The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success

“Waaahhh!”
“What the hell! What is that?!”

BOOM!
With the explosive blast, the priests were the first to bolt out of the building. Through the narrow crack of the shed door, I could catch glimpses of the chaos outside.
They looked like they’d been peacefully asleep before being shocked awake. At the same time, knights and attendants who were on patrol came running.

“What happened?”
“What’s going on here?”
A moment later, civil servants from neighboring departments who were on duty rushed over too.

“We heard an explosion from this area!”
Now that this many people had gathered, there was no way they could just gloss over the accident.
By tomorrow morning, a report would be filed. Even if they judged it to be a minor incident with no casualties, the Construction Department would inevitably begin a full-scale safety inspection of the entire chapel.

But then—
The wall of the priests’ residence, which had already partially collapsed, suddenly gave out again.
“Waaahh!”

“It’s collapsing again!”
Kibon, still pressed up against me, let out a quiet groan and rubbed his forehead. Then he whispered under his breath:
“I’m sorry…”

We were so close, his breath tickled my ear.
But more importantly—Kibon just said ‘sorry’?
Kibon was the kind of guy who, no matter what, never said those words.

Even if he did something wrong, he’d usually go with something like “Pardon me” as a formality—but “I’m sorry”? Never.
Yet here he was, whispering it now. I shook my head in stunned disbelief.
“Why are you apologizing? His Highness the Crown Prince must’ve given you a bomb that was way too powerful!”
When I shook my head, my forehead rubbed against his chest. He flinched and closed his eyes tightly, holding his breath. Outside, chaos had fully broken out.

“Wait, is anyone inside?”
“No, everyone’s already out!”
Just then, the ground shook again with a loud boom, and the storage shed we were hiding in collapsed with a crack.

“Hey, even the shed’s falling apart!”
This wasn’t part of the plan!
Why the hell was the shed collapsing?!

“Luckily, it was stuffed full of farm tools, so there shouldn’t be anyone inside.”
“Right? I mean, who would go in there at this hour?”
Kibon and I were frozen in place, unable to even scream from shock, still tightly pressed together.

The shed had collapsed—but fortunately, the pile of garden tools had fallen in a way that created a small pocket of space around us.
And in that split second—Kibon had ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) thrown himself beneath me, shielding me completely. I wasn’t hurt at all.
From that position, we heard footsteps approaching the shed.

“Ugh, guess we’ll have to rebuild this one.”
“The Construction Department doesn’t even inspect this area, right? Maybe it was already about to fall.”
Kibon and I stiffened, exchanging awkward glances.

And… the distance between us was way too close.
He was lying flat on his back, arms around me, and I was sprawled right across his chest.
It was… an incredibly weird position. But there was no room to move.

“…I’m sorry…”
Kibon whispered again, his expression tortured. My eyes widened as I quickly denied it.
“Why are you apologizing? I told you—it’s all the Crown Prince’s fault!”

“I know, but… still. I’m really sorry…”
Having all these people gathered wasn’t the issue—it was the few curious ones snooping around the shed that was the problem.
If they saw us like this... there would be no saving our reputations.

Maybe we should’ve just run out earlier... no, wait—even then it would’ve been hopeless…
In the end, staying put was the best option.
Every time footsteps crunched nearby, my heart pounded in my chest.
And so did Kibon’s.
We were so close, I could feel his heartbeat thudding against mine—we were both wound tight with tension.
When our eyes met in the dark, my ears started burning.

“Should we do something about this?”
“The shed’s worse off than the chapel itself.”
A couple of people kept loitering outside, tossing out comments.

We were frozen in place, not daring to move. Our breath mingled in the cramped space. Then—
“Ahhh!”
“Oh no!”

The shed wall collapsed again, sending garden tools crashing down noisily. I almost screamed but managed to hold it in.
“Yikes, if we touch anything else it might all come down.”
“Let’s not wake the whole palace—just leave it for now.”

“Let’s deal with it in the morning.”
By sheer luck, the newly collapsed pile of tools convinced them to back off. They rejoined the others who were inspecting the chapel.
“Oh, here’s some bomb debris.”

“Must’ve rolled over here before it exploded.”
They must’ve found the remains of the device Kibon had set.
“But why is the bomb here?”

“Looks like it came from the Imperial Knights. Didn’t the Crown Prince send out a bulletin about bombs earlier?”
“Huh? What bulletin?”
“They were collecting duds today for disposal, but some birds flew off with a few. The memo said to inspect buildings and be careful of accidents.”

“Ohhh, right! That’s why some attendants came to our department earlier for a safety check!”
As expected, Kiaros had handled everything perfectly.
He had already laid the groundwork in case anyone questioned the source of the bomb.

He really was meticulous and thorough.
“The chapel must’ve slipped through because it doesn’t have an assigned official.”
“We need to assign one. But not our department—it’s too far.”

“Same here, we’re swamped. Just give it to Construction. It’s their job anyway.”
Even the way the civil servants scrambled to shift the responsibility onto another department—that was a perfect ending.
In the midst of the hubbub, the High Priest’s voice rang out.

“There doesn’t appear to be any major damage. You may all return.”
Then everyone started chiming in again.
“But can you really stay here? You should relocate to another room in the palace until the inspections are complete.”

“Yes, that sounds best. Please come with us.”
It was the most reasonable suggestion anyone could make.
And at the same time… it was the sound of their entire plan crumbling—the one where they’d planned to bring Kiaros to the chapel and then collapse it on him.

The High Priest let out a long sigh.
“Haa…”
Insisting on staying under these circumstances would only make him look suspicious.

In the end, the High Priest and the other clergy reluctantly followed the attendants and left the area.
The sound of their retreating footsteps gradually faded.
I whispered to Kibon,

“Even now… we should probably stay still a little longer.”
There were still garden tools stacked all around us, and I was terrified that moving might trigger another collapse.
And just as I thought that—crash!
A new pile of tools came tumbling down.
From afar, someone clicked their tongue.

“Ugh, what a mess.”
“That shed’s beyond saving. We should just rebuild it somewhere else.”
It really was a disaster.

Still, I was relieved they didn’t come back again. As I let out a long sigh of relief, Kibon whispered lowly:
“Please… just… stay still…”
“Huh? I am staying still.”

“D-Don’t squirm… I’m… having a hard time…”
“Is your position uncomfortable? Then just for a second—”
But the moment I shifted—CRASHHH!
The wall collapsed this time.
Startled, I pressed myself flat against him again and whispered quickly.

“Y-Yeah, let’s just stay still.”
“…Ah…”
Kibon shut his eyes tightly and let out a pained breath.

Even though everyone else was gone, our hearts kept pounding like drums.
Mine… and his too.
If anything, now that the surroundings were silent, I could hear everything more clearly—

The rustling of our clothes. Our mingled breathing.
And the way neither of us could calm down.