The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 33

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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 Phantom Bride of the Forsaken Prince — Episode 33

Ten seconds later, the light gradually faded. Only after it vanished completely did Kaiser and Lucian blink open their eyes.
“Everything’s still sparkling….”
“Ugh, my eyes still hurt.”
Both of them rubbed their eyes, suffering from the aftermath of the magic.
Ria stood frozen for a moment before emotion overwhelmed her, and she threw herself at Lucian.
[You did it, Lucian! That was the most perfect and massive Light spell I’ve ever seen!]
“Really?”
[Really! This is no way a Light of the 2nd Circle caliber! Ah! How’s your Mana Circle now? Has it settled down?]
Lucian fumbled to examine his Mana Circle in response to Ria’s question.
Two Mana Circles were spinning tautly. There was no overload, and they were remarkably stable.
“Yes, it’s truly fine now….”
The tension drained from Lucian in an instant, and his eyes began to close.
Before Lucian could collapse to the ground, Kaiser caught him.
“Ha, the brat sure made quite an entrance.”
Despite his grumbling, Kaiser’s lips curved upward.
[How is he, really?]
“Aside from accumulated fatigue, he’s fine. He did take some internal damage, but I’ve already treated it, so there shouldn’t be any real issues.”
[Thank goodness—I was worried a Mana Rampage might occur. You should have put in a moderate amount of Mana.]
“I did put in less than I originally planned. The problem is this brat absorbed everything I gave him as fast as I could give it.”
[Really?]
“Yeah. Normally, people can’t absorb more than about thirty percent of someone else’s Mana due to rejection. But this kid absorbed a full hundred percent.”
Is that even possible? And it’s a dragon’s Mana at that?
“From what I can see… he has an innate talent. Otherwise, how could a novice who barely feels Mana flow create a 2nd Circle on his first attempt, much less the 1st?
[I suppose… I was treating it almost as a gamble myself.]
“More than that, his Mana Pathways expanded dramatically while he was forming the Circle. At this rate, he should be able to reach the 4th Circle without much trouble later. He must have been in considerable pain….”
Ria opened her mouth upon seeing his eyes gentle as he gazed at Lucian.
[You said you were cold-hearted, but you’re more worried about Lucian than I am?]
“Wh-who said I was worried?! About a mere human, no less!”
Kaiser huffed and stood up as if he’d finished his business. Yet even after stepping outside, he lingered by the door, sneaking glances at Lucian.
The thought crossed my mind that it might only be a matter of time before these two made up.

* * *

Lucian, who had achieved the 2nd Circle in one leap, had to endure a high fever for the next two full days.
It was a kind of growth pains born from his body’s sudden adaptation to change.
While Lucian remained bedridden, Kaiser was nowhere to be seen in front of him.
Though he didn’t show it, Lucian kept peering around the doorframe in search of Kaiser, and Kaiser too continued checking on Lucian’s condition from the window, the door frame, or even by eavesdropping.
Both were itching to draw closer, yet the moment they faced each other, they glared like sworn enemies.
Even after Lucian recovered and resumed his magic and Swordsmanship lessons, there was no sign of progress between them.
Ria sat slumped, watching them both.
Today’s training consisted of Kaiser casting a spell and throwing it at Lucian, who would defend with a magic that countered it.
Kaiser conjured Fire in his left hand and hurled it at Lucian. Lucian swallowed hard and cast his spell.
“…Aqua!”
“Too slow!”
Though he succeeded in creating Aqua, the Fire reached Lucian faster.
“But Kaiser was so much faster!”
“Faster my foot! I was moving at a snail’s pace! If this were real combat, you’d just be dead! When you fight someone else later, are you going to spout nonsense about how they were too fast to follow?!”
This situation had repeated continuously since the beginning.
When Lucian failed, Kaiser scolded him harshly; when he did somewhat well, Kaiser questioned what he’d done right; when he did perfectly, Kaiser lectured him to train even harder.
There was never a compliment.
I understood he didn’t want another incident like the one in the Basement, but wasn’t this too Spartan?
Ria stepped in, unable to watch any longer.
[Kaiser, he just learned that magic yesterday. How can you expect him to use it instantly? And he’s not just doing magic—he’s training Swordsmanship at the same time.]
True, this wasn’t simple magic training.
When Kaiser threw stones, Lucian had to strike them down with his sword; when Kaiser used magic, Lucian had to react instantaneously with opposing magic.
For an eight-year-old—and one whose Mana Circle was less than a week old—pulling this off immediately was nonsensical.
“Then when are you expecting him to learn everything? Practice a little magic, practice a little Swordsmanship, and be satisfied once he’s achieved the basics? If it works the way you say, even dogs and cattle would grow strong! With this level of skill, let him step into the human world! You’ll see how far he gets before he dies!”
[No, I mean take it slow and steady.]
“Ria, you clearly told me to take over his education. If you complain any further, I’m not doing it.”
[Ugh, that stubborn old-timer….]
How could a hatchling be so rigid? Was it really so difficult to be a bit more flexible?
“It’s okay, Ria. I can do it.”
[But Lucian….]
“You think I can’t do this? I’m going to flatten that nose of his, so just watch.”
The moment Lucian stopped calling Kaiser “brother,” Kaiser’s eyebrows twitched.
Just at the birthday party, they’d addressed each other respectfully and laughed together, but now they glared at each other as though ready to devour one another.
“So confident, are we? You only succeeded five times out of fifty.”
“Now I’m used to it, so I can do better. Why? You don’t think I can?”
“Oh yeah? Let’s see how far that confidence gets you.”
Kaiser increased his speed and resumed the lesson. Lucian stumbled at first, but soon clenched his teeth and unleashed a level of concentration that was extraordinary.
[Oho?]
Having finally sharpened his skills, Lucian gradually began to gain the upper hand.
Kaiser, surprised despite himself, raised one eyebrow. Then he wiped the smile from his face and began fighting in earnest.
“Now we fight like the real thing. I won’t warn you what I’m about to throw. I’ll attack while moving. You adapt and defend in the most optimal way.”
Lucian nodded, and Kaiser, who had been standing in place throughout the training, finally moved.
With eyes ablaze with spirit, Kaiser began to laugh and mutter something under his breath.
Wondering what it was, I observed the situation and felt the ground trembling faintly. I jerked my head up.
[Lucian! The ground! There’s something in the ground!]
Lucian jumped backward. A hole opened where he’d been standing, and flames erupted.
[Hey! What if he gets hurt!]
When Ria burst out in anger, Kaiser clicked his tongue.
“I said we’d fight like the real thing, didn’t I? I haven’t used magic higher than 1st Circle. I only improvised.”
[You, this is really…!]
“Improvisation counts, doesn’t it?”
Lucian, who had been staring blankly at the hole Kaiser had dug, smirked.
“Wind!”
Lucian reversed the use of the hole Kaiser had dug. Kaiser calmly dodged the pit. But that wasn’t Lucian’s objective.
The wind passing straight through the hole kicked up a cloud of dust, obscuring his vision.
“Hm?”
The idea was clever. But it would obscure Lucian’s vision just as much as Kaiser’s. The question was whether Lucian could counterattack from here.
Patter-patter—
Footsteps circled around as the dust gradually began to settle.
Whoosh—
A faint sound of wind came from the left, and the dust began to clear more rapidly.
Just as Kaiser was about to move to avoid the attack, he found his feet wouldn’t budge. He looked down.
“When did….”
The earth had risen up to bind his feet, then reinforced them solid with Ice.
Distracted by the dust and Lucian’s approach, Kaiser had made the novice mistake of exposing his feet.
“Ha… haha… this is fun…!”
Kaiser let out a short laugh, eyes flashing. He raised his left arm to block the attack coming from the left.
Lucian brought down his sword in an assault, and Kaiser blocked it with his forearm.
The dust cleared completely, revealing Lucian and Kaiser facing off, eyes locked.
[That’s enough!]
At that voice, both turned to look at Ria.
[Lucian won this round. Right, Kaiser?]
“…Well, obscuring the field of vision, diverting attention elsewhere, and binding the feet was certainly skillful.”
Kaiser looked down at Lucian with a sideways glance.
“This time, let’s say you won.”
Lucian’s face lit up.
“Ria! I won! I finally won!”
[Congratulations, Lucian. To think you’d come up with binding his feet in such a short span of time. What made you think of that?]
“A head-on fight would be difficult, and if he kept running around, he’d be hard to catch. So I thought I should bind his feet first. He’d just dug a tunnel, so I kicked up dust with soft earth.”
[Next time, the same method won’t work. Will you still be able to do well then?]
“Of course! Kaiser’s no match for me anymore!”
Oops. He’d gotten a bit too full of himself.
Kaiser heard Lucian’s words clearly and began to tremble.
“What? No match? Think about it—you didn’t win. If I’d even breathed at you, you’d be dead where you stood! Dead!”
“Well, Ria would’ve stopped you in the middle anyway. And you blocked with your arm because you’d be too late to counter with magic, wouldn’t you?”
“Oh yeah? Let’s go again. This time I’m going to squash that smug attitude right out of you!”
“Why should I? I’m tired now. I’ve used up almost all my Mana.”
Lucian turned his head away with bold swagger, and Kaiser staggered backward as though he might fall over, clutching the back of his head and trembling.
Kaiser let out a cry of anguish and lunged at Lucian, who shot back with equal fire.
“Coward!”
“Runt!”
“Idiot who can’t even read runes!”
“So what does that make you, losing to such an idiot? A super-idiot!”
Eeeeeek!
Their squabbling matched their mental ages perfectly—utterly childish. With neither gaining the upper hand, they both turned to Ria with wide eyes.
“Ria! From what you’ve seen, who’s better? Obviously I’m the best, right? You said I was a genius who created a 2nd Circle in one shot!”
“Ha! You’re not actually going to side with this snotty little brat, are you? You know well enough! If I hadn’t looked after him, who knows what shape he’d be in!”
“Ria!”
“Ria!”
[Aaaargh! Quiet! You’re both the same, so shut it!]
At Ria’s shriek, both Lucian and Kaiser fell silent.
[You’re both identical! Kaiser, you! Just because the kid was being cocky doesn’t mean you get to nitpick at him like a child instead of acting your age!]
“No, but he was saying things that didn’t make sense….”
[And Lucian, you too! Kaiser teaches harshly, but it’s an education you’d never find anywhere else. You should thank Kaiser, not keep mocking him!]
“I was only teasing back because he started it….”
[How long are you two going to keep acting so awkwardly?! You were calling each other brother and getting along so well!]
Under Ria’s fury, both of them cowered, their tails between their legs. But soon, a muttering could be heard.
“…I feel cheated. What did I even do wrong?”
[What?]
“No, he’s right! I didn’t do anything wrong either!”
Both of them stuck out their lips, insisting they’d done nothing wrong. Magma churned inside Ria.
Ria grabbed the napes of both Kaiser and Lucian’s necks.
“What—hey! Let go!”
“Ria?”
[Will you two shut up? I can always just starve you both!]
Ria dragged both of them to the Small Room in the Estate.
She shoved them both inside and locked the door.
“You’re not opening this?”
“Let us out, Ria!”
[No. I won’t open it until you two make up. Fight it out or reconcile—do whatever you want.]
“Hey! How is this fair!”
Bang—!
Kaiser kicked the door hard with a huff. Ria phased her face through the door.
Kaiser and Lucian, startled, stepped back.
[Know this—you don’t leave until you reconcile.]
With those words, she withdrew her face from the door and cast Barrier Magic on the room.
Kaiser shouted in protest, but once the barrier was complete, silence fell instantly.
[Heh, try all you like. Let’s see if you can break the barrier.]
With Kaiser there as well, she’d woven together highly intricate spellwork. Wouldn’t Lucian find making up with Kaiser far easier than trying to break through?
[Honestly, calling himself a True Dragon—and his mental age is still the same as Lucian’s.]
Lucian seemed like an adult at first, but when she scratched beneath the surface, he showed the childish side of himself.
It was nice that the child was behaving like a child, but with two of them, her head was about to split.
[I’ll check back around dinner time.]
Ria stretched luxuriously and left the room with an easy mind.
Whether the two made up or kept fighting was no longer her concern.

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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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