The Newlywed Cover Mission
When Kyle called me over with a “Lina, do you have a moment?” I found myself suddenly assigned to a business trip.
“It’s nothing complicated. The field team in Diegis has requested someone who can interpret ancient languages.”
“Ah.”
It sounds pretty major to me.
“It’s a relief we have such a versatile new recruit.”
“That’s true, but…”
Kyle smiled warmly, saying it was a simple task with a generous schedule so I should treat it like a vacation, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer right away.
Ten whole days.
For us, who had only just started dating, ten days apart felt far too long.
I really don’t want to go.
I was trying to read the room to see if I could refuse when Kyle added, as though he’d just remembered something.
“Since it involves black magic, sending you alone feels a little risky, so I planned to attach one knight as an escort.”
Kyle’s eyes curved in a proud smile, like he was showing off how considerate he was.
“I thought it would be better if it was someone you already know, so I chose Lord Rohas. That should be fine, right?”
“Yes, that’s perfectly fine.”
I definitely want to go!
I answered while trying my hardest not to look too delighted.
Even so, I couldn’t completely hide my feelings—my voice rose at the end of the sentence without my permission.
I cleared my throat lightly, pretending my throat was a little dry. Kyle, watching me, smiled with clear satisfaction.
“Excellent. Then please check the details of your assignment in the envelope.”
He gave me a look that said I should read it now, so I pulled out the documents and scanned them.
“The departure date is today?”
“Yes. There’s someone who feels every minute and second is precious.”
Kyle drew out his words with a mysterious little smile.
It was the same mischievous, prank-planning grin I’d seen once before.
He said it was simple, but it looks like it’s unexpectedly urgent.
“It would be best if you could leave right away. There’s no need to pack luggage. For secret missions, the rule is to acquire necessary supplies on the spot and dispose of them afterward.”
Then, as if the playful tone had never existed, he put on a serious face and hurried me along.
“Understood.”
Just to be safe, I read through the short stack of documents once more, memorizing every detail, then bowed to Kyle and left.
The papers he’d given me also included a map to the rendezvous point.
I really feel like a secret agent now.
It was roughly the same feeling, but only now was it truly sinking in.
When I arrived at the small tailor shop designated as the rendezvous, Everett was already there waiting for me.
Happy to see him, I almost greeted him brightly before remembering we were on a mission and whispered instead.
“Lord Rohas, hello.”
Everett returned the greeting with a faint smile.
His demeanor was stiffer than usual—maybe he was tense.
So even Everett gets nervous when he receives an assignment.
Seeing my usually reliable partner so wound up made me nervous too.
My own expression grew serious in sympathy.
After carefully checking that no one was nearby, I stepped close to Everett and whispered.
“I was told this was an extremely simple task, but… is it actually incredibly difficult?”
Being assigned the same duty as Everett felt like our first couple’s trip, which made my heart flutter just thinking about it. But if it really was incredibly difficult, that brought a whole new set of worries.
I still only wanted to show him my best side. If I got too serious about the work I might turn sensitive, and that worried me.
When I made an exaggerated pout, Everett flinched, then smiled with his eyes curved in amusement.
“No, it really is a simple task.”
His tone was light and his smile bloomed like a flower in full sunlight.
Is he practicing his handsome-man tactics on an ally?
If so, they were working perfectly.
All the unease I’d felt about this sudden secret mission and Everett’s unusually rigid attitude today vanished completely.
“I was really worried, you know.”
When my relaxed smile met his, Everett suddenly pointed toward one corner of the shop as if he’d just remembered.
A box containing the items we’d need for the mission sat there.
“Let’s start by changing into the prepared clothes.”
His phrasing was a little awkward, but I was still riding the high of his charm and didn’t notice.
“All right. I’ll change behind the screen.”
The outfit I found was that of a moderately well-off commoner woman.
There was also a disguise magic tool to change my hair and eye color combination, along with a fake identity tag.
It was supposed to turn me into the empire’s most common pairing—brown hair and brown eyes—but due to the limits of the magic, I ended up with ash-brown hair and deep chestnut eyes.
After checking myself in the mirror and stepping out from behind the screen, I saw that Everett had used a disguise tool as well.
He now had dark golden hair and bright green eyes, and he greeted me with them.
We spent a long moment simply staring at each other’s altered appearances.
What the— He’s still ridiculously handsome. No, he seems to be glowing even more lately. Has my love filter gotten thicker?
Then, almost at the same time, we both looked away and launched into a flood of meaningless chatter.
Luckily, the nonsense at least had some context.
“Lord Rohas must have handled missions like this many times before, right?”
“Ancient teleportation circles can’t be used after sunset, so we should hurry.”
Our words overlapped, but soon—rare for us—the flow settled into Everett speaking at length while I listened.
“I’ve done a few.”
Listening to the experienced Everett’s explanation, we headed for the ancient teleportation circle installed on the outskirts of the capital.
He told me there were multiple safety mechanisms to reduce the risk, so I could relax.
So the disguise and fake identity tag are all part of those precautions.
I listened carefully, then asked a question.
“Did you see your identity tag too, Lord Rohas?”
The ancient teleportation circles that connected every part of the empire were strictly controlled; only people with verified identities could use them.
Not only did they check the tags thoroughly, but anyone suspicious could be detained on the spot. We needed to get our stories straight beforehand.
It would be mortifying to get detained for saying something stupid.
I tried to summon my inner acting skills and began immersing myself in the role I’d been given.
“My tag says Melina. No surname.”
“Mine didn’t have a surname either. The name is Edmund.”
Probably to minimize mistakes on my first mission, both Everett and I had been given aliases that started and ended similarly to our real names.
“That’ll be easy to remember. What about age? I’m staying twenty-two.”
Everett squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then answered in a small voice.
“Twenty-three.”
Even though he’d been made seven years younger, Everett had one of those faces where age was hard to guess, so it didn’t look strange at all.
Still, he seemed embarrassed about having his age slashed so dramatically, so I didn’t comment further.
“Since we’re a man and woman in their early twenties traveling together, shall we pose as a newlywed couple visiting home after a long time?”
After exchanging our fake names, it was time to decide on our relationship.
I smiled innocently, careful not to let my very obvious ulterior motives show.
Everett flinched visibly but didn’t retreat.
We couldn’t exactly say we were siblings or friends.
And if it’s a newlywed concept, then naturally…
“I’ll call you Ed. Lord Rohas, please call me Lina.”
The moment I test-called him “Ed,” Everett’s face flushed bright red as if it might explode.
We were still polite enough with each other that we hadn’t dropped formal speech, so his reaction to a fake nickname seemed a bit much.
Anyone watching would think it was a real pet name.
What if I get too into it and call him “honey”? Would he actually burst?
Just imagining it made my own heart feel ready to explode.
This won’t do.
I cleanly abandoned the idea of calling him “honey.”
Having my heart throb this often couldn’t be healthy. Once the trip was over, I decided I should start running every morning.
The heart is a muscle too, so maybe training it would help.
While thinking about pointless things like workout plans to calm my burning cheeks, I walked until the ancient teleportation circle finally came into view.
There are so many people.
As the only real way to drastically shorten travel time, the line was still long even though sunset was approaching.
I scanned the queue, looking for the end.
Meanwhile Everett, who looked completely spaced out like his mind was somewhere else, kept walking forward.
If I left him alone he really might walk all the way to Diegis.
“E…d! Where are you going?”
Worried he might not register the fake nickname, I hooked my arm through his and called out.
Only after I caught him did Everett stop. His gaze turned toward the sound of my voice.
Our eyes met in the air between us.
As if finally recognizing me, Everett spoke my name.
“Lina.”
The name I had heard my entire life suddenly sounded unfamiliar.