The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 1

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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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The Forsaken Prince’s Spirit Bride: Episode 1

A name? I have none.
An age? I stopped counting after a hundred years.
An appearance? I wouldn’t know—mirrors have never shown me my reflection.
I know nothing about myself, yet I’ve lived in this Ancient Mansion for roughly three hundred years.
I am a ghost. More precisely, a Bound Spirit tethered to this old house.
I don’t know when I died, or why I became a phantom trapped here instead of moving on to the next world.
I’ve simply existed as a spirit since the moment consciousness returned to me, drifting between worlds, unable to cross over to the afterlife.
Why am I suddenly telling you all this, you ask? Well, because—
Damn it all—today is my wedding day.
I sat dumbly atop the Roof, watching the humans scurry about below.
They seemed desperate to finish quickly, assembling only the barest minimum for the ceremony.
‘Why the hell are they holding my wedding on their own terms?’
Humans are utterly incomprehensible. And this so-called groom? Just a tiny child.
A small boy in a black suit sat among the bustling adults, his face deathly pale.
He had striking snow-white hair and golden eyes—a pretty enough child, perhaps seven years old.
Watching the boy tremble and gnaw at his lip, I clicked my tongue.
‘What fault could the poor creature possibly have?’
Even I, a phantom, felt pity for him, yet these humans showed no such compassion. Not a single one spared him a glance.
“Is this really all right?”
“If it’s not, what can we do? His Majesty has decided it.”
I pricked up my ears, focusing on the humans’ voices.
“Still, though. A Spirit Wedding Ceremony. I doubt this will actually calm the ghost. Why not just perform an Exorcism?”
“They say a Vengeful Spirit must be soothed first. If we simply destroyed it, the Imperial Family would supposedly face ruin.”
“Tch, tch. That boy is nothing but a sacrificial offering.”
“Poor thing, looks so young too.”
“But why bother dressing him up so elaborately? He looks almost like he were of the Imperial Family…”
“Shh. We just do as we’re told. Don’t stir up unnecessary questions.”
It seemed they were going out of their way not to pay attention—though they kept casting sidelong glances at the boy while hushing one another.
“Do you think spirits really appear here? The mansion certainly looks old enough to be haunted…”
“I heard secondhand that a few knights who came for courage training saw a ghost here and bolted. Seems the apparition is definitely real.”
“And not just that—corpses appear right before your eyes and vanish in a blink!”
Soon they had shifted their attention away from the child entirely, gossiping instead about the mansion’s sinister reputation.
“Listen here.”
Just then, the highest-ranking Priest approached the small boy.
“You understand that you must repay all the shelter and food you’ve been given, yes?”
‘What nonsense is this?’
Saying such things to a child barely old enough to understand the world.
The boy said nothing, only lowering his head deeply. The Priest chuckled and tapped his skull mockingly.
“This is a mansion of considerable historical significance, passed down since the reign of the First Emperor himself. But lately, most unusual occurrences have begun happening here, and His Majesty is deeply troubled. Apparently, the spirit of a woman who died unjustly keeps appearing—or so they say.”
They’re talking about me, clearly.
“People who come here are constantly injured, haunted by nightmares every single night, and unable to remain in the mansion for even a day. It must surely be the work of that female spirit.”
No. Get your facts straight.
I was minding my own business when all of you came barging into my home.
For centuries, barely a soul passed through these doors. But three months ago, people began appearing one after another without warning.
They kept poking around the mansion and disrupting my peaceful solitude, so I decided to teach them a lesson. That’s all.
‘They all tripped over their own feet, by the way.’
I never harmed anyone. Yet they all panicked and blamed an innocent ghost for their own clumsiness.
Then the Priest spoke again to the child.
“You’re a good-for-nothing orphan, worth less than a sewer rat. Consider yourself blessed that you can finally be of use to the Imperial Family.”
‘What absolute rubbish!’
Even a third party would want to lash out at such cruelty, yet the boy facing this insult directly gave no reaction at all.
If anything, he seemed more terrified than angry.
“…What happens to me now?”
The silent child finally spoke.
“You marry the spirit living here and remain in this mansion.”
“So… I’ll be living here alone?”
“Alone? You have your spirit bride, don’t you?”
In other words, he would have no one. The boy’s face drained of all color.
“Ha-ha-ha! Listen, you’re just a sacrificial offering. They dressed you up to look like Royalty simply to deceive the spirit. Did you think they’d give you servants? Know your place.”
As the Priest’s laughter grew louder, the boy’s small shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
“Don’t worry, though. His Majesty has graciously arranged for monthly Living Expenses and food supplies to be delivered—at least until you come of age. Though I can’t imagine why he’d go so far… well, it’s none of my concern.”
“Does His Majesty truly mean to send me here? Wouldn’t it have been kinder to let me die alone…?”
When the boy’s voice cracked with emotion and heads began turning toward him, the Priest’s expression hardened, and he clamped a hand over the child’s mouth.
“You seem to be confused about something. A creature like you is worth less than a stone in the street. How dare you speak ill of His Majesty? Just because we dressed you as Royalty doesn’t make you one!”
The Priest shoved the boy roughly away. The child tumbled to the ground, deep scratches blooming across his cheek.
“Well then, preparations are complete. Shall we go greet the bride, you false prince?”
The snickering laughter sounded like something born from darkness itself.
The boy covered his ears, then was roughly yanked to his feet by harsh hands and dragged upright.
Watching everything unfold, I furrowed my brow.
‘These worthless humans. How could they treat a child this way…!’
I’d intended to chase away the whole lot of them—groom and all—but the moment I considered it, I realized the boy would be left with no one to care for him and would surely perish.
He had no allies even here; he’d have even fewer outside.
‘But what exactly is this child’s true identity?’
It was a question that had been nagging me from the start. The way the servants whispered about Royalty, the cryptic remarks from the Priest.
Piecing it all together, they’d deliberately disguised the boy as Royalty, but…
‘I detect no signs of magic or chemicals at work. Nothing of the sort.’
The whole thing felt unsettling and strange.
The boy now stood before a White Coffin as though awaiting death itself.
I imagined the coffin, draped in white flowers and a veil, was meant to represent the spirit bride—me.
“Groom, Lucian Odelion—or rather, Lucian Odelion—do you swear to cherish, love, and remain with your spirit bride for all your days?”
The hastily assembled ceremony was already moving on to the vows.
At the Priest’s question, the boy clenched his lips.
As the silence stretched, the Priest, unable to bear it any longer, forced more weight into his voice.
“Groom, Lucian Odelion! Do you swear to cherish, love, and remain with your spirit bride for all your days?”
“…Yes.”
Trembling at the Priest’s coercive tone, the boy shook uncontrollably. The humans around him, far from sympathizing, began grumbling that he should have answered sooner instead of wasting time.
Seeing that not a single soul among all these people stood for him—it was genuinely painful to witness.
Still perched atop the Roof, I let out a long sigh and made my way down to join the ceremony below.
“Bride, spirit bride—do you swear to cherish, love, and remain with Lucian Odelion for all your days?”
Absurd. They were calling a coffin the spirit bride. Yet they seemed to find it amusing themselves; snickers rippled through the group.
The boy’s shoulders shrank further inward. I didn’t like where this was heading.
‘Yes. I swear.’
I answered tersely while moving my spiritual essence. The coffin rattled and lurched, and a violent wind erupted around it as its center point.
The faces of those stifling their laughter went pale in an instant. It was almost amusing how easily they frightened.
‘There! Serves you right, you cowards! Not even brave enough to look a spirit in the eye!’
The Priest who’d been tormenting the boy hurried to conclude the ceremony. I watched with cold satisfaction, arms crossed, quietly laughing to myself.
“Ah… ah…”
Then I heard an odd sound from beside me. I turned to see the boy gazing diagonally in my direction—or rather, at my lower half.
Since I was a spirit, my legs shouldn’t have been visible, but the thought had barely crossed my mind when the boy’s eyes rolled back in his head.
“Hey!”
The boy suddenly collapsed. The Priest and those around him gasped in alarm, and I was just as stunned.
I scratched my head, looking down at the boy now surrounded by humans.
‘Did he… see me?’
No, if he’d seen me, he would have reacted sooner. I’d been sitting on the Roof watching the whole time.
‘Perhaps his mind is simply weak.’
It happens occasionally. Some humans catch glimpses of my afterimage. Or perhaps I’d released so much of my essence just now that he caught a fleeting vision.
“Thus… the Spirit Wedding Ceremony is hereby concluded!”
The Priest hastily finished the ceremony, and servants scrambled to leave the premises.
Meanwhile, the other Priests stared helplessly at the unconscious boy sprawled on the floor.
“What do we do with him?”
“Let’s just leave him as is. Our work is done.”
“But if His Majesty hears we didn’t finish this properly…!”
I crouched beside the boy, watching to see what final cruelty these wretches would commit.
“We don’t know when he’ll wake up, and we can’t leave him here indefinitely. Besides, it looks like rain is coming.”
“Damn it! So what do we do?”
“…We have no choice. One of us will have to carry him inside the mansion and leave him there.”
The three Priests turned their gaze toward the mansion, their eyes reflecting what looked to them like a dilapidated haunted house swarming with ghosts.
‘How rude. I keep this mansion in perfectly good condition.’
It’s simply a bit dim and atmospheric—far cleaner than most other old houses, if I do say so myself.
Deaf to my unspoken protests, they began deciding who would venture inside.
“…Damn it all.”
The Priest who’d been tormenting the boy drew the short straw. He glared at his relieved colleagues before reluctantly scooping up the child with a grunt.
“Try not to soil your pants on the way in!”
“Watch out for ghosts!”
Tee-hee-hee!
His comrades’ mocking laughter—despite having nothing to do with them anymore—made the Priest’s expression darken with barely suppressed rage.
I considered following him but found those two insufferable enough that I conjured a stone to appear beneath their feet.
Whoosh! Ahhhhh!
Both men toppled spectacularly, tangling together. One of them probably broke his nose in the fall.
‘Serves you right!’
I left the two clutching their faces behind and rushed after the Priest carrying the boy.
“…Why is it so cold in here?”
The Priest shuddered as he stepped through the entrance, feeling the sharp chill that contrasted sharply with the warm spring breeze outside.
“Hmm…”
The Priest’s trembling continued until he heard a moan from the boy on his back. He snapped to attention and glanced around.
“Damn it. There’s not a single sofa to lay him on.”
He was apparently looking for anywhere convenient to dump the child and leave.
‘I should put him in a proper bed. If I leave him here, he’ll catch a chill.’
To guide the Priest to a bedroom, I ignited the candles.
The Priest’s face went ashen.
“Is this… the spirit guiding us…?”
They’d spoken of spirit brides and soothing Angry Spirits, but it had all been empty posturing.
Just looking at the Priest’s expression—as though he were encountering a genuine ghost for the first time—proved it.
“I don’t know either.”
Having committed this far, he seemed eager to be rid of the boy as quickly as possible. He moved toward where the candlelight flickered.
The flames climbed the stair railing and pointed to the largest door near the second-floor landing—beyond which lay a room decorated in classical elegance.
Petrified, the Priest unceremoniously hurled the boy onto the bed and rushed toward the exit. But I wasn’t about to let him leave so easily.
‘You wretch! You’re leaving without providing food and money?!’
How dare he abandon this child with nothing!
I slammed the door shut before the Priest could escape. Without so much as a breeze to account for it, the closed door drained the remaining color from his face until he was ghostly white.
“Damn it, open this door! Open it! You ghost bastard! Do you know who I am?!”
Mad with fear, he thrashed about. I sighed heavily and retrieved the Stone Slate and Chalk from a corner.
Seeing the slate hovering in midair, the Priest froze in terror.
‘Leave money and food for my groom.’
There—consider us well-mannered and communicative. I pressed the slate directly into his face so he could read it clearly.
Splatter—
‘Hm?’
A small wet sound came from somewhere. I looked down to see the Priest’s pants darkening and growing damp.
‘Oh! Disgusting! He’s urinated himself!’
Startled, I threw the slate to the floor. The Priest, who’d been frozen in terror, suddenly collapsed to the ground.
“…G-G-Ghost! It’s a ghost!”
Five seconds later, the Priest was shrieking as though the mansion itself was caving in. He wrenched the door open and bolted outside, heedless of his companions’ shouts of protest, scrambling even past the fence in his panic.
‘That idiot! I told him to leave money and food!’
“Nngh…”
I was still clicking my tongue at the window when I heard the boy stirring softly.
Looking at the boy groaning in bed and at the spot where the Priest had relieved himself, I let out a long, weary sigh.
‘What a life I have.’
I had the distinct feeling the mansion was about to become very noisy.

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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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