The Abandoned Prince’s Ghost Bride - Chapter 98

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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 Forsaken Prince’s Ghost Bride – Episode 98

Before long, it was the final day of the birthday celebration. Now only a single ball remained.
As the evening’s principal, Lucian danced with his fiancée Lirlis out of sheer necessity.
Watching the two move together like a beautiful painting, everyone whispered that they made an exquisite couple—yet not all the talk was flattering.
“His Majesty has a true love, doesn’t he?”
“It seems she hasn’t come here.”
“Perhaps she didn’t receive an invitation?”
“With a fiancée right here in front of us, how could she? I’m curious who she is and where she lives.”
Everyone hushed their voices, yet they all knew the rumors about the Emperor’s romantic interest.
Though they whispered only within their circles, many groups murmured about the Emperor’s true love.
“Everyone, mind your tongues. The Princess won’t tolerate this.”
Of course, there were skeptics among them.
Specifically, the young ladies of Lirlis’s faction. When they snapped that such nonsense was beneath them, everyone coughed awkwardly and dispersed.
“Those who can’t open their mouths in front of the Princess suddenly have much to say.”
“The delicate Princess must be spared any hurt.”
“Hmph! She must be some lowborn creature who seduced His Majesty. Otherwise, how could His Majesty abandon the Princess for another woman?”
As fervent supporters of Lirlis, they eagerly tore apart the Emperor’s unknown love interest. Then, one young lady who had remained unusually quiet spoke softly.
“I heard from someone I know that His Majesty’s romantic interest is a beauty beyond comparison to the Princess.”
A brief silence fell, but soon laughter spilled out.
“My lady, your jests are quite bold.”
“More beautiful than the Princess? Surely that’s an exaggeration.”
“No matter how beautiful, she couldn’t possess everything the Princess has.”
They dismissed the young lady’s words and continued their conversation.
“But that’s not it…”
Only she tilted her head in doubt, her unease evident. The person who had brought her this news had praised that woman’s beauty with an almost reverent fervor.
It was an expression that couldn’t possibly have come from mere flattery.
Meanwhile, as the music ended, Lucian escaped to the terrace to evade the crowd pressing around him. He then ordered his guards to allow no one to approach.
Presently, he noticed a hand still clinging to his arm.
“Today’s quota of appearances is fulfilled.”
A blunt way of saying she should let go. And the one who heard those harsh words was, naturally, Lirlis.
Though Lirlis flushed with humiliation, she stepped back. She could voice no complaints.
In front of others, they performed as harmonious fiancés so convincingly that no one could fault her.
The fact that he seemed to have no intention of deepening their relationship beyond the purely public made her heart throb with yearning.
“I thought you would bring the one you love. Yet in three days, you haven’t brought her even once.”
The mention of Lia made nerves already sharpened by dealing with nobles grow even more taut.
When Lucian looked down without speaking, she swallowed hard.
“Am I not the sort of person who should even ask such a question?”
“If harsh words had spilled from your mouth, I might have grown angry.”
He didn’t deny it, and that stung.
“I have no wish for her to be troubled because of you. I will not show her to anyone—not now, not ever. The same applies to you.”
“I cannot fathom Your Majesty’s thinking.”
From Lirlis’s perspective, who loved to display herself and enjoyed others’ attention, she could not understand Lucian.
Lucian, observing her for a moment, released a sigh.
“Since I am a man destined to leave this place, why would I leave complications behind?”
Lirlis’s heart dropped like a stone.
“Leave? You mean…?”
“Once my brother is ready, I will hand this throne over to him. That was always our agreement.”
“But—surely it’s not that simple? We’re not talking of just anything—it’s the throne! The ruler of an empire that all covet! How can you speak of relinquishing such a seat so easily?!”
“Your voice is rising. Be quiet.”
“Your Majesty has built so much here. You cannot possibly abandon it all and simply depart!”
Lucian paused, regarding her. When he smiled faintly, Lirlis realized she had never seen him smile before—not like this.
And it was no act. It was a genuine smile.
“My brother can govern the Empire far better than someone like me, and he will develop what I have built to even greater heights. I don’t understand why you’re in such turmoil when I’m the one leaving.”
“That’s…”
“The only reason I’ve managed to imitate a wise ruler while sitting in this seat is because of my brother. Without him, I wouldn’t care what happened to this realm.”
“You care deeply for Leopold.”
“Isn’t it strange not to like a man like him?”
“…”
The moment she heard those words, Lirlis felt her tongue seize.
The infinite trust and affection Lucian held for Leopold was something no one else could rival.
In that moment, she grew disgusted even with herself for feeling jealousy toward Leopold.
‘But… I think I understand now.’
Though she had never harbored romantic feelings for Leopold, she understood well that as a person and as a leader fit to guide the Empire, he was excellent and worthy of devotion.
Seeing through Lirlis’s thoughts, Lucian murmured without quite meaning to.
“I believe you could be a most excellent Empress.”
Setting aside personal emotion and her circumstances, and judging Lirlis on merit alone, she possessed more of the qualities required of an Empress than anyone in the Empire.
She knew how to captivate people with eloquence and presence; she moved seamlessly among nobility and royalty alike; she possessed respectable business acumen; her education was refined.
These were strengths that could not be denied.
At Lucian’s plain words, Lirlis felt her heart race.
Everyone said there was no one but her to be Empress, yet no one had ever said she could become an excellent one. Not even her own parents.
‘How cruel.’
He wouldn’t accept her feelings, so why did he have to shake her heart like this?
Because it was an assessment unmarred by self-interest, purely objective, Lirlis’s heart reeled all the more.
“It would have been perfect if you loved my brother instead of me.”
Without time to linger in the aftertaste, Lucian tutted in disdain, and Lirlis found herself laughing despite herself.
But then she burst into genuine laughter.
When Lirlis, who always tried to show only her lovely side, threw her head back in laughter, Lucian raised one eyebrow.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“Doing what?”
“If Your Majesty tempts me like this, I cannot help but yield.”
Understanding her implication, Lucian’s face contorted with revulsion. His gaze was that of someone looking at something less than an insect.
Though she had never been treated with such contempt before, Lirlis somehow felt her mind clear.
“I seem to have misjudged.”
As though he couldn’t bear to share the space any longer, Lucian left the terrace.
After he departed, Lirlis settled into the nearest chair with a faint smile.
“I still can’t give up…”
When he first discovered everything about her, she thought her world had ended.
She believed the brilliant future as Empress was impossible, as were building a home with the man she loved. Yet after hearing his words just now, something shifted.
Precisely, she saw hope.
As Lirlis sat quietly, her eyes alight, her father, Duke Sebans, entered the terrace.
“Lirlis! What did you say to make His Majesty so angry? He already warned you last time…!”
“Father.”
Before he could continue his scolding, the Duke sensed that his daughter’s mood was different from usual and fell silent.
“I love His Majesty.”
At her words, the Duke was left breathless.
“Of course you do—that’s as it should be, so that you might become Empress…”
“Not Leopold. I mean His Majesty as he is now.”
The Duke’s thoughts froze. As understanding slowly dawned, the blood drained from his face.
“You… you…! How long has this been?!”
“For a while now. Since I discovered that His Majesty is Leopold’s hidden twin, and that he’s serving as a substitute for some reason.”
A thousand thoughts raced through the Duke’s mind—that his daughter knew the Imperial bloodline’s secret, that Lucian had discovered she knew. But there was something more pressing still…
“You’ve truly lost your mind!”
His daughter spoke of loving Lucian while knowing everything.
“So all this time, pressing for marriage, asking me to speak to His Majesty—it was all…!”
“Yes, because I love His Majesty. Because I wanted to marry him, not Leopold.”
Now the Duke understood why the Emperor had grown colder recently, why he kept picking at his daughter. His behavior suddenly made sense.
Even just before entering this terrace.
‘Duke, you must watch the Princess carefully.’
‘…Pardon?’
‘If my patience snaps like this, I may very well break the engagement.’
Before he could press for details, Lucian had left with only this ominous warning.
But now, he finally understood his meaning.
“That man will leave this place! Your long-betrothed is His Highness Leopold—how can you speak of loving that one?!”
“But Father, this is the first time in my life I’ve loved someone like this.”
The Duke felt a chill run down his spine. His daughter spoke of love, yet her pale eyes gleamed with an unsettling light.
“Just now, His Majesty said I could be an excellent Empress.”
“His Majesty said…?”
“Doesn’t that mean, even if he doesn’t see me as a woman, he still desires me as Empress?”
“Ah, Lirlis. My daughter.”
That was plainly Lucian drawing a line, wasn’t it?
The Duke recalled Lucian, who lived with the words that he would leave once his brother woke.
At first, he’d wondered if Lucian might harbor ambitions for Leopold’s throne, so well had he played the substitute.
But now he understood. Once Leopold woke, Lucian would vanish like a mirage from the Imperial Palace—nay, from the entire Empire.
“Father knew everything, yet you still pushed for the marriage. Wasn’t it because you thought His Majesty was suitable?”
“Speak plainly. I brought up marriage because you staged a hunger strike for a week, not for any other reason. And the reason I agreed was only because once Leopold wakes, things would naturally return to their proper order.”
“When Leopold returns, I will support His Majesty as he is now, not him.”
“Lirlis!”
At words that amounted to treason, the Duke’s face drained of color.
“I don’t know all the details, but Leopold is gravely ill now, isn’t he? So ill that he can’t rise from his bed.”
“…”
“Is there any chance Leopold will wake? After five years in that state, it seems nearly impossible.”
“That’s…”
“Think about it objectively, Father. Between Leopold and His Majesty as he is now—who possesses the greater qualities of an Emperor?”
The Duke’s eyes wavered. At this point, he already knew the answer to some degree.
Leopold could become an excellent Emperor, but his gentle nature and lack of ruthlessness were disadvantages—he couldn’t wield charisma and decisiveness the way Lucian does.
Lucian, by contrast, was cold yet possessed a generosity of spirit, making him harmonious in every respect.
“You see? Even you can’t be certain, Father.”
“So what is it you want to say?”
“Support me completely. Let me become His Majesty’s woman.”
Seeing his daughter’s confidence tip into arrogance, the Duke furrowed his brow.
This daughter was no longer a naive girl singing of love, but a woman in whom madness and obsession had merged, utterly fearless.
“Oh, and Father—you do know His Majesty’s name, don’t you? It wouldn’t do to not know the name of the man I love.”
“It is Lucian.”
“Lucian, Lucian… it suits him so well.”
Lirlis smiled shyly, murmuring Lucian’s name, then slipped from the terrace, determined to follow him.
Only then could the Duke manage to draw a breath.
“God in heaven… what am I to do?”
No god was present to answer the Duke’s plea.

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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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