TAPGB - Chapter 41

TAPGB - Chapter 41

 The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

"I have extra toothbrushes and everything else!"

Just then, Lucian returned. As he briefly exchanged words with Leah,  the stone tablet floating in the air returned to its original position.

"Come on, let's take a look at the mansion."

"Excuse me... Has Leah gone?"

"Yeah, she said she had a guest so I need to cheer them up for dinner."

Dio still can't imagine a ghost cooking, but seeing the writing on the stone tablet a little while ago, he got a rough idea.

Dio suddenly became curious.

"Lucian, aren't you scared of Leah?"

"Leah? hmm... I was scared when I first saw her."

"Really?"

"Huh! Ghosts are scary. But as we got to know each other, I realized that she was much nicer and cared about me than the people I had met so far. So now I'm not scared at all. Rather, is Leah the best thing in this world?"

Lucian seemed to have remembered something while he was talking and headed somewhere, dragging Dio with him.

It was a room the size of the living room of one's own home and filled with antique furniture.

"Dio can't see Leah, right?"

"Yes?" 

"This is what Leah looks like."

What Lucian showed was a painting of a woman. Just by looking at the picture, Dio could tell that she was quite a beauty.

"Actually, she prettier than this."

"You think she's prettier here?"

"Because Leah couldn't see her own face, so she drew it just as I told her. If you work on her eyes, nose, and chin, she'll look more like Leah. For now, this is the picture that most resembles Lia."

Dio looked at the picture again. He has seen many people over the years, but even the person who was said to be the most beautiful woman in town couldn't match this picture.

But if Leah is prettier than this...

"A lucky guy."

"Huh?"

"Except for the fact that she's a ghost, she's the perfect bride."

"Hehehe, Dio thinks so too, right?"

All fear was completely gone. Dio was just jealous of Lucian looking at and talking to such a beautiful woman.

"Can't I see Leah too?"

"Hmm... Maybe?"

"What is probably?"

"You ate all the snacks Leah packed for you."

"Yes?"

"If you eat that and still can't see Leah, you can't see her. Me and Caesar ate the food Leah cooked and then started seeing Leah."

"Uh? Can he see Leah too?"

"Yes, my brother is Leah's old friend!"

Dio looked at the picture of Leah, thinking of Caesar. Then he looked at Lucian again.

Unlike the picturesque men and women, Lucian was still just a child.

"You should be careful. What are you going to do if your brother steals your bride?"

"It's stolen from someone! Leah is my bride!"

"For that to be true, there seems to be a lot of age difference just by looking at it, right? Doesn't Leah see you as a child, not a groom?"

"Well, it's not like that! Leah said she liked me the best too!"

"Hmm...... Well, if you are."

However, Lucian seemed to have been bothered by Dio's words, but his face was dark even though he was grinning.

Dio felt like Lucian would get upset if he continued like this, so he stopped.

"Now. Please show me around the mansion."

"... Come here."

Lucian pouted his lips but then perked up again and began to show Dio around the mansion.

***

"Ha, it's the best..." 

Dio, whose body was steaming, lay down with his nose pressed against the soft bed.

It was perfect for training, eating a sumptuous dinner and dessert, playing chess with Lucian, and even taking a bubble bath in a huge bathtub right before going to bed, this place was heaven.

"Lucian, I want to live here too. If it was such a nice home, you should have brought me in a long time ago."

"Right? Dio is always welcome."

"Can I come visit you often?"

"You have to get permission from Leah... Huh? It's okay if you don't tell anyone?" 

"Never, never, never! I won't say anything! I won't even tell my parents! So, can I come here again?"

"They say it's Leah!"

Dio and Lucian clapped their hands and smiled brightly.

"From now on, we will have to spar here. It's not noticeable to people, you don't have to worry about it, and it's spacious."

"Oh, is that right? That would be nice."

The two were excited and began discussing using this place as a secret base in the future. While the conversation was in full swing, Caesar came in.

"Little ones, it's time to sleep."

"It's only 10 o'clock?"

"It's 10 o'clock, so you should go to bed quickly. If you sleep late, you won't grow taller?"

"Right..." 

As Lucian crawled under the blanket, Dio went in too.

Caesar turned off the light, leaving only the lantern at the head of the bed. Dio watched as Caesar personally prepared the bed for them.

Caesar looked back at Dio with his passionate gaze.

"Is there something you want to say, kid?" 

"Oh, no......!"

"But why do you keep looking at me?" 

Dio hesitated and pulled the blanket under his eyes.

"Because brother was cool."

Caesar trembled, and Lucian smiled sinisterly.

"I heard it from Lucian. I heard you're that strong?"

"Hmm, Lucian said that?"

"Yes! Could it be... If you have time tomorrow, can you take a look at my sword skills?"

Caesar looked annoyed at first, but when he saw Dio's bright eyes, just like Lucian's, he became embarrassed.

"... That's right. "It's not difficult to look after it." 

"Wow! Lucian, did you hear?" 

Dio and Lucian were whispering among themselves about what was so exciting. Caesar chuckled and brought a chair next to the bed and sat down. 

"If you want to spar with me tomorrow, you'll have to go to bed early."

"Yes-"

"I'm good at answering questions."

Both of their eyes were full of life. The two continued to talk while lying on the bed. Caesar sat on the sofa next to them and stayed by their side while reading a book.

Time passed like that, and there were 20 minutes left until midnight. Caesar checked the time and left the room.

When the magic circle prepared in advance was executed, a strict barrier was spread around Lucian's Room.

Caesar came down to the first floor.

"Leah, we're ready."

[...]

No answer was heard. Caesar's face hardened and he looked at me in the living room. She was looking out the window blankly.

He sneakily moved to the side and moved his hand in front of my eyes, but she seemed to be focused somewhere else as if she couldn't see anything.

Caesar has seen her lose her mind a few times, but she would quickly come back to her senses if he talked to her close by. But now it seemed like she couldn't hear or see anything.

To make matters worse, her body became more blurred, disappearing and appearing repeatedly.

"Rest assured. I will watch over you."

Caesar just stayed silently by Leah's side and prepared for the long-awaited event that would take place in a few minutes.

***

Churrrruk-Churrrruk-

There was a heavy sound of chains crashing. The trainee priests, including Javier, walk in the tunnel.

"... Where on earth are we going with the interest?"

"Aren't you trying to carry out your sentence? Doing that at this late hour? Walking through a tunnel without knowing where it goes?"

"Shh, the bishop will hear."

Javier and his fellow trainee priests were walking through a dark tunnel with a death row inmate, following the orders of the religious leader.

Javier never imagined that there would be a place like this in a great temple. The tunnel was so long that no matter how much he walked, he couldn't see the end.

"Are you anxious?"

When the bishop who was walking in front spoke, the trainee priests behind him took a sharp breath. 

"Oh, no!"

"No. I can feel all the anxiety."

The trainee priests just looked at each other. While playing a guessing game, Javier gained courage.

"Where are we going now?"

"We are going on an important mission." 

"Mission?"

"Okay. It is one of the rituals that has been performed since the great temple was built. It's so important that only a few people know about it. And from now on, you must follow in my footsteps and carry out this work."

Although they were happy that they were in charge of such an important task, some of them could not shake off the uneasy feeling.

"You were baptized before you came here, right? It's a kind of insurance device. If I ever mention today's events outside, I will not be able to avoid death."

The uplifting atmosphere immediately subsided. The bishop said with a grin.

"It's okay if you don't say anything, so don't be so scared. We're almost there."

Did he walk for almost 30 minutes? There was a door at the end. The bishop opened the door and a small space appeared beyond it.

It was believed to be a basement.

"Once every ten years."

Javier, who was looking around, looked back at the bishop's words. The bishop dragged the condemned prisoner's chains and opened the door on the other side.

"We must offer sacrifices for the sacred ceremonies that will be performed here."

"Yes?"

Before Javier could even understand what he was saying, he shouted! And blood was scattered everywhere.

Crack-! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The death row inmate, who was wearing an eye patch, collapsed without even being able to scream.

Blood slowly leaked from where the condemned inmate fell. As the foul scent of his blood penetrated his brain, something about him was revealed as blue light coming from the floor where the condemned intimately.

It was a magic circle that filled the floor.

"How can you kill someone!"

When everyone was taken aback by the sudden situation, one of the most righteous trainee priests screamed.

The bishop looked at him coldly and tapped the condemned prisoner with his foot.

"This person is on death row anyway. You have to die sooner or later, but isn't that something you shouldn't do?"

"Even if he's on death row, it's not like this! What on earth is this sacred ritual? It means offering a living person as a sacrifice!"

"Now, wait a minute. Calm down."

Unlike the trainee priest who could not control his anger, the others sensed an unusual atmosphere.

In particular, Javier realized that the bishop's eyes were not the usual benevolent eyes he was used to, and he took a step back.

"Okay, Ethan. You have always been intolerant of injustice, you are more faithful than anyone else, and you are the most suitable to be a priest than anyone here. But, you know what? Are you saying that people like you are the biggest thorn in our eyes?"

Something ominous stirred in the bishop's hand. Soon, Ethan grabbed his neck and he collapsed on the spot.

"Ugh! Huh!"

His face became increasingly pale as if he couldn't breathe. Fear appeared in Ethan's eyes, and the bishop approached him.

"What we want is a dog that listens well, not a dog that bites its owner."

Sigh-!

The bishop mercilessly swung the dagger with which he killed the death row inmate at Ethan. Ethan's eyes lost focus and he soon became a cold corpse and fell to the floor.

The rest of the trainee priests froze and looked at the bishop in horror at what happened in less than a minute. 

The bishop waved his hand at the two trainee priests around him with an expression as if he had swatted away a fly.

"You two put this guy in that room too."

Instead of answering, the bishop frowned at the two people who couldn't take their eyes off the dead Ethan.

"Do you also want to be like that guy?"

"Oh, no!"

They hurriedly answered, dragging Ethan with trembling hands and putting him into a room with a buzzing blue light. Until the moment they were put into the room, they looked at their former colleague with despair.

"Do you know why only five of you were called out of about 15 trainee priests?"

The bishop chuckled when he saw them frozen and unable to say anything.

"Because you are orphans and there is no going back no matter when or where you disappear."

As the bishop said, all of the trainee priests gathered here, including the deceased Ethan, were orphans who had been raised at the temple.

"How far do you think you, who have no backs or anything, can climb if you struggle? A bishop like me? That sounds funny. As long as you were born and raised as an orphan, even if you die and wake up, you will not be able to rise above the level of a full-fledged priest."

Although they did not want to become a pope or a cardinal, the eyes of those who dreamed of becoming a bishop or archbishop were shaken.

Even without asking if it was true, the bishop's eyes told only the truth.

"I too am an orphan like you. But now he has become a bishop. Do you know how we got up here?"

The trainee priests trembled and shook their heads.

"This is because the dark side of the temple, as it is today, was dealt with in silence. Just pretend not to see, pretend not to hear. If you carry out your assigned duties well, you too can become a bishop like me and gain great power. How is it? Isn't it easy?"

When no one answered, the bishop clicked his tongue as if he had lost steam.

"If you are this uncooperative, I have no choice but to deal with you as well. Speaking of processing..."

The bishop looked at the two bodies lying in the magic circle. The trainee priests who had meditated on him trembled.

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