Unbeknownst to Me, I’m Secretly Dating the Emperor — Chapter 34

...SO I WAS WONDERING JUST WHAT KIND OF PRECIOUS NOBLE LADY YOU WERE.

...?!

WAIT A MINUTE, COULD THIS BE...

AN INITIATION RITUAL?!

BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE ALREADY...?!

ACK?!!?

BESS, IF YOU'RE GOING TO SPEAK, YOU SHOULD SPEAK PROPERLY.

EH-GO, AHH! (LET GO OF ME, NATHAN!)

UM, MISS DIAZ.

WHAT SHE JUST SAID....

MEANS "I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE A DIFFICULT PERSON TO APPROACH SINCE KYLUS KEPT USING HONORIFICS,

BUT YOU SEEM MUCH NICER THAN I EXPECTED,"

IS PROBABLY WHAT SHE MEANT.

BESS TAUGHT HERSELF THE IMPERIAL LANGUAGE AND ETIQUETTE.

SHE USUALLY THINKS HARD BEFORE SPEAKING, BUT SOMETIMES SHE ENDS UP LIKE THAT.

I-ISN'T THAT A BIT TOO HARSH?

ANYWAY, IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU.

Teaching herself etiquette...

MY NAME IS DEREK.

I’M NATHAN.

BESS!

I'M SOPHIA.

WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT YOU FROM KYLE BEFOREHAND.

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WARM WELCOME.

I'M CAROLINA DIAZ.

YOU CAN JUST COMFORTABLY CALL ME RINA-

WHAT?!

REALLY?!

THEN I'LL CALL YOU RINA FROM NOW ON~!

MISS RINA~~~!

I ALSO....

MAY I ALSO CALL YOU RINA...

...PLEASE?

!

OF COURSE, BESS.

So cute!!!

SHE'S LIKE AN UNSOCIABLE LITTLE KITTEN.

OH.

YOU'RE ALREADY HERE, MISS DIAZ?

AH, KYLE-

AHH, KYLUS!!

JUST HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?!

YOU'RE ALWAYS JUST AT THE CAFE!!

KYLE, SINCE YOU'RE HERE, PLEASE LOOK AT THIS DOCUMENT!!

ME FIRST! I HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT NEEDS IMMEDIATE APPROVAL...

NO, THIS CASE FIRST...!

-WAIT!!

AS THE GUILD HEAD, I NATURALLY HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF OUR NEW FAMILY MEMBER FIRST,

?!

SO I WILL HAVE A CHAT WITH MISS DIAZ AND COME BACK.

LET'S GO THEN, MISS DIAZ!

ARGH! HE'S RUNNING AWAY AGAIN!

H-HURRY...!

HAA, PHEW...

...IS IT ALWAYS LIKE THIS?

IT IS ALWAYS LIKE THIS.

ANYWAY, MISS DIAZ.

IT'S NOT LIKE I DELIBERATELY TRIED TO ESCAPE... AHEM,

...I DIDN'T USE YOU FOR THAT.

FIRST, I HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU.

THIS IS A MAGICAL SELF-DEFENSE ARTIFACT.

PROVIDED TO EACH MEMBER OF BLUE HAWK.

Wow..

AN ARTIFACT. IT'S MY FIRST TIME SEEING ONE.

BUT IT LOOKS... VERY EXPENSIVE....

AH. HA. HA. NOT. AT. ALL?

IT'S JUST A COMMON. ARTIFACT, YOU SEE?

EVEN IF YOU BREAK IT WHILE USING IT,

IT WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM. AT ALL?

IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT...?

...I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I REALLY NEED IT,

MAYBE I SHOULD JUST PICK ONE RANDOMLY.

I'LL GO WITH THIS ONE.

THAT IS A BRACELET WITH A SHORT-DISTANCE TELE- PORTATION MAGIC FUNCTION.

IT WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOU IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, MISS DIAZ.

AN EMERGENCY SITUATION....

COULD I ALSO USE IT WHEN I WANT TO GET OFF WORK QUICKLY?

Like teleporting straight home~

SINCE SHE PICKED THE MOST PRECIOUS ONE AMONG THEM,

HIS MAJESTY WILL BE SATISFIED AS WELL, RIGHT? I won't be Pestered for a while.

SHE CERTAINLY HAS A GOOD EYE, AS EXPECTED.

SHE CHOSE THE "PROTECTION OF THE BLUE DRAGON" RIGHT AWAY.

PROTECTION OF THE BLUE DRAGON... NOT BAD.

IT'S FAR BETTER THAN JUST 'NOT BAD'!

IT'S AN ARTIFACT WITH TOP-TIER PROTECTIVE AND TELEPORTATION MAGIC.

NOT LISTENING

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH BUDGET WE SPENT TO RENOVATE THE ENTIRE OFFICE JUST SO SHE WOULDN'T REALIZE SHE WAS RECEIVING SPECIAL TREATMENT?

JUST AS YOUR MAJESTY STRICTLY REQUESTED, WE ALSO PROVIDED HER WITH TOP-TIER OFFICE EQUIPMENT.

...I'M STILL WORRIED.

I KEEP GETTING AN OMINOUS FEELING

THAT SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO MISS DIAZ.

I'M TELLING YOU, IT'S A NEEDLESS WORRY.

IF YOU ARE THAT ANXIOUS, YOU SHOULD JUST GO AND SEE HER FOR A MOMENT.

HER WORKPLACE IS CLOSE BY NOW ANYWAY,

AND SINCE EVERETT ROJAS IS NEARBY,

IT SHOULD BE FINE EVEN IF AN URGENT MATTER COMES UP FOR ABOUT TWO OR THREE HOURS.

...NO.

BECAUSE TODAY IS MISS DIAZ'S FIRST DAY WORKING IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT.

...I DON'T WANT TO DISTURB HER.

...FOR THE TIME BEING,

I WILL COME TO WORK AT THE IMPERIAL PALACE MORE OFTEN.

SO THAT YOUR MAJESTY AND MISS DIAZ CAN SPEND A BIT MORE TIME TOGETHER.

KYLE...!

I WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR SACRIFICE.

THEN FIRST, THIS,

STARTING WITH THIS,

AND THIS AS WELL....

...SHOULD I TAKE BACK MY WORDS NOW?

I was swayed by a fleeting emotion...

AH, AND YOUR MAJESTY.

A REQUEST HAS ARRIVED FROM THE CROWN PRINCESS OF BELLOT.

SHE SAID SHE WOULD LIKE TO MEET THE CANDIDATES FOR PRINCE CONSORT IN PERSON.

...LET HER DO AS SHE PLEASES.

SHE'S PROBABLY TRYING TO FIND SOME- ONE SHE CAN WIN OVER WITHIN THE EMPIRE,

BUT ALL THE CANDIDATES ARE OUR PEOPLE ANYWAY.

IT WOULDN'T BE BAD TO PLANT A DOUBLE AGENT.

THESE ARE THE CANDIDATES FOR PRINCE CONSORT YOU WISHED TO MEET.

THE FIRST PERSON YOU WILL SPEAK WITH IS-

...THIS PERSON,

I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH HIM FIRST.