TAPGB - Chapter 22
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
[What did you order?]
"Here."
When Caesar opened the subspace, all kinds of things poured out.
I was surprised that the amount was larger than I expected. Even if I told you to buy it, what are those numerous luxurious boxes?
[Didn't you say that all 1 gold was spent on snacks? You bought all of this for 4 gold?]
As Leah rummaged through the items with a puzzled expression, Caesar huffed and brushed back his long hair.
"Praise Me."
Cursing welled up in my throat, but I held it back.
"I bought everything from Lucian's clothes to my shoes with my own money."
Leah's eyes widened at the unimaginable words. Then Caesar said.
Hahaha!
I smiled and arched my back.
"Honestly, with the money you gave me. I could only buy things like straws. You can't buy something like that for that face, right?"T
[That's true, but since he's still young. I thought he'd grow up quickly, so I tried to buy a cheap one.]
"Tsk tsk. When it gets smaller, you can just buy a new one."
[Not everyone has as much money as you.]
Not bad. I don't know how it felt. But overall the clothes were in good condition.
No, it wasn't okay, it was pretty.
"They say it takes time to make shoes, so I have to pick them up later. Lucian has memorized the route, so he can go alone from now on. Of course, if you're worried, I'll..."
[Thank you, Caesar.]
Caesar stopped and looked down at Leah with his arms crossed. Leah grinned.
[Thanks to you, Lucian got to the village safely and was able to wear these nice clothes. Thank you so much.]
After a moment of silence, Caesar's face lit up.
Pop-!
There was a sound of something exploding and thick smoke billowed out.
"Leah! Brother! I put the candies and jellies in glass jars! I did well...Huh?"
Lucian, who was just running out of the kitchen, stopped when he saw a creature he had never seen before.
"Caesar?"
The place where Lucian and Leah's eyes focused was where Caesar was standing.
The smoke disappeared and what appeared was a small dragon with bright red scales.
Caesar blinked his light green eyes and flapped his wings. The flapping of his wings became more intense and he spun around the ceiling.
"Wow! Wow! Are you my brother? It's so cool!"
[It seems a little smaller than last time.]
"Ish, it's noisy! If I return to the main body, the mansion will collapse!"
Caesar must have calmed down a little and screamed. He's excited! He turned his head and slowly came down. Lucian hurriedly ran to him.
"It's a real dragon!"
"Is it real, then is it fake?"
"It's so cool! Even more than what appears in the storybook! more! It's a million times cooler!"
"Of course! Where do you say you see this noble figure?"
"Tell me more!"
Caesar, who was still weak to praise, arbitrarily entered Lucian's praise prison.
Just a little while ago, I thought he had grown up, but I guess it was all an illusion.
"Ugh, it's still frustrating. It's more comfortable than Polymorph, though."
His size was roughly similar to Lucian's.
According to what Caesar said before, its current appearance is similar to the size of a newborn hatchling.
It would not be wrong to say that an adult dragon was originally as large as a mansion. Most dragons do not roam around in their true form, but change their appearance into polymorphs or reduce their size like the current Caesar. Otherwise, it would be too noticeable.
[How much does it originally look like? I think it was a little smaller than this mansion the last time I saw it.]
"Now it's bigger than the mansion, right? My mom says I grow faster than others. A magical genius, beautiful, smart, and huge! Hehe, I don't know if female dragons will be Iining up like this."
[That thing can't keep its snout still for even a moment.]
At least you won't have to worry about the female being tempted. Even if you try to approach them, they will wake up as soon as you open their mouths, and they will all run away.
"Brother. I want to see your original self. You look so cute now."
Suddenly, Lucian, who was piggybacking on Caesar's back, was squealing that it was cute, and Caesar's eyes started fluttering.
"Cute? You come because you think it's cute?"
"Huh?"
Lucian's feet jumped. This is because Caesar flew with Lucian on his back.
"How dare you say insulting words to this body, calling it cute! You would never say that after seeing the noble appearance of this body, right?"
What on earth was he so angry about? He huffed and said he would show his true face and took Lucian to the backyard.
Leah was dazed by what happened so quickly and then hurriedly followed behind the two.
They! And what should I do if someone sees it?! As soon as Leah left the mansion, a barrier was placed around the entire mansion. Fortunately, after she used her magic. Caesar returned to his original form.
The small dragon's appearance gradually grew larger.
His scales, teeth, claws, and even wings. His claws were bigger than those of an adult.
"Kгrrrrrrrr... You can't say I'm cute anymore, can you?"
Caesar laughed heartily. He must have been smiling as usual, but perhaps because his body had grown larger, his voice rang out through the barrier Leah had created.
Meanwhile, Lucian, who was clinging to Caesar's back, was still clinging to him because Caesar had returned to his original form. Now, rather than hanging from its back, it looked as if it had fallen from its huge back.
Lucian, who quickly reached a place higher than the second floor of the mansion, was dazed by the cold wind that brushed his cheeks.
At that moment, I made eye contact with Caesar, who was looking back. It had light green eyes that were bigger than my body.
It had strange snake-like eyes, but to Lucian's eyes, it was creepy and scary, at last.
"Uh, uhm Muh-huh!"
He burst into tears.
The majestic red dragon was embarrassed and tried to comfort Lucian on its back, but Lucian just cried out of fear.
Leah burst out laughing at the truly ridiculous sight.
"Stop laughing! Try to comfort him quickly!"
Only Caesar, who was in trouble, was in danger of death.
***
"I will never go back to the way I was before."
After the commotion, Lucian cried for a while and then fell asleep in Leah's arms.
Caesar, who had returned to his small dragon form, flopped down next to Lucian, who was sleeping in tatters...
[So who wants to go back? He just said you were cute.]
"Cute is something we say to small, cute things. It's a word that definitely doesn't fit a huge and majestic dragon! Take note! To a dragon, being cute is an insult!"
Judging by the way he is grinning, it appears that he is not just saying empty words. I wondered if the word "cute" was something that would cause so much heat, but then I imagined something.
"Pfft! It's cute and small."
Well, I know it sounds bad.
Caesar, who was fussing, soon gave up and lay down on the bed again. It must have been difficult for a child who always screamed and only knew about himself and did all sorts of things to comfort an 8-year-old child.
"Who is this guy that made him your groom?"
Leah, who had been quietly stroking Lucian's head, stopped.
Caesar was looking at Lucian, who was sleeping lazily with a sad expression.
"If you look at his actions, he seems like a newborn baby doing everything for the first time. First time in a crowded place, his first time in a village, his first time eating snacks, his first time buying things. This is the first time in my life I've seen a guy like this again."
[Did Lucian do that?]
"Okay. It was similar to when I first went to the human world."
When Caesar first succeeded in becoming a polymorph, he remembers his mom and dad taking him to a human village and buying him various things to celebrate his success.
Was that when I was 42 years old? This was a few years before he discovered the mansion.
[Lucian is a member of the royal family.]
Caesar's eyes, which had been closed, flashed open. Caesar, who had suddenly floated onto the bed, opened his mouth and pointed at Lucian.
"What? This kid, oh, is he?"
Caesar began to look closely at Lucian. Pure white hair, pale skin, and unrivaled beauty among her peers. When Caesar lifted Lucian's closed eyelids, he saw clear golden eyes.
"Yes... !"
Lucian tossed and turned. Leah quickly dropped him.
[What are you doing to a sleeping child?]
That's really brilliant.
"Why did I see it now?"
In fact, in Caesar's eyes, all humans were there. At least Lucian stands out, so he sticks in my mind a little more. He couldn't remember anything more than that.
"Why on earth is the royal family here?"
"Ugh..."
While the child was sleeping next to him, Caesar was unable to control his excitement.
I guess it's a dragon that knows no one but itself...
Leah glared at Caesar and led him out of the room. She sighed as she closed the door.
[I don't know exactly. About three months ago, someone from the Imperial family suddenly came and asked me and Lucian to get married.]
"...? Do they see you too?"
[Can you see? It's just an excuse to marry me. Do you know what my perception was in the first place? The scary virgin ghost in this haunted mansion! When you enter this mansion, you say strange things like alI your vital energy is sucked out and you die unexpectedly.]
"So what you're saying is that you and Lucian were forced to marry each other when you didn't even know there were humans?"
[Okay. It's called a soul wedding. They say that the mansion will become quiet only if you marry me. Do you think this makes sense?]
"I've only heard that humans are full of crazy idiots. It's really beyond your imagination, right?"
[Even our dragons don't do that. But that's not the problem. It is known externally that Lucian was an orphan, dressed up as a member of the royal family, and then sacrificed here. In other words, no one knows that Lucian is a member of the royal family.]
Caesar was so speechless that he froze with a strange expression on his face.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
[Ha. Yes, it's bullshit.]
If you don't know the situation, It's not unreasonable to react like Caesar. Leah slowly explained the situation to Caesar
After learning all the context, he crossed his arms and asked with a serious expression.
"Is he by any chance an illegitimate child?"
Il[It is not an illegitimate child. Empress revived.]
"But why is that?"
[I don't know. But what's even funnier is that Lucian has an older brother. She is also the Empress's daughter and everyone except Lucian is living well.]
Caesar's eyelids twitched.
[At least because I took care of him for three months, he gained weight and grew taller. At first, he was so dry that it seemed like it would collapse if you hit it. From what I heard, it seemed like he didn't have a good time while staying at the palace.]
"Hmm..."
Caesar crossed his arms and frowned. She seemed to be trying to remember something, but she couldn't keep her head still.
"You said Lucian was the Prince, right?"
[Okay. Lucian told me directly.]
"Weird. As far as I know, there is no Prince in this Empire."
Leah's face hardened as she heard this for the first time. It was only natural that Caesar was the only one who would tell her the story of the outside world.
"I don't know much about it either. One of the dragons I know is a nobleman, and he sometimes hears stories about the Empire. But no matter how much I think about it, I've never heard of a Prince."
[Then what does it mean that Lucian has an older brother?]
"He must be the Crown Prince. There is no Prince because there is a Crown Prince."
If what Caesar said is true, does this mean that Lucian has been hiding from the public until now?
[Could that be the reason for deceiving Lucian as an orphan?]
Not only that, when I think of Lucian until now, it felt like I had no choice but to keep him alive because I couldn't kill him.
Saying that he should have died, the knowledge that he intentionally withheld, and even abandoning him in this mansion under the pretext of a soul wedding.
The gears began to fall back into place little by little.
"What did that bastard say right before I came here..!"
Caesar groaned and held his head.
Just before coming to the mansion, he was in the cold northern region. A place covered with snow for over 200 days out of 365 days.
A cheap guy who plays the role of a noble by creating rare items in the area. There was something that grumbled as he rolled around in his lair.
"Ha, are you really bothering to hold a birth banquet again?"
"What?"
"The Emperor bastard orders you to come and go."
They instantly froze the letter with the imperial seal and shattered it into pieces.
"So who is noble? Why do you bother living so much?"
"Thanks to someone, you are living comfortably in this Empire. Honestly, if not me, who else would take care of insectivores like you?"
Cheesy said that it was thanks to him that the dragons were able to get along well even if they were fighting in the Empire.
He wanted to refute it, but it was partly true, so Caesar stayed quiet.
'Haam… … Then just leave. I'll also catch some orcs on the way.'
"Hey. You have exactly 5 years left. I know that if you become an adult, you will never be able to come near my rare again.'
The owner of the rare trembled at the sight of Caesar's extremely obnoxious appearance. He sighed, remembering his patience.
Why does the Emperor always throw a grand celebration for his son's birthday?
"He's only 8 years old at most."
At that time. He spoke clearly.
"A birth banquet, not for the Emperor, but his son, and 8 years old."
The broken puzzle was put together in an instant.
After hearing Caesar's reminiscence. Leah made eye contact with him. After a moment of silence, both Leah and Caesar opened their eyes wide in shock.
“8 year old?!”
[You're the same age as Lucian? No, wait a minute.]
What on earth does this mean? So, you're saying that Lucian's older brother, who has the same mother, isn't related, but is the same age? That means.....
[So you're saying they're twins?]
"The Crown Prince said he was the older brother, so Lucian is the twin younger brother."
Leah and Caesar frowned with expressions of complete incomprehension.
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