The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 7

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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 7

Sniffle, sniffle.
Lucian’s eyes had turned red as he continued to sniffle, his tears finally subsiding.
Why did he have to cry so pitifully like that?
It only made me uncomfortable, and I couldn’t leave either.
Thinking he’d calmed down enough, I rose from my seat.
“Where are you going?”
Just then, Lucian reached out his hand. But it passed right through my body. He stared blankly at his empty palm.
[You know I’m a ghost, yet you still try to grab me?]
“I… didn’t mean to.”
[Have you stopped crying?]
“Yes.”
He was dangling snot from his nose as he said it—how convincing. I sighed and wiped his face clean with a napkin.
Lucian blinked his golden eyes, unable to look away from me.
[You’ll drill a hole through my face at this rate.]
“Um, benefactor…”
[Don’t call me that.]
“Then, what should I call you?”
[I don’t know. Ghost? Bride? Or Ghost Bride?]
At the word “bride,” he turned pale—an easy child to tease, clearly.
“The, the bride thing is awkward. Tell me your name, please.”
I paused. My name…?
[I’m sorry, but I have no name.]
“What?”
[I said I have no name. So call me whatever feels right to you. Just not benefactor.]
I have no name.
To be precise, I don’t remember what kind of life I lived when I was alive, so I know nothing about myself—not my name, not my age, not even my face.
Not having a name isn’t inconvenient. There’s no one around to call it anyway.
Well, there is one person—but all he did was call me “ghost girl” in the end.
“Then I’ll call you Ghost Bride.”
[Fine.]
“So, Ghost Bride.”
[Yes, little groom?]
“I’m, I’m not little…”
Lucian’s expression soured at being called little. But it passed quickly, and he asked the question he’d been wanting to ask.
“You’re a ghost, but how do you grab things?”
His bright golden eyes turned toward the napkin in my hand. Carefully, he extended his own hand toward me. It passed through my body again.
“I can’t grab anything, but I’m curious how you do it.”
[Originally, I couldn’t grab things either.]
“What? But…”
I immediately released the mana I’d been wrapping around my hand. The napkin, which had been floating in the air, dropped with a soft thud.
“How… how did you…?”
[Mana, you know? Magic?]
“I do.”
[I can use magic. So if I wrap mana around my hand like this, I can do it—just like this!]
I picked the napkin up again, and Lucian gasped in wonder.
“That’s amazing! They said only special people can use magic…!”
[Well, ahem, I suppose I am rather special. After three hundred years, you learn a thing or two.]
“Wait! Three hundred years? How many years is that…? I’m eight, so…”]
Lucian tried to count on his fingers, but his eyes began to spin as the math proved difficult.
[Hmm? Wait. You’re eight?]
“Yes.”
[I thought you were seven.]
For an eight-year-old, he was rather small, wasn’t he?
Lucian puffed out his cheeks, sensing my inner thoughts.
“I’m not that young! I’m eight, okay?”
[You’re complaining about a mere one-year difference.]
“Seven and eight are different!”
[How are they so different?]
“Well… it’s just…”]
Lucian couldn’t find a proper answer and rolled his eyes. Upset at losing the argument, he glared at me with pointed eyes.
[Fine, fine. You’re a grown-up eight-year-old.]
Dealing with such a small child was exhausting, so I stood up.
[I noticed we got some decent ingredients recently. I’ll make lots of good food for you from now on.]
“You’ll keep cooking for me from now on?”
[…]
That was a good question. Why was I planning to cook for him?
Now that we could communicate, I should just teach him to cook for himself.
Rather than make excuses, I spoke what genuinely rose from my heart.
[Because that’s what I want to do.]
His unwavering gaze was almost unbearable, but I continued.
[I’ve lived here for over three hundred years, but you’re the first person who’s ever really seen me.]
“Really?”
[Yes. It’s… not so bad to talk with someone for the first time.]
Many people have stayed in this Mansion over the years and left. I naturally blended in among them.
But being with them was not the same as truly connecting, and no matter how much I tried to speak, there was no one who could understand or converse with me.
[Besides, can you even cook?]
Lucian shrank back.
[Last time I saw you trying to set the whole Kitchen ablaze.]
“You, you saw that?”
[Of course. This is my Mansion. I’ve been watching since the moment you arrived.]
“You watched from the very beginning…”]
[You were abandoned, after all.]
Lucian, who had been dazed, stiffened at my words.
[No matter how much you search for people, it won’t help. There really isn’t a single other person here besides you.]
“Since when…?”
[Since the moment you arrived.]
Lucian’s lips trembled as he hung his head low.
[I was trying not to meddle, but you can’t ignore something right in front of you.]
At my words, Lucian suddenly lifted his head. His eyes were full of expectation. That gaze tugged at something in me, so I lowered myself to meet his eyes.
[If this went on, I thought you’d become an earth-bound spirit just like me. So I secretly started cooking. Remember how the oatmeal was oversalted at first? I didn’t know how to judge the seasoning, so I added too much salt without realizing it.]
Lucian’s golden eyes wavered. Tears seemed ready to spill, but he pressed at his eyes and smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
“No! It was delicious! It was the best food I’ve ever eaten!”
[You little flatterer. You don’t have to butter me up. I’ll cook for you every day anyway.]
“I’m not flattering you, I mean it…”
[Little one.]
“Yes?”
[You’re still young. If you want to be spoiled by someone, you can be. You’re at an age where you should be cared for. Even if there’s no one to spoil you normally, a ghost is fine too—do whatever feels right to you.]
“Really?”
[Yes. After all, I’ll be here while you grow up, so we should get along well, shouldn’t we?]
“But, that would be disrespectful to you, Ghost Bride. I don’t know how to do anything…”
What was this child hearing?
[I said you’re still young. You can’t even do laundry properly—what are you trying to do?]
“But still…”
[If you really want to help, then help me while I cook. I can’t judge seasoning, so you can taste things and adjust it for me.]
“Oh! I can do that! I’ll work hard from now on!”
[There, there.]
“Is there anything else I should do?”
[Anything else? Well…]
Last time, it seemed he had no talent for housework. Or maybe he just hadn’t been taught properly, so it was natural he couldn’t do it well?
Either way, this child was seriously lacking in education.
[Can you read?]
Lucian flinched and thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“But I can read a little, in bits and pieces!”
[Hmm?]
“I’ve seen adults writing sometimes.”
Duck, dog—Lucian scribbled on the table with his finger and looked at me nervously, asking if it was the right character.
So he learned to read from the corners of his eyes, not through proper instruction?
Now that I thought about it, despite not being able to read properly, his vocabulary was quite impressive. That suggested he had a naturally keen mind.
[Want to learn to read?]
“Me…?”
[Yes. I’ll teach you.]
Lucian’s face brightened instantly—or rather, he seemed overjoyed and didn’t know what to do with himself. He bounced on his feet as he asked.
“You, you can really teach me?”
[It’s “teach,” not “point out.”]
“Aren’t they the same?”
[The words are similar, but the meanings are different. This… I have a lot to teach you.]
The moment I showed a hint of contemplation, he began to fidget anxiously.
[Since it’s come to this, let’s start teaching you other subjects too, not just reading.]
Lucian tilted his head in confusion. I smiled and led him toward the Library.
[Do you know what I’ve spent the most time doing during my three hundred years here?]
“No.”
[Reading.]
There were a few times I lived with people in the Mansion, but most of the time I was alone. As a spirit bound to this place, reading was my only escape from boredom.
[This Library alone has over ten thousand books, and among them are everything from fairy tales to ancient texts.]
In other words, I had more than enough—in fact, an overwhelming abundance—of educational materials for Lucian.
Besides, a lizard occasionally brought new books, and I’d set up a chalkboard to communicate with it, so I had everything I needed to teach him to read.
[From now on, I’ll teach you everything!]
Without realizing it, my excitement caused the wind to stir around me.
[I have three hundred years of knowledge, you know. Do you understand how rare an opportunity this is?]
To be honest, it was more for my own sake than for his education.
Three hundred years of monotonous days, the same routine repeating endlessly.
It was this small child who changed that. This child who saved me.
I could have conversations without a chalkboard, could exchange knowledge openly while looking into each other’s eyes.
How long I had yearned for this.
Until now, I’d told myself I wasn’t lonely, that I didn’t need someone to talk to. But now, talking with Lucian, I realized I’d only been brainwashing myself. The loneliness had always been real.
I can’t live without Lucian now.
Lucian stared at the hand I’d extended. With a look of quiet determination, he bit his lip and reached for mine.
I quickly wrapped mana around my hand and shook his.
Lucian felt the sensation of grasping at empty air rather than warmth, and he was reminded once again that the person before him was truly the Ghost Bride.
“I’ll do my best from now on, Ghost Bride.”
[Let’s take good care of each other from now on, little groom.]
And so began our newlywed life, intertwined with raising a child.

* * *

Dawn was breaking. I turned away from the sky slowly turning orange with the rising sun.
Soft breaths…
Gentle breathing filled the air. Lucian was still lost in dreams.
Because I’d read him three fairy tale books last night, he’d fallen asleep later than usual.
[Wake up now, little one.]
Without actually waking him, I pretended to touch his disheveled white hair.
To be honest, I’m anxious.
What if Lucian seeing me yesterday was just a coincidence? What if, when he opens his eyes this morning, he can’t see me again?
Now that I know the joy of speaking with someone, to lose it all in a single night would be a loss beyond words.
So I waited desperately for Lucian to wake.

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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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