Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 7

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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 7
Some of the staff were Donovan’s lackeys—willing to cut corners if you stayed on his good side.
It had to be done in secret.
Fortunately for me, the office was a complete mess, and the desks were in disarray.
The Finance Minister, who returned late, ordered the staff to tidy up the office and then left in a hurry.
‘He’s probably going to beg some influential people to help him escape with his skin intact,’ I thought.
If the allegations were proven, the Minister would be in just as much trouble.
If the head of a ministry claimed ignorance, the Emperor would have him executed for incompetence.
The staff sensed from the Minister’s trembling voice that the situation was more serious than expected, and the atmosphere grew unsettled.
As people pretended to organize the chaotic office, whispers erupted throughout the room.
“How could Constance be bold enough to pull off something like that?”
“Right? I wonder if it was really a solo act.”
“Shush, someone might hear.”
I sighed quietly to myself as I watched the staff members whispering while glancing in my direction.
According to Heder, the investigators looking into the three arrested people had summoned several Finance Ministry officials for cross-checking.
And many of those summoned had testified that they’d seen Donovan passing work to Coni.
Apparently that made Coni’s situation even more precarious.
‘How could Coni have possibly predicted that Donovan would assign that task to me? If only I knew how far this went and who was involved…’
It was unclear whether I should treat those who testified that Coni was responsible for the Western Territory strategic materials trade report as enemies or as neutral parties.
‘I’ll do what I can for now.’
I waded into the group of staff members still organizing the messy office, trying to look discouraged.
While pretending to work hard, I quietly pocketed some of the Western Territory documents.
They were files I wasn’t supposed to see since I wasn’t the designated supervisor—a matter of security clearance.
‘Thank goodness. The Accounting Ledgers sent directly from the Western Territory were still there.’
It seemed the administrators had only organized some of the intermediate paperwork.
I had a rough mental picture of the Western Territory Documents written by Andrew.
While I couldn’t recreate them exactly, comparing the original materials with what I remembered would be more than sufficient.
After the Minister left, I stayed behind even as others tactfully slipped away.
I needed to gather as many documents as possible.
Once the office was roughly tidied, even my colleagues who’d stayed out of duty clocked out.
I bought time by saying I’d stay a little longer, citing confusion, then hid the documents I’d gathered around my desk.
After all, an administrator’s desk was always piled high with papers anyway, so the extra stack hardly stood out.
‘To hide a tree, you hide it in the forest—an old trick, but effective.’
Without Andrew around, there’d be no one looking for them anyway. And even if there were, I’d make them think the Inspection Unit had taken them.
‘I can slip them back in when we return documents unrelated to the case.’
* * *
Four days passed.
‘Andrew and Donovan are under house arrest, apparently.’
I lay awake at night worried about whether Coni, who was still detained at the Temporary Detention Facility undergoing interrogation, was suffering.
‘I understand no visitors are allowed during the investigation, but not even being able to send blankets or a change of clothes is too much.’
Perhaps because I was pushing myself forward with reduced sleep, the investigation actually made progress.
‘I managed to study even when I was sleeping barely five hours during my final semester at the Academy.’
Under the cover of the hectic atmosphere, I analyzed the Western Territory Documents and found where Camelot had orchestrated his manipulation.
‘You’ve been busy, Your Grace.’
The hole was so large that once I laid out all the documents in sequence, finding it was simple.
‘Now I understand why Donovan broke up the work into pieces.’
And why he had Andrew drop out in the final stage.
‘He was worried about Andrew’s family pushing back.’
If Andrew had gotten in too deep, his bloodline would have intervened.
With this, I was nearly ninety percent certain Donovan was involved.
‘I’ve got a thread leading to Camelot.’
Just as Camelot was using Coni and planning to discard her, Camelot would soon do the same to Donovan. It was foolish.
‘But Camelot’s way of cutting ties will be far more ruthless.’
In the end, I managed to carefully make a copy and hide it in my clothes, then return the documents to their original places.
‘Now I need to pass this along.’
Technically, I should report it to my superior first and let him handle it.
‘But that doesn’t guarantee he’ll save Coni.’
Based on what I’d discovered, the Finance Ministry had involvement in falsifying the ledgers—someone had to answer for it.
‘He could choose to throw out Coni rather than pursue someone as highly ranked as Donovan.’
Framing Coni’s actions as a personal deviation would cause far less damage to the Finance Ministry.
‘Why would I have gone through all that trouble for the Minister’s benefit?’
I crossed my arms, pressing down on the documents hidden beneath my clothes.
‘My goal is to save Coni, not to give a corrupt bureaucrat a way out.’
It was Donovan who needed to pay for his crime.
‘To use the evidence I’ve gathered to its fullest, I need a connection that reaches the Emperor directly.’
For someone like me, ordinary and without influence, this was honestly about twenty times harder than sneaking through ledgers and finding inconsistencies beyond the eyes of the administration.
‘I can think of two people who might help.’
But both had equally low chances of success.
One would be difficult to persuade, and the other would be difficult to approach.
‘Maybe it’s better to go with whoever’s closer to the Emperor.’
After careful deliberation, I chose one of them.
* * *
I arrived at a Cafe with impressive full-glass window interiors, having waited for the weekend.
I took one deep breath and pushed the door open; a clear bell chimed, steadying my nerves somewhat.
‘So this is the Information Guild? It really does look like a normal cafe.’
The faint coffee aroma and the soft music from a music box were genuinely convincing.
‘I hope I’m in the right place.’
I settled into a table in the back corner, briefly uncertain.
But the emptiness inside seemed to confirm I had found the right location.
‘Well, on a weekend afternoon with only one customer, this must be it.’
The fact that a Cafe of this size in the outskirts of the Capital’s commercial district hadn’t closed yet despite having no customers was evidence enough.
‘I’ve passed by this place several times on the way to the grocery store nearby, and it’s been here a while now.’
During my usual late afternoon trips to the grocery store, the glass windows would reflect the street like mirrors, so I’d never realized it was this empty.
‘Either Perception Distortion Magic is cast on it, or they’ve deliberately spread bad rumors to keep customers away.’
Too many customers would increase the risk of the guild’s internal operations being exposed.
I found my reasoning quite plausible and pretended to observe the interior décor.
After a few minutes, a brown-haired man in an apron emerged from the back and hurried over.
“Oh my, I didn’t realize we had a customer.”
He scratched the back of his head and smiled with a somewhat melancholy turn of his eyes.
“Oh no, I haven’t been waiting long.”
I observed the man while playing the part of an ordinary customer.
‘This must be the guild master, right?’
According to the novel details I’d recently become aware of, Kyle, the Earl and guild master of the Information Guild—the Emperor’s only friend—spent most of his time at this cafe.
‘He does fit the description of a secondary love interest in a romance fantasy novel.’
His brown hair and green eyes looked like the very cliche of a secondary male lead who pined unrequited for the heroine.
Though in personality, he embodied the stereotype of a Mental Magic user quite well—rather cold and ruthless.
“I’d like to place an order.”
I mentally repeated the secret code needed for an Information Guild request as I asked Kyle for the Menu Board.
“You’re asking for a Menu Board right now?”
Kyle brightened at my request.
“Yes.”
It was a reaction that made me suddenly suspect there was hidden meaning even in a simple request for a menu.
“Or are you trying to have me procure something? You haven’t wandered in here by mistake, have you?”
Kyle asked me again before disappearing without waiting for an answer.
‘The novel described him as composed and rational, but…’
He seemed just slightly flighty.
Within seconds, Kyle returned with the Menu Board and placed it in front of me.
“We really haven’t had customers lately.”
His innocent eyes drooped dejectedly.
“Ah, so that’s the case.”
The lack of customers seemed like fact, but whether Kyle’s gloom was an act or genuine feeling was hard to discern.
‘Was he not actually avoiding customers?’
Or perhaps he was the type to overcommit to his role.
While I was caught up in these minor speculations, Kyle soon regained the composed, rational demeanor described in the novel.
“Take your time and ring the bell at your table when you’re ready to order.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
I hadn’t come here to drink coffee anyway.
I casually pointed to something at the top of the Menu Board.
“I’ll have that.”
Kyle retrieved the Menu Board and soon returned with a beverage.
I slowly sipped the drink, which was similar to an espresso from my past life.
“Ugh.”
I nearly spit it out but forced myself to swallow.
‘What is this? Poison?’
In that moment, the thought that I couldn’t spit out a beverage in someone else’s establishment made me regret swallowing it desperately.
I stared at Kyle with trembling eyes.

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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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