The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 90

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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 90

“…I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”
At Habvier’s apology, Lia folded her arms and asked.
“Why were you hostile toward me?”
“That… I’m not sure myself.”
Kaiser’s eyebrows twitched.
“Damn it, does that make sense? Everyone here saw you targeting Lia. If you’re lying to get out of this situation—”
“I’m telling the truth! I don’t understand why I felt such hostility toward you either. I’ve never met you before today.”
“…Hostility?”
At this unexpected word, Lucian tilted his head. But Lia sensed she understood, at least vaguely, why Habvier had acted as he did.
‘Could it be something like what I’m feeling right now?’
Just as Habvier had, Lia too felt an inexplicable rage rise up the moment she looked at him.
“You were using some kind of power a moment ago. What was it? It didn’t seem like magic.”
“It was Black Magic.”
“…Black Magic?”
“When did you learn such a thing? I thought you said you’d expose the Temple’s true face.”
Had he himself learned to use it?
As Lia and Kaiser exchanged bewildered glances, Lucian offered an explanation.
“He learned it deliberately. The only way to climb higher without suspicion was to master Black Magic.”
“The reason my promotion was stalled all this time was because I hadn’t learned Black Magic. Once I did, I was given various responsibilities, and now I’ve become a bishop.”
In short, he had willingly sacrificed himself to prepare for the great trials to come in the future.
“Allow me to explain.”
Habvier recounted the changes that had swept through the Temple over the past five years.
The Old Faction, which had wielded most of the Temple’s power—
In other words, the faction composed entirely of Black Magic practitioners had come under intense Imperial scrutiny when, during Leopold’s coming-of-age ceremony, he collapsed and the sixteenth Emperor, Julius, suffered a mental breakdown that ultimately led to his death.
No matter how they blamed an unknown spy, they couldn’t escape suspicion as long as the incident had occurred within the Temple’s walls.
While their faction’s power waned, the New Faction priests, backed by Luber and Lucian, overturned the Temple’s inner order.
“This is Cardinal Sebastian, the leader of the New Faction. We intend to drive out the Old Faction together.”
Sebastian, who appeared to be in his fifties, bowed with a benevolent smile.
“I knew there were secrets hidden within the Old Faction, but I never imagined they were Black Magic practitioners. Even if the Temple’s very origin was a device to conceal Black Magic, I truly believe God exists.”
White light flowed from Sebastian’s hands. Seeing it, Lia and Kaiser’s eyes widened.
“By the way, Sebastian is the first priest in Temple history to possess Holy Power. That’s why he could become a cardinal despite not being part of the Old Faction.”
Kaiser laughed in astonishment.
“…Right. I thought the god they created was just a fiction invented by Black Magic practitioners.”
Sebastian smiled faintly.
“God truly exists. Otherwise, there would be no way to prove my power, would there?”
Certainly, there was no way to deny Sebastian’s ability as he spoke.
It was a mysterious force that could only be called Holy Power, never mere magic.
“While Sebastian pressures the Old Faction from outside, Habvier gains their trust more and more, sharing internal information with us.”
“…At first, I was reluctant to learn Black Magic, but with your help, I was able to study it fully without being indoctrinated by the Old Faction.”
Learning Black Magic meant entering into a sort of cursed contract.
Simply put, it was a contract in which one lost their life if they betrayed their comrades.
But thanks to Lucian and Age acting first, Habvier was able to secretly break free from the curse.
“Your contributions are indeed substantial, priest. Without you, we would never have known of such atrocities occurring within the Temple.”
Given that even Sebastian spoke thus, his merit was certain.
“Black Magic practitioners…”
Lia murmured softly. The mere mention of the term twisted her insides and sent revulsion coursing through her.
“I find it genuinely unpleasant to be in the same space as them.”
“…I feel the same way. I honestly don’t understand why.”
Lia and Habvier exchanged looks, unable to hide their mutual discomfort.
While Habvier admitted he didn’t know the reason, Lia sensed she might understand it.
‘Could it be because I’m a witch?’
She had no memories from before she became a ghost, but if Age’s words were true, she was a witch. A being distinct from a mere mage.
If witches and Black Magic practitioners were inherently opposed, it would go some way toward explaining the current hostility.
“It was also thanks to Habvier that we uncovered the details of Leopold’s case. If you have questions, you can ask him.”
Lucian placed a gentle hand on Lia’s shoulder and spoke kindly.
‘Right, this is the arrangement I asked for.’
She needed to set aside these pointless emotions now.
“Can you explain exactly what happened the day Leopold lost consciousness?”
“I’ll explain everything I’ve been able to uncover.”
Habvier, like Lia, composed himself emotionally and calmly recounted that day’s events.
Habvier had begun investigating Leopold’s case two years after the incident occurred—two years after becoming Lucian’s servant.
By that time, Habvier had just become a Black Magic practitioner and could finally approach the Old Faction in earnest.
“I wasn’t present at the time, but according to those I later befriended, it’s certain that a new soul was injected into Leopold’s body. Or rather, more precisely, they attempted to replace it.”
“But doesn’t Leopold have two souls in his body?”
“That’s because they encountered unexpected interference midway. You see, at the time, Leopold carried a magical artifact. Given that the child assisting with the dressing was mysteriously disposed of, it seems that artifact disrupted the process, preventing them from extracting Leopold’s soul.”
“Lia, remember? The magical artifact I gave my brother as a birthday gift.”
Wanting to give something special, the two of them had put their heads together and crafted a magical artifact inscribed with a Defensive Magic Circle.
Never did they imagine it would function in such a way.
“Whose soul were they trying to replace it with?”
“I haven’t uncovered that much yet, but apparently it’s someone very important to the Black Magic practitioners. They simply call him ‘that person’ or ‘The Only Sun.'”
“…So it comes down to Leopold having two souls in his body.”
“Yes, I can confirm that much.”
‘Then what exactly did I sense?’
Both souls had felt like Leopold to her. If Habvier was right, then one of them must be a different soul entirely…
‘If I’m careless and accidentally erase the true Leopold, that would be catastrophic.’
This was a headache. She’d thought she could wake Leopold safely, only to run into such a thorny problem.
“Couldn’t Holy Power do anything about it?”
“We tried, but it had no effect. Since it’s fundamentally a matter of souls, that’s likely why.”
“Lia… is something wrong?”
As Lia couldn’t seem to relax her expression, Lucian asked with concern.
Lia looked at Lucian and pressed her lips together tightly.
Nothing was certain yet; she couldn’t afford to make him anxious without cause.
“Habvier, I have one favor to ask.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Investigate who that soul was—the one they tried to replace Leopold with. I need everything: their identity, what kind of work they did, any distinguishing characteristics. Find out as quickly as you can.”
“It won’t be easy, but…I’ll do my best.”
If she could identify the person, there had to be a way to distinguish between the two souls.
For now, that was her only hope.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Anything else…”
At Lucian’s question, Lia considered carefully. Several things did come to mind.
For instance, her own past.
“Remember when priests used to visit our Mansion? Do you know why?”
“Priests? Ah, that incident.”
The day when priests had infiltrated the Mansion when Lucian was ten and were dealt with by Kaiser. That was when he and Habvier first met.
“Those men were coming to make an offering once every ten years, as I recall. Kaiser interrogated the bishop at the time, but he seemed to have no knowledge of what purpose they intended.”
Kaiser, who had interrogated the bishop back then, spoke. Lia had heard this before, but now it struck her differently.
“What was their reason for making an offering?”
“That still remains—”
“The door with the magic circle inscribed on it—wasn’t that the door to the room where I was sealed?”
At Lia’s words, Lucian and Kaiser froze as though struck.
“…Yes. You were beyond that door, Lia.”
“The ritual was clearly designed to channel energy to the magic circle beyond the door…”
Having reached the same conclusion, Lucian and Kaiser stared at each other, their whole bodies covered in goosebumps.
“So someone knew you were sealed away and came to do this repeatedly?”
“That would be the conclusion.”
At Lia’s matter-of-fact words, both men’s faces darkened. Meanwhile, those who didn’t fully grasp the situation looked somewhat bewildered.
“This is… the scale is becoming far too large.”
With the Mansion incident, the Leopold incident, and the Temple all connected, a strong premonition rose that there was a thread linking them all together.
‘Lia… no, the witch Lia.’
What in the world had happened three hundred years ago that its consequences continued to reverberate even now?

* * *

Three days had passed since the secret meeting ended.
The most urgent matter—Leopold’s case—was connected to the Temple, so until Habvier brought her information, there was little she could do.
About all she could manage was to use Lucian’s position to examine the Imperial Family’s entanglement with the Temple, or to review historical records from the period when she was sealed away.
So she’d decided to at least look into that, but…
“What exactly are you doing?”
Lia glared at Lucian, who had dragged her from the Library to her room.
“Lia, you’ve been awake for less than a month. What did the doctor say? You’re not supposed to overexert yourself until your strength returns.”
“I wasn’t overexerting myself.”
“Then explain the dark circles under your eyes.”
Lia reached up to touch beneath her eyes.
The moment the meeting ended, she’d practically lived in the Imperial Record Repository, barely moving a step.
She ate there, barely slept, and was obsessed with uncovering fragments of her past.
When she was a ghost, she could stay awake twenty-four hours without sleeping, but she wasn’t a ghost anymore—she was human.
After three days of being worked to exhaustion in the Record Repository, her overextended body produced a nosebleed along with anemia.
Learning of this, Lucian had locked the Repository and confined her to her room.
“…I understand you want to find your past, but please take care of yourself too.”
His words carried a bittersweet edge, and Lia swallowed the sharp retort that had nearly burst out. His subtle reaction bothered her.
After the meeting ended, Lia had revealed to Lucian and Kaiser that she was the witch Lia.
‘What?! No wonder your magic seemed extraordinary! I’ve never seen a witch before!’
Kaiser had bounced around excitedly, but Lucian was different.
‘…You’re really the witch Lia?’
He’d been surprised at first, but quickly grew subdued. As if the fact that she was a witch didn’t sit well with him.
Of course, he’d shown no such reaction afterward, so she’d wondered if she’d been mistaken, but now it seemed her suspicion had been correct.
‘Disappointment… or perhaps resignation?’
She couldn’t find the right word to describe what was in Lucian’s heart.
What was certain was that he’d placed a subtle distance between them.
‘I don’t like it.’
If you’re displeased, say so. Or question me about it. But he just suffers in silence—what is this supposed to be?
She noticed Lucian’s shoulders sagging more than usual, and irritation flared within her.
Lia grabbed Lucian’s hand. He stiffened and turned around. He smiled as he always did.
“What?”
But behind his eyes, curved like a new moon, his gaze was unfocused.
“Do you have a problem with me?”
“Of course I do. I wish you’d take better care of yourself. You’re weaker than an ordinary person, yet you push yourself so hard…”
“No, not that. Do you hate that I’m a witch?”
Lucian hesitated. Then, his smile frozen in place, he looked at her with wavering eyes.
His lips moved silently for a moment before he let out a small laugh.
“What are you talking about? Why would I hate you?”
“But when I revealed I was a witch, and even now, your reaction seems strange. Is it because I’ve lived over three hundred years?”
“Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
“If that’s not it, then what’s wrong?”
When Lia raised her voice, Lucian dropped his smile and clenched his jaw, his expression hardening.
It looked as though he no longer wanted to speak with her, so Lia let go of his hand.

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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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