Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 102
While Kyle and I were talking, Ibeta remained quiet.
‘She’s nervous, I suppose.’
Looking closer, I could see Ibeta mumbling what seemed to be a Prayer in the softest whisper, her fingers twitching slightly.
It looked like she was running a simulation of using Holy Power.
I sent her encouragement silently, so as not to break her concentration.
‘You’ll do wonderfully.’
Though my true thought was more along the lines of ‘You already look like a Saint without even trying.’
So this appearance wouldn’t entangle her with the Temple, Ibeta had chosen a simple white dress rather than Priest’s robes.
Each time Ibeta’s fingers wiggled, an aura so auspicious filled the carriage that even I—who possessed not a shred of Holy Power beyond a mouse’s claw—could feel it, and Kyle’s weary face began to show flickers of vitality.
It was enough to bring color back to the face of someone exhausted by overwork.
‘At this rate, actual practice would be good for both of them, wouldn’t it?’
“Ibeta.”
“Yes? Minos?”
Since she was in the middle of reciting her Prayer, her voice came out somewhat distracted.
“I’m not a divine revelation from the heavens, after all.”
When I joked, Ibeta laughed along with me.
Her smile was clear and bright—the smile of someone eating well, sleeping well, and resting properly.
“You’re practicing how to use Holy Power right now, aren’t you?”
Ibeta flinched, as if she hadn’t wanted to show she was practicing even inside the carriage.
But then she quickly admitted it honestly.
“Yes, I’m a bit nervous.”
“Well, as it happens, there’s a very good practice partner right over there.”
I made a little “ta-da” sound with my mouth and pointed toward Kyle.
“You mean him?”
Kyle, weighed down by chronic fatigue, took a moment to understand what I was saying.
When she saw a person who desperately needed Holy Power, Ibeta gave me a thumbs-up that only I could see.
“May I try using Holy Power on the Count?”
Ibeta asked for permission politely first.
“It would be an honor.”
Kyle’s dull eyes suddenly sparkled with anticipation.
“Then let me give it a try!”
With her mind prepared, Ibeta closed her eyes, recited her Prayer, and cast Healing.
Whether it was the effect of practice or not, the gap between the Prayer and the casting of Healing had narrowed to the point where they were nearly simultaneous now.
“How was it?”
Ibeta asked Kyle for his feedback, looking pleased with herself.
“Well, it seems a bit better than before, but I’d need to receive it a few more times to know for sure.”
Kyle, looking noticeably less tired than before, drew out his words and continued to request her Holy Power.
“Again?”
Lucy and I had been her practice partners so often that her effects barely registered on us anymore.
But Kyle, weighed down by fatigue, showed clearly visible results from the Healing.
Ibeta was thrilled to have found a new practice partner who appeared at just the right moment.
“Yes, again.”
Kyle, eager to shake off his chronic fatigue, was equally excited.
Their interests aligned perfectly.
Ibeta practiced various versions of her Prayer and continued casting Holy Power on Kyle.
After casting it some twenty times in succession, Kyle’s face began to glow.
“It feels like I’ve eaten sweets to my heart’s content and had a deep, satisfying sleep.”
Kyle gave his feedback with the expression of a contented cat.
“Would I be able to visit the Separate Palace often? I’d like to check in on the children there as well.”
Kyle’s transparent eagerness showed on his face as he made his request to Ibeta.
“Of course, come whenever you like!”
Ibeta, who had come to like Kyle for looking after the children at the Relief Institution so well, accepted readily.
Kyle offered in return to teach Ibeta the essentials of using Holy Power.
Magic and Holy Power were fundamentally similar forces in nature.
Although the Temple wouldn’t acknowledge it, the Mana spread throughout nature was the power of Minos, and among mages it was conventional wisdom that Priests were a type of specialist in the purification and Healing schools—essentially magical practitioners.
It was perfectly possible for Kyle, a mage, to teach Ibeta, a Saint, how to wield Holy Power.
“The Saint isn’t consciously controlling the output of her Holy Power. Rather, she can only emit that level of Holy Power in the first place, correct?”
“How did you know that?”
Ibeta widened her eyes as if she’d just seen a fortune-teller with genuine sight, and nodded.
“It’s common even among young mages with great potential. They don’t understand how to control their power, but because they possess such strength, it overflows uncontrolled. On the surface it may resemble lower-tier magic, but the principle is different.”
Kyle went on to offer a demonstration, showing how he could manipulate Mana.
Though he was a Spirit Mage, he was capable to some degree with other schools, and an Illusion of snow falling from the carriage ceiling materialized.
“Wow.”
Once Ibeta showed interest, what followed was a full-fledged intensive practical lesson.
I, lacking both Holy Power and Mana, largely let it pass over my head.
Before I knew it, we were approaching the Urban District.
“We should switch to the Parade Carriage now.”
At Kyle’s words, Ibeta transferred to the Parade Carriage that had been prepared.
After confirming that the escort troops enveloped Ibeta’s carriage without a gap, Kyle fell briefly into thought.
“Holy Power really is something wonderful.”
He made a cryptic remark, then smiled gently.
“Since I need to keep watch over the Saint, I’ll proceed on horseback from here.”
It meant I would be alone in this carriage from now on.
“I’m anxious about leaving Lina alone, so I’ll send a knight to accompany you.”
Kyle stepped down, speaking kindly.
‘I hope it’s Everett.’
I was hoping that knight would be Everett Rohas.
Kyle gave an order to a nearby knight, and soon a knight in Royal Guard Uniform approached the carriage on horseback from behind.
Fortunately, it was Everett.
The densely packed knights around us glanced at Everett briefly as he cut through their ranks, but then quickly lost interest.
As if Everett had become a person of barely any presence.
Yet to me, it seemed as though Everett alone was tinged with color.
Seeing him in the Royal Guard Uniform for the first time in a while, I realized that the reason I’d joined this schedule today was precisely for this moment.
Kyle took Everett’s reins and whispered something to him before heading toward Ibeta’s side.
After Everett boarded the carriage, the procession began moving again.
As we entered the Urban District, the streets on both sides were packed with people.
Their faces shone with anticipation and excitement—they wanted to see the Saint who had appeared for the first time in hundreds of years.
The knights escorting Ibeta naturally grew more tense.
While all eyes were fixed on Ibeta, I carefully approached Everett.
“I thought I wouldn’t see you until we returned.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
Everett laughed wryly and moved to sit beside me.
The carriage ceiling was low, so as he ducked to move, the Necklace I’d tucked inside my clothes slipped out.
Everett smoothly tucked it back inside for me.
Since Everett rarely wore accessories, even such a simple gesture drew my attention.
“Count Simour seems to be in a better mood.”
Everett murmured as if thinking out loud.
“Is it because of the Saint?”
“The Saint?”
Everett sat very close beside me, as if he wanted to hear even trivial details.
“The Saint…”
But my explanation didn’t continue for long.
As Ibeta’s carriage came into view, a roar so thunderous it seemed to split eardrums erupted.
My voice was completely drowned out by the cheering.
Everett and I looked out through the carriage window.
“Saint, please look this way!”
“Please bless our child so they can grow up healthy and strong.”
Faced with voices pouring from all directions, Ibeta seemed momentarily daunted, but soon she broke into a radiant smile and began waving her hand.
‘Ibeta was made for the stage.’
The crowd’s cheers grew even louder.
As Ibeta passed, people stretched their hands over the temporary Iron Barricades set up along her path.
Among them was the tiny hand of a three- or four-year-old child held by their mother.
Ibeta’s gaze fell upon the child.
When the child grinned, Ibeta smiled back and cast a Blessing upon the child’s future.
In the manner Kyle had briefly taught her inside the carriage.
It seemed the Healing and Blessing I had received until now were only pale imitations.
Light burst forth as brilliantly as when Ibeta first awakened.
For a moment, the entire Urban District was bathed in golden radiance.
In the space where countless people had been murmuring, a sudden silence fell.
Once the situation was understood, the silence was quickly filled by screams of acclamation.
The people who had witnessed the miracle were in a state of utter excitement.
“Ibeta!”
As the light slowly faded, Ibeta collapsed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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