Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 39

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 39
“During wartime, there were stretches where we’d march for a week without sleeping. I didn’t tire then, so this is nothing.”
The words carried a hint of bravado, but they were true.
Edwin was genuinely all right.
He was exhausted from handling the avalanche of work that kept pouring in, and frustration simmered beneath his skin whenever he caught another nobleman jockeying for position. Yet the moment he returned from spending time with Lina, it all became bearable again.
Seeing her made those grueling days feel rewarded.
Edwin barely relaxed his grip on her hand—he’d been holding it so carefully, almost cradling it, for fear of hurting her—and squeezed just slightly.
When her palm, soft and supple everywhere but where she held her pen, pressed fully against his, Edwin felt a little better.
“This much isn’t difficult at all.”
Edwin spoke with deliberate emphasis, and only then did Lina’s worry ease.
“Is it because you’re a knight, Captain Rohas? Your stamina really is impressive.”
It was an innocent compliment.
‘Rather than stamina alone.’
If he were ever to falter, it wouldn’t be a matter of physical endurance.
So many things gnawed at his mind that the battlefield would’ve seemed preferable—they rolled past like a panorama before his eyes.
“Still, I rest when I can. Overwork is the enemy of health, after all.”
To Lina’s concerned reminder, Edwin only smiled, pushing those worries aside.
Half of him wanted to look impressive in her eyes.
The other half refused to let troublesome matters steal away what little time he had with her.
Instead, he tilted his gaze toward the sky and gently urged her along.
“Once the sun sets completely, we won’t be able to see the roses.”
There were streetlamps scattered throughout, but the garden was so vast that they couldn’t illuminate the entire space.
Besides, Lina had said this was her first time here.
He didn’t want her first impression to be of a garden shrouded in darkness.
‘I can’t have her regretting that we came here instead of to the Lake.’
Edwin guided her toward the entrance, playing the part of an attentive escort.
It was an archway half-hidden among lush ivy vines.
When Lina noticed the gate was closed, she glanced around and whispered conspiratorially.
“Is it really okay for us to go in? The garden’s visiting hours should be over.”
The way she whispered like it was some grand secret when no one was around made him feel a tickle of amusement.
Edwin lowered his voice to match her hushed tone.
“The public viewing hours have ended, so outsiders can’t enter from beyond the palace grounds. But from inside the Imperial Palace, it’s open.”
He demonstrated by pushing the unlocked gate open with a flourish.
“It opens?”
Lina’s eyes widened slightly.
“I always thought this gate was locked.”
Though this path wasn’t one he used regularly, he’d only learned of the gate’s existence recently—and he was four years into his role managing the Imperial Palace.
As for the fact that this archway led to the Summer Rose Garden, a favorite date spot among Capital nobility, he’d only just discovered that.
As Lina stepped into the garden, guided by Edwin’s hand, she glanced back at the gate.
“After visiting hours, they leave it open. The groundskeepers use it as a passage.”
Edwin briefly explained: the gate was kept locked during the day to prevent visitors from wandering into the Imperial Palace grounds, which meant it stayed open only at night.
“Which is why you wouldn’t have seen it unlocked after hours.”
On a quiet day, a short lunch-hour stroll might be possible, but Lina worked late regularly at the Treasury Department—there’d be no reason for her to venture all the way here at such an hour.
At first, Lina had listened to Edwin intently, but the moment she stepped fully into the garden, her gaze drifted away.
Following the rose scent that a lukewarm breeze carried on the air.
Edwin’s eyes followed where hers went.
The summer roses were in full bloom, exactly as the garden’s name promised.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.”
Lina bent closer, taking in the abundant blossoms with her eyes.
Her small lips parted slightly.
Edwin found himself pleased watching her eyes sparkle with wonder.
Some of the regret about not making it to the Lake faded.
‘We can go to the Lake next time.’
His schedule was rigid, broken down to the minute, but perhaps he could carve out a window if he managed things right.
“Captain Rohas, isn’t it gorgeous? It’s like a secret garden from a fairy tale.”
While he was thinking of ways to find time, Lina turned to him, her voice pitched slightly higher than usual.
“It is. Beautiful.”
Edwin answered readily to the lilt in her voice.
Lina gazed at the roses while Edwin gazed at her, and the early evening breeze, laden with rose scent, swirled endlessly around them both.
“They say this place is usually packed with people—more visitors than flowers. Thanks to you, Captain, I get to see it like this.”
Pleased with the garden, Lina swung their joined hands lightly as they walked.
Her hair, bound in a single braid, swayed in rhythm with her cheerful gait.
Edwin followed her through the Summer Rose Garden, led by her hand, which was so much smaller than his own.
Lina’s gaze flitted between the roses and Edwin, while Edwin’s eyes remained fixed solely on her.
They’d made their way through half the spacious garden when, without warning, the sun dipped below the horizon.
Scattered Magic Stones illuminated as streetlamps flickered to life, but as expected, it grew quite dark.
Too dark to see the flowers properly.
“Shall we head back?”
“We probably should. This place is huge. We walked so hard and haven’t even seen half of it.”
Lina sighed with disappointment and turned toward the exit.
Watching her, Edwin made a mental note to plan additional streetlamps for the garden.
“We’ll come again next time.”
Next time, there would be no need to turn back because darkness had fallen.
“I’d like that. And it’s close to the palace, too.”
Lina laughed, already thinking she should check the sunset time before their next visit.
‘Is there magic that makes the sun set later?’
Even in the Ancient Empire when mana had flowed more abundantly, such magic would have been impossible.
After pondering briefly, Lina asked a question.
“By the way, Captain Rohas—do you like roses?”
For some time now, Lina had occasionally asked what he liked and disliked.
‘Since around the third exhibition, I think.’
Edwin, who didn’t have particularly strong preferences, usually took a moment to consider before answering her questions.
‘Roses.’
Throughout their stroll through the Summer Rose Garden, what had captured his gaze wasn’t the full-blooming flowers but Lina herself.
‘Do I like them?’
For nearly the first time today, Edwin’s eyes turned toward the flowers.
A hazy memory surfaced from long ago.
It was from when he was three or four years old—much smaller than the rose bushes around him.
When his father was Crown Prince and he still called his uncle the former Emperor. A peaceful, gentle day from that time.
Talia, Edwin’s mother, had loved the Summer Rose Garden.
It was because of memories from childhood—whenever the Social Season came and his family traveled to the Capital, they often visited this place.
Even after becoming an adult, she’d occasionally return with close friends.
But when she became Crown Princess, security concerns made it difficult for her to frequent a place so crowded during summer.
‘Though as a member of the Imperial House, she could have closed the garden permanently without issue.’
Yet his mother was unpretentious and warm-hearted.
Rather than monopolize the Summer Rose Garden, which had been open for centuries, she was content to walk through it in the early evening—hand in hand with her beloved—once the visitors had left.
That early evening stroll continued even after the two married and had a child.
Young Edwin became part of their walking route.
As a child, he’d rather enjoyed having his busy parents entirely to himself during those precious hours.
The memory was faint, but the feeling remained vivid.
As his recollection faded, Edwin’s answer crystallized.
His golden eyes, gently curved, fixed directly on Lina.
“I do.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————