The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 57

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Phantom Bride of the Forsaken Prince — Episode 57

Lost in thought, gazing at the stars scattered across the night sky, I felt a presence approaching.
Lucian was coming through the distant forest.
[Did you see Dio off properly?]
“Yes, I walked him to the edge of the forest.”
[He could have stayed the night. It’s not as though we lack rooms, and he’s slept here plenty of times before.]
“Dio offered to stay, but I turned him down.”
[Why?]
“……Just. I wanted to be alone tonight.”
Lucian dropped down beside me with a heavy sigh, then tilted his gaze upward to match mine. His expression had grown melancholic, drawn inward.
I thought he’d shaken off Leopold well enough, but perhaps he hadn’t. Then again, they had spent time together—it would be hard to recover from that in mere days.
[Do you regret telling Leopold the truth?]
At my gentle probe, Lucian answered with a measured tone.
“I’m not sure. But it was bound to happen eventually.”
[It would be nice if Leopold came back.]
“……He won’t.”
[Still, if he does come, is there nothing you’d want to say to him?]
Lucian’s lips parted, then closed. He seemed lost in thought, unable to settle on an answer.
[Lucian, don’t overthink this. Right now, forget all the complications and politics. Just think about the two of you. What do you really think of Leopold?]
“Leopold is…… oblivious, scatterbrained, unaware of his position as Crown Prince, and utterly foolish.”
‘So you do care for him? Because none of that sounds like insult—it sounds like affection.’
“But…… I want to keep being with him.”
[Do you regret what you said to him?]
“……Yes. I thought getting it off my chest would feel lighter, but it’s the opposite. I wish I’d just kept it buried.”
Lucian leaned his head against my shoulder, his weight suddenly fragile.
“What if I never see Leopold again?”
I didn’t know what comfort to offer. I couldn’t bring myself to mouth platitudes about everything turning out fine.
If Leopold truly never returned to this place, their bond would snap clean—irreversible.
Only if Leopold came back would there be any hope of mending what had broken.
Crackle—
At the sudden sound, I lifted my head. Though not a breath of wind stirred, I heard rustling from the distant brush.
The presence drew steadily closer. And it was unmistakably familiar.
[Lucian, do you think you can apologize to Leopold honestly if you see him?]
“……Yes.”
[Then this time, speak from your heart.]
“Leopold isn’t here……”
I pinched Lucian’s cheek and pointed toward the brush. There, disheveled and breathing hard, stood Leopold.
Lucian’s eyes widened in shock. He surged to his feet.
“Leopold……”
“Lucian!”
Leopold cried out first, his voice breaking the night. A moment of heavy silence fell between them—and then he dropped to his knees.
The Crown Prince of the Empire did not kneel. It was unthinkable.
Both Lia and Lucian froze in shock. Just as Lucian moved toward him, Leopold spoke.
“I’m sorry!”
Lucian stopped in his tracks.
“I’m sorry for not recognizing you!”
“……”
“I’m sorry for speaking carelessly while knowing nothing! For bringing up Father and Mother without any sense! For calling you a doppelgänger!”
Leopold apologized for everything he had done, his voice raw with remorse.
“I’m sorry for not knowing how you’ve lived……”
Before long, tears spilled from Leopold’s eyes. Trembling like aspen leaves, he could barely lift his face.
Glancing at Lucian, I saw his expression was unreadable.
Then Lucian moved. He crossed to Leopold and lowered himself to one knee as well, bringing them eye to eye.
“How much do you know?”
“Everything. That you’re my twin brother, that you grew up as a nonentity in the Imperial Palace, that you were cast out to this place—I know it all.”
“Who did you tell?”
Leopold shook his head firmly.
“No one but Harry. If I told anyone else, it could hurt you.”
“What about the Emperor and Empress?”
“……They’re the ones who hid you. If I told anyone, I don’t know what would happen to you.”
Unlike myself, who had only ever heard stories, Leopold must have known nothing but love his entire life—yet here he was, choosing to cast aside his parents without hesitation. It seemed foreign to me.
[Did you come to apologize?]
“……Yes. I thought I’d regret it forever if I didn’t.”
Though he lacked perception, Leopold was always bold. Yet the person before me now seemed impossibly small.
[Lucian!]
At my voice, Lucian’s head snapped up.
[You promised to be honest. This is your chance.]
If he let this moment slip away now, he would carry the sting of regret forever. Lucian swallowed hard—he felt it too.
“I’m…… sorry too.”
Leopold froze. Slowly, he lifted his gaze.
“……I was angry because you seemed to grow up loved, unlike me. I think I took it out on you without meaning to. I’m sorry.”
“Why……”
Why are you apologizing?
Leopold’s expression asked the question his voice could not.
“Well…… I don’t know how you’ll take this, but I didn’t live quite so miserably. True, there was no one to lean on in the Imperial Palace, but everything changed after I came here.”
It started with meeting you—then came new bonds with Kaiser, Dio, James, and others.
Every moment spent with them has been a joy. So I’m not lying.
“Don’t you…… resent me?”
“……At first, I did. But not anymore.”
“Why……?”
“Because you didn’t forget me because you wanted to.”
‘No, Lucian. You should be angry with me. While you were overlooked and forgotten, I selfishly claimed everything you should have had. So you have every right to……’
“More than anything…… I enjoyed the time we spent together. I always wondered what it would feel like to have a brother. Because of you, I finally understand what brotherhood means.”
Leopold could no longer contain the emotion surging inside him.
As he broke into sobs, shaking uncontrollably, even Lucian seemed flustered.
“No, Lucian. Please be angry with me—I can’t breathe under the weight of what they did, abandoning you. Don’t forgive us. We’ve given you a wound you’ll carry your whole life……!”
Leopold pulled Lucian close. Slowly, Lucian let himself be embraced. In his ear came the endless refrain of apologies.
It was not a hollow request for forgiveness, but something that poured from the depths of his soul.
“I’m truly all right……”
Then Leopold cradled Lucian’s face, their eyes meeting. Like looking into a mirror—the same golden gaze filled Lucian’s vision. Tears welled in Lucian’s eyes too.
“Oh……”
Once the tears began, they would not stop. His mind remained calm, but his body would not obey. He didn’t want to cry, yet cry he did.
“Huh, huh……”
“I’m sorry, Lucian. I’m sorry I found out so late.”
“Huh…… Why, why didn’t you come sooner……”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
“Ugh, I wanted to see you and Mother just once before coming here……”
“Yes, it’s all my fault. You were right in front of me and I never knew.”
No—it was not Leopold’s fault. He had been a child too; how could he have known?
Yet Lucian unearthed the resentment he’d buried toward his family, piece by piece.
And with each memory, Leopold took it upon himself, offering his apologies.
Watching the two brothers weep, I could only stand silent, my own throat tight.
For a long time, they cried together, finally voicing the truths they’d kept hidden all this while.
Once the tears began to subside, Leopold gripped Lucian’s shoulders and looked at him with fierce determination.
“Lucian, I’m going to become Emperor. When I do, I’ll present you to the world without hesitation.”
“……What?”
“Father and Mother committed something horrible. More than that, the superstition about twins is wrong from the start. Based on this baseless, terrible myth, countless children have died. I won’t let it stand any longer.”
A child who had simply drifted along the path to the Imperial Throne now had a new purpose.
“Three years. Just give me three years. The moment I come of age, I’ll take the throne.”
“That’s not something you can just will into happening.”
“No, it is. I have no rivals, so it’s absolutely within reach. If I strengthen my power base and take on Father’s responsibilities from now, I can seize the Imperial Throne even sooner—wait, I’m not undermining you. You’re a legitimate prince with every right to the succession, but……!”
“It’s fine. I have no interest in the throne anyway.”
“You have no interest……?”
“It was never meant for me. And there’s no need to push so hard. If people learn that we’re twins, the traditionalists might oppose it. I’ll stay here even after I come of age. And maybe someday I’ll travel the world.”
Just then, Lucian’s eyes met mine across the distance.
He’d said as a child that he wanted to travel the world—I never thought he still did.
“I’m happy with this life now. Besides, you already know exactly who I am.”
Lucian’s smile was radiant, utterly free of regret. Leopold’s brow furrowed as he stared at him.
“No, I’m going to tell the entire Empire that you’re my twin brother.”
“Why walk such a difficult path?”
“Why indeed! This is absolutely necessary! My brother is alive and well—I can’t just pretend he doesn’t exist.”
Leopold’s firm declaration faltered. His agitation gave way to hesitation.
“……Will you still let me visit, even after this?”
From reckless visits to tentative courtesy—the contrast was almost comical. Lucian couldn’t help but laugh.
“If I tell you not to come, you won’t?”
“No, no! If you dislike it, I won’t show my face again……”
“Forget it. What’s it matter now?”
“……Really? You’re sure?”
“Yes. But from now on, no more talk about doppelgängers or emperors or anything like that. It hurts every time I hear it.”
Leopold shook his head vigorously, swearing he’d never say such things again. Fresh tears streamed down his cheeks as he grinned through them.
“What kind of emperor-to-be cries this much?”
“T-this is just an involuntary response! I can’t help it!”
“Right, right. I’m sure you’ll manage.”
“Hey. Do you know I’m your older brother? From now on, call me brother.”
“……Ugh, no. That gives me chills.”
“Chills?! Is that what you say to your own brother?!”
“We’ve been friends all this time—you expect me to suddenly start calling you ‘brother’?!”
Whoosh—Bang! Bang-bang!
As the two bickered, a burst of fireworks suddenly lit the sky, painting it with brilliant color. Leopold was the first to look up and speak.
“Happy birthday, brother.”
“Happy birthday to you too.”
Now, at last, they truly resembled brothers. I understood then: this was the family Lucian had always dreamed of.
‘You’ve found your wish, Lucian.’
I slipped away from the two of them and returned to the Mansion first. I didn’t want to break this moment.

* * *

I stood alone in the Kitchen, pristine and spotless.
[……It feels especially quiet tonight.]
Why does this solitude feel lonelier than usual, when I’ve longed for Lucian to find his family? He’s found kinship—shouldn’t I be happy for him?
[Ah, I see now.]
It was loneliness born of Lucian’s newfound closeness to his real family.
[Haha, even though I wanted him to grow closer to them.]
It’s contradictory. It’s selfish. Thank goodness Lucian hasn’t noticed my heart.
“Lia!”
While I was composing myself, head bowed, Lucian rushed into the Kitchen.
Breathing hard, as if he’d been searching for me, relief washed over his face.
“I thought you’d disappeared again.”
[……Why would I disappear? I left so you two could have a good time. Where’s Leopold?]
“He’s gone back to the Imperial Palace.”
[He left sooner than I expected. I thought you’d spend the whole day together.]
Maybe because I’d been consumed by that ugly jealousy just moments before, I couldn’t quite meet his eyes properly.
[Would you like something to drink? I can prepare some late-night snacks for you……]
I didn’t finish. Lucian wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“Lia.”
[Hmm?]
“Meeting you has been my greatest fortune. Thank you for becoming my bride, Lia.”
His sudden confession made my spirit tremble.
Beyond joy—it was rapture.
[Don’t say that to a ghost. You’re a living human being.]
Yet I couldn’t accept his words freely. Because of what happened today, I’d realized he needed a living person by his side, not a phantom like me.
“No, whether you’re a ghost or a person doesn’t matter. I love you because you’re you, Lia.”
At those words, I stopped trying to push him away.
“I know I still look like a child to you. But I’ve been sincere since the very beginning.”
Lucian stepped back to gaze at my face. As I tilted my head slightly, his features came into clear view.
I suddenly realized something.
When had he grown so tall?
Though traces of boyish softness remained, he was no longer the chick-like child I’d known. His transformation into manhood was unmistakable now.
While I stared, lost in thought, his face drew nearer. Then his lips brushed my cheek.
[What…… what?]
I had kissed his forehead before, but this was the first time he had kissed me—ever.
Though I felt no sensation, the feeling itself seemed strange.
“Someday, I’ll make you truly my bride. Will you wait for me?”
His confession was too weighty to dismiss lightly. My entire body went rigid. Lucian pulled me close again.
I could see his ears and neck flushed crimson.
This was no fleeting emotion. For the first time, his words truly reached me.
He had been sincere since childhood, and he remained so now.
‘What have I…… what have I done?’
Sudden dread seized me. A living man fallen for a ghost? It was absurd beyond reckoning.
I am a specter, dead three hundred years. A being who can never truly live alongside the living.
The dream suddenly collapsed into harsh reality.
Only now did I understand: my wish to stay with Lucian forever was merely a dream that should never come true.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————