TAPGB - Chapter 34

 TAPGB - Chapter 34

The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

It's been an hour since I forcibly locked Lucian and Caesar in the room. The two were far away from each other.

At first, they stayed away because their emotions were hurt, but as time went by, they felt bored and frustrated with the current situation, so their body began to itch.

The two glanced at each other and tried to figure out how to overcome this situation. At that moment, their eyes met.

However, as soon as they encountered each other, they were startled and turned their heads like no one else. But that didn't last long either.

Caesar spoke first.

"What are you looking at?" 

"... Someone was looking at me."

He was also offended that they did not speak well with each other. They both turned their heads with sullen expressions.

"Caesar should have spoken nicer in the first place."

"What? Are you saying this is my fault now?"

"Okay! Do you think it feels good to be criticized for being me all the time? Did I hope for something big?"

During class, Lucian had to endure Caesar's tone and then say something. Even if he doesn't expect praise, don't be offended by what Caesar says.

Caesar was moved to tears for a moment, and was inclined to speak more harshly, thinking that he should deliberately distance himself from Lucian.

Caesar, whose conscience was pricked for no reason, pouted his lips. And he also expressed his disappointment.

"Then why do you call me by my name?"

"... What?"

"When did you call him brother and why do you just call him Caesar now?"

Caesar also liked it better when Lucian called him brother. It felt like he had a cute younger sibling, and he felt closer to him.

But now, Caesar felt sad because his name was constantly called. Caesar, who was grumbling to himself, glanced at Lucian. And for a moment he was embarrassed.

Lucian's face scrunched up and he was on the verge of getting angry.

"Who started it first...?"

" ..."

"Caesar told me first that I was nothing! But why do I have to call you brother!"

"No, I..."

Caesar was speechless. This is because Lucian suddenly began to sob, tears streaming down his face.

"Huh, that was bad. When I was sick, you didn't even show your nose, you only said harsh things, and you called me your younger brother! You said it was nothing!"

Lucian, who let out a rage, eventually couldn't overcome his emotions and hung his head.

"Aaaah! I hate Caesar the most in the world!"

Caesar had seen Lucian cry a few times in the past, but this was the first time he'd seen him cry so desperately like today.

Caesar was embarrassed to think that he was crying because of him.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

As Lucian stood awkwardly, letting go of his neck and crying, Caesar quietly watched him and approached the side.

As he got closer, Lucian, who was crying, glared at Caesar with his axe-shaped eyes. 

"I was bad! ... Sorry."

"Stupid, idiot!"

"Sorry."

"Stupid lizard!"

"Ah... ... Ha, I was wrong."

Ugh-

Lucian, who kept his mouth shut and glared at Caesar with all his might, burst into tears again.

Caesar patted Lucian with an awkward hand, held him in his arms, and sat him down on the sofa. Lucian squirmed, refusing Caesar's embrace.

"Let go of me! I don't need a dragon that hates me either!"

"I said I was sorry..."

"If you're sorry, you shouldn't have done something you're sorry for!"

Yes, he's absolutely right.

Caesar reflected on himself for being needlessly reckless. In the end, he was going to break down from Lucian's tears, so why did he try to keep his distance from him?

"Why did you do that to me?"

"..."

When Lucian looked up with tear-soaked golden eyes, Caesar pursed his lips.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you again...'

Lucian looked at Caesar with his eyes still focused. Caesar stuttered and spoke with difficulty.

"I was scared that I might kill you again... Because you are too weak, and you could die with just one touch from me."

Now he doesn't feel like thoughts are running through his head like he did back then, but  Caesar was afraid that the same thing would happen again.

"I thought the answer was to cut you off before I completely gave you affection."

"Then why did you stay instead of just leaving?"

"... I know."

Lucian's lips twitched slightly in a weak answer.

"Well, I'm terrified too. It was the second time in my life that I was that scared."

"What is the first one?"

"... When I first came here."

When Lucian realized that he had finally been abandoned by the family he had waited so long for, Lucian felt despair and fear for the first time. As he was walking through an endless dark tunnel, it was Leah who appeared like a ray of light.

"My heart still flutters when I think of the basement, and I think of it every time Caesar acts scary."

Caesar trembled and his face hardened.

"So it's right for me to just fall...But more than that, I'm more scared of the fact that Caesar said I was nothing."

Caesar opened his mouth at Lucian's next words. Lucian rubbed his eyes again with tears in his eyes.

"... I don't want to be far away from my brother."

Lucian's words entered Caesar's mind. Before he knew it, his eyes became red. Caesar hugged Lucian.

"Me too... I want to go back to normal with you."

"...Am I really nothing?"

"No way. You're the first person I gave affection to."

"You're also the first one I gave affection to."

Lucian also hugged Caesar's back tightly. The faint sound of a pulse and the warm body temperature eventually brought Caesar to tears.

Perhaps the reason he treated Lucian more harshly and blurted out words was because he subconsciously wanted him to pay more attention to himself.

Even though he didn't want to be hated, he had to be hated. Because only then can Lucian be safe.

Lucian lifted his head, sniffling at the wet feeling on his head. Caesar was crying. Lucian was embarrassed and then burst into laughter. 

"Hey, you're crying."

This guy. 

"Who can say that?"

The two pouted at each other and then burst into laughter.

Eventually, as if they had been waiting, they started talking to each other and without any embellishment spoke out what they had been sad about and what they wanted to say. The two talked without realizing how time had passed.

Three hours later, I, who had prepared dinner, came up to check on Caesar and Lucian's condition. I released the barrier and carefully entered the room.

At first, I was confused because I couldn't see anyone, but it wasn't until I got to the sofa that I could find the two's whereabouts.

I burst out laughing.

[Haha, when do you act like a supporter like that?]

Caesar was lying down on the sofa, and Lucian was sleeping next to him, with Lucian sitting on top of him as if crushing him.

Looking at the tear stains and reddened eyes, it was clear that the two had an honest conversation. 

With a happy smile, I thought of something for a moment and headed to the room.

Then, I came down from there with parchment and a pencil and drew a picture of the two of them.

Later, when they see this picture, Lucian and Caesar reminisce about how they were both crybabies.

But that was still a story of the distant future.

***

Two weeks have passed since Lucian and Caesar reconciled. Meanwhile, James stopped by the mansion. Taking advantage of that timing, the three conducted an experiment on him.

If James eats the food I made, I wonder if he can see me.

"Hmm, the cookies are delicious. Did you live in town? Which store's cookies are they from?"

To conclude, he did not see Lia.

No matter how many times I walked in front of him eating cookies, he didn't even blink. It seems that the condition for seeing me is not just eating food.

It has already been about four months since Lucian came here. And it had been exactly one month since Caesar stayed here.

Caesar is a hatchling who has not yet had the Holy Dragon Ceremony. The maximum time he could be out in the human world without a guardian was one month.

When it was time to say goodbye to Caesar, Lucian had no intention of leaving him since morning.

[Lucian, stop now and come down. Caesar has to go now.]

"... No, I do not want."

[If this continues, it will be difficult for Caesar as well.]

"It's okay because I used magic. It's not heavy."

Lucian groaned and clung to Caesar like a cicada. Unlike me, who was embarrassed, Caesar smiled. 

"You don't want me to go?"

"..."

Lucian, who was silent, nodded. It was very difficult for Lucian, who was experiencing the situation of breaking up with the person he had loved for the first time.

Caesar also knew Lucian's feelings well. Although it was very pleasing, time was not infinite. If he doesn't go within today, his parents will force him and summon him.

Caesar patted Lucian's arm around his neck and lowered him. Lucian was struggling to hold back tears.

Caesar was at eye level with him.

"I will go and come back again. We're not breaking up forever."

"But you'll be late. Leah said that. Leah says he comes once every 4-5 years..."

"That's because Leah doesn't mind seeing me that way. I'll come back in a year. Huh?"

"...One year is too long."

As Lucian was holding onto the hem of Caesar's clothes again, I went behind him and patted Lucian's shoulder.

"Then I'll come as soon as possible. Just wait 5 years. "If you become an adult, I can come anytime."

"You will definitely come again in 5 years, right?"

"Then! Even if I can't, I'll come within a year!"

"...Ugh."

Even though Caesar tried to console him, Lucian ended up crying. I and Caesar looked at each other, smiled, and hugged Lucian tightly.

"I guess we should call this him the crybaby Prince."

[That's right. Which Prince would cry so much?]

"...Don't tease me..."

As he spoke with his snot hanging down, I wanted to tease him even more. But I'm done with the teasing and ready to break up with Caesar.

Caesar probably won't be here for a year. Up to one month per year. Because that is the time given to hatchlings in the human world.

Just because he's Caesar, he doesn't want to be away for a year. He too was unable to take a step, perhaps because he was disappointed. As he watched Lucian shed tears, he remembered something and searched around in subspace.

"I'll give you this."

"Sniff! What is this... ?"

It was a crystal ball the size of a ball.

"I can contact you through this. Of course, I can only contact you from my side." 

Since the Dragon Lair is covered with a huge barrier, it is impossible to contact it from outside unless it is a verified communication network. Instead, it is possible to send communication from the inside to the outside, so Caesar will contact him through this at any time. 

"If you have it, I'll contact you whenever I have time. Got it?"

"You have to do it every day." 

"... I will try my best."

Caesar hugged Lucian tightly.

"We are of different races and are not related by blood, but we are brothers. Keep that in mind." 

"Huh! You and Leah are my family!"

[Haha, are you hugging me too?]

As I burst out laughing, Lucian and Caesar also burst into laughter. The three of them had a tearful farewell.

After Caesar teleported away, Lucian cried for a long time, but since it was not a complete separation, he would get over it well.

“Leah...”

[Huh? Why?]

"Leah, you can't leave me."

[Who leaves? I don't know if you leave me.]

"Because that will never happen, Leah, you must never leave me!" 

Lucian buried his face in my chest. Because my body was transparent, his ugly face was clearly visible. 

"If Leah leaves, my world will fall apart." 

[How does it sound more sad than Caesar leaving?]

 "... It's a pity not to have an older brother, but I can't imagine not having Leah. Leah is my bride. So you have to stay by my side for the rest of your life."

Even if he says it while covered in tears, it will only seem trivial and cute. I know he feels anxious, but there really is nothing more useless to worry about than this. 

[Don't worry. That will never happen.]

'It will never happen that I leave your side first.'

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