The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 52

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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 — Episode 52

Lia felt the passage of time anew.
‘You’re growing up too, Lucian. Somehow it feels both relieving and sad.’
As he grew older, the space beside him would fill with people other than herself.
It was different from when his world had held only her. His world was expanding—she ought to be glad—but the sting of it was unavoidable.
‘Three years will pass in a blink, won’t it?’
-Seven years already slipped through your fingers.
‘……True. I wondered when he’d ever grow up, and now he’s already fifteen.’
Perhaps independence was not what Lucian needed, but what she herself required. Already she feared his leaving.
-He’s not vanishing forever. Why does it frighten you so? Humans have short lives anyway—none of them last forever.
‘You’re right, I suppose.’
The average human lifespan was sixty years. Compared to Lia, who had lived three hundred, or a dragon who could live a thousand years, it was devastatingly brief.
‘I can only stand by his side and ensure he finds happiness, builds a home, and can rest when death comes.’
-You grieve his growing up this very moment, and now you speak of marriage and death? Stop your precocious prattle and just give Lucian my regards.
‘What? You’re hardly older than I am!’
And so she and Kaiser bickered, exchanging trivial talk.
Early June—a day bright with fine weather.

* * *

At that same moment, Lucian had come to the Capital for an outing with Dio, Leopold, and Harry.
Harry was a friend Leopold had brought two weeks prior.
Lucian had harbored doubts about whether he could truly be trusted, but Leopold’s near-slavish loyalty to him made those suspicions fall away quickly.
If anything, Harry had grasped before Leopold himself that Lucian’s existence must remain hidden.
‘Set aside the matter of his identity—if people learn that the Crown Prince and I look identical, there’ll be those eager to exploit it.’
To assassinate Leopold and make him a puppet, for instance.
Of course, Leopold seemed not to have thought that far. Otherwise…….
“……Why must I be reduced to this?”
There was no chance they’d swap clothes.
Currently, Lucian found himself coerced by Leopold’s persistence into what amounted to a prince-and-pauper game: Lucian mimicking Leopold, and Leopold mimicking Lucian.
From somewhere, Leopold had produced a wig and a potion to temporarily alter eye color.
Lucian had heard that bearing Royal bloodline traits was illegal—where had he obtained these?
Of course, since a mere Necklace sufficed, he wasn’t using them anyway.
“Lucian! Not ready yet?!”
“Hah—I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Lucian caught sight of himself in the mirror—unmistakably Leopold’s face—and with a sigh stepped from the fitting room.
As he drew back the partition, three pairs of eyes fixed upon him. Leopold had already donned a brown wig and completed his disguise.
“Whoa!”
“They really do look identical.”
“……I truly wouldn’t recognize the difference.”
Save for Leopold, whose eyes sparkled with delight, Dio and Harry wore expressions of bewilderment.
“But do we really have to go this far? What if someone else finds out?”
“Relax. Harry rented this entire place, so we’re fine.”
They were currently in the Men’s Clothing Store. Every staff member had been sent out; they had effectively secured exclusive use.
“And I’m buying all the clothes we’re wearing today, so don’t worry about it.”
“What? Even my—my clothes too?”
Dio wore resplendent, refined aristocratic attire. The disguised Lucian was dressed the same.
Dio, who had never worn such expensive garments in his life, fidgeted with the fabric awkwardly.
“Of course! Today, we’re playing the aristocrat, aren’t we?”
“……Your Highness is of Royal bloodline.”
“In any case! Neither Lucian nor Dio has ever been to an art gallery or theater before.”
Such extravagant pursuits belonged only to the aristocracy; a Commoner could never access them naturally.
“Come now, gentlemen! Shall we truly begin our adventure?”
“Yeah!”
“……Hah.”
“This bodes ill.”
Only Leopold and Dio, who were Kindred Spirits, cheered; Lucian and Harry remained skeptical.
Yet no one possessed the power to restrain Leopold’s recklessness.
Thus the four set out into the streets, feigning aristocratic manner.
Since Lucian and Leopold resembled each other as though twins, Leopold pulled his hat low to avoid attracting attention.
Lucian, too, disliked being noticed, and attempted to don a hat, but Leopold firmly refused.
“Today you’re not Lucian—you’re Leopold Odelion. We have the Empress’s permission to go out, so you needn’t hide.”
That meant: behave as Leopold usually did, and deal with the honor guards, servants, and aristocrats who would recognize him as the Crown Prince.
At first, Lucian stumbled, unfamiliar with Leopold’s usual demeanor, until Harry offered guidance from beside him.
“His Highness is a man of consistency. Simply mirror what you’ve observed of him.”
“……Is that an insult?”
“Ahem. A man of uncluttered spirit, I should say.”
An insult, then. Yes—for a Crown Prince, his mind was remarkably vacant.
Lucian had no choice but to grin widely and adopt Leopold’s signature expression.
Dio saw it and trembled behind his hand, while the other two fought desperately to suppress their laughter.
People approached and addressed Leopold—or rather, Lucian.
“I never expected to see Your Highness in such a place. We met briefly at a gathering some time ago—do you recall?”
“Your Highness, this is my daughter. She is of your age. If it pleases you, might I introduce her?”
Wherever they moved, aristocrats swarmed like roaches, desperate to grasp any thread of connection to the Imperial Family.
Each interaction drained his energy, each one irritated him. Had Leopold endured this constantly?
For the first time, Lucian found him admirable.
As Lucian impersonated Leopold flawlessly, handling the aristocrats, Harry—watching from a distance—pursed his lips.
“He’s never dealt with aristocracy before, yet he’s responding well.”
“I assigned it to him as a joke, but he’s genuinely good at it. Or rather—isn’t he more refined than most aristocrats?”
“Refined? Lucian?”
Dio, busy munching snacks, suddenly thrust his head forward.
“Speaking of which, you mentioned Dio and Lucian have been friends for a long time, yes?”
“……That speech pattern of his. It’s unsettling. Why does he attach such bizarre qualifiers to people’s names?”
“Ahem! Do answer my question, if you please! Has Lucian—perhaps—received Aristocratic Etiquette training?”
After Dio landed a jab at Harry, Leopold beside him seized his stomach and cackled.
“Who knows. Not I. But that fellow’s always been like that.”
“Always gallivanting about in that manner?”
Leopold faltered at the barb masked as innocence, shooting Harry a look.
“No, I mean—he doesn’t speak bluntly when addressing others normally. I can’t speak to his etiquette, but from what I’ve seen, he’s simply mirroring Leopold’s tone. He’s still fundamentally himself, isn’t he?”
“Hmm, is that so?”
There was no arguing with Leopold’s assessment, yet doubt lingered.
No matter how Lucian looked it, he seemed like someone who’d received proper instruction.
“Ah, he appeared to be a fallen aristocrat. Perhaps he received such training in his past.”
“A……fallen aristocrat?”
“Right? How else would Lucian live in such a grand mansion? It’s called the Ghost Mansion, though I’ve heard even it cannot be inhabited by anyone save nobility.”
“That does make sense…….”
“But shouldn’t we extract him now? Lucian’s about to explode.”
“How did you notice that?”
Dio silently pointed to Lucian’s hand. His fist was clenched so tightly blood had drained from it.
He bore no outward sign, but was compressing his annoyance to its limit.
Leopold agreed they should call a halt and sent Harry to intervene. But before Harry could finish—
“We have company.”
Lucian decisively dismissed the aristocrats.
“I came today to spend time with my friends. Might we leave it at that?”
He maintained Leopold’s guise with a benign smile, though his eyes had turned ice-cold.
Watching Lucian slip through the aristocrats with soft but absolute authority, Harry’s eyes widened slightly.
The moment Lucian turned his back to the aristocrats, he discarded his mask and approached Leopold with murderous intent in his expression, his stride long. And without anyone noticing, he seized Leopold by the collar.
“Be honest. You planned this swap to get out of dealing with this mess, didn’t you?”
“Ah, you caught me.”
“Change back. Now. I’m done. I won’t do this anymore.”
“Ahahaha! Dio, look! I’ve never seen him so fed up before!”
“Leo—! ……Ugh.”
Unable to even call Leopold by name without breaking character, Lucian swallowed his rage. Dio and Harry together labored to calm him.
Leopold, laughing, let his eyes flash with something sharp once no one was watching.
‘Lucian, you’re the best!’
Though he showed nothing, he’d felt a fresh shock watching Lucian handle those troublesome aristocrats with such commanding charisma moments before.
Dressed identically to himself, observing Lucian, Leopold intuited that mimicking him might grant him greater dignity.
At this unexpected discovery, Leopold’s lips curved into a smile.
“Come on, don’t be angry—”
“Get away from me!”
No matter how Lucian shoved him, Leopold clung to him like a leech.
If Leopold could have a brother, he thought, he would want one just like Lucian.

* * *

“……There’s no excuse for how aristocrats behave.”
At Dio’s mutter, Leopold and Harry, who’d been walking ahead, turned.
Unlike those two, who were full of vigor, Dio’s eyes were half-lidded with exhaustion.
“Already tired? We haven’t done much today.”
“Exactly. We looked at the art gallery a bit, rode horses, and rested at the Café. That’s all.”
Watching the Crown Prince and noble companion baffled by his complaint, Dio shook his head.
“There’s no end to what requires attention.”
Gait, the way one sips tea, which fork to use—details upon details demanded care.
Beyond that, minor corrections left him depleted far faster than usual.
Leopold and Harry had trained from childhood, so that was one thing—but why was Lucian managing perfectly?
“This is why I despise talented people.”
“……I’m exhausted too, you know. At least you didn’t have to manage aristocrats.”
Dio’s complaint died on his lips. True—no one today had suffered as much as Lucian.
And yet the very person everyone sought was over there, blithely playing around.
“Now, just one more—we see this and we’re done. It’s the most famous musical of the season, they say.”
“I’ve secured a royal box, so Your Highness needn’t worry about drawing unwanted attention.”
“That’s music to my ears.”
Dio and Lucian, unwittingly energized, followed the two toward the Theater. And there they encountered an unforeseen complication.
“My, Your Highness. To meet you here of all places.”
“……Who is this?”
Even from a distance, the bright pink hair was unmistakable. A girl who addressed the Crown Prince without hesitation, speaking plainly, seemed to share considerable rapport with him—though…….
Lucian, uncertain how to respond, glanced sidelong at Harry and Leopold.
Both looked visibly flustered. Leopold’s eyes in particular went wide with shock.
Harry quickly gathered his wits and whispered to Lucian.
“His Highness’s betrothed—the Princess Liriis Sevans.”
A betrothed? Of all times?
Lucian hid his panic and began to perform.
“That’s right. I didn’t expect to see you here. Have you come alone?”
“The rumors of its excellence sparked my curiosity, so I came to see. Though I notice unfamiliar faces beside you.”
Liriis’s gaze passed over Harry, settling on Leopold and Dio.
Leopold pulled his hat down even lower.
“Friends I grew close to during my studies abroad. You wouldn’t know them.”
“Ah, I see. A pleasure to meet you all. I am Liriis Sevans.”
“……Lucian Bane.”
“D-Dio Ferdin.”
They had agreed beforehand on what names to give should someone ask their identities.
Fortunately, Liriis lost interest in the two quickly.
“Since we’ve met by chance, shall we watch the performance together?”
“……Pardon?”
“Why do you look so startled? Surely you don’t……find me objectionable?”
Lucian felt cold sweat trickling down his neck. Liriis wore such a pitiful expression that the refusal forming on his lips died unspoken.
“Your Highness hasn’t come to visit me lately, and when I’ve gone to see you, you’re always away. I’ve been feeling quite lonely. Could there be……another woman?”
“……That’s impossible!”
It was Leopold who shouted. Every eye turned toward him.

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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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