TAPGB - Chapter 54

 TAPGB - Chapter 54

The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

A majestic eagle hovered in the vast sky.

As Lucian played the flute with his hand, the eagle glided down. Then he sat down gently on his arm. When he stroked its feathers, the eagle made a sound as if it was happy.

"It took me a long time to tame Aither, but isn't that too easy?"

Leopold, who was watching from the side, made a sullen expression. Aether flew away and landed on Leopold's shoulder. Soon, Leopold's expression brightened slightly as he rubbed his head.

"At that time, education would not have been completed yet. Nowadays, education is good, so people learn quickly."

"It's not a question of education. Aiter follows you without hesitation."

"Why is that?"

"Eagles usually only follow their master. So when he came to me with some education, it took quite a while for him to follow me. But he's been following you well even though we've only met for a week." 

"Hmm, I see."

He has never felt like he was on guard.

By any chance, does Aiter know that he and Leopold are brothers? 

Lucian looked into Aeter's yellow eyes and then turned his head. Whenever his relationship with Leopold suddenly came up like this, his mood sank. 

'Let's calm down. It's no big deal.'

Lucian secretly took a deep breath and recalled the conversation he had with Lia two weeks ago. There have been several crises over the past two weeks, Leopold, who had never once brought up the topic of the imperial family, started talking about it one by one starting with his last outing.

When he heard that story, he was reminded of Leopold, who had grown up and was loved by the imperial family, unlike himself, and he felt miserable.

Even though he received a lot of love from Leah and Caesar, Lucian ended up comparing himself to them and felt infinitely small.

Especially when the topic of the Emperor and Empress came up, his frustration deepened.

Whenever a crisis came, Leah, who came by his side, held his hand tightly and covered his ears, so he was able to endure it, but without Lucian even realizing it, his emotions were slowly building up in his heart.

"Lucian, there are ten days left until my birthday?"

When he finally calmed down, Leopold's words began to bother him again.

His birthday means his own birthday.

"I was studying abroad. I've had to spend my birthday abroad for the past two years. So, Father made it a grand event this time. We also invited foreign delegations."

"... Okay?"

"It will be filled with things I like! Food, music, gifts, everything! Particularly fireworks at night are an illusion?"

Every time Leopold continued, memories of living in the imperial palace came to mind. A time when he did not receive love from anyone and foolishly hoped that his family would come find him.

The day he looks forward to the most during his gloomy days is his birthday. Because he ate more delicious food than other days and ended the day with a spectacular fireworks display.

But now, listening to Leopold's words, Lucian realized that he had only received the dregs of what he had enjoyed.

Stupidly, he thought that day was the happiest.

"So, I'd like to invite you and Dio. I'll tell Harry well, so you can come dressed appropriately as a nobleman. You can't wear a hat but don't worry. I'm going to have a masquerade ball for this birthday. Then no one will know that your face and mine are the same."

The accumulated emotions gradually revealed their presence.

Lucian, knowing that he couldn't control his emotions right now, hurriedly tried to find Leah, but Leopold was faster.

"I especially want to introduce you, Lucian, to father and mother. Because you're my best friend!"

At that moment, Lucian heard the sound of something breaking in his head.

"Friend?"

Lucian couldn't think of anything else, including Leah's advice, and glared at Leopold.

"Yeah, buddy! However... Why are you like this?"

Only then did Leopold notice that Lucian was strange and tilted his head.

"Ha, you want to introduce me to the Emperor and Empress? How on earth are you going to introduce me?"

Leopold frowned at the malicious sarcasm.

"There is a doppelganger who looks exactly like me. We are even the same age and have the same birthday. It's amazing, isn't it? Are you going to say that?" 

"What is that... Wait a minute, we have the same birthday?"

"Do you really think it's just a coincidence that we look alike? Even if we resemble each other, it has to be to a certain extent. This is just like having a mirror in front of you. Is not it?"

Leopold, who was trying to respond to Lucian's irritation, felt something strange.

"Lucian, what's wrong with you? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?...."

"It wasn't all of a sudden. It's been like that since I first saw you. I was abandoned as soon as I was born and grew up alone without ever seeing my parents' faces. Then, at the age of eight, they disguised me as an orphan and offered me as a sacrifice, saying I had to appease the ghosts of this place."

Leopold looked confused at the information without explanation. 

"For the first two weeks, I came here, no one looked after me or cooked for me. In the end, I had to fill my stomach with only potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots. If it wasn't for Leah, I would have died a long time ago. No, they probably left him here to die in the first place."

"..."

"Do you wonder why I'm telling you this?"

Lucian sneered and took off the necklace he was wearing. Leopold's eyes widened as he saw his hair and eyes slowly changing. 

"How is it? Do I still look like a doppelganger?"

"What is this......."

As Leopold hesitated and stepped back with a pale complexion, Lucian's heart throbbed. However, contrary to his feelings, the corner of his mouth quirked up.

"Hello, bro. This the little brother you so desperately wanted to have."

Leopold's face was filled with astonishment.

What is that expression on your face when you say you want a younger sibling so much? After all, you didn't want a twin brother? Or do you feel like your existence is ominous?

'It doesn't matter what happens now.'

Lucian was exhausted. Whenever he sees Leopold, who grew up only happily unlike himself, he feels shabby and miserable and cannot stand it.

"Yes, You.... My younger brother? Then twins...."

"Yeah, damn twins. You know what twins mean to the Empire."

"Lie! That can't be possible! If I had a younger sibling, Father and Mother...!"

Leopold stopped yelling for a moment when he saw Lucian's hurt expression.

It was a very fleeting moment. Lucian lost his expression again and had a frighteningly indifferent look in his eyes.

"Twins themselves are an ominous symbol, so there was no choice but to erase the existence of one. While you lived happily, receiving the love of your parents and the welcome of others, I grew up as a being that did not exist in the world. Ha, your parents are kind? What kind of parent can abandon his child and still live without it?"

"..."

When Lucian saw Leopold frozen and unable to say anything, he felt that any remaining anticipation had disappeared.

"I resent you. No, I hate you, your parents, and your blood-related family. If this was going to happen, they should have just killed me. If they had, it wouldn't have been so miserable."

A tear flowed from Lucian's eye. At the same time, Leopold's face distorted.

He couldn't tell if it was contempt, anger, or sadness.

Lucian rotated the mana circle. Before he knew it, one more circle was created and he became the owner of Circle 4.

"Don't ever appear before my eyes again."

As unusual mana bloomed around Lucian, Leopold suddenly came to his senses.

"Now, wait...! Lucian....!"

However, before Lucian could continue his words, he used magic to chase Leopold away to where the imperial palace was located.

".... It was nice meeting you, bro."

It was empty words that no one would listen to. 

After learning the truth, Leopold will never come here again. Lucian felt foolish for thinking that he could once be friends with him.

"This is what was going to happen in the end...."

The time Lucian met him was like a mirage.

[Lucian!]

Leah's urgent voice was heard in the distance. Lucian guessed she heard a commotion.

Leah stopped flying here when she saw Lucian's tear-stained face.

"Leah, it's all over now."

His vision became blurry. His cheeks kept getting wet. He doesn't know why it's doing this.

Lucian is relieved to have revealed the truth, but why is how heart so heartbroken now that he has vomited out all the anger inside him?

[Lucian, it's okay. I'm here, it's okay.]

Before he knew it, Leah was hugging him tightly. Lucian rested his head on her shoulder and hugged her thin waist without resistance.

A strange sensation of touching the wind that does not feel like body temperature. But this was more familiar than touching people.

He felt sad because that familiarity seemed to clearly show his situation of not being loved by people.

***

Hwii-!

Leopold, who was pushed to the forest near the imperial palace by Lucian's magic, fell into the bush. Rather than feeling dizzy from the magic from earlier, his head hurt from too much information.

"... Lucian is my younger brother?"

The moment his plain brown hair and eyes turned the same color as his own, his instincts cried out. Lucian is not just someone who looks exactly like him, but a hidden brother.

"Who is making fun of me now?"

He tried his best to deny reality in an unrealistic situation, but the more he tried, the more clearly the image of Lucian shedding tears came to mind.

And the days he met Lucian passed by like a panorama. His memory suddenly reached his first meeting with him.

".... Lucian knew who I was."

Lucian's strange behavior that he didn't understand at first. If he knew his identity, it's clearly understandable why he did that.

"I'm a fool for expecting that...."

Lucian's words seemed to pass by but pierced his heart.

Leopold's hands and feet were shaking.

Even though he sang his brother's song so much, he regretted being so stupid that he couldn't even recognize his real brother right in front of him.

Indescribable guilt and pain were suffocating him... Eventually, he remembered Lucian's angry words.

".... I was abandoned. At the age of 8, I was left there without anyone."

What did Lucian do when he was starving and craving the warmth of people?

“Father and Mother are doing this...."

For a moment, Leopold realized that he had to tell the person he trusted the most about this right away, and by whose orders Lucian had been sent to the haunted mansion.

".... Father."

He was horrified that his proud parents had put his little brother in danger.

Leopold felt like his parents were monsters, thinking that they gave him love with a smile but didn't even pay attention to Lucian. 

Leopold clenched his shaking fists.

What should I do now?

What will happen to Lucian if he tells anyone about this?

His mind was so complicated that it felt like it was going to explode. Leopold, who was gritting his teeth and stomping on the rough ground, his eyes flashed.

"Let's investigate to see if it's true."

He can't be hasty in telling others. Twins are truly an ominous sign. Usually, they eliminate the fact that they were born as twins by killing the child born as their younger sibling. In severe cases, both can be killed.

That's probably why Lucian was raised without people knowing, why he was disguised as an orphan, and why he was sent to that haunted mansion.

Fortunately, they didn't kill Lucian...

"Still, I can't forgive you."

What on earth is wrong with Lucian? That he was just born a twin? He was born a few minutes later than he was?

If Lucian had been born in a foreign country instead of here, he would never have been treated like this.

Leopold headed to the imperial court immediately.

He has to find out if Lucian is really his younger brother, and if so, why on earth did his parents hide this fact, and how did the ominous rumor about twins arise only in the Empire?

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