Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 74

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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 74
Edwin had spent the morning moving through the Training Ground, and only well after sunrise—having hesitated at the windows for some time—did he finally draw out the Teleportation Scroll again.
The timing was perfect.
The moment he returned to the Inn, a knock sounded at the door.
“You’re awake?”
It was Lina.
Edwin strode to the door and opened it.
* * *
Even after knocking for some time, there was no answer from inside. The moment he turned to leave and come back later, the door swung open.
Everett’s dark hair was slightly damp.
“I thought you were still asleep.”
‘He must’ve been washing and didn’t hear the knocking.’
Despite all the pounding from outside, there had been no response, so she’d assumed he was sleeping deeply.
‘This Inn must have excellent soundproofing.’
Now that she thought about it, the adjacent room had been completely silent all last night, as if no one were there.
‘Thanks to the soundproofing, I slept wonderfully.’
Everett looked exhausted, as though he’d had a sleepless night.
“Good morning.”
She greeted him cheerfully, encouraging him to perk up, and only then did Everett smile back.
“Mm.”
It was a weary smile, like someone who’d just finished strenuous exercise.
For Everett, who didn’t look to be in good condition, she carefully explained her reason for knocking.
“We were planning to go to the Horse Market today, weren’t we? Apparently, Peram only opens the Horse Market in the mornings during summer. We should probably leave early.”
To travel from Peram Territory to Diegis Territory, one had to cross a mountain.
A carriage could be rented, but there was a narrow stretch halfway up the mountain where carriages couldn’t pass, requiring a significant detour.
‘Six hours on horseback versus eleven hours by carriage.’
Since they didn’t have much luggage, they’d decided to ride horses instead.
She’d gathered this information by wandering around the Inn that morning—unusually awake early.
“We should leave right after breakfast.”
Everett glanced out the window to gauge the time, then pointed toward the stairs leading down.
‘Right now? Like this?’
“Wait a moment.”
She caught Everett as he was about to go ahead.
“What?”
Everett turned to her, his golden eyes filled with question.
“You’re going down like that?”
She pointed to her hair, dyed a reddish-brown by the power of the Disguise Artifact.
“Ah.”
Everett seemed to remember the existence of the Disguise Artifact only after she’d spoken.
“A person with blonde hair turning dark-haired and appearing—wouldn’t that be a problem?”
She lightly touched Everett’s forearm as he stood awkwardly in the corridor.
“The Disguise Artifact is in your room, isn’t it? Change it back before the others come out.”
Everett’s eyes rolled around as if he couldn’t quite remember where the Disguise Artifact was.
Then, with a slightly uncertain tone, he answered.
“In the room……I have it. I’ll go get it.”
His hand moved rather hastily as he closed the door.
* * *
Edwin entered the bathroom, worried the bright light from using the Teleportation Scroll might seep through the door crack.
Then he quickly tore the scroll.
Flash—a brilliant light filled the bathroom.
It had been only ten minutes since he’d returned.
Kyle had apparently left work, as the Emperor’s Office was empty.
“There it is.”
Edwin immediately spotted the Disguise Artifact on the corner of the desk.
He’d deactivated the magic while working and forgotten to take it with him.
Edwin activated the Disguise Artifact.
After confirming the dark blonde hair he’d grown somewhat accustomed to over the day and the bright green eyes, he secured the Disguise Artifact firmly in his pocket.
Now he just needed to teleport back to the Inn.
Edwin pulled out another Teleportation Scroll, then paused just before tearing it.
“Almost forgot.”
Edwin left a memo on a blank sheet of paper.
The recipient was Kyle, and the contents were:
[Came and left. Prepare two more Teleportation Scrolls.]
That was all.
Kyle, who’d only managed to order ten Teleportation Scrolls by harassing the Tower mages all through the early morning, would grab him by the collar if he saw this.
But Edwin, hurried to leave, didn’t care at all.
Flash.
Bright light erupted suddenly in the darkened Emperor’s Office, and Edwin’s figure vanished.
Flutter.
As the magic activated, the note rose on the weak wind that followed, then slowly settled back down.
* * *
When we went down for breakfast, the timing was awkward—only the two of us were eating.
As Everett and I took our seats, the Innkeeper brought out a modest breakfast.
“Your husband has red eyes, doesn’t he?”
And with easy familiarity, she spoke to Everett.
After having quite a long conversation with me, who’d come out for an early morning walk, the Innkeeper had become considerably friendlier toward us.
“I should check later whether the door hinges got loosened.”
She added a characteristic married woman’s spicy joke, unable to resist, and chuckled to herself.
Everett, who’d been spooning soup, coughed softly.
My face turned red from the start of the morning.
Since it was a slow time, the Innkeeper, with leisure, wiped down the table and straightened the chairs.
Which meant she continued to hover around us.
Conscious of the Innkeeper, we maintained the Newlywed Couple Concept throughout breakfast.
“Ed, could you pass the salt?”
“Here. Lina, you have something on your lips.”
“My, what a good-looking couple.”
The Innkeeper offered a comment, perhaps seeing how well we were managing.
“Ha ha, thank you.”
“I’m being silly during a meal, aren’t I? It’s just pleasant to see.”
The Innkeeper, seeing me hastily set down my utensils, apologized and stepped back.
But the fact that she continued to glance over at us with a warm expression as she wiped the table was quite burdensome.
I mustered my courage and picked up my fork.
Then I speared some salad and held it toward Everett.
“Ed, would you try a—”
It was a last resort: feeding him.
“Wh—what?”
Everett was startled, but when I kept hinting with my eyes, he opened his mouth.
The timing of him eating the salad and closing his mouth went slightly off.
Crack.
Everett’s teeth caught the fork.
‘Hope Everett’s teeth are okay.’
Either way, it was fairly successful acting.
Thanks to it, we became comfortable calling each other by pet names.
It had become unexpected training time.
After breakfast, we made our way to the Horse Market.
“Wow, the Horse Market is quite large.”
“Territories near Ancient Teleportation Magic Circles tend to be like that.”
While I looked at the horses, Everett carefully selected mounts.
“Let’s go with these two.”
After paying, Everett came toward me holding the reins of two horses in one hand.
“They’re not the fastest, but they have stable gaits and gentle temperaments, so they should ride comfortably.”
Both horses seemed as gentle as Everett described.
“I’ll take the chestnut one. This creature seems to like you more.”
It was mutual affection.
I was also thinking the chestnut horse was a bit cuter.
“Alright.”
I carefully extended my hand toward the horse.
“Neigh.”
Warm breath touched the back of my hand.
Tickled into laughter, Everett pulled a sugar cube from a small pouch and handed it to me.
Following the direction the sugar cube moved from Everett to me, the horses’ heads tracked it.
They seemed to be asking for snacks.
“I’ll give you some, just wait.”
I readily fed the sugar cubes to the horses.
After quickly finishing their share of sugar cubes, the horses pushed their heads toward my hands as if demanding more.
I petted both horses’ manes with both hands.
“Can I give them more sugar cubes?”
“One each.”
Everett held out his pouch toward me.
As if telling me to take them directly.
Just as I withdrew my hand from petting the horses and reached toward the pouch, it vanished with a whoosh.
‘It was there, and now it’s gone.’
Following the direction the pouch disappeared with bewildered eyes, I spotted a small child running off with the sugar cube pouch.
“A pickpocket.”
“A pickpocket, it seems.”
Two adults, robbed entirely of their sugar cubes by what looked to be a six or seven-year-old child, were flustered.
Everett was the first to come to his senses.
“Go catch it.”
Even if it came as a bonus with buying horses, a theft was a theft. He couldn’t just let it slide.
You could almost see the reasoning unfold in his eyes.
Everett left me with instructions to wait here, then ran off in the direction the child had fled.
Before long, he returned, carrying the Pickpocket Child dangling from his grasp.
Even suspended in Everett’s hands, the child didn’t abandon hope of escape and thrashed wildly.
“Let me down!”
‘Everett won’t budge.’
“Keep squirming and you’ll drop.”
At the threat-like words, the child’s resistance ceased abruptly.
Everett set the child down on the ground in front of me, then grabbed the child’s shoulders with both hands to prevent another escape attempt.
His expression was already frigid even when he wasn’t smiling, but now that he’d deliberately hardened it, even I flinched at how intimidating it was.
For the young child, it must have felt even worse—tears welled in the child’s eyes.
Stubborn by nature, the child kept them from spilling over by forcing their eyes wide, but they trembled.
‘The child looks half-starved.’
The child’s tightly clenched lips were roughened with pale cracks, and the cheeks that should still have carried baby fat were hollow.
I gently tapped Everett’s forearm, hidden from the child’s view.
Everett’s gaze turned toward me.
I whispered silently with only my lips.
‘The child’s just a kid—just scold them and let them go.’
I’d said it because I was worried Everett might be too harsh on this skinny, dirty little thing.
‘They’re still just a child, after all.’
Everett looked at me the way he’d look at bruised overripe fruit or cotton batting.
Eventually, he nodded.
But as Everett regarded the child with cold eyes for a moment, he spoke in a low voice.
“In some places, they cut off a pickpocket’s hands.”
‘Oh my.’

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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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