Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 178

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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 178
“A declaration of war?”
I asked to confirm what I’d just heard.
Ed nodded.
It had come far sooner than expected.
“Why, why now?”
The reason didn’t matter much at this moment.
I corrected my question at once.
“So you’re deploying immediately, then?”
I’d already known that Ed might deploy, but it felt different when faced with the reality.
When I asked while clutching his sleeve, Ed shook his head.
“No. Well, both, actually.”
Then he answered my questions one by one.
“Rumors are starting to spread from the Western Region, but the people’s agitation seems less than expected, so we’re going to wait and see.”
War had to erupt under conditions of heightened tension for panic and fear to spread rapidly.
A sudden declaration of civil war would inevitably be mixed with bewilderment and doubt.
‘Especially for the Empire’s citizens, who’ve experienced firsthand for eight years just how strong the Imperial Army is.’
Ed twisted his lips into a smile.
“They’ll know it too, but the fact they declared war early suggests things aren’t going as they’d hoped, so they’ve chosen a more extreme approach.”
The ability of the false Saint they were putting forward was Foresight.
Unlike Ibeta’s Holy Power, it wasn’t something they could display frequently.
‘Though they certainly chose that with this in mind.’
After announcing the appearance of a “new Saint,” they’d simply traveled the Capital and various regions holding prayer meetings.
Under normal circumstances, that alone would have been enough to stir up attention.
But right now, the eyes of the entire Empire were fixed on Ed and me.
They needed new kindling to rekindle the interest that was gradually fading.
‘And now the Aristocratic Faction and the Temple are openly revealing their alliance.’
The key figures among the Western nobility, led by Duke Camelot, had taken it upon themselves to become the false Saint’s devoted patrons.
In such circumstances, the Aristocratic Faction supporting the false Saint and putting her forward as cause for rebellion was hardly strange.
‘But…’
Perhaps noticing my unease, Ed’s voice grew softer.
“We won’t deploy immediately. We’ll try to minimize casualties first—encourage surrender, attempt to make them destroy themselves through internal division—and keep direct engagement as a last resort.”
It was something, at least.
“You should have said that first.”
Since he’d come all this way, I’d been imagining him giving a greeting and leaving at once, so my tone came out sharp.
“I was so startled.”
Ed sheepishly offered an excuse.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d be…”
I cut him off mid-sentence.
“Just don’t say you didn’t know!”
Ed’s mouth snapped shut.
I turned my head away pointedly.
When I let my displeasure show openly, Ed grew restless.
“Look, I have to postpone our engagement, and things will get busy ahead, so I wanted to spend time together for even a moment. I got carried away thinking about that.”
He hadn’t really done anything wrong, and his pleading manner wouldn’t let me stay angry.
‘By “last resort” he means… I shouldn’t create regrets for later.’
“What were you thinking?”
I turned my head back halfway and asked in a petulant tone.
“Hmm…”
Apparently he hadn’t thought that far, so Ed’s deliberation stretched on.
“Anything would be fine. I’d be happy just riding back in the carriage together like this.”
I found myself smiling at my lover’s simple sincerity.
“You know that’s inefficient, right?”
Coming from the Imperial Palace here and waiting until the tea party ended to leave together would actually give us less time together than if I stayed at the Palace doing what needed to be done and waited for him there.
“I wanted to see you sooner, even just a little.”
Ed smiled and offered his excuse, well aware of the inefficiency.
“Me too.”
I pulled him into a tight embrace.
Love was always inefficient, anyway.
Ed hugged me back.
“Would you like to have dinner outside before we go?”
The food at the Imperial Palace was delicious, but food eaten outside always held the special charm that came with the place.
“Sure.”
Ed agreed readily.
Since I’d dressed up for the tea party after such a long time, we decided to go to a restaurant popular among noble ladies.
I stopped Ed from sending someone ahead to reserve the entire restaurant.
“Don’t you think we’d need something like ‘Imperial Palace Date Exposed Publicly!’ to bury the Aristocratic Faction’s declaration of war?”
If our ordinary date became front-page news in the tabloid press, the Empire’s people would think the Aristocratic Faction’s declaration of war was nothing special.
‘Which is exactly what I’m planning to make it.’
The famous restaurants in the Capital were among the places gossip reporters kept watch with keen eyes for material, so it was perfect.
The moment I stepped down from the carriage with Ed’s escort, I felt the weight of stares.
“Do you see many reporters?”
I leaned close to Ed’s ear and whispered.
Even as Ed’s face flushed in an instant, he quickly assessed the situation.
“Yeah, looks like there’s at least ten of them.”
Our exchanged whispers seemed to intensify the surrounding attention—mission accomplished.
The moment we entered the restaurant, the server’s eyes widened and he rushed off to fetch the manager.
I took a deep breath.
The manager, his face pale in the distance, came walking as fast as he could manage—only once, I reminded myself.
When the manager reached us, he took in Ed’s face and bowed with great formality.
“What an immense honor to have you visit our humble establishment, Your Majesty.”
Though we hadn’t made a reservation, the manager’s quick recognition of Ed’s face was fitting for someone who dealt with nobility.
The manager’s respectfully lowered gaze flicked briefly toward me.
Unlike Ed, my portrait had been exposed in the papers, and I felt the impact of newspaper circulation once again.
“I’d like to have a quiet dinner with my fiancée.”
We were a couple who rarely showed ourselves outside the Imperial Palace.
Attention at the moment of entering the restaurant would be enough.
‘Too sudden an display might look suspicious.’
Ed stepped forward, partially screening me, and spoke.
The quick-witted manager’s gaze fixed firmly on Ed.
“I shall show you to our private room at once. This way, please.”
Ed nodded and offered me his hand.
The manager guided us through a hidden passage used by the waitstaff.
“Here we are.”
The manager opened the door to the private room with evident pride.
It was decorated well enough to seem plausible even to someone like me, whose taste had grown refined through taking various lessons for entering society.
Ed showed no particular reaction, but the manager seemed satisfied enough and brought the menu himself to take our order.
We took his recommendation and ordered the most popular course.
It wasn’t what we ate that mattered on a day like this, but who we ate it with.
While waiting for the courses to arrive, conversation inevitably turned to what awaited us afterward.
We were both rather busy people, after all.
“I was planning to finish reading the report on the Welfare Foundation’s personnel movements this evening.”
“I have a strategy meeting.”
“We’ll need to head back right after dinner.”
“Yes, we should.”
A sigh marked the end of our agreement.
Just then the door opened, and pre-dinner tea and appetizers were served.
Whether the manager had been given a hint, he placed only the dishes silently before us and disappeared, allowing the conversation to resume.
“But haven’t you already read the report?”
“I did. But the people from the Orphanage had the simplest patterns of movement. I thought eliminating from that side first would be most efficient.”
The investigation into how the Temple had caused the illness was stalled.
For now, we’d concluded it was a form of poison.
But we’d made no further progress beyond that.
‘If the Aristocratic Faction is considering civil war, I need to find out sooner rather than later…’
The conditions were too stringent.
It had to transcend status, age, and gender.
It had to be capable of affecting specific individuals.
Those two conditions alone were difficult enough, but there was a third.
‘Ibeta’s Orphanage people contracted it despite being completely isolated from outside contact.’
They’d been so cautious against possible Temple interference that they ate only thoroughly inspected provisions.
‘The Temple couldn’t have tampered with the food there.’
If it were something airborne, making it affect only the former Crown Prince would be impossible.
Which meant what remained was…
“Water?”
I gasped, staring at the tea water that rippled as it had just been set down.

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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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