If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 129

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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 129
Yet Prince soon relaxed his expression and donned a forced smile.
“Do your best.”
He encouraged Leonhardt with a show of bravado, though unmistakable anxiety flickered across his features.
Realizing this himself, Prince abandoned the pretense of laughter, twisting his lips into a rigid mask.
Once the artifice fell away, a hidden facet of Prince’s nature emerged into view.
Even his eyes had been an act—his blue gaze now gleamed with an unfiltered madness, glassy and luminous.
“Well then, since I’ve seen your face, I should take my leave.”
Unwilling to expose his raw self any longer, Prince departed the Drawing Room without hesitation.
Leonhardt, unable to shed his wariness, kept watch with sharpened senses until Prince vanished entirely from sight.
Only after enough time had passed for Prince to leave the Prince’s Palace grounds entirely did Leonhardt’s gaze finally turn toward me.
I met his eyes and smiled, hoping to ease his tension.
Assuring him that nothing had happened would only deepen his worry—that much was certain.
I decided instead to redirect his attention elsewhere entirely.
“So when does the reinvestigation begin?”
Perhaps recalling the timing of my abduction before the regression, Leonhardt’s crimson eyes—which had momentarily lost focus—sharpened once more.
A small sigh escaped before his answer came, delayed by a beat.
“In two months. The Crown Princess of Terban will come to the Empire herself, or so I’m told.”
“The Crown Princess herself?”
The reinvestigation authority was something the Terban Empire had yielded much to obtain.
I had anticipated that a dignitary would come, but I hadn’t expected the Crown Princess—who was currently conducting state affairs in place of the Emperor, who lay ill with age—to arrive personally.
In title she was Crown Princess, but in reality she held a position nearly equivalent to the Emperor of Terban.
“It seems the Imperial Family of Terban has better relations among siblings than Arcadia does.”
Leonhardt added with a bitter tone.
“Which also means they don’t trust Arcadia that much.”
Well, if I were them, I wouldn’t trust us either.
Though my thoughts ran that way, I deliberately infused my voice with cheer and hope to bolster Leonhardt’s spirits.
“But this is the best situation for us.”
“That’s true.”
Leonhardt nodded in agreement.
“The Spirit Mirror is nearly complete as it is. Two months will be more than enough.”
As I spoke with sparkling eyes and evident pride, Leonhardt’s face broke into a broad smile.
“Everyone must have worked hard.”
“Yes. They all worked incredibly diligently.”

*
Two years ago.
Once we deduced that Prince was involved in Grand Duke Orkian’s death, we made every effort to secure evidence.
But even the seasoned fixers of the Underworld and the pickpocket children known as the eyes of the Underworld failed to uncover any proof.
Those whom Prince had framed in his stead confessed readily and ascended the gallows, disappearing without a trace, and there were no witnesses.
“Sigh, even if it’s the Underworld, it happened in broad daylight—how could there not be a single witness?”
Even if not someone who witnessed the murder itself, anyone in the Underworld who had encountered Prince would have been invaluable in uncovering the truth.
I could only heave a frustrated sigh.
“The Underworld is a place where day and night are completely reversed.”
Leonhardt spoke in a gentle, consoling tone.
“…I’m so frustrated I’d ask a stray cat on the street. I’m sure they must have seen something.”
At my petulant remark, Leonhardt let out a soft chuckle.
“I’d need to learn cat language.”
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
“I just thought of a being who would know about this incident!”
I sprang to my feet.
I needed to find Merlin immediately and ask if the solution I’d conceived was possible.
Leonhardt, startled by my sudden movement, asked before I could rush away.
“Where are you going? So suddenly?”
Only then did I realize I’d acted without explanation, so I sat back down and described what had occurred to me.
“Even if there were no human witnesses to the incident, wouldn’t there be spirits?”
No matter how much of an underworld it was, it existed as a space upon the ‘earth,’ and the air contained traces of ‘water.’
So my hypothesis was that spirits would have witnessed the incident.
‘Merlin told me before that intermediate-level Spirit Contractors can communicate with spirits quite precisely.’
The question was how precise that level of communication truly was, but it might be our only chance to uncover evidence.
And when I confirmed with Merlin, my hypothesis proved to be sound.

*
The moment Caspian arrived from the Academy, we headed straight for the Underworld.
With a Swordmaster and two Spirit Contractors in our group, we traversed the Underworld’s daylight hours as easily as walking down the Grand Avenue.
“It’s not here either.”
Caspian shook his head, his expression growing slightly weary.
“Not here either.”
Merlin, who had explored a narrow alley some distance from Leonhardt, spoke with a dejected look.
Since this area was where Viscount Perington’s forces congregated, both had searched with high expectations, but disappointment was evident when the results didn’t materialize as hoped.
I spoke with an encouraging tone to bolster the spirits of my two struggling companions.
“The Underworld is vast. I never expected we’d find him immediately. Let’s take this slowly, step by step.”
After learning the situation from us and discovering Prince’s true nature, the two of them burned with righteous fervor, and their passion remained as intense as ever.
“Of course!”
“We’ve already covered half of it today, so just a bit more and we’ll be done!”
Caspian and Merlin had been alternating between walking and resting for six hours straight.
Despite being thoroughly exhausted, neither showed any inclination to stop.
At this rate, we’d actually cover the entire Underworld today and collapse from exhaustion.
I quickly stopped them both.
“We’ll finish the rest tomorrow. Let’s head back for today.”
Communicating with spirits wasn’t particularly difficult for Spirit Contractors, but maintaining casual conversation for six hours straight was taxing even for them.
Since neither possessed exceptional stamina, signs of fatigue were becoming apparent.
After hesitating briefly, Merlin clenched her fist and exclaimed.
“Then let’s just check one more place! I have a feeling about that direction.”
And once again, the old saying that a Spirit Contractor’s intuition is remarkably accurate proved true.
“We found it! It’s here!”
Tender-hearted Merlin hesitated for a long while, her lips trembling slightly.
“What… what is it?”
When I asked carefully, Caspian answered instead, his voice trembling as he relayed the details of the incident.
It was horrific.
“Still, this should be enough to make the Crown Prince face justice for his crimes.”
To Merlin, who spoke in a somber voice, I slowly shook my head.
We’d found the crime scene and the witnessing spirit, but there was another problem.
“Only Spirit Contractors can hear what spirits say…”
Having the two of them testify in place of the spirit wouldn’t be very effective.
Since both were close to Roderick, there was a high probability that Prince’s side would dismiss it as slander.
We all sighed simultaneously.
Then, as if something had just occurred to her, Merlin, who had been pondering for some time, clenched her fist and exclaimed.
“I think there might be a way!”
“What is it?”
I asked eagerly, and Merlin’s eyes sparkled as she answered.
“Among high-level spirit magic, there’s a spell called the Spirit’s Mirror. It reflects what spirits have seen and heard, so wouldn’t it be visible to people who aren’t Spirit Contractors? Though I’m not entirely certain… I’ve never actually tried it before.”
As Merlin spoke, her voice grew quieter toward the end.
She seemed to lose a bit of herself.
Spirit Contractors were so rare that the lineage of spirit magic had nearly broken off entirely.
Even with Roderick’s influence, he could only unearth a handful of ancient texts.
So the two of them were teaching themselves through trial and error, attempting each technique directly.
There were far too many things that could only be understood through firsthand experimentation.
This seemed to be one of those things.
“That’s a wonderful idea! It’s definitely worth attempting. For now, let’s head back, and when Merlin is ready next time, we can try again, shall we?”
My reassuring words lifted her spirits, and Merlin cried out with renewed determination.
“Even though I’ve never done it before, I know all the methods! I’ll give it a try.”
And after attempting the advanced spirit magic—which she only knew in theory—exactly three times, Merlin succeeded.
“Wait, wait? I can see it, I can see it!”

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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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