The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 82

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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 Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride — Episode 82

Creak—
“Hey there, squirt.”
Kaiser entered without knocking, and Harry, already on edge, snapped his eyes open sharply.
“Regardless of how close you are to His Majesty, you should knock before entering!”
“What’s this little ball of blood going on about?”
“Blood, a ball of blood!”
Harry clutched the back of his head and foamed at the mouth. Dio tried to calm him while Lucian giggled, watching Kaiser.
“Lia’s awake.”
Lucian immediately sprang to his feet and bolted from the Office.
“Where are you running off to, Your Majesty?!”
“Just going to see Lia real quick! James! Send a physician and some food to my quarters!”
There was no one to hold back Lucian, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
“Aren’t you coming too?”
Dio asked Kaiser, who let out a sinister chuckle.
The three inside the room shuddered at the sound.
“Tsk, tsk… Let that bastard get a taste of his own medicine.”
Kaiser hoped Lucian would have twice—no, ten times as much hair ripped out as he’d endured.

* * *

Back in Lia’s Room.
The moment Lucian opened the door, he found Lia sprawled on the floor. He rushed to her side.
“Did you fall? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Lucian helped Lia up, but soon realized her legs had no strength in them, so he lifted her into his arms instead.
He did so with such ease that Lia’s embarrassment only deepened.
As she covered her face with both hands, Lucian examined her expression.
“What’s wrong? Did you hit your forehead? The physician will be here soon, so let’s get you looked at. It’s probably nothing.”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Hmm?”
“I’m just… so embarrassed.”
Lucian’s eyes widened for a moment before he burst out laughing.
“Ha ha ha ha! Aha ha ha ha!”
“You’re laughing? Now you’re laughing?”
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just so happy to see you, I can’t help it—ha ha ha!”
Though it didn’t seem like mere happiness.
Lia forgot her embarrassment and glared at Lucian instead. His eyes were glistening with tears.
“Ha… I can’t remember the last time I laughed like this.”
Lucian set Lia gently on the bed and straightened up.
“Kaiser told me everything. That once you found out I had a body, you started planning to give it back to me?”
“He wasted no time telling you that, did he? It’s true. I planned it all out once I learned you had a body. How do you like my gift?”
His eyes curved into crescents—he was clearly fishing for praise.
Lia suddenly saw the Lucian she knew overlaid before her, and reached out her hand. Soft white hair brushed her fingertips.
Lucian reflexively closed his eyes.
Hoping she would continue caressing him…
Grab—
‘Wait? Grab?’
Lucian’s eyes snapped open as he felt a sharp, scalp-tearing pain.
Lia’s eyes narrowed to slits, her violet gaze burning with menace.
“So you made the ghost anxious and hid this whole scheme to yourself?”
“Now I’m not a ghost anymore, I’m a person…”
“I thought you’d sacrificed some poor innocent soul to make me human. Or better yet—I didn’t even know my body was in the Basement when I was fighting with you about it. Isn’t that right?”
“That was…”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I was going to. But you wouldn’t listen to me back then.”
“Yes, but you had plenty of chances to tell me before that.”
Watching her hang her head, writhing with betrayal, Lucian didn’t know what to do.
“…Lia, it’s all my fault.”
“…”
“I should have considered your feelings, but I was too selfish. I made mistakes from start to finish, so please forgive me?”
“…All right, I forgive you.”
Lucian broke into a wide smile, but he couldn’t smile anymore when he heard what came next.
“After I’ve worked through all my anger.”
“…What?”
Lia tightened her grip on Lucian’s hair.
Lucian’s face went slack as he silently screamed.
“You bastard! You’re driving the ghost crazy!”
“Ahhhh! L-Lia! I’m a person now…!”
“Shut up, you idiot! Who asked you to make me human?! If you were going to cook up such a plan, you could’ve told me the truth even once in those five years!”
“I-I was trying to s-surprise you— ahhhh! I know, I know I was wrong!”
“You could’ve written me one more letter instead! Do you know how long I waited for you?! But you were out there wasting time on this nonsense!”
As Lucian endured forced head-banging from Lia’s grip, he felt her hands gradually losing strength, and heard the tremor in her voice.
Tears as large as chicken droppings fell from Lia’s eyes.
Since this was the first time she’d cried, Lucian’s thoughts came to a standstill.
“Sob… what is this? Why are there tears…”
With a ghost’s body, she couldn’t cry, so the surging emotions and tears spilled out beyond her control.
In the end, Lia wept openly.
Lucian’s face went pale in an instant, and he quickly pulled her into his embrace.
“Lia, I’m sorry. I’ve committed an unforgivable sin…”
“I thought… I thought you’d forgotten me. So I thought I’d never see your face again…”
“That could never happen. You have no idea how badly I wanted to see you.”
“Then why didn’t you come find me even once all this time?!”
“…The late Emperor wouldn’t let me go.”
Lia stopped her rebuttal and pressed her lips together, staring at Lucian.
Lucian wiped both her eyes with an even more pained expression than her own.
“Do you know how many times I tried to visit you? But since I was acting as Leopold’s double, I thought if I left the palace, they’d assume I was trying to escape.”
“You could’ve given me a hint in your letters. I didn’t know any of this…”
When she was preparing to accept something like death, she thought she wouldn’t resent Lucian.
But that wasn’t the truth.
She had merely deceived herself into thinking she wouldn’t resent him so her final journey wouldn’t be ugly.
In reality, she’d resented him countless times.
Why won’t you come see me?
Don’t you want to see me anymore?
Am I already someone you’ll forget easily? And so on.
For a time, she lived in a whirlwind of negativity, but then feared her memories with Lucian would fade, so she stopped.
If only she’d known Lucian was facing such circumstances, she would have waited for him with joy in her heart.
“You’re the one who didn’t tell me.”
“Yes. I’m the one at fault for everything.”
The fact that Lucian didn’t brush aside even this small complaint but accepted it made him seem so much more mature than her—which oddly stung.
She felt the gap between the Lucian she’d last seen and who he was now.
“…But even after you became Emperor, the late Emperor still prevented you from visiting the Mansion?”
Lucian’s body stiffened. Feeling his agitation, Lia’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm…?”
“That was… seeing your face would make me abandon everything and run away, I think…”
“So the last year was your choice?”
“To be exact, it was half a year…”
Lucian watched Lia’s expression carefully. The tender light that had been in her eyes was long gone.
“You’re lying?!”
Lucian felt her hands seize his head again and surrendered himself to his fate.

.
.

Meanwhile, Hwang Goong-ui, who had just arrived at the Emperor’s Chamber, caught sight of the Emperor with his hair being pulled and a woman tugging away wildly—his face went deathly pale.
“Sacrilege!”
More than sacrilege, he was gripped by terror that the Emperor might be choking the woman.
The woman was someone the Emperor had brought himself a few days ago, so he thought she must be someone of importance and had prepared to treat her with utmost dedication…
“…Am I going to get killed too?”
There were powerful people who would casually dispose of innocent people out of sheer irritation.
Though the current Emperor was undoubtedly a virtuous ruler to the common folk, he was endlessly strict and frightening to the nobility and others.
Shortly after his ascension, he had disposed of troublesome figures through false accusations all at once.
“Ugh… what should I do…!”
“What are you doing here?”
“…Ah! Aige!”
Hwang Goong-ui’s face brightened upon spotting Aige.
Most people in the Imperial Palace regarded him as another power-holder, having seen how respectfully Lucian treated him.
“Oh, Aige! Please stop her! I’m so scared we’ll see blood…!”
Aige glanced through the door crack, and his eyes turned cold.
It was obvious what misunderstanding Hwang Goong-ui was having. Actually, even if it were someone else looking, there was plenty of room for misinterpretation.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it. Just do what you need to do, Hwang Goong-ui.”
“R-really?”
Looking at Aige’s kind smile, Hwang Goong-ui felt slightly reassured.
How could he be smiling right now?!
…No, his life expectancy felt like it was being trimmed by a year with every voice coming from inside the room.

* * *

“Th-the lady seems to have no serious issues. However, you mentioned she’s been unconscious for a long time?”
After finishing Lia’s examination, Hwang Goong-ui hesitantly reported, watching everyone’s reactions carefully.
Behind him stood Lucian, Aige, and a terrifying red-haired man, which only heightened his nervousness.
Yet contrary to that, the woman in front simply nodded blankly.
“Since she hasn’t moved for so long, her muscles have stiffened considerably. Until her muscles return to normal, proper walking will be difficult.”
“…There’s no underlying illness, correct?”
“Of course not. There’s no disease. If you do rehabilitation diligently, you’ll return to normal soon, so no need to worry. Your stomach will also be quite weakened, so I recommend soft, gentle foods for about a week.”
The woman smiled brightly and nodded gratefully. Hwang Goong-ui suddenly realized she was quite a beauty.
“It looks like she may have bumped her forehead when she fell from the bed earlier. Let me check.”
At the Emperor’s words from behind, Hwang Goong-ui flinched.
He looked at the woman’s smooth forehead, then back at the Emperor.
“There’s no injury. Rather… shouldn’t Your Majesty receive treatment as well?”
Having been through an ordeal with Lia, the Emperor’s hair was sticking up in every direction, and his face bore several small scratches.
Seeing this, Aige clicked his tongue inwardly, while Kaiser suppressed a laugh.
“This much is fine.”
“But…”
“I’ve simply received what I deserved.”
What punishment was he talking about?
Hwang Goong-ui looked confused, and Lia’s face flushed red.
“Just get your examination done… sir!”
Having realized Lucian was the Emperor and now aware there were watchful eyes around, Lia added polite speech belatedly.
At her response, Kaiser finally burst into uncontrollable laughter, and Lucian’s eyes went wide before he chuckled.
“Good. I should listen well to what she says.”
Hwang Goong-ui was dumbfounded by how quickly Lucian changed his words.
Since the treatment amounted to little more than applying ointment to scratches, Lucian snatched the ointment from Hwang Goong-ui and handed it to Lia.
“Apply it yourself.”
“What?”
“Go on. You made these marks on me anyway.”
“Ugh… when did you get so clever…”
As Lia grumbled but dutifully applied the ointment to his face, Lucian gazed at her with eyes dripping with affection.
Watching this, Hwang Goong-ui realized she wasn’t just some woman the Emperor had brought along.
Aige pulled Hwang Goong-ui back.
“Don’t speak of what happened here today to anyone else.”
“You needn’t worry. That won’t happen.”
Hwang Goong-ui was a man who knew his place. In a palace where stray curiosity could cost lives, he didn’t do foolish things.

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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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