TAPGB - Chapter 23

TAPGB - Chapter 23

The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

Then it doesn't make any more sense! If it's twins, that doesn't mean they were born on the same day!

[Why is Lucian the only one suffering from cold food?]

"Twins are a symbol of abundance and good luck! How can humans be so cruel!"

The two, who were fuming and indignant, closed their mouths at the whining coming from Inside the room. They headed further away from the room.

[Why twins? Wouldn't it be better if they were twins? The imperial family says children are precious. It's especially better if two sons are born at the same time.]

"Well, I don't know either. Do humans have any bad superstitions?"

Hmmmm.

Leah and Caesar folded their arms and shook their heads. But I couldn't find a clear answer. One was a ghost who could never leave the mansion, and the other was a hatchling who had no interest in the human world. There must be something hidden. 

"I'll look for it later."

[Okay. If you know anything, let me know right away. How long will you be here?]

"Well, wouldn't it be about a month this time?" 

It may seem like an absurdly short time for a dragon's lifespan, but it was the maximum amount of time he could be alone without any guardian as he had not yet had the Holy Dragon Ceremony.

Anything more than that would make his parents and elders upset or something.

[hmm? Wait a minute, now that I think about it, didn't you say it was a birth banquet earlier?]

"Ok? Ah. I did. Probably the Crown Prince's birth banquet... What?"

The Crown Prince and Lucian are twins. That means they both have the same birthday.

Leah and Caesar were confused when they learned another new fact.

[You... You... When did you hear that?]

"Uh therefore ah! Right before I got here, a bastard left on the same day as me. There's a banquet in just a week, so we have to go and get ready!"

Caesar came here the evening before yesterday, and it is said that it took two days to get here. So after tonight, five days will already have passed.

[There are only two days left.] 

"Don't humans consider birthdays  important?"

[ I don't know either.] 

You should have seen the people who stayed here celebrate their birthdays.

They all died alone, so of course there was no one to celebrate their birthdays. Considering that birthdays are considered particularly important events in children's books and novels, it must be an important day.

"He's a guy whose eyes light up just by going to town. Did you see him eating candy?"

I saw it clearly.

The child's eyes lit up as he said that there were such delicious things in the world and that he wanted to share one with Caesar and give it to Leah as well.

Would such a child actually receive a birthday greeting and eat cake?

I don't know how Lucian celebrated her birthday, but I guess I should make it an unforgettable day.

"If you need anything. Just tell me. I'll help you with anything!"

Seeing Caesar clenching his fists and flapping his wings, Leah fell silent for a moment. 

[Didn't you say humans were annoying?]

Caesar's wings stopped abruptly. Eventually, his body gradually went down, and only after his feet touched the floor did his eyes shake like an earthquake.

[Besides, I only saw Lucian for three days.]

Of course, a lot happened in that short period of time. Caesar saves Lucian and heals him. They get along so well that we talk non-stop and run errands around town.

Moreover, the Caesar of the world was embarrassed by the crying child and even tried to comfort him. Caesar also looked confused, as if he sensed something strange about Leah's words.

Should I say that it was a subtle expression that made him want to refute what he said but was unable to do so?

"Umm! Hey, I don't know! I do it if I want to, what does it have to do with being human or anything."

[I guess I heard a lot.]

Ah!

"It's not like that! I just...I'm just doing it out of pity!"

[Yes, yes. I'll trick you like that.]

"Is it real? I'm only helping for a little while! Even if he's human, Lucian is still Lucian!"

Does this little dragon know what he's talking about?

Perhaps because of his pride, he did not readily admit that he had favors with humans. But he didn't even say that he wouldn't do it.

One way or another, it's true that I have feelings for Lucian.

***

As soon as the next morning came, Leah and Caesar Immediately started preparing for Lucian's birthday party.

It was a good thing for both of them, but at the same time, it was a pity that they couldn't even remember their birthday, which only happened once a year.

Leah and Caesar took turns looking after Lucian and began to find out what they usually do on birthdays.

At best all you can do is look through books in the library.

[Party, party, fireworks, masquerade ball...?]

Even though I looked through several books, I found only useless things.

[Still, I can give you something like a cake or a gift.]

Coincidentally, among the books Caesar bought was a new recipe booklet. There were definitely instructions on how to make a two-tier cake, right?

Not only that. I would have to make a variety of delicious things other than cakes, but as long as Lucian was there, it would be nearly impossible to fool Lucian's eyes and make food.

[It's okay because I have all the ingredients.] 

How can I prepare for a birthday party while avoiding Lucian's eyes?

Please save me...

***

"I am the Emperor!" 

Lucian, very excited, appeared along with Caesar's cries. The two people were decorating themselves with various items found in the warehouse.

It looks like he is role-playing as he says he is the Emperor and swings a wooden sword.

It's obvious without even asking what it's about.

"Oh! There is my beloved witch!"

It was clearly based on the children's book "The King, the Dragon, and the Witch'.

I chuckled when I saw Lucian looking at me with bright eyes. And I held him in his arms and rescued Caesar, who looked like he was about to collapse at any moment.

[Lucian, then Caesar will have a hard time.]

"Brother, are you having a hard time? They say dragons are really strong."

Caesar must have been in tears for a moment, sprawled on the floor and gaping. But I couldn't bear to refute his words.

Judging by the way his light green eyes were shaking aimlessly, he must have thought that if he misspoke, he would be harassed by Lucian again.

"Oh. I don't know, I don't know! I'm having a hard time! You, too, keep carrying something as big as yours!"

In fact, it was almost a miracle that Caesar gave his back and played with us for nearly an hour.

"I will never play with you again!"

The problem is that it seems to have ended as of this time. 

Lucian became sullen at Caesar's shout. Nevertheless, Caesar, who has a strong horn, is excited! And turned around.

Lucian whispered to Leah while looking at Caesar's eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?"

[Hmm. Would you have done something wrong? Not everyone has as much physical strength as you.] 

"But am I the weakest here?" 

A ghost who lifts everything with magic, and Caesar, who is a dragon no matter how small he is. Compared to the two, Lucian is a very weak human being. Of course, the physical strength that Leah spoke of and the strength that Lucian spoke of were slightly different.

Rather than explaining further, Leah simply said yes and suggested a new way to play. He seemed to like it and immediately approached Caesar.

"Brother, let's play a sleeping game this time."

"Let's play again?!"

"This time, the one who falls asleep quickly wins! Isn't it very easy?"

Caesar, who was about to get angry, felt something strange and tilted his head. Turning his attention to Leah. Caesar, who recognized Leah's glance, had no choice but to go up to the second floor with him.

After about 10 minutes, an exhausted Caesar appeared, rumbling.

[Is Lucian sleeping?] 

"He wasn't sleeping at all and was fussing so I forced him to sleep. 

[You didn't use a physical method, right?] 

"What is he saying now. Of course, I put him to sleep with magic."

I think he was so angry that he knocked out Lucian.

"I went through all this trouble, so it's not like I didn't prepare at all, right?"

[Of course, I had a rough idea about it.]

I shared my surprise plan for tomorrow's birthday party. First, I plan to set up a table in the backyard, decorate it with a tablecloth and various flowers, and then serve various dishes.

It is said that birthdays are celebrated by many people, so the plan is to manipulate statues and armor to fill the number of people so that they do not feel empty.

If you prepare a gift, you can have a decent birthday party. 

[But there is a problem.]

"What?"

[How do we distract Lucian while we prepare for the birthday party?]

 "Umm..."

[If you prepare food and set up a table in the garden, it will be very noticeable. Is there any way to do it secretly?]

"Do it secretly in the early morning."

[Did you just forget that there was a party in the evening?]

"Oh right." 

Mmm. Both Leah and Caesar were agonizing as they covered their heads.

"Oh, how about that? I'm sending Lucian on an errand to the village."

[Oh?]

"I also have to go pick up my shoes tomorrow." 

At the same time, the excuse was good. Not only that, it would be perfect to have him run various errands and even give him a rehearsal for going to town.

"Have you thought about what to give as a gift?" 

[Hmm, I'm still thinking about it. You?]

"I can give him one of the treasures in my subspace."

What's going on? A guy who never lets you touch his stuff.

Moreover, if it is a dragon subspace, no matter how hatchling it is, it will contain all kinds of gold and silver treasures.

The dragon gives Lucian a huge gift, but as a bride in name and appearance, she cannot give something so shabby.

Leah thought hard about what kind of gift would be good.

***

"Move quickly! I told you to move that way, not that way!"

"We cannot allow even an inch of error. If you make a mistake, you will get a pay cut!"

At the same time, people in the imperial palace were busy moving about. Among them, there was also James.

"How many times do I have to do this?"

"This is a noble person. Look, this is the birth banquet of His Majesty the Emperor, not His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. We need to fix not only here, but also the Ruby Hall and the palace gardens." 

James was startled and staggered at his colleague's words. After about an hour of running around without being able to rest, the busy work was almost over. Now it's up to high-ranking users to take care of the details.

"Oh my, this is so hard!"

"It was a lot of hard work. Is this your first time attending such a large event?"

"Ah, senior, thank you."

James, exhausted and lying down, drank the water his senior gave him.

"Really, the royal family's birthday is amazing. Do we really do this every year?" 

"It's like that. However, because His Highness the Crown Prince is young, it is relatively small."

"He hasn't even entered the social world, but you're already doing this."

"It has to be that way. The imperial family's hands are quite precious. How common is it for a Prince to be born right away? Isn't His Majesty well aware of this? That is why His Majesty the Crown Prince was immediately given the title of Crown Prince as soon as he was born?" 

As his senior said, children are precious to the imperial family. It was not easy for anyone, regardless of gender, to have children, and since the imperial power was inherited only by men, they had to unconditionally give birth to a Prince, In the case of the previous Emperor, they made efforts to give birth to imperial grandchildren by hiring not only an Empress but also several Empresses.

Perhaps because they were trying to secure the royal heirs at all costs, sometimes the imperial descendants grew so numerous that a terrible battle for the throne broke out.

It is said that this kind of history happens almost once every other generation. 

James suddenly felt bitter. This was because he was concerned about Lucian, who looked exactly like the Crown Prince.

In fact, at first, he accepted Lucian as just an orphan who looked exactly like the Crown Prince, but when he went to see him recently, he felt a subtle sense of discomfort.

Those were the characteristics of the royal family that did not change no matter how much time passed. The characteristics of the royal family are white hair and golden eyes. Among them, the one that never changes is the clear golden eye.

There was simply no way that yellow eyes could not be distinguished from gold eyes. Besides, there's no way an orphan on the street would have eyes like that.

James asked around and found out that using transformation magic, which is characteristic of the royal family, is illegal and punishable by death. Besides, even if you do, you can't keep it for more than a week.

From the perspective of carrying supplies, James has never seen any medicine or magic tools that a child could consume. That means...

'It's originally Lucian's body hair.'

The last time James asked him, he said he was 8 years old, and Lucian looked suspiciously like the Crown Prince.

Moreover, this is also the Crown Prince's 8th birth banquet... It was not difficult to guess that the two were twins.

There was a reason why the chamberlain looked around awkwardly. Even though they are members of the same royal family. I understand why they grew up in such different environments and were even kicked out.

Twins are a symbol of misfortune and ruin. They say that only by eating each other will the misfortune go away.

So they usually kill their younger siblings as soon as they are born. There is a superstition that if you do not do this, a devil or a witch will come to your family and cause trouble.

However, after encountering Lucian a few times and looking at such a gentle and kind child, James felt that superstitions were not very trustworthy.

"They say that If it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's birthday, it's Lucian's birthday too."

Will there be someone to celebrate Lucian's birthday when he is left alone in the haunted mansion?

"Senior."

"Huh?"

"Are you very busy tomorrow?" 

"Yes? But why is that?"

"I was wondering if it would be okay to leave the room for a moment if possible." 

"This bastard, you've already fallen for it. Hmm."

The senior who was tsk-tsk crossed his arms for a moment as if he was thinking about something. 

"Well, I guess I won't have to have you tomorrow. Anyway, the busiest ones are the servants and maids who work in the hall. Since you are the lowest of the low, there is probably nothing you can do. Take a break tomorrow."

"Thank you!"

"Instead, do you know that you will not receive any special allowance tomorrow?"

"Sure! Of course!"

James smiled broadly and bowed his head to his senior.

"James! If you have nothing to do, please help me here!

"Yes! Sir, I'll just go now."

James hurriedly ran to where he was called. Seeing him beaming, the senior tilted his head.

"The extra allowance is so good, why are you giving it up?"

What, should I go on a date with my lover?

The senior thought about nothing and soon left to help.

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