The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 64

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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 64

His eyes fluttered open. Blinking hazily, he glanced around the room—the sun had already risen beyond the window.
“…Lia?”
Her name tumbled from his lips unbidden. Lucian stood dazed for a long moment, then rubbed his eyes.
“What was I dreaming about?”
He’d been having more dreams lately, but always they vanished the moment he woke.
“Ah, it’s nothing much.”
As he did every morning, Lucian brushed it aside and got out of bed.
He walked to the window and drew back the curtains to reveal brilliant sunshine.
“A perfect day, if ever there was one.”
Imperial Calendar, Year 325, the 17th day of the 7th month.
Lucian’s birthday had arrived.

.
.

Meanwhile, in that same moment, someone who had dreamed the same dream as Lucian stirred awake.
Unlike Lucian, lingering in gentle afterimages, this person’s head throbbed as though from a terrible nightmare.
“Ha ha… Aria… it’s been so long since you showed me your face. And you’d do this to me?”
How long had it been since he’d dreamed like this? Decades, it seemed.
“Aria, don’t smile at that bastard. It makes me furious.”
In the dream, Aria had smiled at both him and the man beside him.
Though her smile was directed at them both, the mere fact that he had seen her beautiful smile at that man burned like fire in his chest.
“Come to think of it, it’s been ages since I went to see you. I’ve never visited that Mansion in this body.”
If I hurt you, I’m sorry, Aria.
Though his voice could never reach her, the man chuckled to himself in amusement.
“Soon I’ll be able to meet you. This time, don’t refuse me. If you do, I won’t be able to control what I become.”
His obsession with her was evident in every word.
Yet he believed this obsession to be love, nothing less.
“Now then, shall we finish today’s work quickly?”
The man’s eyes gleamed, stained with obsession and twisted affection.
They burned with brilliant gold.

* * *

[What? You can’t come? But you promised you’d make it this year.]
-That’s what I’m saying! Why won’t this work finish?! I can’t come today, but tomorrow… no, the day after… no, wait! I’ll definitely be there within the week!
[…Sigh. Fine.]
-Please tell Lucian for me!
Kaiser pressed his hands together in earnest pleading. When the connection cut off, Lia released a long sigh.
[Lucian’s going to be so disappointed…]
Today was Lucian’s birthday.
For the past few years, Kaiser had come faithfully once or twice a year to spend time with him. But when it came to Lucian’s actual birthday, he’d never been able to come in person and celebrate.
Something about receiving instruction from the elders.
He’d always been busy, and their schedules hadn’t aligned—but this year, when Lucian came of age, Kaiser had promised to celebrate in person without fail.
[And now he cancels on the day itself.]
Of course, Kaiser had his own reasons, but that didn’t stop her from feeling bitter about it.
[I need to tell Lucian first.]
Lia rose from her seat and made her way toward Lucian’s room.
[Lucian, about Kaiser today…]
The room she passed into was eerily empty.
[Huh? Where did he go?]
It was late morning—the time when Lucian was usually in his room.
Besides, she’d assumed he was preparing to go out, having mentioned an appointment with Dio in the village.
[He doesn’t seem to be bathing.]
No sound came from the bathroom. Puzzled, Lia left his room and began wandering the Mansion.
She searched the Library, the Music Room, the downstairs Living Room, the Kitchen, the Training Ground, and even ventured outside—but Lucian was nowhere to be found.
[Where on earth did he go?]
As she was returning to the Mansion, scratching her head, she finally spotted him.
[Lucian! Where were you! I’ve been looking everywhere—]
She stopped mid-sentence, staring at him.
Lucian flinched like a child caught in mischief. The place he’d just emerged from was…
[…Why are you coming out of there?]
The Basement.
Her mind went blank.
Why would Lucian be coming out of the Basement?
How had he even gotten in?
She was certain she’d placed a magical seal on it.
Could Lucian have broken the seal?

‘When you disappeared, your magic vanished at the same time.’

Suddenly, words Kaiser had spoken eight years ago echoed in her mind.
She’d thought at the time that he meant only the hastily-constructed protective magic had vanished.
Of course, the magic she’d installed beforehand would have been affected too.
If it was her mistake, she needed to make sure Lucian never entered the Basement again…
Lia reached out toward him, then stopped.
[…Why aren’t you saying anything?]
Lucian was unnaturally quiet. If he’d stumbled in by accident, he’d have had no trouble explaining himself. But his reaction suggested—
[You… surely this wasn’t the first time you went down there?]
“Ah, well, that is to say…”
As Lucian stammered, it felt as though her head had taken a blow.
But the shock was brief. A surge of emotion—betrayal, anger, or was it fear?—crashed over her.
[I told you never to go into the Basement! Did you forget what happened down there? If something happened to you, what would I—!]
“Lia, calm down. There was nothing in the Basement. Well, there is something, but…”
[Lucian! The Basement holds threats that could emerge at any moment from anywhere! From now on, you will not go down there again. And if you knew the seal was broken, you should have told me! Why would you even go down there in the first place!]
Lia shoved Lucian aside and slammed the door to the Basement stairs.
As she began to trace a sealing spell onto the door, Lucian stepped into her path.
“Lia, just listen to me first. I had a reason for going down there.”
[It doesn’t matter what the reason is. Do you remember what happened eight years ago? The people who came up from the Basement then—what they tried to do to you—!]
“To me?”
[To you…]
She couldn’t bring herself to say it—that those who had infiltrated the Basement had sought his life.
She’d explained most of what happened to Lucian back then, but she’d hidden the facts that would have been most shocking.
[There are things like that. I’m telling you all of this for your sake, so listen.]
Some truths in this world are better left unknown. Lia had decided to keep her silence for his benefit.
“Why. Tell me.”
His voice turned cold. When she glanced up, Lucian was staring down at her with a hardened expression.
“This concerns me, so isn’t it something I should know?”
[…]
Realizing she’d made a mistake by staying silent, Lia closed her mouth as Lucian roughly brushed his hair back.
“You always shut me out of important things.”
[No, Lucian, that’s not—]
“Then tell me.”
The chill in Lucian’s gaze was unmistakable. He was truly angry.
This was different from the times she’d deliberately pushed him away and hurt him.
‘But how can I tell him?’
The priests had intended to offer you as a sacrifice. There seemed to be some contract between the priests and the Imperial Family. Perhaps the Imperial Family sent you here precisely so you could be offered as a sacrifice…
How could she possibly say such a thing?
Thanks to Leopold, Lucian had finally freed himself from resentment toward his family and the Imperial Court.
But if he learned the full truth of what happened eight years ago, he might fall back into a chasm of betrayal.
Lia chose to keep silent.
‘Please, let this go, Lucian. Everything I do is for you.’
A heavy silence settled between them. Finding the moment unbearably awkward and tense, she finally opened her eyes fully.
When she looked at Lucian’s expression, she saw his eyes had lost focus.
Her spirit recoiled sharply.
“Ha, haha… I’m so sick of this.”
Lucian covered his face with one hand, and a hollow laugh escaped him—colorless, devoid of any genuine mirth.
“Lia, just be honest with me. Don’t make me miserable like this.”
[…What?]
“You tell Kaiser everything, but you tell me nothing. Why?”
[That’s because… it’s something you shouldn’t hear…]
“No, that’s not it.”
Lucian cut her off mid-sentence.
“You’ve always been like this. You see me as nothing but a child. Kaiser, on the other hand—you see him as your equal, don’t you?”
[Lucian, that’s not true. I really have reasons for—]
“Stop making excuses. In the end, it means I’m not reliable enough for you.”
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d dealt him a serious wound.
“Congratulations. If you wanted to sever my affection, you’ve succeeded. I feel… disgusted.”
Lia couldn’t reach out to him, could only watch from a distance as he turned away. In that moment, only one phrase came to mind.
[…I’m sorry.]
Lucian gritted his teeth and brushed past her. He grabbed his outer robe and headed for the door.
[Lu, Lucian…! Where are you going!]
It felt as though he might leave this place forever. As she desperately reached for him, Lucian’s face twisted further.
“What does it matter to you where I go?”
[But you could at least tell me where you’re headed…]
Lucian’s lips moved slightly before he turned his head sharply.
“To meet Dio. When I’ll be back, I don’t know.”
Lucian quickened his pace and left the Ghost Bride Mansion.
Lia walked as far as she could go, then watched as Lucian gradually disappeared from sight.
Rustle, rustle—
Leaves trembled in the wind, creating whispers in the air.
[Why am I so uneasy?]
An inexplicable dread swept over her again and again—a terror that he might vanish completely and never return.
He was simply going to meet Dio. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t made the trip down to the village before.
[…I need to apologize to Lucian.]
She’d hidden things from him for his sake, but he must have felt as though she didn’t trust him.
Lia belatedly recognized her own foolishness.
For a long time afterward, she remained rooted to that spot, staring at the place where Lucian had vanished.

* * *

“Damn it…!”
As Lucian reached the bottom of the forest path, he kicked a stray stone hard.
His anger wouldn’t settle.
“Kaiser gets everything, and why can’t I?”
When he was younger, he understood—she’d worried because he was still just a child. But wasn’t he old enough now to be trusted with information?
He’d seen enough hardship that he wouldn’t be easily shaken or frightened by any revelation. So what was she so concerned about?
The moment Lia had said he didn’t need to know, he realized something: she didn’t see him as her equal.
To her, he was nothing but a child in need of protection.
“God, this is frustrating…”
The hurt went deeper than when Lia had pushed him away with harsh words. Those careless remarks had cut him more keenly precisely because they felt like her true feelings.
After stewing in anger for a time, he found himself thinking of Lia’s face as she’d followed behind him.
“…She didn’t look well.”
They say the one who loves first loses the fight.
When his anger had cooled, he found himself worried about whether his words had wounded her.
“No. If I back down now, it’ll be the same as before.”
Their relationship needed to change. If things continued as they were, they’d only keep colliding without ever moving forward.
“But what am I supposed to do?”
Would acting more maturely make Lia see him as an equal?
“…Although Kaiser lacks maturity for someone his age anyway.”
Unbidden, the image of Kaiser at age eight—with a mental age similar to his own—came to mind. In the ten years since, Kaiser had barely changed.
“If anything, aren’t I more mature than Kaiser now…?”
Lucian continued forward, murmuring to himself, trying to puzzle out how he might appear more grown-up to Lia.

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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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