Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 184

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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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Chapter 184
* * *
A contingent of heavily armed knights thundered down the deserted mountain road at full gallop.
Eight years of war, then mere months of peace—bodies accustomed to that fragile truce now strained under the violence of this breakneck pace.
So desperate to avoid biting their own tongues, they clenched their jaws; the only sounds were hoofbeats and the ragged rasp of labored breathing.
Autumn had turned the air crisp, yet sweat drenched the foreheads of every knight in the column.
After hours of riding, they finally received the signal to rest on a flat stretch near a small pond.
“Mercy, I’m dying.”
The robust knights groaned and collapsed where they stood.
Behind their exhausted forms, Edwin’s cold voice cut through like a blade.
“We ride again in ten minutes.”
Four hours of relentless riding.
Both horse and rider spent.
And yet—merely ten minutes rest.
The knights shot their liege looks heavy with resentment.
But Edwin frightened them too much to voice their grievance; the resentment faded almost at once.
They could only sigh.
Edwin said he would water his horse and rode off alone.
Once he was out of sight, the sighing silence gave way to hushed conversation.
“Who said Your Majesty got a lover and his personality died with it?”
“Right? He’s exactly the same!”
The knights posted outside the Imperial Palace since the war’s end aired their complaints.
From the other group came something like a rebuttal.
“That’s only how it looks to you. I haven’t seen His Majesty so expressionless in ages—it feels strange.”
“True. When he’s with the imperial consort-to-be, he smiles so much it gives me chills. I guess I’ve gotten used to it. That’s why his serious face feels so odd now.”
“The Emperor, smiling like a fool? What nonsense.”
“You just haven’t seen it!”
The knights split into factions, bickering back and forth.
Generally, those on the left called the right side liars, while those on the right protested vehemently.
After a while, the left side grew weary of the exchange.
“Fine, let’s say that’s true.”
“That’s not how this works!”
Those on the right felt deeply wronged.
It was spiraling toward an ugly quarrel between old comrades.
Helen raised her voice to change the subject.
“But we’re headed to the Western Region, aren’t we? Why is His Majesty in such a rush?”
It was a question everyone had wondered, so the topic shifted at once.
“Before, with the war still on, he had to abandon the Capital, but now that’s impossible. So maybe he’s hurrying back?”
This came from the left-side group.
Given what they knew of Edwin’s surprisingly strong sense of duty, it was plausible.
“I don’t think so.”
The rebuttal came right on cue from the right side.
Those knights exchanged meaningful glances with one another.
Likely something along the lines of: “The imperial consort-to-be probably asked him to hurry back.”
Helen agreed with that opinion, truth be told.
But she spoke up before her comrades lost all respect for their liege.
“The harvest is coming.”
That one should avoid moving armies during harvest season, monsoon, and winter was basic strategy, covered at the start of any military treatise.
Helen reasoned that the approaching harvest season had to be at least one reason for Edwin’s haste.
“Right, we have to finish the civil war before the Harvest Festival.”
Fortunately, Helen’s point landed.
The two most important festivals in the Empire were the New Year Festival and the Harvest Festival.
This year especially, being the first Harvest Festival since the war’s end, a larger celebration than usual was planned to lift the lingering shadows of conflict.
So Helen’s argument gained immediate weight.
“Right. We’ve got to be home for the harvest. My youngest is just now learning my face.”
“At least you got married. That one says he won’t accept her betrothal proposal unless she brings home the Laurel Wreath from the Hunting Competition.”
“Isn’t that just a rejection? Won’t His Majesty be competing too?”
“Who told you to be so honest! At least try the competition before getting turned down.”
Refreshed by the brief rest, the knights steeled their resolve.
Right on cue, Edwin returned.
It was time to ride again.
Twelve hours had passed since they departed the Capital.
* * *
Despite their resolve, the knights were utterly spent when they reached the Western Region’s border.
Human endurance could not be overcome by will alone.
Duke Narcan, who commanded the advance forces, came to greet Edwin and his knights.
“Your Majesty, you must be weary from such a long journey. We have prepared quarters——”
Duke Narcan, elder brother to Sir Morgan who went by the name Grizzly Bear, was a taciturn man, yet he spared no effort in his welcome.
Edwin accepted Narcan’s courtesy with a mere nod of acknowledgment.
The reinforcing knights dispersed to their quarters for rest.
Edwin followed Narcan’s guidance toward the command tent.
Beyond some dust from the armor, he looked hardly worse for the ride—far fresher than any of the others.
As they walked toward the tent at the center of camp, Edwin had Narcan report on events of the past days.
“The Western forces have sent out scouts several times, but there have been no direct engagements.”
Narcan reported in a low tone.
Edwin responded with another indifferent nod.
Once they had both entered the tent, Edwin finally asked about the detachment sent to Diegis.
“They say the space to isolate those brainwashed by the Magic Tower has been completed.”
The primary objective of the operation was not eliminating the black mages, but rescuing the victims, so caution was paramount.
According to the Tower Master, Brainwashing Magic was a spell that ended only when either the caster or the victim died.
Since the brainwashing would not break even after rescue, they had devised an alternative: create a space where victims could be isolated, cut off from the High Priest’s commands.
Word had come that this was recently completed.
It was information Narcan had already received.
“Soldiers from the Nobility Faction have been positioned nearby. Once we signal, they can move in immediately from their posts around the black mages’ hideout.”
It was the fourth day since departure.
Accounting for the return journey, Edwin had roughly thirty hours left.
“The enemy knows I’ve come in person?”
“Yes, the scale of the imperial procession was quite grand.”
“Then we strike tonight.”
The Emperor himself had come.
They would likely assume he’d rest for at least a day to recover—the enemy would be off guard.
A surprise attack was one of the highest-success tactics available.
Provided the knights executing it weren’t utterly exhausted.
Narcan briefly considered whether existing forces alone would suffice without the freshly arrived knights, then accepted Edwin’s command.
The soldiers dispatched to the black mages’ hideout were elite.
Additional support from the main camp would be sent, but they didn’t need reinforcements fresh off the road.
“I’ll make the preparations. I’ll draw the roster from our existing forces only.”
Edwin approved without the slightest hesitation.
After eight years of war, his exceptional ability had made him oblivious to how ordinary people tired before him—something even Narcan, meeting him again after a long stint as border commander, found strikingly gracious.
It was late night, nearly dawn, when the rescue of the lower-ranking priests held by the black mages began.
Everything was recorded by the Recording Artifact from the Magic Tower.
Once the rescue operation concluded successfully, they moved quietly to Peram Fief, where the isolation chamber awaited.
The operation was fully complete by dawn that day.
“Then there’s no need to wait any longer.”
Ed stared at the still-dark sky with impatient eyes, then began preparing to depart.
Nineteen hours remained.

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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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