The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 39

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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 — Chapter 39

“……Lusian, you’re going to bore a hole through me with that stare.”
Dio opened his eyes and glanced sideways. Lusian startled and hastily looked away.
“If you keep talking, Mom’s going to scold you. So stay quiet.”
“I didn’t say anything…….”
“You don’t have to speak. Your stare is sharp enough.”
“Shush! Quiet!”
The two bickering boys fell silent at Nina’s word.
They were currently in the Grand Temple in the Capital, attending a service.
Nina was a devout believer, so she attended services every Saturday from morning until lunch.
Coming down to the Village on a weekend, at such an early hour before even lunch — this was Lusian’s first time attending a service.
“You got me in trouble.”
“Dio was being loud first.”
The two were quiet for only a moment before beginning to whisper and blame each other again. As their voices grew louder, Nina’s eyes turned fierce.
“Did I not tell you to be quiet?”
When the usually gentle Nina spoke so sternly, Lusian immediately covered his mouth with both hands.
Seeing this, Nina sighed and whispered to the two of them.
“There’s about an hour left before the service ends. Go outside and rest.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If you stay here much longer, you’ll just disturb the others. Don’t go too far, though — you must stay inside the Temple. Understood?”
“Got it! Let’s go, Lusian!”
This was the mother who would normally insist on sitting through the entire three-hour service, but it seemed she was making an exception because Lusian was here.
“Why can’t you come at this time every week? With you here, that old demon lady doesn’t scold me.”
“That didn’t count as not being scolded? It was terrifying…….”
“You haven’t seen Mom’s true nature. Dad can’t even move in front of her.”
Lusian couldn’t imagine the enormous Bill cowering before Nina.
As Dio led the way, Lusian’s steps gradually slowed, and he kept looking around. Dio noticed and turned back.
“Why aren’t you coming?”
“Can’t I look around a little?”
“Look at what?”
“This is my first time in the Temple. Let me see. Please?”
“There’s nothing to see…….”
Dio grumbled but quickly made his way back to Lusian’s side.
Unlike what Dio said, there was indeed plenty to see in the Grand Temple.
The grand architecture built from pure white marble, the priests who granted enlightenment to the faithful, the meticulously and elegantly tended gardens.
But what stood out most were the stained glass windows arranged in sequence along the long corridors.
Each window seemed to tell a story, with colorful images rendered directly into the stained glass.
Lusian gazed at one of the stained glass windows — a man with golden eyes blazing.
“That is the First Emperor.”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from behind. Lusian reflexively pulled his hat down low. Behind him stood a priest.
“The First Emperor, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. This temple contains the complete legend of how the First Emperor founded the Empire.”
“Ah, I see…….”
Though he was seeing it for the first time, it felt strangely familiar.
Once he recognized it was the First Emperor, the fairy tale “The King, the Dragon, and the Witch” came to mind unbidden.
It was a familiar story at first, but as the tale progressed toward its end, it showed the Emperor confronting the witch.
The Emperor rode upon the Red Dragon’s back, battling the witch.
“But what about the people below her?”
Dio, standing beside him, asked. He was pointing to the section where the witch was being sealed.
Beneath the witch as she was being sealed stood the Emperor, the Red Dragon, and a line of people dressed in pure white robes.
“Those are the first priests who founded our Temple. The first priest made a great contribution to sealing the witch together with the First Emperor.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that story.”
When Dio said he’d never heard this in the fairy tale, the priest smiled kindly.
“It’s a story passed down only within our Temple. We’re not hiding it — the faithful all know of it.”
“I see.”
“…….”
Unlike Dio, who nodded along, Lusian could not tear his gaze from the image of the sealed witch with closed eyes. After a moment of silence, he spoke to the priest.
“Then, was the Temple founded during the First Emperor’s time?”
“Yes, that’s correct. As the witch was sealed and peace came to the world, the divine being was moved and granted special powers to both the priests and the First Emperor, commanding them to spread the divine teachings far and wide. Thus, the priests built this Grand Temple. It is a structure of great antiquity, constructed in the 7th year of the Imperial Calendar.”
“That long ago?”
“Yes indeed. Though the legends do not speak of it, the priests made great contributions to the founding of the Empire. One could say they were founding merit holders.”
“……That’s a lie.”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“It’s nothing.”
Lusian pulled his hat down even lower, suppressing the rage that threatened to burst forth.
‘It’s all lies.’
In the fairy tale Lia had shown him, the witch — Aria — was not an enemy but an ally. She had even made the greatest contribution to defeating the villains.
And yet this distorted information was spreading like this. It was deeply unsettling.
‘Why does this bother me so much?’
It was just an ancient tale, and the priest was only repeating what he’d been told. So why did it anger him as if it were a personal matter?
“Dio, I’m done looking. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Sure! There’s a swing over that way. Let’s go on it.”
Lusian and Dio bowed to the priest and ran off. The priest watched them go with a smile before continuing on his way.
The priest was still only a novice. But after the ordination ceremony tonight, he would become a full priest.
Perhaps it was because that long-awaited day had finally arrived?
He had kindly spoken to the children passing by and explained the stained glass to them.
The novice recalled the two children who had called him “priest” and his lips twitched slightly.
“Habier, there you are.”
At the sound of his name, the novice turned his head.
“The Bishop is calling for you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. An important guest from the imperial court has arrived, so you’ll need to attend to them properly.”
His heart sank at the mere mention of the Bishop, and now the imperial court? With his formal priesthood just ahead, what was happening? Yet Habier steadied himself and followed.
When they arrived, there were four knights with sharp features and a child.
At first he didn’t recognize them, but seeing the brilliant golden eyes, Habier quickly bowed his head.
“This humble servant beholds the Second Sun.”
“Is this another person receiving the ordination tomorrow?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Everyone has arrived.”
The Crown Prince — Leopold.
The Bishop stood motionless before him. So Habier, even more nervous, could not raise his bowed head.
“Hey, everyone relax. I’m just here to deliver Mother’s message.”
Unlike the tense others, Leopold smiled brightly and read the Imperial Edict.
It contained a prayer for the ceremony to proceed safely and congratulations on becoming a full priest, given in advance.
A mere novice receiving an imperial edict upon becoming a full priest — Habier and the others were deeply moved.
“……And that’s what Mother said.”
“The profound words of His Majesty. We shall take them to heart.”
“Right, right. I came out for a little outing, so I’ll be going now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Oh! If Mother asks what I was doing, tell her I listened to the service faithfully. Got it?”
“Of course. I’ll make sure to tell her.”
“Great!”
Leopold bounced excitedly, looking forward to playing.
After Leopold left the room, one of the knights whispered to the Bishop.
“His Majesty has ordered us to proceed tonight. Just do as we discussed before.”
“We shall proceed without delay.”
The knight exchanged a meaningful glance with the Bishop before hurrying after Leopold.
“Gather here again at eleven tonight. I have a very important task for you all.”
The Bishop spoke these words and left. Once he was gone, Habier raised his head.
“Wow, to see the Crown Prince in person.”
Habier was too excited by the fact of having seen the Crown Prince to pay attention to the Bishop’s words.
He gazed at Leopold’s retreating figure with an elevated heart. Just then, Leopold said something to the knight and turned back.
Seeing this, Habier suddenly felt a chill of recognition.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
A fellow novice beside him nudged him, and Habier, who had been lost in thought, laughed awkwardly.
“Ha ha…… It’s nothing.”
After the other novice left, Habier still couldn’t tear his gaze from the receding Leopold.
“……They look alike?”
Only then did Habier realize that the child with the hat pulled down low and Leopold bore a striking resemblance.
Had it not been for the ordinary brown hair and eyes, he would have mistaken him for Leopold entirely.
But since the child had his hat pulled down so low, he hadn’t seen him properly…….
“Ah, I must be imagining things.”
Habier simply looked forward with light-hearted curiosity to what would happen tonight.

The knight escorting Leopold reprimanded the one who had left the room late.
“I apologize. I had something to attend to.”
“The Crown Prince’s safety is paramount. Keep idle talk to a minimum.”
The knight commander overseeing them issued the warning. The two fell silent at once.
“Ah, this much is fine. Yordi probably had something to take care of, right?”
“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness.”
Leopold chuckled and turned his gaze forward. The knights followed.
“Before we go, let me say a quick prayer.”
“Shall I clear the area?”
“No need. It’ll only take a moment.”
Leopold stood before the statue of the divine being, clasped his hands quietly, and prayed.
‘Please keep Mother healthy and long-lived, and let Father and Grandmother reconcile, and lastly, please give me a cute little sibling.’
His longing for a sibling, which had begun two years ago, grew more intense with each passing day.
There were times he would cry and throw a tantrum asking for a sibling, but he now understood that mere wishing wouldn’t make it happen.
Children were gifts from the divine. So Leopold sought out the divine even as he did not truly believe.
After many prayers for a sibling, Leopold finally felt satisfied enough. He opened his eyes.
“That’s enough. Let’s go.”
Leopold harbored a quiet hope that one day the divine would be moved by his prayer and grant his wish.
Aha-ha-ha!
Just then, the laughter of children his age rang out.
Turning to look, he saw several children playing merrily on a small playground the Temple had set up.
‘That looks fun.’
But if he asked to play there, they wouldn’t allow it, would they?
Leopold remembered the stern knight commander behind him and sighed deeply.
Soon his gaze fell on two boys his age, pushing each other on the swings with lingering longing in his eyes.
“I can’t help it. I should visit Lirlis.”
“Shall we head to the Sevance Duchy?”
“Yes! I haven’t seen my betrothed in a while. Should I bring a gift?”
“Then we could stop by a toy shop before heading to the duchy.”
“Sounds good!”
Leopold left the Temple to visit Lirlis, to whom he had been betrothed just days ago.

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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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