I Didn't Realize I Was Secretly Dating the Emperor
I wasn’t a child.
Buried in sauce and still eating? Really!
“Thank you.”
Embarrassed, I quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my mouth.
That was when I belatedly noticed Everett reaching out before freezing mid-motion.
Ah, was that what he was trying to do?
I really had no sense at all.
Everett, who had half-extended his hand only to pull it back, looked a little awkward.
I cleared my throat.
I took another big bite of the sandwich—this time so sloppily that it would’ve been strange if sauce didn’t get on my face.
There. That should do it.
I could definitely feel something smeared near my mouth now.
“Here.”
I held the handkerchief out to Everett, then tilted my face toward him.
“I think I got something on my face.”
“You did.”
Everett smiled softly as he carefully wiped the corner of my mouth.
After all that playful eating, the sandwiches disappeared in no time.
I sipped my fruit juice and suggested to Everett, “Should we rest here a little longer before we go?”
My stomach was pleasantly full, the weather was lovely, and Everett was right beside me.
After thoroughly indulging in leisure during our business trip—slowly savoring fruit juice and cookies—we decided to take a light stroll to help with digestion.
As we walked toward a gentle slope behind the trees, we came across a field of wildflowers.
Since the flowers bloomed at different times, today seemed to be the perfect intersection of their seasons; every color imaginable was in full bloom.
The blossoms weren’t particularly large or vivid, but they were beautiful enough.
It felt like receiving an unexpected gift.
“Wow, they’re so pretty!”
I crouched down to get a better look, but the ribbon in my hair—loosened from the horseback ride—slipped free and fluttered away.
“Oh no.”
I straightened up in a hurry and stared in the direction the ribbon had flown.
The wind wasn’t even that strong, yet it had already drifted far beyond my reach even if I stretched with all my might.
“Darn.”
Fortunately, Everett snatched it with ease.
“Shall I tie it for you again?”
Everett asked as he approached, ribbon in hand.
“You’ll do it, Ed?”
“Yeah.”
When I asked in a doubtful voice, Everett nodded readily.
“You can’t pull too hard, okay?”
I turned around, not expecting much from Everett’s dexterity.
I had planned to fix it myself later even if he did a sloppy job, but his fingers were surprisingly skillful.
I reached up and patted my newly tied hair to check.
What the—? Why is he so good at tying women’s hair?
Had he been practicing on some girl?
I pouted and spun around to confront him.
“Do you tie women’s hair often?”
I wrapped it in a light tone, fully aware that I was being childishly jealous, but that didn’t stop it from showing.
At my sharp words, Everett flinched.
Then, carefully reading my expression, he answered cautiously.
“I used to tie my little sister’s hair sometimes.”
The moment I heard the past tense, our first meeting flashed before my eyes.
Well, technically our second meeting.
The day I ran into Everett at Grizel Park after he’d rushed out to buy freesias.
Ah. So that was on his way to see his sister.
Now that I thought about it, I remembered a toy box for a young girl in his hand that day.
I scolded myself for saying something unnecessary, while Everett looked a little downcast at the memory of his sister.
It was an expression I had never seen on him before.
Instead of asking for details, I plucked the prettiest wildflower I could see and tucked it behind his ear.
Oh, that actually looks good.
I’d done it as a joke to cheer him up, but even this looked handsome on him.
Wait, which side is the flower on?
I was internally gushing when Everett asked, looking slightly dazed.
“What is this?”
“It’s a flower. I just put it behind your ear, Ed.”
It wasn’t like he didn’t know what a flower was, but I answered shamelessly anyway.
“I know it’s a flower.”
Everett let out a helpless laugh, his earlier gloom completely forgotten.
Then he picked a flower himself and offered it to me.
He tucked one behind each of my ears like revenge, then casually removed the one from his own ear and held it in his hand.
Tsk.
I’d chosen the prettiest one for him.
Since my goodwill had been rejected, I briefly considered making him a whole flower crown, but I held back.
We continued strolling slowly through the wildflower field.
After dawdling until the very last minute, we mounted our horses again to head for Diegis.
The horses, having rested well, were full of energy.
Our group had also recovered their stamina.
This time we rode a little faster than in the morning.
Thanks to that, we reached the border of the Diegis fief in less than three hours.
“Finally.”
My backside and thighs were starting to throb again.
I genuinely rejoiced at the sight of the Diegis border.
Everett looked at me with concern.
“We could take the carriage…”
“We’re already here. What are you talking about?”
I cut him off firmly.
“Then at least on the way back…”
Everett refused to give up.
“I’m fine, really.”
I’d only pretended to be a little tired and now I was being treated like a patient with a terminal illness.
Before Everett could bring up the carriage again, I deliberately spurred my horse forward with exaggerated vigor.
Behind me, the sound of hooves followed in perfect sync, letting me know Everett was right there.
That was how we crossed the border between Feram and Diegis.
On horseback, no less.
The sun was already setting.
We hurried to find lodging.
Since the Diegis fief was smaller than Feram, the accommodations here were naturally less impressive.
Still, we chose the best-looking building among them, and it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t stay the night.
“Two of your best rooms.”
Apparently not wanting to hear the question about whether we were a married couple again, Everett spoke the moment we stepped inside.
He handed over gold coins before the innkeeper could say anything more.
“Keep the change. And make sure the horses are well cared for.”
The woman who appeared to be the innkeeper’s daughter smiled brightly.
“Yes, understood. I’ll give them the freshest hay.”
We had a simple dinner and headed up to our rooms.
It was because I was more exhausted than usual.
I’ve been using my head all the time and suddenly did a lot of physical activity after so long.
It wasn’t even nine yet, but my eyes were already drooping.
“Sleep well. See you tomorrow morning.”
I was so tired that I didn’t even notice Everett standing frozen like a statue, clutching the doorknob.
I barely managed to wash up for the sake of social decency before collapsing into bed and falling into a deep sleep.
I must have slept very soundly; I couldn’t hear a single sound from the next room.
Even though the walls seemed noticeably thinner than at the inn in Feram, only peaceful silence flowed through.
Do the inns around here have surprisingly good soundproofing?
Must be a western thing.
The next morning.
Edwin, who had used a scroll to return to the imperial palace the moment he entered his room the previous night, only came back just before sunrise.
The night before last, he had taken care of the guards Kyle had stationed, then spent the entire night handling paperwork.
He had also gone through every single document related to the temple’s corruption that he had collected so far.
Thanks to working with his eyes wide open to avoid any distracting thoughts, he had finished everything surprisingly quickly last night.
Once the work was gone, insidious thoughts like ‘I wonder if Lina is sleeping well right now’ kept creeping in.
As if wanting to check on her directly, Edwin’s hand kept drifting toward the scroll.
He clenched his fist tightly.
Then he shot up from his seat, paced restlessly around the office, and even went to the training grounds for an early morning session.
It had been a long time since he had trained this intensely after the war ended.
Only after sweating until his body was exhausted did the sun finally begin to rise.
The sun is coming up.
Edwin gazed at the sunrise as he prepared to return.
As the darkness slowly lifted with the rising sun, the dark thoughts in Edwin’s heart seemed to lift as well.
Every night felt endlessly long.
But for Edwin, there were still seven more nights to endure.
After a simple breakfast with Lina, the two of them decided to head to see the ancient ruins—the original purpose of their visit to Diegis.
“But it’s just the two of us going?”
Lina asked, looking puzzled by the small group.
Edwin was flustered but did his best to appear calm.
It was supposed to be just the two of them.
He just hadn’t expected her to point it out.
The members of the Blue Hawk dispatched to Diegis knew both Edwin and Everett.
They could be ordered to keep quiet, but there was always the possibility of something going wrong.
There was no need to take that risk.
Edwin had planned this from the start and had already given the Blue Hawk members different orders.
He had scouted the location in advance and memorized the details of the investigation before departure, so there wouldn’t be any problems.
“They’re apparently very busy,” Edwin explained.
“Are they the only busy ones?”
Lina’s eyes sharpened with complaint.
She had requested support and traveled all this way, only for them to say they were too busy to even show up. She thought it was incredibly rude and was genuinely upset.
Her fierce glare was so intense that even Edwin flinched for a second.
To soothe her, he quickly added, “They must have been truly swamped. They’ve been reassigned to an entirely different region.”
Of course, he was the one who had given that order.
After hearing the explanation that it couldn’t be helped, Lina’s narrowed eyes softened again.
“Then there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Those people must be working so hard.
A look of sympathy filled Lina’s eyes—the same eyes that were always lenient toward overworked office workers.
I thought she was all softness, but she has quite a firm side too.
Whew.
Edwin let out a secret sigh where Lina couldn’t see.