Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 171

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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 171
“Now Lina’s the one who looks like a patient. Want to lie down instead?”
“Look at you—your mouth’s the only thing that’s healed. Want to get sick again?”
Playful banter passed between them, but the mood was good.
Though treating one patient at a time demanded considerable effort, it was far more hopeful than when they hadn’t known how to treat anyone at all.
Given that the patient count had crossed into the thousands, it would take considerable time to heal everyone, but Ibeta’s Holy Power seemed inexhaustible.
‘We could file a request with the Magic Tower for a mage who uses Nullification…’
I glanced at Kyle, whose face had gone deathly pale, and thought it through.
Kyle, more skilled at paperwork than magic, seemed to be arriving at the same conclusion as I was.
“I’ll report to His Majesty first. The Magic Tower guards its security well enough if the payment is generous. I’ll reach out to them as well. I have my limitations, after all. Saint, how are you holding up?”
“I’m fine. I can heal a few more people.”
Ibeta nodded, her eyes burning with determination.
“Even so, I’ll try to find more trustworthy priests we can rely on.”
Kyle left, saying he needed to report to Ed.
Ibeta and I waited for Kyle to return, watching Coni eat.
“Eat more, more!”
I’d scolded her earlier, but seeing Coni recovered had me so delighted that I kept pushing this dish and that one on her.
Ibeta also seemed to enjoy watching Coni eat with such healthy appetite.
After finishing her meal, Coni grew drowsy from fullness and lay down, testing the waters first.
Just then came a knock—Kyle arriving, I assumed—and I shook my head slightly and quietly slipped out.
* * *
It turned out the knock belonged to Ed.
We moved into the empty guest room beside Coni’s.
“Where’s Kyle?”
“Contacting the Magic Tower.”
Ed answered with a sour expression.
I wasted no time in launching into a boastful account of what I’d accomplished.
“Ed, Coni’s completely recovered.”
Ed was the sort to stop by the Separate Palace every night, just for a moment with me.
He already knew I’d found a fairy tale in the Imperial Palace archives.
“Your intuition was right.”
Ed met my eyes and smiled.
“Well done, Lina. You’re incredible. You’ve saved so many people.”
Even when I asked the attendants to praise me, they were stingy about it, but on Ed, praise flowed like a cascade.
Unlike when I’d heard the three of them applaud me, this time I let my chin rise high and savored my lover’s accolade.
Then I launched into a detailed account of my exploits.
Ed would nod at times and react enthusiastically at others, listening faithfully to my boasting.
After I’d boasted my fill, I added sheepishly,
“But I couldn’t find evidence that the Temple was behind it all. What should I do?”
At first I’d been thrilled just to find a cure for something I thought impossible, but now that the patients were recovering somewhat, not finding proof of the Temple’s involvement nagged at me.
I pouted slightly, and Ed touched his forehead gently to mine.
“That can wait. The most important thing is that you’ve saved people. The Temple will keep creating victims until they achieve their goals anyway.”
Ed spoke with eyes that seemed to gaze into a distant past.
‘Ed’s father died from the same disease, so his heart must ache.’
Now that we’d found the cure far too late, despite exhausting every method, what must Ed be feeling?
I pulled Ed, who’d lost family at such a young age, into a tight embrace.
Ed didn’t refuse my comfort; he accepted it.
“It’s okay to cry.”
I spoke softly, thick with emotion, and felt Ed’s body tremble against mine as he laughed silently.
“Why would I cry when you’re here?”
Fortunately, Ed was solid enough not to need my comfort.
“But let’s keep the cure secret for now.”
Ed added when I looked puzzled.
“The Western Region is preparing for rebellion.”
He explained this alongside a report from the Blue Hawk operatives dispatched near the Camelot Territory, detailing the scale of the Noble Faction’s private forces.
The visible numbers weren’t immediately threatening, but the rate of increase was hard to ignore.
“It’s not many compared to the Capital, though.”
Ed explained, twisting his lips.
“Noble houses with a certain number of private forces had to contribute to the last war. They cut their forces in half because they hated that.”
But what was visible wouldn’t be everything. They could disguise themselves as Self-Defense Squads and similar units that wouldn’t count toward the private forces total.
“Is the reason for hiding the cure to provoke them into action?”
“Probably. It’s better if they make the first military move.”
The unit Ed commanded was elite—said to be undefeated over eight years.
And even the Capital’s forces outnumbered theirs.
But in war, especially civil war, justification mattered.
The Temple had spread this disease to tarnish Ibeta’s and Ed’s reputations in the first place.
‘The Noble Faction must have been trying to use this as grounds for rebellion.’
Until I found the cure, their operation had been proceeding smoothly.
But that had changed now.
We could prove as much as we wanted that this wasn’t Divine Punishment.
The plan was to hide the fact that patients had recovered, let the Temple and Noble Faction march out in triumph, then reveal it and sweep them all up at once.
It was rational.
Except for one thing—Ed’s name was on the pre-arranged deployment list.
I complained for no good reason.
“Doesn’t the Empire have anyone else to command?”
“There are others, but I’m the strongest. The rest aren’t fully reliable either.”
The Emperor had no successor, not even a distant branch of the imperial line, which was why he’d spent over eight years in the field of war.
Without even realizing my own vexation, I tried to intimidate the calm Ed.
“Go and come back wounded, and see what happens.”
Ed kissed my pouting lips repeatedly and asked,
“What will you do?”
I turned my head sharply to dodge his lips and answered,
“I’ll just hold your hand until you heal.”
“I absolutely won’t get hurt.”
Ed held out his pinky finger.
I checked the position with a sidelong glance and hooked my finger with his.
“Where are you two?”
Just as we were about to seal it with a kiss, Kyle arrived.
“In here.”
When Kyle heard my voice and entered the guest room, Ed shot him a pointed look for no reason.
* * *
For a while afterward, we were busy assisting priests from the Magic Tower and those who’d turned to Ibeta’s side in treating patients.
After everyone’s hard work, the patient count that had approached four figures had dropped to nearly half.
‘Should I go see Ed?’
With the major worry gone, my thoughts finally turned to Ed.
I’d been neglecting him for some time.
Since I’d been so busy throwing myself into work, Ed hadn’t even shown his displeasure.
‘Though Ed’s been busy too, no doubt.’
When I went to the Imperial Palace for the first time in a while, the attendants rubbed their eyes and rose from their seats to greet me enthusiastically.
I felt somewhat guilty, having been on an extended leave because of various matters.
“I’ll start coming in tomorrow.”
“Really? Really?”
One attendant, visibly delighted, received an elbow jab from the attendant beside him and fell silent.
I pretended not to see and simply smiled while nodding.
“Yes, you’ve all worked so hard while I was away.”
At my small consolation, the attendants looked away and their expressions grew tender.
‘They really did have a rough time.’
The mountain of documents that had been gradually diminishing now stood ready to return to its original height.
I swept my eyes over the evidence of their labor and headed toward my seat.
Which meant the Emperor’s office desk where Ed would be.
The moment I opened the door carefully, a sharp voice flowed out.
“I told you not to come in.”
It was delivered with such a savage tone that the nearby attendants who’d resumed work flinched noticeably.
But with my rose-tinted glasses so thick, it only looked like the wariness of a caged beast.
I raised my voice so Ed inside the office could hear me.
“Really, I shouldn’t go in?”
The words had barely left my lips when a crash rang out from inside, and moments later Ed appeared before me.
“Lina?”

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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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