The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 101

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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 Ghost Bride — Episode 101

Step, step, step—
Even after Aria had treated him once, Odel could not walk alone and was forced to lean his weight against her.
Though they walked in close proximity for some time, no conversation passed between them.
It was better than forcing words, but this silence was not entirely comfortable either.
‘Let’s rest over there for a bit.’
Where Aria pointed, a small cave lake lay before them.
Odel slowly sat down with Aria’s support.
‘Ugh—!’
After moving for more than an hour with an injured body, his stamina faded faster than usual, and the throbbing in his ankle intensified.
Yet Odel was more concerned with Aria than with himself.
‘Here, would you like me to put a wet cloth on your ankle?’
It must have been terribly difficult for her to support him given the difference in their heights, and she was drenched in sweat—yet Aria had not uttered a single complaint.
Odel observed her for a moment, then shook his head.
‘No, I’m fine. Let’s leave as soon as you’ve recovered.’
‘Me? Not you?’
‘You must be more exhausted than I am.’
Aria, who had never expected kindness from Odel, blinked in surprise before nodding.
She drank briefly from the cave lake, washed away her sweat, then took a seat beside Odel with evident awkwardness.
The subtle distance between them spoke volumes.
Aria wiped her damp face with a handkerchief, then glanced sideways at Odel.
He, who had always raised his guard like a hamster watching for threats, seemed to have lowered it for the first time—and it felt entirely strange.
In truth, she had approached him rather than Leon.
Aria first saw the two of them in a village near the forest.
At that time, knights in the center of the village had been mercilessly extorting exorbitant taxes from an elderly woman who lived alone with her young grandson.
Everyone knew it was unjust, yet no one stepped forward. In the end, they could only watch as the grandmother and child were dragged away as slaves for failing to pay.
It was Odel who intervened. He stood before the knights and methodically refuted their exploitation, but the tongue-tied knights resorted to violence.
Afterward, Leon discovered Odel being beaten and jumped in to help, but both suffered grave wounds.
Odel clearly lacked martial strength like the knights did, and he possessed a constitution more fragile than average. Yet it was Odel’s unwavering golden gaze that captivated Aria.
That was why she clung to Leon despite Odel’s fierce opposition—to prove something.
She had thought that befriending Leon, his brother, would naturally resolve the misunderstanding with Odel.
‘Have you rested enough? Shall we go?’
Aria, who had been awkwardly fidgeting with her fingers, nodded uncertainly and supported Odel.
Whether it was her imagination or not, the silence felt more comfortable than before.
Sensing an opportunity, Aria gathered her courage and finally spoke.
‘Why do you dislike me so much?’
Odel froze, his eyes widening as he looked at her. In that moment, Aria realized her voice had been sharp.
‘I’m not trying to argue, I just…….’
‘……I’ve never disliked you.’
At Odel’s words, Aria was momentarily stunned.
What nonsense is this?
‘You hate me so much. You glare at me whenever you get the chance.’
‘Ah, well, that’s…….’
Odel hesitated, choosing his words carefully. Then he pressed his palms to his temples, groaning softly.
‘……If you dislike something, just say you dislike it. I hate liars.’
For some reason, she felt hurt. His attempt at explanation seemed like he was making excuses for hating her.
So suddenly…….
Odel’s dislike for her was not a matter of one or two days.
‘I think there’s a misunderstanding. I’m not disliking you—I’m being cautious of you.’
‘What’s the difference?’
‘How should I even explain this?’
In truth, this was not the first time he had taken in a companion.
Aria was the third person to join them. That meant there had been two others before her.
‘……But now there’s no one left.’
‘They all tried to deceive my brother and run off with our money.’
At first, they approached much like Aria had, claiming to share their ideals.
But the first person took the money they had been saving for travel expenses and recruitment, and fled in the night.
The second person deliberately gained our trust, then reported Leon to the knights as a traitor plotting rebellion.
We spent considerable effort evading them.
‘My brother says we’ve simply been unlucky so far, but after experiencing the same situation twice, I can’t help but be wary of people who approach us suddenly.’
Only then did Aria understand Odel’s unusually sharp caution.
‘But this time, I have no choice but to trust my brother’s judgment.’
Odel let out a soft laugh, looking at Aria. In that moment, Aria realized his smile was quite different from Leon’s.
‘……So you’re saying I’m trustworthy?’
‘You risked danger, descended into that pit, treated my wounds, and helped me. If you had ulterior motives, you wouldn’t go through such tedious effort.’
‘…….’
‘I’m sorry, Aria. I’ve been too harsh with you all this time.’
At the sensation of tingles running through her fingertips, Aria could not meet Odel’s eyes.
‘It’s fine, it’s fine! What are you saying now……!’
Aria tapped at him awkwardly out of embarrassment, but Odel, thinking his apology had been rejected, froze in anguish, wondering how to ease her anger.
While the two labored under different misunderstandings, a harsh wind blew from somewhere.
Odel and Aria exchanged glances.
‘It must be the exit!’
‘It came faster than expected.’
Both hurried toward the source of the wind, thinking they had found their way out.
But what greeted them was not bright sunlight and birdsong—
‘Hmmph!’
A massive red form large enough to fill the entire cavern.
Aria and Odel felt their hair stand on end as they froze in place.
‘……A Dragon?’
Whoosh, whoosh—
The source of the wind was the Dragon’s breath.
The Dragon was sleeping with its eyes closed. It was so enormous that its head alone was larger than both Aria and Odel combined.
Hrmmmm—
With each breath, the Dragon’s exhalation sent Aria and Odel’s hair tumbling backward.
They knew Dragons existed somewhere in the world, but they had never dreamed they would lay eyes upon one.
Seeing Aria’s lost expression, Odel squeezed her hand tightly and whispered.
‘Let’s just leave quietly.’
‘Y-yes…….’
In a situation where they could not know if the Dragon was friendly toward humans, their presence was dangerous.
Just as they were about to leave—
Grrrrr—
A low growl echoed through the cave.
Chills raced down their backs, and both of them froze once more.
The Dragon’s eyes, which had been shut, slowly opened, revealing a piercing green gaze.
‘Vile humans…….’
At the Dragon’s voice, dripping with contempt, their knees nearly buckled.
‘So you’ve chased me all the way here. You truly don’t value your lives.’
‘W-wait, please! This is a misunderstanding! We were simply lost……!’
‘Silence!’
ROOOAAARRR—!
A roar that shook the entire cavern. Its bared fangs glinted wickedly.
‘I will settle this here and now!’
Flames erupted from the Dragon’s gaping maw. Sensing the danger, Aria grabbed Odel and pulled him behind the cavern wall, then deployed the most powerful spell circle she could muster.
CRASH—!
Searing heat washed over them, and where they had been standing mere seconds before, a colossal inferno tore through the air.
Odel stared blankly at the flames beyond, feeling Aria desperately shielding him with her own body.
No matter how thoroughly the spell circle protected them, it could not block the heat itself. He was wondering if they should flee when—
Whoooosh—
The flames died faster than expected. Aria and Odel, puzzled, exchanged a glance before cautiously peeking out.
The Dragon was coughing blood, writhing in agony.
‘Now’s our chance. Let’s flee while it’s distracted.’
Aria seized the opening and yanked Odel’s arm. Yet Odel could not tear his gaze from the Dragon.
‘Wait, Aria.’
‘We got lucky just now! If we don’t run now, we’ll all die!’
‘That Dragon…… it looks wounded.’
Aria’s brow furrowed.
‘So you want to help it now?’
‘……I think we have to.’
‘Are you sane?! Have you lost your mind?! We nearly died because of that thing!’
‘But Aria, look closely at it.’
Odel pointed to the Dragon. Only its crimson scales were visible at first glance.
‘The scales are so red I didn’t notice at first, but its entire body is soaked in blood.’
Upon closer inspection, the surface of its scales was mottled. Dark red blood clung to the brilliant crimson scales like a pattern.
Wounds of that extent spoke of severe injury. Moreover, had it not said just moments before that someone had chased it all the way here?
‘Aria, you stay here. I’ll go and come back.’
‘What? Hey! Odel!’
Before Aria could stop him, Odel limped toward the Dragon.
The Dragon, which had been coughing up blood in vast puddles, barely managed to lift its weary eyes.
‘Human……!’
‘P-please, wait. I am not someone you know.’
Odel raised both hands to show he meant no threat.
‘Dragon, are you… seriously injured?’
‘You creatures did this to me, yet you have the audacity to speak such words!’
‘We are strangers, as I’ve said many times. My name is Odel. About an hour from here, the ground suddenly collapsed, and we fell into this cavern. That’s why my legs are injured now.’
Odel pointed to his wounded leg. Only then did the Dragon realize he was not one of the humans who had been pursuing it.
Yet the hatred in its heart did not fade.
‘And what am I to do with that? Should I be grateful to you?’
‘No, that’s not it. I simply wish to help you…….’
The Dragon’s eyes widened. But then it bared its fangs, wary once more.
‘Pointless! I would rather die than accept your help! Now get out of my sight, you……! Cough! Cough!’
The Dragon had barely finished its words before it began coughing blood.
Odel hurried toward it despite his injured leg.
‘Get away!’
Though the Dragon’s eyes—each as large as Odel’s upper body—glared at him menacingly, Odel paid no mind. His entire focus was fixed upon the Dragon’s body.
‘Heavens……!’
Up close, the Dragon’s wounds were far more grave. Spears still jutted from various points on its body, unremoved, and several wounds continued to bleed profusely from being unhealed.
‘We must treat you immediately!’
‘Did you not hear me say to go?!’
‘How can I possibly leave when I see you’re this badly hurt!’
Seeing Odel’s anger, the Dragon grew bewildered. Odel began examining the Dragon’s wounds in earnest.
‘Aria! Come and help! The wounds are severe!’
When Odel called out to her, Aria emerged from behind the wall with a deeply reluctant expression.
‘There are medicinal herbs in my pack! Bring them here!’
‘……I really don’t know if this is the right call.’
In the end, Aria had no choice but to obey Odel.
The Dragon could scarcely believe that such tiny creatures, barely worth a mouthful, were fussing about its body insisting on treating it.
‘Gahahaha! The Dragon Heart is mine! Immortality lies within my grasp!’
‘Catch the Dragon! The Lord will reward us handsomely!’
‘Kill it! Kill the Dragon!’
Only four days ago, it had been pursued by humans bearing completely different intent.
The Dragon’s green eyes trembled faintly as it watched these two humans.

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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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