The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 94

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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 Prince — Chapter 94

‘At least he has some shred of conscience left.’
From the moment Lirlis had spoken of love, Lucian wanted nothing more than to wring her neck on the spot.

‘Lirlis is the most beautiful and lovely girl I’ve ever met! So you absolutely must not fall for her. Understood?’

Remembering when Leopold had flaunted his love for his betrothed, Lucian’s revulsion toward Lirlis had transformed into resentment toward the brother who loved her.
‘Brother, you have no eye for people.’
The betrothed whom his brother loved so dearly was now whispering her love to him.
If she were seeing Leopold rather than Lucian in him, he would have been willing to play along with her game.
But the worst had unfolded.
Before his eyes stood not his brother’s beloved betrothed, nor the Emperor’s sole betrothed, but an ugly woman who knew everything yet pretended ignorance—one who sought only to satisfy her own desires.
“If you’re so desperate to speak of love, go outside and tell it to those men who wag their tails for you. They’ll give you their hearts and livers and everything else.”
“Your Highness, Your Highness…….”
“How fortunate, really. Now I need not mind your presence. The only reason I’ve maintained this betrothal until now is because of my brother. But if such a thing happens again, I will truly break off the engagement.”
Lirlis’s eyes widened. In the future she had envisioned, there was not a single path that did not lead to becoming Empress.
“Do you really think Leopold will stand by and watch this?!”
Cornered, Lirlis struggled in desperation.
Mere moments ago she had whispered her love to Lucian rather than Leopold, yet now that she was trapped, she called upon Leopold’s name. Lucian was at a loss for words at the sight.
“If you cast me out, Leopold will not leave it alone! We’ve known each other since childhood, after all.”
“I wonder if my brother will take you back as his betrothed once he knows the truth. For myself, no matter how much I cherished someone, my affection would wither.”
Lirlis’s eyes wavered. Lucian saw it and was certain.
She had long known Leopold’s heart.
That she had harbored affection for him while knowing all along was simply unbelievable.
Did this woman possess not the slightest pang of conscience?
He could not bear to remain in the same space with her any longer.
“You may continue to flaunt yourself in society as the prospective Empress, or spread the lie that you receive my favor—I do not care.”
Lirlis flushed with shame.
“But if you touch me again without knowing your place…….”
Lucian opened the door and glanced back, fixing her with eyes as sharp as burnished gold.
“Then I shall ensure you never set foot in the Imperial Palace again, vows and oaths be damned.”
Lirlis’s lips trembled, and finally tears welled in her eyes.
To Lucian, it appeared nothing but affectation. He left her there and departed the Reception Room.
Once the door had closed, Lucian released a deep breath.
He needed it to quell the rage roiling within.
“……Your words were rather severe, Your Highness.”
James, who stood guard outside the Reception Room, spoke.
“I thought I was being merciful.”
“And yet she is a noblewoman. She has never heard an unkind word in her life—I worry such a shock may strain her health.”
“If you’re so concerned, then you look after her yourself.”
“I am Your Highness’s hands and feet. How can I move when Your Highness’s heart does not will it?”
James’s shameless deflection when the opportunity had been handed to him was so transparent that Lucian could not help but laugh.
For a brief moment his mood lifted, and he massaged the stiffness at the back of his neck.
“In any case, dealing with that woman exhausts me.”
“Still, you warned her today, so it seems unlikely such an incident will occur again.”
“……I’m not so sure.”
“Is something troubling you?”
James tilted his head at the meaningful response.
“My threats may bite now, but as you noted, she lacks shame. Given time, she’ll likely forget my warning.”
“……When did I say she lacked shame?”
“Well, if she forgets my warning and acts out again, then I have cause to break the engagement. For which I’d be grateful.”
Lucian’s lips curved upward as he spoke of visiting Lia, and he set off with a light step.
Watching him go, James was struck by a thought.
‘He seems to be hoping the noblewoman causes trouble.’
James reflected that Lucian was indeed a cruel person, and felt a pang of pity for Lirlis.

* * *

“……Such temperament.”
“Are you talking about me?”
Unable to resist Kaiser’s persistence, Lia had stepped outside with him, and when he suddenly muttered to himself, she raised an eyebrow.
Kaiser’s eyes were narrowed to slits, his expression cryptic.
In truth, having learned that Lucian’s betrothed had come to the Imperial Palace, he’d stepped out partly from curiosity about how Lia would react to seeing them together.
But the dragon’s keen ears had caught wind of trouble between the two, and his interest had deflated instantly.
‘Going in now would only be doing Lucian a favor.’
Kaiser, after a moment’s hesitation, shook his head.
“Nothing. Never mind.”
“You’ve been strange all afternoon.”
While eavesdropping on Lucian and his betrothed, his behavior had grown unnatural.
Unaware of this, Lia simply found Kaiser peculiar today.
“Let’s just go see the Imperial Garden instead.”
“Weren’t you about to visit Lucian?”
“I was planning to, but he seems busy. He’s getting an earful from Harry, right?”
“Ah, we shouldn’t interrupt his work.”
Fortunately, Lia found nothing suspicious in his makeshift excuse.
With their destination thus changed, the two wandered through the sprawling Imperial Garden.
Since they were staying in the Emperor’s Palace, aside from a handful of servants they’d seen before, there was scarcely another soul about.
“Come to think of it, this place feels awfully desolate.”
“Here?”
“Yes. I understand we can’t be around many people, but such a vast space being this empty is unsettling.”
“I wouldn’t know. By that logic, the Mansion where you lived was even more desolate, wasn’t it? Not quite this barren, but it was a large place, and you lived there alone all that time.”
“……That’s exactly why I’m saying it. I know how lonely and isolating it is to be alone in such a vast space.”
Whoooosh—
The wind stirred, and Lia’s dark hair scattered in the breeze. The image overlapped momentarily with how she had looked in those days when she was a ghost.
“That fool Lucian probably thinks you alone would be enough, even if everyone else in the world vanished.”
“Are you comforting me?”
“Not comfort—just stating a fact.”
When Kaiser added that Lucian surely had eyes only for her, Lia burst into laughter. It was a far more pleasant sight than the forlorn expression she’d worn moments before.
“No, Kaiser. Wouldn’t Lucian like it better if you were here too?”
As Lia spoke, brushing away her tears, Kaiser’s eyes widened.
The image of the three of them together, as they had been in childhood, formed unbidden in his mind.
Kaiser’s lips curved into a smile.
“Ha. That brat’s been so wary of me lately. I’m just grateful he doesn’t banish me when the two of you are alone.”
“Come on, surely not.”
“Tch. You still don’t know him, do you?”
“……Ugh, that irritates me. At least I’d rather not hear that from you.”
Kaiser protested at her retort. The two soon fell back into their usual bickering.
From a distance, the servants attending to their duties stole glances at them.
One was a woman of unknown origin brought personally by the Emperor, the other a man of such rank that the Prime Minister spoke to him with formal courtesy.
Both were known to be distinguished guests of the Emperor, but there was one more thing they had in common——
“What a feast for the eyes.”
“I’d thought His Highness was the handsomest in the Empire, but it seems I was wrong.”
“Honestly, one could say I entered the Imperial Palace just for a glimpse of His Highness.”
“Is that all? The Prime Minister Harry, the Guard Commander Dio, and even Instructor Age—all of them possess a beauty rarely seen elsewhere.”
“Sigh. I wish I could slip in among them.”
“You’d turn to dust in an instant.”
The job satisfaction of the maids working in the Emperor’s Palace surpassed that of those in other palaces.
The reason being, naturally, the abundance of feast-like sights for the eyes.
Simply viewing the Emperor or the other handsome men once a day was enough to dispel the day’s fatigue entirely.
Moreover, the difficulty of the work was relatively manageable compared to other places.
Though the Imperial Palace required much attention to detail, the masters and mistress were less demanding than ordinary nobles, so work-related stress was minimal.
And with these new beauties recently added, smiles had not left the faces of the staff.
Particularly Lia possessed such exquisite beauty that the servants had to exert all their willpower to keep their gaze from straying. One moment of lost focus, one lingering stare——
“What are you doing?”
“C-Commander Dio!”
——and a sharp reproach would come.
A newly assigned maid, unaware of Dio’s approach, had let her eyes linger on Lia.
As Dio’s gaze darkened and he fixed her with a stern look, the newcomer felt a cold sweat break out.
“Listen well, newcomer. If this had been His Highness instead of me, your head would have rolled from your shoulders by now.”
The grave sincerity in his words drained all color from the young maid’s face.
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Commander! I’ll be more careful!”
“……Since you’re new, I’ll overlook it this once. But it must not happen again. Especially—do not let your eyes wander toward Lia in ways that should not be there.”
Pretend she doesn’t exist. See nothing, hear nothing. Focus only on your duties.
“Should I even glimpse a disrespectful thought in your eyes regarding her……you already know what will happen.”
“Y-Yes, Commander! I will keep this in mind!”
Watching the newcomer bow and affirm with sweat dripping down her face, Dio withdrew his piercing gaze.
As he made his way toward Lia and Kaiser, he tidied up the flustered servants.
Once Dio had moved away, the newcomer let out a breath of relief. The senior maid beside her clicked her tongue.
“I told you to be careful.”
“I-I didn’t mean to! I just can’t help where my eyes go……!”
“True, she’s like a goddess descended to earth. But that woman belongs to His Highness. For someone like us, even glancing in her direction will displease him. You don’t want to lose your head over this, do you?”
“……No.”
The newcomer fell silent. But she understood the sentiment all too well.
“Times like these, I envy the Commander.”
The newcomer lifted her head at the senior maid’s words. In the distance, Dio was approaching Lia and Kaiser.
While all the other servants could only watch from afar, he alone could draw near to them.
Dio, who had stolen the hearts of many maids himself, seemed to become an ordinary person when standing before those two.
Then Lia and Kaiser appeared to be teasing Dio, their laughter ringing out, while Dio was visibly flustered and stumbling over his words. The senior maid let out a hollow laugh.
“If even the Commander can’t keep his composure before them, how could we ever dare to speak?”
“……This is the first time I’ve seen the Commander look so flustered.”
Dio was a commoner, yet through the Emperor’s trust, exceptional charisma, and skill, he served as a model to many knights.
So to the soldiers, he was an enigmatic figure they wished to approach but could not presume to address as an equal.
Yet seeing him like this made them realize—he was human too.
“Still, I envy the Commander. Perhaps because he’s reached his level, he can at least speak in their presence? If I were standing there, I wouldn’t have been able to open my mouth.”
“Fair point.”
The senior maid nodded in agreement. The two gazed at the distant trio with curious eyes.
What on earth were those three talking about? Their imaginations spiraled with possibility.

.
.

“My, now that little runt is playing grown-up?”
“Cough. Kaiser, stop teasing him. Dio’s going to cry.”
Kaiser had overheard Dio scolding the newcomer and was thoroughly enjoying the chance to mock him. Beside them, Lia made a halfhearted attempt to defend Dio, though she couldn’t suppress the twitch at the corners of her mouth.
She thought it might be better to laugh outright.
‘……I want to go home.’
Contrary to the servants’ imaginings, Dio’s reality was being treated like a child by Lia and Kaiser.

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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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