The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 134

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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 Abandoned Prince’s Phantom Bride — Episode 134

Leopold’s irritation flared at the utter steadiness in Lucian’s gaze, and his hand rose.
Crack—!
Lucian’s head snapped to the side with a sharp report, the force enough to make his skull ring. Leon’s golden eyes twitched at the sight.
“Ah, mustn’t damage our precious doll. That would be unfortunate.”
Lucian’s cheeks swelled crimson, blood trickling from his split lip, yet his gaze remained unbowed. Leon’s eye twitched harder.
But soon enough, his mouth twisted into a smile.
“Will you maintain your composure when you hear Aria whisper her love to another?”
Lucian’s eyes wavered.
“Do you know why I don’t simply kill you here and now? Because your body is useful to me.”
Leopold’s hand pressed down on Lucian’s chest. In that moment, Lucian understood what he was thinking.
“I’ll keep your consciousness perfectly intact. When I take your body, you’ll watch—from beginning to end—as Aria whispers her love to me.”
Flinch—
Lucian’s eyes darkened, his body trembling violently though he couldn’t move. Seeing that he lacked the power to break free, Leon laughed with cruel amusement.
“I should have done this from the start. Instead of mimicking Odel, I should have seized his body from the beginning. Then I would have had her love long ago.”
Leon’s face contorted like a malevolent spirit. Even wearing Leopold’s skin, Lucian could see that this was his true form.
“…The more I think about it, the more it infuriates me. How does someone like you earn Aria’s love? You and Odel both—utterly ordinary, every one of you.”
Leon’s homeless rage turned toward Lucian. His wide eyes were like an empty, abyssal depth. The thought crossed Lucian’s mind that he might be swallowed whole.
“Let’s see if you can maintain that brazen composure even after this.”
From Leon’s left hand, a torrent of pitch-black mana rose.
Without warning, his entire body prickled with goosebumps, a violent repulsion washing over him.
Lucian had glimpsed Black Magic a handful of times through Habier. But this was the first time merely seeing it filled him with dread.
It was clearly a Black Magic far beyond Habier’s reach.
The black mana churned ominously, swelling in volume. Soon the world before Lucian dissolved into darkness.

* * *

Lucian’s form collapsed, his unseeing eyes trembling as he writhed on the floor.
By now, the Mental Torture Black Magic that Leon had cast would be taking effect.
Leon kicked him once, then felt his fingertips quiver and scowled.
“Curse it. Of all things, that.”
The Elixir that Lia had given him days ago.
Leon had known there was something behind Lia’s offered drink, yet he’d consumed it willingly to avoid suspicion.
Had he known it was an Elixir, he never would have drunk it. He’d known for some time that Elixir dealt a serious blow to one’s soul.
“I thought the aftereffects would have passed by now.”
Since drinking the Elixir, his soul had grown somewhat unstable. There was a sensation of disconnection between body and spirit, and his power wasn’t what it once was.
He wanted nothing more than to seize Lucian’s body immediately—it would be far easier to approach Lucian’s form to evade sharp-eyed Lia’s detection.
But transferring souls was a high-tier magic requiring some dozen or more elite Black Mages, and with his soul so weakened, a hasty transfer could result in it being consumed instead. So he had to restrain himself, even faced with appetizing prey.
For now, he needed to shatter Lucian’s mind, creating conditions for an easier takeover later.
“Subduing him took considerable effort. His younger brother would be no easier.”
Leon muttered as he pulled at Leopold’s cheek.
Boom—!
Then came a thunderous crash from beyond the door.
Leon scowled and turned his head. As he did, the firmly locked door burst open.
“Lucian!”
The source of the commotion was Dio.
He looked wretched from intense combat. His uniform was disheveled, splattered with blood in several places, and a deep gash marked his previously unblemished cheek.
Dio took in the changed state of Leopold and Lucian’s collapsed form, his eyes widening.
He started to rush toward Lucian, but the chill of a blade at his neck stopped him short. He spun, meeting the sword bearing down on him.
“Ggh…! I severed his leg, I’m sure of it…!”
Dio’s opponent was Jordi.
While Lucian and Leopold fought within, Dio had clashed outside with Jordi and another guard.
When sounds erupted from the room and Dio moved to force entry, they struck first—a miscalculation would have meant decapitation.
What followed was a fierce battle. Dio concluded he would die if he didn’t kill them, so he pressed his assault without hesitation.
One guard fell. Jordi lost his left leg.
Even the finest knight, deprived of a limb, loses reason. The pain alone should render a normal person unable to fight.
‘What is this monster…!’
But the Jordi before him was different. Eyes wide, he attacked like an unfeeling puppet, snapping at Dio’s throat.
“Hah… a shame to lose a good pawn.”
Even as a fight for their lives unfolded before him, Leon merely glanced at the dead knight with a tone of regret.
His inhuman indifference made Dio’s skin crawl.
In that moment, Jordi’s blade pierced Dio’s shoulder.
“Aghhhh!”
Dio screamed, and expressionless Jordi smiled hideously.
Teeth gritted, Dio forced his eyes open and seized the blade lodged in his shoulder. The steel bit into his palm, but as he shoved it free, it slid slowly out.
Dio realized Jordi’s strength had weakened from before.
‘Even a monster can’t be invincible!’
Dio heaved himself upright, driving Jordi backward, and in the moment Jordi lost balance, Dio yanked the blade from his own shoulder and drove it straight through Jordi’s throat.
“Ugh… ack…”
Jordi didn’t scream. He merely trembled. His eyes found Dio, but a man with a severed throat has no words left.
Jordi collapsed.
Dio rose, breathing hard.
“Get away from him. Now.”
He leveled his blood-stained sword at Leon, who had been watching with casual indifference.
Leon let out a hollow laugh at Dio’s bluster.
“Remarkable. An Elite Priest I trained with such care, defeated by a mere knight. You’re a talent to be coveted.”
“Did you not hear me? Get away from him, now…!”
Dio’s fury only deepened at Leon’s genuine admiration. Leon smiled thinly.
“Young people these days have no respect for their elders.”
Leon flicked his fingers, and a crushing force slammed Dio against the wall.
Cough—!
Already grievously wounded, Dio couldn’t breathe under the sudden pressure.
Air wouldn’t reach his lungs; his breath came hollow and strained.
“Lucian…!”line>
Gasping, Dio struggled to move, yet he kept sagging. He’d lost too much blood; his vision swam.

Leon approached the prone Dio. Dio twisted his face and lifted his head.
Leon looked down at him with contempt, then pointed at him with a single finger. Black mana shot from that fingertip, piercing Dio’s forehead.
Dio’s eyes dulled, and he collapsed.
“Can’t have any more interruptions.”
The words fell with the flat disinterest of one sweeping away vermin. With that, he stepped out of the ruined chamber.
Splash—
Leon stepped in a pool of blood and paused, scowling.
“Filthy.”
The dead Jordi barely registered. He cared only that blood had soiled his shoes and trouser cuffs.
“This wasn’t part of the plan, but we were going to do it anyway. Might as well be early.”
Leon snapped his fingers once, and his clothes transformed to pristine condition. He snapped again, and his face shifted subtly to resemble Lucian.
Close friends wouldn’t have noticed the difference.
Satisfied after checking his reflection in a hallway mirror, Leon departed.

* * *

“Ugh, and I’m not asking for much. It’s a Lair nobody uses anyway, isn’t it? Not some other dragon’s—mine, your grandson’s! You hate the idea that much?!”
“Quiet, you brat! You just demand Carserin’s Lair outright, and you expect me to agree?!”
“Grandfather…!”
Kaiser seized his grandfather Ador’s tail and hung on desperately.
Ador was among the eldest of the Red Dragon Clan, a dragon whose own children approached him with caution. Yet Kaiser threw a tantrum so fierce he’d left Ador flustered.
“I haven’t seen Father this bewildered in quite some time.”
“…He’s certainly accomplished in many ways.”
Age stood beside Ruche, who watched the spectacle with detachment, having already transcended such concerns.
He’d confirmed that Leopold was safe, and so returned here thinking it secure.
He’d no particular business; he’d only come because Kaiser insisted on reclaiming his Lair.
And now, for days, Kaiser had been chasing after Ador.
“If you don’t give it to me, I’ll cry right here!”
“You—! A True Form Red Dragon, and yet—where is your pride—!”
“I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care! Just give me the Lair…!”
Kaiser threw himself on the ground and began a full tantrum, leaving the massive Red Dragon to pace helplessly around him.
“R-Ruche! Was Kaiser always like this?”
“When he was young, he was terribly stubborn. This is actually mild.”
“…This is mild?”
“Ador seems quite taken aback.”
“Of course. But I don’t understand why Father even hesitates. We discussed once before how to handle your brother’s Lair.”
Age thought it was only a matter of time before Kaiser acquired his Lair.
As he watched to see how much longer this would go on, Kaiser suddenly stopped.
More than that—having gone rigid, he bolted upright, his eyes rolling wildly in their sockets.
“Kaiser?”
Noticing the change, Ador and Ruche exchanged confused glances, while Age’s expression darkened as he observed.
“Damn it!”
Kaiser swore abruptly. His form vanished in an instant.
Left bewildered, Ruche and Ador blinked.
“…Surely he wasn’t aiming that at me?”
“Possibly? Age, do you know why Kaiser was acting that way?”
Ruche nudged Age’s ribs. But Age’s face had already turned grave.
‘Could it be…’
An ominous premonition brushed the back of his neck.

* * *

“Hey!”
Kaiser, who had Teleported in, shouted—but stopped short, his eyes going wide.
A horrific scene lay before him.
“What—what is this?!”
“How did you get in here?”
Behind several panicking figures, a figure hung from the ceiling, bound hands limp.
When the blood-soaked head lifted, an utterly ruined, swollen face appeared.
“…You’ve come.”
It was Habier. Kaiser grasped the situation at once.
“Drive out the intruders at once—!”
Crumble.
Kaiser’s Dragon Language rang out. Every human present except Habier crumbled to dust and scattered.
In their place lay only bloodstained clothing, gathered in a heap.
Habier looked around with widened eyes.
“I wondered why the contract suddenly tried to break…”
“The contract saved me.”
Fifteen years ago, in the Mansion, the contract between Kaiser and Habier had been made. That one-sided contract was set to send Kaiser a signal if ever Habier attempted to break it.
In fifteen years, Habier had never once violated or attempted to dissolve it.
So when that signal came suddenly, Kaiser sensed danger and rushed via Teleport to where Habier was.
Kaiser swept his right hand through the air, and the chains binding Habier’s hands came free. As he fell, Kaiser caught him.
“Ugh…!”
Habier’s back was caked with blood, deep scars carved into his flesh. A thick, blood-stained Whip lay discarded nearby.
His condition was abysmal.
Be healed.
Kaiser used Dragon Language to mend Habier’s body.
Pure white light enveloped him, mending his wounds.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Habier was astonished to feel the pain vanish in an instant.

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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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