Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 50

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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 50
“So to summarize, we analyze information gathered by our field teams to uncover misconduct like slush funds and tax evasion.”
It was work much like what I’d been doing at the Finance Ministry.
“It’s within the expected scope, at least.”
And it aligned reasonably well with the conditions I’d wanted.
‘I’ll be working inside the Imperial Palace, and I’ll have access to internal information.’
It seemed like work I could manage.
The main difference was that the documents I’d be examining would shift from those territories voluntarily submitted to the Central authority to those forcibly extracted by field teams.
“But surely the Inspection Corps would be better suited for that sort of work?”
“There are cases the Inspection Corps finds difficult to investigate.”
He meant investigations that required an unofficial touch.
“I see why secrecy is necessary now. And why you chose me.”
“Thank you for understanding. The very fact that someone is conducting this sort of work becomes intelligence in itself.”
Kyle laughed lightly as he lamented how hard it was to recruit people for that reason.
‘The misconduct documents from the Camelot Duchy that I’d turned over must have served as a sort of portfolio.’
Everything—the working conditions, the reason I was selected—fit together like puzzle pieces with perfect precision.
As though it had all been prepared for me.
I was at the threshold of my final step toward the Blue Hawk.
Kyle sipped his jasmine tea, as if to give me time to deliberate.
Then he lifted his teacup, and a wrist that emerged slightly began to glimmer as though it had been waiting for this moment.
The source of the light was the Watch-Shaped Artifact that had appeared several times in the original story.
‘Wasn’t that meant for emergencies?’
The Emperor held the matching pair of the artifact, and their structure allowed them to send signals to each other in urgent situations.
I remembered clearly because there was a scene later where the Emperor gifted something similar to the Female Lead.
‘A Coordinate Stone was embedded in it, so you could instantly teleport to wherever the matching artifact was.’
The ceaseless glimmering seemed anything but routine, suggesting something desperately urgent.
“Oh.”
Kyle’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the artifact, his expression troubled.
“If I delay any longer, my precious café will crumble to dust.”
Kyle lowered his sleeve to cover the artifact.
It wasn’t the kind of light that a mere scrap of fabric could hide, but it was at least easier on the eyes.
After applying this temporary measure, Kyle promptly produced the contract.
It was a Magical Contract, the sort commonly used for important agreements.
“I’m sorry, but this is a moment of choice.”
Kyle laid the contract before me and politely extended a quill pen.
“You’re welcome to refuse, but I’d be terribly sad.”
His subtle pressure to sign seemed perfectly calibrated—the sort of thing Koni would do brilliantly.
‘I’d already decided to do it anyway; I was only hesitant because backing out of a magical contract would be difficult.’
I accepted the quill pen from Kyle.
And I wrote my name in the signature field.
Kyle’s face lit up as he confirmed my signature on the contract.
“Welcome to the Blue Hawk.”
Then he offered me a Silver Needle.
“Have you ever used a Magical Contract before?”
“Yes, I have.”
Just before I reached out, Kyle revealed the origin of the Silver Needle.
“It’s used to check for poison, but it’s never been used—brand new.”
“You didn’t need to tell me that.”
Now it just felt awkward.
I took the Silver Needle carefully, repeating to myself that it was unused.
As someone without Mana, I pricked my fingertip with the needle and let a few drops of blood fall onto the contract, while Kyle breathed green Mana into it.
Throughout the process, the artifact on his wrist continued to glow.
‘The light seems to be getting stronger, if anything.’
Kyle carefully secured the contract once the agreement was finalized.
Then he promptly issued me a Dismissal Order.
“Shall we have you head home now? It’s getting late.”
His voice urging me to leave now that business was done was uncommonly brisk.
The shift in his manner the moment the signing was complete felt almost like betrayal.
“Why is employee welfare like this? It’s like catching a fish and tossing it back in?”
When I grumbled openly, Kyle raised his wrist, showing the artifact that hadn’t stopped glowing for a moment, and made his excuse.
“If you don’t leave right now, there will be serious consequences. Your understanding is appreciated.”
Kyle paused for breath before adding:
“It’s His Majesty, the Emperor.”
Kyle seemed anxious but not truly urgent.
To be honest, it didn’t look like an emergency situation.
‘A summons at this hour of the night?’
It was already past eight when I’d checked the time at home.
The Emperor was apparently quite the unscrupulous boss.
“You work terribly late hours.”
‘And His Majesty is relentless.’
Having just observed the loyalty of those close to the Emperor, I offered Kyle only encouragement.
But it seemed my nonverbal expression—treating the Emperor like a brutal taskmaster—leaked through rather obviously.
Kyle, who had been regarding the artifact with eyes as irreverent as my own, quickly composed himself and came to the Emperor’s defense.
“It’s just… a special circumstance.”
But he trailed off when he saw my expression growing colder.
“Ah, I see.”
Yet by then, in my mind, the Blue Hawk had already been branded a sweatshop and the Emperor a ruthless employer.
‘Can’t take it back now, can I?’
Even though a mage couldn’t exactly read people’s thoughts, Kyle hid the contract deep in his breast pocket.
‘He thinks I’m going to steal it.’
Not that the impulse was entirely absent, so I merely twisted my lips.
Kyle laughed awkwardly.
Kyle, who just moments before had seemed ready to dash straight to the Imperial Palace, now alternated his gaze between the artifact and me, letting out a sigh.
‘Wait—is he stuck here because of me?’
As Kyle awkwardly lingered like someone who’d made a foolish mistake and was chastising himself for it, I found the weight of his concern unbearable, so I stood and said I’d be on my way.
Kyle rose to see me out but glanced at something through the window, then silently stepped back.
“I’ll contact you once Diaz’s workstation is ready, so you can arrange your affairs at the Finance Ministry.”
Kyle extended his hand for a handshake.
“Thank you.”
I exchanged a far more formal greeting with Kyle than before and turned to leave the café behind.
‘I thought I’d hurried, but it seems quite a bit of time has passed.’
The café had been brightly lit and hectic enough that I hadn’t noticed the time slipping away, but outside it was full night.
The few pedestrians that had lingered were gone.
‘I didn’t think about the journey home. I should have come tomorrow afternoon.’
It wasn’t a dangerous area even for a woman alone—we were near the Security Force headquarters—but the dark streets still unsettled me.
‘Post-traumatic stress or something like that, I suppose.’
While I briefly regretted my hasty choice, Everett emerged from the shadows of an alley.
He called my name carefully so as not to startle me.
“Diaz.”
Everett approached me at once and grasped my hand firmly.
“Everett, weren’t you supposed to have left?”
With my path home uncertain, I was relieved to see Everett.
So much so that the slightly awkward parting from a few hours earlier and the bustle at the café all seemed to evaporate, replaced by genuine joy.
In that relief, I failed to notice the subtle tension in his grip or the stiffness in his expression, shadowed as it was.
“I left, then came back.”
‘Left’ or ‘was leaving’—the grammar was muddled, but contextually it had to be the former.
“Will you see me home?”
I asked in a cheerier tone than usual while giving the hand holding mine a playful swing.
“Yeah.”
Everett entrusted his hand to mine as I did and nodded.
“Good.”
As I smiled at Everett and met his eyes, his blank expression softened into a returning smile.
We walked slowly beneath the moonlight, using it as our only lamp.
Everett was never one for many words, but today he was unusually quiet.
‘Did something not go well at the Imperial Palace?’
At first I thought it might be work-related, but gradually a different instinct surfaced.
He looked up at the night sky, then at me, then opened his mouth as if to speak.
After several attempts, he gave up trying to say anything to me, and his eyes grew slightly distant.
The way he walked became oddly listless and drained, and it was plain to see he had something to say but couldn’t manage it.
‘Here we are again—in my past life I spent twenty years reading other people’s expressions on an empty stomach.’
I lightly tugged at Everett’s arm as he walked in an almost unconscious daze, and we came to a stop.

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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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