Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 110

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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 110
“Just one minute, please. I promise—just one question.”
The man claiming to be a journalist had a wild look in his eyes.
Honestly, it frightened me.
Part of my fear came from never having navigated high society before, and the sight of a Tabloid Press gossip columnist was entirely foreign to me.
He appeared to be built for undercover reporting—small-framed, clothes shabby—and as he ran toward me with desperate slowness, he looked like a zombie or ghoul.
I backed away, my voice rising.
“Don’t come near me!”
I regretted not bringing the Sacred Object I’d purchased at the Temple with Coni ages ago, even though its spiritual power amounted to barely a hamster’s claw.
As I shouted at the journalist, guards emerged from somewhere and seized him before he could reach me.
“Hey! Let go!”
The journalist, now pinned face-down on the ground with his arm bent, screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Be quiet.”
When he saw that the guard subduing him was nearly two meters tall with a menacing expression, his mouth snapped shut.
Once the journalist quieted, the massive guard hauled him upright effortlessly.
“What business do you have approaching this person?”
He met the journalist’s eyes as he spoke.
The guard’s low voice carried an unmistakable threat.
The journalist avoided his gaze, making excuses.
“I was only trying to ask one question. Surely that’s not a crime—asking a passerby for directions…”
As his excuses dragged on, the massive guard’s expression grew colder by degrees.
The journalist’s initially confident voice dwindled with each word.
Meanwhile, the female guard who’d appeared with the first approached me.
She smiled gently, as if to reassure me.
“Are you alright? You look quite startled.”
She gave quick gestures toward the massive guard still holding the journalist.
As though she realized I was frightened not only by the journalist but by the guard as well.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for your help.”
I was wondering whether I’d unconsciously activated my Teleportation Artifact in my panic.
The shift-change guards wouldn’t be off duty for hours yet, and this street lay at an awkwardly distant point from the Imperial Palace.
My heart still raced, and my bewildered expression betrayed my state plainly.
I looked back and forth between them.
The female guard smiled gently again.
“We’re Helen and Morgan, both of the Imperial Guard. We were on our way out on assignment when this peculiar fellow seemed to attach himself to you. We thought we’d better check.”
At Helen’s words, Morgan—who’d been deliberately avoiding my eyes—nodded once, as though confirming her account.
‘What thoughtful people, helping despite being busy.’
I bowed again in gratitude.
“Thank you so much.”
“We were simply doing what needed to be done.”
Morgan accepted my thanks with blunt indifference.
“We’ll be handing this man over to the Security Force.”
As Helen spoke, Morgan hoisted the journalist onto his shoulder.
The journalist thrashed about even as his stomach was crushed against Morgan’s shoulder, gasping for air.
“What do you mean turning over a journalist who only wanted an interview to the Security Force?”
“You don’t look willing to be interviewed.”
Helen cut him off with finality.
The journalist struggled a moment longer before his eyes fell upon the Recording Magical Device in his hand.
“You two—this is all being recorded!”
He shouted this with sudden bravado.
Morgan, who’d been walking toward the Security Force, stopped.
“I only need to ask one thing. Isn’t there a rumor circulating these days about His Majesty’s hidden lover?”
Sensing an opening, the journalist pressed on.
“I have no intention of answering, whether it’s one question or two.”
At my response, the journalist—still draped across Morgan’s shoulder—tried to lift his head to look at me, his core apparently unaffected.
The sight was grotesque enough that I stretched out both hands and shook my head firmly to indicate I would not be giving an interview.
“I see.”
Helen snatched the Recording Magical Device from the journalist and crushed it in her grip.
“Send your bill to Helen of the Imperial Guard.”
Only then did the journalist’s eyes register the Imperial Guard uniforms they were wearing, and his demeanor shifted entirely.
“Ah, I didn’t realize you were Imperial Guard knights. I apologize for my rudeness.”
He laughed obsequiously.
Then he submitted without protest to hanging across Morgan’s shoulder again.
“Let’s go. I’ll probably only get a Warning Measure anyway.”
Having dealt with situations like this before, as any Tabloid Press journalist would, he’d given up hope.
“You don’t know that it will be merely a Warning Measure.”
Helen let out a cold laugh.
“That’s all, then.”
Morgan turned and walked away without another word.
The journalist’s body swayed against his shoulder.
Then something seemed to catch his eye, and his gaze shifted toward me.
“What’s that?”
The journalist’s eyes gleamed.
* * *
Edwin, upon receiving Helen’s report, was in a foul mood.
“Keep that journalist locked up for a while so he can’t spread his lies. Shut down the newspaper.”
The journalist’s digging into the rumors of the Emperor’s hidden lover had led straight to the real Lina, and the price for targeting her directly was the newspaper’s closure.
Edwin could no longer afford to overlook this as he had other matters until now.
It was the sort of news that would have the nobility applaud—they’d suffered too many times from the Tabloid Press.
Yet Edwin found himself no more satisfied than before.
It would be difficult to continue assigning guards to protect Lina.
Once Lina had experienced such an incident, she would be more wary.
If Imperial Guard knights suddenly appeared again to help her, the intelligent Lina would no longer attribute it to coincidence.
If Lina caught on, the problem would become far worse.
Yet he couldn’t simply ignore that someone was digging into rumors that had now reached Lina herself.
Edwin had a headache.
After appropriately praising Helen and Morgan and sending them away, Edwin summoned Kyle, who was at the Inspection Unit.
“Is the Saintess positively disposed toward her Debutante ball?”
It was an abrupt question, arriving mere hours after the proposal had been made, but Kyle was well accustomed to Edwin’s ways.
He’d already sent people to the Separate Palace, so the answer came promptly.
“Surprisingly positive, sir. The attendants assigned to her were all recently come of age young ladies, and it seems they’ve done an excellent job of building enthusiasm for the Debutante experience.”
Harper in particular showed considerable interest in the fashions and accessories of high society.
“She seemed to like it.”
The Saintess understood the necessity of an elaborate Debutante ball well.
Despite knowing its political purpose, she appeared genuinely excited.
That was good news.
“Then we proceed immediately.”
The moment Edwin heard of the subject’s consent, he began mobilizing on a grand scale.
“Gather every renowned designer in the Empire.”
After all, the Saintess had only one body, and the ball would require at most three or four gowns.
Yet merely assembling designers to create her Debutante gown would itself generate the kind of attention he needed.
“I’ll see to it at once.”
After Kyle’s confirmation, Edwin’s concerns continued.
The matter of Lina’s safety weighed on him.
In truth, the artifacts he currently possessed provided at least minimal protection.
But Edwin was not satisfied with a minimum.
What he desired was Lina’s complete peace of mind.
“Should I increase the patrol guard on Indal Street substantially?”
If he couldn’t station a guard directly with Lina, he could station soldiers along her usual routes.
It would require a significant commitment of manpower, but the Empire had only recently ended a long war.
Soldiers with idle hands were plentiful enough.
Enough that an Emperor could order increased patrols for the protection of his beloved.
Yet Kyle counseled restraint.
“If soldiers suddenly start appearing everywhere, won’t people become uneasy?”
Since Kyle’s definition of “people” included Lina, Edwin gracefully withdrew his suggestion.
“What if I ordered the redevelopment of Indal Street and relocated all its residents closer to the Imperial Palace?”
The Emperor was seriously considering demolishing an entire functioning street.
Kyle felt his shoulders tense at the escalating scale of this overprotection.
“If it comes to that, why not simply summon Lina to the Imperial Palace?”
Kyle stepped in on behalf of Indal Street’s residents’ housing security.
His tone was half-joking, but Edwin took the comment seriously.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
He was ready to order the Empress’s palace prepared immediately.
“Are you planning to reveal it soon?”
Kyle’s eyes widened as though the suggestion surprised him.
“Probably soon.”
Edwin’s voice carried hope, bolstered by Lina’s recent gesture of affection.
Never mind that there was no guarantee Lina would agree to marry him after learning his true identity.

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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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