The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 49

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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 49

Is anyone there? I’ve arrived!
[……What is he doing?]
Ria stared blankly out the window, her expression bewildered.
The Crown Prince, who had been soundly thrashed and thrown out just yesterday, had somehow made his way back to the Mansion.
I’m a Doppelgänger who looks exactly like you! Come open the door!
Bang, bang!
[Now he’s pounding on the door too?]
Exasperated beyond words, Ria stepped outside to get a closer look at Leopold.
He was dressed in a servant’s garb, just like yesterday.
[Could it be…… he escaped on his own?]
What kind of Crown Prince wanders around alone without an escort? This made no sense.
“Why is no one answering? There were definitely people here yesterday.”
Click—
“Ah, it opened.”
[What, what! Why did you open the door, you idiot!]
Shocked that he’d managed to open it, Ria instinctively blocked his path without thinking.
But Leopold, unable to see her, simply passed right through her body and entered the Mansion.
[……Damn it! Lucian is training in the Training Grounds right now!]
He might already have heard the commotion. I need to warn Lucian about this at once……
“Oh, what’s this?”
[This damned fool! Why is he wandering around causing chaos!]
Without so much as a glance, Leopold began darting about in all directions. Ria hurriedly locked doors throughout the house to prevent him from entering them recklessly.
[I have to scare him and drive him out!]
She employed the same tactics she’d used on humans before.
Crash—!
Dropping objects in his path.
Bang—! Bang, bang—!
Shaking the framed paintings on the walls like a madwoman.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Enlarging candleflames to make them menacing.
And so on — she tried every trick in the book, but Leopold didn’t flinch. If anything—
“Ooh! What’s this now? Is there really a ghost living here?”
[……Is he insane?]
Well, given that he’d come back after yesterday’s disaster, he was clearly no ordinary person.
[Stop it! Get out of here, you lunatic!]
Ria let out a piercing shriek and unleashed her spiritual energy, but Leopold simply passed through her body with a serene smile.
[Why is your spiritual presence so strong!]
Lucian could sense her from the very beginning because his power was so weak! If you’re his twin, you should be the same!
What was this irritating feeling? It was strangely familiar and deeply unpleasant.
“Oh! This is nice quality stuff?”
Watching him get distracted by something else, Ria suddenly thought of someone.
[C, Caesar……?]

‘Kya kya kya! I am the mighty Red Dragon!’

This couldn’t be happening. Another lunatic like Caesar — this was a catastrophe.
And what made it worse was that this one acted innocently, which was even more exasperating.
“What’s all this noise about……”
[Lucian!]
“Ah! The Doppelgänger!”
Lucian entered through the back entrance and spotted Leopold, his brow furrowing immediately.
Ria felt relieved when she noticed his hair and eyes had turned brown.
[This madman just barged into the Mansion! I tried scaring him, but nothing works! And his spiritual presence is so strong that he doesn’t even notice when I release my energy!]
“……So that’s what happened.”
“You see! He’s not a ghost, he’s really alive!”
[No! Don’t go over there, you fool!]
She rushed to tackle him from behind, but Leopold moved faster, approaching Lucian.
Lucian tensed, watching his twin brother close in without hesitation.
“How dare you break in uninvited. You shouldn’t complain if I attack you right now.”
“Oh, is that so? I wasn’t trying to! I kept calling, but you wouldn’t come out.”
“Should I welcome an unwanted guest?”
“Why am I unwanted?”
At this nonsensical answer, Lucian’s expression twisted. It was as if he were thinking, ‘How does a person like this even exist?’
“I came because I have something to say to you!”
“I have nothing to say to you. Get out now.”
Lucian refused flatly and pushed at his back. Leopold stumbled, struggling against the pressure.
“I, my name is Leopold Odelion!”
The moment he spoke his full name, Lucian froze. Seizing that opportunity, Leopold spun around.
“I came to enter into Sworn Brotherhood with you!”
“……What?”
[What is this guy saying?]
Both Ria and Lucian’s faces went slack with disbelief. Yet Leopold’s eyes gleamed with such fervent sincerity that he was practically glowing.
“Ahem! Since you’ve heard my name, you understand — I am the Crown Prince! And I have no siblings.”
Lucian’s eyebrows twitched. But Leopold pressed on, oblivious.
“Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted siblings. But at fifteen, even if I were to gain a new sibling, it would only be a much younger brother or sister. And then, you appeared before my eyes!”
“……So you want to play twins because we look alike?”
“You already knew we look identical!”
[How can this supposedly noble Crown Prince be so dim-witted? Anyone with eyes can see we look the same!]
And his head seemed to be filled with flowers. Judging by his baseless confidence, he clearly hadn’t expected to be refused from the start.
“It may not be blood-related, but given how identical we are, it must be fate! From the looks of things, you seem to live alone here without family, far from anywhere. Aren’t you lonely too?”
Lucian’s gaze gradually grew darker, fixing Leopold with a chilling stare.
“So what you’re saying is, let’s play at being brothers?”
“Play? There are countless people who form Sworn Brotherhood without sharing blood and live as true siblings.”
“Ha, I’m speechless.”
“What do you think? It wouldn’t be bad to have a Crown Prince as your brother, right?”
Lucian’s contemptuous sneer vanished in an instant. Soon he was staring at Leopold with undisguised killing intent.
Leopold finally sensed something was off about the look in Lucian’s eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that……”
“I can’t accept this. You just want to play house with this ridiculous idea of Sworn Brotherhood for your own amusement anyway.”
“It’s not playing house……!”
“That’s enough. I was foolish to expect anything. Ria, throw him out this time.”
[Far?]
“As far as possible.”
“What are you saying to yourself right now?”
[Roger that.]
Before Leopold could comprehend Lucian’s words, Ria acted first.
Leopold found himself floating in the air, just like yesterday, his eyes widening in shock.
“You can use magic too?!”
“……Ugh, I shouldn’t bother engaging with him.”
[I agree. How did someone like that even become Crown Prince.]
“You kept calling me Ria yesterday and today. Is it some kind of special magic incantation?”
[How could it be!]
“Ria, don’t engage. It’s giving me a headache.”
“Wait! You said Ria again!”
Hearing any more of that grating voice would drive her mad. She sealed his mouth shut.
Mmph? Mmph! Mmph! Mmmph!
[……How can he still be so loud even with his mouth covered?]
She could more or less guess what he was trying to say.
After binding both his mouth and thrashing body tightly with mana, his struggles finally ceased.
Ria dragged him through the air and hurled him gracefully beyond the fence.
Leopold lay sprawled on the ground below.
“Don’t come back again. This is a warning.”
Lucian closed the door with a sharp bang, leaving the dirt-covered Leopold behind.
He let out a weary sigh and rubbed his face.
[Lucian, are you all right?]
“……Yes, I’m fine.”
After yesterday’s emotional turmoil, she was genuinely concerned. Ria lingered nearby worriedly, and Lucian gave a faint smile.
“I really am fine. You said it yourself, Ria. Family doesn’t have to be bound by blood. My family is you and Caesar.”
[I suppose that’s true……]
“And I gave him a proper warning this time, so he won’t try such nonsense again. If anything, I’m disappointed. To think that fool is my twin brother.”
Lucian’s demeanor seemed somewhat improved compared to the previous day.
[Right, no matter how foolish, he should’ve understood by now. Let’s forget about today.]
Ria reassured Lucian and together they climbed to the second floor.

* * *

Bang! Bang!
Doppelgänger! Open the door for me!
[Ugh, there he goes again.]
Two weeks had passed since Leopold proposed Sworn Brotherhood to Lucian.
He had come to the Mansion every single day since the next morning, without fail.
Some days he stayed only thirty minutes; other days he lingered from morning to evening.
Doesn’t a Crown Prince have mountains of work? Yet he came here day after day — it was both remarkable and strange.
Rumble—
Though it wasn’t even two in the afternoon, the sky had grown dark. Dark clouds were gathering, suggesting a downpour was coming.
[What should I do now?]
“Ria, never mind.”
Ria turned from the window. They were currently in the middle of a magic lesson.
Lucian was solving homework she’d assigned, beads of sweat on his brow.
“Countering the Curse Magic with a Reverse Incantation, then using Healing Magic to erase any lingering effects. Done.”
[Let me see — forty-three minutes.]
Today’s lesson was about countering Curse Magic.
Lucian was now on the threshold of reaching the Fourth Circle.
Of course, he’d technically reached the Second Circle from the beginning, but that had been an accident to prepare for mana runaway.
Back then, Lucian had barely been able to read books haltingly, so he’d built his magical knowledge from absolute scratch.
As a result, he was steadily acquiring magic, progressing slowly but surely.
Today’s lesson also used a newly arranged formula by Ria, not standard Curse Magic.
It was the kind of problem that could only be solved with both solid magical knowledge and innate talent.
[Eight minutes faster than last time.]
“Tch, I was aiming to finish within thirty minutes.”
[Look at this guy. I prepared this expecting an hour. Forty-three minutes is solid work.]
“……Hmm, is that so?”
Look at his lips twitching. One compliment and his mood lifts instantly.
Moments like these brought back memories of Lucian in his early days, fresh and green.
Patter— pitter-patter—
Whoooosh—
Raindrops began tapping against the window, and soon the sky opened up, pouring down rain.
[Did the Crown Prince leave?]
Lucian gave a start at her question. While tidying his lesson materials, Ria tilted her head to peek out and check where Leopold had been waiting.
[What’s this. He’s still there?]
“……Hmph. He’ll leave once the rain stops, I’m sure.”
Lucian simply gathered his things and slipped out of the Library.
It could be seen as good that he was no longer letting family trouble him, but to her eyes, it seemed like he was merely avoiding reality.
[This is difficult.]
If avoidance meant Lucian wouldn’t get hurt, that was fine. It was better than him suffering in silence, tormenting himself alone.
But watching Leopold return ceaselessly for two weeks without tiring, Ria found herself thinking — wouldn’t it be nice if Lucian would at least try talking to Leopold?
[I wish I could show Lucian what family truly means.]
She’d told Lucian that family doesn’t require shared blood, that being together is enough, but surely there was a subtle difference between chosen family and those who truly share your blood.
She’d only said what she believed to be right — so Lucian wouldn’t feel abandoned by his kin.
If there were family willing to treasure him properly, she would help him return to them whenever he wished.
[Of course, I won’t be gentle if they hurt him.]
Ria gazed down at Leopold with heavy eyes, then turned from the window.

* * *

“Uh, achoo! Brr, where did this sudden rain come from?”
Shhhhhhhhh—
The rain was pouring down in sheets, as summer approached. There was no way he could return to the Imperial Palace in this weather.
He’d worn thin clothes, and the air had turned chilly from the rain, making it feel quite bitter.
Bang, bang!
“Open the door for me! I’m freezing!”
He whined, using the rain as an excuse to ask them to let him in, but as always, the door remained stubbornly shut.
“Tch, so they’re going to be stubborn again? Let’s see who wins today…… Ugh, it’s freezing!”
He’d been pondering how to drag out the Doppelgänger, but the cold soon forced Leopold to collapse on the ground, shivering.
At first, it had been simple curiosity.
A Doppelgänger was intriguing; the fact that someone refused to defer to his position, even after he’d revealed it, was a novel experience that kindled his stubborn pride.
But now, two weeks in, he couldn’t quite explain why he kept pandering to a man who wouldn’t even show his face.
“……I don’t even know why, but something’s been on my mind.”
When he’d been soundly rejected and returned to the palace, the disappointed look on the Doppelgänger’s face wouldn’t leave his head.
“And what was I even expecting?”
He’d said it plainly enough.
That he was a fool for hoping.
Coming from someone who drove people away without mercy, it was a strange thing to say.
“Now that I think about it, something’s off. When I said I was the Crown Prince, he wasn’t even surprised, and there’s something in the way he looks at me…… like he already knows me.”
It felt like the answer was hovering just beyond reach, maddeningly close yet out of focus.
“I just want to have a proper conversation, but I didn’t expect to face a ban on entry for two whole weeks.”
Leopold laughed hollowly, his eyes fixed on the relentless downpour.
Whiiiine— shhhhhhh—
Then, a sudden gust whipped through, and rain began seeping under the eaves.
“Blurgh!”
Leopold looked down at his soaked body and shivered violently.
“Just, just open the door for me, please! I’m going to freeze to death at this rate!”
The Crown Prince’s seriousness lasted less than a minute.

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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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