TAPGB - Chapter 46

TAPGB - Chapter 46

The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

"Ah, I'm bored."

"..."

Another boy, who was leisurely reading a book, looked disgusted at what one boy said.

"Your Highness, please stay safe. What on earth is that posture?"

"But, I'm bored."

A boy with well-maintained white hair, golden eyes nobler than gold, and a face that looks exactly like Lucian. What's different is that, unlike the very cynical Lucian, he hasn't lost his mischievous brightness as a child.

Of course, he didn't lose his dignity in front of people, but it didn't matter because he was in front of his best friend, Harry Graham.

Currently, Leopold was lying down on the sofa, with one leg on the back of the sofa and his head under the sofa, making a truly strange pose.

Just looking at it makes Harry strangely angry.

"They say Lilith will be coming soon. Are you going to greet your fianceé, whom you haven't seen in a while, with that pose?"

"Oh! Really? It's been a while, Lilith!"

Harry shook his head when he saw Leopold treating his fiancée like a friend. Then, Harry suddenly remembered a rumor he had been hearing these days.

"They say Lilith hangs out with a lot of men."

Harry told her to behave well since she was the Crown Prince's fiancée, but she played it off, saying he was just a friend. Although it seems like they are too close to be called friends. 

Since they are in a relationship based on interests anyway, we can't tell them to love each other, but shouldn't they at least follow the minimum standards?

'I'm glad Your Highness didn't think anything of it.'

Harry looked at Leopold with sunken eyes. 

"Ah-"

Leopold opened his mouth.

"I want a younger brother."

,"... Are you still saying that? It would be much more advantageous for Your Highness not to have a younger brother, right?"

"A guy with two younger brothers wouldn't say something like that."

Left speechless, Harry groaned.

"I know. It's not good to have brothers. The imperial family always has a history of seeing blood whenever there are brothers."

Seeing Leopold becoming serious for the rare time, Harry closed the book he was reading.

"Still. It would be nice to have someone to rely on in such a large royal family. You always say your younger siblings are annoying, but when you grow up, you'll be good friends, right?" 

"That would be so, as long as my younger brothers don't aim for the title."

 "Ugh, we were all born in the same litter and became a family, so why is everyone so anxious that they can't eat each other?"

Leopold sighed and lamented.

He is now 15 years old, and in 3 years he will be an adult, so it may be strange for him to still talk about his younger brother. But he was always sincere.

There is no way Harry or his other friends could understand the emptiness of the royal family.

'If I had a brother, he would understand me...'

Leopold, caught in his thoughts, waved his hand roughly.

"I'm just saying this. Pass it aside."

Resignation was mixed in the light tone of voice. Knowing that Harry couldn't say anything.

Harry is not the type of person to talk much, so he doesn't know what to do to comfort Leopold. He just comforts him in his own way.

"You're bored. Let's play a game when Lilith and the others come."

"Oh!"

Leopold immediately brightened up, asking what was going on. Watching him think about what kind of game would be good for him made him feel more at ease.

'It doesn't suit you to look so droopy."

He must shine brightly on people like the sun. That's the look that suits him best. So Harry accepted all of Leopold's chatter, despite the annoyance.

How much time has passed like that? 

Lilith and her friends arrived.

"Your Highness, long time no see! How were you?"

"Oh! Guys, it's been a while!"

Leopold quickly got up from his seat and greeted his friends. One was Schlan, the eldest son of Count Neophine, and the other was Amanda, the second daughter of Marquis Basilion.

Although they exchanged letters, it had been two years since they met in person. After exchanging friendly greetings with them, Lilith appeared from behind.

"It's been a while, Your Highness. It's been two years."

"Lilith! So far, well..."

Leopold, who was trying to welcome Lilith like his other friends, was momentarily speechless.

Light pink hair that looks as fluffy as cotton candy and skin that looks as transparent as glass beads.

Even though it was a familiar color that he had been tired of seeing for a long time, it felt particularly unfamiliar today.

"... Lilith?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Why are you doing this?"

When Lilith tilted her head, showing off a neat and kind smile, Leopold hesitated for a moment. Schlan's eyes lit up when he saw that the back of Leopold's neck was turning red.

"I fell in, I fell in. I think Your Highness fell in love at first sight."

"But, you two have been engaged for a long time."

"Because engagement and love are two different things. Well, Lilith has become much prettier in two years."

Since making her social debut this year, Lilith has become a daughter who has ignited the hearts of many young people. However, since she had already become engaged to the Crown Prince a long time ago, no one could approach her easily, and was content with just dancing or talking with her.

A neat flower that cannot be dared to be picked. That was the word referring to Lilith.

Leaving behind the whispering Schlan and Amanda, Harry watched Lilith and Leopold with narrowed eyes.

'I didn't expect this.'

Harry thought it was fortunate that Leopold did not think of Lilith as anything more than a friend, but he never thought such a variable would arise.

Despite her soft image, Lilith is sinister on the inside. By appropriately using her appearance, popularity, and power, she puts many Young Masters under her control and makes it impossible for them to escape.

Well, since she was the only daughter of the Duke of Sevans, would she have had anything to regret in her life?

Since there is no Princess in the empire, she must be the most noble daughter, and it is a given that she will become engaged to the Crown Prince long ago and become the next Empress.

She has lived in abundance and lacks nothing, and everything in the world will seem like hers. As she becomes more arrogant, she gains the favor of the next Emperor?

This is a dangerous sign.

Sure enough, Harry saw Lilith's darkly shining eyes.

Meanwhile, Lilith internally sneered when she saw Leopold, whose eyes were the same as those of the spirits who were looking at her with pleading eyes.

'This is too easy to be fun.'

To be honest, she was surprised when she saw him again. Leopold grew up better than she imagined.

During the two years he was away studying abroad, Lilith fell into boredom.

Her beauty becomes more beautiful day by day, and the number of men she woos increases day by day. Wouldn't it be a waste to have her beauty spoiled only by Leopold?

Moreover, since she was young, she had been controlled in everything from what she wore to what she ate, so she felt joy when she saw a man who was impatient with her for the first time.

Of course, there was no man that caught her eye, so she just played with them for a while to kill time. Even so, she has not forgotten her status as the Crown Prince's fianceé.

When she heard the news that the Crown Prince was returning, she was honestly annoyed.

Now, if she comes, people around her will put all kinds of sanctions on her, calling her the Crown Princess and Empress-to-be.

But now, looking at Leopold, she realized that he was a wonderful person who could not be compared to the men she had played with until now.

'Well, he is the only Crown Prince of the Oddrian Empire."

Moreover, everyone supports him, regardless of whether he is a noble or a commoner.

Not only does he look good, he is better than anyone else, he is smart, he is popular, and he holds the most power in the world.

There couldn't be a better groom than him.

So, all she has to do is enjoy the thing.

"Why is it so empty?"

Just like herself, Leopold had clearly seen her only as a friend, not as a woman.

But when she saw Leopold, who, like other insignificant men, had fallen in love solely with her appearance, she felt discouraged. 

'It's no longer fun, Leopold.'

That was Lilith's impression of her fiancé, whom she met after two years.

***

The 15-year-old boys and girls, who had come together for the first time in two years, talked comfortably.

"Ah, I'm bored."

However, it was too much to appease Leopold's boredom.

They were all too old to play around as immaturely as before, and they seemed to be subtly cautious, perhaps because they knew that they should not be too formal with Leopold.

Leopold didn't like that.

When he saw people who drew a line even when he approached them informally, his longing for brothers grew even more.

While Schlan and Amanda were looking at each other, Harry looked at him with salty eyes.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'm just bored."

To be honest, Leopold wanted to do things that move his body like hitting targets, horseback riding, or racing, but he didn't feel like doing that because it wouldn't be a fair competition and the winner would be obvious.

However, playing chess quietly is not a good fit.

"Is there anything fun?"

"It's fun... Come to think of it, I think she heard a strange rumor."

"Strange rumors?"

Leopold perked up his ears at Schlan's words.

"I don't know much either. They say there is an old mansion in a forest owned by the imperial family. They say there's a ghost there."

"Oooh!"

"Ha, a ghost?"

 "Where in the world are there ghosts?"

"So you said you didn't know much. This is a story I also picked up."

Schlan shrugged his shoulders.

"I think the escort driver said the same thing before."

Leopold's eyes sparkled even more as Lilith came to his aid.

"Tell me more details!"

Lilith told what she heard.

"So there really are ghosts. All the knights who went for courage training failed? Besides, someone even urinated?"

The children were agitated by the unbelievable story.

"But starting seven years ago, an order was issued not to allow anyone to approach the mansion. They say we've finally put the spirit to sleep so we shouldn't wake it up or something."

"Lilith, do you know well?"

"... Well, the escort driver talked about a lot of different things."

Lilith made a refreshing expression. Soon Leopold smiled brightly and jumped up from his seat.

"Great! Let's go to that haunted mansion!"

"Eek!"

"Well, Your Highness!"

He hated everything. Even Lilith, who was good at managing her facial expressions, frowned, but Leopold didn't care at all. He came out worse than Harry did.

"Are you serious about what you say?"

"When have you ever seen me say something as a joke?"

 No. So that's the problem. For a moment, Harry's head felt dizzy.

"You don't know where it is. But by what means are you going to proceed?"

"Lilith's escort driver said he's been there before. Then you will understand." 

Everyone except Leopold glared at Lilith. It was as if she was asking why she said such useless things. Lilith was mortified by that.

"Schlan was wrong. If it weren't for Schlan, I wouldn't have even dreamed that there was a haunted mansion."

"That's right, Schlan! How are you going to take responsibility for this!"

Schlan broke into a sweat as the arrow was immediately aimed at him.

"Everyone, don't do that. All you have to do is take a look around the haunted mansion."

Smiling, lantern lantern.

Seeing Leopold's face, the four raised their hands. There was no one in this world who could stop Leopold, who had already made up his mind.

"Okay then, I guess you agree! Let's go now!"

"Now?"

"They say you should remove the bull's horn as quickly as possible! I know that if I put it off until later, I'll kick you all out.”

Amanda, who was thinking of an excuse to come up with, trembled.

"So, Lilith, call the escort driver right now and find out the location, and the rest of us should change clothes."

Leopold grinned when he saw everyone was dumbfounded.

"Because you can't get caught while you're at it."

For a moment, his smile felt like a grim reaper.

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