Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 55

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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 55
Kyle nudged Everett forward slightly, where he’d been leaning against the doorframe, and answered.
“Don’t you think they resemble each other?”
At the sudden remark, Edwin’s eyes filled with questions as they moved from Kyle to Everett in turn.
Edwin and Everett’s gazes met for a brief moment.
Only then did Everett grasp what Kyle had said moments before.
And whom he was supposed to resemble.
The Emperor was a handsome man with hair as dark as a night sky and eyes the color of midday gold.
Everett possessed black hair and yellow eyes—rare in the continent where the Regentia Empire stood, though common enough across the distant Eastern continent.
His build was remarkably similar, differing only by about a finger’s width in height.
And when viewed from a certain angle, even his features bore a striking resemblance.
It was the sort of likeness that would emerge if a master painter lavished all their skill embellishing Everett’s portrait—the result would be Edwin’s face.
Edwin, too, readily identified the similarities between his own features and those of this Eastern provincial guardsman.
Edwin’s brow furrowed.
From his perspective, it was like gazing upon a portrait ruined by an inept artist.
Kyle easily read acknowledgment of the resemblance itself in Edwin’s contorted expression.
Though he appeared somewhat displeased, what mattered to Kyle was that it wasn’t only his eyes seeing the likeness—others could perceive it too.
“See? They do resemble each other, don’t they?”
At Kyle’s enthusiastic insistence, Edwin’s brow narrowed further.
A pair of golden eyes, tinged with displeasure, swept across Everett’s face.
He clearly had no desire to acknowledge it.
‘I wasn’t the one who pointed out the resemblance.’
Though Everett understood Edwin’s feelings well enough, he couldn’t help but feel a touch aggrieved.
Whether Edwin and Everett nursed their own grievances over Kyle’s words mattered little to Kyle—he was in excellent spirits.
A brilliant idea had just occurred to him, one that could resolve a problem that had been troubling him of late.
“During the Old Kingdom era, you see.”
Kyle reached directly toward the solution he’d devised.
To the other two, who knew nothing of how Kyle had arrived at this answer, it seemed somewhat abrupt—but the mad gleam in his green eyes possessed a force that suggested his words should not be interrupted.
Edwin and Everett, their expressions reluctant, nonetheless listened attentively to what Kyle had to say.
“In the Eastern Region, I’m told there existed something called the Shadow Knight.”
The tale was famous enough in this region that even the illiterate Everett knew of it.
It was a staple of old stories, after all.
Yet if Edwin—accustomed to the Capital—had never heard of it, Kyle offered a brief explanation.
“Once upon a time, it became fashionable for great lords and other nobility to select individuals bearing a resemblance to them and employ them as bodyguards. Those bodyguards selected in this manner were called Shadow Knights.”
As Kyle pronounced the words “individuals bearing a resemblance,” his gaze swept across Everett once more.
Though their eyes met only for the briefest instant, Everett felt the backs of his knees weaken.
Something felt ominous.
And his instinct proved accurate.
“They served as decoys to confuse assassins, or as stand-ins when one found themselves unable to appear for some unavoidable reason—such purposes, you understand.”
As Kyle added this, Everett grasped why he’d been brought all the way to this place.
The Guard Captain had given him a hint as to why the Emperor and his retinue had stopped at this unremarkable provincial fief.
Everett cursed himself for forgetting his station in pursuit of a petty boast.
‘I should have kept quiet, just as the Guard Captain suggested.’
But it was already too late to regret.
“So? You want to make him a Shadow Knight?”
At roughly the same moment Everett understood Kyle’s intention, one of Edwin’s eyebrows arched slightly.
Edwin appeared displeased with Kyle’s idea.
Everett, well aware that the fate of Shadow Knights rarely ended well, found himself silently rooting for Edwin.
Yet Kyle remained entirely unintimidated by Edwin’s icy gaze and pressed onward with his persuasion.
“Have the Kingdom Alliance Army’s attacks not grown increasingly frequent of late? Drawing the enemy’s attention would grant you greater freedom of movement, Your Majesty.”
Having stumbled upon such an elegant solution to a vexing problem, he couldn’t afford to yield easily.
“You truly believe he could pass as me? Don’t waste my time.”
Edwin merely scoffed.
“We need only have him appear in the rear, at a distance. And perhaps this would be an opportune moment for Your Majesty to refrain from leading the vanguard yourself.”
Kyle countered swiftly, for he had long disapproved of Edwin throwing himself directly into battle.
‘The Emperor leading the charge was necessary at first, when we were being pushed back—but to remain in the vanguard even after we’d seized the advantage?’
And with no imperial heir left to succeed him, no less.
Kyle’s offensive, honed by years of silent worry, cut deep.
‘He should have returned to the Imperial City long ago.’
Emperors who commanded troops personally were rare, but for an Emperor to absent himself from the Capital for years was nearly unprecedented in the thousand-year history of the Empire.
Each time Edwin made brief trips back to the Capital, the military tide visibly shifted against them—even Kyle found it difficult to insist on his early return.
But this opportunity provided a chance to establish at least some safeguard.
War was unforgiving; win a hundred times, lose once, and one’s fate hung by a thread.
At a moment when the Kingdom Alliance Army’s tactics increasingly targeted Edwin directly, such a strategy was all the more vital.
Armed with both conviction and justification, Kyle pressed his argument with relentless determination.
There was nothing Everett could do in this situation.
He could only stand and silently listen as Kyle and Edwin bickered over his future.
His silent support proved ineffective; in the end, it was Kyle who gained the upper hand.
Though it was plainly born of exasperation, Kyle had nonetheless secured Edwin’s consent.
“Do as you wish.”
Having breached an impregnable fortress, Kyle released Edwin with a thoroughly satisfied expression.
“The Lord is preparing a feast, I’m told.”
The remark—implying he would not trouble Edwin until evening—prompted the Emperor to wave his hand dismissively, ushering Kyle out.
“My ears are ringing. Now leave.”
“Rest well, then.”
Kyle bowed politely to Edwin, then gathered Everett and headed for the quarters assigned to them.
Upon arriving at the chamber, Kyle sent out the servants who had been tidying the room to receive their distinguished guest.
Then he asked.
“Tell me what you desire.”
His voice was as gentle as a saint in a temple.
Whether his good humor stemmed from his successful persuasion or was calculated to lower Everett’s guard, he wore a bright smile.
Yet in that moment, to Everett, Kyle appeared as a ruthless dark sorcerer summoning demons by bartering human souls.
That is to say—
‘Merciful heavens, why must this befall me?’
Everett silently crossed himself with fervent devotion.
But Kyle was neither dark sorcerer nor demon, so the gesture held no power.
After waiting briefly for Everett to speak his desires, Kyle prompted him.
“If you have nothing in particular to request, I shall ponder an appropriate compensation myself.”
He meant he would see to it properly of his own accord.
Everett, who had lived his entire life as a commoner, understood what lay beneath Kyle’s words.
It meant you had no choice in refusal, but out of conscience, he would offer reasonable payment.
This was, in its own way, the conscience of the nobility. Everett found no comfort in this.
Life was like trampled grass—the more you pressed it, the more it suffered. It was profoundly unjust.
It was unjust enough that they suddenly sought to seize control of one’s life—but worse that they dictated the compensation as they saw fit.
Yet Everett suppressed his frustration.
He was a pragmatist who knew how to compromise with reality.
And so Everett became Edwin’s Shadow Knight—later, his adjutant.
Now, years later, he believed he had made the right choice in acquiescing that day.
If forced to name the single best decision of his life, it would be that moment when his eyes met Kyle’s.
After being pressed into service as Shadow Knight, he endured grueling training—Swordsmanship, Horsemanship, even Acting—all to mimic Edwin’s mannerisms.
It had been especially difficult because he possessed little natural aptitude and no great talent for combat.
Kyle’s standards were formidably high besides.
There were moments, while impersonating Edwin, when he faced genuine threats to his life.
Yet despite all the peril and suffering, Kyle proved true to his word and generously provided compensation.
So much so that Everett occasionally dreamed of swapping duty with a colleague and experiencing a peaceful night—a nightmare born of familiarity.

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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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