The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 8

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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 Discarded Prince’s Spirit Bride – Episode 8

“Mmm…….”
After an hour and a half, Lucian stirred awake with a groan.
“Gosh, you startled me……!”
Half-asleep, Lucian opened his eyes only to find my face inches from his own and let out a yelp of surprise.
He followed up with grumbles about how I shouldn’t thrust my face at him like that.
[It’s already eight o’clock, you sleepyhead! How many times did I tell you yesterday to go to bed early?]
Lucian whined while glancing at my expression.
“W-well, I could sleep in, couldn’t I!”
[Right, my drowsy groom. Wash up and let’s get breakfast ready.]
“Breakfast preparation?”
[You promised to help me with cooking, remember? Go wash and come down—I’ll already have the ingredients laid out.]
I shoved the reluctant Lucian into the Bathroom and made my way down to the Kitchen.
[Heh, heh heh…… Ahem!]
An unbidden smile crept across my face, and I caught myself with a cough.
Learning that Lucian could still see me sent a thrill through me—I’d fussed at him out of sheer excitement, though I couldn’t admit it was really joy.
I composed myself and surveyed the Kitchen.
[How about Pancakes and Bacon?]
Since this was our first time cooking together, I settled on something relatively simple. Once I’d gathered the ingredients, Lucian came downstairs.
[Did you wash up properly?]
“Yes!”
[Then come here. Today we’re making Pancakes.]
Lucian trotted over eagerly, his eyes bright and attentive.
[Since it’s your first time, we’re going to start with the absolute basics. Later, you’ll be able to do this on your own, so watch carefully. Understood?]
I guided him through the fundamentals, beginning with how to mix the Pancake batter, and we prepared everything step by step.
Once the preparations were complete, we approached the stove. Lucian’s body visibly tensed.
Sensing it was trauma from a fire accident, I showed him how to use the stove properly.
[You tried to cook last time and it failed, right? That was because you used the wrong utensil. That bowl is meant only for finished dishes—if you use it on the stove like that, bang! it explodes.]
“Oh? So last time…….”
[Right, that’s why the fire started. This time, we’re using this Frying Pan instead.]
I made sure to warn him against carelessly handling the stove or cooking equipment.
After I’d finished cooking all the Pancakes, I brought out the Bacon.
[Want to try this one?]
“Me?”
[Mm-hmm. This is easy. When the Bacon starts to shrivel, just flip it.]
Lucian hesitated but eventually followed my instructions. At first, when the Bacon’s grease splattered in all directions, he flinched—but he quickly adapted and cooked the Bacon beautifully.
Watching the Bacon in the dish, Lucian’s eyes began to shine.
After preparing milk to go with the Pancakes and drizzling honey over them, breakfast was complete.
“Wow! We made it so fast!”
[Well, it’s a simple dish. Congratulations. Your very first meal you’ve made—not so scary, was it?]
Lucian, who’d been hopping about excitedly, blinked at my words. He glanced back and forth between the finished food and the stove for a moment, then smiled widely.
“Yes! I’m okay now!”
[Good, that’s a relief.]
Lucian began to eat. I sat across from him, watching him as he dined.
For both him and me, it was our first morning together with someone else.

* * *

Right after breakfast, we headed to a desk we’d set up in one corner of the Library.
[Alright then, shall we begin your first lesson?]
“Bride, I have a question!”
[Yes, what is it?]
“Your clothes changed—how did you do that?”
At his words, I glanced down at myself.
I usually went about in a plain, simple dress with my hair down. But today, for the atmosphere of teaching, I’d thought I should look more scholarly and changed my style a bit.
[I told you I could use Magic, didn’t I? Something like this is a piece of cake.]
I waved the Wand in my hand with a flourish, and my outfit changed once more. As I cycled through various forms—a dress, training clothes, a maid’s uniform, and more—Lucian’s eyes sparkled brightly.
[Well? Does it suit me?]
When I changed back to my scholarly form, Lucian nodded enthusiastically.
“It suits you so well! You look beautiful!”
[Ahem! Ahem! Really? I’m glad to hear it.]
At his compliment, the corners of my mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Can I use Magic like you, Bride?”
The unexpected question made me pause and study Lucian for a moment. It seemed he’d taken an interest because of how freely I wielded Magic. But Magic isn’t something you can just do because you want to.
Otherwise, every dog and cow would be a Mage.
[To become a Mage, several conditions are necessary. Natural talent and aptitude come first, but before that, there’s something you need to master.]
“What is it?”
[You have to learn to read and write first. You can’t read Magic texts without knowing letters, can you?]
“Oh!”
[It’s too early for Magic yet. You have plenty of time, so let’s start with letters and build up step by step.]
“If I can read, will I be able to read all the books here?”
[Of course.]
“Wow! I want to read books by myself! Teach me letters right away, please!”
Fortunately, Lucian didn’t bring up Magic again.
I started with the basic Alphabet. At first he stumbled over it, but he quickly grew accustomed and began reciting the letters in order.
He was eight years old, after all, so his learning pace was faster than I’d expected.
Or was it just that he had a sharp mind? I’d need to have seen other children to compare.
Still, by the end of an hour, he was rattling off the Alphabet without even looking at the Chalkboard—it was certainly impressive.
“Hehe! I’m doing well, right?”
Lucian, who’d been earnestly memorizing, began to puff up with pride at his own success.
[Well done—but you’ve only just begun.]
His face fell, and though it troubled me, I couldn’t simply indulge him.
[So, you’ve memorized it all now?]
“Pardon?”
[You said you’re doing well. So you must have learned it all. How about we take a test?]
Lucian’s golden eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck. I paid no mind and hid the Notebook he’d been scribbling in and the Chalkboard from view.
[You’ll write down the letters I call out. Pay attention—we’re distinguishing between uppercase and lowercase. Here we go.]
Lucian fumbled nervously before quickly grabbing a pen. I gave him ten problems and immediately graded them afterward.
[You got two wrong.]
For having taken a test after only an hour of instruction, getting just two wrong was quite an achievement.
Yet Lucian seemed far from satisfied, scrutinizing the two marked problems with a stunned expression.
“Why are these wrong?”
[This one is a lowercase d. What you wrote is a b. And this one is a V, not a W.]
The letters were admittedly similar, so his confusion was understandable—it was practically a perfect score. I was about to praise him when Lucian suddenly burst into tears.
He looked so pitiful, fighting desperately to hold back his sobs while tears streamed down his face.
[Why are you crying! You did well! You did great! All the rest were correct!]
“B-but I still got it wrong. I’m stupid…… I made mistakes on such simple things…….”
Just moments ago he’d been proud, but now he was drowning in despair as if about to dig himself into the ground—his mood swings were hard to follow.
I let out a long sigh and sat beside him.
[Lucian, look at me.]
Hearing his name for the first time, Lucian responded. His teary golden eyes turned toward me.
[You’re only eight years old. You have mountains of things left to learn, and there will be times when you make mistakes like this. Are you going to cry like this every time and say it’s impossible?]
“……No.”
[People learn by making mistakes, by failing. You’re far sharper than other children your age.]
“But you just said I can’t…….”
[I never said you can’t! I said you’re not doing well yet!]
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
[It’s completely different, believe me. And look at these letters you got wrong—they look so similar you just mixed them up.]
Lucian examined the ones he’d missed.
[I’ll count it as a perfect score. So cheer up. When I was learning a new language, I did worse than you.]
“Really?”
[Truly. If you hate getting things wrong, there’s only one solution—keep practicing. If you work hard, you’ll get them all right tomorrow, won’t you?]
Thanks to my encouragement, his sagging confidence seemed to lift. His tears dried up quickly, and Lucian wiped his eyes.
[We can’t have long lessons on your first day, so let’s stop here. But I’m going to give you homework.]
“Homework?”
[Yes. By tomorrow, I want you to write your name correctly.]
I wrote Lucian’s name on the Chalkboard. I’d started to write just ‘Lucian’ when I suddenly recalled the surname the priest had added during the Spirit Marriage Ceremony.
[It’s a Royal House surname, but…….]
Was I allowed to give it to Lucian? I hesitated, searching his expression—then decided on an impulsive whim and added the surname anyway.
Lucian Odelion
“……Is that my name?”
[Yes. You’ve only learned the Alphabet today, so reading it will be a bit difficult.]
Nevertheless, Lucian approached the Chalkboard and haltingly read through his name. Watching him stare at those letters without looking away for the longest time, I smiled sadly.
It pained me to think that a child who loved learning so much, who could find joy in just reading his own name, had been denied even these basic forms of education all this time.
And I found myself curious about Lucian’s true identity. Didn’t the people say so—that he was an orphan dressed up to look like Royal House nobility? Yet the Lucian I’d observed closely bore the distinctive hallmarks of the Royal House unmistakably.
I had many questions I wanted to ask him, but it was still too early.
I resolved to ask once I’d grown closer to Lucian, and I quietly left the desk so he could continue his studies.

* * *

A week had passed since I began teaching Lucian. Though only seven days, he’d shown remarkable progress.
[So, the answer is…….]
“Wow! I got them all right again!”
He’d mastered the Alphabet in just two days and moved straight on to memorizing words—absorbing everything I taught him like a sponge soaking up water.
I suspected he’d soon be able to read Fairy Tale Books. Or perhaps even sooner, since at night when I read the stories aloud, he’d loudly announce every word he recognized, pushing my timeline up a bit…….
“Hehe, did I do well?”
The way his mouth corners rose made me laugh despite myself.
[You did great. Tomorrow, we can tackle something a little harder?]
“Ahem! I’m ready whenever you are!”
Lucian straightened his chest proudly and scurried back to his desk, beginning to organize the day’s lessons.
Without any prompting, Lucian reviewed his work thoroughly.
Given that he’d had no prior education and should be unaccustomed to studying, it was clear he had a natural gift for learning.
[I should probably teach him other things too soon.]
I hadn’t been able to start other lessons before, since he couldn’t read at all.
But soon he’d have letters down, and I could teach him new vocabulary as he came across it. It would be good to start preparing other subjects.
I paused mid-thought, watching the diligent Lucian review his work.
[Little groom.]
“Yes, Bride?”
[Is there anything you’d like to learn?]
“Something I’d like to learn?”
[Yes. Anything goes. You must have something you’ve wanted to do before. Swordsmanship is good, painting’s good, music, pottery, horseback riding, and so on.]
Ah, I suppose he can’t do horseback riding since he can’t speak, but anyway.
[If there’s anything you want to do or anything that interests you, just tell me. I’ll teach you whatever I can manage.]
“Then I want Magic!”
[Rejected.]
“Ugh…… Why!”
[I’ll teach you Magic once you can read fluently and write smoothly. How can you learn Magic when you’re just barely writing a few words?]
I studied Lucian. Over the past few days, feeding him well-balanced meals had filled him out noticeably, and he seemed to have grown taller too.
But he was still frail.
Well, at an age when children should be running and playing freely, he had no one to play with, so he had nowhere to channel his pent-up energy. The most exercise he got was wandering through the Manor or helping me cook.
[Fine then. Let’s try one thing at a time. But Swordsmanship is mandatory—so no complaints even if it’s hard.]
“……? Yes, I understand.”
Oblivious to what his future held, Lucian readily accepted my terms.

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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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