If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 71

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

Chapter 71

It was fortunate that it was dark.

Otherwise, my flushed face would have been exposed.

I slightly avoided Leonhardt’s gaze and asked.

“Did you have a good trip? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“…Yes.”

Leonhardt gave a faint smile, then seemed about to say something but stopped and just nodded.

What he was about to say was probably the result of the civil war.

Leonhardt, who had been carefully choosing his words, mumbled vaguely.

“…Everything ended well.”

It seemed he didn’t want to tell me any harsh stories.

Seeing how he shut his mouth tight after saying just that.

‘It’s not a pleasant story to hear.’

Since I was somewhat timid, I wasn’t particularly curious about the detailed situation either.

I changed the subject as Leonhardt wanted.

“But…, did you starve while you were on the campaign?”

I wasn’t sure if this was the kind of topic change Leonhardt wanted.

However, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I kept noticing that he looked slightly thinner than three months ago, so when I thought of changing the subject, these words came out first without me realizing.

“No way.”

Leonhardt chuckled as if I had made a joke.

‘It’s not a joke though.’

His jawline looked sharp enough to cut.

I slowly reached my hand toward Leonhardt’s cheek.

Even the texture of the skin touching my hand felt rougher than usual.

“You must have had a hard time.”

When I drooped my eyebrows feeling sorry for him, Leonhardt answered with bravado.

“No, I just couldn’t sleep much. I was in a hurry to return.”

He seemed truly nonchalant, but I was still concerned.

‘The civil war is over, so he should have rested properly before coming.’

…Huh? Come to think of it?

Perhaps because I wasn’t fully awake, the question only occurred to me now.

“Why did you return at this hour?”

If he had successfully completed the civil war and returned, it would have been right to hold a grand victory celebration, even just for morale.

Not to sneak back at dawn like this.

“It would have been better to control the marching speed and arrive tomorrow morning.”

If he had sent me a letter in advance about his return, I would have prepared a victory celebration beforehand.

When I scolded him with disappointment, Leonhardt avoided my eyes and made excuses.

“The rest are still on their way. They won’t reach the capital for another two days, so when I join them there…”

I cut off Leonhardt’s words and asked.

“So you’re saying you came back alone first?”

It was closer to asking if I understood correctly, but Leonhardt looked embarrassed.

Though no answer came, it meant yes.

“Why?”

This time I was just asking for the reason, but Leonhardt flinched and made excuses with a slightly reddened face.

“Well, I’ve been away from the Imperial Palace for too long…”

Even during the civil war, Leonhardt had personally handled as much work as possible from outside the palace.

Now that I was also in the palace, there wasn’t any work urgent enough for Leonhardt to rush back and handle.

‘How cute.’

He could just honestly say he came first because he wanted to see me.

I chuckled and teased Leonhardt.

“Really? Then you should go to work? Though the aides have probably all gone home…?”

As I approached the door as if to see him off, Leonhardt gently grabbed my wrist.

“Now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem that urgent.”

He spoke quite calmly, but perhaps feeling embarrassed himself, his gaze darted around.

Oh my.

I wanted to laugh out loud, but I held back in case Leonhardt might run away.

Still, I couldn’t help but smirk.

Ahem, I should stop teasing him. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.

I cleared my throat and composed my expression before asking.

“You must be tired too. But when do you have to leave?”

“In about three hours, no, four hours.”

It would be a bit short, but it can’t be helped.

“Sleep here before you go.”

It was truly innocent intention.

Since he looked tired, I meant he should rest his eyes for a bit.

However, the moment I spoke, Leonhardt’s face turned bright red.

“…Here?”

Only then did I realize how my words might have sounded.

We were married, this was my bedroom, and it was the deep hours of dawn.

“No, I, I didn’t mean it that way…”

Having become a human tomato, I hurriedly made excuses but stopped mid-sentence at a sudden thought.

‘The palace servants must know that Leonhardt stopped by the Imperial Palace.’

I was belatedly bothered by the fact that we hadn’t even spent our wedding night together.

Given the situation, people had whispered ‘even so’ behind our backs and moved on, but this was a kind of neglect.

Hoping the heat on my face had cooled down even a little, I answered as brazenly as I could.

“Yes, here!”

But I could tell without looking in a mirror.

That my face was still bright red.

“Yes, here!”

Leonhardt wondered if he was dreaming right now.

He even suspected that he might soon wake up from this happy dream to find himself on a cot in the barracks.

However, he soon steeled his resolve.

‘Even if it’s a dream, it’s fine.’

Miela’s words replayed infinitely in his ears, and he felt like he had become stupid from the fever.

So much so that he almost pinched his own cheek to confirm if this was reality.

Though it was foolish behavior that the usual him would never do, Leonhardt, who was half out of his mind, actually put that foolish act into practice.

“What are you doing?”

Miela, who had been waiting for his reaction with cheeks flushed like apples, grabbed Leonhardt in confusion.

Only then did he regain a little bit of his senses.

Along with the realization that he had done something stupid, he felt a sense of reality.

‘This really is reality.’

The soft, tender hand that felt a little warmer than usual was definitely Miela’s.

‘Why?’

Fate was generally not on his side.

If there was one exception, it was only Miela’s existence.

Leonhardt had been happy enough that everything else would be fine just because Miela had accepted his proposal, but inwardly he was bewildered.

Because he had never once assumed that Miela would love him.

“I know that Miela cares for and likes His Highness, no, His Majesty. But would that feeling be strong enough for her to be prepared to wither away in the Imperial Palace? I don’t think so.”

“Her choice was made without properly understanding reality. This marriage will only lead to unhappiness for both of them.”

The words that Miela’s family had said upon hearing the news of his proposal echoed again in Leonhardt’s ears.

It felt like his heated head was cooling down coldly.

Was it only his head?

His heart felt as cold as if he had plunged his body into ice water in the middle of winter.

‘I must have heard wrong. There’s no way Miela would say something like that to me…’

His timid heart began to deny what he had heard.

Perhaps thinking Leonhardt’s still bewildered reaction was rejection, Miela pouted her lips.

“If you don’t like it, go sleep in your own room.”

At the suddenly cold voice, Leonhardt instinctively responded.

“N-no. It’s not like that.”

Though he still couldn’t quite believe it, Leonhardt never had the option of rejecting Miela in the first place.

Fortunately, only then did Miela’s lips, which had jutted out like a beak, return to their original position.

Miela glanced toward one side of the bed and whispered quickly.

“I’m just telling you to sleep and then leave. Do you know how difficult it was for me, the one left behind, when you said you’d go to war right after the wedding?”

Her attitude of rolling her eyes lightly was close to scolding, but Leonhardt’s heart sank as if facing blind condemnation.

“I’m sorry.”

Leonhardt offered what must have been his countless apology of the day.

Even at the time of his departure, he had thought that properly dealing with Prince was the most important thing.

Because of Prince, Miela had nearly died.

Though he had barely managed to save her, she had lost Lady Grace, her nanny, in the process and had been deeply grieved.

For Leonhardt, who considered his failure to protect Miela his own mistake, properly dealing with Prince was a top priority.

However, his thinking had been short-sighted.

Leonhardt’s top priority had always been Miela, but he realized that by being consumed with revenge, he had actually made her sad, though it was already too late.

“Ugh, forget it.”

I’m sorry. His apology scattered painfully in his mouth.

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