If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 98

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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 98
When I arrived home, Leonhardt was waiting at the entrance.
‘I’ve been caught.’
The moment I saw Leonhardt, I laughed awkwardly, caught off guard.
Yet Leonhardt’s expression remained rigid even after seeing me.
“Come here.”
Leonhardt, who had helped me down from the carriage, finally opened his mouth that had been pressed shut.
“You went to the Imperial Palace, I hear.”
“Yes.”
I answered confidently, concealing my alarm.
‘It’s not as if I went somewhere I shouldn’t have.’
Leonhardt seemed to recognize that his concern was somewhat irrational.
After steadying himself with a shallow sigh, he asked in a much gentler tone.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have gone with you.”
Yet his manner still suggested I had wandered through some dangerous district alone.
‘That’s exactly why I didn’t tell him. I didn’t want him to worry.’
I gently patted the back of Leonhardt’s hand and spoke playfully.
“You looked busy playing chess.”
Leonhardt’s expression grew noticeably serious, as if he sensed my attempt to brush past the matter.
“You’re far more important than chess. You know that, don’t you?”
His calm voice, brimming with sincerity, made a corner of my heart tingle strangely. I found myself averting my gaze.
Leonhardt seemed to interpret my behavior as avoidance because I disliked his nagging.
“So, did everything go well with what you went for?”
His tone had softened considerably, asking as if to console me.
I understood all too well why Leonhardt was acting this way.
‘He must be worried that I might experience something upsetting, since he has no good memories of the Imperial Palace.’
But that’s not the case at all. There’s no need for him to worry.
“Everything went well.”
I spoke in a brighter tone than usual, then added as if to comfort him.
“Do you have any idea how much His Majesty the Emperor adores me?”
My statement was grounded in fact, so I spoke with confidence.
Leonhardt finally smiled faintly.
“I’m sure he does.”
His response was as if it were only natural.
Leonhardt seemed to believe even more strongly than I did that there was no one in the world who disliked me.
Even if that person were the Emperor, with whom he was distant.
His unwavering faith, almost blind in its devotion, appeared quite innocent and endearing, yet it also made me feel sorry for him.
‘After all, they’re your family, yet you’re certain they don’t care for you.’
The early Leonhardt from the first cycle—the six-year-old Leonhardt—had subtly yearned for family affection.
‘But once he stepped outside the Separate Palace and learned the truth of who they were, he quickly severed that bond.’
And I maintained that distant relationship right up until my regression.
I respected them because they were members of the Imperial Court, but I never thought of them as family.
Feeling inexplicably hurt, I pulled Leonhardt into an embrace and patted his back gently.
Leonhardt yielded to my guidance without resistance, though he seemed somewhat taken aback.
Over three years, through relentless effort, Leonhardt had substantially corrected his manner of speaking—the kind that sounded indifferent and easily invited misunderstanding.
Now he could speak affectionate words quite naturally, and he understood how to phrase things to avoid causing offense.
Yet when caught off guard, the effects of his correction seemed to falter.
Leonhardt hesitated for a long moment, choosing his words carefully.
“…Why did you suddenly embrace me?”
Speaking slowly didn’t make his words any less direct.
“Did you suddenly feel cold?”
I smiled faintly and spoke as if joking.
“It’s rather warm today, though?”
Leonhardt asked back with a suspicious expression, but I had no intention of answering.
Leonhardt, who was generally indifferent to everything except matters involving me, wouldn’t understand what I was thinking even if I explained it.
He would only wonder why our situations weren’t different.
Fearing that would upset me further, I chose to grumble only to myself.
‘In the past, I would have complained that he was so calm while I was upset and angry.’
As Leonhardt became more affectionate, I too was growing in understanding.
When I smiled with satisfaction, Leonhardt smiled back as if it didn’t matter.
A warm, fuzzy atmosphere had emerged for the first time in ages.
Seized by impulse, I subtly made my appeal.
“Well, aside from the Crown Prince, the other members of the Imperial Family are generally kind to me, and even if they weren’t, I’m marrying you, not your family.”
It was flirtation with all the effort I could muster.
Fortunately, the flirtation seemed to work, as Leonhardt smiled beautifully and whispered softly.
“But I love all of Roderick’s people.”

* * *
After that, Miela’s business continued to progress smoothly.
The Emperor purchased more than half the stock at a price that amounted to little more than highway robbery.
This alone meant Miela had already recouped her investment and turned a substantial profit.
Moreover, thanks to the Imperial Court honoring their promise to keep the rye purchase confidential, the disposal of the remaining stock was proceeding remarkably well.
Endless inquiries continued to arrive from the noble houses of the South.
The most aggressive among them was House of Marquis Noyen.
Of all people.
Emilian Noyen’s family, no less.
Miela had told Leonhardt that the two of them were merely friends—even that she was closer to Emilian than to him—but Leonhardt could not afford to let his guard down.
After all, Miela had also said that Leonhardt was her friend.
‘She has no idea what I truly feel for her.’
She was far too innocent and guileless.
She seemed to believe that everyone in the world possessed the same clarity and purity of heart as she did.
Leonhardt adored that about Miela.
Yet precisely because of this, Leonhardt knew he had to keep his own mind sharp and vigilant to protect her.
‘That Young Lady—Nia, was it?—he seemed genuinely devoted to her.’
Leonhardt, who poured his entire heart into loving Miela, had become rather perceptive about the feelings of others.
Or rather, it was the only area where the otherwise emotionally obtuse Leonhardt could truly perceive nuance.
Emilian’s gaze and attention were entirely fixed upon Lady Kellion.
He did not doubt the sincerity of it.
‘If anyone dared question the sincerity of my feelings for Miela, I would not stand idle.’
It was a matter of courtesy.
But Emilian Noyen had not yet encountered that fateful person.
Leonhardt’s affection for Miela had only deepened with each passing day, never once wavering.
Yet unlike him, Emilian had once sworn eternal devotion to Magical Engineering, only to have his heart change.
‘How can one’s heart shift like a reed in the wind?’
It was difficult to simply leave matters as they were.
Fortunately, this time Miela had asked him to accompany her.
All his lingering about had finally borne fruit.
And so, on the way to House of Marquis Noyen.
Even within the carriage where they were alone, Miela spoke in hushed tones.
“If we can bring House of Marquis Noyen to our side this time, it will be tremendously beneficial.”
House of Marquis Noyen leaned toward neutrality.
The South was the last region to be annexed into the Empire.
Because of this, neutralists were particularly numerous, and House of Marquis Noyen stood at their center.
The Marquis’s wife was even born a princess of Teranos and the Crown Prince’s only full sibling, so before her marriage she served as a diplomatic envoy and possessed extraordinarily extensive connections.
‘She asked me to come along.’
Even in such moments, Miela considered his position, for which he felt both gratitude and a twinge of guilt.
He was acutely aware that his circumstances had improved considerably.
In the first round, he was always treated as a monster. From the monster of the Separate Palace to the monster lurking in Roderick’s shadow—only the descriptor changed. But now he was receiving proper treatment befitting a Prince.
‘Yet this is all thanks to Miela.’
I had to demonstrate something, regardless.
Something more plausible than childish jealousy.
Just as Leonhardt steeled his resolve, the carriage arrived at the Noien Marquis’ Mansion.
“Take my hand.”
Leonhardt descended from the carriage first and extended his hand toward Miela.
Miela grasped his hand without hesitation and stepped down.
The butler who had come out to greet them caught sight of the gesture and let out a subtle chuckle.
Leonhardt, quick to notice, cast a glance his way, and the butler hastily composed himself—though it was already too late.
The butler, flustered, offered an explanation.
“The two of you simply make such a perfect pair.”
It was precisely the sort of remark to dissolve Leonhardt’s wariness in an instant.
Even Miela seemed unbothered, her expression remaining composed.
Observing both their reactions, the butler added with a touch of humor.
“There were rumors circulating that Your Highness and the Young Lady had become betrothed—it seems those whispers held more than a grain of truth.”

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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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