If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 132

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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 132
There exists an ancient maxim throughout the Empire: “It takes but a single second to believe a sensational lie, yet an endless stream of proof to accept a quiet truth.”
“A love triangle with brothers caught between them, and one of them is even married. Quite the scandal, really.”
I murmured to myself while slicing a financier—no larger than a matchbox—into fine pieces with my knife as I joined Leonhardt at the Glass Greenhouse to discuss countermeasures.
Though I had spoken merely to objectify the situation, Leonhardt appeared somewhat displeased.
It was only natural that I bore the brunt of this rumor’s damage.
“Of all the ridiculous gossip to spread…”
The way he ground his teeth suggested that if Prince were standing before him, he would not hold back.
I harbored the same desire to strike him, so I genuinely sympathized with Leonhardt’s fury.
But Prince wasn’t here now—it was just the two of us, wasn’t it?
And Leonhardt had carved out precious time from his increasingly demanding schedule as he began his formal duties as Prince to see me!
It seemed a waste to squander those moments in anger.
I called out to Leonhardt, who was staring fixedly at the empty sky in the direction of the Crown Prince’s Palace.
“Leon.”
Leonhardt turned his head reflexively.
“Here, try this.”
As I brought a finely cut piece of financier to my lips on a fork, Leonhardt—who had hesitated for a moment—soon opened his mouth and accepted the morsel.
After repeatedly halving the financier while lost in thought, the piece had dwindled to the size of a coin.
Moreover, it was dark chocolate flavored, so it wasn’t particularly sweet.
Since he generally disliked overly sweet things, even this modest sweetness seemed to burden him, his expression turning sour.
‘Did I make a mistake offering it?’
Still, his expression had softened considerably from moments before when he looked ready to grind his teeth and throttle someone.
Having swallowed the financier, Leonhardt hastily reached for his teacup as though to rinse away the lingering bitterness.
Watching him drink the tea as though it were water, I burst into laughter.
“Delicious, isn’t it?”
At my teasing question, Leonhardt drank a bit more tea before his eyes shifted uncertainly.
To say it was unpleasant would be to dismiss my gesture, yet to claim it was delicious would be dishonest.
Seeing his thoughts written so plainly across his face, my smile deepened.
I was curious what he would say.
After a few more seconds elapsed, his answer came in a measured tone.
“…It’s delicious.”
After his deliberation, the answer he offered was a white lie.
How adorable.
As I suppressed my silent laughter, Leonhardt—who had been subtly watching my reaction—seemed reassured and lifted his teacup once more.
A single sip of bitter tea was insufficient to completely dispel the sweetness.
This was entertaining!
This time, I lifted a slightly larger piece of financier.
Seeing this, Leonhardt froze momentarily, teacup in hand.
As I deliberately brought the financier piece toward him slowly, his pupils visibly trembled.
Yet soon he exhaled a faint sigh of resignation and obediently set down his teacup.
He seemed to regret saying it was delicious, yet simultaneously accepted the current situation with humble grace.
While others would perceive only Leonhardt’s expressionless face, to me his reaction felt intensely turbulent.
“Aha, fine. I won’t give you any.”
As I set down my fork and laughed aloud, Leonhardt, realizing he’d been teased, adopted a sullen expression.
“You’ve become mischievous.”
“And you’ve become adorable.”
When I laughed at his grumbling and countered, Leonhardt—who harbored subtle pride in his masculinity and wild charm—scoffed as though I’d said something absurd.
“Your standards for ‘adorable’ are rather skewed. I’m handsome.”
A frame as imposing as a door, shoulders broad and commanding.
Martial prowess that ranked among the finest across the entire Continent.
I couldn’t deny that Leonhardt was a handsome man.
Yet at the same time, he was undeniably adorable.
Especially when his innocent features occasionally exuded a decadent air, or when he displayed subtle coquetry.
“That’s right, Leon. You are handsome.”
Wanting to continue adoring Leonhardt, I told him he was handsome as he desired.
‘If I explained why he’s adorable, his personality would make him absolutely refuse to do it again.’
Concealing my dark intentions, I laughed softly, and Leonhardt, satisfied by the compliment, beamed with pride.
“How much? The most in the world?”
He asked with feigned nonchalance while brimming with anticipation….
‘Why do people feel violent impulses when they see something cute?’
Clenching my fists beneath the table and marshaling every ounce of reason, I barely suppressed the urge to bite Leonhardt’s cheek.
“Yes, the most in the world.”
That was as far as I could maintain a composed expression.
Because Leonhardt smiled brilliantly, radiant as a blooming flower, upon hearing my answer.
Before I succumbed to impulse and did something that would genuinely upset him, I hastily returned to the matter at hand.
“But, about what we were discussing earlier.”
The tender atmosphere shattered in an instant.
As though I’d doused myself with a bucket of cold water, my words brought us back to reality.
The soft, warm feeling of seeing my adorable lover vanished in a heartbeat, replaced by something unpleasant.
I wanted to abandon everything and continue fooling around with Leonhardt, but there were still things that needed to be done.
‘It’s better to handle unpleasant tasks quickly.’
Leonhardt seemed to have undergone a similar thought process.
“Okay.”
Fortunately, whether from the effect of praise and sweetness, he no longer carried that murderous intensity from moments before.
‘Just a subtle displeasure?’
Though reluctant, he appeared ready to listen to what I had to say.
I began slowly unfolding the solution I’d deliberated over for days.
“Still, the fortunate thing is that everyone is certain we’re lovers.”
The plan to marry as soon as we stuck together hadn’t undergone significant changes even after becoming lovers.
I made every effort to stay close to Leonhardt and made it abundantly clear that we were mutually affectionate.
Those who initially dismissed our union as a political arrangement or mere puppy love eventually relented as we spent years together, flaunting our affection with such ostentation that denial became impossible.
We were an officially recognized couple within the Empire.
In other words, this alone granted us an extraordinarily advantageous position.
Prince, by contrast, had to laboriously construct plausible details to lend credibility to his fabrications.
Yet excessive preoccupation with plausibility inevitably dulls the sensational edge.
‘Lady Roderick caught between the Crown Prince and Prince, playing both sides’ possessed far more inflammatory appeal than ‘Lady Roderick, betrothed to Prince, harbored childhood connections to the Crown Prince as well, and so forth and so on.’
Consequently, the rumors Prince circulated lacked the sensationalism their sordidness deserved.
Had the subjects not been members of the Imperial Family and Lady Roderick, such gossip would have faded into obscurity as mere hearsay.
“The problem is that once rumors spread to this extent, no amount of rebuttal evidence we present will matter—people will hear us out but dismiss us just the same.”
Because falsehood, when more sensational and captivating than truth, always prevails.
‘Even if they don’t truly believe it, they’ll gladly consume it as entertainment.’
Rather, the Nobles, affecting refined indifference while observing from the sidelines, would think: ‘We never believed such gossip to begin with, yet their desperate denials suggest they’re guilty’—a reaction perfectly suited to our circumstances.
Prince likely hoped we would remain paralyzed and manipulated while the rumors took root.
As if that would happen.
“What will you do about this?”
Leonhardt asked with a measured expression.
“Make our rebuttal just as sensational, naturally.”
I answered, my eyes gleaming with anticipation.
A less sensational lie and a sufficiently composed truth seemed manageable enough.
Few narratives rivaled infidelity and love triangles in their capacity to captivate, yet I possessed precisely the right card for this moment.
‘Consider this the price for obstructing a formal betrothal until now.’
It would dwarf the rumor of two sons embroiled in jealous rivalry over a single woman by a hundredfold.
And from the following day onward, whispers began to circulate: ‘The Emperor bestowed a pink diamond mine and a ruby mine upon Lady Roderick and Prince as betrothal gifts.’

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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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