If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 147

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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 147
“The champion of this year’s Hunting Competition is His Highness Leonhardt of Arcadia.”
The announcement of Leonhardt’s victory rang out in a voice feigning cheerfulness.
Though the crowd’s reaction remained subdued—after all, this was the victor everyone had anticipated—the cheers were nonetheless thunderous.
As Leonhardt ascended the platform, the Emperor spoke with a face brimming with emotion.
“I am so proud of you, Leon.”
I understood the Emperor’s elation—it had been an eternity since the Imperial Family had produced a champion—yet I couldn’t help but wonder what he himself had accomplished to warrant such pride.
A hollow laugh nearly escaped me, but when I caught sight of Prince leaving the ceremony with his composure shattered and his mask abandoned, I found myself genuinely amused.
‘It’s not over yet.’
And if he left now, he would miss the most entertaining spectacle.
‘Well, at least the greatest obstacle has removed itself.’
My heart fluttered with anticipation, like a child preparing a surprise party.
In the meantime, Leonhardt, having received the golden laurel wreath from the Emperor, approached me.
As I waited with an expectant, bashful smile, Leonhardt placed the golden laurel wreath upon my head.
Then he pressed his lips to the back of my hand.
“I dedicate the glory of victory to the Lady.”
Playful whistles and cheers erupted throughout the crowd.
All that remained was for me to return the kiss to Leonhardt.
I felt the weight of countless gazes upon my cheeks, all eager for an entertaining spectacle.
Caught up in Leonhardt’s triumph, I too wished to offer a passionate kiss.
…But?
A fervent kiss in this moment would bring the curtain down on everything.
I held Leonhardt’s gaze for a moment in silence.
The crowd, believing I was hesitating out of shyness, began to urge me forward with mischievous insistence.
‘We’ll save the kiss for later, in private?’
A conspirator’s smile was exchanged between us.
And then the awaited moment arrived.
“Your Majesty, I beg you to clear my name!”
A Young Servant who had been hiding in the crowd rushed toward the platform where the Emperor stood with a satisfied smile.
The voice was so piercing that I was grateful for the effort of providing him with an amplification artifact.
The royal guards, caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, moved to block the platform, but the Young Servant stopped at a distance as promised and bowed his head deeply.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd as people tried to comprehend what was happening.
“What on earth is this about…? Does anyone know what’s going on?”
“What does he mean by clearing his name?”
The agitators I had planted in Roderick skillfully steered public curiosity in the desired direction.
All eyes converged upon the Young Servant.
Capturing this much attention was already half the battle.
The Hunting Competition was one of the Empire’s grandest events, drawing participation from provincial nobles as well, so any rumors that spread here would ripple across the entire realm.
“But he looks like such a young child—how did he come to be so badly injured?”
And once attention focused on him, people naturally began to observe the Young Servant more closely.
“Is that so?”
“My goodness… He’s covered in bandages from head to toe. His face is so swollen. The poor dear.”
Despite receiving meticulous care from capable physicians in Roderick, the Young Servant appeared to anyone’s eyes as someone gravely injured.
‘It’s only natural, given he’s essentially been brought back from the brink of death, but…’
Once sufficient sympathy had gathered around the Young Servant, Father stepped forward as promised.
“Your Majesty.”
Father took a few steps forward and cast a brief glance toward where I and Leonhardt stood—a look that said “trust me”—before he spoke.
“It was I who brought this child here.”
After capturing attention with his provocative statement, he continued calmly.
“One of our family’s servants found this child abandoned on Serzel Street in a state near death and, moved by compassion, brought him to Roderick. Though we had no prior acquaintance, the intention was simply to save a child’s life.”
While Father paused, I listened carefully to the reactions around us.
Most speculation centered on whether the child had been wrongly entangled with some criminal organization.
“When the child awoke after treatment, he spoke of his unfortunate circumstances.”
At Father’s explanation, the Emperor asked with apparent bewilderment.
“Then should this not have been directed to the Security Force? Surely they did not fail to conduct a proper investigation?”
“This was not a matter the Security Force could resolve.”
As Father finished speaking in a quiet voice, the Young Servant—whether from pain or anger—raised his voice with a grinding sound.
“Because it was the Crown Prince who tried to kill me!”
The Emperor’s expression froze abruptly, whether startled by Prince’s unexpected outburst or wanting to silence the Young Servant.
Then I felt his pupils dart about rapidly, as though his mind were cycling through a faint hope: ‘Could there be some misunderstanding?’
Sensing the situation was grave, several of Prince’s followers bit their lips and disappeared.
They appeared to be going to summon Prince.
‘Well, it’ll be over before he even arrives.’
The imperial guards monitoring the situation began approaching slowly, apparently deciding they needed to remove the Young Servant.
Seeing this, the Young Servant cried out even louder.
“I was a servant of the Crown Prince’s Palace. I nearly died on the charge of theft, but I stole nothing. And there are dozens of others who died bearing false accusations in this same manner! All of it was done by the Crown Prince!”
No matter how much this world was ruled by hierarchy, it was not tolerated to kill people through private vengeance on charges of theft or similar pretexts.
“Surely the Crown Prince would never do such a thing…”
“I wish I could believe that too, but…”
“The Crown Prince does have a rather strict side, doesn’t he…”
At the mention of dozens of deaths, people began to harbor doubts.
“Now that I think about it, he does resemble someone I glimpsed once when visiting the Crown Prince’s Palace.”
A whispered account from someone spread rapidly, lending credibility to the accusation.
Because the subject was Prince, the Crown Prince, people refrained from speaking openly, yet they desperately wanted to know the truth of this matter.
“…Continue speaking.”
The Emperor’s permission was roughly thirty percent yielding to the silent plea of the crowd, sixty percent the belief that ending the matter here would only make things worse, and about ten percent his own conscience.
Having received the Emperor’s consent, the Young Servant cried out more desperately.
“I swear by the gods that every word I speak is truth. People outside the palace, or those within with little connection to these matters, believe all the missing were either punished for their crimes and banished, or fled in the dead of night. But that is not the case. They are all dead and buried in the Crown Prince’s Palace Garden!”
Silent shock rippled through the crowd.
In truth, the Young Servant originally had no knowledge that bodies were buried in the Crown Prince’s Palace Garden.
‘This was uncovered during the investigation into Prince’s past crimes before my regression.’
Prince had been killing and harming small animals since early childhood.
Combined with his tendency to distrust others, he had personally buried the corpses of the animals he killed in the Prince’s Palace Garden.
The reason the Prince’s Palace Garden was so barren stemmed from this.
‘And as that habit continued, he buried the Royal Attendants he killed in the garden as well.’
To quickly dispose of the bodies—the greatest evidence of his crimes—he even used drugs to accelerate decomposition.
Years after the incidents occurred, we in the pre-regression timeline had investigated Prince’s past crimes and believed they were all animal remains.
Most had undergone soil transformation, making them impossible to identify properly.
But now was the point in time when those Royal Attendants had only recently been buried.
At this moment, we could properly recover at least their remains.
With testimony reaching this extent, the Emperor could no longer side with Prince.
The Emperor’s expression hardened visibly.
Just as the Emperor, who had been hesitating for some time, was about to speak, Prince came rushing over frantically and cried out.
“This is a false accusation!”

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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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