Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 71

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 71
Playing the newlywed couple was harder than expected.
Even while waiting in line to use the Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle, we kept our arms linked, pretending to be an affectionate married couple.
Not a word between us.
I could feel Everett was just as tense as I was.
We moved forward like broken golems—creaking and groaning, driven only by the need to reach our destination.
An elderly woman ahead of us had been standing for so long that she twisted her body this way and that, and when our eyes met by accident, she flinched in surprise.
‘I thought my heart would stop. This won’t do.’
Using the narrowing path as an excuse, I carefully released his arm.
Then I put just enough distance between us to show we were together but not intimate.
Only then did the thin air begin to fill my lungs properly.
I drew in a deep breath, replenishing all the oxygen I’d been deprived of.
* * *
Fortunately, the line moved faster the closer we got to the front.
Since the Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle couldn’t be used after sunset, everyone seemed to be hurrying.
‘Almost our turn.’
I gauged the remaining line with my eyes.
But the moment I thought was coming didn’t seem to arrive.
A commotion broke out ahead of us.
‘What’s happening?’
I peered through the crowd ahead to see what was going on.
A gruff-looking guard was bullying a middle-aged man who appeared to be a merchant.
“The list you submitted doesn’t match what you’ve actually got! How dare you try to commit fraud here!”
The guard threw the paperwork at the merchant’s feet.
The merchant picked up the fallen document and began making excuses with submissive bows.
“Sir, it was just that an urgent order came in and I couldn’t match the quantity. They told me to bring whatever I had on hand immediately, so I had no choice.”
“I don’t care about your circumstances. Rewrite the list and bring it back.”
At the guard’s curt dismissal, the merchant’s face went pale.
“If I can’t pass through the Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle by today, I’ll miss the Delivery Deadline. If a small merchant company like ours botches such a large order, it’ll destroy us.”
The merchant was nearly in tears as he pleaded.
‘Looks like he’s trying to deliver Spices to a nobleman’s house for an Irregular Banquet.’
During the Guard Corps’ security check, it seemed they’d caught him carrying less merchandise than what was listed.
‘But having fewer items than listed shouldn’t be a problem—having more would be the issue.’
The only consequence would be that the merchant had to pay more for using the magic circle.
In other words, this guard was manufacturing a grievance out of thin air.
‘Should I help him?’
The merchant’s claim that his company would collapse if he missed this delivery didn’t sound like mere exaggeration.
The merchant’s face, which had been pale moments ago, was now ashen.
‘But I can’t draw attention to myself.’
The Dark Mages were a group exceptionally skilled at concealment; they were hard to pin down.
There had to be a reason why they were disguising even me, sent here just to interpret documents.
I didn’t know when they might suspect surveillance and go completely underground.
Not wanting to botch my first assignment made me hesitate slightly.
I carefully turned to look at Everett, who was standing behind me.
My face asked for his opinion—he had more experience than I did.
Everett, who’d been watching the guard’s behavior with cold eyes, noticed my glance and smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.
Though his eyes remained cold, so the effect was minimal.
In the meantime, the guard’s harassment continued.
“Keep making a fuss and you’ll be dragged off by the Guard Corps! Then all those expensive Spices get confiscated, confiscated!”
The guard exchanged a greedy look with his companion.
Now I understood the purpose of this whole scene.
The guards stepped forward threateningly toward the merchant.
The merchant bit his lip tightly, glancing back and forth between the guards and the increasingly reddening sky, then forced a smile.
“Oh my, causing such a fuss. I must have gotten louder without realizing it because my mind was racing. Please be understanding.”
Then he stepped close to the guard.
The merchant pulled something from his pocket and handed it to the guard.
The guards, who had maintained a nasty atmosphere throughout, smiled in satisfaction.
“Well, since you’ve put it so nicely, I’ll let it slide this time. Be more careful next time.”
The merchant, barely having passed inspection, disappeared as if running, desperate not to be stopped again.
“Next!”
The guard raised his voice with a casual expression as if nothing had happened.
A family group of travelers, who had stayed at a distance for fear of getting caught in the crossfire, timidly approached.
Just minutes earlier, with so many people around, you could barely hear anyone breathe. Now the area had grown noisy again.
The line began to shorten once more.
Everyone seemed unsurprised, familiar with this sort of thing.
It was habitual.
‘So they’ve been supplementing their income this way.’
This wasn’t just one merchant’s misfortune to be brushed aside.
I made a careful mental note of the guards’ faces.
After this assignment was done, I planned to personally take time to thoroughly clean house.
‘The Emperor despises Corruption so much, and these bastards still have the audacity.’
“Next!”
While planning how to deal with the Capital’s Guard Corps after my mission, I somehow missed when my turn came.
“You there! Next.”
It was only when called a second time that I realized it was my turn, and of course, it had to be the same guard.
“You don’t come right away when called. I suppose I’m being lenient because you’re a pretty young lady.”
The guard stared at me with a lecherous gaze and extended his hand.
I tried not to let my expression change as I handed over Melina’s Identity Plate.
“Destination? Traveling alone?”
As the guard took my Identity Plate, he subtly grabbed my hand and scraped his fingernails across my palm before letting go.
His gaze, which had been fixed on my face, grew increasingly lecherous and began to drift downward.
‘Ugh.’
Goosebumps erupted across my back.
This bastard’s insane.
And clearly unhinged in multiple ways.
My schedule was loose enough anyway—I seriously considered turning around and toppling the Guard Corps right then.
‘I’m not the only one who can do the Ancient Language, and surely there’s someone else who could be sent instead.’
Just as the scales tipped toward tearing apart the Guard Corps, Everett intervened.
“Is there some problem with my wife?”
Everett, standing protectively behind me, questioned the guard in an icy voice.
I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel from his tone alone that he was furious.
The moment Everett approached, the guard went pale as if he’d encountered a bear on a mountainside.
‘A textbook example of preying on the weak and cowering to the strong.’
The fury that had been bubbling inside me on the verge of eruption cooled somewhat at the pathetic sight of the cowardly guard.
‘It’s only ten days anyway.’
I was about to turn to Everett and suggest we just let it go, but he gently pressed my shoulder, keeping me from turning.
His chest rose and fell deeply, as if he were taking a steady breath to suppress his anger.
An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.
“Identity Plate.”
Everett threw his Identity Plate at the guard.
After fumbling, the guard caught it.
“This is a Mercenary License.”
Since Everett was accompanying us for protection purposes, he carried a Longsword.
The License seemed to have been prepared for exactly that.
“A-class?”
Upon verifying the Mercenary License, the guard’s eyes went wide as saucers.
‘If he’s this shocked by an A-class Mercenary License, he’d faint if he found out Everett’s real identity later.’
Everett, as if it were obvious, took control of the situation.
After casually showing our identities, Everett retrieved the License and Identity Plate, then extended his hand to me.
Only then could I see Everett’s face.
The anger he hadn’t managed to suppress was faintly visible.
‘Everett’s no pacifist, that’s for sure.’
I took Everett’s hand and leaned slightly against him.
Then I subtly pushed him forward as we moved.
Everett followed easily, as if surrendering to my feeble strength.
We continued until we reached a spot right in front of the Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle, where there were no other people around.
Once we’d put enough distance between us and the guard, I stopped, and Everett met my gaze with eyes that held equal parts frustration and worry.
“Are you all right? Did he scare you?”
His eyes carefully studied my complexion, and the weight of worry in them gradually increased.
‘Huh?’
I felt oddly overprotected.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————