The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 21

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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 Ghost Bride — Episode 21

“Thank you for your patience!”
A clerk appeared with the Clothing Shop Owner right on cue. He wore a smile, but his eyes—sharp as a hawk’s—examined both of them from head to toe.
“For this warm, humid season, we’ve made this shirt from a fabric that doesn’t cling to the skin and keeps you wonderfully cool. Pair it with knee-length shorts, and it’s absolutely perfect!”

“How about this modest piece? The design is simple, but the stitching from the sleeves to the neckline is meticulous—sturdier than the rest, with exquisite details throughout.”
“Your young master would look splendid in this outfit too! With the suspenders, he looks quite sharp!”
The Clothing Shop Owner launched into his sales pitch with practiced ease.
Lucian’s head spun after trying on clothes repeatedly, while Kaizar examined each piece with meticulous care.
Once he’d finished selecting, he pointed to everything that suited Lucian, excluding what didn’t.
“Charge it all.”
Lucian gasped when he saw the mountain of clothes piled up.
“That’s too much!”
“Tsk, stay quiet. We’re taking everything. Dump that ragged thing with the drooping sleeves. Why aren’t you calculating? Get to it.”
Kaizar tossed a Velvet Pouch onto the table, and it landed with the unmistakable weight of gold coins. The Clothing Shop Owner and his clerk swallowed hard at the gleaming pouch.
“Just a moment, please!”
The two hurried to finish fitting the clothes Lucian was already wearing, then began wrapping up the rest.
“Haa……”
“Don’t ask me for repayment, and don’t waste your breath. I’m paying anyway, so Lia won’t mind either.”
[What? You bought them? How surprising! Ohohoho!]
She’d probably be delighted instead.
Kaizar shook his head at the thought of Lia.
“Oh, thank you for waiting!”
“That comes to 24 Gold total. I’ll return the rest to you.”
“With all this luggage, should I call a car…aaaa……?”
The clerk trailed off mid-sentence. In a blink, Kaizar had swept everything into his Subspace.
Gulp.
The clerk hiccupped.
“All right, let’s go. We need shoes next. Is there a decent Shoe Shop nearby?”
“Sh-shoes? The shop right next door is a Shoe Shop. They make comfortable, beautiful shoes there.”
As Kaizar turned to leave with sufficient directions, the Clothing Shop Owner stopped him.
“Wait, please! Take this.”
She handed him a boy’s hat.
“We didn’t order this?”
“It’s a gift. Please do visit us again next time. Then I’ll repay you with even finer clothing. So please, come back and see us.”
Kaizar seemed quite taken with the hat, so he removed the old cap Lucian was wearing and placed the new one on his head instead.
“I’ll remember this.”
Ding—
“Thank you! Please come again!”
Two faces gleaming brightly vanished beyond the door. Lucian followed immediately behind Kaizar as he headed toward the Shoe Shop.
“But I won’t be able to go back there next time, right?”
“Why? Because you’re broke?”
“Mmm……”
“Then buy only when I’m here. I’ll get things for you next time too.”
“Really? But you already spent so much just now.”
“If you knew how much gold was in my Subspace, you’d pass out.”
Lucian, still unaware that dragons were obsessed with gold and treasures, tilted his head in confusion.
Thus began the second shopping war at the Shoe Shop.
Following a similar pattern to the Clothing Shop, they ordered five pairs in different styles. The only drawback was that these were custom orders, not ready-made, so he couldn’t take them home today.
“Next time you’ll have to come get them yourself.”
“I can do it! I memorized the whole way!”
“Is that so? Then we’ll verify you learned it properly on the way back.”
The last item on the list was a Training Wooden Sword. After asking around, they entered the most popular Weapon Shop.
Inside, brawny men examined various weapons.
They glanced at the two newcomers entering the shop.
‘A pretty boy and a kid.’
‘Someone that scrawny—can he even act like a proper man?’
Appearances suggested as much, so why did the back of their necks suddenly prickle?
The men instinctively drifted away from Kaizar.
The Weapon Shop Owner burst out laughing when the men who’d been loudly dominating the space fell silent all at once.
“Well, well, a big shot’s walked in! How does someone even cultivate such killing intent?”
The Weapon Shop Owner asked good-naturedly, but Kaizar wore a sullen expression. To others, it merely looked stern.
The Weapon Shop Owner laughed awkwardly.
“Ha-ha…… So what brings you, friend?”
“Do you have a Training Wooden Sword suitable for this child?”
“Ah, so it’s for the boy, not yourself! Let’s see……”
The Weapon Shop Owner stepped forward with his broad frame and crouched to meet Lucian at eye level, feeling his measurements here and there by sight.
“How old are you?”
“I’m, I’m eight.”
“Same age as Dio, then. Small for his age, though. Is he naturally frail?”
Under Lia’s care, he’d grown taller and filled out nicely, yet he remained small for his age.
“Still, he seems to exercise regularly. Good muscle definition forming. As for preferred sword style—! Won’t have one yet. I’ll get something standard. Dio!”
“Yeah!”
At the Weapon Shop Owner’s call, a buzzcut boy named Dio appeared. For a moment, Lucian and Dio’s eyes met.
“Grab a proper sword for this little one.”
“Dad should do it.”
“Tsk! Go get it.”
“Fine, fine—you always make me do the odd jobs.”
Dio grumbled, then went off and returned with about five Training Wooden Swords.
All similar in shape, but each with subtly different details and varying wood colors.
“Here.”
Lucian took the sword Dio offered, somewhat awkwardly.
He’d seen Kaizar Polymorph into a child form before, but this was his first time seeing a human peer his own age.
Perhaps that’s why he kept stealing glances at Dio. The expressionless Dio felt his gaze and tilted his head.
“What? Is there something on my face?”
“Oh, no. Nothing at all.”
Lucian quickly looked away.
Kaizar, watching from the side, narrowed his eyes.
“Lucian, hurry and choose. The sun’s going to set soon.”
“All right.”
Lucian picked up each sword Dio had brought.
They were certainly easier to handle than the ones at the Mansion. He could hold them overhead and swing them in circles with one hand.
“Wow! These are so light!”
“They are.”
The Weapon Shop Owner and Dio observed the pair with barely concealed surprise.
“Huh, stronger than he looks. Right, Dio?”
“……I guess.”
In fact, all the Training Wooden Swords Lucian was testing had steel cores embedded inside—most children couldn’t swing them so easily.
Dio could handle them readily enough from helping in the shop and training alongside his father, but to swing one steadily was another matter entirely.
Seeing a boy smaller than himself wield the blades with such ease sparked Dio’s curiosity.
“Which one do you like best?”
“Hmm…… I’m not sure. They all seem pretty much the same.”
Every sword felt light and fit snugly in his palm—he couldn’t decide at all.
When Lucian couldn’t make a choice, Kaizar stepped in.
He picked up each sword lightly, swung them, and selected the fourth one.
“This one. It’s lighter and tougher than the rest.”
“Oho! You’ve got a good eye, friend. That’s made from Tiori Mountain oak—lighter and far more durable than the others. Only thing is, it costs a bit more.”
“Doesn’t matter. This one.”
“Anything else? Since the boy’s just learning Swordsmanship, he’ll need protective gear.”
Kaizar glanced at Lucian, then selected expensive Leather Gloves.
“This too.”
“Generous, aren’t you! That’ll be 2 Gold total.”
Lucian counted out the 2 Gold. Since Kaizar had bought all the clothes and shoes, he still had 1 Gold left after paying for the sword.
“Since I have money left, can I buy something tasty?”
“Do as you like.”
Lucian’s face lit up. He remembered the street food he’d seen at the Market earlier.
Dio soon appeared, carrying the packaged Training Wooden Sword and Leather Gloves, looking Lucian up and down before handing them over.
“……If you need anything else, come back.”
“Right. This is for kids under ten, so as you grow, you’ll need to change swords. When it gets too loose or too small, come back again.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lucian answered briskly, then hesitated, glancing at Dio.
“……I’ll come again later.”
Dio wrinkled his nose and turned away sharply. Though the blunt gesture made Lucian’s shoulders droop, the Weapon Shop Owner laughed heartily.
“That kid. He’s taken a liking to you.”
“He doesn’t… dislike me?”
“Dislike you? If he really disliked you, he wouldn’t have told you to come back. He’s just embarrassed. There aren’t many kids learning Swordsmanship around here, so visit often. It’d be even better if you became friends with my boy.”
The Weapon Shop Owner offered some maintenance oil for the sword as a gift.
This time, they didn’t store it in the Subspace—Kaizar had Lucian carry it himself on his shoulder. The boy had hugged it so tightly that it seemed best to leave it with him.
His soft, glowing expression showed how much he loved it. Whether it was the sword itself or the new friend that made him happy, Kaizar couldn’t quite say.
There were many peculiar things about Lucian.
Kaizar didn’t know much about humans, but he could tell that Lucian wasn’t accustomed to human society.
Eight years old and never set foot in a town before? It hardly made sense.
Moreover, when Kaizar himself had taken a child form and met Dio, Lucian had clearly wanted to befriend him—the longing was plain as day.
The fact that he hadn’t seen Lucian during a visit 4 or 5 years ago meant the boy had arrived at the Mansion recently.
‘Something stops me from asking where he came from.’
By temperament, Kaizar would’ve pressed the question long ago. Yet with Lucian, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The boy was like morning dew—touch him once, and he might vanish.
“What’ll you eat, big brother?”
“I’m not hungry, so eat as much as you like.”
“If there’s anything you want, say so. I’ll buy it all for you!”
With just 1 Gold, what was the boy bragging about?
Kaizar chuckled softly and followed along behind Lucian.

* * *

Lia sat on the steps at the front gate of the Mansion, waiting for Lucian and Kaizar to return.
Four hours had already passed since they left.
She knew well that nothing would go wrong with Kaizar there, but this was the first time she’d been apart from Lucian for so long and at such a distance—worry was inevitable.
“What’s taking them so long?”
She began to regret assigning so many errands at once.
Liiiaaaa!
At the familiar voice, Lia jumped to her feet. She hurried forward to the fence.
Far below the steps, Lucian came running with his hands full of something, grinning widely. Kaizar walked beside him, several skewered foods in hand.
Wait—skewered food?
“Lia! Look at this! I bought everything with the leftover money!”
Lucian showed off what he was holding.
It was all food. Lia blinked, then turned to Kaizar, who chewed on a skewer and spoke flatly.
“1 Gold was left, and he spent every last bit of it.”
[……How did he spend a whole Gold on food?]
1 Gold wasn’t a small amount either. And he’d bought quite shrewdly—skewered food, bread, candy, jelly, juice, and even fried snacks.
There was no way he could eat it all in a day.
“I did well, right? I didn’t waste a single coin!”
He looked as if begging for praise. If he’d had a tail, it would surely be wagging.
[You didn’t have to spend it all, you know. It’s actually better if you save some.]
Lucian froze. It seemed he’d misunderstood—thinking that spending all the remaining money was what was expected.
Lia saw his expression darken and quickly stammered.
[Oh, no, I mean, you did great! The candy and jelly can keep for days if stored properly.]
“Right!”
Lucian’s spirits lifted again. He said he’d put things away and headed into the Mansion. As Lia watched his smiling back disappear, her expression immediately sobered as she turned to Kaizar.
[So what were you doing? Why didn’t you stop him?]
“If you’d seen the look on his face, you’d understand. He was so excited, running around everywhere. Even when I told him to stop, he said he wanted to try everything.”
[…….]
For a moment, words failed her. Right—this would’ve been Lucian’s first outing. Everything must have been new and wondrous.
And her cooking, while decent, had its limits. There were foods that could only be enjoyed outside.
She was already wondering if she should give him spending money each time they went out from now on.

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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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