Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 159

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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 159
* * *
The series of events that had unfolded during Ibeta’s debutante ball spread like wildfire through the mouths of the attending nobles and pro-Imperial newspapers alike.
When public interest reached its peak, Ibeta released a statement under the name of Saint, revealing that the evidence brought by her maid had been verified as fact and that further investigations were underway.
Ibeta’s statement bore little resemblance to a stiffly formal bureaucratic document.
Instead, it wove together her own childhood experiences with the current incident, emphasizing how deeply she empathized with the victims’ pain and how genuinely she wished to help them.
‘Evidence being scarce, she borrowed emotion to fill the gaps.’
The strategy proved remarkably effective.
Ibeta’s approval ratings soared as she promised to personally protect the actual victims—including the maid who had stood in for them on stage—and to summon high-ranking priests, including the High Priest and Cardinals, in the Saint’s name to hold them accountable.
Without conclusive proof, suspicion that the Temple was complicit in the Illegal Slave Trade was spreading quietly through society.
When the Blue Hawk was deployed to subtly stoke public opinion, the outcry against the Temple grew like wildfire on dry brush.
Even the Temple, which had initially taken a wait-and-see approach, could no longer endure the pressure.
The High Priest, whom Ed had once called a cunning raccoon, emerged with the Cardinals and threw himself prostrate before her.
Begging forgiveness for failing to detect the transgressions of certain priests.
It was a scenario we had anticipated.
The High Priest’s options were limited from the start, and it was wiser to bow low and bide his time for a future opportunity.
Yet the High Priest proved far more patient than we had expected.
Even as Ibeta, schooled by Bes in the art of provoking without malice, scraped at his pride with a gentle smile, he maintained his humble demeanor throughout.
In the end, Ibeta could only hold the High Priest accountable for his failure to notice the priests’ transgressions.
It was a weaker outcome than hoped for, but the Temple still reeled significantly.
The greatest gain was that the citizens of the Empire began to see the Saint and the Temple as separate entities.
Ibeta’s popularity as the Saint soared far above that of the Temple, which had never been particularly beloved.
Once we confirmed Ibeta’s climbing approval, we revised our strategy for dealing with the Temple.
The plan was to have the Saint’s renown overwhelm the Temple’s authority, shake its very foundation, and finally bring it to ruin.
What followed—restructuring the Temple’s organization beneath Ibeta—would be the strategy’s capstone.
‘There’s far more rot than anything worth saving.’
We chose to sweep it all clean and salvage only what could be rebuilt.
After restructuring the Temple’s system, Ibeta secured the Imperial Palace’s promise to guarantee the Temple’s independence and threw herself wholeheartedly into cooperation with the plan.
Then she began her formal external activities in earnest.
Since the Temple could no longer be trusted with poor relief, Ibeta took on the management of the Welfare Foundation, which the Imperial Palace had established.
The Welfare Foundation was important work not only for Ibeta but for the Imperial Palace as well.
In a short time, it had to quickly take root and overcome the Temple’s entrenched stronghold that had endured since the days when the Regensia Empire was still a kingdom.
Massive capital was poured into it, though it presented no great difficulty.
Ed was an extraordinarily wealthy emperor, after all.
‘Capital is fine, but…….’
The drain of personnel was a serious problem.
The only trustworthy key talent available was Ed’s inner circle and the Blue Hawk.
This created severe gaps in staffing.
Even in the Emperor’s Secretariat.
* * *
Kyle, who had called me saying he had something important to discuss, poured tea and then fell silent, his expression troubled.
Inspection Unit Division 5 was busier than usual, though not as overwhelmed as other departments.
Growing impatient with the silence, I spoke first.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
Kyle absently rubbed the handle of his teacup with his thumb before speaking cautiously.
“I did ask you to come, yes.”
The smile that lingered at the end of his words felt off somehow.
‘Is something serious going on?’
I straightened in my seat and watched Kyle intently.
Kyle let out an awkward laugh, rubbed his face dry with a palm, and his expression hardened.
“Let me be direct.”
Kyle drew a breath and continued.
“You know His Majesty sent two of his aides to the Saint, don’t you?”
I had heard.
The Welfare Foundation, though established for the purpose of overthrowing the Temple, couldn’t afford to neglect its actual work.
The Empire’s poor relief, which had been left to the Temple during the war, was in a wretched state.
As a result, the Welfare Foundation’s scope and workload kept expanding.
The Emperor’s aides—among the Empire’s finest elite—had to be deployed urgently.
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Yes.”
“The Emperor’s Secretariat was already short-staffed to begin with. So I think we’ll need to recruit more people.”
Talent combining both ability and loyalty was rare.
It seemed they had been managing by working Kyle to the bone, but now that two were gone, they were reaching their limit.
Moreover, since Ibeta was busy with the Welfare Foundation’s work, the staff could no longer receive the Saint’s Blessings and Healing as frequently as before.
“Of course you’ll need to supplement the staff.”
Being sensitive to overwork deaths, I supported the idea enthusiastically.
“Thank you.”
Kyle smiled gently and bowed to me.
‘Why is he thanking me?’
My small confusion was quickly resolved.
“It makes it easier to make my proposal now that Lina has said that. Lina, would you be able to help with the Secretariat’s work for a while?”
So the personnel Kyle wanted to bring in was me?
‘I could accept anything else, but working in the same space as Ed feels like too much.’
The Emperor’s Office and the Secretariat were connected.
Worried I might refuse, Kyle quickly listed his reasons for choosing me.
“There are few people in the Blue Hawk with work ability equal to Lina’s. And Inspection Unit Division 5 is in better shape than other departments anyway.”
Bes had been practically absent from Division 5 since he began staying at the Separate Palace to help Ibeta adjust.
As a result, the Blue Hawk members of Division 5 had grown quite accustomed to Bes’s absence.
When personnel were dispatched to Ibeta’s Welfare Foundation, Division 5’s Blue Hawk was already exempted from further transfers because Bes was there.
“Other people are too afraid of His Majesty. Work has piled up lately, and he’s been in a foul mood.”
Kyle trailed off with a laugh.
The most important reason, I suspected, was probably the last one.
Since Ibeta’s debutante, I’d set a firm rule that Ed and I would only meet after work hours.
But once things got suddenly busy with overtime stretching night after night, we went from seeing each other seven times a week to barely twice this week.
As a result, when he came to see me yesterday, his expression was far from pleasant.
‘Especially when I told him I needed to sleep and asked him to leave.’
I had discovered that my lover was quite the tsundere.
If he showed his displeasure to that degree even in front of me while I was acting aloof, then to others…….
‘If that’s the reason, I can’t refuse.’
Yet I still resisted the idea of working in the same space as my lover.
‘Will I be able to keep work and personal life separate?’
As I hesitated without a proper response, Kyle pressed on.
“Lina, please help.”
His green eyes glistened.
His complexion was too poor for me to refuse based on my own reservations.
Moreover, I had already received countless large and small favors from Kyle.
“But…… will it be alright for me to go there?”
Ed’s Secretariat had more than ten aides.
The Blue Hawk members there had come to know of my relationship with Ed only after some rapport had built up, but these aides hadn’t.
“Won’t the others find it awkward?”
Kyle brushed away my careful concern with a laugh.
“You needn’t worry about that. Everyone has already agreed, and they’re all hoping you’ll come. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the aides directly.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Only after confirming one more time did I give my consent.
“Thank you so much. Then just sign here.”
Kyle asked me to sign a document confirming my dispatch from the Blue Hawk to the Secretariat.
As soon as I signed the agreement, he promptly led me to the Emperor’s Palace.
“This is where you’ll be working, Lina.”
Surprisingly, Kyle stopped at a desk inside Ed’s Office itself.
One that definitely hadn’t been there yesterday.

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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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