TAPGB - Chapter 68

TAPGB - Chapter 68

 The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

"What can I do?"

"... Are you really going to grant our request?"

"It is not a request, but I am in a position to follow even if you give orders. I had no choice since I was brought here by force in the first place."

Although it was true, Ruber could not easily admit to his words. 

Ruber looked at Lucian. He looked surprisingly similar to Leopold, but the atmosphere and facial expressions that emanated from him were completely opposite. It was a part that clearly showed that it was a different person.

'Still, you grew up well.'

For someone who grew up alone, he was dressed pretty well, and his way of speaking, intonation, and gait did not seem like that of an uneducated person.

If Lucian works a little harder here, he will be able to imitate Leopold. 

"... But what happened to the hair and eyes?"

Serena, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth. Certainly, as she said, she was very concerned about Lucian's appearance. Because his hair and eyes were a normal brown color.

Lucian took off the diamond necklace with a sullen expression. Then, a change occurred in him, and he began to take on the characteristics of the royal family that she was familiar with.

"Are you done?"

"Magic tools? How can you use a magic tool..."

"I got it through various connections. It is not something the Empress should be concerned about."

Serena flinched and lowered her head at the obvious line-drawing attitude. Young Lucian did not like it because it looked like a wounded person.

"When does the banquet start?"

"It's in two hours, so we need to get ready right now. In the meantime, learn as much etiquette as you can. I won't ask you to do much. All you have to do is act like the Crown Prince. Today is important..."

"Yes, it is a coming-of-age ceremony that only happens once in a lifetime. I know it very well."

Ruber bit his lower lip when he realized too late that Lucian was also going through the coming-of-age ceremony, which only happened once.

Soon, Dane took Lucian outside. She stumbled as Lucian walked away, Serena taking in her breath sharply that she had not been able to catch.

"Huh... He grows up so well."

Serena's body was shaking, shedding tears that she had been holding back for so long. The moment she saw Lucian's face, she overlapped it with Leopold's and was able to accurately draw the face of her second son, which she had only imagined.

Serena couldn't bear that moment. This is because the guilt and longing that she had tried so hard to bury and forget suddenly surfaced helplessly.

"I'm glad you grew up so well... Huhu... Sorry... How could I have forgotten such a lovely child? Just like Leopold, I gave birth to him with my own womb, so how could I..!"

Serena scratched her chest and let out her trapped breath. Ruber wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes tightly in pain.

"... It's the same for me."

When Ruber summoned Lucian instead of Leopold, he thought he wouldn't be shaken by the sight of the son he abandoned. Until now, Ruber has only seen his second son once, and unlike Leopold, he has never showered him with affection or paid attention to him.

However, the moment Ruber saw Lucian's face, he realized that he would not be able to treat him like anyone else.

And he regretted calling Lucian.

Wouldn't this be like killing the son he already abandoned twice, torturing him with hope?

But for now, there was no other solution other than this method.

***

Lucian quickly washed off his mud-covered body from dealing with the knights and put on the banquet suit that Leopold should have worn.

The feel of the clothes against the body, and each accessory and ornament were very luxurious.

"...There is no need to repair it separately. No, it seems a bit small."

Dane looked at Lucian with a mysterious expression. The clothes he is wearing now are completely custom-made for Leopold.

But Lucian didn't pull it off so well that his clothes were a little tight. He has more muscles than Leopold.

"Now that I think about it, I see that you have quite excellent swordsmanship skills. Who did you learn from?"

"You don't have to know anything."

"His Majesty the Crown Prince does not speak highly of anyone except His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty the Empress, and His Majesty the Former Emperor. Treat others as poorly as you do now."

Lucian was dumbfounded as he was being taught slyly.

"The first person you should memorize is the Duke of Sevans. His Royal Highness is currently engaged to Princess Sevans. So, today you will have to dance your first dance with the princess..."

Dane sighed deeply. There was no way Lucian, who had never danced before, would be able to do it well.

"Let's think about dancing later and memorize what you need to learn first."

Dane listed the characteristics and names of the nobles step by step and had him memorize them.

At first, he thought it would be a good idea to memorize just the main characters, including the Duke of Sevans, but as time went by, Dane was secretly impressed.

"... Therefore, the green-eyed, white-haired old woman is the Prime Duchess who owns a Terran mine. Is there anything wrong with what I've said so far?"

"No... Yes."

Lucian showed memorization skills that made it hard to believe that he had memorized it in 30 minutes.

"That's amazing, Your Highness! At this level, there won't be any problems."

In fact, Lucian's memorization ability hides a secret that Dane doesn't know. 

Lucian occasionally received quick tutoring from Leopold. He said that he would have to learn it once he entered the palace anyway, so he taught him various things in his spare time.

Among them was a list of nobles. Although he had never seen the nobles in person, he had memorized the list of nobles. 

So now, Dane's attribute teachings were not much of a problem for Lucian.

"You know how to dance, right?" 

"Yes? Uh... Yes, I know how to do it."

"There are about 20 minutes left until the party, so let's learn the dance steps. We don't have much time, so please demonstrate quickly."

 "... Yes. Take a good look."

Just like that, Lucian left the dressing room 10 minutes later than scheduled. In 30 minutes, he perfected the basic dance steps.

***

The banquet began, and the hall was noisy with the sound of music and people talking.

On the second floor of the banquet hall, beyond the door, Ruber and Serena stood fully dressed.

Serena had already shed tears once and had to put on makeup again to cover it up.

Dane's familiar voice was heard, and Ruber and Serena turned their heads. Soon, the eyes of the two people wavered.

"Oh my..."

Serena covered her mouth and looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

"Leopold."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lucian appeared, completely transformed into Leopold. The gait, the atmosphere, the smile, everything else reminded her of Leopold.

Even as a parent, for a moment she thought it was Leopold instead of Lucian.

Lucian was playing Leopold from the moment he left the dressing room. It is a fact that only a few people know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has collapsed. P

'Please postpone His Royal Highness so that no word gets out at any time.'

Dane told Lucian about Leopold's smile and habits, but he didn't really listen. Because he knows Leopold better than anyone else. Playing Leopold wasn't that difficult because we often switched roles.

Lucian smiled harmlessly and approached Ruber and Serena. As the two people looked at him blankly, Lucian whispered so that only the two could hear.

"Other people see it. Watch your facial expressions."

Unlike his gentle smile, his voice was extremely cold. Only then did Ruber, who returned to reality, manage his expression.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, Father. I am very nervous."

Ruber clenched his fists as he heard the word 'father' in voice for the first time from Lucian.

"Today you are the main character. Don't be nervous. By your side... Aren't we always there?"

The hesitation in the middle was probably a feeling of guilt towards Lucian, but Lucian didn't really care. This is because he is no longer young enough to be hurt by these two people again.

Leopold filled in the absence and affection for his family when he was young three years ago.

'Only for Leopold's sake."

Lucian knows that he has put in a lot of effort to get to where he is today. He is not foolish enough to destroy it with his own hands.

"The great sun of the Empire! Your Majesty the Emperor and your precious Moon Empress! And the second sun! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is entering!"

The gatekeeper announced the entrance of the royal family and the closed door opened. A brilliant light poured down and Lucian took a step forward. Looking down from the second floor, numerous nobles were visible at a glance. The banquet hall, which had been noisy with the appearance of the royal family, suddenly became quiet.

"July 17, 307, Imperial Calendar. It was the day the Crown Prince was held in my arms for the first time. 18 years have passed since the small child who could fit in one arm has become a full-grown adult."

The Emperor grabbed Lucian's shoulder. Lucian, who was playing Leopold, felt his hands shaking slightly.

He glanced to the side and saw that Ruber was acting like a perfect Emperor as if nothing had happened. 

"The Crown Prince will now become a full-fledged adult and play an important role in protecting this land with us and developing this country."

The nobles were slightly agitated by the following speech.

"I take this opportunity today to announce that I will hand over the throne to the Crown Prince within five years."

It had already been mentioned once at a meeting of the great nobles, but the nobles who had not yet heard the news were excited and showed interest in the new Emperor.

Originally, he was the only heir to the throne, but as of today, he has become the next Emperor in name and reality.

***

The banquet began and the royal family took their seats at the head table.

"Foreign delegations and nobles will come to greet us. You don't have to answer. We and Dane will take care of it."

As the Emperor said, people were seen lined up in the distance carrying wrapped gifts. Although he was under the pressure of having to deceive many people, Lucian struggled to shake off his nervousness and deal with those who approached him.

Fortunately, there were no major difficulties.

"Congratulations on your coming of age, Your Royal Highness. I will do my best to be of great help to Your Highness in the future."

"Now that we have a Crown Prince who has grown up like this, there will be no trouble in our Odrian Empire from now on!"

Several nobles gave good wishes and gifts, and Lucian only responded with a smile like Leopold.

There was a crisis in the middle because of the language of the foreign delegation.

"I congratulate you on becoming the next Emperor. I hope that our friendship will remain the same as it was three years ago. This is a congratulatory gift from King Nicholas."

In particular, since it was an envoy from a neighboring kingdom where Leopold had studied abroad, Lucian had to use that country's language himself. Just as Dane was about to leave, Lucian opened his mouth, drawing a line at the corner of his mouth.

"It's a wonderful ring. I can see that King Nicholas personally cared about it."

Dane, who was about to open his mouth, as well as the Emperor and Empress next to him, looked at Lucian in surprise.

Lucian spoke foreign languages as fluently as Leopold.

"Ah! You recognize it! It is a special product prepared from recently discovered diamond ore."

"It seems like the person who made it is also quite a craftsman. I would believe it if they said it was made by dwarves. Please tell King Nicholas I really like the gift."

The delegation stepped back, excited about the successful gift presentation.

"How... Can you say foreign languages so fluently?"

"I will not comment. Anyway, shouldn't you be happy that thanks to me, you have avoided any major doubts?"

To be honest, Lucian has received an education just as good as Leopold.

Leah's view on education is that he has to learn everything he can to avoid starving to death, so it was natural for him to learn a foreign language from a nearby country.

'Ah...... I have to go to Leah quickly.'

It bothered him that he came out angry at Leah.

Besides, it was already 8 o'clock, so she would be waiting impatiently for him.

'I have to finish it quickly.' 

It was Marquess Graham's turn. Lucian clenched his fists as he saw Harry for the first time in a while. He made eye contact with Harry. Harry was conscious of the attention of those around him, so he did not show off his closeness to Leopold.

"Here. This is a gift that His Highness requested. I hope you like it."

Did Leopold ask for it?

When Harry looked at me with a slightly puzzled look, he responded with a playful look. It seems he hasn't figured out who he is yet. Well, even when I played role-changing with Leopold a few times, Harry didn't notice at a glance that the other person had changed.

In times like this, there was a kind of password that friends decided on.

"You prepared it, so I'm sure I'll like it."

Sigh-

Lucian touched his earlobe once and brushed his hair back. Only then did Harry's eyes change.

The moment his eyes trembled, Lucian stood up, pretended to accept the gift he was carrying, and whispered softly.

"Follow me later."

"... Lucian?"

"I'll tell you the details later."

Harry was a little scared. Lucian couldn't say anything right now, despite the look in Harry's eyes as if he were asking where the hell Leopold had gone. 

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