If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 131

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

Chapter 131
According to Anna’s explanation, it was like this.
So the reason Anna had taken leave this time was to meet a friend who had contacted her after a long while.
“This friend is the editor-in-chief of Ladies’ Whispers.”
At the mention of being a long-time friend of the Yellow Press editor-in-chief, Nanny’s brow furrowed slightly.
Anna belatedly added a defense for her friend.
“She’s the type who chases sensationalism, but she’s not a bad person. As you can see, this one is still respectable.”
Anna rummaged through the stack of Yellow Press papers and found the one newspaper that didn’t carry any ‘initial articles’.
“Here it is.”
Only then did Nanny’s expression brighten.
“Well, continue then.”
Once the slight leak had been plugged, Anna flinched and continued speaking.
“This article appeared simultaneously across all the Yellow Press publications, and it turns out they all received anonymous tips around the same time.”
The source was unclear, but since it was sensational material, they all rushed to publish the story.
“My friend received a tip too, but since there was no evidence, she decided to hold off on publishing. But when this happened, she thought it was strange and tried to trace the source.”
Suspiciously, the source didn’t surface easily, and then another tip followed.
This time it came with hints that made it possible to guess who the protagonists of the initial articles were, and the content was somewhat more sordid.
“This tip just arrived this morning, and my friend thinks it’s clearly referring to Lady Roderick, the Prince, and the Crown Prince.”
The reason Anna had been summoned today was to give me a heads-up just in case.
Anna handed me a sheet of paper that appeared to have been hastily transcribed.
The younger brother was characterized by distinctive and striking eyes, while the older brother was a married man who had wed the daughter of a loyal retainer’s family years ago.
And between these two men, the indecisive lady possessed hair as golden and sweet as ‘honey’.
I had blonde hair, and one meaning of my name was ‘honey’.
Combining these three details made it unmistakably clear hints that anyone could recognize.
“Now that I think about it…”
Because it was absurd, I hadn’t even suspected it, but when I applied the idea that the protagonist was me, Leonhardt, and that madman, there were places where things fit together uncannily.
Like how the older brother and I had almost been married when we were young.
‘Though it was only talk.’
Or how the younger brother, who had been in a romantic relationship with the lady, had been away for a long time and only recently returned.
“But would I have wavered toward Prince if I were insane while Leon was away?”
That’s why I hadn’t even thought this article was about me when I first saw it.
The article said that after the lady’s marriage to the older brother fell through, her heart was wounded, so she began to shun the older brother whom she had been close to before, and years later, when her heart still hadn’t healed, she deliberately approached the younger brother, but when he left, she began to waver toward the older brother again.
“Does this even make sense?”
I was dumbfounded and felt wronged.
Even as I complained in a sharp voice, calling Prince by his name outright, Nanny said nothing.
That’s how absurd this situation was for Nanny as well.
“Of course it doesn’t.”
After stiffening briefly, Nanny opened her mouth and backed me up, even taking my side.
If Prince had been in front of her, Nanny would have looked ready to tear the hair from his head.
Nanny, glaring at the newspapers with an ominous expression, spoke in a chilling voice.
“First, we need to stop this tip from being published. I’ll go speak with Lady—”
“Well…”
Anna stopped the Nanny, who looked ready to rush out immediately.
“It’s already too late.”
Her voice was heavy with gloom.
“The tip came in right before the final article review for today’s print. My friend says the faster outlets have already included the story in today’s edition, and it’s about to be distributed.”
“This is… what?”
The Nanny’s expression grew hollow.
“My friend said that based on what the informant is doing, they seem to know our world very well, so I should be careful.”
Anna, her face twisted with concern as if she were the one most upset, forced brightness into her voice to comfort me.
“Surely people won’t believe it? It’s a clever patchwork with some overlap to reality, so it sounds plausible, but everyone knows what the relationship is between those three.”
That Prince was checking Roderick and Leonhardt—every noble in the Capital knew this.
Besides, the Yellow Press had notoriously low credibility.
“That’s true. If we respond too aggressively to something like this, even people who were ready to dismiss it as ridiculous gossip will end up paying it more attention.”
The Nanny, having regained her composure, added carefully.
“Right… that makes sense. Who would actually believe such an absurd article?”
But I couldn’t afford to be so optimistic.
There were far more people in this world who chased sensation over truth than one might expect.

* * *
Just as Anna’s friend had predicted, the article appeared in roughly half of the Yellow Press editions released that day.
And sure enough, people quickly figured out who the protagonist of this “love triangle with brothers caught between them” was.
Though we managed to prevent the article from spreading further, the rumor had already saturated high society.
Of course, everyone remained skeptical.
Yet because scandal involving the Imperial Family and Lady Roderick was both dangerous and deliciously stimulating, the rumor refused to die away, regardless of its low credibility.
‘These people are something else.’
From that point on, I ended my seclusion and began attending social gatherings as actively as before.
If I tried to hide now, it would only look like I had something to feel guilty about, and the gossip would be relentless.
And Leonhardt was almost always by my side.
“My goodness, Young Lady. I heard you caught a mild case of pneumonia, but you’ve recovered beautifully. How fortunate.”
“Thanks to your concern.”
Invited to a certain lady’s musical soirée, I attended today as well with Leonhardt as my partner.
This crowd seemed to have more sensation-seekers, and today the whispers were particularly loud.
“Could it be true? The Crown Prince and the Young Lady have been running into each other quite often lately, haven’t they?”
“Oh, surely not. They seem to get along so well.”
The curious voices of young ladies reached my ears.
‘Leonhardt and I do make quite the striking couple, after all.’
Now accustomed to gossip, I turned toward the direction of their voices and offered them a knowing smile.
Then I moved forward with renewed confidence and whispered into Leonhardt’s ear.
“It seems the Crown Prince is the answer after all.”
If anything unfortunate happened to Leonhardt and me, I could have blindly pinned it on Prince without hesitation.
Because it would actually be true.
However, this time I wondered if it might not be Prince, precisely because this rumor would deal a significant blow not only to us but to Prince as well.
‘At this point, the only forces remaining to Prince are a handful led by Viscount Perington.’
Had Elodie not been the Crown Princess, I would have severed ties with Prince long ago without hesitation.
In other words, Elodie’s existence was the sole key to controlling Viscount Perington.
In such circumstances, a rumor akin to infidelity would gain Prince nothing.
Or so I had thought.
“Still, it does seem House Roderick genuinely struggled with choosing between The Crown Prince and the Prince.”
“The Crown Prince is the legitimate heir, so the probability of him becoming Emperor should be higher. The Prince’s popularity has risen now, but previously his prospects were quite dim. I wonder why House Roderick would hesitate at all….”
“Well, The Crown Prince isn’t exactly the easygoing type.”
Yet Prince had chosen a tactic of sacrificing flesh to preserve bone.
While they exchanged words under the guise of objective analysis, Prince was gaining ground and Leonhardt was losing it.
With such provocative discourse circulating, Leonhardt’s distinguished military achievements in the war against Tervan had long since faded from the Nobles’ attention.
I lifted the corners of my mouth, my eyes gleaming.
‘So you’re challenging me through public opinion?’
I’ll make you regret it.

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