Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 56

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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 56
“I mistook you for someone I know.”
Confirming that the man before me wasn’t Everett, I let out an awkward laugh a beat too late.
The man tilted his head and smiled back at me.
“I see.”
His expression had been oddly serious moments before, but smiling transformed his features so completely that he bore almost no resemblance to Everett at all.
His face seemed to suit a smile better—as if smiling was his natural state.
‘Overall, his features are similar to Everett’s, but he has a much gentler air about him.’
I catalogued the likenesses and differences between this man and Everett’s faces.
With each difference I identified, the unease faded a little further.
Time passed softly—long enough that he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, but not so long as to be strange.
About four or five seconds, roughly.
As if timing his moment, the man lowered his eyebrows slightly in apology, looking troubled.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of a task at the moment.”
“Oh, of course. I’ve kept you from your work.”
I stepped aside to let him pass, and he gave a slight bow before hurrying away.
I shrugged.
The lingering unease dissolved completely, and reality rushed in to fill the space it left behind.
‘I’m going to be late.’
Though I’d arrived at work early enough, my detour to follow the man who resembled Everett had cost me precious minutes.
To make up for the lost time, I walked with urgent purpose until I reached the Inspection Bureau Building.
The structure showed almost no aesthetic consideration—a drab, austere building rendered in neutral tones.
But what caught my eye wasn’t the bland exterior at all.
‘It’s quite close to the Imperial Palace.’
Close enough that if you tripped, you’d land on the palace grounds.
It was a tactically sound location for an imperial organ, but honestly, it unsettled me.
‘If I’m lucky, I might run into the Emperor himself.’
Standing in front of the building, I switched my gaze back and forth between the Inspection Bureau Building and the Imperial Palace, then shook my head vigorously to dispel the ominous thought.
‘No, even if we did pass each other, it would just be from a distance.’
I pressed down the troubling premonition with the force of a simple ‘maybe not.’
‘Fourth floor, she said.’
Instead, I recalled Lucy’s directions as I made my way to the Inspection Bureau Division 5 Office—the Blue Hawk’s cover workplace.
I paused at the office door and took a deep breath.
Just as I was gathering my resolve to open it, the door swung open before my hand even touched the handle, as if someone had been waiting for this exact moment.
“Welcome. Congratulations on becoming a member of the Blue Hawk, Lina.”
It was Lucy.
“Oh, yes. Hello.”
Lucy greeted me with a habitual wink of her left eye, and I let her pull me inside the office.
“Most of the others haven’t arrived yet, or they’re out on assignment. There are a lot of busy people here, so I’ll introduce you to them gradually.”
As I quietly surveyed the empty office, Lucy offered an explanation.
‘There are only a few desks in this office.’
But the number of “people” Lucy mentioned seemed greater than the desks available.
“How many people work here?”
“Well, that’s…”
I’d asked a simple question, but Lucy didn’t answer right away.
It was only my second time meeting her, but Lucy seemed like someone straightforward and forthcoming, so her hesitation struck me as odd.
“If it’s classified, you don’t have to answer.”
Assuming the question touched on sensitive information, I added that it was fine to skip it. Lucy laughed heartily in response.
“It is a hard question to answer, but not because it’s classified—it’s just ambiguous.”
Lucy checked her watch once before speaking again.
“It would take a while to explain, so I’d have to start from what the Blue Hawk actually is.”
‘The company’s founding history.’
I suddenly wondered if this was going to be a new-employee orientation, and my instinct was right.
Lucy truly did begin from the very beginning of the Blue Hawk.
“Troubled by the tyranny of the former emperor, our beloved Emperor…”
It was like listening to a biography of the current Emperor read aloud.
Meaning: tedious.
‘I hope this is short.’
As Lucy continued her solemn recitation with a grave expression, she caught me pretending to listen while my face betrayed complete disinterest, and let out a soft laugh.
“Lina, you’re the type whose expressions give everything away.”
Laughing aloud, Lucy resumed her explanation in a lighter tone, as if to say the previous bit had been a joke.
“To put it briefly: the Blue Hawk was the predecessor to the Information Bureau. When his Majesty ascended the throne, most of the guild members became agents of the Information Bureau, and this division came to be called the Blue Hawk as well. Some people stayed with the guild due to aptitude or social status, and others like you joined later, so the total number varies depending on how you count—that’s why it’s ambiguous.”
Compared to what I’d just endured, which felt like it would take two or three days to complete, this summary was refreshingly concise.
“You must have been too lazy to come up with a proper name.”
At my candid observation, Lucy made a snorting sound and changed the subject.
“Want to take a tour of the office?”
“Sure.”
Lucy joked that she wasn’t sure what to do with a new employee after so long, but when I agreed to her suggestion, she immediately showed me to my desk.
“Your seat is over here.”
The office arrangement had been rearranged in a rush, and new furniture brought in—the wood still carried a fresh scent.
“You know Heymen Miller, right? All the desks and chairs in this office were made by that craftsman.”
Lucy introduced my desk with obvious pride.
Coming from someone who’d only ever used stiff, government-issue furniture, her recommendation hit perfectly.
“You’re using something this expensive in an office?”
“It’s a small department.”
Lucy said it casually, but I could feel the prestige of the Blue Hawk radiating from the desk itself.
Noticing my expression, Lucy smiled and continued with a bit more boasting.
“Yours especially is the latest model. It has three magical patents for preventing repetitive strain injuries. I’m tempted to apply as a new recruit myself.”
‘The Emperor’s closest subordinates, truly worthy of the name.’
And Lucy’s pitch was far from over.
“All the Magic Lamps have been replaced as a welcome for our new Blue Hawk member. They’re supposed to help prevent vision problems.”
“That’s impressive.”
Wearing the mask of the working adult, I expressed subdued admiration.
“Right? If there’s any equipment you want, just say the word. Most requests get approved.”
Lucy seemed determined to use the office tour as a means of boosting my morale as a newly hired employee.
The office tour stretched on quite long.
‘The Break Room filled with limited-edition desserts was fine.’
But when I saw the Lounge with its luxury bedding—the kind supplied to noble houses—I wondered if I should run.
‘A bed in the office.’
But I’d already given my approval by then.
Noticing my expression cooling visibly after seeing the Lounge, Lucy seemed to think better of it and quickly moved me along.
After Lucy had finished showing me around and we returned to the office, several people had arrived.
Most of them were unfamiliar.
“Hello, Ms. Diaz.”
But among them was someone I recognized.
“Oh, yes. Hello.”
I responded with some awkwardness.
‘He’s not a ghost haunting me, but he looks different outside the cafe.’
I almost didn’t recognize him since this was the first time I’d seen him outside the cafe, but it was Kyle.
My supervisor as of today.
“It’s been a while, Kyle.”
Even the office staff seemed unfamiliar with Kyle outside his usual setting, and Lucy greeted him with some hesitation.
“Yes, it’s been a while, Lucy.”
Kyle acknowledged her greeting and added:
“I’m planning to commute to the Imperial Palace for a while. Things are going to get busy.”
At Kyle’s words, both the office staff and Lucy responded with wry expressions.
“My, your reception is rather cold.”
It seemed like a fairly horizontal workplace, and despite the silent mockery, Kyle’s eyes widened with laughter.
‘Did they say Kyle mainly works in the guild back in the original story?’
According to the source material, he was supposed to balance guild work and palace duties while doing cafe work as a hobby on the side.
‘But from what I could see, it looked like he spent most of his time at the cafe and squeezed in guild and palace work as an afterthought.’
Still, since he handled everything besides the cafe work perfectly, perhaps that’s why the Emperor kept him around.
In any case, having a supervisor who’d been working remotely suddenly show up in person was hardly cause for celebration.
Especially when the reason was that things would be getting busier.
From that morning on, the office air felt heavy, like the start of monsoon season.
Kyle, seeing the deflated staff, smiled and added:
“It’s just me. His Majesty has given me a task.”
The atmosphere lightened instantly.
The staff offered Kyle meaningless words of sympathy—that he must have a lot on his plate.
“If you’re so obviously happy about it, I’m tempted to play the villain and say something like ‘I didn’t get to leave either, so you shouldn’t either.'”
Everyone laughed awkwardly at Kyle’s joke with exaggerated ah-ha-has.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem serious, and the workplace dark humor ended there.
Instead, Kyle called me over—I was still standing near the door.

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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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