The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 18

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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 18

Gasp—!
He drew in a sharp breath and blinked. The ceiling was familiar.
“Ah, a dream…….”
Realizing it had been just a dream, Lucian wiped his dry face. And then a strange face he hadn’t seen before suddenly popped into view.
“Huh? You really woke up?”
“……?”
Lucian was so startled he couldn’t even respond. Had five seconds even passed.
Ahhhhhhh!
Lucian’s scream rang out through the Mansion.
Kaizar jerked back like a startled cat, puffing himself up, while Ria, who had been preparing tonic broth in the Kitchen downstairs, burst through the floor in alarm.
[What’s wrong?! What happened!]
“R-Ria! Who is that person?”
The moment Lucian saw Ria, he scrambled into her embrace.
[Ah, you got scared of Kaizar, didn’t you?]
“K-Kai… zar……?”
Now that he looked, this Kaizar’s face seemed familiar somehow.
Meanwhile, Kaizar only stared in bewilderment as Lucian lay oddly suspended in the air, appearing to murmur to himself as if in conversation with someone.
Then a Slate began drifting in the air, and something started writing on it.
“Ria, what are you doing?”
[Kaizar can’t see me, so I have to talk this way.]
—Did you wake him?
Despite the gentle tone of her words, what appeared on the Slate was rather unkind. Of course, Kaizar couldn’t have known the difference.
“No, it’s just that he hadn’t woken up even though he was better, so…… besides, who is he? Could it be…… that you’re visible?”
When Ria shook the Slate up and down, Kaizar’s eyes went wide.
“Crazy! A Ghost can be seen? I want to see too!”
Kaizar flashed an eager gaze and leaned in closer, making it uncomfortable.
Lucian flinched, and Ria pulled him close, keeping her guard against Kaizar.
Even as she pushed the Slate forward to keep him away, Kaizar ignored it and shoved his face right into Lucian’s.
“Hey! Kid!”
Thwack—!
The moment Kaizar opened his mouth, Ria brought the Slate down on his head. Unable to dodge, Kaizar clutched his skull.
“Ow! Why’d you hit me! You said you liked me too!”
—You made Lucian uncomfortable first. And what’s with calling him “kid”! He has a proper name: Lucian!
“So what…… what does it matter what I call him!”
Lucian looked back and forth between what Ria wrote on the Slate and Kaizar. The conversation wasn’t very smooth since Ria had to write to respond.
Lucian poked at Ria’s arm.
“Should I relay what she’s saying for you?”
[No, never mind. That’s enough for him.]
“But isn’t it inconvenient for you?”
Well, that’s not wrong, but…….
If I relay exactly what she says, that would be inconvenient in its own way.
Just as Ria was deliberating, Kaizar, who had noticed Lucian not only looking at Ria but actually conversing with her, let out a sharp exhale.
“Aha! So you can see! Kid…… oh wait, I mean Lucian! How exactly do you see this Ghost?”
“……It’s Lucian, not Lucion.”
“Eh? Ah, sorry, sorry. So Lucian, you can see this Ghost, right?”
“……Yes, but…… don’t you find it scary that Ria is a Ghost?”
“Ria? Is that really the Ghost’s name?”
“Yes, it is.”
Again, something seemed to displease Kaizar, and his expression grew sullen.
“When I asked you to tell me your name, you said you didn’t have one. So who are you discriminating against now? Favoring your groom more? I’ve lived 250 years longer than him!”
[There goes that lizard brat again.]
“2, 250 years……?”
While Ria clicked her tongue, Lucian felt dizzy from the staggering number.
As Lucian gawked and pointed at Kaizar, Ria explained.
[He’s a 295-year-old Hatchling. So he’s a Red Dragon.]
“A d-dragon? Dragons actually exist?”
So he likes fairy tales but doesn’t believe dragons are real?
“What, what. What did the Ghost just say?”
“That you—I mean, you’re a Red Dragon, he said.”
“Ahem! If I may speak for myself, I am the magnificent Kaizar, of the great Red Dragon clan! Lowly human! Why do you not kowtow at once!”
[Just ignore him. He’s still a child since he hasn’t become an Adult Dragon yet, so he’s not fully grown.]
“So he’s still young?”
[A child, yeah. A real brat. Ugh, the language.]
Ria slapped her own mouth, while the bewildered Kaizar threw a tantrum about them having a conversation he couldn’t follow.
[By the way, it was Kaizar who saved you yesterday and healed you. You don’t hurt anywhere now, do you?]
Only then did Lucian realize his body felt light. His knees, which had been scraped and bleeding before, were unmarked and whole. His feet, which had been ruined by thorns and stones, were now smooth.
Moreover, his voice, which seemed hoarse from calling for Ria yesterday, came out clear and bright as a songbird.
When Lucian looked at Kaizar, the boy gazed down at him with his arms crossed, his eyes brusque.
Lucian stepped back from Ria’s embrace and bowed at the waist.
“Thank you for saving me, Kaizar.”
Flinch.
Kaizar’s body trembled. For some reason, he couldn’t settle himself and didn’t respond easily.
To Ria’s eye, it looked as if he were embarrassed.
“G-good that you know to be grateful……!”
So he was weak to praise, after all. Ria had a feeling that if he’d been in dragon form, his tail would have been lashing about in all directions.
“And Ria is a name I gave her. She didn’t have one, so I named her ‘Ria.'”
“That so? Then it’s true she didn’t have a name. Oh man, what a waste! Why didn’t I think to give her a name? If I had, I could’ve come up with something way cooler!”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Elizabethrudiondelian……!”
[Rejected. Too long and clunky.]
“It’s too long and clunky, she says.”
Kaizar froze in shock.
“You’re too much! How dare you reject a name I came up with! This Ghost……! Or is it Ria now?”
[Sigh, when is that lizard brat ever going to grow up. His mother must be exhausted.]
Ria shook her head and gently covered Lucian’s mouth as he was about to relay her words.
[No need to translate everything. If you tell him all my words, this Mansion might blow away.]
“Then when should I tell him?”
[Well…… use your judgment. But leave out the parts when I curse.]
Looking at his innocent face, Ria felt she could no longer curse at Kaizar the way she had been.
[I was in the middle of cooking breakfast anyway. Come to the Kitchen with me. You didn’t eat last night either, so you must be hungry, right?]
“Yes, I’m starving.”
[I’ll make you something delicious right away.]
Ria left first, followed by Lucian, with Kaizar bringing up the rear and calling after them both.
“It’s really amazing, you know. You really can see Ria, can’t you? Did you see the Ghost from the very beginning?”
“No. Ria was the first Ghost I ever saw.”
“Huh? That doesn’t make sense. If you can see Ria, shouldn’t you be able to see other Ghosts too?”
“But I can’t. And from what Ria told me, I think I wasn’t seeing her from the beginning either.”
“Then how did you start seeing her? Did you use some kind of magic?”
“No, it’s not that. I just…… when I thought about wanting to see Ria, suddenly I could?”
At his words, both Kaizar and Ria stopped and stared at him.
Ria herself hadn’t known how Lucian had come to see her.
She’d simply thought their spirits had resonated somehow, but could it have been something else?
“Then why can’t I? I want to see Ria too!”
Kaizar started whining again. Unlike the exasperated Ria, Lucian was too kind and indulged his complaints.
Watching this, one might think the ages of the two should be switched.
[Gross. Of all things, why does he have to whine in that form. Lucian, tell him to change his appearance—it’s repulsive.]
“Um…… Kaizar, Ria says that since it’s repulsive, could you change your form?”
“What’s wrong with my current appearance? This is a Polymorph that embodies my gorgeous self perfectly!”
[Your actions and face need to match for it to be worth looking at.]
“Your actions and face need to match for it to be worth looking at, she says.”
“……Tch. Same thing my mom says.”
[What. So you’ve been hearing complaints all along.]
Grumbling, Kaizar snapped his fingers. His appearance shifted from a man in his twenties to a boy about Lucian’s age.
Lucian’s eyes went round as he looked at Kaizar, whose height was now level with his own.
“What are you staring at?”
Of course, only his appearance had changed; his nature remained the same.

* * *

“What’s this delicious smell, I wonder…….”
Kaizar looked around the Kitchen, where cooking was in full progress, with a blank expression.
“Kaizar, have you eaten?”
“Eh? Ah, well…….”
As Kaizar hesitated and faltered, Ria explained.
[Lucian, he doesn’t need to eat.]
“What? Why not?”
“What’s Ria saying now?”
“She says you don’t need to eat.”
“That’s not wrong, but…… it somehow feels bad.”
[Why should you feel bad? I’m just stating facts.]
“So you can do things like this, but you’ve never offered me a meal in all this time?”
Kaizar pouted, looking hurt. Certainly, in his boyish form like Lucian’s, he no longer seemed as out of place as before.
“Lucian, don’t you think that’s too much? I’ve been in this Mansion for over 250 years and haven’t been offered a single meal.”
[Lucian, don’t listen to him. He’s the type who says human food is worthless and doesn’t suit his taste anyway.]
Lucian seemed confused about whose words to follow. Meanwhile, Ria plated some food and handed it to him.
Since he’d been fasting for nearly half a day, she gave him warm broth and soft bread to soothe his belly.
Instead of saying thank you, Lucian simply stared at his plate.
“Kaizar, would you like some?”
Then he pushed his portion toward Kaizar. Kaizar was taken aback, and Ria was flabbergasted.
“You said you’ve never tried Ria’s cooking. But it’s the best! There’s not a single thing that tastes bad!”
“Hmm! If you say so that strongly…….”
[Can’t even manage a thank you, yet…… Lucian, you don’t have to look after him, I’m telling you.]
“But eating together is nice, isn’t it?”
[Ah, what a good-hearted brat.]
Ria shook her head in exasperation and brought out another portion for Lucian.
Kaizar was already eating the food Lucian had given him.
He tasted the food with an expressionless face, then silently continued moving the spoon.
Watching him eat quietly, Lucian smiled softly.
“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
“Well…… it’s edible, I guess.”
Kaizar’s cheeks flushed. Seeing him satisfied, Lucian beamed even brighter, delighted, and began eating too.
Lucian, as always, wore a radiant smile.
“It’s delicious today too, Ria!”
[Without your help, mind you. Does it suit your taste? Not too salty or bland?]
Suddenly, Kaizar’s hand trembled slightly.
“Yes, you seem to be getting the balance right even without me now. I wish Ria could eat with us too.”
[Never mind. I can’t even smell it. And besides, I wouldn’t know what delicious even tastes like.]
Lucian and Ria laughed together, facing each other. But then Lucian felt a piercing gaze.
When he turned his head, his eyes met Kaizar’s.
‘Huh? Our eyes met? There’s something familiar about this feeling, like déjà vu…….’
“W-wahhhhh!”
As Kaizar let out a shriek, Lucian choked on his broth, and Ria flinched back in alarm.
“Cough! Cough! Why, why are you doing that?”
[What’s he doing now.]
Kaizar tumbled from his chair and fell, staring up at Ria with a dazed expression. Something was definitely strange.
With a feeling that he might have experienced this before, Ria tilted her head and approached him.
[……Could it be…… you can see me?]
Kaizar nodded mutely. Lucian’s and Ria’s eyes went wide as they looked at each other.
“Wow! You really can see Ria? How?”
[I don’t…… how is this possible?]
What kind of miracle had just happened? Kaizar, who had never heard so much as her voice, let alone seen even a silhouette, could suddenly see her?
He hadn’t done anything special. It came too abruptly…….
Then something caught Ria’s eye. It was the food Kaizar had been eating.
Lucian had started seeing Ria after eating the food she’d prepared.
Of course, Lucian hadn’t been able to see her immediately upon eating her food, but if they had anything in common, it was that they’d both eaten something she’d made.
“Wow…… wow…… wow!”
Kaizar, who had been exclaiming only “wow,” suddenly leaped from his seat with a shout.
Kaizar strode quickly toward Ria and looked up at her.
“……So you’re Ria.”
For some reason, his green eyes shimmered. Transparent tears slid down his cheeks.

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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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