Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 72

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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 72
“I’m fine, really.”
I said it as brightly as I could, but Everett didn’t look like he believed me.
‘Am I actually fine?’
If I went in for a checkup right now, everything would come back normal except maybe my blood pressure.
But Everett seemed to treat every word I said like bravado.
A touch soft as falling feathers brushed across my forehead.
‘Is he taking my temperature?’
Fortunately my temperature was normal, and only then did Everett seem to relax a little.
“You’re easily frightened and tender-hearted.”
I wondered if the “you” Everett was talking about was really me.
I wasn’t exactly fearless, but this wasn’t the time for me to be scared.
‘Right now work comes first, so I was just letting it slide today—I was planning to handle it again later.’
As for being tender-hearted…
Maybe it was because of what happened when I ran into that assailant before?
‘All I did was ask him not to kill them, since I didn’t think they’d made mistakes bad enough to deserve death.’
Even though I have limited courage when it comes to blood and violence, I’m not usually soft about situations like today.
Though I suppose to a knight like Everett, I might still seem weak.
Even now, he seemed to be speaking more gently than usual, worried I might be startled.
‘I’m not the kind of person who falls apart if you blow on them like cotton candy.’
Still, being fretted over by Everett felt a bit strange, but I didn’t dislike it.
I smiled as wickedly as I could manage and explained my plan.
“You think I’d just let this slide? The moment I’m back from this trip, I’ll report what happened today and immediately ask to take charge of investigating the Metropolitan Guard.”
I declared that I’d air every dirty secret they’d accumulated—down to illegal garbage dumping.
“Those kinds of people need to be cut out. They’re pests devouring the Empire.”
Only then did a satisfied smile cross Everett’s lips.
“Yes, they need to be cut out.”
It seemed our sense of appropriate punishment was aligned on this matter.
Right then, while we were discussing our plan to create mass unemployment in the Metropolitan Guard while standing in the very headquarters where they worked—
Several other people heading to the same destination as us entered.
Everett, catching the sound of footsteps before I did, brought his index finger to his lips.
“We’ll stay in the Peram Territory tonight. And we’ll depart for the Diegis Territory early tomorrow morning? The Diegis Territory is quite sizable, and it’s a shame there’s no Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle that goes directly there. But since Peram is just over one mountain away, we’ll arrive soon enough.”
I spoke a little louder, as if I’d been talking about our plans for after the journey all along.
Fortunately, the travelers who had just joined us paid little attention to our conversation.
“Seven people in total will teleport to Peram.”
A mage appeared, hollow-eyed from squeezing his mana all day, indicating that these latest arrivals were the last ones.
“Don’t move your bodies too much. It’ll throw off the coordinates.”
With that listless warning, the Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle activated.
My vision darkened and I felt the ground suddenly drop away beneath my feet.
Unable to catch my balance, I stumbled, and Everett at my side caught and steadied me.
I let my body rest against his broad chest as he guided me.
Thump-thump.
Whenever I touched Everett, my heartbeat was always loud, but now it sounded twice as loud.
‘And it keeps getting faster.’
Fortunately, we arrived at the Peram Territory just before my heart burst.
We quickly pulled apart, like two people who’d been doing something other than embracing during their folding through space.
Everett stood several paces away, his back to me, gazing up at the starless night sky.
Between his dark blonde hair, his ear was flushed red.
‘The weather is unusually hot today.’
The true summer night was hot enough to make my cheeks burn even while standing still.
I fanned myself frantically with my hand fan.
Only after fanning until my wrist ached did the flush finally fade from my face.
Everett turned around at almost exactly the same moment he’d stopped facing away and looking at the sky.
After completing a process far simpler than what had been required to use the Ancient Teleportation Magic Circle, we entered the Peram Territory.
The bustling district of Peram, one of the more sizable fiefs worth mentioning in the suburbs near the Capital, still had a decent crowd even after sunset.
“This fief is more prosperous than I expected.”
“The Territory Lord of Peram is quite capable.”
I walked behind Everett as he cleared a path, taking in my first view of Peram.
“Are blueberries the specialty?”
‘Blueberry jam, blueberry tea, even jelly.’
After passing the street stalls selling food made with blueberries, we came to the part of town where lodging for travelers was located.
Everett paused briefly at the entrance of the street, then headed toward the inn that looked most well-kept.
Perhaps because it was late, only one table in the restaurant on the first floor remained, where guests played poker over beer, keeping it quiet.
“Guests?”
The proprietor emerged from the kitchen connected to the restaurant, hearing signs of movement.
She was a warm-faced woman with an affable look about her.
“Yes, we’d like to stay one night.”
The proprietor wiped her hands dry on her white apron and glanced between the two of us.
Then she narrowed her eyes and asked.
“Lovers or a married couple?”
“A, a married couple.”
Still trapped in the newlywed concept, I answered reflexively.
But it was a question I should have answered more carefully.
“Then one room will do.”
The proprietor turned immediately to find the keys to hand us.
‘Why is she doing this. We just embraced a moment ago.’
I wanted to grab at her apron and beg for two rooms, apologizing for misspeaking.
While I was fidgeting, Everett stepped in.
“Two of your best rooms.”
The proprietor’s gaze, which had been checking the available rooms, fixed on me.
‘But you said married couple.’
It seemed like a look laden with roughly that interpretation.
Everett, who had more experience carrying out assignments, was definitely better at this than I was.
“There are still procedures before the marriage ceremony.”
“That’s right. My husband… is from the Eastern Region.”
People from the Eastern Region, the most conservative area in the Empire, still largely observed premarital chastity.
Among them, the particularly conservative would not share a bed until the marriage ceremony was completely finished.
While this might be unfamiliar in Peram, which was closer to the Western Region, the proprietor had apparently heard of it and handed over two keys without suspicion.
“I’d sleep just fine with such a pretty bride next door, but if you say otherwise, I’ll oblige.”
A playful middle-aged joke followed.
But I’d managed to avoid the disaster of sharing a room with Everett.
However, as we climbed the stairs side by side toward our assigned rooms, Everett strode ahead as if angry.
As if there were absolutely no way he could show his front.
Watching Everett’s back as I climbed the stairs carefully, my palms grew damp.
Damp enough that I worried I might drop the key I was holding.
‘I will never again entangle personal affairs with company business.’
Was being next door to each other really worth all this trembling?
To avoid embarrassing myself in front of Everett, I fixed my eyes upward toward the ceiling and prayed.
When I’d first learned I was going on this business trip with Everett, I’d imagined it as an adventure with a hint of romance.
But the reality was more like the deities of romance, annoyed at our slow progress, had deliberately positioned heart-shaped traps everywhere for us.
‘My heart’s going to burst. Seriously.’
I tried appealing my weak heart to the deities of romance in case they were watching from above, but it would be pointless.
The seemingly endless stairs finally ended, and we arrived on the top floor where the best rooms were gathered.
Everett still showed only his back as he greeted me.
“See you in the morning. Ahem.”
His voice was hoarse and strained.

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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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