Civil Servant in Romance Fantasy - Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Let’s Go to Prison (2)

I've been summoned by the Crown Prince twice this semester alone. Was there any other civil servant like me in the world?

The Crown Prince kindly sent a teleportation magician to make my journey comfortable again. As expected of His Highness. He was always thoughtfully sparing his officials any inconvenience. Truly, he was a sage ruler.

I sincerely wish that even a fraction of this consideration would be applied when he would be deciding my punishments.

"His Highness the Crown Prince awaits your presence."

The knight guarding the Crown Prince's palace said. His tone was strict and serious as usual, but I caught the fleeting emotion on his face.

His expression seemed to ask, ‘What the hell did you do to be summoned again?’ Of course, it could just be my paranoia, but the confusion was definitely there.

I understand. For most civil servants who weren't at the level of ministers, the Crown Prince was just like a neighbor whom they saw once a year, if they did at all.

'I'm going to lose my mind.'

In my paranoid state, every glance felt scorching. It seemed like every passing servant, maid, and guard was laughing at me, saying, ‘There goes the future leader of the Red Wave. How ridiculous!’

It felt disorienting that I wished I could just bang my head against a wall and pass out.

"You’ve arrived."

"Yes."

And so, I finally reached the Crown Prince's office.

I felt even more bitter at the way the guard greeted me without asking what my business was as soon as he saw me. I guess my frequent summons were no longer surprising. for new novels

Knock knock—

"Your Highness, the Executive Manager is here."

"Let him in."

Was it just my imagination, or did the Crown Prince's voice seem unusually tired?

The guard nodded to me and stepped back, making way for me once the prince gave his permission.

The last time I was here, I ended up being put on probation.

What would it be this time? It’s making me really curious...

***

Silence filled the office. The Crown Prince, who was busy with paperwork, only instructed me to sit and continued sifting through the documents.

He didn’t become angry, nor did he show his usual mocking smile. He simply kept working silently.

'That’s even scarier.'

I’d rather that he just cursed out loud so I could brace myself for the worst. This unexpected silence made me wonder what he was gathering his energy for.

I even considered proactively kneeling first just to break the tension.

"I've kept you waiting."

As I was about to stand up, the Crown Prince looked up at me.

"Not at all, Your Highness. I understand that you are very busy; how could I say otherwise?"

Words I wouldn’t normally say came out. My groveling might seem disgraceful to onlookers, but I had no choice.

It was a matter of imprisonment, after all. In this situation, even groveling to the prince for disturbing him during his busy moments wasn’t enough. I’d have to apologize even if the prince punched me, saying, 'Sorry for being in your way!'

"Your devotion is really outstanding, Executive Manager. It's even more admirable because it's shown through actions and not just words."

= Did you really have to cause more trouble despite knowing that I’m busy?

I quietly lowered my gaze at the Crown Prince's subtle anger. I mean, did he expect me to reply to the leader of the Red Wave with something like 'Yeah, I’m a republican'?

Seeing me like that, the Crown Prince leaned back in his seat and sighed.

"The Red Wave consists of rebels who seek to overthrow heaven’s mandate. His Majesty is also pleased with their eradication."

"I am honored."

They were nice words, but that was exactly the reason why they made me tense up. Kind words at the start usually meant that bad news would follow.

"But along the way, there were some puzzling things that happened," he added.

Just like now.

The situation itself was minor. As I had mentioned before, the other officers were captured. And considering the merit of subduing the Red Wave, killing the leader was not a big deal. It wasn’t as if he was released intentionally.

The only reason why he was given disciplinary action was because he executed a prisoner without authorization. And that could have been resolved with just a report—

'But there’s a buildup.'

The case itself warranted just a report. However, the Executive Manager had written too many reports already, and this new one was the final piece that led to his imprisonment.

It was inevitable. As long as a report was the minimum disciplinary action, imprisonment couldn't be avoided. Besides, excusing even the writing of a report would give the impression that the empire took the killing of prisoners lightly.

"Your Highness, what about the academy during these five days—?"

"What can we do about it? We’ll have to trust and leave it to the principal."

Seeing the Executive Manager’s trembling eyes nearly me laugh again. I also found it uncomfortable to send the Executive Manager out of the academy.

That was why I previously allowed him to stay at the academy while he was on probation. However, imprisonment allowed no such leniency.

"Civil servants who have sinned should be confined underground for self-reflection."

The system established by the previous emperor was hard to tamper with. This was especially true regarding the laws about imprisonment, which were laid down by the first emperor, Amanca the Great.

He specifically decreed confinement 'underground,' making alternatives like 'academy imprisonment' unfeasible.

'There’s no way around it.'

Unless we moved the capital to the academy or created an underground prison underneath the academy, which would be absurd, there was no alternative.

The only solution was to put the Executive Manager in jail.

"Still, don’t worry too much. I know that the Executive Manager’s crime is minor."

That was why I had specially arranged for him to be in the largest single cell.

I even ordered an upgrade of the furniture to ensure his comfort.

Of course, my attempts at consolation didn’t improve the Executive Manager’s expression.

In the first place, why did you have to kill a prisoner and cause this mess?

***

Flashbacks raced through my mind.

“How did you manage to get imprisoned? I thought you needed to write about forty reports.”

That was my genuine reaction when the Minister was imprisoned in the past.

This was definitely my accumulated karma.

'I’m going mad.'

No matter how much karma there was, facing it head-on made acceptance difficult. And so, I tried to argue as much as possible.

"Your Highness, isn’t imprisonment too harsh?"

"The punishment for this incident should’ve been a report."

But his retort that I was the one who piled up all those reports left me speechless.

Right. I brought this on myself...

'What now?'

Now that my imprisonment was certain, the concerns I tried to avoid came flooding in.

The academy, which would be left without me for five days? The managers, who’d be dying of laughter upon hearing the news? Or the Minister, who would be coming to gloat over my downfall?

There was something more serious than all that.

“Carl. No matter what happens, I’m on your side.”

I was more worried about the moment when Marghetta heard about my imprisonment.

'Shit.'

The thought of her tearful face filled me with guilt.

I think I’m going crazy. What the fuck should I /genesisforsaken