The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 58

Since I became Minister, honestly, a lot of things have happened.

First off, Juan got fired for embezzlement. And Baron Roafi and his wife were chased out of the capital due to debt.

Kiaros had sent me a letter about it.

We’re investigating Cedric Roafi.

We’ve secured testimony from the Baron and his wife, but the organization they named is a ghost group.

Please wait a little longer.

Even while holed up during his blackout period, he was apparently working hard on the investigation.

After all, he had even accurately identified my father’s name.

Since he’s someone who handles things thoroughly, I figured I could trust him and wait.

And then, the Baron’s house ended up becoming mine instead of a boarding room.

I hadn’t expected it, but apparently there had been a notarized contract between my dad and Baron Roafi.

After jumping through all the legal hoops, the Baron’s house officially became mine.

Still, that house had been so chaotic for years with all the relatives crammed in...

Now, almost laughably, I was the only one left living there.

And so...

It’s amazing.

I moved my things from the attic room I used to stay in to the biggest, nicest room and smiled to myself in satisfaction.

Seriously amazing.

Howard Olten was dealt with too—he’d been sent off to the provinces.

I later heard Kibon had given some kind of testimony.

“His Highness the Crown Prince, who is both meticulous and kind, issued the order himself for ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the sake of the Minister, so I went and testified.”

That’s what Kibon said, and I flinched as I responded.

“Good lord, he even knew that man grabbed me in front of the court? That’s... really creepy.”

“...Excuse me?”

“I heard he ran a background check on me. I guess it was that thorough...”

“Th-that’s...”

Watching Kibon grow flustered, I spoke in a thrilled, almost reverent tone.

“His Highness is truly competent. Don’t you think?”

“...What?”

“He’s doing such a great job. I hope he keeps going—thoroughly, investigating everything.”

Honestly, I had been acting suspicious. After all, I went from playing dead to suddenly cozying up to the Empress.

If Kiaros could even detect that level of suspicion, then surely he was prying into things with just as much attention to detail!

“Totally worth saving his life. I’m so proud.”

“Are you saying you're proud to be under surveillance?”

“Being cautious is a good trait—especially for someone with so much to lose.” freewёbnoνel.com

I really didn’t mind being monitored. I had nothing to hide.

Kibon just looked more and more confused.

But for me, facing Kiaros’s thoroughness felt oddly satisfying.

Sure, knowing the future is a little suspicious. But it’s not like I did something shady and then magically remembered the plot, right?

I muttered to myself, eyes fierce:

“I hope he suspects and watches me even more closely...”

Kibon twitched a little but didn’t say anything. Instead, he focused on the task I’d given him.

Which made sense—because I had given him a lot to do.

He’s definitely looking paler these days...

His face was drawn and practically shouted, “I’m overworked.”

I did feel a little bad. But it couldn’t be helped.

This is the Scroll Department’s first proper launch. It’s the first time we’re operating directly under the Imperial Family.

That meant we had to secure our first round of funding from the Finance Ministry. Which, in turn, meant working overtime for several days.

Still, we worked well together.

For example...

“Kibon, the documents.”

This morning, when the weary-looking Finance Minister visited again, Kibon silently passed me the prepared documents.

The Finance Minister sighed and sat across from me.

“I suppose you’ve seen the outcome with your twin brother. With just the embezzlement alone, there was no saving him. I heard you cut ties. Is that true?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And... that damn Juan didn’t even know what was in the reports he submitted. Were you the one who wrote them for him?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Without learning a thing from the Finance staff?”

“Whenever he didn’t know something, I told him to get a higher-level document from the Finance Ministry. I used that as a reference to write it.”

“Haah...”

The Minister’s expression grew more complicated.

That someone from another department had essentially been doing Finance’s work... he looked troubled.

He sighed heavily and muttered.

“Do you know what I’m going to ask of you?”

I nodded silently.

The Minister wiped his face a few times and spoke low.

“Then... I’m asking.”

“Understood.”

“Aren’t you going to confirm what I’m asking?”

“That you don’t want me to talk about the document leaks, correct?”

Of course the Finance Minister would bring that up.

Juan was already fired for embezzlement.

And technically, only the person who leaked the documents was at fault. The person who wrote them as a favor wasn’t punished.

Meaning: there was nothing to be gained from mentioning it now.

“Ahem, ahem. Personally, I acknowledge your skills. But...”

“I understand.”

I replied gently.

“The Finance Ministry is currently launching a major project. If word got out that there was a security breach from the start, not only would there be pushback from other departments, but a full audit would follow.”

“Exactly. I don’t have time for unnecessary power struggles with the other ministries. I may be a stickler for rules but...”

“Ahem. Ahem.”

“...Okay, fine. I’m a results guy, alright?”

I’d already figured that out. The Minister, a bit embarrassed, continued.

“The reports you’ve written up to now were excellent.”

“Thank you.”

“I agonized over it for days. But I figured this was the best place to bury the whole thing. Honestly, the leak ended up benefiting the Finance Ministry anyway.”

“I see.”

“Thanks for doing this. Now then—”

“...”

“—Wait, you’re not done?”

I didn’t answer. I glanced at Kibon.

Kibon quickly placed a report on the table.

“What’s this?”

“We’d like to start a project of our own.”

Every department needed results to gain recognition.

To achieve results, we needed projects.

And to do projects, we needed a budget.

“...The Scroll Department? A project??”

Back when we were the Scroll Management Department, we never did a single project.

So it made sense that the Minister was shocked.

“We used to receive funding from the Magic Tower. But now that we’re under the Imperial Household, we’ll need the Finance Ministry to reallocate that budget.”

I spoke politely. What I really meant was: set a very generous starting budget for us.

The Minister glared at the report, then picked up a quill and scribbled down a number.

“Hmph. Let’s go with this much.”

“...”

I stared at the number, then nodded to Kibon.

He handed over another report.

The Finance Minister read through the added report and slowly adjusted the number.

“1.2 times. That should be enough, right?”

“...”

I said nothing. Kibon placed another report on the table.

The Minister quickly skimmed through it and corrected the number again.

“Twice. That’s final. Just say, ‘Yes, sir’ already.”

“...”

Still silent, I nodded to Kibon again. Another report hit the table.

The Minister furrowed his brow.

“How many projects are you trying to run? The budget isn’t unlimited!”

“Yes, but.”

I answered calmly.

“If I were to let it slip that there were security issues in the Finance Ministry... that’d mean additional costs for audits, wouldn’t it?”

The Minister clicked his tongue.

Beside me, Kibon quietly lifted another stack of reports.

And silently mouthed something.

When the Minister saw what Kibon was saying, he leapt to his feet.

“Seven times!? Are you insane!?”

“...”

Kibon gently placed another report on the desk.

The unspoken message: Are we really going to keep wasting time like this?