If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 126

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 126
Leonhardt seemed not to have anticipated that I would approach the Imperial Family with such reasoning.
Caught off guard by the unexpected motive, he appeared at a loss.
‘Well, I never told him about it.’
He wasn’t the type to read between the lines of what I hadn’t said.
“That’s what I was trying to say.”
This was a lie.
I was hiding about half the reason.
To be more honest, I didn’t want Leonhardt to grow close to his family at all.
As for Prince, there was nothing to say—it was obvious—but the rest of his family had all been neglectful abusers of a child.
In truth, I didn’t care much for them either.
Though Leonhardt disliked them and found them uncomfortable, he wasn’t the type to yearn for their affection, so my dislike of them never went beyond that.
If Leonhardt had genuinely suffered deep trauma from their neglect, something that shaped the course of his life, I would have been more than happy to despise them thoroughly.
‘No matter what, how could they send a newborn to the Separate Palace without a guardian?’
They may have had their reasons, but it wasn’t my concern.
When I suddenly grew irritated and huffed, Leonhardt subtly watched my expression.
He undoubtedly believed himself to be the cause of my anger.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why do you keep apologizing?”
“Just… that’s all.”
Every time I tried to comfort him, he seemed to grow more dejected.
I wondered if he had always been this lacking in self-worth, but I decided that rabbits were naturally sensitive and delicate creatures.
I simply pulled Leonhardt back into my embrace and patted his back gently, whispering softly.
“You think I’m doing something I don’t want to do because of you, don’t you?”
Leonhardt nodded heavily in affirmation.
“And you thought I got angry because you told me not to do it?”
This time too, Leonhardt nodded in agreement.
Then, with a resolute expression, he drove his point home like a wedge.
“But don’t do that anymore. I’m fine.”
His tone was unwavering, yet somehow it sounded like both a plea and a supplication.
I could sense his steadfast determination not to let me grow angry again.
Leonhardt had always been the type to react more sensitively to my small losses than to his own great ones.
But there was something Leonhardt overlooked.
That dealing with the Imperial Family caused me no loss whatsoever.
If the person I needed to maintain a harmonious relationship with had been Prince, then no matter how much I cared for Leonhardt, I would have simply said we’d manage things a bit more difficultly.
But my feelings toward the other members of the Imperial Family were not quite at that level.
I smiled with confidence and spoke.
“Do I really look like someone who would do something I truly didn’t want to do?”
It was somewhat embarrassing to say so boldly, but both Leonhardt and I knew the answer.
‘Absolutely not.’
People say you can’t live doing only what you want, but I’d earned the right to claim I’d done exactly that.
I could do most of what I desired, and I simply didn’t do the things I truly despised.
In my life, only the years before my regression had been the exception.
‘Perhaps that’s why I’ve become so twisted?’
Even I felt a bit embarrassed at how smugly I’d just spoken, so I tried to glance away—but Leonhardt’s eyes, which I caught unexpectedly, seemed confused.
I steeled myself and met Leonhardt’s gaze again as naturally as I could manage.
“I do it because it’s worth doing.”
When I spoke with conviction and sincerity, Leonhardt seemed to waver slightly.
At this point, the only thing holding him back from accepting my reasoning was his own emotions.
‘And Leonhardt is quite rational, after all.’
He was the type who obsessed over logic and efficiency to a fault.
I naturally assumed he would come to understand this matter.
But an unexpected development occurred.
It seemed as though he was gradually leaning toward acceptance, but then suddenly his expression hardened with resolve once more.
Him? Surely not? I thought—but my ominous premonitions were rarely wrong.
I laughed to diffuse the tension and searched for another topic to redirect the conversation.
That’s when I spotted nobles returning home in the distance.
“Oh, shouldn’t we head back too?”
The party had likely reached its natural end by now.
“We should.”
Leonhardt took the first step after confirming that a moon nearly full hung near the zenith of the sky.
This time, he walked slowly enough that I could easily keep pace.
Of course, Leonhardt was probably thinking he could simply continue our conversation as we walked.
‘He’s not the easygoing type like Lester.’
I’d merely bought myself a little time.
Fortunately, something I needed to tell Leonhardt suddenly came to mind.
‘I’d completely forgotten about that.’
I spoke as though the thought had just struck me, feigning surprise.
“Oh, by the way—you need to live in the Imperial Palace now.”
What I meant by that was….
Just as much had happened to Leonhardt during his two years on the battlefield, much had also transpired in the Capital.
Lionel and Merlin, who had longed for a child for so very long, were finally blessed with a baby angel.
When the war had stretched past a year, Lester’s girlfriend, unable to wait any longer, had proposed to him the moment he returned, insisting they marry immediately.
Caspian and Nia, who had become close through shared interests, along with Emil, had all advanced to the upper classes of the Imperial Academy together.
All of these were important matters, but what I had focused on most during Leonhardt’s absence was uncovering Prince’s crimes and solidifying Leonhardt’s position.
Leonhardt’s return to the Imperial Palace was part of that strategy.
‘Though it was the Emperor who first proposed this.’
It was rare for the Emperor and me to agree on something.
“You’re an adult now, so you can’t remain under House of Roderick’s wardship indefinitely, can you?”
Especially since Leonhardt was younger than Prince, the position of ward would only reinforce an image of immaturity.
Now that he had come of age, it was time to enter the true succession war for the throne.
We had decided to repair and furnish the Prince’s Palace where Leonhardt would stay, and then discuss everything step by step once the war ended and he returned—but this timing felt perfectly right.
Yet despite my sufficiently convincing explanation, Leonhardt’s expression fell into shock and dejection.
“We can’t live together anymore?”
Anyone watching would think I was suggesting we break up.
‘No, technically we’d still be together, wouldn’t we?’
For a moment I was confused, but since our cohabitation until now didn’t feel like that kind of cohabitation, I quickly regained my composure.
“Not until after we’re married.”
Still, since Leonhardt’s reaction was more intense than expected, I found myself speaking in a deliberately subtle tone, wishing I’d given him a heads-up beforehand.
“…Until we’re married.”
But Leonhardt, as if his fierce reaction from moments ago had vanished, repeated my words with a strangely bashful expression, then readily accepted going to the Imperial Palace.
Now Leonhardt’s full attention was fixed on coming to the Imperial Palace.
“You’ll come often, right?”
When he asked pleadingly, I laughed and answered that I didn’t particularly like coming to the Imperial Palace often, so he should just come to House of Roderick instead, then made him a proposal.
“Want to see the Prince’s Palace?”
In the first timeline, Leonhardt had stayed at House of Roderick and then immediately became Emperor.
So he had never actually possessed his own palace as a prince.
‘Before coming to House of Roderick, he would have only been in the Abandoned Palace.’
So I hoped that in this life, Leonhardt would have only good memories of the Prince’s Palace.
“Only if you come with me.”
“Of course.”
This time it was a palace, but I was the one who had decorated Leonhardt’s space.
Since I had prepared a surprise gift as well, my steps toward the Prince’s Palace were light and excited.
I walked ahead, guiding him along the path I had grown familiar with from visiting frequently over the past two years, and Leonhardt followed slowly behind.
After walking for a while, I arrived at the still-empty Prince’s Palace and headed straight to the bedroom.
“This is your bedroom.”
As I opened the door wide, the room decorated in neutral tones reflecting Leonhardt’s taste came into view. Fluffy rabbit plushies with soft silver fur filled the room in various sizes.
“Miela.”
At the same expression and tone he had worn when seeing his room on the day we moved to House of Roderick, I burst into delighted laughter.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————