The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 156

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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 Ghost Bride of the Forsaken Prince
Side Story 6. The Empress Selection (2)

“Wow, wow…”
Juliet Mason, leaving her hometown for the first time and arriving at the Imperial Capital, couldn’t close her mouth at the sight of the dazzling Imperial Palace.
“…I heard it was supposed to be a mess from the Dark Mage Attack, though.”
Without thinking, she had applied to the Empress Selection on a whim, and somehow she’d passed the document review to arrive at this place.
The Mason Family was an old house, but because their ancestors had gambled away their fortune, the family had begun its decline.
With only the Mason name to show for it, she hadn’t expected to pass the document screening.
“I should’ve brought something nicer if I’d known this would happen…”
She’d brought the most expensive dress she had at home, but it looked shabby before the grand Imperial Palace.
Especially when the splendidly decorated carriages of other houses began to line up beside the unremarkable Mason carriage, the difference became even starker.
“My, doesn’t something smell rather awful?”
“If this continues, we’ll catch the stench ourselves.”
Several young noblewomen, whether by design or habit, pinched their noses at the sight of Juliet and mocked her.
Juliet’s face flushed as she gripped her skirts tightly.
“My friend is from a Count’s house, and she was rejected in the document screening.”
“Really? But how could a young lady from an unknown house…”
Shame welled up inside her, and she wanted to hurl curses at their faces, but drawing attention here would surely damage her chances in the examination.
‘Hold on. Those people won’t even pass the First Round anyway. So just endure this…’
Neigh—
The sound of a horse’s whinny echoed. The Mason carriage departed, and a new carriage pulled into its place.
The snow-white carriage was carved with a beautiful crimson rose.
“That emblem…!”
“Surely not?”
The atmosphere around them shifted. Being from the countryside, Juliet didn’t recognize which house the carriage emblem represented.
A servant sitting in the driver’s seat opened the carriage door.
As a young lady emerged carefully from within, Juliet’s breath caught in her throat.
“…She’s beautiful.”
Skin so pale and transparent it seemed it might glow, hair a shade of pink she’d never seen before, and eyes as clear as a bright sky.
She was a beautiful woman, as if crafted by a doll maker with meticulous care.
Never in her life had Juliet seen a woman so beautiful. She felt her heart pound fiercely and clutched at her chest.
“…How brazen.”
A voice thick with hostility pierced her ear.
Confused, Juliet looked around. Most of the young ladies were watching the beautiful newcomer with eyes full of antagonism and wariness.
She thought it might be because of her extraordinary beauty, but something about it felt different.
“How dare she show her face after breaking an engagement?”
“Duke Sebance must’ve pulled strings. How else could the Duke’s daughter pass the document screening?”
‘The Duke’s daughter…the His Majesty’s longtime fiancée?!’
No matter how remote her village was, she knew of the Duke’s daughter.
The current Emperor and the Duke’s daughter had been engaged since childhood, but recently their engagement had been annulled.
That was why the current Empress Selection had been opened.
Normally, no one would have aspired to the Empress’s throne, and all would have simply watched the Duke’s daughter become Empress.
“According to rumors, the young lady favored the Grand Prince instead of His Majesty, which is why her engagement was annulled.”
“How could anyone prefer him to His Majesty!”
“She seems to have no pride left. Look at how shamelessly she’s come here.”
“Is power really so appealing…”
The scattered vigilance and attention coalesced into a single focus with the arrival of one person.
Juliet, who moments before had been the target of ridicule, found herself breathless just watching the current situation.
‘Is the Duke’s daughter really that threatening? Or are they just trying to elevate themselves by tearing her down?’
The exact reason remained unclear, but one thing was certain.
The Duke’s daughter was such a formidable candidate for Empress that these otherwise divided young ladies united against her.

* * *

“How many did you say?”
“Thirty-two candidates, Your Majesty.”
“…That’s quite a few.”
Leopold was on his way to meet the candidates for the Empress Selection, accompanied by Harry and Dio.
“We spent all night narrowing it down. The First Round will cut half of them, so don’t worry.”
“Harry, you’re cruel. They all came here with hopes of becoming Empress.”
“Says the one to talk.”
Harry answered with a bewildered expression, and Leopold chuckled.
“I hear factions have already formed.”
“Those without confidence they’ll become Empress are lining up early with the ones they think will.”
“So they’ve attached themselves to the likely candidates—foreign princesses, noble daughters, marquis heirs, and the like. But apparently the Duke’s daughter has no followers.”
Dio and Harry watched Leopold as he walked ahead of them.
“In fact, she’s being rejected by everyone. What do you think, Leopold?”
“My opinion doesn’t matter, Dio.”
His words were kind, but his tone was firm. That alone suggested what he was thinking.
Soon they arrived at the hall where the Empress candidates had gathered.
When the doorkeeper announced the Emperor’s arrival, Leopold’s smile faded as he stepped forward.
As he took his throne, thirty-two Empress candidates appeared below the dais.
Among them, naturally, was Lirlis.
Seeing her, whom he couldn’t bear to look at yet whose presence was impossible to ignore, Leopold slowly closed and opened his eyes.
“Thirty-two candidates for the Empress Selection, welcome to the Imperial Palace. I am Harry Graham, responsible for overseeing this selection.”
Harry stepped forward and began his address.
“This selection will continue until an Empress is chosen. Anyone who fails to meet expectations, gives a wrong answer, or brings disgrace will be disqualified and must leave the Imperial Palace immediately.”
The cautionary guidelines for the Empress Selection continued.
“Finally, His Majesty has words for you.”
Harry stepped back, and Leopold rose from his seat to look down at those gathered below.
“Thank you for traveling so far to be here. This selection is not merely a test to choose an Empress. Only those who can pass this trial will be deemed worthy of that position. From this moment on, all of your actions will become the foundation and measure of what it means to be a worthy Empress.”
As Leopold spoke each word, some of the candidates glowed with excitement and ambition for the throne, while others quietly concealed their true intentions without showing emotion.
As he examined them one by one, Leopold’s eyes met Lirlis’s.
“I hope that among you will emerge a wise Empress to guide this Empire with me.”
Applause erupted. Throughout it, Leopold did not look away from Lirlis’s gaze.
And Lirlis returned his stare just the same.
For a moment so brief it felt like an illusion, the two existed alone in that vast hall. But Leopold returned to reality just as quickly.
After Leopold departed, the Empress candidates, who had been maintaining composure, began to grow restless.
“I never thought I’d see His Majesty from so close.”
“He’s kinder than the rumors suggested.”
“How can he be so commanding…”
Some were captivated by Leopold’s appearance; others were moved by his words; still others felt their resolve strengthen.
All of them had interpreted his words as they wished to hear them, but Lirlis alone felt his words had been a warning aimed at her.
‘As if to say I’m not fit to lead this Empire…’
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong.”
Raised to be Empress, she had committed foolish acts that served the state not at all, consumed by her own feelings.
She had even considered treason to seize her love and power.
Not knowing that the object of her yearning was not Lucian, but Leopold.
‘Perhaps it’s for the best.’
Only after being placed on equal footing with others did Lirlis understand how excessive what had been given to her truly was.
Had she not been released from her engagement and become Empress as planned, the Empire would have gained the worst possible Empress.
One who doesn’t understand their own failings and turns away cannot lead anyone.
“Now, we shall begin the First Round examination.”
And so the reception, which all had thought concluded, entered a new phase.
With no time to prepare, the examination began abruptly, and the Empress candidates could not hide their bewilderment.
“I believe you are all aware of the unfortunate incident that occurred in the Empire, particularly at the Imperial Palace, last autumn.”
The Dark Mage Attack.
As a result, the Imperial Family suffered greatly, and the Temple Organization was revealed to be a den of Black Mages, bringing condemnation upon many believers.
Yet amid such chaos and adversity, heroes are born.
“This examination’s subject is your own perspective on the state of affairs following the Dark Mage Attack.”
More than half a year has passed since the attack. In all that time, many views on the newly emerged hero have circulated.
“You will answer tomorrow at one o’clock in the afternoon, responding to the examiners’ questions in turn. There is no single correct answer. Simply share your own honest perspective.”
With that bomb of a First Round examination dropped, Harry disappeared, and the hall erupted into immediate discussion about tomorrow’s test.
“What questions do you think they’ll ask?”
“After the Dark Mage Attack, many political figures were purged and replaced. Perhaps they want to hear about that?”
“Or perhaps it will be about the rumored Grand Prince. There have been movements to eliminate the negative customs surrounding Twins to benefit the Grand Prince.”
“While it’s true the Grand Prince played a major role in stopping the Dark Mage Attack…he is after all the Emperor’s twin brother. Could they be testing whether anyone harbors treasonous thoughts of using the Grand Prince as a means to power?”
Various theories were discussed.
The candidates discussed several possibilities, and among them, the Grand Prince Lucian’s name came up quite often.
Reactions to the Grand Prince were largely negative. Though outdated prejudices against Twins certainly contributed, these women had simply not yet accepted Lucian as one of the Imperial Family.
Rumors told of a Red Dragon appearing at Lucian’s Peerage Ceremony and taking him away, but only high-ranking nobility had been present at that ceremony.
No young lady could have been there to witness it.
Half a year was simply not enough time to completely change their perception.
Juliet, who had come from the countryside, could not grasp how to approach the examination’s subject.
Being from the provinces, she had less information than the other young ladies, and no one to share opinions with.
“I never thought it would be this difficult from the start.”
They said there was no single correct answer, but surely giving a wrong one would send her straight back home.
‘I don’t want that…!’
Even if she had come this far by luck, she didn’t want to return empty-handed.
Wondering if there was some clever way forward, Juliet looked around.
But the candidates had already formed their own factions.
When she approached carefully, they would subtly turn away; when she tried to speak, they pretended not to hear.
As helplessness and humiliation made her shoulders tremble, her eyes caught sight of those lovely pink locks.
She gathered her courage and took a step forward.

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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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