The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 131

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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 131

Lucian and Lia, who had come to check on Leopold, could not hide their bewilderment as they stared at him.
“You want to go for a walk?”
“Yeah, being cooped up here is suffocating.”
Leopold stamped his feet restlessly, whining about wanting to go out.
“I suppose… with so many eyes watching, I haven’t been able to leave the room until now.”
The fact that Leopold and Lucian were twins was classified information. Though more servants had learned of their relationship after Leopold awoke, they all remained loyal to the Imperial Family.
“But brother, you can’t just walk out like this.”
If Leopold stepped outside his room and strolled through the Imperial Palace gardens, many would see him and grow confused.
A month had already passed since he’d regained consciousness.
Leopold had recovered with remarkable speed—he looked nothing like someone who had been unconscious for five years. Though he needed someone to support him when walking, his gait was firm and his stamina had improved considerably.
Most of all, the gaunt figure he’d been had now filled out enough to look almost robust.
“So I’ve got an idea! The two of us swap appearances for a bit!”
“…What?”
“We used to do it all the time. Trading places!”
The so-called Prince and Pauper Game. In those thoughtless days, unable to resist Leopold’s pestering, they had switched clothes and pretended to be each other.
“While I’m out for a quick stroll, you stay here. Of course, I’ll change into your clothes and go outside.”
“Won’t people suspect something?”
“That’s where Lia helps me out!”
Singled out so suddenly, Lia felt utterly bewildered.
“Lia, you know Magic, right? So couldn’t you adjust my appearance to look like Lucian, at least a little?”
“Well…”
It was certainly possible. Leopold had filled out enough now that with a touch of Magic, he could be transformed to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from Lucian.
“Wait—are you saying you want to go for a walk with Lia right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why not go with the princess instead?”
Lucian pointed to Lirlis, who had been quietly present in the room the whole time. She remained silent even at being indicated.
“Lucian, aren’t things awkward between you and Lirlis?”
Leopold narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lucian, and the prince visibly flinched.
“Everyone in the Imperial Palace knows you and Lirlis don’t get along. If you suddenly act friendly with her instead of Lia, people won’t suspect a thing.”
“…But brother, when you leave this place, you’ll eventually marry the princess anyway.”
“Right. But if we show closeness right now, some will find it suspicious. Wouldn’t it be better if I stay with Lia to avoid suspicion? Don’t you think, Lia?”
Faced with Leopold’s radiant expression, Lia felt flustered. When she glanced at Lucian, she saw him wrestling with indecision.
“It’s not like I’m asking for the whole day—just an hour. You can’t spare that?”
When Lucian hesitated, Leopold finally pouted. Lucian’s heart sank.
“…Fine. Let’s do it that way.”
“Lia.”
“Yes!”
When Lia agreed, unable to refuse, Lucian was caught off guard while Leopold let out a cheer.
“It’s only an hour. And Leopold must be frustrated, stuck in his room all this time. It’s something we’ll have to do eventually anyway—think of it as a dress rehearsal.”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
“So, should we do it right now?”
As if he’d been waiting for those words, Leopold jumped from his bed and began pulling Lucian toward the washroom to exchange clothes. While the two argued briefly inside, Lia and Lirlis, left alone together, fell silent.
An awkward stillness settled over the large room.
“…Um.”
But it was Lirlis who broke the silence. Lia turned her head in confusion.
Lirlis looked anxious, studying Lia’s expression. It was so unlike her that Lia frowned.
“What if Leopold…?”
“Ta-da! We’ve changed!”
But before Lirlis could finish her thought, Leopold and Lucian emerged, changed into each other’s clothes.
Now that they’d swapped garments, there was barely any difference between them without Magic. Of course, one could still tell them apart by their auras and expressions.
“Goodness, it’s been so long since I’ve gone out. Lia, come on!”
“Oh? Um…”
Lia awkwardly accepted being touched and fussed over by Leopold so casually.
Just before they left, her eyes met Lirlis’s. The princess’s pupils wavered. And Lia caught sight of something—a flicker of fear mixed in her gaze.
But there was no time to wonder about it; she was drawn outside by Leopold.
“Yordi stays here. Since I’m Lucian now, Dio will be my escort.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Yordi, Leopold’s escort knight, remained stationed outside the door, while Dio, Lucian’s escort knight, followed along.
“Where would you like to go, Your Highness?”
Dio, having grasped the situation, went along with Leopold’s lead. Leopold then adjusted his expression.
In an instant, his entire aura shifted to match Lucian’s. Even Lia and Dio, who knew everything, momentarily believed they were looking at Lucian himself.
“Hmm… let’s head to the Garden that Lia likes.”
His nearly expressionless face, eyes slightly narrowed at the corners, and subtly upturned lips were pure Lucian.
‘Even his tone of voice is identical.’
Lia was so startled she couldn’t find words.
“Lia?”
Leopold tilted his head and brought his face closer, only then did Lia snap back to attention.
“Oh, right. Let’s go to the Garden.”
Leopold smiled softly and squeezed Lia’s hand firmly.
The contact felt more intimate than what she usually shared with Lucian, making her feel oddly unsettled.
And so the three of them headed out of the palace toward the Garden.
Meanwhile, Lucian, left alone in the room, sat on the edge of the bed wearing Leopold’s nightclothes. Lirlis sat quietly on a nearby chair beside him.
As an uncomfortable silence stretched on, Lucian found the situation feeling distinctly strange.
‘She’s not even talking to me?’
He found being in the same room with Lirlis more uncomfortable than the role-swap with Leopold.
Without question, she’d cling to him as she always did.
But against expectation, Lirlis did nothing—suspiciously nothing.
She didn’t speak, didn’t send heated glances, and instead sat like a doll, staring only at her own lap. Her behavior felt distinctly odd.
Bothered by the discord, Lucian spoke first.
“…It seems you’ve been visiting brother often. Have you reconsidered your feelings?”
“…Now I know how painful one-sided love can be.”
Lirlis finally lifted her head. But her gaze, when she looked at Lucian, was noticeably different from before—somewhat bland.
‘No, it’s more than that… something else feels off.’
“Is something wrong?”
Lucian chose to be direct rather than probe. At his question, Lirlis’s eyes rippled, as if she might cry.
“…How much do you trust Leopold?”
“…What?”
But the moment those words left her lips, any sympathy Lucian had felt vanished in an instant.
“What’s with that question? Are you trying to sow discord between me and my brother?”
“That’s not it, I’m just—!”
“Is something the matter, Your Highness?”
The door opened and Yordi poked his head inside. His voice must have carried louder than expected.
“It’s nothing.”
“Should you need anything, please let me know.”
With measured courtesy, Yordi closed the door. Lucian sighed and turned back to Lirlis. But she clamped her mouth shut.
She looked frightened. Finding it all very strange, Lucian was about to speak again when Lirlis moved away, putting distance between them.
It was clear she didn’t want to talk. Lucian watched her with suspicion.

* * *

“Ah, I finally feel alive again.”
After thirty minutes in the Garden, Leopold sat down on a bench to rest.
The way he stretched and limbered up was unmistakably Lucian.
For those thirty minutes of walking through the Garden, he hadn’t felt like Leopold even once.
“You’re quite the actor.”
“Hm?”
“No, you just look so much like Lucian that I don’t think anyone would suspect anything even without my Magic.”
“Really?”
“You’re even better at acting than when we used to play the Prince and Pauper Game occasionally.”
Dio, who was nearby, chimed in agreement. Leopold puffed up proudly, suggesting that acting was his hidden talent.
“Lia, don’t just stand there—come sit.”
At that moment, Leopold took Lia’s hand. The contact felt so natural that she hesitated briefly before gently withdrawing her hand and taking a seat beside him.
“What do you like about Lucian so much?”
“…Not this question again.”
“Your brother’s curious.”
He always asked what she liked about Lucian, why she was with him.
At first, she’d thought it was the curiosity of an older brother besotted with his sibling’s love life, but now…?
‘It’s too deliberate.’
The question was too consistent to be mere curiosity.
Lia, who had been studying Leopold’s expression, decided this time to be honest.
“I like him because he’s Lucian.”
“Come on, you always say that. Be more specific—”
“No, I’m serious. It’s not anyone else—I love him because he’s Lucian and only Lucian.”
Leopold fell still, watching Lia. The mask he wore—the face of Lucian—seemed to develop the faintest crack.
“For three hundred years, it was Lucian who soothed my lonely spirit. It was Lucian who gave meaning to my existence. And it’s thanks to Lucian that I have this body. He suppresses his own emotions so painfully, always putting me first. How could I not love such a person?”
Until now, she had dodged or given vague answers to Leopold’s questions.
But in this moment, Lia poured out the truth from her heart. A gentle smile naturally bloomed on her face.
“You ask what I like about Lucian? I should ask the opposite—is there anything I dislike about him?”
“……”
“Lucian has no faults. I love him because he’s Lucian, and I love him for being Lucian. Is that answer enough?”
Lia smiled and looked at the frozen Leopold. It was Dio who responded instead.
“Wow, if Lucian heard that, he’d jump out of his skin.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he’d probably replay your words for days and not get any work done. That guy becomes a total idiot when it comes to Lia.”
Dio, remembering the image of a malfunctioning Lucian, shuddered at the thought.
At the reaction between close friends, Lia burst out laughing.
“Ha, haha… that was quite the passionate confession. Even hearing it myself is surprising.”
Then Leopold finally reacted. He laughed about how envious he was, but Lia caught a moment of hesitation in his expression.
“Ugh, I’m dying of envy. I shouldn’t ask questions like that anymore.”
“Then I’m relieved. You ask the same thing every time, and it’s been awkward.”
“Alright then, shall we continue our walk? We’ve only got twenty minutes left.”
Since they’d promised a total of one hour, Leopold resumed walking, determined to make good use of the remaining time. Lia willingly offered her shoulder to support him as they walked.
But doubt had already begun to take root in her heart.

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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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