that.”

Even though I knew he found it suspicious, I had no choice but to lie. I couldn’t exactly tell him I knew the future.

But I could report someone even more suspicious.

“I was checking the result of the trap I mentioned last time...”

I tried to steady my pounding heart.

At the very end, when the projection of Kairo vanished, he had only waved four times.

No matter how long I waited, no matter how desperately I hoped—he waved just four times and disappeared.

Honestly... I had hoped he would wave five times.

I had hoped that no one had swapped the scrolls, that there were no more traitors in the department.

“I’ve identified the mole in the Scroll Department. The person who tried to ruin this banquet and take me down.”

Kiaros’s expression turned serious as well. After all, this plan was something we had secretly devised together beforehand.

[“Are you going to the banquet at Saint Cairo?”]

[“Not sure. I wasn’t planning to.”]

[“I’d really like you to attend.”]

I glanced toward the Education Minister. Our eyes locked instantly. He looked panicked, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Well, he had swapped the scrolls, and the event still ended safely. It must have been hard to wrap his head around.

Kiaros, too, wore a chilling expression as he looked at him.

“Namia, your predictions... they were all correct.”

From this point, I would need Kiaros’s authority to corner him completely.

I couldn’t just say, ‘I’ll handle everything—just go beat them up for me,’ so I had asked him to come to the banquet and witness the situation in person.

Though I hadn’t expected him to ask me to be his partner... In hindsight, it made communication easier with him right next to me.

“Anyway, which group does the mole belong to?”

Kiaros only knew that I had split the Scroll Department staff into two groups and given them different scrolls. So I had to give him the list now.

I whispered, doing my best to keep a neutral tone.

“Victor Arwin. Anastasia Kayen.”

“Team leader level, huh.”

“And...”

“Hmm? There’s another?”

“...Ah...”

Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat.

I’d been keeping calm until now, but my fingertips started trembling. Speaking this name was harder than the two before.

My throat tightened, and tears welled up in my eyes. I had to take several deep breaths before I could barely—really barely—push the emotion down.

Inside, I kept whispering to myself, ‘No way. It can’t be him.’ But still, I couldn’t leave him out.

“It’s...”

I had told the team leaders inside the minister’s office, and the other employees outside.

Because the office wasn’t soundproof, I secretly used a soundproofing scroll. If anything leaked and the staff outside heard, the entire plan would have been scrapped.

And that meant...

“...Kibon Altess. My assistant who was in the minister’s office.”

As much as I didn’t want to believe it, the mole had to be one of those three.

***

“Where are you going, Minister?”

“Ah, I have a headache.”

The Education Minister quickly turned around.

“I’ll be going ahead. Enjoy the banquet.”

His head genuinely ached. When his eyes met Namia’s chilling blue gaze, a primal fear swept over him.

That woman—she knew everything. She had set this trap on purpose.

The day before the event, he had received a note from the Reformist faction.

The scrolls for office use are stored in green boxes in Warehouse 113.

Replace them with the event scrolls in blue boxes.

The event is tomorrow, and the quantity is too much to swap secretly alone.

Luckily, Education Ministry staff will be moving the scroll boxes. Have them switch them just before the event.

The Scroll Department doesn’t have enough staff to monitor the Education Ministry.

Then, when Kairo’s final projection hits the chandelier, it’ll set the banquet hall on fire.

This instruction had been based on intel leaked by a mole within the Scroll Department.

The Education Minister gave orders to seven fifth-year civil servants.

[“I just received word from the Scroll Department Minister. Apparently, the scrolls were incorrect. The scrolls in the green box from Warehouse 113 are for the banquet. Go swap them immediately. Leave the boxes unchanged. She said she doesn’t want Her Majesty the Empress or His Highness the Prince to find out about the mistake.”]

The Education Ministry employees nodded along, thinking, ‘Typical Scroll Department incompetence.’

[“Still, keep your pride as Education Ministry staff. Don’t even talk to the Scroll Department people. I’m sorry for having you dragged into this event, but I promise it won’t happen again. I even brought energy drinks for everyone—have one each.”]

He had personally watched them swap the scrolls in Warehouse 113. But the outcome...

The sight of Namia whispering to Kiaros chilled him to the bone.

‘I need to disappear, now.’

As he hurriedly fled the banquet hall—

“Please stop for a moment.”

Just as he reached the rear gate of the palace, someone «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» blocked his path as if they had been waiting.

A brown-haired young man stood there, surrounded by unknown knights. The Education Minister instantly recognized that this wasn’t just some random civil servant.

“Who are you? Out of my way!”

“I’m Luka Class, rival to Namia Roafi, Minister of the Scroll Department.”

“What?”

The young man, with a face that looked both simpleminded and oddly resolute, lifted his chin.

“We conducted drug tests on the seven Education Ministry employees who assisted with the scroll event earlier. Every single one tested positive for paralysis agents.”

The Education Minister’s heart dropped with a thud.

He had, in fact, laced the energy drinks with paralysis agents.

Because there was too high a chance that they would testify—‘The Education Minister ordered us to swap the scrolls.’

Originally, they were all supposed to die in the ensuing fire and chaos anyway...