Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 104

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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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Chapter 104
I had yet to reveal my identity to my lover and receive his forgiveness.
Or rather, even if forgiven, I had no wish to drag Lina into the heart of political strife.
With all eyes trained on me, there were limits to how careful I could be.
Better to cut off the possibility of trouble altogether at the source.
Now Lina was Edwin’s highest priority.
And Edwin had no intention of gambling away the most precious thing in his life for some fleeting desire.
Kyle realized that Edwin was taking this matter with deadly seriousness, and his expression hardened.
“Everett Rohas should be listed as undertaking a Secret Mission for the time being.”
Edwin spoke as though sighing the words.
He was resolved, but the lovers were burning bright—a flame not easily extinguished.
The thought of being unable to meet for an indefinite stretch, until the source of the rumors was dealt with, weighed heavily on him.
Edwin composed a letter with unusual care and had it delivered to Lina through a servant.
Then he threw himself into his work, hoping to hasten the day he could see her again.
All the while unaware of what Lina would think upon reading it.
* * *
“The knight asked me to give this to you.”
The messenger boy handed me a letter from Everett.
“Thank you.”
I habitually pressed some sweets into his hands before carefully unfolding the letter.
Far thicker than usual, it explained at tedious length how he would be occupied with a mission and unable to see me for some time.
‘Looks like he’s gotten busy again.’
With a pang of regret, I folded the letter carefully and set it aside.
Seeing the stack of letters we’d exchanged piled softly in the bottom drawer, I was suddenly struck by the memory of why I’d come to the Blue Hawk in the first place.
Reality had drifted so far from the original story that I’d forgotten entirely.
‘I need to get my head on straight. What am I doing, losing sight of that?’
I’d estimated that the timing should be around now, and my anxiety grew with each passing moment.
I should have given Everett advance warning of what might happen.
What I’d done before wasn’t enough.
Bringing the Saint had been considerable merit, but I couldn’t be certain it would be shield enough against the blade of an enraged Emperor.
I didn’t know when it would happen or who the target would be.
Without information, I should have been more cautious.
‘If only he hadn’t left yet.’
Since the messenger boy had just come and gone, Everett might still be inside the Guard Building.
‘If I hurry, I might catch him.’
I had to confirm whether Everett’s Secret Mission was “that” business or not.
I ran toward the Guard Building.
The interior of the Guard Building wouldn’t allow outsiders to roam freely, so it would be better to meet Everett as he left.
Assuming, of course, he hadn’t already departed.
Fortunately, I spotted a Royal Guard knight emerging.
“Excuse me, sir knight.”
“Were you calling me?”
The knight swung his head around to confirm no one else was nearby before responding.
“I have a favor to ask.”
I flashed him an innocent smile, taking care not to appear suspicious, and got straight to the point.
“I came looking for Lord Everett Rohas, but I’m not sure how to go about meeting him.”
“Lord Rohas?”
Fortunately, the knight seemed to know Everett.
After a moment’s hesitation, the knight tilted his head and spoke.
“Lord Rohas took on a long-term mission, so he’s been away for several months now.”
“Several months?”
We’d met just the day before yesterday.
Right here in the Imperial Palace.
Thinking I might have misheard, I pressed him further, and the knight elaborated.
“Yes, he’s not in my unit, so I don’t know the details, but I heard he went far away.”
Confusion bloomed inside me.
‘What’s going on?’
Logically, it wasn’t impossible.
Just as the Inspection Unit isn’t entirely the Blue Hawk, the Royal Guard operates similarly.
While I was on assignment in Diegis Territory, my official presence was marked as if I’d been at work—the reverse situation was equally plausible.
But the anxiety wouldn’t settle.
“Ah, thank you. No wonder I couldn’t reach him.”
I offered some vague pleasantry and turned to leave.
Then I ran—much more urgently than before.
My destination was the Ministry of Finance Building.
“Coni!”
“Lina?”
“Can you spare a moment? It’s urgent.”
Coni looked startled by my sudden appearance, but she followed me without complaint.
Normally she would have made some playful remark, but seeing how serious my expression was, she stayed quiet.
I dragged her to a quiet corner before I finally spoke.
“You know, that person I asked you about before—about Everett Rohas? Is there any way I could meet them?”
At my abrupt request, Coni seemed inclined to ask what was wrong.
But seeing how genuinely troubled I looked, she simply nodded without pressing.
“You might catch them if we go now. I’ll take you.”
Coni gave my tense, hunched shoulders a couple of gentle pats, then led the way.
“Thank you. I know you’re busy too.”
Realizing belatedly that I was asking something unreasonable, I offered my thanks, and Coni glanced back with a soft laugh.
“If you’re grateful, buy me more of those limited-edition desserts you gave me last time. They were delicious.”
“Of course!”
* * *
The informant’s true identity was Cynthia, an administrator in the Royal Guard.
Cynthia readily made time for me at Coni’s request.
We settled ourselves in a corner of the break room used by the guard administrators.
“What would you like to know?”
Cynthia’s manner was welcoming.
After thanking her several times, I carefully asked my question.
“You know Lord Everett Rohas, don’t you?”
A doubt had struck me while listening to the knight’s account.
If Everett Rohas was secretly performing another mission under the guise of an assignment, how had he been meeting me almost daily at the Imperial Palace?
‘If it’s a mission secret even from his colleagues, he shouldn’t be seen at the Imperial Palace at all.’
The seed of suspicion grew, fed by imagination.
‘Or maybe it’s acceptable for him to be seen moving about?’
What if the Everett Rohas I knew wasn’t actually Everett Rohas?
It was an absurd thought, admittedly.
We mostly met just the two of us, but there had been times we encountered each other with Kyle or others present.
Recently, he’d even attended Ibeta’s official schedule alongside me.
Impersonating a Royal Guard knight would never be permitted.
Yet the suspicion, once planted, refused to settle.
I had ultimately sought out a third party who knew Everett Rohas to dispel this doubt.
‘I’m not doubting Edwin—I’m just confirming.’
Even as I feigned composure, I was intensely anxious.
My heart raced.
As if my instinct were telling me I was right.
I found myself waiting for Cynthia to open her mouth.
“I don’t have a personal relationship with him, but since he’s a coworker, yes, I know him.”
Fortunately, my bluff seemed to work; Cynthia answered as if it were nothing remarkable.
“Is the Everett Rohas you know the one with hair as dark as the night sky and eyes like molten gold? Extremely handsome, too.”
I asked this time as well, hoping to appear casual.
“Well, I can’t speak to the night-sky darkness or the molten-gold part, but he does have black hair and golden-tinted eyes. He is handsome, but…….”
Cynthia gave me a series of vaguely affirmative answers to my string of questions.
It wasn’t enough to lay the suspicion to rest.
‘Verbal descriptions are too subjective.’
It would have been ideal to bring him here and show his face.
But if I could do that, I wouldn’t be doing this now.
Fortunately, an alternative occurred to me.
“Cynthia, could I borrow some paper and a pen?”
I picked up the pen, hoping my artistic skills hadn’t atrophied too badly.
Then I clumsily sketched Everett’s face on the back of a discarded sheet.
Though I lacked the talent to capture his beauty with any precision, it was recognizable enough for anyone who knew him.
“So he looks like this?”
When I showed her the finished sketch, Cynthia gasped in admiration.
“Wow, you draw well, Lina! Yes, that’s him!”
At last, I could breathe again.

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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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