If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 109

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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 109
If I were to name the person most significantly affected by my regression after myself and Leonhardt, it would undoubtedly be Prince.
Prince, who had only recently come of age this year, was not yet openly displaying his cruelty in the way he had before the regression.
In the first timeline, he had already begun to cross the line from animal abuse and violent behavior into murder four or five years ago, so compared to that, this was an enormous difference.
However, upon discreet investigation, his true nature remained unchanged.
Had I not known that he still indulged in various “hobbies” behind closed doors to satiate his cruelty, I might have believed he had truly reformed.
‘…If I set aside personal grudges and consider the Empire’s peace, it would have been better if he had genuinely changed.’
For now, he restrained himself because of Leonhardt’s existence, but once he became Emperor with no one to answer to, he would undoubtedly revert to his old ways.
As long as Prince retained his antisocial tendencies and cruelty intact, he was like a powder keg on the verge of detonation.
Given his nature of not tolerating anyone who displeased him, if Prince became Emperor, it would certainly harm both Leonhardt and me, but what concerned me more were the ordinary citizens of the Empire who would have no way to stop the brutal power he wielded.
‘Millions died during the great famine and the civil war alone.’
Thanks to Leonhardt and I regressing and changing the future, the fates of countless people who would have been sacrificed directly or indirectly by Prince’s hands had been altered.
‘At least our regression has been worthwhile for that.’
However, precisely because of this, dealing with Prince—who had not yet committed any grave crime serious enough to warrant his removal from the position of Crown Prince—had become somewhat complicated.
I knew with absolute certainty he would become an extremely heinous criminal, yet by saving those who would fall victim to his hands, I had inadvertently removed the justification for punishing him.
‘But I can’t simply stand by knowing someone will be sacrificed to Prince’s hands.’
After lengthy deliberation following the regression, Leonhardt and I had decided to take the direct approach.
‘To enter the competition for imperial succession and claim victory through fair and square means.’
It was the most rational method available to us at this point, but also the most difficult.
The more we prevented Prince’s misdeeds, the more disadvantageous it became for Leonhardt’s competition for the throne, and we had prevented them so effectively that we had become considerably disadvantaged.
Prince was seven years older than Leonhardt, already an officially recognized Crown Prince, and had no “special disqualifying reasons” that would prevent him from inheriting the throne.
No matter how much Leonhardt had awakened his Divine Blood, it was a gap not easily reversed.
‘But we must reverse it somehow. We cannot allow Prince to become Emperor.’
Through seven years of effort, Leonhardt had narrowed the gap enough that Prince felt compelled to openly oppose him.
In terms of ability alone, Leonhardt was overwhelmingly superior, so this was a natural conclusion.
‘The seven-year age difference is significant now, but as Leonhardt grows, it will become irrelevant.’
In this situation, Prince had few cards left to play, and the one he was investing the most effort into was the royal marriage card.
It appeared he intended to use marriage as a means of managing his public image.
‘Yes, I’ll interfere.’
I smiled wickedly, like a mischievous troublemaker.
It was a smile laden with personal resentment as well.
‘How many bottles of wine did I drink alone in the bridal chamber on my wedding day!’
I had already roughly formulated a plan to cause chaos at the wedding.
I intended to direct all the scandal toward Leonhardt.
‘For now, this is also the perfect moment to reveal that Leonhardt’s crimson eyes are a blessing.’
However, objectively speaking, this prophecy alone was somewhat insufficient to generate enough of a scandal to bury the royal marriage.
Rumors about the crimson eyes had already become considerably diluted—only the Crown Prince’s supporters truly believed them, while others merely treated it as hearsay.
Since the negative image to be reversed was not particularly devastating, news contributing to an image reversal would not generate much sensation either.
‘Moreover, regarding the curse of the crimson eyes—whether it caused the great famine or will destroy the Empire—people would only be concerned during times of anxiety, but in this period, the citizens of the Empire would likely show little interest.’
Only those whose fortunes and family prospects depended on who inherited the throne would care enough to make a fuss about it.
Most people would find the high society scandal more intriguing—that some Count had an affair with his niece-in-law.
“It’s not enough. It’s simply not enough.”
Staking my entire social career on it, I could guarantee that making this into a real issue required far more provocative seasoning.
“What would work?”
As I pondered with gleaming eyes, I suddenly posed the question to Leonhardt.
“What would?”
Leonhardt, who had been silently watching me while I remained lost in thought for so long, seemed slightly startled by the abrupt question.
I had called him over saying I had something to discuss, only to become absorbed in my own musings—it was my fault—yet I playfully chided him with a smile.
“You’ve awakened Divine Blood, yet you can’t even read thoughts?”
The ability of oppression was certainly excellent for establishing the Emperor’s authority, but didn’t it just make one seem ill-tempered?
As I spoke nonsense and pouted my lips teasingly, Leonhardt let out a soft laugh.
“You’re right, what a shame.”
He was playing along, knowing full well that I was joking.
‘Leon, who once couldn’t understand jokes, is now humoring such silly pranks.’
This was far more entertaining than childish banter.
I felt the passage of time anew and continued my explanation.
“To properly ruin Prince’s wedding, I think I need to layer on something far more sensational. What do you think would work?”
“I’m not sure…?”
Leonhardt, whose sense of humor had improved somewhat but whose creativity hadn’t grown much, pondered deeply before shrugging, admitting he couldn’t think of anything.
I had only needed someone to brainstorm with; I hadn’t harbored great expectations of Leonhardt anyway.
I would have to manage it myself, after all.
I fell back into contemplation without much concern.
“The classic approach would be to burst into the venue shouting ‘This marriage is void!’ Or perhaps declare war on the day of someone else’s wedding, like Prince did.”
Of course, neither method was particularly appropriate, so it was more of an offhand remark.
“Wait, am I wrong?”
As I spoke, a sudden idea struck me.
There was a way to ruin the wedding by shouting ‘This marriage is void!’ without needing a heavily pregnant woman to burst in like some romance novel.
“What if we made it appear as though Prince’s wedding wouldn’t receive divine blessing?”
A perfect idea had arrived at the perfect moment, and I felt delighted.
We had recently accumulated a pile of ancient prophecy books whose authors we couldn’t identify, as we searched for evidence that red eyes were a sign of blessing.
Out of idle curiosity, I had flipped through them and found books containing absurd prophecies—that crows flying over the venue as the wedding ended would bring misfortune, or that if a guest dressed in a particular manner attended on the wedding day, an accident would occur.
An eye for an eye, a curse for a curse.
‘Let you experience once what it’s like to fall victim to retrofitted prophecies.’
As I was devising the specific details, Leonhardt spoke carefully.
“Since it’s an Imperial Family wedding, the Chamberlain will attend. The Temple is favorable toward me, but they won’t cooperate in this matter.”
The Temple was very favorable toward Leonhardt, who had awakened Divine Blood.
For their own revival, they would surely prefer Leonhardt to become Emperor over Prince.
However, they were not a group that took active measures.
The various corruptions committed by corrupt Shrine Priests in the past had been exposed, and the Temple had lost considerable influence.
Though they were gradually recovering their former reputation thanks to self-correction efforts, the Temple refrained from involving itself in practical politics because of past transgressions.
Even Prince, born with Divine Blood as a member of the Imperial Family, could have interfered from the Temple if we wove the wedding and curse together.
“That’s a fair point too…”
The valid observation deepened my dilemma.
“If it doesn’t work, let’s just get married on the same day.”
Wait? Why didn’t I think of this better solution sooner?
I tilted my head in confusion.

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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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