The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 104

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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 Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride — Episode 104

Lia had gained access to the Record Vault through Lucian’s special privilege.
Of course, if word of this reached the former Emperor and Empress or anyone else, it would cause an uproar—so it remained known only to Lucian’s closest confidants like James and Harry.
After all, no one but members of the Imperial Family could enter that place.
Thanks to this, Lia could peruse all manner of documents without worrying about anyone else’s gaze.
But she had run into an unforeseen obstacle.
“Blast it. Are you sure they really gathered every record here?”
Finding information proved far more difficult than she’d expected.
She’d thought it wouldn’t be so hard to learn about the witch Aria—all she needed was to check the records of the founding emperor. Yet there it was: the records from after the Empire’s founding were oddly absent.
And what little existed was barely of any use.

– Leon, hero of the common people, founded the Odrian Kingdom with overwhelming popular support.
– Kingdom Era Year 1, March 17th. Leon renamed himself Abyss Odel and proclaimed himself king.
– Kingdom Era Year 2, October 24th. A coup erupted in the Western Region. However, King Abyss Odel and his close friend, the Red Dragon, joined forces and suppressed it.
– Kingdom Era Year 3. Lands titles among the Founding Contributors and expands power.
– Kingdom Era Year 4. Border wars with neighboring nations. After six months of warfare, a complete victory is achieved and territory is absorbed.
– Imperial Era Year 6, February 18th. After engaging three kingdoms in battle, a great victory is won and the population absorbed. The Odrian Kingdom is proclaimed an Empire.
– Imperial Era Year 7, August 1st. Kalig, one of the Founding Contributors, is recognized as the first High Priest, and under his leadership the Grand Temple is established. The Infinite Church is recognized as the state religion.
– Imperial Era Year 8, February 28th. The daughter of the Prime Duchy, one of the Founding Contributor families, is elevated to Empress.

And so forth—the founding emperor’s accomplishments were listed in detail, yet nowhere was there any mention of the witch Aria.
“Besides, there’s this strange feeling that the records just… stop.”
Of course, those who recorded such things might have been inexperienced, so early records could be sparse compared to later ones. But the gap in the records from Kingdom Era Year 1 through Imperial Era Year 7 seemed almost absurdly large.
If a year’s worth of events would normally yield the thickness of one book when compiled and edited, the records through Imperial Era Year 7 amounted to barely three volumes.
Even squinting hard through such meager documents, she could find no trace of the witch Aria.
“So it wasn’t just the fairy tale that got warped after all.”
In truth, she’d suspected as much while investigating.
This looked less like poor record-keeping and more like someone had deleted and re-edited the records later.
What was important enough to hide that they would tamper with the Historical Records themselves?
To find a more certain answer, she decided this time to examine the year-by-year editions of “The King, the Dragon, and the Witch” fairy tale.
The Mansion only held copies up to Kingdom Era Year 5, but she thought the Imperial Library would have more volumes.
Yet here too she found something strange: the fairy tale books celebrating the founding emperor’s achievements only began to exist from the fifteenth-year printing onward.
And even then, in the distorted form that a young Lucian had mistakenly learned.
“There’s a smell to this. A suspicious smell….”
The cover-up was so blatant that she couldn’t help but suspect something.
“Still, the unedited original Historical Records have to exist somewhere.”
For all the fruitless searching, Lia didn’t give up. If anything, stubbornness took hold, and she burned with renewed determination.
Lia first decided to check the Imperial Library’s holdings, and with the librarian’s help, she found books related to the founding emperor.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of page-turning echoed softly through the library at regular intervals.
The sight of her, concentrated on reading with several books stacked on a wide desk, was like a painting come to life.
Lucian had stationed only a small number of librarians to ensure Lia could search for information in comfort.
Though they acted as if she weren’t there out of fear of the Emperor, they couldn’t help but be captivated by her beautiful appearance.
They could now understand why the Emperor had taken a new mistress instead of keeping the lovely noblewoman nearby.
Of course, had Lia known this, she would have been furious.
“…That’s not the time for this. Let me focus on my work.”
One librarian, realizing he’d been staring fixedly at Lia without knowing it, tapped his own cheek and threw himself back into his duties.
He thought that if he stayed busy, he’d at least avoid losing focus to Lia.
While the librarians busied themselves this way, a small incident unfolded outside the library.
Lucian had stationed trusted knights outside the library to prepare for any eventuality.
But while one knight stepped away briefly on business, the knight left alone made a subtle gesture to someone passing through the corridor.
The knight then stared straight ahead as if he’d seen nothing, and someone slipped past him into the library.
The mysterious figure who entered checked to ensure no one was nearby and stilled their presence.
Then they looked about as if searching for someone. Soon their gaze fixed on one spot: Lia’s desk.
Bathed in sunlight streaming through the vast windows, she read her book.
A beauty who emanated a peculiar, mysterious aura just by being seen. Yet the person who’d entered the library found this deeply unpleasant and clenched their jaw.
Then they began to move.
“This book either… hm?”
As Lia reached for another volume, she sensed a presence approaching her.
In the days she’d spent here, no one had come near her.
If anyone had, it was only the librarian saying it was closing time, or Kaiser showing up when bored, or perhaps Dio running an errand for Lucian.
So it was the first time a noblewoman with a pampered air had appeared before her like this.
Lia lifted her head and looked at the woman standing silent before her, staring.
Elaborate Dress and Jewels befitting a noblewoman, fair jade-like skin that appeared well-maintained. Most of all, judging by the pink hair she’d styled so radiantly, she didn’t seem to be an ordinary noblewoman.
‘She’s cute.’
That was Lia’s first impression upon meeting this noblewoman. But nothing more. She blinked with an indifferent expression.
The noblewoman merely stood before Lia, looking down at her in silence. Wondering what this was all about, one of Lia’s eyebrows rose.
“So.”
At Lia’s words, the noblewoman’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“Is there something you wished to say to me? I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“…You really don’t know who I am?”
“…? I’m seeing you for the first time today. How would I know?”
At a response so composed it bordered on dismissive, the noblewoman’s expression control cracked, her lips trembling slightly.
It was the face of someone thinking, “How could you not know?”
“Ahem! My name is Lirlis Sebans. Surely you’ve heard of me?”
“…? Who’s that?”
This time, the noblewoman’s—no, Lirlis’s—face flushed red then pale. Watching her swallow indignation like an insulted person, Lia scratched her cheek, wondering if she’d missed something.
Then it struck her.
The name of Lucian’s fiancée that she’d overheard in passing once before.
Now that Lia realized Lirlis’s identity, she couldn’t suppress the hollow laugh bubbling up.
‘Look at her.’
It clearly hadn’t been a chance visit.
In the first place, Lucian had completely cleared this place for her benefit and even stationed guards, so there was no way this could be coincidence.
‘That means she has an accomplice.’
Lia glanced at the closed door, then turned her attention back to Lirlis.
Lirlis had already regained her composure and was smiling sweetly. But the witch who’d lived three hundred years caught the fine trembling of her fists with keen perception.
‘What should I do?’
Someone who’d gone so far as to secure an accomplice to come here clearly hadn’t come just for a chat.
How could she handle this cleanly so people wouldn’t talk?
‘Though with the rumors already circulating, I can’t afford to show obvious hostility.’
After all, she was publicly known as Lucian’s mistress.
The Emperor’s fiancée and his mistress—anyone could predict which way public sentiment would lean.
After a swift mental calculation, Lia rose with a smile. As Lirlis flinched in alarm, Lia gently lifted her Dress’s hem.
“I apologize for my lack of refinement. I hadn’t recognized you properly. It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Sebans.”
Though the courtesy had been learned hastily, James and Harry had judged it flawless enough that no flaw could be found.
In fact, Lirlis—who clearly hadn’t anticipated this turn of events—stood slack-jawed.
‘Same age as Lucian, yet she’s still a child.’
Failing to hide her shock like that. Still, it remained to be seen if she was truly foolish. Lirlis quickly regained her composure and looked down at Lia with arrogance.
“Now you know who I am.”
“Yes, I’ve heard things. Aren’t you the noblewoman of the Sebans Duchy?”
“There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
“You’re His Majesty’s fiancée.”
It was a matter-of-fact statement entirely devoid of jealousy.
‘So she has pride after all. Her Acting is quite good.’
Lirlis’s eyes dimmed slightly as she scrutinized Lia from head to toe.
This was the second time she’d laid eyes on her.
The first was on the last day of the Birth Celebration Ceremony, when she’d followed Lucian as he left the venue and watched from a distance as he danced with his mistress.
At that distance, she’d only caught her silhouette, but seeing her up close…
‘No wonder His Majesty took a fancy to her.’
It galled her to admit, but the woman possessed undeniable beauty. Moreover, she faced sudden situations with composure, her movements flawless and without flaw.
There was no opening to attack. It was like looking at an elderly woman who’d weathered every conceivable hardship.
‘No. I mustn’t lose heart. Why did I come here in the first place?’
She’d lost the opening move, but she had to seize momentum from here on.
After all, she’d come here intending to clash with the woman before her from the start.
Lirlis’s specialty was Acting and Incitement.
The goal was to provoke the other person’s irritation, cause a commotion, and when people had gathered, imprint the image of ‘a woman running rampant with the Emperor’s backing’ onto her.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many people here, but she’d instructed her accomplice to open the library doors wide so that passersby in the corridor could hear any commotion, so quite a few people would hear it.
Once rumors spread through the Imperial Palace, it would be instantaneous.
To succeed with her plan, she absolutely couldn’t be the one to make the first aggressive move.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m called Lia, my lady.”
“Yes, Lia.”
‘What a plain, unremarkable name.’
Because it felt so different from her own—like that of some common pauper—Lirlis smiled to herself.
“Would you have time for a conversation?”
“I’m rather busy, but… I suppose I could spare some.”
It was a subtly irritating tone, but Lirlis maintained her beautiful smile through Mind Control.
“Was there something you wished to discuss?”
The moment she sat, Lia jumped straight to the point, and Lirlis hesitated for a moment.
“…You’re rather direct, aren’t you?”
“I don’t think we’re the sort to have a comfortable conversation.”
“Since you’re being direct, I’ll ask directly as well.”
Lirlis lowered her eye corners slightly, affecting the image of frail sorrow, and hesitated.
“Unfortunately, there’s an unpleasant rumor circulating through the Imperial Palace. That His Majesty has brought some mysterious woman into the palace.”
“….”
“It hasn’t become public gossip yet. But I wondered… are you, by chance, His Majesty’s mistress?”
Her trembling voice and tear-filled blue eyes struck quite a chord.
‘If anyone else saw this, they might take her for a tragic heroine.’
Despite Lia doing nothing, the atmosphere was turning against her.
‘So when Lucian said she was serpent-like, that’s what he meant.’
A two-faced person. There was no doubt she had a talent for making people uncomfortable.
‘I misjudged her.’
Lia judged that she needed a response befitting this, and subtly shifted her posture and expression.
In an instant, Lia’s image transformed from forthright and reckless to innocent and pure.
“A mistress… I suppose I’m not his mistress, but if you’re asking whether I’m the woman in those rumors, I could answer yes.”
“Not his… mistress?”
“That’s right. I’m not currently in a relationship with anyone.”
Lirlis visibly faltered, having not anticipated this development.
‘And it’s the truth.’
Lucian might love her, but they weren’t actually in a relationship.

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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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