The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 151

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Forsaken Prince’s Ghost Bride
Side Story 1. Dragon’s Law (1)

“Whew, it’s freezing.”
Nearly an hour had passed since the Map sent the entire Empire into upheaval as it skimmed across the sky.
The chill of autumn deepened, and prolonged exposure to the air above the clouds had begun to make them shiver.
Lia hastily used Magic to maintain her and Lucian’s body heat, but flying through the sky any longer was beyond them.
“I’d say humans below have gotten a good enough look at us by now. Should we head down?”
“Yeah, I think that’s best.”
“All right then, let’s head back to the Mansion——”
Just as they turned to head toward their home, Kaiser sensed something and his eyes snapped sharply open.
“Lia! Lucian! Hold on tight!”
The sudden shift in atmosphere made both of them crouch low instinctively, gripping Kaiser’s scales.
Then something as massive as Kaiser itself emerged from the dark clouds nearby.
Kraaaaaaah!
A thunderous roar shook the heavens—it seemed poised to swallow Kaiser whole.
“It can’t be……”
“……A Dragon?”
Lia and Lucian exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes wide with alarm.
Just as they feared, what had descended upon Kaiser was another Red Dragon.
Grrrrr—!
Kraaaaaaah!
Kaiser and the mysterious Red Dragon locked eyes, each staring as if ready to devour the other.
“K-Kaiser…… Is this Dragon someone you don’t know?”
“Should we call Age for help?”
Lia asked Kaiser about it, but he had no leisure to answer them casually—not with things as they stood.
After a breathless stalemate stretching on for some time, Kaiser made his move.
“Kaiser! If there’s anything we can do to help——wait, what?”
Lia had begun speaking with grim determination, thinking combat might erupt, but the sudden change in perspective left her dumbfounded.
“……Run.”
Lucian, standing beside her, muttered the words helplessly.
Kaiser was currently fleeing from the Red Dragon he’d just faced.
Only then could Lia see Kaiser’s panicked expression, beaded with cold sweat.
“Who on earth is he?”
“My grandfather!”
“Your grand……what?”
“My grandfather came to catch me! If I’m caught, we’re all done for—every last one of us!”
If Kaiser’s grandfather was the father of Karcerin from his past life……
“Eek! That means he’s a Dragon at least a thousand years old!”
“My grandfather is the clan elder of our bloodline! Even the Clan Leader can’t do as they please with him! I’m finished……!”
Two frail humans atop Kaiser’s back were seized by panic.
Then, a deep shadow descended over them. Yet there could be no shadow in the sky where they flew. Which meant only one thing.
“You wretched little worm! How dare you violate Dragon’s Law?!”
Ador—Kaiser’s grandfather, fury burning from head to foot—unleashed fire upon Kaiser.
Whether he knew of Lia and Lucian on Kaiser’s back or not, it was clear that even touching those flames would be far worse than mere burns for anyone, let alone Kaiser.
Kaiser quickly changed course, barely evading Ador’s attack, and deliberately threw Lia and Lucian from his back.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Two humans suddenly defenseless thousands of meters above the ground shrieked in terror.
It was only then that Ador noticed their presence, and his advance faltered. Kaiser swiftly caught both of them in his grasp.
“You all right?”
“Gasp, gasp…… Would you be all right?! You lizard!”
“I-I thought my life had just shortened by ten years……”
“……That snout of yours seems perfectly intact.”
Trapped in Kaiser’s palm, Lia unleashed a torrent of curses, but Kaiser let her words go in one ear and out the other.
“You! If you try that stunt one more time without warning, I’ll roast you alive!”
“Ugh, really. Ever since you got your memory back, your temperament’s gotten even worse, hasn’t it? Lucian, think hard about this marriage. Can you really put up with that personality for life?”
“That’s not——!”
“Wait, wait! Kaiser! Above! Look above……!”
While Lia and Kaiser bickered, Ador closed in.
He descended beneath Kaiser, his vast eyes scrutinizing Lia and Lucian in his grip from every angle.
“Humans…… So it’s because of these creatures that you violated Dragon’s Law. This is no longer merely a matter for our bloodline alone. Kaiser, as the clan elder of the Red Dragons, I sentence you to punishment.”
Kuuuuuuung—
A terror unlike anything from the chase moments before began to manifest.
Dark clouds swiftly gathered across the once-clear sky, drowning it in darkness, and the atmosphere shifted a complete 180 degrees.
“Damn…… I’m screwed.”
Kaiser’s quiet sigh spoke volumes of impending doom.
Soon, a vast portal began forming amid the dark clouds behind Ador—one large enough to swallow two Dragons whole.
The portal consumed every living thing present without exception.

* * *

“Ugh……”
Lia’s head throbbed as she barely managed to open her eyes.
Clink—
“Huh?”
A cold sensation and a dull metallic sound made her pause, but she quickly realized she was bound with Shackles, Chains, and other restraints.
Rather than frightened, she felt exasperated—as though she’d been turned into a criminal.
“Where on earth is this place?”
Lia rose unsteadily and looked around.
The space she occupied was a vast Cave with an earthy, reddish hue—so immense it could house several Dragons with room to spare.
Her mouth hung open in astonishment at the absurdly colossal space, until she spotted Lucian in the distance.
“Lucian!”
Lucian appeared still unconscious. Lia tried to approach him but the Shackles and Chains kept her at a fixed distance.
“Damn it, this is irritating.”
Lia clicked her tongue and used Magic. At first it didn’t work, but with sufficiently advanced Magic, the restraints came free easily.
Someone might notice the Shackles had been removed, but for now checking on Lucian took priority.
“Thank goodness.”
Lucian was merely sleeping. Seeing him bound with various restraints like herself, Lia removed them one by one.
As she finally took off the Candelabra around his neck, Lucian frowned and awakened.
“……Lia?”
“Lucian, are you conscious?”
“Yeah. Are you hurt anywhere, Lia? Where exactly are we……?”
“It seems we’ve been captured.”
“If we’ve been captured…… Was it Kaiser’s grandfather who got us?”
“That would be my guess. I thought I was going to be eaten right there.”
Lia and Lucian shuddered at the memory of Ador’s fury.
“Where’s Kaiser?”
“He wasn’t here when I woke up. It seems he’s somewhere else.”
“With all that talk of Dragon’s Law and punishment, this seems serious. From what I saw, it’s because Kaiser revealed himself to humans. I heard once that Dragons hide their true forms—maybe Kaiser’s surprise was something he planned?”
“No, it was actually my idea…… but Kaiser agreed to it readily. That’s why I thought everything would be fine……”
The two brooded, realizing the situation had escalated because of them.
“……Staying here won’t solve anything. We should move.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
They clasped hands and decided to leave this space first.
The area wasn’t locked or sealed with doors, so they simply walked out, following a passage through the endless, towering Cave that made their jaws drop.
“I think we’ve arrived at the Dragon Lair.”
“Have you been here before?”
“No. But Karcerin mentioned her Lair a few times. Dragons move freely in their Lairs without Polymorph, she said. The size of this cave and that colossal Candelabra—it’s all clearly custom-made for Dragons.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“If we keep wandering like this, dawn will break. Lucian, hold me tight.”
Lia wrapped her arm around Lucian’s waist, and he placed his hand on her shoulder.
She then cast Flight Magic to move more swiftly.
After traveling for some time, they sensed a presence.
Two massive shadows stretched across the corridor, and soon they heard voices raised in argument.
Lucian and Lia held their breath and crept forward carefully.
“How dare you violate Dragon’s Law! Don’t you understand that your reckless actions have now exposed countless Dragons to humans?”
“How much longer must our Dragons hide their true nature from humans? We cannot live this way forever! Times will change.”
Their whole bodies trembled; their heads rang. Conversations in Dragon Language carried immense power.
“One of them is Kaiser, and the other is……”
“Kaiser’s grandfather, I think.”
The two peeked their heads out, watching the two Dragons bicker while radiating killing intent.
But there were not just two Dragons in that place—there were two humans as well.
“Father, it’s already done. And you shouldn’t just scold Kaiser—call Age as well.”
“What have you two been doing with Age lately? And now you’ve caused trouble.”
“That’s not it! Age had nothing to do with this!”
“We’ll see when we hear his side. And who were those humans Kaiser was carrying today?”
“One of their faces seemed familiar. The other—I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere.”
“Regardless of where you’ve seen them, how dare a Dragon associate so familiarly with humans! And you’d still be the next Clan Leader?!”
“Touch even a hair on Lia’s or Lucian’s heads, and family or not, I won’t let you off.”
“You, you……! Worst of unfilial sons! Just how did you raise such children!”
Kaiser glared, bristling with anger, and Ador clutched his head, ranting and raving.
Caught in the middle, Ruche and her husband Daeihan—Kaiser’s father—sighed heavily.
“Sigh, Father. Why is the backlash coming down on us?”
“Father, please calm yourself first. We’ve sent for Age, so let’s hear what he has to say.”
“Silence! What is there to hear?! The fact remains that this worm has endangered our Dragons! Look at the way that old codger’s eye is twitching! We should dismantle those humans right now——!”
“I said, don’t touch them.”
Kaiser’s eyes flared, White Flame erupting from his entire body.
At that, not only Ador but Ruche and Daeihan as well startled and turned to look at him.
“Son, when did you gain the ability to use White Flame?”
“My goodness, look at how pure that is. It’s just like what your brother could do.”
Ruche and Daeihan quickly overcame their shock, rejoicing that their son was a genius, while Ador—seeing Karcerin’s shadow in Kaiser—felt his eyes waver.
Yet regardless of what others said, Kaiser remained locked in a vigilant stare at Ador.
Meanwhile, Lia and Lucian, witnessing this fearsome Dragon confrontation, trembled.
“Ugh…… He should just grovel and apologize. What is he even doing?”
“He’s protecting us. Kaiser’s pretty cool.”
“……Yeah, I guess he really is cool.”
Lia agreed belatedly with Lucian, watching Kaiser with worried eyes.
‘If this keeps up, the rift between them will only deepen.’
Was there any way to clear up their misunderstanding?
A deep shadow crept across the ground behind the brooding pair.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————