The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 124

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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 — Chapter 124

After a moment of silence, Leopold let out a soft laugh.
“Lirlis?”
……
“I do care for Lirlis. But this is a one-sided love, isn’t it?”
Leopold’s expression grew a shade wistful.
“Our engagement was decided by our parents without our consent. To be honest, when we were younger, I didn’t even think of Lirlis as a romantic interest.”
“……It seemed like you did when we first met.”
“I started to care for her after I came back from studying abroad. Truthfully, Lirlis is quite beautiful. And of course, Lia is beautiful too.”
Leopold added the last part, worried that Lucian might feel slighted.
“So I did my best to treat Lirlis well. I gave her affection, I gave her trust, and to ease any insecurity, I never gave other women a chance. But Lirlis wasn’t the same.”
Before Leopold collapsed, Lucian had often heard from Harry complaints about Lirlis’s behavior.
Most notably, that she spent time with other young nobles while ignoring Leopold.

‘It’s fortunate that His Highness lacks perceptiveness. If he hadn’t, he would have cast Lirlis aside long ago.’

Harry had certainly said that Leopold was oblivious enough not to notice Lirlis’s cunning ways.
Yet now his words suggested he’d known all along.
“If I’m to marry, I’d like it to be to someone I love mutually, just as you do.”
“……Then, what does Lirlis think now?”
“I should ask her myself. How has Lirlis been lately? The same as before?”
It was a question asking whether she still gave other men opportunities as she once had.
Lucian’s lips twitched.
After the last confrontation with Lirlis, he had sent a notice of engagement dissolution to House of Sevans.
But the House had refused to accept it, and just as he was about to respond, Leopold had awakened.
Should he really tell Leopold about all of Lirlis’s misdeeds up to now?
‘Before he woke, I was determined to push through the dissolution no matter what…….’
But seeing his beloved brother looking dejected before him, Lucian found he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Besides, hadn’t Leopold called Lirlis’s name on the very day he’d awakened?
‘Is Lirlis to my brother what Lia is to me?’
With that thought, he understood his foolish brother a little better.
After all, even if Lia spent time with other men, even if he knew she didn’t love him, he couldn’t give up his feelings for her.
“……No, she’s an adult now. She wouldn’t do something so childish anymore.”
“Really?”
Leopold’s face brightened.
“In fact, she’s working hard as the future Empress. Though there are rumors that because of Lia’s existence, things seem tense between my fiancée and me in public…….”
“Ah, well, that makes sense. Don’t worry. Lirlis will understand. Does she know about our situation?”
Lucian nodded slowly.
“Perfect. I was wanting to see Lirlis anyway. If she already knows, I won’t need to explain separately.”
Lucian looked at Leopold with an expression of disbelief.
“I want to see Lirlis. Could you bring her here?”
Seeing the brightness gleaming in those golden eyes, Lucian’s throat tightened.
In the end, he had no choice but to speak.
“……Yes. I’ll bring her.”
As Leopold beamed with joy, Lucian’s expression grew unreadable.

* * *

Lirlis and the House of Sevans arrived at the Imperial Palace wearing rather grim expressions. It was Lirlis’s first visit since receiving the Banishment Order.
Yet she knew better than anyone why she had come here. Especially that it was not her choice to do so.
Following a servant’s guidance through secluded passages, the two encountered Lucian standing in the middle of a corridor and offered him their respects.
“We bow before the Great Sun, His Imperial Majesty…….”
“Spare the formalities.”
Lucian strode forward.
“My brother has awakened.”
The moment Leopold was mentioned, Lirlis felt her heart plummet.
“I’m sure you’re aware that my brother holds you in high regard?”
“……Yes.”
“Originally, my plan was to complete the engagement dissolution before my brother awakened and then inform him of your misdeeds. But my brother wishes to see you, so I’ve held my tongue about what you’ve done all this time.”
Even though she’d been given this warning before, Lirlis’s pupils wavered uncertainly.
“You wanted to become Empress, didn’t you? Then from this moment on, you’d better conduct yourself properly. I have no wish for my brother to be hurt.”
“Those words mean…….”
“Ensure that my brother never learns of your past behavior. Then I will overlook your misdeeds.”
At Lucian’s menacing threat, the House of Sevans finally clenched his eyes shut.
“But if my brother ever discovers that you have feelings for me…… then know that I won’t let it pass as before.”
Lirlis’s face drained of color, and terror gripped her features.
Deeming his warning sufficient, Lucian stepped aside.
The door opened, and the two stepped inside.
“Lirlis!”
At a voice slightly higher than Lucian’s, Lirlis’s head snapped up.
“You’ve grown more beautiful. You seem so different from when I last saw you.”
Leopold was smiling radiantly.
His hair fell past his shoulders, his shoulders had grown lean, and his face was gaunt—a far cry from Lucian’s commanding presence. Yet his smile still shone like warm sunlight.
He was nothing like the Lucian she loved.
Yet somehow, merely looking at him left Lirlis breathless.
Her stomach churned, her nose stung with feeling, and she hastily covered her face with the back of her hand.
Noticing the change in his daughter, House of Sevans tactfully stepped forward to meet Leopold.
“It seems five years have taken quite a toll on us all. Even you, Duke, could not escape the passage of time.”
“You’re too kind. I’m just glad you’ve recovered safely. How is your health now, Your Majesty?”
“I can’t say I’m fully well yet…… but I’m eating properly and building my strength. It will take at least another month of rehabilitation before I can walk properly.”
“Allow me to send medicinal herbs so that you may recover more swiftly, Your Majesty.”
At the word “Majesty,” Leopold blinked and then burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha! That’s right, I’m the Emperor now. I keep forgetting this. I just closed my eyes and opened them again, and I’ve gone from Crown Prince to Emperor. From here on, please help me settle into this position.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“And look after our Lucian as well.”
At the mention of Lucian, House of Sevans flinched.
“……What are Your Majesty’s intentions regarding Lucian?”
“I plan to formally announce Lucian’s existence. As for his title…… yes, Grand Duke would be fitting.”
“It won’t be simple. The people of the Empire are skeptical of the Twins.”
“New rumors can always bury old ones. There may be noise at first, but everything will fall into place as I wish.”
Leopold spoke with unshakeable confidence, though it was a matter that would require convincing not just a few, but the entire Empire, nobility and all.
It was remarkable confidence for someone who had never attempted such a thing.
“Well…… that’s only possible once I formally take over the Transfer of Power. Besides, that fool Lucian insists he doesn’t want to be bound to this place anymore and wants to leave the Palace.”
At Leopold’s complaint, Lirlis, who had been sitting in silence, shuddered. She finally grasped that Lucian truly intended to leave this place forever.
Until now, she had dismissed it as empty talk…….
‘What am I supposed to do?’
Days ago, when her father had given her counsel, Lirlis had denied reality, interpreting the situation to suit her wishes, believing that everything would bend to her will.
But everything unfolding before her eyes now contradicted her expectations entirely.
Love or power. Now she truly had to choose one or the other.
“I’d like to have a proper conversation with Lirlis. Could you give us some space?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
With that, House of Sevans turned to look at Lirlis.
Noticing that his daughter couldn’t manage her expression and bore a gloomy countenance, he frowned.
The Duke leaned down and whispered low, just for her ears.
“Get yourself together. This is the last chance we’ve been given.”
The hand on her shoulder felt unusually heavy. After House of Sevans left, Lirlis stood in awkward silence.
Seeing her state, Leopold let out a soft laugh.
“Don’t stand there. Come here.”
Though he bore no resemblance to Lucian otherwise, his face was identical, and hearing those gentle words fall from that same face felt strangely unfamiliar. And yet…….
‘……Was Leopold always like this?’
Was it because five years had passed since she last saw him? Or was it because Lucian’s shadow seemed to overlap with him?
Leopold didn’t seem like the man she had known.
Lirlis moved quietly and sat on the chair beside his bed, where she felt the weight of Leopold’s intense gaze.
Silence hung heavy. Since Leopold didn’t speak first, Lirlis couldn’t bring herself to break it.
Sensing something was off, Lirlis finally managed to meet Leopold’s eyes. And then, without thinking, she flinched.
‘His gaze…….’
He was smiling, certainly. His lips curved gently, his eyes curved soft as crescents. Yet his golden eyes felt cold.
Even colder than the chilling stare Lucian had turned on her all this time.
When Lirlis met his eyes again in confusion, he seemed to have returned to the look of a man in love, as though her misgiving had been a trick of the light.
“Have you been well?”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Calling me ‘Your Majesty’? How strange. Just call me Leopold like before, Lirlis.”
In the face of Leopold’s still sun-bright expression, Lirlis had no choice but to nod.
After that, the two spoke at leisure.
As the conversation continued, the tension that had gripped Lirlis slowly melted away, and for the first time in five years, she found herself able to speak freely with someone.

* * *

Two weeks after Leopold’s awakening.
Lucian, occupied with preparations for the Transfer of Power, hurried to the Reception Hall with Lia upon learning that an unexpected visitor had arrived.
Creak——
Upon opening the door, the woman waiting inside rose from her seat.
“I bow before Your Imperial Majesty, the Great Emperor.”
Lucian and Lia regarded the bowing woman with somewhat bewildered expressions.
The visitor who had come seeking Lucian was none other than Diane Rayple.
“I thought you would never return.”
“……I had originally planned not to. But since you’ve given us such a precious heirloom from our ancestor, I felt it only right to call on you again in gratitude.”
Diane rose and bowed so deeply that the crown of her head was visible.
“Thank you so much for finding my great-grandmother’s portrait.”
The portrait Lia had given Diane was the portrait of Henri Rayple’s wife.
Diane’s great-grandmother was seventy-seven years old and still living.
“My great-grandmother is quite elderly and lacks much vitality, but seeing the heirloom of her late husband brought her such joy. This is all thanks to your kindness.”
“Please don’t call me that. Just call me Lia.”
At the sight of Lia waving her hand in protest, the gloom that had shadowed Diane’s face lifted, and she smiled gently.

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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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