The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 30

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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 — Chapter 30

“Ugh, what a stale stench.”
Kaizar, sensitive to odors, pinched his nose and contorted his face in disgust.
If Lia was right, this place had been abandoned for a long time. There must be some ventilation gap connecting to the outside somewhere, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to rid the interior of all its moisture.
The mold reek was so overpowering it felt as though it would seep into his very skin.
Thump—
His heart lurched without warning. Was it just nerves making him tense? For some reason, being here didn’t sit well with him.
“Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Kaizar wiped away any trace of amusement and held the Lantern forward with a cool expression.
Scatter—
As he spoke in Dragon Language, the flame in the Lantern split and scattered in all directions. The dark Underground Chamber came into view at once.
Just as Lucian had said, three doors stood out clearly.
He examined the left door first. There was a Tunnel leading somewhere.
He took a few tentative steps and surveyed the Tunnel briefly.
The Tunnel appeared to have been carved quite long ago—at least a hundred years or more.
Moreover, not far from here lay iron rails that used a Mining Cart. Given that no cart was present, it seemed to be elsewhere.
“Could it connect to a Mine?”
He’d never heard of a Mine in the vicinity. Besides, the Tunnel was quite spacious.
Normally, when boring a Tunnel underground or through mineral veins, one wouldn’t make it this large unless it was a full-scale project.
It was suspicious in every way.
Even holding the Lantern and examining it, he couldn’t see the end.
Finally, Kaizar raised his hand. Fire materialized above his palm. He then hurled it deep into the Tunnel, and the flame traveled endlessly before striking something and extinguishing.
From the afterimage he glimpsed before the fire vanished, it seemed there was a passage to the side rather than a dead end.
The distance to where the fire disappeared was roughly one to two kilometers.
“Exploring this place entirely would be madness.”
He compromised by deciding to return later when he had time, then exited the Tunnel.
Now came the center door.
A door with neither handle nor keyhole. He pushed, but it wouldn’t budge.
In the center of the door lay only the diagram Lucian had mentioned.
“A Magic Circle.”
The circle was overgrown with moss and worn by time, so its form wasn’t particularly complete.
It seemed far more practical to check the room where an identical pattern supposedly existed than to verify this one.
Kaizar entered the final room and illuminated it with fire.
The pattern on the floor here was far cleaner than what was drawn on the center door—save for the problem that roughly two-thirds of the circle’s center was obscured by what appeared to be blood residue, making it difficult to see.
Kaizar flicked his fingers and examined the dark, brownish powder smeared on the pattern.
As Lia said, this was blood. If the powder had degraded this far, it meant it had been left untouched for a very long time.
Moreover, traces of coagulated blood were still visible. As this could be crucial evidence, he collected a small sample. Then he used magic to erase all the filth.
The Magic Circle then became clearly visible.
The moment Kaizar saw it, his eyes flew open.
Thump-thump—
His chest heaved violently and his vision swam.
“Cough—!”
A sharp pain seized his head, and strange memories he had no recollection of surfaced.

‘…what do I do…?’
‘Yes, only you can do this….’

Unknown memories rushed at him like a flood.
In that place, Kaizar was someone other than who he was now, and he had complied with a request from some human.
“Ahhhhh—!”
Another piercing pain raced through his head, and the scene shifted. This time his vision was drenched in red, and his hands felt bound—he couldn’t move them freely.
And it seemed something unfolding before his eyes had shocked him deeply.
His skull felt like it would shatter, his chest like it would tear apart.

‘How could you… how could you—!’

Over a Magic Circle that existed on a wholly different level from the one drawn on the floor, a woman stood with tears streaming down her face, her eyes bloodshot with rage, glaring at him.

‘…how could you betray me…!’

Her words became a massive dagger that pierced his chest. Kaizar reflexively denied it.
“No, no… I didn’t… it wasn’t like that—!”
Crash—!
Staggering, Kaizar collapsed to the ground. He clawed at the stone floor and crawled out of the room on his belly.
He scraped the floor so badly his fingertips began to bleed.
He thought leaving the room would solve everything, but the headache showed no sign of stopping.
Kaizar writhed silently until finally he opened his mouth.
Ahhhhhhh—!
Tears streamed down his face and his eyes snapped wide. In his inverted vision, he saw someone looking back at him, laughing with a metallic edge to their expression.
“Why! Why did you do this to me!!”
This was a cry of anguish not from Kaizar himself, but from the person in the memory. As if in answer, the man in the vision whispered softly.
‘Get your words straight. Your Magic Circle did that to —.’
No—this had all been triggered by falling into a thorough trap. It was never something he’d intended to do….
‘…Karserin, you can never defy me.’
At those words, identical marks appeared on both his left arm and the man’s.
Dragon’s Absolute Taboo. Soul Contract.
An absolute pact that cannot be broken unless one party dies, wherein both are forbidden from attacking each other.
The moment he saw it, his reason shattered.
Screeeeeech—!
Kaizar’s Polymorphic Form dissolved, and the Underground Chamber trembled as though rocked by an earthquake.
In his fading vision, Kaizar witnessed something unmistakably.
The man in the vision’s cold golden eyes.

* * *

“…will he be alright? Shouldn’t I go with him too?”
[He may seem childish, but he does what needs doing. Don’t worry—nothing will happen.]
Though I tried to soothe the anxious Lucian’s nerves, for some reason an ominous feeling kept gnawing at me as well.
I knew full well that Kaizar wasn’t a dragon anyone could easily harm, so what was this unease…?
Ahhhhhhh—!
Then a scream came from the Underground Chamber. Lia’s eyes flew open and she gripped the door handle, while Lucian looked up at her in fear.
“L-Lia… something’s happened to him.”
[….]
I couldn’t even muster a hollow reassurance. The scream just moments before was far too laden with sheer agony to dismiss as mere surprise.
“I-I’m going down to look—!”
[Wait… we don’t know for certain yet. Since we don’t know what’s happening, let’s observe the situation for just a moment more….]
Crrrrrack—
Before I could finish, the Underground Chamber—no, the entire Mansion—shook. Kaizar’s killing intent erupted from below. It was a force comparable to Dragon Fear itself.
“He’s in danger!”
I know. Something grave has happened to Kaizar now. There’s no way someone so good at self-control would unleash his power indiscriminately otherwise.
But what if Lucian gets seriously hurt going down there?
‘If only I could go down… then Lucian wouldn’t be in danger, and I could safely rescue Kaizar…!’
All manner of possibilities bloomed in my mind. Unable to know what awaited in the Underground Chamber, dire outcomes occupied half my thoughts.
“…Lia!”
Lucian thrashed, insisting we had to save him quickly.
Lia bit her lower lip hard and swiftly cast Barrier Magic on him.
[Don’t do anything reckless. I’ve erected a barrier just in case—it should block most attacks.]
“Yes, understood!”
[If there’s someone in the Underground Chamber attacking Kaizar, don’t engage them. Just come straight back up the stairs. Understood?]
“I’ll definitely bring him back safely!”
Just a minute ago he’d been trembling at the thought of the Underground Chamber being scary, yet now the sense of mission to save Kaizar had steeled Lucian’s gaze.
Lia nodded and prayed only that he would return with Kaizar unharmed.

* * *

After exchanging promises with Lia, Lucian descended the stairs without a shred of hesitation.
He didn’t notice that his fear of the Underground Chamber had vanished entirely. All his consciousness had focused solely on Kaizar.
“Brother—!”
Upon reaching the Underground Chamber, Lucian faltered for an instant. A firestorm raged within it.
No one else had attacked. Kaizar was convulsing.
He’d returned to his dragon form, though fortunately in a diminished, scaled-down size rather than his true shape.
But the seizure was violent—Kaizar thrashed his body mercilessly, clawing at the stone floor with his talons, and the tempest of flames intensified around him.
Whoooosh—!
“…it’s so hot!”
The firestorm made it impossible to approach Kaizar.
But if things continued this way, Kaizar would lose consciousness entirely.
Barely mustering courage, the moment Lucian stepped forward—
Whoosh—!
Flame scorched past his very face. Lucian instinctively raised his arm.
Yet strangely, he felt only heat; no pain reached him.
“Ah…! The barrier!”
A transparent barrier materialized before his eyes. The insurance Lia had provided was working perfectly.
Thinking he could now reach Kaizar, Lucian swallowed hard and charged into the firestorm.
The heat from all sides stifled his breath, yet as he entered the tempest’s eye, an eerie silence engulfed him.
In that stillness, Kaizar alone writhed in agony.
“Brother! Kaizar—!”
Lucian rushed toward Kaizar.
“Brother, are you okay? What’s wrong! What happened—!”
“Ahhhhh, nnngh—!”
His voice didn’t seem to reach Kaizar. Lucian lifted him and pulled him into his own embrace.
Kaizar’s eyes were rolled back.
Lucian’s heart sank, and he trembled as he looked around.
Right—Lia couldn’t come down here.
Then the only choice was to escape this place and reach where Lia was waiting.
Lucian clenched his teeth and hefted Kaizar into his arms.
But to the still-young Lucian, Kaizar was far too heavy—his back bent under the weight. Yet Lucian didn’t surrender.
“Nnngh…! Br-brother! Just hold on a little! We’re going to Lia—!”
Lucian hooked his arms under Kaizar’s armpits and dragged him forward. Still, Kaizar remained unconscious, thrashing about, which made him feel even heavier.
“Brother! Snap out of it! We can’t collapse here!”
Deciding it was better to rouse Kaizar first, Lucian tapped his face repeatedly.
The squeezed-shut eyelids trembled faintly, and his pupils began to show.
“Brother! Can you hear me? Brother!”
Lucian shook him once more and met his eyes.
Kaizar’s vision swam. The boundary between fantasy and reality had been indistinct mere moments before.
His own identity and some unknown other’s memories tangled together, his sense of self distorted, and his emotions began to merge with another’s.
An unpleasant yet absolutely unforgettable urgency further rattled his mind.
Yet paradoxically, that very sensation scraped harshly against Kaizar’s arrogant pride.
He was the most promising of all Red Dragons. And yet he’d been shaken by this mere phantom illusion?
“Damn it! Don’t mess with me!”
“Ah—!”
As Kaizar spread his wings wide, Dragon Fear unleashed itself.
Dragon Fear—the kind that only comes fully into play once one becomes an Adult Dragon and continues to refine it.
A terror incomparable to the killing intent of any common beast or monster.
Lucian’s teeth chattered as he wondered whether the creature before him was truly still Kaizar.
‘S-so scared…!’
If he didn’t flee this instant, that dragon would take his life. Yet he couldn’t move, and he couldn’t abandon the now-terrifying Kaizar either.
Then, exhaling sparks, Kaizar’s gaze turned toward Lucian.
The eyes of a predator with prey in sight. There was no mercy in them, no affection, no gentleness whatsoever.

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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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