The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 73

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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 Phantom Bride – Episode 73

“You’re quite the unusual one, aren’t you? You know who I am.”
The attendant snapped his fingers, and Isis immediately stepped back.
Then, in a reversal of moments before, the attendant—no, the dragon—took the seat while Isis stood behind him like a servant.
“You wanted to speak with me?”
Though his voice was languid, the distinctive oppression of a dragon emanated from him. Lucian dabbed away the blood trickling from his throat, refusing to lower his guard.
“Yes, that is correct, Dragon.”
“Then before we continue, I must ask: how did you know I’m a dragon? There should be no humans who know this truth.”
“Among my friends is a Red Dragon named Kaiser. He once let slip a remark about you, sir, long ago.”
The dragon’s eyebrows twitched. Soon he bowed his head deeply.
“Sigh… that impudent whelp…”
With his sigh, the desk froze instantly, and the room’s temperature plummeted as if winter had descended.
“What is he doing, peddling my story to humans like that?”
Crack-crack-crack-crack—
The room began to tremble. Realizing the dragon was in a fury, Lucian hastened to speak.
“Kaiser told me never to encounter or even think of meeting another dragon! It was something he said offhandedly when I was very young, so it must have been a light remark on his part! Please blame me instead!”
Crack-crack-crack…
As the trembling subsided, the dragon regarded Lucian with curious eyes.
“Now that I think about it, I heard that whelp frequents the human realm often. Was that because of you? How did you two become close?”
“We had mutual acquaintances whose circles overlapped. Through them, we formed a friendship and have maintained a good relationship ever since.”
“Does that whelp know you’re a prince?”
“Yes… he knows.”
“Hmm, well then. Assuming your story is true. But how did you figure out I’m a dragon? Even knowing the Northern Duke’s house is connected to dragons, you shouldn’t have been able to discern it instantly like that.”
“Intuition.”
“Intuition?”
At such an absurd answer, the dragon’s expression turned bemused.
“When I encounter Kaiser, I sense something similar. Since my purpose was to meet you anyway, I thought it fortunate.”
Lucian’s original aim had been to ask the Northern Duke to arrange a meeting with a dragon. But the moment he saw the attendant who followed, he had divined that he was the dragon.
“Heh heh… even after centuries, I encounter new things. Isis.”
“Yes, Agis.”
“Can you distinguish another dragon at first glance?”
“I’m not sure. Unless you give me some indication, it would be difficult to tell.”
“Exactly. Normally, that’s the right way of things. But this… this one is quite exceptional.”
To recognize a dragon at first sight is nearly impossible unless one is a dragon oneself.
‘Fascinating.’
Not only does he have connections with that solitary Kaiser, but he also possesses a rare sensibility. It was more than enough to spark curiosity.
“My name is Agis. A White Dragon, as you correctly surmised, and the first Duke of Livia. Currently, I entrust the duchy to Isis and oversee the North.”
Agis Polymorphed from the guise of an elderly attendant into a strikingly beautiful man.
“It is an honor to meet you, Agis. I am Lucian Odelion.”
Believing he had cleared the first hurdle, Lucian straightened and bowed with respect.
Agis, pleased by this, inclined his head slightly.
“I detest roundabout talk. Tell me plainly why you sought me out.”
“I ask for your strength. My current position is precarious. Though I serve as Crown Prince in name, in reality I am merely a puppet to be wielded at another’s command. My own voice holds no weight, and I lack the personnel to follow me.”
“So you seek someone to aid not the Crown Prince, but yourself.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Are you plotting rebellion?”
It sounded as though he wished to build his own power separate from the Crown Prince—as though he harbored ambition to slay the Prince and seize the throne himself.
Yet strangely, Lucian’s eyes held no such desire whatsoever.
“When the Crown Prince awakens, I will surrender my position at once. It was never rightfully mine, and the throne holds no interest for me.”
“Hmm?”
“Above all… the Crown Prince is the only family I have ever loved. To betray him is unthinkable.”
Agis blinked, and seeing the sincerity in Lucian’s gaze, he burst into laughter.
“Aha ha ha! So the Emperor did not simply drag you along by force—there was something more. Good, good. This is quite amusing!”
At the positive response, Lucian’s lips curved upward. But the moment passed as Agis’s laughter ceased.
“However, why should I help you? I see no profit in it for myself.”
“Whatever you desire, sir, I shall make it come to pass.”
“Bold. As if you know what I want.”
“From the moment I recalled your existence, I have pondered: why would a dragon take up the station of an Imperial nobleman and maintain that House for centuries?”
It required far too much devotion to be mere amusement.
“I considered whether you wished to build a nation, but had that been your goal, you would have toppled this throne long ago and crowned yourself king. So I concluded that there exists within the Empire something you seek—or something you search for.”
“…”
“Am I right?”
Agis’s lips bore a faint smile, yet his gaze was cold as winter frost.
It was distasteful—a mere human peering into his depths.
And yet, it was equally delightful.
In over seven hundred years, had such a thing ever happened?
“Yes, as you say, there is something I seek within the Empire. Nearly two hundred years I have searched, yet I have found not even the smallest trace.”
“I shall help you find what you search for.”
“Hmm… I was planning to reinvestigate the Imperial Palace regardless. How troublesome…”
In truth, the answer was already decided. Lucian was now a windfall gift, tumbling into Agis’s lap without warning.
He had already intended to begin the Imperial investigation he had left incomplete before.
Now that the second most influential figure in the Imperial Family was offering his hand first, how could he refuse?
Rather than snatch at the offer eagerly, it was more advantageous in any Contract to make the other side long for it.
“Once the Crown Prince awakens, I shall prepare him beforehand regarding you. As my brother, he will grant my request, so even in my absence, he shall readily assist you. Of course, I shall not reveal your true nature.”
What might have been a one-time arrangement now stretched indefinitely. This was a Contract worth accepting.
“Very well. I shall help willingly.”
Lucian’s face brightened. His heart wished to cry out in celebration.
“Then, Agis, what of the arrangements going forward…?”
Isis asked carefully.
“You handle it. Since I have delegated the Crown Prince’s education to you, I shall remain here in your stead. All the while, I shall investigate the Imperial Palace as well.”
“Wh—you mean to teach me directly, sir?”
“Wasn’t that what you wanted? Regardless, I oversee the education of the Livia House anyway. There’s no issue.”
That wasn’t the problem—it felt burdensome.
But with Agis at his side directly, Lucian would possess the strength of ten thousand allies.
“Now then, let us first assess what education you require. Since I shall teach you personally, you must serve my purposes well.”
“Ah, I… before that, might I trouble you with one more request?”
Agis raised an eyebrow.
In truth, there was one paramount reason Lucian had risked danger to meet Agis face to face.
“Would you… examine my brother’s condition once?”
To save Leopold.
The moment Lucian saw Leopold’s state, he had become certain that only a being as powerful as a dragon could heal him.
At first, he had thought of Kaiser, but how to summon him here, how to deceive the eyes of others—that proved the obstacle. Then it came to him: Agis.
“You said he had an Incurable Disease?”
“No, we suspect Dark Magic.”
“Dark Magic, hmm… that is worth examining. Very well, let us go now while the matter is fresh.”
“First, allow me to ask Dane to prepare a—”
“No need for that.”
Agis strode forward, seized Lucian’s arm, and in the blink of an eye, they had Teleported to Leopold’s chamber.
“Wait, there are knights inside—!”
Lucian spun toward the entrance and found the sentries slumped in sleep—Agis’s doing, clearly.
Not only that: Lucian had understood that a formidable Barrier Magic was in place as precaution against stray Dark Magic, yet Agis dismantled it with breathtaking ease.
In less than a second, Lucian’s jaw fell slack at what had unfolded.
“It’s not like you’ve never seen a dragon before. No need for such surprise.”
“…Kaiser never showed me anything like this.”
“A Hatchling barely out of his shell cannot act as I do.”
Agis let out a scoff and approached Leopold upon the bed.
Closing his eyes to assess Leopold’s condition, Agis’s eyelids trembled slightly.
Soon he withdrew his hand and tilted his head in puzzlement.
Lucian swallowed hard and ventured a careful question.
“Can you heal him?”
“No. This, no one can touch.”
Coming from a dragon, the words carried terrible weight. Lucian felt his heart plummet.
“It is indeed Dark Magic, but the problem isn’t the magic itself—it’s the Soul inside.”
“Soul?”
“Yes. Right now, there are two Souls within the Crown Prince.”
Suddenly, Lucian recalled the black smoke he had witnessed before.
Could that have been a Soul?
“Even I have never encountered such a thing. Normally, one body houses one Soul—that is the law. Were two or more Souls to take root, the body would not endure. Yet now they coexist in the most bizarre harmony.”
Not quite merged, but tangled so intricately that one cannot be separated without the other. Remove one, and both would come free. The Crown Prince without a Soul would be dead.
“Do you know what the other Soul is?”
“How could I? I am no god.”
“Of course…”
Lucian caressed Leopold’s brow and gripped his hand tightly.
Seeing the tenderness between the brothers, Agis’s expression shifted to surprise.
“No amount of lingering will wake the Crown Prince now. Let us go. There is much work ahead, and there is no one else but me.”
Lucian opened his eyes and turned toward Agis.
“There are two others.”
“Without connections in the Palace, how is that possible?”
“There are ways.”
Lucian recalled the two individuals he had secured just before meeting Agis today.
He had fought the Emperor himself for the right to choose his own attendants—all so he could bring those two into his service.
“Are they trustworthy?”
“They are absolutely loyal to me alone, so worry need not concern you.”
At his confident smile, Agis set aside his doubts. Then, snapping his fingers, he Teleported them back to their original location.
“Since we are now in the same boat, I should meet them.”
“One can be met at once, but the other… is difficult.”
“Why so?”
“I sent them on an errand. It will take time for them to return.”
By now, he would have reached Lia—the person Lucian most wished to see.
‘I wanted to go to her myself, to speak with her face to face…’
From the moment he entered into Contract with the Emperor, he had been bound to the Imperial Palace. Of course, visiting the Ghost Mansion was impossible.
‘Lia…’
It was the first time he had been separated from her for this long.
‘Is she waiting for me? Does she think I ran away after our quarrel? Or is she angry that I haven’t come?’
No matter what he imagined, the future remained elusive. All he felt was the selfish desire for her to think of him.
‘Lia, forgive me for being able to contact you only like this.’
Lucian turned his gaze to the window and looked out toward the Imperial Forest where the Ghost Mansion lay.

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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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