The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 76

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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 Ghost Bride of the Forsaken Crown Prince, Episode 76

Lia began to organize her belongings methodically from the first floor down. More precisely, she was arranging things so that no trace of herself would remain.
Yet it was difficult to touch anything without hesitation.
Having lived for nearly three hundred years, it was hard to distinguish what was hers and what wasn’t, and there were so many things that held memories with Lucian.
[…Hah, that’s right. I used to play with this back then.]
She found a toy that had slipped behind a bookshelf.
It must have been when Lucian was eight, or perhaps nine. In any case, it was something he had played with constantly not long after arriving at the Mansion.
[One day the toy suddenly disappeared and he cried. I never thought it would be here all along.]
She turned the Soldier Figurine over in her hands, wondering where to put it.
Behind her were boxes she’d gathered to organize her own belongings.
After staring at them for a while, she ended up dragging over a new box and created a dedicated storage space just for Lucian’s things.
[I need to organize his belongings anyway.]
Since she didn’t know when he’d visit next, she ought to keep them carefully preserved in his room.
As she swept through rooms one by one like clearing seals, several boxes appeared.
And they weren’t hers—they were Lucian’s things.
Even though five years had passed since Lucian left this place, his traces remained abundant.
[Will I be able to organize everything in Lucian’s room?]
Just as she’d arranged the Music Room and Training Hall to suit the tastes of those who had lived here, she intended to do the same with the room Lucian had used.
Since he’d occupied the largest room, she’d manage to organize it somehow, though inevitably some things would have to go to storage.
Because she knew how and when Lucian had used each item, it felt regrettable to simply pack them away in boxes.
[Well then, next I’ll move to the adjoining room….]
As Lia tried to move to the next room, she discovered a kitchen tinged with coldness.
She fell silent for a moment, then entered with a heavy heart.
[Hah… it feels strange.]
The kitchen was as desolate as it had been in the days before Lucian came to the Mansion.
It was natural that she no longer cooked, since there was no one here to feed anymore, yet the weight of silence felt unfamiliar.
[When Lucian was here, I spent half the day in this place.]
What delicious food should she make for him? What would be nutritious? Should she try a new recipe? And so on.
She was always bustling about here, thinking only of cooking for Lucian, making dishes for him.
At first it seemed like a nuisance, but now…
[When did I begin to enjoy it myself?]
She ran her fingers across the counter. It hadn’t been cleaned in so long that dust lay thick upon it, and the seasonings had deteriorated, taking on an odd brownish hue.
As for fresh ingredients… there was no point even looking.
[But at least there won’t be much to clean up.]
She pulled herself out of this shallow nostalgia by thinking positively.
Before leaving, she glanced back briefly, and it seemed as though she could see the scene of herself and Lucian bickering together while cooking.
‘Lia! It’s delicious!’
But the fantasy lasted less than ten seconds. Seeing the kitchen return to its colorless state, Lia finally left that place.
And so she spent nearly an entire day in this work.
Each time she moved between rooms to organize hers and Lucian’s belongings, she saw visions of him several times over, and felt loneliness settle into her bones more than once.
Yet as Lucian’s belongings accumulated and were arranged one by one in his room, she was able to organize the memories alongside them.
[Now this is the last one.]
Once she placed Lucian’s favorite Quill Pen on the desk, his room at last became filled with the memories they had made together.
Lia gazed blankly around the room.
‘Lia.’
‘Lia?’
‘Lia…!’
‘Hahaha, Lia!’
‘My Ghost Bride!’
Lucian at various ages—from eight to eighteen—called out to her from different corners of the room.
But sadly, she couldn’t imagine what Lucian would look like after the age of eighteen at all.
She could only fantasize that his jawline would become slightly more defined, his voice a touch deeper.
She couldn’t complete the picture of Lucian’s full face—it vanished like a mirage.
[This is enough….]
Though she had lived for over three hundred years, the ten years she spent with Lucian had been the most precious and happiest time of her life.
Even though she could no longer meet Lucian, the memories of those ten years together seemed enough for her to depart from this world without lingering attachment.
Lia hastily organized her belongings in her own room one last time, then came downstairs carrying fresh Stationery, the Picture Collection she had drawn of Lucian all this time, and the Letters he had sent her.
Looking back and forth between the Letter containing news of Lucian’s recent life and the Picture Collection, she imagined how well he must have grown.
Lost in the lingering emotion, she finally picked up the Quill Pen.

To Lucian
Hello, Lucian. It’s been a while since I’ve written to you.
How have you been all this time?
Five years have already passed since you took Leopold’s place and became Crown Prince of the Empire.
The last time I wrote to you, you said you were very busy.
I suppose there’s much work to do as the Empire’s Crown Prince. Leopold really needs to wake up soon and lighten your burden—I worry about you.
You’re eating properly, aren’t you? Getting enough sleep?
I hope that no matter how busy you are, you’re taking care of your health. You have a tendency not to eat properly unless someone is there beside you looking after you.

As she asked after his welfare and expressed her concerns, the letter grew long. Lia decided to cut it short there and moved on to the main point.

The truth is, I’m writing this Letter because I’m afraid you might be shocked when you return to the Mansion and find me gone.
Lucian… if you discover this Letter but don’t find me, then perhaps I will have disappeared from this world.
I thought that having lived over three hundred years, I’d be bound to this Mansion for several more centuries, but it seems that won’t be the case.
Recently my body has been behaving strangely. The intervals in which I lose consciousness are growing longer, and lately I’ve been waking after sleeping for three months.
I suppose nothing lasts forever, after all. Still, I thought I would remain until you grew old enough to be a grandfather.
I believed I’d be here to watch you marry a good woman, have children, and meet your grandchildren. But it seems my time is running out.
For three hundred years, I repeated the same days in this colorless place where no one acknowledged me. Then I met you—my hope.
More than nearly three hundred years of life, the ten years I spent with you were the happiest moments of my life.
Of course, the time I spent with Kaiser was extraordinarily special too. Still, just to be safe, don’t show this Letter to him. He’ll certainly sulk about it.
I have no lingering regrets beyond this. I’m simply grateful to have spent these last ten years with you.
So please, when I’m gone, don’t be sad, don’t cry, and don’t be angry with me.
I’m only going where I belong.

Lia paused mid-letter. She wanted to continue, pouring out more words at length, but it felt as though she were burdening him with her own regrets.
[I think it’s better to keep it brief.]
So that Lucian wouldn’t regret parting with her.
Though by now, Lucian might have already forgotten her.

You are the human I love most in this world, Lucian.
I hope you’ll be happy, healthy, and live a long and prosperous life.
I love you, Lucian.
Your one and only Witch, Lia.

Only after she put down the period did she slowly draw her gaze from the Letter.
It felt woefully inadequate to contain her final feelings in this small piece of Stationery, but her sincerity would surely come through.
[That’s enough….]
She folded the Stationery neatly and placed it in an envelope. The letter had grown so long that the envelope was quite thick.
Lia pressed her lips gently to the envelope and set it aside. Now it was time to write a Letter to Kaiser.
There was so much she wanted to say to him.

Even though I nitpicked over trivial things and complained all the time, you know that you cared for me more than anyone else.
Before Lucian came, you visited me without fail every time, and even now that he’s gone, you come by regularly to check on my condition.
Kaiser, perhaps it was because you supported me that I was able to survive without breaking apart until I met Lucian.
Though I was too shy and embarrassed to express it, you are my first friend in life, and the only dragon with whom I could share everything.
Thank you for never giving up and extending your hand to me. Since you’re a dragon, you’ll live longer than Lucian.
I hope you’ll savor the world to the fullest for as long as you can.
Oh, and you wanted to take the Antiques from the Mansion.
You can take anything you want except what’s in Lucian’s room. Actually, since things have come to this, take the Mansion itself.
I think it was supposedly the Imperial Family’s private property, but it’s been neglected anyway, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t use it.
I hope it becomes your peaceful sanctuary.
My one and only friend, my beloved Red Dragon.
When you’ve seen the end of the world, I hope you’ll unfold your tales to me.
Your one and only friend, Lia.

Once she finished, she had a feeling Kaiser would be angry when he saw it.
The last time she’d been in contact, he was furious when he learned that Lucian hadn’t sent a Letter in a long time.
[Maybe I should write that he should forgive Lucian.]
No, considering Kaiser’s nature, it might have the opposite effect.
For now, she’d leave it as is.
[At least I’ll be able to meet Kaiser and say goodbye.]
With Lucian, she didn’t know when or if they’d be in contact, or when he might come. But if Kaiser reached out through the Crystal Orb, she’d surely be able to tell him about her fate.
She closed her eyes, looking at the two neatly folded Letters. The images of Lucian and Kaiser appeared vividly before her.
In the familiar rear garden of the Mansion, two men with striking bearing stood with their backs to her.
One was gently touching white hair and chattering away about something, while the other beside him, with long flowing red hair, listened intently to what the white-haired man was saying.
It was only imagination, but it was a scene so dear to her heart that it ached.
Soon the two seemed to sense a presence and turned their heads toward her.
‘Aria!’
‘Witch! What are you doing there?’
But something was wrong.
The two people she thought were Lucian and Kaiser had transformed into strangers.
The one she’d taken for Lucian had a slightly gentler expression, while the one she’d taken for Kaiser had sharper, more irritable eyes.

.
.

[Gasp!]
Lia’s eyes suddenly flew open.
Turning her head, the evening sky that had been glowing with sunset had grown dark. When she checked the time, it was exactly midnight.
[Did I lose consciousness again without realizing it?]
Had months of time passed this time too?
Anxiously looking around, she found the two Letters she’d just written lying there neatly.
Since there was barely any difference from before she lost consciousness, it seemed that only a few hours had passed.
[But… what exactly did I see?]
They weren’t the two people she knew.
Yet what was strange was that though the faces were utterly unfamiliar, they somehow felt familiar, and she’d felt a deep longing for them.
[Now that I think about it… I think this has happened a few times before.]
When she woke after losing consciousness, sometimes something seemed to overwhelm her. But she’d forgotten it all not long after.
[It feels as though I were having a dream.]
But she was a ghost and couldn’t dream, could she?
Was something changing as her time of Dissolution approached?
[Ah… I really have no time left.]
Lia discovered that the lower half of her body had vanished. Her hands and arms also flickered in and out of existence.
Above all, one strong intuition struck her.
[I’m going to disappear today.]
She simply felt that certainty. She had no more than twelve hours left.
By now, her left leg had vanished entirely.
Bit by bit, her body was fading from this world.
Realizing that little time remained, Lia rose to her feet, picked up the Picture Collection and Kaiser’s Crystal Orb, and made her way to the front entrance.
There, on the front steps, she sat down.
[…At least I want to see your faces one last time.]
She found the image of Lucian and Kaiser in the Picture Collection, smiling broadly, and gently touched their faces.
Though she didn’t know if the two of them would cross that gate and come to her, she waited here to receive them, to bid them farewell one last time.
That was the last affection she could offer them.

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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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