Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 40

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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 40
It was the most emotionally charged answer I’d given to a question I’d heard many times before.
A smile so captivating that it made me forget the very question I’d asked.
The violet eyes meeting mine wavered slightly, then looked away.
Edwin’s gaze sharpened as he absorbed the words he himself had spoken, watching those shy purple eyes flee.
‘I like you.’
Edwin’s pupils trembled far more violently than Lina’s had.
* * *
Roughly thirty seconds ago, I could still remember what I’d asked Everett.
It was familiar enough—the way he took time to answer when asked about his preferences.
But the moment Everett’s eyes turned toward me and he said “I like you,” all of it evaporated cleanly.
Only that single phrase echoed in my mind.
‘Why would he make “I like flowers” sound so thrilling?’
Without thinking, I averted my gaze from Everett’s.
‘Don’t interpret it the way you want to hear it, Carolina Diaz.’
Everett had simply said he liked Roses.
Yet the delusion was so sweet that reason refused to return.
I could only pray he wouldn’t hear the wild drumming of my own heart.
Huff, huff.
As I turned away and drew a quiet breath, Everett—noticing the strange shift in atmosphere—hurried to add more.
“Specifically, Roses.”
“Yes, of course. Roses.”
Awkwardly accepting his words, we began to rattle off the virtues of Roses in rapid succession.
“They’re beautiful.”
“The scent is lovely too.”
‘What is this.’
I stole a sideways glance at Everett.
‘This is a disaster.’
Everett, too, looked flustered and embarrassed.
His gaze was scattered, his cheeks flushed.
‘Oh.’
An awkward, prickly silence wrapped around us.
I racked my brain desperately for something, anything, to break it, but nothing useful came.
Everett, who wasn’t naturally quick with words, seemed equally lost.
For a long moment we stood, unable to meet each other’s eyes, mouths opening and closing uselessly.
“Um…….”
Then Everett called out to me carefully, as though steeling himself.
‘It seems he forgot what he meant to say now that he’s actually trying to speak.’
The quiet man had gathered the courage to break the discomfort, but it seemed he’d failed.
If we stayed silent much longer, it would become suffocatingly awkward.
It was my turn to act.
I decided to end the evening here, playing it off as if nothing had happened.
To ease Everett’s burden.
And to save my own composure.
“I should be getting back before it gets any later.”
I rambled some excuse about how there were no administrative buildings in this area and we might encounter patrol soldiers, which seemed to deflate Everett. He exhaled softly, without conviction.
For a moment he stared into the empty air with a hollow expression, then offered me his hand.
“Let’s go.”
‘Good work, Carolina.’
If we were walking, at least the silence wouldn’t feel quite so damning.
Feeling somewhat pleased with myself, I placed my hand over his.
The knights must have excellent night vision, for Everett navigated the darkened Garden with surprising ease.
Deftly sidestepping the Rose vines that sprawled across the viewing path.
Yet whatever weighty thoughts occupied him, Everett’s lips remained firmly shut.
He seemed somehow melancholy.
It was a quiet walk home.
* * *
“Good morning.”
I’d lost sleep until just before dawn.
So of those seven syllables, only the last five were truthful.
Offering a greeting that was perhaps seventy-one percent sincere, I stepped into the Office only to find the atmosphere unusually tense.
‘What’s this? Why is everyone gathered and murmuring?’
Making people anxious first thing in the morning.
As I was surveying the situation, Conie, who’d arrived earlier, sidled up to me.
With her talent for catching wind of things, she already seemed to know what had swept through the Office.
‘What happened?’
I formed the words silently with my lips, addressing Conie.
Reading the shape of my mouth, Conie silently gestured with a jerk of her chin for me to follow her outside, folding her arms.
I followed quietly, and only when we’d put considerable distance between ourselves and the Office did Conie finally speak.
“Wait a moment.”
She wasn’t usually one to be overly cautious about what others thought.
But since the Donovan incident, watching her—now even less concerned with propriety—constantly check for nearby people made me uneasy.
“What’s going on?”
I nudged Conie’s ribs, pressing for an answer.
Only after confirming there was no one passing by did Conie lower her voice and speak.
“Apparently the Imperial Marriage isn’t about the Crown Princess and His Majesty at all.”
I’d suspected as much, honestly.
‘If the Crown Princess and the Emperor were to marry, Everett wouldn’t have shown his disdain for her to me.’
Regardless of his personal feelings, he would have shown her some respect as the Emperor’s intended.
The rumors had been dying down too.
‘If the Imperial Marriage were real, things would be far noisier by now.’
“Oh, is that so?”
My reaction being weaker than she’d expected, Conie’s shoulders sagged as she scratched her cheek.
“You didn’t believe that rumor either, huh. Though it’s true, the Crown Princess and His Majesty were a pretty mismatched pair.”
‘To be precise, I was hoping it might be, before I dropped the idea.’
But there was no time to spend explaining my thought process now.
Since I’d never seen either of them, I couldn’t fairly judge whether they matched or not.
“But this much should be safe to discuss in the Office, shouldn’t it? Is there something more?”
When the Crown Princess and Emperor’s Imperial Marriage rumors were first circulating, the Office had been abuzz.
Conversations about the Crown Princess and the Emperor came from every corner during lunch breaks and tea times.
Since this kind of gossip was widely accepted as harmless speculation, it wasn’t a topic that required particular caution.
“Of course there is. Do you think I’d dragged you out here just for that?”
Having piqued my curiosity with her theatrical manner, Conie launched into her explanation like a storyteller reaching the climax of a novel.
“The Imperial Marriage itself involves the Crown Princess and a member of the Empire’s nobility. I’ve heard the candidates are, but that’s not really important, so we can skip over that.”
Conie paused, seemingly to build tension.
“But here’s where it gets important…….”
Being unable to shed her playful nature even in this situation, that pause stretched on a bit longer.
‘This is like “to be continued in the next volume,” isn’t it.’
“So what is this important thing?”
“So basically…….”
Just before my patience wore through, Conie finally continued.
“The Crown Princess’s Imperial Marriage came up as a topic of discussion at the Council Chamber a few days ago, and it seems the nobles, seeing an opportunity, pressed His Majesty about whether he should also marry.”
As she got to the heart of the matter, the playfulness drained from Conie’s expression.
It was a sign of how grave the situation was.
I waited quietly for her to continue.
“And in the end, His Majesty became furious…….”
Conie’s voice dropped to barely a whisper.
Without realizing it, I’d stopped breathing properly, my body coiled with tension as I urged her onward.
Conie glanced around once more, then leaned in close and whispered directly.
“He apparently drew his sword and said if they value their lives, they should keep quiet. Someone saw palace guards rushing in huge numbers. The atmosphere was apparently incredibly tense.”
The speed with which she whispered and then pulled away made me wonder if this really needed to be discussed outside and away from the Office.
“Drew his sword?”
I found myself echoing her words before catching myself.
The Empire had strict laws against the Crime of Imperial Slander in place of more casual insults.
“Really?”
I lowered my voice as well, pressing her for confirmation, and Conie simply nodded, verifying I’d heard correctly.
“I heard that a few of the nobles were actually carried out.”
‘The Emperor’s marriage discussed in the Council Chamber? Could it be…….’
A scene suddenly came to mind.

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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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