The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 50

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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 — Episode 50

It was already five o’clock.
Leopold, who had been shouting every ten minutes to be let in, had fallen silent an hour ago.
Pitter-patter.
“The rain just won’t stop.”
The downpour had eased considerably from the beginning, yet it continued still.
“By now, he should have left.”
Evening would arrive soon, and he always returned before six, so he must have gone by now.
Otherwise, the Imperial Palace would have raised an uproar about the Crown Prince vanishing.
‘But why does my heart feel so unsettled?’
He had opened a book, but even an hour later, he could barely turn the pages. His concentration had grown worse since Leopold’s voice had stopped calling out.
Lucian decided he was done with reading for the day and rose from his seat. With a faint hope, he opened the window and glanced toward the main gate.
There was no one there, though it was hard to see clearly under the eaves.
“I wish he would just stop coming now.”
Though he refused to admit it, his heart stirred more each day Leopold visited.
‘Perhaps I was secretly wishing for a day like this.’
From the moment he learned he was a twin with his older brother, he had hoped someone would come and explain everything to him. Or at least, he wanted to hear an apology.
Of course, judging by the Crown Prince’s demeanor, he seemed to know nothing.
But as this unknowing person continued to seek him out, the emotions that had accumulated over time gradually began to fade away.
“Perhaps I just wanted to be acknowledged by family.”
He would not tell Lia about thinking such things.
It was embarrassing, and he didn’t want her to see him as childish anymore.
“It’s gotten quite cold.”
Pulled from his reverie, Lucian rubbed his arms against the chill and moved to close the window.
Or rather, he was about to close it—if he hadn’t caught something small moving beneath the eaves.
“…Surely not?”
He widened his eyes and leaned out, catching sight of a person’s legs.
“That madman!”
Lucian bolted from the room.

* * *

[Hmm, maybe I’ll make a stew for once?]
On a chilly day like this, warmth was everything.
Lia began pulling out ingredients to prepare for the evening meal. Just as she was about to start—
Bang!
[Yikes! You startled me!]
A door burst open from somewhere with force. Startled, she quickly rushed outside.
“Hey, wake up! Hey!”
Lucian was supporting the limp form of the Crown Prince.
The front door hung wide open, the Crown Prince’s body sagged, and a fierce wind swept inside. She could roughly guess what had happened.
“Lia! This fool’s running a fever!”
She quickly examined Leopold. He was feverish and depleted, unable to maintain consciousness.
“Uhhh… s-so c-cold…”
His complexion was pallid, his lips tinged blue. Unsuited to the cold weather, his clothes were far too thin. And somehow, they were completely drenched.
The wet fabric was clearly siphoning away his body heat.
[Lucian, let’s move him to your room first. Go up and get the fireplace going.]
“Got it.”
Lucian headed upstairs, and Lia lifted the Crown Prince effortlessly into the air, carrying him toward Lucian’s room.
[Bring the blanket!]
While Lucian fetched the blanket, Lia hastily stripped away Leopold’s wet clothes.
Leaving only his undergarments, she wrapped his shivering form tightly in the blanket and placed him in front of the fireplace.
“Lia, shouldn’t you use Healing Magic?”
[I already did. But since he’s not actually ill, it won’t have much effect. The priority right now is raising his body temperature. Lucian, rub his hands and feet.]
Lucian immediately began massaging Leopold’s hands and feet. They were ice-cold, and Lucian bit his lip hard.
After some time had passed, Leopold began to regain consciousness. He opened his hazy eyes and smiled broadly.
“…Haha, you finally let me in?”
“How foolish. I obviously wouldn’t open the door, so why didn’t you just leave?”
“How could I, with the rain coming down like that? And with the weather so poor, I thought you’d let me in quickly.”
[Tsk tsk, and you stood motionless in the rain for three hours? This boy is truly senseless.]
But even as she spoke that way, she couldn’t help but admire his persistence.
“…What exactly do you want from me?”
At Lucian’s question, Leopold smiled faintly.
“Nothing in particular.”
“…What?”
Both Lucian, who had frowned, and Lia, who had been guessing what he might say, were speechless at his answer.
“I just wanted to talk with you like this.”
“…Before, you were spouting nonsense about sworn siblings and all that.”
“I was getting ahead of myself. If a total stranger suddenly asked you to be sworn siblings, you’d be wary too, I think. So I figured we should get to know each other first!”
Leopold smiled brightly, his cheeks flushed from the warmth.
“Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Leopold Odelion! I’m the Crown Prince, but let’s forget about titles like that for now! What’s your name?”
Even as he trembled from the cold, his eyes blazed with intensity. The sight transported Lia to memories of Lucian as a child, and her heart went out to Leopold.
[…Lucian, what are you going to do?]
But that was only her own thought. Lucian might receive this differently. He fell silent, his gaze dimming as he seemed to consider something.
“Come on, tell me your name already! I’ve carved out time over two weeks to come here—you won’t even tell me your name?”
“…Sigh.”
Lucian gave a dry laugh and exhaled a long breath.
But she saw it clearly. The faint upturn of his mouth, concealed by his hand.
“I’ve lost.”
Leopold’s eyes gleamed as he saw Lucian, who had lowered his guard, finally smile.
“I’m Lucian. I’m fifteen years old. I live in this Mansion.”
“Wow! We’re the same age? That really makes us look like twins! Oh! Wait, never mind—scratch that! I misspoke…”
“I don’t believe in superstitions about twins, so you don’t need to be careful.”
“Really? You’re the first person in the entire empire to say something like that!”
“And you seem to have no particular aversion to twins yourself?”
“I studied abroad for two years. In foreign countries, twins are a symbol of abundance and fertility. I had twin friends there too. So I don’t mind it. I actually find it rather interesting!”
[…He’s quite enlightened in various ways.]
Perhaps it was a small mercy that he held no prejudice against twins.
“Achoo!”
“Warm yourself up first. The rain should stop soon.”
“Are you kicking me out already?”
Leopold whimpered like an abandoned puppy, and Lucian’s eyebrows twitched.
“You need to go home! You’re the Crown Prince—won’t the Palace search for you if they notice you’re missing?”
“Ah, I suppose you’re right.”
Lia found herself softening her gaze as she looked at the somewhat dull Leopold.
[The rain is gradually clearing now. If you leave in an hour, it should be fine. Since things have come to this, let’s at least feed him dinner. I’ll make a delicious stew for him.]
“Then I’ll be grateful, Lia.”
Though Leopold was right there, Lucian called Lia’s name without hesitation, which gave her a slight pause. But thinking Leopold would understand on his own, she left the room.
As she headed downstairs to the kitchen, she caught snatches of their conversation.
“But you know, I thought this place was a Haunted Mansion at first. I got quite a fright when I realized you were here. For a moment, I even thought you might be a ghost who looked exactly like me.”
“This place is a Haunted Mansion.”
“Huh?”
“A ghost lives here. You saw me talking to empty air earlier, didn’t you? You asked before—is ‘Lia’ a magic incantation? It’s not magic; it’s a ghost’s name.”
[Oh my, what in the world is he talking about?]
Could this be some elaborate strategy to drive Leopold away again? If that were the case…
AAAAHHHHH! A GHOST!
…It seemed to be working quite well.

* * *

After two weeks of push and pull, Lucian finally accepted Leopold.
Before Leopold returned to the Imperial Palace, he trembled upon seeing Lia.
Or more precisely, upon seeing the Umbrella she held, he caught a faint glimpse of where she stood.
[He showed no fear when trying to cast me out, yet he reacted at strange times.]
“It seems that seeing me made him think the rumors of a ghost here were unfounded.”
[Will he be too frightened to come back now? The boy who visited every day hasn’t shown up for three days now…]
Lucian flinched slightly. He pretended otherwise, but Leopold’s absence clearly weighed on him.
There was no way the boy who used to head into the Village so frequently would stay home for three entire days without reason.
Loo-sheeee-aaaan! Noooo-oo-ooool!
[Hmm? It’s Dio.]
A voice called from outside, and sure enough, Dio was sauntering toward the house.
Five years ago, from the day Lucian had invited him to the Mansion, Dio would often sleep here or spar with Lucian at the Training Ground.
“What brings Dio here?”
[Isn’t it because you haven’t been going down to the Village?]
“That might be it.”
We opened the front gate to welcome Dio.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s going on? You haven’t been coming down in so long, so I came to check on you. Why? Lately you haven’t been visiting the Village at all. Did you hide some treasure in the house or something?”
“That’s ridiculous. I just didn’t feel like going down.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
Ignoring Dio’s piercing look, Lucian casually opened the door wider and gestured for him to enter.
Dio was pouting about how boring Lucian was being when he suddenly looked around.
“Where’s Lia?”
[Every time he comes, he looks for me.]
It felt like only yesterday he had trembled in fear.
Lia laughed softly and greeted him with the Slate Tablet nearby.
“Oh! There you were! I was looking for you without realizing. Didn’t you seem strange?”
[Strange? She’s only cute.]
Lucian, who had been in the living room, flinched slightly. But Lia didn’t notice.
“Lia, I’m only telling you this, but Lucian’s been acting weird lately.”
Dio lowered his voice to a whisper, and she silently scratched at the Slate Tablet.
-In what way?
“Up until a month ago, he was so fierce it was hard to even talk to him, right? But then he suddenly became gentler, and now he won’t come down to the Village.”
The timing Dio mentioned overlapped with when Lia had been most concerned about Lucian.
-Is there nothing wrong in the Village?
“Well, no. But the fact that a boy who was always so depressed suddenly changed so much makes me worried.”
Dio’s concern for Lucian was truly admirable. Her heart warmed at the thought of him having such a good friend.
[What a dear boy. I should make him something delicious.]
“What are you two whispering about so intently?”
[Yikes! You frightened me!]
When she turned around, Lucian was already right in front of her. He wore a displeased expression.
“It’s nothing! We weren’t talking about anything important.”
[Right, Dio just asked if there was anything wrong since you haven’t been going to the Village lately.]
“…But why are you saying things about being cute or whatever?”
“Huh? What did Lia say?”
Lucian frowned, then turned his head away with a huffed breath, returning to the living room. His steps carried an unusual weight.
“What’s gotten into him? What’s he sulking about?”
[Your guess is as good as mine.]
He was like a child pouting, seeking attention. And even now, he kept glancing back at her.
[I suppose I’d better appease him.]
Lia found herself smiling softly as she approached Lucian and patted him gently. He grumbled that he wasn’t sulking, though the pout on his lips did diminish somewhat.
When he whined like that, it reassured her that he still needed her.
Perhaps it wasn’t that he needed her—perhaps it was she who needed him.
But what did it matter? As long as she could remain by Lucian’s side, nothing else mattered.

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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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