The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 32

—————
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 Phantom Bride — Chapter 32

Lia rushed toward him reflexively.
[What happened to you? Were you fighting someone? Did another dragon show up?]
A mere human could never have inflicted wounds like these. He must have clashed with another dragon or something of equal power.
When Lia reached for his face, Kaizar noticeably pulled away.
And he fixed her with a cold gaze.
“That’s not your concern.”
[…….]
Strange. Had Kaizar ever rejected her before? And what was the meaning of that boundary he was so clearly drawing?
“You said you can’t use healing magic, right?”
[Huh? Um…….]
“I’ll teach you. Learn it. And starting tomorrow, I’m teaching him magic.”
Not by name — just “him.” Kaizar gestured at Lucian with his chin as he spoke.
“……Brother, what did I do wrong?”
Lucian must have felt it too, for his voice began to break. Kaizar’s fingertips trembled, but that cold light in his eyes did not fade.
Kaizar stared at Lucian’s bruised neck for a moment, then murmured softly.
Be healed.
Light rippled across Lucian’s entire body through the Dragon Word, and the bruises vanished without a trace, leaving him perfectly healed.
Lucian touched his neck—no longer throbbing—and looked up at Kaizar with confusion in his eyes.
“That settles the debt.”
Lucian’s heart sank. His words sounded as though he was saying they were now strangers.
“Do you hate me? I was wrong. Please don’t hate me…….”
Lucian finally broke down in tears. Lia stood helplessly between them, shifting her weight.
Kaizar’s brows twitched, and he ran a hand through his hair.
“I don’t hate you.”
“……You’re lying.”
“Hatred requires emotion. What are you to me, anyway? You’re nothing to me.”
[Kaizar!]
She rebuked him for speaking so harshly, but Kaizar only turned away with a scowl.
What was wrong with him? What had happened in the basement to make him change so suddenly?
Lia thought she should try to comfort Lucian instead, so she turned to him. But she froze.
Lucian’s eyes were hollow and empty.
Like Lia, who had lost the ability to speak, Kaizar also flinched at the sight. But he clenched his teeth and turned away from Lucian.
Lucian stared at Kaizar blankly for a moment, then climbed the stairs with his head bowed.
It was painfully obvious that his heart had been deeply wounded. She should have run after him to comfort him, yet she could not move.
Slam—
The sound of Lucian’s door closing reached them. At that same moment, Kaizar let out a groan and collapsed to the ground.
Lia looked down at him.
[……Why did you speak so cruelly to Lucian?]
“…….”
[Lucian was so worried about you. He kept telling me you shouldn’t hate him.]
“He…… really does recover quickly.”
[Stop being sarcastic and speak plainly! Are you trying to distance yourself from Lucian forever?!]
“……I nearly killed Lucian.”
Lia flinched at that. Kaizar was staring up at her with desperate eyes—he too bore a wound as deep as Lucian’s.
“No matter how much I wasn’t in my right mind then, that fact doesn’t disappear.”
[……Lucian said it seemed like you were possessed by something.]
“That’s not wrong…….”
Kaizar wiped his face and clenched his fists. He gritted his teeth, forcing down the emotions that threatened to surge.
“I’ll tell you what happened in the basement.”
Kaizar explained what had taken place below. He said that at some point, the thoughts of a Spectre had seized him, and he’d been on the verge of losing himself entirely.
In the process, he’d nearly killed Lucian, and fearing his condition would worsen if he stayed, he’d fled into the forest.
[What was the illusion you saw?]
“The Spectre’s memory, probably. I don’t want to dwell on it.”
Besides, multiple scenes had overlapped in his vision at once, so he had no clear memory of any single one.
“Lia, seal the basement and never go down there. If Lucian goes down, he’ll suffer something far worse than I did.”
[All right, I understand.]
“I don’t know when something like this might happen again, and if I attack Lucian once more…….”
Kaizar parted his lips.
“At least he needs to know how to land a blow on me and escape. That’s why starting tomorrow, we need to teach him either magic or Swordsmanship to protect himself.”
[……If you care about Lucian that much, why did you just say all that?]
Kaizar hesitated and avoided her gaze.
“Even if I wasn’t in my right mind, the fact remains I tried to kill Lucian. I can’t be close to him anymore.”
[Is that why you deliberately hurt him?]
“…….”
[I understand what you’re thinking, but your method is wrong. That’s not protecting Lucian—it’s hurting him instead.]
Kaizar’s eyes wavered.
Lia sighed and sat down to meet his gaze at eye level.
[Think carefully about what it truly means to do what’s best for Lucian.]
Kaizar parted his lips but then excused himself, saying he needed rest.
Watching him limp away with his arms wrapped around himself, Lia let out a frustrated sigh.

* * *

Two days after the incident in the basement. The three of them had to go about their daily routine despite the awkward atmosphere.
Yesterday, Kaizar had needed rest to recover; today, they would finally test whether Lucian had any magical talent by beginning his instruction.
The problem was that only Kaizar could confirm such talent.
Lucian and Kaizar held hands without meeting each other’s eyes.
Kaizar examined Lucian’s Mana.
“……Fortunately, you do have aptitude. With good Mana Sensitivity, you should be able to learn magic without much trouble.”
[That’s good news. Isn’t it, Lucian?]
“…….”
Despite how badly he’d wanted to learn magic, Lucian turned his head away expressionlessly and withdrew his hand from Kaizar’s grasp.
Kaizar’s jaw tightened briefly. But he showed no anger and simply continued the lesson.
“The foundation of all magic is creating an Incantation through the Mana within your body to manifest it. Each person possesses a different amount of Mana, but through something called a Mana Circle, you can gradually increase it. Today, we’ll create your Mana Circle.”
To create a Mana Circle, one must first feel the flow of Mana within the body.
Lucian couldn’t possibly sense that right away. Someone would need to assist him, but…….
“Lia should do it.”
Lucian refused Kaizar outright and turned his body toward Lia instead. Lia looked at Kaizar helplessly.
Kaizar’s eyebrows rose slightly.
He was holding back for now, but given his nature, an explosion wasn’t far off.
[Lucian, I’m a Spectre—I don’t use Mana from within my body. You have to do this with Kaizar.]
“But I’m not using your body; we’re working with mine anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
That was true enough, but…….
Hiss-hiss-hiss—
‘Doesn’t the back of your head itch? Kaizar is glaring at you right now like he’s about to devour you whole.’
Lia had no choice but to grab Lucian’s shoulders and turn him back around.
[If you want to finish quickly, you’d better master it fast. Agreed?]
“……Yes.”
Lucian shot Kaizar a sullen look, then turned his head and barely clasped his fingertips.
Kaizar’s temple vein bulged as he gripped Lucian’s palm firmly.
“I didn’t plan to spend all day with you either, so pay attention.”
There it was—he finally snapped.
When Kaizar spoke with open sarcasm, Lucian’s lips puckered in a pout.
Soon after, Kaizar began to circulate his Mana, sweeping it through Lucian’s body.
Lucian flinched at the strange sensation of something writhing inside him.
“What you’re feeling now is the flow of Mana. Remember this sensation well.”
As Kaizar opened the path, Lucian followed, memorizing the route.
After repeating this several times, they practiced with Lucian finding the path on his own.
“You’ve got it now?”
“Yeah.”
“Now I’m going to create a Mana Circle. I’ll channel Mana into you, and you need to let all of it pass through your Mana flow unobstructed, then bind it around your heart.”
[Lucian, you might not succeed on the first try. That’s normal, so don’t be too disappointed. If it gets too hard midway, you can rest a bit. Dragon Mana might not be compatible with a human body.]
“No. I’ll succeed on the first try.”
[That’s the spirit.]
Lucian’s expression, which had been sullen at first, soon began to gleam with its usual brightness.
Seeing this positive turn, Lia nodded at Kaizar.
Kaizar calmly transferred his Mana to Lucian.
Lucian stiffened. Soon his face twisted in pain, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
If learning the Mana flow had felt like a gentle trickle of water, this was like a sudden waterfall crashing down and forcing a stream into a raging river.
Crack, pop, rip—
He felt his Mana channels tearing as they forcibly expanded. The pain was immense, and Lucian let out a groan.
“Uugh……!”
[Lucian, you don’t have to force it. Creating a Mana Circle is normally difficult on the first attempt.]
“We should rest and try again…….”
Kaizar agreed with Lia and tried to release Lucian’s hand, but Lucian gripped it tightly and his eyes blazed.
“No, I……I can still do it……!”
Lia and Kaizar exchanged glances. After a moment of thought, Kaizar nodded.
“All right, let’s finish it now that we’ve come this far.”
Kaizar poured in more Mana, and Lucian endured the pain while gathering his Mana toward his heart.
Kaizar’s hand turned white from how hard Lucian was gripping it. Kaizar realized how much pain Lucian was in.
[Lucian, now draw a circle with the gathered Mana!]
“Keep the circle spinning without stopping! This is the final stretch!”
“Aaaaaahhhhh!”
Following Lia and Kaizar’s guidance, Lucian cried out as he formed his Mana Circle.
At first the shape was warped and nearly fell apart midway, but Lucian concentrated all his mind on his heart.
“Cough!”
Suddenly Lucian began to cough up blood. Kaizar’s eyes widened as he focused on Lucian’s Mana flow.
“……The Mana Circle is too large. Lucian can’t handle it.”
[What? You should have put in a moderate amount!]
“I did put in a moderate amount! The problem is my Mana is simply too strong for a human body.”
It was only a matter of time before Mana Runaway occurred. If that happened to a body that hadn’t even completed forming its Mana Circle yet, Lucian’s body wouldn’t survive it.
Either they had to draw out the excess Mana carefully, or…….
[Lucian! We’re going to create two Mana Circles!]
“What?! Are you out of your mind?”
[Lucian doesn’t have the strength to expel the Mana! This is the only way.]
Lia gathered as much pure Mana as she could and poured it into Lucian’s body, guiding him as he formed a new Mana Circle.
[Lucian! Can you feel my Mana?]
“Nngh……!”
[I’m going to follow half of the Mana Circle that’s already spinning with my Mana. Can you do that?]
“I’ll…… try.”
Lucian was already exhausted. Moreover, his insides had taken significant damage from coughing up blood, making it hard to summon strength. Yet still, Lucian refused to give up and followed Lia.
The enormous Mana Circle gradually shrank and began to trace another circle.
[That’s it! That’s right! More, just a bit more……there!]
“Hhgh!”
Lucian severed the Mana midway. Two circles began to interweave and spin. But the form quickly collapsed.
Rotating at different speeds, in different directions—maintaining the shape was extremely difficult for someone who’d only just begun to sense Mana flow.
[It’s all right, Lucian. You can do this. Just follow me.]
Lia didn’t withdraw her Mana; instead, she continued to support his circles’ rotation so the form wouldn’t crumble.
Lucian, who’d been struggling at first, gradually grew accustomed to the sensation and began to trace the Mana Circles more smoothly.
Before long, two perfect Mana Circles began to resonate and spin in harmony.
“Now, Lucian! Do you remember the Magic Circle I showed you?”
When you first create a Mana Circle, you must immediately manifest magic in that moment. By casting magic, you expel Mana and cool the overheated Mana Circle.
Just before creating the Mana Circle, Kaizar had taught him the Light spell.
The Incantation was simple, and even a 1st Circle mage could easily manifest it.
Lucian steadied his spinning vision and traced the Magic Circle drawn on the board exactly as shown.
A Magic Circle began to form at Lucian’s fingertips.
“Light!”
As Lucian completed all the Magic Circles and cried out, the world flashed white and a light brighter than the sun filled the entire room.
Everything dissolved into pure brightness.

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