TAPGB - Chapter 14
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
"Leah...! What is it?"
[Wait a moment. I'll be back soon.]
I left Lucian behind and entered the mansion. Then I went straight up to the second floor and found the stairs leading to the attic.
The place I entered was the studio used by an eccentric painter.
[As expected, there was something left.]
I took along parchment, pencils, and paints that painters usually used.
I had asked Lucian to draw a picture before, but I couldn't do it because I didn't have time.
If you start it as a hobby, wouldn't you be able to learn it professionally later?
From the looks of it, he has a sharp mind, and although his physical strength was not good at first, he is quite good at using his body.
[If you continue to draw well...]
I went down to the garden, filled with anticipation without even realizing it.
"Where have you been? Uh? What is this?"
I placed the items on the mat and explained them one by one.
[You can place a piece of parchment on this board and draw whatever you want.]
First, to demonstrate, I started drawing a group of foxes sleeping together.
It was my first time drawing, and I did better than I expected.
"Wow, it's just like a fox."
I was constantly amazed at how Lucian could see it in his eyes.
It was drawn roughly, so even though it was messy, it was enough to make out the shape.
[You don't have to look at it and draw it. You can just draw whatever you've imagined or wanted to draw. How is it? Do you want to try it?]
"Yes!"
Lucian immediately lay down on the floor, kicking his feet toward the sky and thinking about what to draw.
While looking around, he suddenly stopped when he saw me.
[Why?]
"I want to draw Leah."
[Huh? Me?]
"Stay right there. I will draw you a pretty picture."
Lucian eagerly buried his nose in the parchment and moved his hand looked at the parchment, then at me, then lowered his head and raised it again and again. It seemed like it would take a long time to draw everything.
I also picked up a pencil, wondering if I wanted to draw Lucian. After about 10 minutes, the rough sketch was completed. He naturally prepared the paint and played with his hands without hesitation.
The green and lush colors became the fluttering blades of grass and leaves, the sunny sky blue danced over them, and the colorful paints gradually filled the cute child with color.
Lucian pops out right now, Leah! It felt like he was calling me.
[Lucian, look at this? You drew it pretty well...]
Just as I was holding up a drawing to show off, I noticed Lucian sleeping face down, holding a pencil. I used magic to carefully lift Luciqn up and organize the mat and various other items. At that time, the parchment that Lucian had been writing came into view.
Flinch!
[This can't be right it's me?]
Even if I tried to be nice to him considering he was a child, I couldn't be nice to him.
The eyes were drawn as round, without a nose, and the mouth was also in the shape of a smile, but the lines were messy and overlapped, making it look creepy.
[You said you would draw it pretty, but why did you draw an evil spirit?]
Maybe it was because the pencil was blunt, or maybe it was because it smudged on his hand while drawing, but the parchment was dark overall. So it looked like an even more evil evil spirit.
[Phew. gasp.....! Oh My God! That last time wasn't just because I didn't hold the pen.]
When Lucian was picky about eating broccoli, there was something he had drawn next to the picture he had drawn.
At first, I thought it was a flower, but when I asked later, he said it was a drawing of the sun. It's just that Lucian has no talent for drawing. It was embarrassing to worry about what to do with the genius of the century.
[But was this really drawn seriously?]
At first, it was just funny, but it became serious when I thought that the evil spirit in the parchment had seen him and drew it.
He sang to me and told me I was so pretty. Actually, isn't there a problem with aesthetics?
I thought I still had a pretty face because of what he always said, but now I doubted it.
[Wow, you sleep well after drawing something like this.]
I carefully held Lucian in my arms and entered the mansion with my other belongings.
I put the picture I drew today and the picture of Lucian's evil spirit (?) on the bookshelf.
Without my knowledge, Lucian's traces gradually increased.
***
"So Dick was able to safely return to his family."
[Wow! Did you read all the fairy tale books today?]
Today was a special night as Lucian read a children's book from beginning to end.
It's only been about two months since he learned how to write, but reading a children's book isn't that easy.
I gave him enthusiastic applause and praise, but Lucian showed no reaction.
I thought he would be flattered and proud, but instead of being happy, he seemed depressed.
I stopped clapping and looked at him carefully. Lucian's eyes were fixed on the storybook.
To be exact, a picture of a family that looks harmonious.
Only then did I know what he was thinking of.
[Do you want to go back home?]
Lucian's shoulders trembled. After thinking about it, he shook his head. But his expression was full of regret.
I bought a storybook from Lucian. Only then did he look back at me.
Lucian has never really told his story yet. He thinks it's premature. He's just waited until now. Now is the time.
[Can you tell me how you ended up here and why you became a false Prince and were sacrificed?]
The child spoke calmly so as not to be surprised. Then Lucian blinked his big eyes and stared at me.
"A fake Prince?"
[Okay. I know everything, so there's nothing to hide.]
Even though I patted his back, Lucian's expression was still blank. Soon he stood up from his seat and looked down at me.
"I'm not a fake Prince, am I?"
[Huh?]
"I am a real Prince. I'm not an orphan."
What does this mean? Apparently, when I first came here, the humans...
After a moment of confusion, I suddenly remembered something meaningful that the humans had said.
'But is there really a need to decorate it like that? Like royalty....'
'Shh. We just have to do what we're told. Don't give me unnecessary attention.'
Not only that, there was a question I had while looking at Lucian. The characteristic feature of the royal family is golden eyes. Lucian is the owner of clear golden eyes. There are no traces of magic or drugs being used. That means that the original eye is golden.
[Then it's not like they were made up of the royal family, right?]
"Yes? What?"
[Oh, no. I heard what the humans were saying when you first came here. Those guys back then...]
As I continued my explanation, Lucian sat down with a dark expression on his face. Soon he brought his knees together.
[Is there something going on?]
"I don't know either. It's just that, all of a sudden, people started calling me an orphan."
Although he was only 8 years old, he had a dark expression that was inappropriate for his age.
"But actually, I don't know if I'm really the Prince."
Lucian explained what kind of life he lived before coming here.
It is said that he lived in a shabby palace from the time he was born until he came here. It's smaller and older than the current mansion and is a palace in name only.
There, Lucian grew up suffering neglect and abuse.
'I told you not to call me unless It was necessary, I didn't!'
'Now that you're all grown up, you can do it on your own, right?"
'Why do people have to come and go so hard? Am I your friend?!'
I felt like I could tell how Lucian was treated just by reciting the verbal abuse he heard there.
[But how did you find out that you were the Prince?]
"Father came once."
[Your father is the Emperor?]
"Yes, he came here on my 4th birthday. That was the first time I knew that it was my birthday, that I was a Prince, and that I had a family."
Before that, everyone treated Lucian poorly, calling him by a name other than 'Prince'.
However, after the Emperor visited, the title changed little by little, and before we knew it, they started using honorifics. Of course, they haven't completely corrected their behavior.
It was a long time ago, but Lucian vividly remembered the day he met the Emperor.
The adults who were most afraid and had difficulty seeing the Emperor in front of them were so embarrassed that they hit their heads on the floor and couldn't even raise their heads.
He had white hair and golden eyes like himself.
The moment Lucian saw the Emperor, he instinctively realized that he was his father.
"Dad."
Young Lucian hesitated, grabbed the hem of the Emperor's pants, and spoke.
The Emperor frowned and muttered.
"...I can't believe you're still alive."
I was dumbfounded after hearing Lucian's words. Is that what the father would say? And to a child who is seeing him for the first time?
Anger boiled inside.
"That day, I asked the nanny what Father did and whether he had any other family besides Mother."
[So what does she say?]
"She said he was doing well and that I had an older brother."
That means that Lucian is the only one left in the cold palace, while his older brother lives with the love and care of many people. I don't understand at all. Why was Lucian the only one treated like that?
[Perhaps your mother is someone else?]
"That's not true. The Empress says she is my mother."
Doesn't that make any more sense? Why does the Empress's resurrected child not receive the treatment of a Prince and has to stay in hiding?
"Ever since I saw Father, I've thought about it every day before going to bed. My family will come to see me tomorrow. Someday they will take me... However, that has never happened."
Lucian must have been so emotional that he stopped mid-sentence and began to sob. I clenched my fists and hugged Lucian.
"A week before I came here... People took me somewhere. It was a bigger and more dazzling place than here. At that time, I thought my family was finally taking me. But, that wasn't it. I cut off my unkempt hair, dressed in big but nice clothes, and encountered delicious foods I had never eaten before, but I had never met anyone called the Emperor or royal family."
Rather, the people who decorated Lucian called him an orphan picked up from the side of the road.
"I'm not an orphan I also have a mom and a dad."
The inner thoughts that I couldn't tell anyone came out.
"The nanny said I was a child who should not have been born. They say my powers split after I was born, so, that's why I can't be treated like a Prince...."
Lucian stopped speaking and then closed his mouth. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes.
"W-I really shouldn't have been born?"
In his distorted expression, I could see the hurt that he had been trying to suppress and hide.
It had been festering for a long time and needed to be treated right away, but there was no one to treat it or a way to teach it, so it felt like it was being neglected.
Sniff, sniff.
I placed my hand on Lucian's back and patted him.
[I don't know why you hear such things or whether you've been abandoned by people, but I'm really glad you came here.]
His eyes were brimming with tears and looked at me.
[You did that to me before, right? Ask me, Haven't you been lonely for 300 years? I thought I wasn't lonely, but I guess that wasn't the case.]
I realized this after living with Lucian. I know that I can never go back to the way I was before I met him.
I became painfully aware of how happy life is with someone and how much of a blessing Lucian brings to me.
[You may not know it to others, but you are a special person to me. You are the only human who can see me. So don't even think about saying things like you shouldn't have been born or that it's bad luck or anything like that. It is me who is by your side now.]
"Am I really special?"
[Okay. To me, you're more special than anyone else.]
"Hehehe."
Lucian smiled brightly and the tears that had been building up fell down. He looked very sad, so I wiped his eyes. Although it must have been a strange feeling that did not feel like body temperature. Lucian rubbed his face against my mana-covered hand as if it felt good.
"I used to envy the families in storybooks, but I don't envy them anymore."
[Then?]
"Leah is by my side. Leah is my family."
It's family. It's a word that doesn't suit a ghost at all, but I didn't want to break the mood.
[Yes, I will always be by your side.]
So, without realizing it, I said something impossible. How could I always be by Lucian's side when I was tied up in the mansion? When he comes of age, he must leave the mansion. I'm not kicking him out, but he can't live here with himself as a ghost for the rest of his life.
But if I become free and can continue to be by Lucian's side, I want to watch Lucian fall in love with someone, get married, have children, and live happily until he grows old and dies.
Even though I knew it was unrealistic, it was a future that was so sweet that I really wanted to make it happen.
***
"Thank you for today too!"
"No. It's my job."
It's been three months since Lucian came to the haunted mansion. Today was the once-a-month supply day.
James, who seemed like he would run away on the first day and never come back, came to deliver supplies on the second month and again today.
'On days like today, if I just deliver this, my work is over and I get paid extra.'
At first, he was scared because of all the rumors, but as he found out, nothing is as easy as this. He even lied, saying that he had no choice but to go because he was afraid that someone else might take this sweet position.
Well, no one wants to come here voluntarily anyway.
'And more than anything, the child gets stepped on.'
On the first day, after running an errand, I felt strange and asked the chamberlain about Lucian.
"There's a kid there, who is he?"
'You see, I told you to watch your mouth.'
'Of course, I didn't tell anyone! It's just that the child there looks exactly like the Crown Prince... '
Seeing James hesitating, the chamberlain said with an expression that there was nothing he could do.
He is an orphan brought in to be sacrificed.
'Is he an orphan? However, it definitely looked like royalty..'
'There is such a thing. Don't go into too much detail. If you ever talk about your child to others..!'
The chamberlain's expression as he slit his throat was as blue as day.
"By then, it will be over for you and me. Do you understand?'
What the Chamberlain said was not a threat, but was sincere. Because the person who whispered to him was quite pale.
James paid more attention to joining, but he still couldn't let go of his interest in Lucian.
In the end, he dug up information related to the haunted mansion, avoiding the eyes of the Chamberlain. As a result, he learned that a ritual had recently been performed to put the mansion's ghosts to rest.
He tried to find people who had participated in the ritual, but somehow they all stopped working and I couldn't find out anymore. Still, from the sound of a sacrifice being made, it seemed like the child who had been dressed up as a member of the royal family was the sacrifice.
"It's pitiful."
Even though he was an orphan, Lucian was pitiful as he was left alone in a large mansion. However, James was in a position where he couldn't just take Lucian out of the mansion because it was difficult to put his mind to it right away. Moreover, the chamberlain had ordered the child never to be taken out of the mansion.
So, James thought it would be a good idea to at least provide an abundance of supplies.
"You seem a little taller than last time?"
Why does Lucian's complexion get better every time James sees him? When he first saw it, Lucian was so skinny that he looked like he would collapse if James hit him. Lucian seems to be taller now, his flesh is plump and rising nicely, and his toned body can be seen through his clothes.
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