Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 198
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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 198
“I’m the winner?”
I felt bewildered at first, but then thought—why not? There was nothing wrong with it.
The Hunting Contest had no entry requirements.
The only rule was that after the contest began, we had to capture the strongest or the greatest number of Magical Beasts we could find on Jascaria Mountain.
‘I did land the final blow on the Golem.’
But there was one thing that weighed on my mind.
‘Even though I struck the finishing blow, we all captured it together.’
This glory belonged to everyone.
“Ed, would it be possible for those who fought the Golem with me to also become Joint Champions?”
I asked him carefully.
“Of course it’s possible.”
Ed agreed readily enough.
* * *
A few hours later, the awards ceremony began.
Nobility gathered in the banquet hall where the feast had been held on the first day.
Word had already spread that I’d been named the winner, and several people came to offer their congratulations.
“Lina, congratulations on winning!”
“Congratulations.”
Ibeta and Bes grinned brightly as they greeted me.
I waved back at both of them.
The fact that I’d proposed making all forty-two of us co-winners was still a secret.
‘This will be more fun as a surprise.’
Just then, the ladies who’d fought the Golem with me yesterday began gathering nearby.
“Bes and Ibeta, congratulations. And everyone else too!”
I gestured to the armful of Golden Roses I’d prepared.
“We all caught it together, after all.”
The surprise worked perfectly—the ladies erupted with emotion, each offering a word or two of their own.
“My goodness, Golden Roses!”
“It feels like a dream.”
As several of them spoke at once, the area around us filled with commotion.
I answered each of their remarks as patiently as I could.
Before I knew it, Ed had entered.
The ladies, who’d been chattering like kindergarteners vying for their favorite teacher’s attention, fell silent in an instant.
Ed walked through the suddenly quiet banquet hall as if nothing unusual were happening and extended his hand to me.
“Lina.”
I placed my hand over his.
Ed guided me gently to our seats.
Only after we’d sat did the awards ceremony begin.
“We need to return to the Capital, so let’s keep the ceremony brief.”
A somewhat abbreviated schedule.
An attendant brought out the remains of the Golem Core and displayed them.
This was the procedure to verify our catch to the other guests.
“Carolina Diaz, Young Lady of the Renquels Family, and forty-one others who captured the Golem have been named the Joint Champions of this Hunting Contest.”
The attendant announced the winners in a loud voice.
Since there were so many joint winners, the awards were presented all at once—except for me, who received the Golden Rose directly from Ed as the representative.
I watched the awards ceremony with a satisfied expression.
After the ceremony, it was time for the winners to present the Golden Rose to their lovers, family, or acquaintances.
With so many joint winners, the hall erupted in a bustle.
Some gave theirs to family, but most presented them to their lovers.
Those who received the Golden Rose from their lovers used the excuse of returning a kiss to slip away one by one.
I watched the scene with a warm gaze.
Ed, observing me, lowered his voice and asked quietly.
“Do you have a Golden Rose?”
‘Oh, that.’
The place, the time, even the clothes we wore—everything was different, yet the day I first met Ed flashed through my mind in an instant.
Whether Ed was also recalling that first meeting, he widened his eyes and smiled at my reaction.
A beautiful smile, as if pleased that I’d made the right choice in yielding the Frigidaire back then.
I sent a compliment to my past self.
But that didn’t mean I’d simply hand over the Golden Rose to him.
I answered with a mischievous laugh.
Pointing to any random couple exchanging their roses.
“What can I do? The last customer just bought it.”
“Lina…”
Only then did Ed realize my role had changed to that of a flower-selling girl, and he called my name with a sulky expression.
I stifled my laughter and continued the improvisation.
“I didn’t know it was the last one, but look—there’s one more here.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
Ed extended his hand to me confidently.
Faced with his golden eyes, which softened into their usual warmth as if he’d never pouted, I finally laughed out loud.
‘Oh, goodness.’
I was about to place the rose between Ed’s lips as his reward, but hesitated.
‘But I should still take payment.’
Instead of placing it between his lips, I gently tucked the rose behind his left ear.
Ed, delighted to have received the rose in any form, smiled brightly.
The combination of the rose tucked behind his ear and his smile was truly…
‘Why is he beautiful again?’
I found myself captivated by Ed’s beauty anew and obediently closed my eyes.
Ed’s lips touched mine lightly.
But as he tried to pull away, I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him closer.
As the kiss deepened, I thought I heard a whistle from somewhere.
* * *
Even after the villain disappeared, the aftermath wasn’t over.
Back in the Capital, we threw ourselves into our work.
We dealt with the remaining remnants of the noble faction who refused to surrender until the end, and made it known that the High Priest had been colluding with a Dark Mage.
We helped the lower-ranking priests who’d been freed from brainwashing return to their everyday lives, and we searched for other victims of Dark Magic.
The Temple took charge of treating and purifying the victims who were discovered.
‘So, Ibeta…’
As promised, Ibeta, having secured control of the Minos Religion, purged the corrupt priests, appointed a virtuous priest as the new High Priest, and then began her work as a Saint in earnest.
As Ibeta settled into her position, our workload diminished somewhat.
‘Not by much, though.’
Beyond that, while we busied ourselves rooting out the abuses we’d long wanted to address while the opportunity was open, there was no time.
Recently, Ed and I had been working in the same space, occasionally watching each other work instead of going on dates.
Working so much had slowly freed up a little time.
It was one of those rare days when work was so scarce I felt anxious, as if I’d forgotten something important.
I was rummaging through my desk looking for something to do when I discovered the Imperial Seal and a Marriage Certificate.
The ones Ed had given me before he left for the Western Region.
‘Goodness, I still haven’t returned these?’
After Ed returned, endless work kept arising, so I carefully tucked them away with the intention of safekeeping them—and then I simply forgot.
‘I should return them soon.’
Both of them, naturally.
I picked up the Marriage Certificate and grinned mischievously.
Shortly afterward, Ed returned from a joint training exercise with the Imperial Palace Knights.
He was wearing a ceremonial uniform I’d never seen before.
I’d thought the Imperial Guard dress uniform was the best, but…
‘Right, that’s right.’
I’d been so occupied admiring his face that I’d momentarily forgotten—I had something important to tell Ed today.
I lifted Ed’s left hand.
Ed seemed puzzled by what I was doing, but he obediently went along with it.
I bit Ed’s left ring finger.
After confirming the bite marks were clear, I produced the pre-signed Marriage Certificate.
“Ed, will you marry me?”
I’d always assumed I’d marry Ed someday, hoped for it, but this was the first time I’d asked him myself.
‘I’ve always put it off, always said “later.”‘
But now I understood.
My feelings for Ed ran deeper and larger than I realized.
‘As for “forever”—what wasn’t I ready for?’
In that moment when the Golem brought us to the brink of death, the first person who came to mind was Ed.
The reason I—someone whose stamina was never great—could endure to the end through sheer willpower and grit was Ed.
I wanted to show Ed my feelings and my resolve.
Ed looked startled by my unexpected words, as if frozen.
He was so motionless it seemed he’d been carved to look exactly like Ed, not Ed himself.
Growing slightly embarrassed, I asked gruffly.
“You don’t suddenly hate the idea of marrying me?”
I pouted slightly, and Ed jumped in alarm, denying it.
“No, I want to marry you. I do.”
Ed held the Marriage Certificate against his chest.
As if he could never let it go.
“All right, then.”
I had no intention of taking it back anyway.
“Next week works?”
Until Ed suggested an impossible timeline.
“That doesn’t work!”
It looked like he was about to file the marriage application right then and there.
As I reached out to take it from him, Ed made a distressed face and asked.
“Then when?”
“Hmm, next spring?”
“That’s too far away.”
“When we’re ready, then?”
Only then did Ed nod with satisfaction.
Our secret romance ended like this.
fin.
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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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noamoa
I feel like a contented turtle basking in the sun, I’m glad I read this novel. Thans for the translation.