The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 51

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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 Crown Prince’s Ghost Bride — Chapter 51

“Ah, this is nice~”
With his belly full and a drowsy contentment settling over him, Dio sprawled out on the grass in the sunlight.
“Aren’t you going home?”
“Is that what you say to a friend you haven’t seen in ages?”
“Ages? It’s been less than a week.”
“Really now. Why are you like this lately? Did puberty hit you extra hard? You’re going to end up making Lia dislike you.”
“Why did you suddenly bring up Lia?!”
“Why? The dopey little puppy you used to be has vanished, and all that’s left is a snarling mutt.”
“……Could you please not compare me to a dog?”
“Anyway. Let me rest a bit before I head out. Or should I just sleep here tonight?”
When Lucian—who would normally have answered “suit yourself”—hesitated visibly, Dio’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“You really do have something going on, don’t you? Just tell me already! What are you hiding?!”
“Why are you like this? It’s nothing, so stop making a fuss.”
“You won’t tell me even so?”
Dio curled his fingers into claws and began tickling at Lucian’s ribs. Lucian flinched, then burst out laughing.
Lia paused mid-laundry to watch the two boys rolling around on the grass.
[What a good time this is.]
Lucian’s worries had largely resolved, and by chance he’d formed a bond with his true brother as well—things were falling into place.
It was lovely to see Lucian laugh so freely, without a care in the world. It had been such a long time.
[I wish every day could be like this…….]
Rustle—
“I’m here!”
Before he’d even finished speaking, Leopold emerged from the thicket beyond the fence with leaves clinging to his hair.
Lia was so startled that she could only stare at him blankly, and the two boys who’d been playing happily together were equally taken aback.
In that instant, the gravity of the situation struck her.
[Eyes! Hide your eyes!]
Even in disguise, Leopold’s Royalty stood out plainly—his eyes. Unlike Lucian, who used a Magic Tool to conceal his hair and eye color.
To make matters worse, on every other visit he’d come dressed as a servant, but today he’d inexplicably worn different clothes—clearly expensive ones that practically screamed “I’m an aristocrat.”
“……Huh? Lucian, who’s that next to you?”
Leopold tilted his head, puzzled, looking at Dio beside Lucian.
Lucian had already covered Dio’s eyes with his hands.
“H-he’s my friend…….”
Lucian’s gaze darted about frantically. He sent an SOS to Lia with his eyes.
‘I don’t know what to do about this either!’
“Let go of me!”
Dio, wriggling free, finally escaped Lucian’s grip. The moment he did, his eyes met Leopold’s directly.
Leopold was regarding Dio with a slightly pouty expression, while Dio’s jaw dropped as he stared at Leopold—who looked identical to Lucian.
Dio’s finger began pointing rapidly back and forth between Lucian and Leopold.
“You look exactly alike…… Wait? But white hair and gold eyes…… Eek! A-a Royalty?!”
Hic—
Overwhelmed with shock, Dio hiccupped.
“A-am I dreaming? If we’re talking about Royalty in our age group, that would be the Crown Prince…… *gack*.”
[Dio! You can’t faint!]
As Dio, overcome with surprise, stumbled backward, Lia hurried to catch him. Lucian left him in her care and approached Leopold.
“Really, you should at least wear a proper disguise when you come here, shouldn’t you?”
“I did disguise myself.”
“You didn’t hide the most important thing—your eyes! And that hair too! Anyone can see you have white hair. You should have worn a wig or something.”
“You’re going to nag me after only three days? I get enough of that from Harry.”
“Who’s Harry?”
“Hm, well, he’s my friend. And I thought only you’d be here, so there was no need to bother with a wig since I didn’t even come through the village.”
He had a point—she couldn’t argue with that. But still, for someone claiming to be the Crown Prince, wasn’t he being rather reckless?
“Why are you coming now, though?”
“Hmm?”
“……You were coming every day, so why have you waited three days this time?”
Leopold’s face, which had been blinking in confusion, suddenly lit up. He grinned and gave Lucian a playful shove.
“You missed me, didn’t you?”
“W-who said anything about missing you—!”
“I developed a fever after returning to the Imperial Palace and couldn’t leave my room for a day. They warned me that if I went wandering off on my own again, there’d be consequences.”
[So you’ve already escaped again before three days have even passed?]
“Of course I’m not listening to that!”
His utter audacity left both Lia and Lucian speechless. Just then, Dio came to his senses and observed Leopold cautiously.
Leopold noticed his gaze and strode over confidently.
“Y-Your Highness…….”
“That’s right, I’m the Crown Prince. A friend of Lucian’s?”
Dio’s bewildered eyes kept darting between Leopold and Lucian. No matter how he looked at it, the resemblance between them was almost frightening.
“Am I dreaming right now?”
“Isn’t it fascinating? I was just as shocked when I first saw Lucian, I had no idea!”
Though Dio had been frightened by the fact that Leopold was Royalty, the Crown Prince’s approachable manner gradually set him at ease.
“But how did Your Highness learn about this place?”
“I heard rumors about a Haunted Mansion and was curious, so I came to check it out. That’s when I discovered Lucian, who looks exactly like me. And just call me Leopold. If you’re a friend of Lucian’s, then you’re my friend too.”
Dio found it remarkable. Apart from their hair and eye color, they looked identical, yet their personalities were completely different.
Of course, Lucian’s temperament had become somewhat sharper recently, but Leopold seemed ingenuous and pure-hearted.
As the two of them naturally began talking, Lucian found himself at a loss.
“He doesn’t seem like Royalty at all, no matter how I look at it. Are all Crown Princes like that normally?”
[That’s unlikely. Leopold must be an unusual one. And strictly speaking, you’re Royalty too, Lucian.]
“……But I’ve been abandoned. It’s different from him.”
She wondered if she’d said something unnecessary, but Lucian didn’t seem bothered. He soon moved over to join the two of them.
The three boys conversed like decade-old friends, warm and comfortable.
Dio and Leopold in particular became fast friends, and before long they had their arms linked around each other’s shoulders.
[Children do seem to bond quickly.]
Come to think of it, Dio and Leopold had quite a bit in common.
Both were straightforward, playful, and naturally sociable. Moreover, since Dio was an aristocrat’s son with no connection to the world of Royalty or nobility, he could treat Leopold without hesitation or formality.
Rather, it seemed as though Dio and Leopold had known each other from the start.
“Oh, you’ve learned Swordsmanship! I heard there aren’t many commoners who can wield a blade.”
“My father runs a weapons shop. So I’ve learned from mercenaries who visited often, and Lucian and I sometimes spar together.”
“Really? Lucian can use a sword too?”
“He’s incredibly skilled. We were evenly matched at first, but now it’s hard for me to win.”
“Is that so?”
“As a Royalty member, you must handle a sword well too, Leopold?”
“I started learning as a child, but I’ve never had any real talent for it. As long as I can manage myself, that’s enough.”
“We were just about to spar. Would you like to join us, Leopold?”
“Of course I’d like to!”
“Fair warning—I won’t go easy on you!”
“Bring it on!”
Watching the two of them banter so perfectly in sync, Lucian unconsciously furrowed his brow.
“When did those two even become so close?”
[It’s nice that they get along so well.]
“……It bothers me.”
Whether it was because they were getting along so well that it irritated him, or because he felt like he was losing both a friend and a brother, Lucian was quietly growing jealous of them both.
Seeing his boyish age, she found herself laughing without meaning to.
“What are you laughing at?”
[Nothing. You’re just cute.]
Lucian’s cheeks flushed crimson, and he quickly turned away.
[My, are you embarrassed right now?]
“E-embarrassed?! Who’s embarrassed?! That’s not what this is!”
His tomato-red face did nothing to help his case.
Though she wanted to tease him further, the two rowdy boys had already noticed their interaction.
It would have been a familiar sight to Dio, but Leopold might have found it strange.
Sure enough, she saw Dio whispering something to Leopold.
[Lucian, be honest. You were trying to use me as an excuse to get Leopold to leave, weren’t you?]
“It’s obvious he’ll keep coming here, so I can’t play invisible every time. Besides, he can see me fine. Why would I be invisible to him?”
It was brazenly pragmatic—there wasn’t a hint of consideration in it. No matter how she thought about it, he’d clearly been aiming for a two-for-one.
[Well, no use crying over spilled milk.]
Lucian would figure it out on his own. Whether he convinced Leopold or failed, it wasn’t her concern.
[Still, tease him a little. Or the Crown Prince will run away.]
Lucian nodded, acknowledging he’d handle it, and went over to join Leopold and Dio.
Leopold, having heard something from Dio already, was now thoughtful, his eyes darting around the surroundings.
It seemed it would take some time for Leopold to grow accustomed to this place.

* * *

-So you’ve gotten close with the Crown Prince after all?
[Well, yes. These days they’re getting along like real brothers.]
On a lazy afternoon, Lia received contact from Kaiser and filled him in on everything that had happened.
About a month had passed since Lucian and Leopold had begun visiting each other regularly.
In that time, various small incidents had occurred.
Leopold had brazenly claimed that ghosts didn’t scare him, only to faint when he saw Lia cooking; he’d marveled over Lucian’s childhood drawings, amazed that he’d looked identical even as a child; and he’d suddenly brought along a boy named Harry and caused quite a commotion.
[Wasn’t all of that Leopold’s doing?]
-Leeeeeopolllld?
[……What’s with that sarcastic tone?]
-Should I be sweet about it then? Since when have you been calling that Crown Prince by his first name so casually, making such a fuss! Did you forget? That bastard is the family that abandoned Lucian!
Ah, so that was it.
She could understand Kaiser’s hostility toward Leopold to some degree.
Because she’d felt the same way when she first met him.
[Leopold isn’t that kind of person.]
-You’re doing it again!]
[Calm down and listen to what I have to say first!]
Kaiser flinched and grumbled.
Here he was, two years into his Adult Dragon form, and still immature.
[Leopold doesn’t know that Lucian is his twin brother.]
-Huh? How could he not know?
[The people around him have kept it strictly secret. So he doesn’t know he has a twin brother, or that the friend he’s been spending time with is that brother.]
-……This goddamn Imperial Family!
Now that he understood the situation, Kaiser redirected his anger from Leopold to the Imperial Family itself.
After ranting for a while, he calmed down and spoke again.
-Does Lucian know?
[Why wouldn’t he? Leopold even joked that Lucian was his Doppelgänger.]
-…….
[I wasn’t sure at first whether I should let Lucian get close to Leopold, but I decided it wasn’t my place to interfere. Leopold is Lucian’s real family. There are feelings that can only be fulfilled by your true family.]
-……Did you tell Lucian that?
Lia shook her head. At that, a sigh burst from the crystal sphere.
-I’m asking just in case, but don’t say that kind of thing to Lucian.
[Why?]
-Because he gets lonely, that’s why.
‘Lonely? Lucian? If anyone should feel lonely, it’s me. Why would Lucian feel lonely?’
Seeing Lia’s expression, Kaiser simply told her to follow what he said. Since she had no intention of saying anything anyway, she simply nodded in compliance.
-So how is Lucian doing now?
[He’s doing well so far. He struggled at first because Leopold didn’t recognize him, but now he seems unbothered by it. He went down to the village with the boys today.]
-That would explain it. I was wondering why he hadn’t shown up, when normally he would have.
[Aren’t you coming by?]
-I’m busy. Now that I’m an Adult Dragon, there’s so much to do. I thought becoming an Adult Dragon meant freedom, but that’s not how it works.
Kaiser complained about being dragged around by the elders lately.
-So I probably won’t make it to Lucian’s birthday this time. I need to go check on Habier or whoever as well.
[Oh, that priest?]
Five years ago, Habier was the priest who’d infiltrated the Mansion Basement and had been semi-forcibly made Kaiser’s subordinate.
[Have you learned anything from him?]
-Not yet. He seems to be handling various tasks related to what happened five years ago, but I still can’t get near anything important.
[So he hasn’t gained your trust yet.]
-This isn’t something you can rush. I’ll just have to wait patiently.

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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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