Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 153

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

Episode 153
Time flowed swiftly, and the day of the Debutante Ball had arrived at last.
The attendants of the Separate Palace were mobilized entirely for Ibeta and me.
The result of the experts’ work was extraordinary.
When I looked in the mirror after the preparations were complete, a stranger stared back at me.
Harper and Bes, too young yet to attend the Debutante Ball, lavished praise on us with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Wow. Ibeta, you look just like a flower fairy today.”
“And you’re so beautiful, Lina. Like a Saint painted in a holy panel.”
Clasping each other’s hands and squealing, Harper and Bes seemed far more excited than Ibeta and I, who would actually be attending the ball.
The two of them were opposite in temperament and taste, yet in moments like these, they were soulmates.
“It’s embarrassing to hear such things said before an actual Saint.”
As I waved off their increasingly excessive praise, Ibeta too joined in the bombardment of compliments.
“But Lina, you really are beautiful. If I were a man, I would have begged to be your partner.”
“Me too.”
“Me as well!”
Not to be outdone by Ibeta, Harper and Bes also coveted my partner slot.
‘I wonder if Ed ever imagined this.’
That his place as my partner would have three competitors.
Since the judging was based on cuteness, it was decidedly close.
While I was lost in pleasant worry, Regia and Rosina, who would also attend the ball, arrived in turn.
Already fond of wearing elaborate gowns in their daily lives, the two of them today looked like flowers in full bloom.
Even in their dresses, they made their way toward us with quick steps.
With their eyes sparkling, another round of compliments seemed imminent.
The moment they approached, I redirected the conversation by asking Ibeta a question.
“We’ll meet the Count Renkels at the ballroom, and now we just need Count Simmer to arrive.”
Kyle was Ibeta’s partner for the evening.
“With all those young nobles to choose from, why a cousin?”
Harper, who had anticipated romance blooming at the Debutante Ball, pouted her lips in protest.
It was precisely for that reason Kyle had been selected as Ibeta’s partner, so Ibeta and I simply laughed.
The Empire did permit cousin marriages, but unions between close relatives were discouraged due to concerns about genetic illness and other matters.
‘Kyle’s father and Marquis Robertus are cousins.’
Ibeta and Kyle were sixth cousins once removed.
It was ambiguous enough to be considered distant relatives, yet equally ambiguous as a foundation for romance.
Harper’s reaction was precisely what we wanted.
‘Merely going through the motions.’
For this Debutante Ball, Ibeta needed to secure both notoriety and recognition as a Saint, so attention must not fall on her partner.
Fortunately, before the other young ladies could agree with Harper’s remark, Kyle himself arrived.
“I apologize for the delay. Your Holiness, and Lina.”
Kyle offered his greetings with formal courtesy.
Knowing how busy he was, neither Ibeta nor I nor Bes thought much of his lateness—but his appearance, polished enough to surprise even the other young maids who had been rolling their eyes at the idea of keeping a lady waiting, was striking.
Bes’s eyes widened as she rattled off expressions of admiration.
“Kyle, today you look like you’ve been scrubbed on a washboard, dried stiff under the sun, and pressed crisp.”
Bes’s naturally eccentric manner of speaking had been colored, through her time with Ibeta, by an “abstract yet mysteriously comprehensible” style of expression.
Ibeta, who had often seen Kyle in a state of exhaustion resembling damp laundry, found Bes’s description apt enough to laugh brightly.
Apparently Kyle had been scolded severely by Ibeta for breaking the Mana Oath, yet our Bes was a girl who knew no shame.
Kyle responded with graceful thanks before extending his hand to Ibeta.
“Shall we go, Your Holiness?”
Ibeta and Kyle, the heroine and her partner, would ride in one carriage, while Rosina, Regia, and I would take another.
Ibeta stepped into her carriage with Kyle’s escort, while the three of us were assisted into ours by the knights assigned as guards.
That only the knight escorting me was female seemed to bear the mark of someone’s influence, but I chose not to notice.
Once I had taken my seat, the door closed immediately and the carriage began to move.
Since those of higher Status entered last, our carriage had to depart before Ibeta’s.
Regia and Rosina, who had been maintaining their prim and haughty young noble demeanor, reverted to chattering girls and began speaking to me.
Most of what they said was meant to ease my nervousness at attending my first ball, or advice on how to conduct myself in particular situations during the event.
I had been too preoccupied with recent matters to give the Debutante Ball much thought.
I listened intently to the two of them with the mindset of someone cramming before an exam.
The Debutante Ball was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Imperial Palace.
As the distance was not far, the carriage came to a stop quickly.
The two young ladies made a final effort to impart practical advice for the ball to me.
“I wish we had more time.”
“But we’ll be together the whole time anyway, so don’t worry.”
The two young ladies were more concerned about me than about Ibeta.
‘After all, no one would dare be rude to a Saint.’
And Kyle would be there as well.
“That’s reassuring. Thank you both.”
I gladly accepted the goodwill of the two young ladies.
As part of the Saint’s entourage, our entrance order was assigned to be quite late.
After waiting briefly in the carriage and following an attendant’s guidance into the ballroom, all eyes turned toward us.
Since few had direct contact with Ibeta, the gazes were more exploratory and curious.
Rosina spoke to me in a low voice, her fan raised to her lips.
“I heard invitations were sent to most of the noble houses in and around the Capital, but there really are so many people.”
Even families who had previously scheduled similar social events for today had hurriedly cancelled them upon hearing of Ibeta’s Debutante Ball and expressed their intention to attend, or so I had heard.
‘Yet there really are quite a lot of them.’
Regia also whispered to me, her fan covering her mouth.
“Lina, smile.”
As countless eyes suddenly fixed upon me, my expression stiffened involuntarily.
Following Regia’s remark, I belatedly let a faint smile touch my lips.
As if that were a signal, the young noble ladies who were acquainted with Regia and Rosina began to approach one by one.
After exchanging greetings with the two young ladies, these noble ladies extended courteous nods to me as well.
Regia introduced me to the noble ladies as if she were acting as my chaperone.
“This is Miss Carolina Diaz. She graduated from the Academy with top honors and currently works in the Inspection Unit at the Imperial Palace. She is also the one who rescued the Saint from that Temple in Peram and brought her into our care.”
Rosina added further:
“The two of them have shared a special friendship since before her Awakening, so the Saint holds her as dear as an older sister.”
With the relationship between Ibeta and me emphasized in this introduction, the noble ladies engaged me with even greater warmth.
The effect of a Saint’s approval was truly extraordinary.
As I exchanged light conversation with the kind young ladies, my initially awkward movements and expressions gradually began to loosen and ease.
If this continued, I thought, the Debutante Ball would unfold quite pleasantly.
Until the Former Count Renkels appeared.
An attendant at the entrance announced the arrival of the Former Count Renkels and the current Count Renkels.
The Former Count Renkels, who had rarely attended formal social events since handing his title to his niece.
His entrance drew the crowd’s attention nearly as much as ours had.
My aunt swept her eyes across the ballroom before spotting me and offering a faint smile of acknowledgment.
And the Former Count Renkels….
Following the direction of my aunt’s gaze, he found me and his expression darkened instantly.
I too allowed my face to harden again and fixed him with a cold stare.
The young noble ladies who had been treating me with warmth withdrew carefully.
The House of Renkels was an ancient family that had endured since the kingdom’s age.
Even in retirement, the Former Count Renkels retained considerable influence.
When he turned such a disapproving face toward me, the other guests seemed to sense trouble and were trying to understand the situation.
A clear circle formed between me and the two young ladies.
The Former Count Renkels’s expression soured further upon seeing this sight.
The Former Count Renkels approached with an ugly scowl on his face.
My aunt, wearing an awkward expression, followed behind him, whispering something, but he paid her no mind.
The rigid bearing of the old man parted the crowd wherever he walked.
A path opening directly toward me.

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