Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 3

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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 3
“Ugh.”
I’d come in early to the office and spent the entire morning drafting reports, and now I rolled my stiff wrist gently, stretching it out.
As the long sleeves I’d deliberately worn rose up slightly, my gaze flickered to my wrist.
‘It’s gotten so much better, at least.’
The bruising had formed in the shape of a hand, a deep blue, but now it had faded considerably, taking on a yellowish tinge.
‘Thank goodness I didn’t go to the Temple.’
It was my right wrist, after all, which had made things inconvenient for a while, but time really was the best medicine.
‘A simple salve would’ve been plenty.’
I pulled my sleeve back down and picked up my pen again.
‘Going to the Temple for a wound like this.’
That man really didn’t understand the value of things, I thought bitterly.
I shook my head reproachfully, mentally cursing Everett Rohas.
Even if it hadn’t come out of my own pocket, it was such a waste.
‘The Temple charges the same donation for minor injuries as for severe ones.’
It was designed to prevent patients with mild injuries—those who could be treated through an apothecary or physician—from using the Temple.
Or perhaps it was meant to drain the purses of nobles who sought the Temple even for minor wounds.
‘I can’t possibly spend half my annual salary just to fade some wrist bruising.’
A four-Silver ointment applied for a few days would have done the trick, but two hundred Gold was simply excessive.
I let out a long sigh, then straightened my pen once more.
In truth, I had no business indulging in such thoughts right now.
I had to finish organizing eight years of tax records from seven fiefs by the end of today.
‘It’s well past quitting time, and I’ve still got about two left.’
And once I finished this, another task would pile on immediately, and after that, work would continue to backlog for some time.
The Emperor, who had departed for the Battlefield straight after the Coronation Ceremony, was returning after eight years.
Moreover, the order had come down to prepare departmental reports, as he would be receiving briefings from each ministry the moment he arrived.
‘How many days until the Emperor’s triumphal return?’
It seemed like about three or four days remained, but my mind had been so overworked that I couldn’t even be bothered to count the exact date.
‘What a nightmare.’
No matter how much the Emperor was known to be a warmonger—a tyrant who regarded human lives as casually as flies—his blade wouldn’t extend all the way down to someone like me.
As a low-ranking employee, all I had to do was keep my head down and hold my breath until the situation passed, but those higher up who had to face the Emperor directly seemed to be in a different predicament entirely.
‘They’re wound so tight that the criticism just keeps coming.’
Because of the superiors’ frayed nerves, everyone in the Imperial Palace was on high alert.
The Ministry of Finance, where I worked, was no exception.
‘He probably received steady reports even from the Battlefield about all the important matters.’
But the reports that went to the Emperor were refined and polished, which meant some details were bound to be omitted, and when the boss was away for an extended period, the subordinates inevitably grew lax.
The current Emperor, who had ascended the throne after purging the Previous Emperor and collateral branches of the imperial line, would have lost some of his presence over eight years.
Moreover, officials who had entered service after the Emperor’s departure hardly knew what his face looked like.
‘Though rumors had trickled in from time to time about him sweeping away some country in a matter of days, or exterminating an entire royal family of another kingdom.’
But people didn’t fear things they couldn’t see with their own eyes—the rumors were consumed like gossip.
‘But now they’ll see it with their own eyes.’
The Emperor was going to scrutinize everything that had happened in his absence—how many people wouldn’t be nervous about that?
‘Even I, who pride myself on living honestly and without corruption, get anxious wondering if there’s some tiny speck of wrongdoing in my past.’
He’d be even worse.
I let out a sigh, catching a glimpse of Donovan snapping at Koni.
He’d been like that ever since word of the Emperor’s return had spread.
All the officials with any rank looked like they were dying, but Donovan was particularly bad.
‘Did he really do something shady?’
I shrugged lightly to loosen my taut muscles.
Though he looked like a corrupt official through and through, I’d been telling myself not to suspect people without evidence.
But watching him grow increasingly hysterical made me wonder if there really was something.
‘Given his reclusive style, he’d be too timid to do anything major anyway.’
Wouldn’t thrashing about like that only invite more suspicion?
‘Though to be fair, the Emperor isn’t the type to make fine distinctions between minor and major infractions.’
At least according to the source material.
Before being influenced by the sunny protagonist, the Emperor had been a textbook example of a competent but tyrannical character in a romance novel.
‘Brutal, regardless of whether someone was a commoner or noble.’
Donovan, who’d been in the Ministry of Finance since before the Emperor’s ascension, would know the Emperor’s temperament.
‘So that’s why he’s like this.’
I’d now completely made up my mind that Donovan had something weighing on his conscience.
His voice carried so well that employees whose concentration had been broken kept shooting him dissatisfied glances.
“I’ve said this was urgent several times—how is it not done yet?”
‘He assigned work yesterday that would take a week to complete.’
No matter how much one hurried, there were limits to how much time could be saved.
“It’ll be done soon.”
Koni replied to Donovan in a restrained tone.
Koni’s patience, which had initially allowed her to address Donovan with a professional smile born of years of workplace experience, had finally reached its breaking point.
Surely things would’ve moved faster if Donovan hadn’t approached Koni every hour just to hurry her along.
“How many times have you said ‘soon’? Tsk.”
Donovan continued nagging Koni right up until the end, then disappeared.
The moment Donovan fully left the office, Koni flopped into her chair.
No sound escaped her lips, but any native speaker could understand what she meant from the way her mouth moved.
Donovan’s name was interspersed among some very colorful language.
Everyone in the office silently permitted Koni’s venting.
Over the past few days, Koni had been the primary target of Donovan’s hysteria.
I carefully approached and placed a hand on Koni’s shoulder.
When I gestured toward the exit, Koni followed with a pouty expression.
I led her quietly to the back of the Ministry of Finance building to give her time to cool off.
Whether from venting or simply letting off steam, Koni’s mood seemed to lift a little, and she began to mutter.
Similar grievances from before now came out audibly.
I offered the occasional reaction, listening to what she had to say.
After a while, Koni’s face had flushed nearly the same carrot color as her hair, and she sighed, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Donovan’s always been impossible, but he’s gotten even worse lately.”
“Exactly. Ever since the news came that His Majesty was returning, he’s been like that.”
Koni’s nose twitched playfully as she whispered that I should keep this to myself.
“Donovan was so happy when he managed to connect with Duke Camelot.”
Duke Camelot was the head of the Aristocratic Faction.
One of Donovan’s distant relatives was a retainer of Duke Camelot, and through that connection, Donovan had apparently met the Duke a couple of times.
‘And he never stopped bragging about it.’
That much was common knowledge to everyone here.
“But it seems like His Majesty plans to strike down Duke Camelot as soon as he returns.”
‘Oh.’
I drew in a small breath, pursing my lips slightly.
“I heard they were on bad terms even before the throne—I’m not sure why it was overlooked eight years ago.”
Koni laughed, suggesting that the Emperor might simply have forgotten about Duke Camelot given how many names appeared on his purge list.
For whatever reason, Duke Camelot, who had survived the bloodletting of the early reign, had been busy expanding his influence during the Emperor’s absence.
So he might survive even after the Emperor’s return.
But it appeared that the Emperor, who had turned a blind eye to internal matters while external affairs were urgent, was now cracking down on the home front as soon as the war ended.
“Honestly, anyone who’s paying attention knows. It’s just not something to say out loud.”
Koni, who had still been leaning on my shoulder, straightened up and winked.
“It’s the end for the wyvern who was acting like a king while the dragon was away.”
Koni expressed hope that while the Emperor was dealing with the wyvern, an orc they were targeting would also be swept away.
Though Koni’s connections were fairly wide for a low-ranking official of the Imperial Palace, the fact that she’d heard of the Emperor’s obvious pressure on the Duke showed how overtly he was doing it.
“But doesn’t Duke Camelot just sit still and accept it?”
To my muttered question, Koni gave an ambiguous answer—that we should probably wait and see.
After that, the conversation drifted to lighter topics.
Once her mood had completely lifted, Koni spoke with a reluctant expression.
“Shouldn’t we get back inside?”
“Yeah, I suppose we should.”
I was aware that even as we stood here, my sleep time was dwindling away, but returning to the office full of piling work was genuinely painful.
We made our way back to the office very slowly.
While we handled our respective backlogs at our desks, Donovan never returned.
Around midnight, employees who’d finished their work began disappearing one by one with zombie-like expressions.
I’d just finished organizing the tax records for the last fief myself.
I approached Koni, who seemed to still have quite a bit of work left, and asked her a question.
“Want me to help a little?”
Koni’s face brightened immediately—she looked so crushed by the endless pile of work.
After a brief moment of internal conflict, Koni asked for my help cautiously.
“Then could you just handle this? I really appreciate it.”
I took the work Koni handed me.
And out of habit, I scanned the front of the document.
‘Huh?’
I blinked my tired eyes and checked again, but the characters I’d seen didn’t change.
A question tumbled out without my meaning to ask it.
“Koni, what exactly are you working on?”

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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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