The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 123

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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 Crown Prince’s Ghost Bride — Episode 123

The moment Serena turned to leave, she caught sight of Lia standing beside Lucian—a discovery that came a beat too late.
When Lia fixed Serena with a cold stare, Serena returned it with unconcealed displeasure.
“Really now, no matter how fond of women one might be, must you bring her to a place like this? Learn to separate public from private. Who knows what that woman might say about your brother.”
“Madam! How could you say such a thing!”
Before Lucian could respond, Leopold sprang to his feet in protest.
“Lia came here to check on my condition! And don’t refer to her like that! You mustn’t speak to Lia that way!”
Though Leopold’s reaction seemed somewhat excessive, his defense at least spared Lucian and Serena from an unnecessary power struggle—a small mercy.
Serena appeared genuinely shaken to find Leopold taking Lia’s side over her own, her face clouding with wounded indignation.
Her resentment swiftly redirected itself toward Lia, the innocent bystander.
“……How on earth did you manage to win over such an ingenuous child?”
“Madam!”
“Leopold, if not for Lucian, I would have cast this woman out long ago. So try to understand my position this time.”
Serena brushed past Lia with a sharp tap on her shoulder. As the door closed behind her, Lia let out a hollow laugh.
“This is absurd. What grudge could she possibly hold against me?”
“……Well, it’s not you—it’s me. I’m sorry, Lia. I’m sorry you had to hear such things because of me.”
“Lucian, don’t apologize! This isn’t your fault! I never liked that woman anyway! All her airs of superiority, while she’s been treating you like……!”
“Lia.”
Lucian tightened his grip on her hand, and Lia fell silent.
A bitter sting rose in her chest. The thought of how his parents had treated him all this time, unknown to her, made her want to overturn the Imperial Palace then and there.
‘Just wait. Once we leave this place, I won’t let this go.’
Lia ground her teeth inwardly, swallowing her rage toward Serena.
“Lucian! Surely Mother hasn’t been treating you this way all along?”
“Leopold, calm down.”
“How can I stay calm! Aren’t you angry? Be angry! Whether you rage, break things, or do whatever—our parents have no right to say a word to you!”
“Well said! Well said!”
Fortunately, Leopold voiced what Lia had been aching to say. She backed him up enthusiastically from the sidelines.
Yet Lucian himself showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Our parents are truly cruel. They use you as my substitute and treat you like this? I no longer recognize this as the mother I knew.”
“I held my tongue because you were here. I do stand up for myself when the time comes. So don’t worry too much.”
“……Ah, Lucian.”
Leopold pressed Lucian’s hand to his forehead, exhaling a long sigh.
“You need to learn to assert your own rights.”
The firm intensity in Leopold’s eyes—an expression Lucian hadn’t seen in ages—made his pupils waver.
Then, with a soft smile, Lucian nodded in agreement.
“All right.”
“Goodness, goodness! How can you be so gentle? Didn’t you suffer terribly serving as my substitute all this time? An emperor has countless matters demanding attention.”
“I managed it all. Besides, I had Harry and Dio.”
“I don’t trust that at all. Tell me the names of anyone who gave you trouble! I’ll make sure they regret it!”
It was reassuring, yet the fierce resolve on his face inspired little confidence.
‘……And Lucian isn’t as gentle as he seems, anyway.’
Even Lia, his lover, found herself unable to agree with Leopold on this point.
After the conversation wound down, Lia examined Leopold’s condition as she always did.
Five days had passed since Leopold awakened.
His Spirit remained a luminous white, untouched by a single shadow.
Age had advised her never to loosen her guard, yet each time she observed Leopold in conversation or gazed upon the crystalline clarity of his Spirit’s color, her conviction wavered slightly toward one conclusion.
A fragile hope: ‘Could this truly be Leopold?’
Yet it had been less than a week since his awakening, so she would not rush to judgment.
“Your body is still weak, but your recovery pace is encouraging. If you continue this way, you should be fine.”
“I hope I get better soon. I’m stuck in this bed—it’s maddening.”
“You can’t even grip a spoon yet.”
“I can manage. Watch.”
Leopold reached for a ballpoint pen on the table beside him. He managed to grasp it, but his fingers lacked the strength to hold it, and it clattered to the floor.
His face darkened at the sight.
“When your body won’t respond, it’s infuriating. Regular Rehabilitation should set things right.”
“You speak as if you’ve done it before.”
“That’s because I have.”
Something flickered in Leopold’s eyes at Lia’s words.
“You’ve undergone Rehabilitation? How did that come about?”
Lia hesitated. She had never explained to him how she transformed from a Spirit into a living person.
There had been no opportunity to tell him, and given the possibility that he might be Leon rather than Leopold, she had no wish to discuss matters relating to Sealing.
Uncertain how to proceed, Lia exchanged a glance with Lucian.
Lucian nodded silently—a gesture saying: tell him.
Trusting that Lucian had his reasons, Lia reluctantly recounted her history of Sealing to Leopold.
Leopold’s reaction upon hearing her story was one of genuine interest.
“So you’re saying you’re from the ancient past? You’re practically an ancestor!”
“An ancestor……well, let’s call it that.”
“This is remarkable. What on earth did you do to make the First Emperor treat you so severely?”
“Ha-ha…….”
“Surely it was the First Emperor’s fault. You were fortunate to reclaim your body.”
Lia smiled without speaking. Based on Leopold’s reaction so far, he did not seem to be Leon.
A new thought began to take root: what if Leon’s Soul had truly vanished from Leopold’s body?

* * *

“So when the Handover is complete, did our parents say anything about how they’ll treat you?”
Leopold turned to Lucian as they discussed matters to come.
“Some of the wealth I’ve built will be transferred back to me, and I’ve negotiated a substantial sum for each year of service as a Substitute. Five years in total, so I won’t want for money going forward.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Leopold’s eyes burned with intensity, and Lucian’s gaze rolled away. Frustrated, Leopold threw his blanket down.
“Didn’t they agree to formally recognize you as a prince!”
“…….”
Lucian’s silence was answer enough. Leopold’s lips trembled, a vein prominent at his temple.
“All right, let’s say there were circumstances before! But not this! They exploit you and then expect to live as strangers? It makes no sense!”
“……It’s fine.”
“I’m not fine! Every time you say you’re fine, it encourages them to treat you carelessly!”
“I really am fine.”
Leopold stopped his agitation and stared at Lucian.
“I came here for you in the first place. There’s nothing else I desire.”
“…….”
“It was half willing, half forced, I admit. But I know better than anyone how arduously you prepared for this position, so I didn’t want to ruin it. I simply helped because I could.”
The sincerity in his words brought tears to Leopold’s eyes.
“And truthfully, I don’t wish to remain here any longer.”
“Why? Surely not because of Mother and Father…….”
“No. It’s just that this place doesn’t suit me. I’m constantly suppressing myself, always feeling watched by those around me. I nearly quit just a month into serving as your substitute.”
Such was the weight of pressure that came with being Crown Prince and Emperor—always pressing down on his shoulders.
“My true dream is to travel the world freely. To see the world with Lia.”
Lia grasped Lucian’s hand tightly as his golden eyes, warm with affection, held her gaze.
A rosy light flowed between them, and Leopold’s mouth fell open.
“……Are you two thinking of getting married?”
At the word “married,” Lia’s body jerked.
‘Married? To whom?’
She had never given marriage a moment’s thought. Being with Lucian had required tremendous courage, and she was in her happiest place now.
Or rather, she simply hadn’t considered what came next.
Panic-stricken, Lia turned to glance at Lucian. His cheeks flushed crimson as embarrassment seized him.
‘Has Lucian been thinking about marriage all along?’
Startled, she stared at him intently, and Lucian, noticing her gaze, turned to face her.
He hesitated, his head tilting in confusion.
“You don’t want to marry me?”
“That’s not…….”
His shock was evident at her hesitation.
A hand makes no sound unless it claps against another, yet their hands hadn’t even touched.
“……You did agree to this, didn’t you?”
Leopold, who had broached the subject, found himself in the awkward position of reading the room. Both Lia and Lucian, who had been staring blankly at each other, suddenly snapped back to attention.
In an instant, color blazed across Lia’s cheeks, and she bolted from her seat.
“I, I…… I’ll leave for now!”
She chose escape. Lucian couldn’t catch her before she slipped from the room.
Lucian stared at the closed door for a long moment, then covered his face with his hands and sighed.
“Hmm……hang in there, Lucian. These things happen. There are plenty of women in the world, so even if you were rejected…….”
“Rejected by whom!”
Lucian’s outburst was so fierce that Leopold wilted.
“……You two are dating, right?”
Lucian affirmed it, though for some reason he couldn’t say more.
‘……Did Lia only accept me out of obligation?’
Reflecting on Lia’s behavior thus far, it wasn’t an unreasonable fear. She had cared for him since childhood, after all, making her hesitant about romantic involvement.
‘But I thought she cared for me…….’
Just recently, hadn’t she promised—worrying he might feel uneasy—that she would stay by his side until the end?
Recalling such moments, he could see she had changed from before……but perhaps she simply didn’t think of romance and marriage in the same light?
A sudden dread seized Lucian: what if Lia decided she couldn’t do this and left his side?
Leopold, wondering if his own words had somehow driven a wedge between them, watched Lucian’s face anxiously.
“Still……I’m jealous. You have a woman who loves you enough to think of marriage. I wish I were more like you.”
It was meant as consolation. Yet Lucian caught something discordant in his words and lifted his head.
“……Enough to think of marriage?”
“Yes—that you love Lia that much. Though it seems Lia doesn’t feel the same…….”
Leopold’s words struck deep into his chest, but there was something more pressing.
“Leopold.”
“Hmm?”
“……You also have a woman you care for enough to think of marriage.”
Leopold’s eyes widened. Lucian watched him with calm, unwavering eyes.

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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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