The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 129

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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 129

“Where’ve you been all these days? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Leopold sat on the edge of his bed to greet Lia and Lucian. It had been six days since their last visit.
Lirlis, who happened to be present, fixed her gaze on Lucian—but he pretended not to notice.
“Making the medicine took time. Once you drink this, I won’t need to keep checking on your condition anymore.”
Lia held up a glass vial filled with a luminous liquid. At the sight of it, Lirlis deliberately frowned.
“What sort of medicine is it, exactly?”
“It restores depleted vital energy and promotes general wellness. There’s no need for suspicion—Lucian already drank it once to prove its safety.”
Lia brushed off Lirlis’s concern without missing a beat.
“Lia spent days putting this together. Go on, drink it.”
“Once I drink this, you won’t come anymore, will you? I’m almost sorry—I was enjoying talking with Lia.”
“It’s not like I’m vanishing forever. I’ll visit often enough.”
Leopold grinned and swallowed the medicine she offered in one gulp.
“Hm, it tastes like strawberry?”
Leopold’s eyes widened in surprise as he savored it.
“Oh. I can definitely feel my body improving.”
Leopold rose from the bed. Lirlis instinctively reached out to steady him, but he took a step forward without her support, moving with no trace of a stumble.
Everyone in the room—Leopold included—had their eyes wide in astonishment.
“Wow! My legs actually have strength in them!”
Before, even with steady rehabilitation, he could only walk if someone supported him; otherwise his legs would buckle or give out without warning.
But now Leopold walked upright with perfect posture.
“Thank you, Lia! I really do feel so much better!”
“…No, it’s good to see it working. You’re not experiencing any strange sensations, are you? No odd feelings?”
“No, nothing like that. I feel so much energy returning—I think I could even run.”
“Brother, you can’t run yet.”
“Tch, fine.”
So delighted to walk without support, Leopold moved quickly around the room. Lucian stayed close to his side.
Lucian’s expression was radiant. He seemed to see two young boys rolling about in the courtyard of the Mansion, just as they once had.
“…So there truly was no hidden agenda.”
Lia turned at the sound of Lirlis’s quiet voice.
“Why would I have any hidden agenda toward Leopold? He’s Lucian’s only brother.”
“……”
“You seem quite different from before, though.”
“……I’d rather die than lose to a woman like you, but I’ve come to understand that this isn’t my place.”
“So that’s why you’re staying by Leopold’s side—to secure the Empress’s position?”
“That’s not your concern.”
Lirlis turned her head sharply. In the next moment, her gaze fixed on Leopold and Lucian.
Her expression softened, and a hint of affection flickered in her blue eyes.
Whether that affection was for Lucian, whom she had once loved so intensely, or for Leopold, whom she had promised to build a future with, none could say.
“Forgive me, Your Highness. It seems you need to attend to something urgent.”
Just then, James entered carefully and called for Lucian.
“Ah, I should go too then. Brother, if anything’s uncomfortable or painful, don’t keep it to yourself—tell someone. I’ll come back this evening.”
“I’ll manage. Go on. See you next time, Lia.”
Lucian and Lia gave Leopold a warm smile and took their leave.
Not long after they departed—
*Cough*—
A coughing sound echoed through the room. Lirlis turned, and her eyes went wide. She hurried to Leopold’s side.
“Leopold!”
Blood stained the hand Leopold pressed to his mouth.
“I’ll call a physician right away—!”
“Wait, don’t call anyone.”
“You’re coughing up blood—how can I just stand here?! If something’s wrong with your body—!”
“It’s nothing like that. Just calm down. Could you help me back to bed?”
Leopold wiped his mouth and hands with a handkerchief and smiled weakly. Lirlis bit her lip and helped him back to the bed.
Once lying down, Leopold exhaled deeply. To Lirlis, it looked almost like he was regulating his breath.
“Did the medicine you took just now cause this?”
“No. Since I woke up, I’ve coughed up blood only occasionally. The doctors say there’s nothing seriously wrong, so you don’t need to worry.”
“……You always just say everything’s fine.”
Watching Lirlis clench her fists in frustration, Leopold gave her a bitter smile.
“Lirlis.”
“……”
“I want to ask you something. Can you answer?”
Lirlis nodded.
“……You love Lucian, don’t you?”
Lirlis’s hand trembled slightly. Leopold, holding her hand, caught that tremor.
Seeing her face go pale, Leopold’s expression grew bitter.
“I suspected, but it’s really true.”
“No, Leopold, actually that’s not—!”
Lirlis tried to explain, but Leopold shook his head.
“Lucian’s impressive. Not just because he’s my brother, but objectively—he really is an admirable person. I understand why you’d care for him.”
“No, no—there’s only you—!”
“Do you know how your eyes change every time you look at him?”
No excuse would work. Leopold only grew more certain, and Lirlis felt despair wash over her.
It wasn’t the terror of being exposed that crushed her—it was the despair of knowing he wouldn’t believe her denials.
“Every time Lucian visits, you can’t look away from him. That’s how I knew—Lirlis, you love him.”
“That was true before, but not anymore! I’m letting go of those feelings! From now on, if you tell me not to look, I won’t!”
“No, you don’t have to do that. I understand where your heart is coming from.”
“……What?”
A strange sound escaped Lirlis’s lips. More precisely, she couldn’t comprehend what Leopold was saying.
“Lirlis, I……”
At his next words, Lirlis’s eyes flew open. Before long, she was staring at him with trembling eyes.
“I know this shouldn’t happen. But my heart won’t obey reason. You understand that too, don’t you?”
Lirlis couldn’t fathom what he was saying. She even began to wonder if the person before her was really someone she knew.
“We’re in the same situation anyway. What if we did this?”
Leopold made her a proposal. Lirlis’s lips moved soundlessly; she couldn’t find words.
“This will be our secret, yes?”
Toward her, Leopold smiled gently—that same radiant smile that Lirlis adored.

* * *

At that same moment, Lia’s group had barely closed the Office door when they began to speak.
“Now we can really believe he’s his brother, right?”
“He drank the Elixir and showed no symptoms whatsoever.”
In truth, what Lia had given Leopold was an Elixir that Dadan Groot had once created.
The very same one that had made Leon—who was wearing the body of the First Emperor—cough up blood.
“For those like me, who possess a soul older than the life they were given, it acts as a fatal poison.”
The Elixir’s side effect manifests only in those who carry ancient souls.
So based on Dadan Groot’s research notes, Lia had synthesized the Elixir and verified that its side effect functioned properly.
Lucian, being human, suffered no ill effects from the Elixir. Instead, he showed some rejuvenation and recovery, his skin taking on a newfound luster.
The next test subject was Lia herself.
With a soul exceeding three hundred years old, Lia had a high likelihood of experiencing the side effect.
And the experiment confirmed it: even a single spoonful of the Elixir produced severe side effects that Lia experienced firsthand.
What Lia experienced was a weakening of the soul’s cohesion.
Because of it, the bond between her soul and body felt slightly loosened, and for a time she couldn’t wield her full power.
Back when Leon was the First Emperor, he had drunk the Elixir, coughed up blood on the spot, and wandered between life and death for days afterward.
‘But Leopold showed no reaction at all.’
Lia had deliberately given him the Elixir and watched him closely for a long time. Yet even after twenty minutes, he reported no symptoms.
Instead, he showed signs of physical recovery—meaning only the Elixir’s benefits took effect, not its poison.
Which meant only one thing: the soul inhabiting Leopold’s body was Leopold himself.
Lucian couldn’t contain his joy at the confirmation that Leon was no longer in his brother’s body.
And truly, among them all, Lucian had been the one who prayed most fervently for Leopold’s safety.
It was somewhat anticlimactic that Leon, who had tormented descendants for so long with such persistence, would vanish this way, but Lia decided to take the positive view.
“I should tell Kaiser about this.”
At Lucian’s murmur, Lia glanced around.
“Now that I think about it…where did Kaiser go?”
“He had something come up and left with Age. It shouldn’t take long, so he’ll be back soon.”
Lia had been too preoccupied with the Elixir to even notice Kaiser’s departure.
‘I was unconscious for a couple of days from the side effects anyway, so it makes sense I missed it.’
“Finally, I can talk to my brother comfortably.”
At Lucian’s words, Lia paused and turned to look at him. She couldn’t begin to imagine how much his heart had been breaking all this time, though he’d managed to appear composed.
Lia smiled softly and pulled Lucian into an embrace.
“Should we do the things we’ve been putting off? The things you wanted to do once Leopold woke up?”
“I have ideas, but his body still isn’t fully recovered. I want to wait until after the Succession Transfer is complete.”
“That’s a good plan too.”
“First, I need to finish dealing with those cockroaches before the Succession Transfer is done.”
“……The Dark Mages.”
“Right. Once they learn the First Emperor isn’t in my brother’s body anymore, there’s no telling what they’ll do. According to Habier’s theory, there could be a major war between the Temple Organization and the Imperial Family. I’m ending this myself.”
His unwillingness to burden Leopold with such a heavy task was plain to see.
“You trusted me all this time, so this time I’ll help you.”
Lia gripped Lucian’s hand firmly, laying bare her resolve.
Feeling Lia’s genuine care and affection, Lucian smiled brightly and naturally brought his lips to hers.

* * *

“It is most fortunate that Your Highness has recovered safely. Surely this is the grace of the Divine blessing upon you.”
Today, priests from the Temple Organization had been dispatched to the Imperial Palace to examine Leopold’s condition—something he had long been waiting for.
Since they had come secretly under the guise of another matter, only a small group was permitted entry to his chambers.
As expected, they were composed solely of the old faction led by Pedro, the Pontiff and master of the Dark Mages.
The saving grace was that Habier was among them—a bishop apparently trusted enough to accompany them on this visit.
“If only Cardinal Sebastian had come as well. Isn’t he the first priest to wield Holy Power?”
Ruber, displeased with the visit, pressed Pedro with sharp words.
“Cardinal Sebastian is currently on assignment in another province. I assure you, he will accompany us next time.”
“You’re the ones who caused this disaster in the first place. What face do you show by coming here at all……”
“Father, please calm yourself.”
Only after Leopold intervened did Ruber cease his reproach.
“Once your business is done, you should leave. Leopold is still not in a fit state to receive guests.”
“Even the Empress……”
The entire Imperial Family opposed the priests, save Leopold. Lucian realized for the first time that his family’s hearts were united, and he couldn’t suppress the laughter bubbling up inside.

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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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