The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 118

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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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Ghost Bride of the Forsaken Prince, Episode 118

Watching Karselyne and Leon speak earnestly, Aria leaned toward Odel and whispered, ‘Is this really all right?’
‘What is?’
‘You said you didn’t want to bring in a new companion.’
Odel blinked, then burst into laughter.
‘Hahahaha! That was only about strangers. Karselyne and I spent four days together, after all. At the very least, she’s not the type to stab us in the back. That would only happen if I ignored her and acted alone.’
True enough. And besides, she was a Red Dragon—hardly an outsider.
‘And I haven’t seen my brother this excited in ages. Of course, he got excited when you joined too.’
Odel gazed at Leon with a contented smile.
‘Honestly, I always felt sorry for just being a burden to him. After our parents passed and it was just the two of us, he must have suffered so much having to lead a coward like me forward.’
‘…….’
‘I’m just happy to be of some help to him, even in this way!’
His smile was pure. It was remarkable that he’d managed to preserve such innocence despite a life that couldn’t have been easy.
Then again, that’s exactly why she’d been drawn to him.
Aria watched Odel’s profile as he gazed warmly at Leon.
‘I will slaughter the lord and every human in that place. If you don’t agree, there is no alliance.’
‘Very well. Let us do so.’
‘Wait, hold on! What are you saying? Kill everyone?’
But even as they struck this sinister bargain, Odel jumped in, aghast.
Odel—the weakest among them—flushed crimson and lectured them both with such fervor that it wasn’t persuasion so much as sermonizing: surely they couldn’t kill innocent people too.
Aria couldn’t help but laugh watching the two of them take a scolding from the most fragile human present.
A month later, news spread across the land that the tyrannical lord had fallen at the hands of a man named Leon, who had arrived mounted on a Red Dragon.
It was the first mark Leon would leave on history.

.

……Lia.
……Lia!
The faint voice grew steadily louder. Lia, adrift in unconsciousness, stirred.
Lia!
“Gasp!”
At the sharp call in her ear, Lia’s eyes snapped open. Kaiser’s face loomed directly before her.
“Finally awake! Get yourself together, Lia!”
“What—what is this…….”
Lia sat up in confusion, glancing around wildly.
“I was in the Underground Chamber just now…….”
“This is no time for that! Lia, we have to get back to the Imperial Palace right now!”
“What?”
Without warning, he seized her hand and pulled her up. Lia stared at him in bewilderment. Just ahead, Age was executing a Teleport Magic Circle.
“What on earth is happening!”
“I’ll explain once we get there. Let’s go to the palace first.”
“Wait, just a moment!”
Caught off guard by this sudden upheaval, Lia stumbled about until she spotted scattered documents. Among them, one thing stood out jarringly.
“I need to take this!”
What Lia grabbed was Henri Raiple’s Portrait. Clutching it to her chest, she was whisked away via Teleport Magic to the palace in an instant.
The dizziness faded as quickly as it came; Kaiser had seized her hand and begun running. Age dashed alongside them.
“Explain what’s happening!”
“It was the First Emperor.”
“What?”
“The spirit inhabiting Leopold’s body! The First Emperor has been alive all this time by taking over the bodies of his descendants!”
Lia’s heart plummeted.
“If things continue as they are, Leopold is in danger. We’ve already lost too much time, but we have to find some way—any way!”
Even Age’s voice trembled with urgency, and Lia felt the gravity of the situation bone-deep.
“Your memories aren’t fully intact yet, so it’ll be hard to discern the First Emperor, but you need to find Leopold’s spirit specifically and…….”
“That’s not necessary.”
Lia’s voice had grown steady, and both Kaiser and Age turned to look at her.
“My memories have come back enough. I can distinguish them.”
With that, Lia moved forward ahead of them. Kaiser and Age exchanged a glance, nodded, and followed her lead.
Soon they neared the chamber where Leopold lay. But outside it, they found knights and attendants clustered together, and all three of them stopped short, exchanging wary looks.
“Could it be…….”
“Something hasn’t gone wrong, has it?”
The color drained from their faces as they approached.
The knights raised their spears upon seeing the three.
“You cannot pass beyond this point.”
“What’s happened inside?”
“Stand aside. There’s something urgent we need to check immediately.”
At Age’s words, the knights hesitated briefly but did not yield.
“Move aside, I said! Why are you blocking the way—!”
Kaiser’s patience snapped, and he made to push through. The knights shoved him back with their spears.
“You must withdraw! No one may enter without His Majesty’s command.”
“What the—! You bastards—!”
Kaiser’s aura flared dangerously. The standoff intensified in an instant.
“What’s all this commotion?”
The door opened, and James emerged. He took in the sight of Lia’s group facing off against the knights and widened his eyes.
“James, there’s something we need to check right now. Let us in.”
“Of course, absolutely. Stand down and lower your spears.”
James granted permission so readily that the knights looked bewildered as they complied. As they entered, Kaiser shot the knights a glare over his shoulder.
“How is Leopold doing? Has something gone wrong—”
Lia spoke rapidly in her urgency, but the words died on her lips as she took in the scene before them.
Age and Kaiser froze as well.
“Lia.”
Lucian rose from his seat upon spotting her. Lia’s eyes darted back and forth between Leopold, now awake, and Lucian, whose eyes were red-rimmed.
“He’s awake, Lia. He overcame it.”
Lucian spoke through tears, his joy evident. Harry and Dio wore matching bright smiles.
‘Is Leopold really awake?’
The reactions suggested that Leopold himself had indeed regained consciousness.
“Phew…… I feel like I’ve aged ten years. But nothing happened at all.”
Kaiser let out a breath of relief, pressed a hand to his chest, and approached the bed. Lia remained rigid, staring at Leopold.
Leopold was staring directly back at her.
“Do not let your guard down.”
Age whispered to Lia at that moment.
“There’s no way a young spirit defeats a spirit over three hundred years old easily. If the First Emperor has spent centuries moving between bodies, he’s had ample time to learn how to deceive human eyes. You need to confirm the spirit yourself.”
Meeting Age’s gaze, Lia nodded grimly.
Then she stepped forward to Leopold.
Leopold couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Lia narrowed her eyes at his unguarded stare, maintaining her wariness.
“……Wow.”
An exclamation escaped Leopold’s lips.
“Who is this? She’s quite the beauty?”
The familiar teasing tone Lia knew so well flowed from him.
Lucian laughed softly and pulled Lia closer by the shoulder.
“She’s my fiancée. You remember her, don’t you? Lia?”
“Oh! Don’t tell me—the Ghost Bride?”
“That’s right. Lia is that Ghost Bride. And every word I’ve said about her beauty is true, isn’t it?”
“Well, look at this guy…….”
Leopold teased Lucian playfully, and Lucian laughed brightly in return.
The sight of them together was identical to five years ago, and for a moment Lia’s resolve wavered.
But the weight of Age’s gaze from behind steadied her.
“It’s my first time meeting you like this. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Leopold.”
“I’m delighted too. Honestly, I never understood what Lucian was going on about with ‘Lia, Lia’ all the time, but now I get it a hundred percent.”
The way he smiled with his teeth showing was distinctly different from Lucian.
“I’m sorry to ask this so soon after you’ve awakened, but do you remember anything from just before you lost consciousness?”
“Lia, we can talk about that later…….”
Lucian tried to intervene, but sensing something amiss in Lia’s firm expression and the way Age gripped his arm, he fell silent.
“Before I lost consciousness? Well, honestly, I was startled when I opened my eyes and saw everyone’s faces had changed. I just closed my eyes and then opened them, and five years had passed.”
“So you don’t remember what happened before that?”
“Um…… it seems like I went through a Coming-of-age Ceremony at the Temple.”
At the mention of the Coming-of-age Ceremony, everyone’s expression hardened.
“What did I do again…… Ah, I received a blessing from Halba Mama and drank the wine she offered.”
“And after that?”
“After that, I don’t remember anything.”
‘It makes sense, I suppose. If they were performing a ritual to exchange spirits, they would have used medication to put him to sleep.’
Lia tapped her lips thoughtfully as she watched Leopold deep in contemplation.
“While you were unconscious, did you ever have any dreamlike experiences?”
She had definitely encountered his spirit in his mindscape once before. If that was the case, Leopold should remember something, no matter what form it took.
But Leopold shook his head.
“Sorry, I don’t really remember that.”
“……All right. If you don’t mind, may I examine your condition? I’m a mage, after all.”
“Sure.”
Leopold consented readily, and Lia took his hand, closing her eyes.
Then, subtly and without causing discomfort, she slipped into his mindscape.
What opened before her was vastly different from before.
Where once there had been a murky blend of black and white, now there shone a brilliant white light rippling gently.
It was a far purer, far clearer white than Leopold’s spirit had been the first time she’d witnessed it.
‘Did Leopold really overcome it?’
But the unmistakable answer lay plainly before her eyes.
After examining it several times, Lia returned to the waking world.
As her eyes opened, Leopold was gazing at her with clear golden eyes.
“……You’re all right. You’re healthy.”
“That’s a relief. I’m quite exhausted at the moment, to be honest. I was worried there might be something wrong with my body…….”
“You’ve only just awakened and you’re overtaxing yourself. Try to rest for now.”
With Harry’s help, Lia guided Leopold to lie down slowly on the bed. The moment his head touched the pillow, his eyes began to flutter shut.
“I want to see Lirlis too…….”
At his murmured words, Lucian’s frame tensed slightly, but Leopold’s eyes had already closed and his breathing had become shallow.
Harry carefully drew the blanket up to Leopold’s chin.
“Leopold needs plenty of rest, so everyone else should go. I’ll stay here.”
Since keeping the room crowded would only hinder Leopold’s recovery, they left everyone but Harry behind and slipped out.
They relocated to Lucian’s empty Study.
The moment the Study door closed, Age turned to Lia.
“Well? What did you find?”
=”……A pure white spirit.”
“……So it really is Leopold?”
The cryptic exchange prompted confused looks from those unaware of the truth.
In particular, Lucian recalled Lia’s strange behavior from the moment they’d seen Leopold, and a chill ran through him.

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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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