TAPGB - Chapter 38
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
"What does that mean all of a sudden?"
"Do you think there are ghosts?"
Dio looked Lucian up and down with strange eyes.
Dio wondered why he came to hang out today again, just like yesterday, and he was saying things like that.
Unlike usual, he tightened his eyes, pursed his lips, and created a walnut on his chin.
It doesn't seem like he said it as a joke...
"Don't you think I'll know what you want to say if you explain everything?"
Dio couldn't figure out his intentions at all.
Lucian seemed to think that what he said was wrong and began shaking and shaking his head.
Dio felt this way when he first saw him, but his thoughts were clearly visible on his face.
It's the type that's easy to spread and eat, but he's not the type to give it much so Dio wasn't nervous.
'I don't even make friends other than myself."
Among the village kids, there were many who wanted to be friends with Lucian.
Of course, they talked well and got along well when they all played together, but if you asked if they had the same relationship as Dio it wasn't like that.
'Lucian only plays with me all the time. He doesn't talk much without me.'
Dio often heard that from other kids. Every time he heard it, he felt flattered and felt like he was someone special.
But that's it. Why is he suddenly saying such stupid things?
At that time, Lucian looked around. Since it was in Dio's room, no one was there, but he seemed to be careful that someone might hear it.
"Dio..."
"Why."
"Can you promise not to go somewhere and say what I'm saying right now?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Make a promise first. You must never tell Uncle Bill or Aunt Bill."
It was such a solemn face that Dio became dazed. Dio thought that for a sloppy guy to say something like that, he must be telling a really big secret.
Dio adjusted his posture and looked seriously into Lucian's eyes.
"I swear on my sword. I don't tell anyone."
Lucian's face brightened. He opened his mouth but then closed it again.
"I can't tell you everything, right?'
That he is actually a Prince, or that he was kicked out of the imperial family.
'I told you never to reveal the fact that Lia is a Prince."
And Lucian can explain it well without having to bring it up.
After finishing organizing his thoughts, Lucian opened his mouth with a solemn look on his face.
"Actually, I live alone,"
"OK?"
"I live alone without my parents."
There was a change in Dio's once grumpy expression. His eyes shook like an earthquake, and he couldn't help but panic.
But he quickly managed my facial expressions. His eyes became much more serious than before.
"And again?"
"And... I live alone with Lia."
"Your bride?"
"Huh."
Dio crossed his arms and was lost in thought. There is a high probability that Lucian's words are true. Because it explains the sense of discomfort he felt when meeting him.
Lucian talked about Leah every day. But words like mom or dad never came out.
Dio thought it was just because Lucian liked the bride, but he never thought something like this would happen.
"Wait a minute, I heard you got married two years ago. At first, I thought it was strange to get married at that age and not even get engaged... Did you get married before your parents passed away?"
"Huh?... Umm, right?"
It's not a lie because although Lucian's parents are alive and well, a soul wedding was held at the Emperor's command.
Still, Lucian was concerned about telling Dio a little lie, so he noticed him. But for some reason, Dio looked at him with sad eyes.
"It must have been difficult."
"..."
Lucian's hands trembled without realizing it. It's a strange feeling that makes you feel sick to your stomach or makes your toes tingle. And more than anything, the corner of his mouth automatically twitched at every word Dio said.
"No. It's okay now that I'm used to it."
The heart of a friend who truly cares for him. It was better than he thought.
'Look, Leah. Dio is like this.'
There was a time when he might have wondered if it was a lie, but Dio believed it straight away and even comforted him.
If he doesn't trust a friend like this, who in the world should he trust?
"I guess a lot of people will look at me strangely if I stay alone without an adult, so I haven't been able to invite you to my house."
"Oh, so..."
"Are you going to keep the secret?"
"Then of course! Even if a knife comes in front of me, I won't say anything!"
The sight of him snorting and pounding his chest was very trustworthy.
"However... How have you been? What about living expenses if two children live without an adult? How do you eat?"
"Ah, someone I know supplies supplies regularly. They provide food and daily necessities so I don't need a lot of money, and my close friend sometimes comes and stays with me."
"A close brother?"
"Yes, you must have seen it once. I have a very handsome brother with red hair."
“Ah!”
Dio thought back to when he first met Lucian and around this time last year.
At that time, Lucian was walking around the village without hesitation with a man who looked like a nobleman.
Lucian gave him a clear statement once, and Dio still remembers it because his eyes were so cold when he looked at people.
"For sure... It's Caesar..."
"That's right, it's him."
"... Aren't you a fallen noble or something like that?"
"Hey, I'm not a noble."
Not nobles, but royal family.
"Hmm... Well, it looks like you want to hide it, so I'll skip it."
Dio wondered what would happen if he asked more, but he was relieved of his worries for an hour.
Lucian sighed inwardly and looked at the timing to say the most important thing.
"Dio, so what I want to say is..."
"Thank you for telling me, even though it was something you wanted to hide so much."
Because the words overlapped, Dio could not understand everything he said.
"What did you say?"
"Oh, that's...!"
"You said that because you wanted to invite me to your house, right?"
Lucian trembled and his eyes shook like an earthquake.
It's like, 'How did you know that?'
Dio burst out laughing at the same expression.
"I've seen you for two years, and this is easy. And more than anything, do you know that your thoughts are clearly revealed in your facial expressions?"
"Okay?"
"Huh. He's fine when he's with me, but he needs to change that expression. You're the type that's easy to spread."
"I'm not doing that to just anyone."
Lucian grumbled that he wasn't that easy of a person. Dio, who was giggling at the sight of him, opened his mouth.
"But what does what you just said have to do with whether you believe in ghosts in the first place?"
Lucian trembled. He pursed his lips for a moment and then finally spoke.
"At my house... There are ghosts."
Dio was momentarily stunned and tilted his head without being surprised.
"It's not a scary ghost! That ghost will teach me how to read, teach me swordsmanship, and cook me food! It's a good ghost!"
Lucian could not bear to say that his bride, Leqh, was a ghost. He felt like Dio would think he was strange if he told him this.
There was silence. When Dio was nervous about how he would react, the corners of his mouth turned up.
"Hey, where in the world is the ghost?"
Lucian trembled.
"These days, kids go around talking about ghosts and monsters during the summer. "Are you like that too?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that! Really!"
Dio pouted his lips when he saw Lucian's urgent expression.
"So, what you said is true?"
"Is that so?"
"Okay, let's say you saw a ghost. But how can a ghost cook food and teach you how to read? Can it be your servant?"
"Not a servant, but a God...!"
"God, what?"
"Ah, anyway, ghosts are real! You'll have no choice but to believe it when you come to my house, right?"
"If you don't want to be invited, just say no. It feels even worse to leave a sign so that people can't come by saying things like that."
"It's not like that!"
Argh! stuffy!
Lucian complained of frustration. Still, Dio was just annoyed. Lucian saw Dio's expression of absolute disbelief and only then did he understand what Caesar and Leah had said.
'The key is to make people believe that there are ghosts in the first place.'
Lucian wondered how he could persuade Dio.
Lucian, who had been thinking hard, decided to reorganize his strategy and retreated.
"Anyway! I told the truth! You're the one who didn't believe it!"
"You're saying this because you're talking nonsense."
"Keu-! I'll come back tomorrow. Until then, think carefully about what I said."
"Hey, you just don't have to invite me."
"No! Otherwise, you'll think I'm a liar. I won't take you home until you believe me.”
So even if he just didn't invite him, Dio just couldn't understand why Lucian was so stubborn.
However, this was the first time Dio had seen Lucian, who was gentle in everything, so upset.
Lucian left the room without even saying goodbye. But then he heard footsteps and he popped his head out the door.
"You must never, ever, ever tell anyone else what I said today. To uncles and aunts too! If you say so... I'm breaking up with you!"
Lucian let out a loud snort. Soon he left Dio's house, being seen off by Bill downstairs.
Dio let out a laugh.
"I heard he's really special too. Where do you go to talk about this?"
Lucian is a very nice person, and there are quite a few people who are suspicious of him walking around alone every time, so people around him may harm him if he lives without his parents.
So Dio has no intention of ever telling anyone else about him.
"However... Are there really ghosts?"
As he thought of Lucian, who was even angry and complaining of frustration, Dio's thoughts began to waver little by little.
***
"I will convince Dio today!"
Lucian expressed his bold ambitions while eating breakfast. It didn't suit me that my eyes were candy pursed.
[Did you know that today is already the third day?]
"Why don't you just give up? I told you there was no need to invite him to my house."
"No! I don't want to be a liar!"
"Oh my, you stubborn."
I know that Lucian failed to persuade Dio.
It was better for him not to believe it than to believe it and come to the mansion, but he continued to try to persuade Dio as if it had hurt his pride.
[Lucian, it's good to persuade Dio, but wouldn't Dio hate it if you go every day and talk about ghosts?]
"Ugh, that's...."
[And if the person in question doesn't believe it, how are you going to convince them?]
"If I bring him home, you'll believe there's a ghost!"
[I told you, right? You decided to bring Dio when he understood everything. I can't allow you to bring them to the mansion just to make them believe in ghosts.]
"But...!"
[And above all, Dio can't see me. But wouldn't Dio be very surprised if the knife suddenly moves and food starts floating in the air?]
Lucian's shoulders slumped as if he hadn't thought about it that far.
[I didn't mean to scare Dio.]
".... That's right."
[Okay. So, let's just convince Dio until today. Instead, if you can't convince Dio today, you'll never bring this up again.]
"Huh."
I consoled Lucian and helped him prepare to go to the village. I felt sorry that I was deceiving Lucian for no reason, so I packed him more snacks.
[Have a safe trip.]
Although his shoulders were more sluggish than usual, Lucian nevertheless slowly made his way toward the village.
After saying goodbye to him, I turned around and saw Caesar standing there as if he had been waiting.
"You know that today is the full moon, right?"
[Of course.]
"We have no choice but to wait for the full moon to reach its highest point, but we can't sit still for the rest of the time."
[Let's prepare for any unexpected situation.]
Finally tonight. Many mysterious problems will emerge. It would be nice to investigate the situation together with him, but since my consciousness is completely gone during this period, I must leave it entirely to Caesar.
I was thankful that he took the initiative and gave it to me even though he had nothing to gain from it.
I can't just sit there like this, so I have to be of some help to him.
Comments
Post a Comment