If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 118

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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 118
What was that?
It was the first time Leonhardt had kissed me first.
As I blinked in bewilderment, Leonhardt’s face turned as red as a tomato, and he mumbled as if making an excuse.
“You said it was fine before my birthday.”
I had indeed said something like that.
I glanced at the time and saw there was still about a minute left until midnight.
“Thank you.”
After placing the bouquet carefully on the side table, I wrapped my arms lightly around Leonhardt’s neck and returned his kiss gently.
Just as I was pulling away with a soft smacking sound, Leonhardt wrapped his arms around my waist.
Then he kissed me several more times, as if reluctant to let me go.
Until the bell tower in the Plaza faintly chimed the stroke of midnight.

* * *
After sending Leonhardt away with a composed expression, saying he was late, my legs finally gave out and I collapsed onto the bed.
My ears felt warm, as if I had caught a mild cold.
Every time I closed my eyes, I found myself thinking of Leonhardt’s lips or the sound of his breathing.
“It’s just a kiss. What’s the big deal?”
I tried to convince myself it was because it had been so long, but it wasn’t very effective.
After all, we had grown accustomed to light kisses, linking arms, holding hands, and even more intimate gestures over the years.
“…It really was a big deal.”
Though we had been married for four years, we were more like lovers who had just begun dating.
Physical affection after our hearts had truly connected was on a different level.
Even the slightest touch made my heart race and sent tingles through my fingertips.
“So this is what being in love feels like.”
I used to envy other Young Ladies when they spoke of their romantic tales with that starry-eyed look, unable to even imagine what it felt like, but now I had become one of those Young Ladies speaking of love with that same dreamy expression.
It was my first love, and it came so terribly late, making me wonder if I was being too excessive, but I decided it didn’t matter if I was.
Hugging my pillow and cheering silently, I tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep as the sky outside my window began to brighten faintly.
It felt like I had just closed my eyes when morning arrived.
“You’re still sleeping? Not today!”
“Wake up. It’s already almost nine o’clock!”
“Oh, and Young Lady! Happy birthday!”
Awakened by the cheerful voices of the Maids who had come to attend to me in the morning, I sat up groggily and rubbed my eyes.
The Maids confirmed I was awake and handed me small gifts they had carefully prepared.
“Thank you. All of you.”
I smiled brightly with a happy face as I examined the gifts.
The Maids met my eyes and smiled back, then asked with concern.
“You didn’t sleep last night, did you? There are dark circles under your eyes.”
“Even our spirited Young Lady must have been nervous about her debut ball for the first time?”
It wasn’t my first debut ball, and my nerves weren’t from the ball, but I simply smiled and agreed.
“I couldn’t sleep because of the nerves, I suppose.”
All of my Maids were Young Ladies from Vassal Houses.
Since they were all older than me, they each had experience making their debut.
The Maids laughed softly, their faces wistful as they recalled their own debutante balls.
“Indeed, I was so nervous I can’t even describe it.”
“I drank three cups of chamomile tea the night before and finally fell asleep.”
As each of them shared their own experiences, Anna’s words caught my attention.
“But surely the Young Lady won’t have her partner disappear on the day of her debut?”
Her expression suggested she was making a self-deprecating joke about some hidden episode.
Curious, I asked while keeping my lips as still as possible with a face mask on.
“What happened?”
The other Maids already knew the story and simply giggled quietly.
Anna explained the episode from her own debut as if she’d been waiting for the question.
Since she had no suitable partner, her cousin agreed to be her partner, but the night before the debut, he had a massive fight with his fiancée and got dumped.
She added that objectively speaking, it was entirely her cousin’s fault.
“She caught him dining alone with his ex-girlfriend and even going to the opera together.”
The problem was that the fiancée was a knight, so her hand was far too heavy.
In her anger, she only slapped his cheek once, but his face swelled up and bruises covered his cheekbone.”
“So what happened after that?”
I asked with keen interest in this dramatic turn of events, and Anna continued immediately.
Anna absolutely didn’t want to bring her cousin with such a battered face as her partner to the debut, so she desperately tried to find another partner.
But it wasn’t the day before—it was the morning of the event itself.
Since there was originally no one suitable to be her partner, her cousin had agreed to do it, so it was an extremely difficult situation.
In the end, Anna, with a poker face, asked Young-sik, who was barely an acquaintance and closer to being the son of her parents’ friend, and he gladly became her partner, which led to the two of them dating from that point on.
As I listened, the story that had started as a mishap gradually transformed into her bragging about her thoughtful and affectionate lover.
‘At least it helps pass the time.’
Noble women’s preparation takes an extraordinarily long time.
Especially for major events like a debutante ball, the preparation often starts in the morning and continues until afternoon.
Without Anna’s story, I would have found it rather tedious, so I accepted her lover’s praises with a smile.
Just as her story ended, my preparation was complete.
The Maids gathered around me in a circle, clapping their hands with expressions full of emotion.
“You look absolutely beautiful.”
“We’re so happy to be the first to see you like this.”
“The Young Lady truly has a face worth all the effort of beautification.”
“That’s right. Your features are quite distinct, but your impression isn’t overly flamboyant, so your appearance changes depending on how you’re styled.”
The Maids were always generous with their praise, but today their reaction was far better than usual.
Since they had prevented me from looking in the mirror during the process, saying it would be boring, I became curious about their reaction.
“I want to see too.”
The Maids then brought a full-length mirror and set it before me.
“Well, I do look beautiful.”
I responded with feigned composure and laughed.
It was a modest reaction, but the girl in the mirror was truly beautiful.
If my usual style emphasized cuteness and loveliness, this time the Maids seemed to have chosen something more elegant to commemorate my coming of age.
The dress itself was white, befitting a debutante, but they had reduced the frills and ribbon decorations I normally favored and layered several understated jeweled ornaments instead.
With the sparkle of the gems embedded in the dress added to it, each step I took seemed to shimmer with light—or so it felt.
Elegant didn’t even begin to describe it; it was almost ethereal.
I thought this might be the most beautiful moment of my entire life.
‘Though if I’m being honest, my wedding day was far more elaborate.’
Back then, I had been too overwhelmed by the ceremony to smile brightly as a new bride should, but today I looked genuinely happy.
As I gazed at my radiant reflection in the mirror, the Maids who had been watching me with enchanted eyes suddenly remembered something and placed fresh flowers in my hair.
“We almost forgot the most important piece.”
They appeared to be roses from the bouquet Leonhardt had given me last night.
“When did you prepare this?”
It was the bouquet I had nearly forgotten while I was floundering on my bed after Leonhardt left.
Yet I wondered when they had managed to disassemble and arrange it like this while it was in my room.
In fact, the remaining flowers were already beautifully arranged in a vase—their hands must have been incredibly quick.
“We noticed a bouquet we hadn’t seen before.”
The Maids winked as if they knew everything.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but for some reason I felt the urge to explain myself, and just as I was about to speak, the Maids raised their voices toward the door.
“You may come in now, Your Highness!”
Leonhardt? Already?
The door opened, and Leonhardt entered as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“Miela….”

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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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