Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 140

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

Chapter 140
Kyle was managing the situation swiftly, but it was far from resolved.
I was so embarrassed I wanted to scatter like cosmic dust and disappear.
But that was impossible.
A border closure across the entire Empire was unprecedented, and people would soon wonder why such a thing had happened.
And when they learned the reason was the “Emperor’s love life,” they would find it extraordinarily intriguing.
If I missed the window to contain this, centuries hence a history book might preserve this dark chapter as something like “The First Love Episode of Emperor Edwin, Who Turned Out to Be Quite the Romantic”—and it would haunt me for eternity.
‘That cannot happen.’
I clenched my fists and opened my eyes wide.
“What reason did you give when you issued the Border Closure Order?”
I asked, fervently praying that Kyle had at least fabricated something plausible.
‘People don’t always have to be honest. Especially not about something like this.’
“I didn’t attach any particular reason. Things were moving too urgently.”
Kyle trailed off, clearly flustered.
The world tilted beneath me.
“So you’re telling me… the borders were suddenly sealed, and the Emperor and his inner circle came to Dietar without bothering to hide their identities….”
It meant that anyone with decent sources of information would have already connected the border closure to the Emperor’s sudden movements.
I saw my social reputation waving goodbye at the final moment of its existence.
No.
I couldn’t accept this.
This had to be fixed.
They say that when humans face extreme circumstances, they can summon several times their normal capacity.
That was happening to me right now.
My mind raced to devise a plan—some way, any way—to salvage this completely botched situation.
‘For whatever it’s worth, this seems to be the only option I have.’
It wasn’t a solution I was happy with, but it was the limit of what I could manage.
And there wasn’t much time to work with anyway.
I turned to Kyle, who looked both troubled and strangely relieved at once, and let loose a torrent of words.
“What if we say the border was closed because you received a tip-off about large-scale smuggling?”
Honestly, intelligence about large-scale smuggling was still a ridiculous justification for sealing the entire border.
It was an excessive response that would cause more damage than gain.
But it was a hundred times more plausible than the truth—that he’d done it because my lover was running away.
“Since we’ve already closed the border, we might as well do it properly. You must have dispatched the Blue Hawk toward the borders anyway. Change the orders. Not to lift the closure—tell them to investigate the smuggling. As conspicuously as possible!”
There was a risk if we made a show of it and came up empty, but I wasn’t speaking recklessly.
Corruption that had spread to the Empire’s very extremities hadn’t yet been fully rooted out.
‘The illicit funds generated from black-market dealings with foreign powers make up the largest share of the Aristocratic Faction’s slush funds.’
Furthermore, Duke Camelot and the other leadership of the Aristocratic Faction were under severe financial pressure from recent incidents.
If things went according to plan, the Emperor’s appearance in Dietar could be made to seem like a kind of diversion tactic.
‘The first place where the closure order came down was Lanken, far from here anyway.’
If a border closure had been issued, we needed to extract whatever we could from it.
“As you well know, the approaching harvest season is when illegal slave trade operations increase. If we search merchant vessels heading to Schmitz, we’ll definitely turn up results.”
Only after I’d finished spilling words did I realize the eerie silence around me.
After a long pause, Anika raised her thumb and began to clap.
“Wow, big sister is amazing.”
It was praise, but I felt no joy.
Regret crashed over me too late.
‘I went too far.’
With not just my own social standing but the Empire’s prestige in crisis, my mind had gone into overdrive.
I flushed and jabbed Edwin’s ribs with my finger.
“Hmm, how does this sound as a way forward, Edwin?”
I was passing the final decision to Edwin.
I’d already said everything there was to say, but I wanted to keep up appearances.
“I don’t want to go down in the historical record as the reason for the Empire’s first Border Closure Order.”
I whispered like a ventriloquist, jabbing his ribs again for emphasis.
Make a proper call on this.
Then I smiled as harmlessly as if I’d merely offered an opinion.
“You heard her?”
Edwin, snapping to attention belatedly, spoke.
“You heard her?” what.
I didn’t want to be the shadowy mastermind behind the scenes.
While I was glaring at Edwin, dozens of knights suddenly appeared and bowed with crisp precision.
‘Where did all these people come from?’
But I soon realized they had never been hidden at all.
I remembered—they’d been running along in the background the whole time behind Edwin.
The thought that every single one of these knights had witnessed this ridiculous farce made my head spin all over again.
‘Is my boat ticket still valid? Haven’t the dates expired?’
I genuinely wanted to run away.
* * *
Even after Kyle left to sort out the situation, Edwin remained at my side as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
While Anika, sensing the serious mood, sat quietly and kept her eyes on the adults—until Edwin spoke to her with natural warmth.
“Hello, little Diaz.”
“Hello.”
Edwin had an impression that would ordinarily be difficult for most children to approach, but Anika was no ordinary child.
Anika, who was lenient toward handsome men, greeted him back with courtesy.
Her curious gaze couldn’t seem to tear itself away from his face.
Seeing such an attentive Anika, Edwin laughed brightly.
It was obvious he was being as gentle as possible to recover from the poor first impression he’d made on her.
When Anika, her cheeks flushed by what looked like a deliberate charm offensive, met his even more radiant smile, I narrowed my eyes sharply instead.
“Sister, it’s getting dark. Shouldn’t we head inside? Our parents should be here by now, right?”
Anika, suddenly wary, clung to my side and urged me to leave.
Edwin looked taken aback when Anika’s carefully observed caution suddenly manifested.
‘Anika’s been tricked by the twins so many times that she’s become uncannily good at spotting when someone has ulterior motives.’
And she doesn’t care for that sort of thing.
His first impression might have gotten even worse now than before he tried his charm.
But Edwin didn’t back down easily.
“I’ll walk you both.”
He naturally extended his hands to both Anika and me.
Anika looked at the hand he offered, then politely smiled and took mine instead.
‘There’s hope yet, seeing him take that as a game.’
“You heard Anika mention our parents would be here by now, didn’t you?”
I meant it as a signal that we should head back on our own.
But Edwin nodded with a tense expression, as if he’d made some grave decision.
“I know what you might be thinking, but it’s not that.”
As an ominous feeling made me try to dissuade him, Edwin asked with a disappointed expression.
“Why not?”
If I were being truly honest, I’d have to say it was too soon to meet family since I wasn’t thinking of marriage yet, but those words wouldn’t come out.
I hid my true feelings behind a smile and covered it with another truth instead.
“My family will be shocked.”
“They’ll be shocked eventually anyway.”
“But we can make it less of a shock, can’t we?”
Edwin glanced down at his own dust-covered clothes and nodded in agreement.
‘That’s not really the main issue, though.’
“I’ll schedule a proper visit later.”
In any case, I’d managed to prevent a meeting between my family and Edwin.
‘Though Anika’s already met him.’
If I coaxed her well enough to keep the secret….
When I glanced sideways at Anika, she looked up at me and placed her index finger against her lips.
‘Our youngest really is the best.’
That one seemed to have resolved itself.
“Still, I’ll walk you as far as the edge of the grounds.”
But Edwin’s offer was futile.
My parents, who had apparently just returned after the twins went out for a short walk, came looking for me and Anika when we didn’t return, and they’d brought themselves—along with the twins—all the way to the Beach in front of the Villa where we were.
“Lina, Anika?”
At the sound of Father’s voice, the first to spot us, my scattered family gathered around.
“Mom!”
Anika released the hand she’d been holding onto so firmly just moments before and rushed into Mother’s embrace.
Mother caught Anika in her arms and spoke in a stern voice.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to come home this late without a word?”
But that wasn’t really the issue right now.
“But who’s that person next to you?”
Mother’s sharp gaze fell upon Edwin, who stood close enough to me that he couldn’t be mistaken for a mere passerby.

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