Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 115

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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 115
I sensed a jealousy Everett couldn’t quite hide.
“Hmm, was he that handsome?”
I tilted my head thoughtfully at his reaction, feigning deliberation.
Everett’s expression grew increasingly strained.
“Well…….”
Just before he could truly sulk, I revealed the truth.
“Ed was more handsome.”
It was a fact stated without exaggeration, so I thought this much would soothe him.
But Everett proved to be a far more jealous man than I’d anticipated.
“So you’re saying that priest was handsome too.”
His eyes flashed dangerously.
I decided it was merely a trick of the shadows from the lighting.
And to appease my jealous lover, I spoke firmly.
“He’s not my type.”
The corners of Everett’s mouth lifted despite themselves.
“I was going to say he actually gave me an unpleasant feeling.”
But thanks to this, I was able to smoothly convey my suspicions about Yudapf.
Everett turned serious.
“In what way?”
There was a hint that he suspected the priest might be scheming against me.
“Nothing actually happened, but he just gave me a bad feeling. The Temple wouldn’t have sent a mere junior priest, would they? Maybe that’s why.”
Since nothing concrete had occurred yet, my answer remained vague.
Yet Everett listened to me with genuine gravity.
“The investigation turned up nothing particularly notable…….”
Speaking as though to himself, Everett added emphatically, as if to reassure me.
“I’ll increase the number of watchers.”
My objective was achieved.
“I’ll keep watch whenever I have the chance too.”
“You, personally?”
Everett seemed reluctant but didn’t object.
“I should increase your escort guard.”
Instead, he muttered something quietly.
* * *
The next day was set aside for prominent tailors from the Capital to visit sequentially and fit Ibeta’s Debutante Dress.
Normally a mother or Chaperone would have attended, but Ibeta decided to select it with her lady’s maids, Bes, and myself.
Count Renkelsh had readily accepted becoming Ibeta’s Chaperone but declined to involve himself in choosing the dress.
He said he knew little of the latest fashions and that it would be better for the younger folk to decide among themselves.
‘Well, neither Bes nor I know the latest fashions either, so the maids will probably choose, but I’m ready to applaud no matter what—’
I was prepared to clap enthusiastically even if Ibeta tried on thirty dresses, all of them beautiful.
Since multiple large dresses had to be brought, the Small Reception Hall in the Separate Palace was requisitioned.
The space was cleared, and chairs for Ibeta and us were arranged to one side.
The remaining area was lined with clothing racks for the tailors arriving in sequence.
The excited young ladies urged us on so eagerly that we arrived at the Small Reception Hall well before the first tailor was scheduled.
But to the enthusiastic girls, the wait seemed only to heighten their excitement.
They gazed at the empty racks with happy eyes, their faces already alight with anticipation.
“We’ll pick out the very best dress for you!”
Harper clenched her fists determinedly.
“The Emperor said we should pick whatever we want without worrying about the cost, didn’t she?”
Rosina also steeled her resolve as if she didn’t care about money in the slightest.
Both girls, whose birthdays came after Ibeta’s and had yet to have their own debuts, seemed especially thrilled at the prospect of choosing a Debutante Dress for the first time.
“The dress should express the Saint’s lovely nature well,” Regia, the eldest of the maids, said, calming the two down.
Ibeta had candy-floss pink hair and eyes a pale blue verging on sky blue.
With her petite stature, she had an adorable appearance.
Even with unlimited shopping, a strategy formed to choose a dress that brought out her natural lovely charm rather than something merely flashy and expensive.
“What if we embedded Pink Diamonds along the hemline of the dress?”
Harper, who preferred flamboyance, wanted to choose a dress that was both elaborate and charming.
But she didn’t seem likely to impose her taste on Ibeta.
The young maids discussing dress designs reached a certain consensus.
“The Saint will become this year’s Lady of the Year.”
Rosina spoke as though inviting them to trust only in themselves.
The unofficial designation “Lady of the Year” referred to whichever debutante had become most popular in high society that season.
The previous Emperor had only taken consorts and never formally married; the former Crown Princess had gone into seclusion after becoming the Grand Princess Consort.
The Empire had lacked a female member of the Imperial Family who could be the center of society for over several decades.
Moreover, the Empire’s social scene was somewhat diminished, as festivities hadn’t been properly held for nearly a decade due to war.
Currently, high-ranking women such as princesses or certain notable ladies of influential houses—though their families’ prestige was modest—competed among themselves for social influence through trendsetting or beauty.
The young maids, seizing this vacant position, were determined to make Ibeta the flower of high society.
For Ibeta, who had accepted her debut more out of necessity and a touch of romantic notions, this was rather burdensome.
“I’m fine with whatever…….”
Ibeta protested passively to the enthusiastic maids.
But her soft voice barely registered with girls already ablaze with passion.
“Should we tell them we have something to do and slip out?”
I whispered the suggestion only to Bes.
My resolve had been set for thirty dresses, but looking at the maids, it seemed unlikely to stop there.
Bes, who had slightly less patience than I did, eagerly nodded her silent agreement that it was a brilliant idea.
But fortunately, the ordeal of Ibeta trying on hundreds of dresses never materialized.
The junior maids of the Separate Palace were seasoned veterans with years of Imperial Palace experience.
When they summoned the tailors, they provided Ibeta’s measurements and appearance details, requesting only two dresses that seemed most suitable be brought as samples.
For any additional designs, tailors were instructed to bring design books instead.
Even after carefully selecting only the most renowned tailor shops in the Capital, there were still dozens, and each desperately vied for the honor of creating the Saint’s Debutante Dress.
They poured all their effort into the two dresses they could bring in person.
The selection was difficult enough with just those two, so the design books were scarcely opened at all.
The young maids meticulously noted the strengths and weaknesses of each dress.
They resembled seasoned judges at a prestigious competition.
Bes and I, who knew little about which lace patterns were trendy, what skirt width and length looked most refined, or what neckline shape was most flattering, could only offer gasps of admiration and enthusiastic support.
The sun was setting, and only a few tailors remained waiting their turn.
Most of the dresses came in pastel shades of bright colors that complemented Ibeta’s hair and eye color.
As the maids had originally agreed, the designs accentuated Ibeta’s loveliness.
Yet a small handful of tailors, perhaps focusing on Ibeta the ‘Saint,’ had slipped in one elegantly styled dress apiece.
Usually, such dresses were firmly filtered out by the maids.
But the dress from this latest tailor gave even the discerning young maids pause.
Though it was poorly suited to Ibeta, it was nearly a work of art—absolutely exquisite.
Layered gossamer fabric subtly revealed the body’s silhouette in a dress of luminous silver.
It used little ornamentation.
Yet the fabric itself possessed extraordinary beauty.
It was elegant and mysterious.
The young maids began deliberating with unusual care.
During their discussion, Ibeta was granted a brief rest.
She’d been too busy changing clothes to properly look at the designs she wore, but now she examined the dress closely.
“Does that one appeal to you?”
When Bes asked, Ibeta smiled and nodded.
“Don’t you think that would suit Lina well?”
“Oh.”
The maids’ eyes turned toward me in unison at Ibeta and Bes’s exchange.
“It would, wouldn’t it.”
“Don’t you need a dress too, Lina?”
“Just minor alterations and it should work.”
As everyone nodded agreement, Ibeta smiled contentedly.
“I want to buy that dress right away…….”
Ibeta spoke to the junior maid standing by to help her dress.
“Since she said to choose whatever I want, it’s fine to buy two, right? I’ll give you this one as a gift!”
Ibeta laughed brightly, making an impulsive purchase.

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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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