TAPGB - Chapter 75
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
'Why is he calling me out like this?'
A woman grunted, shyly pushing back her flowing hair and blushing softly. She twisted her black hair for no reason and waited for 'him' to come.
'I thought you said you had something important to say today.'
Actually, she could guess what he was calling her to say.
She's been dating him for about a year, and she asked him last time what it would be like if they became a family.
But on a day like this, it would be polite to just pretend not to notice.
'Shall I wait and see how surprising it will be?'
Although it was a little after the appointed time, there was some excitement mixed in as she kicked the stone. She tried hard to suppress her laughter that was leaking out for no reason.
Rustle.
She felt a presence behind her. As she turned her head, her lover gently opened his eyes and his golden eyes sparkled.
'You're late!'
After a moment of greeting him with a smile, the woman calmed down her excitement and turned her head again.
Then the man came over with a small smile.
'Sorry. I'm late because I had to get ready for a moment.'
'... Just watch it this time. Don't be late again next time.'
'Well, of course. Now then, shall we go?'
'Huh? Where?'
When she tilted her head, the man grinned.
'I have something to show you. Come here.'
The place where the man walked was the forest behind the palace. After going up for a while, what appeared to be a two-story mansion.
'Uh? This place...'
She's vaguely heard it before. His dream is to live with his family in a two-story mansion.
Now that he's a full-fledged member of the royal family, he might be able to live in a better place, but she never thought he'd build a mansion in a place like this...
The woman was guided to the mansion by her lover.
She looked around, starting from the second floor and finally ending in the basement, and was filled with an indescribable lingering feeling as she saw spaces everywhere that seemed to have been decorated just for her.
'This is our new home.'
When she looked back with a dejected feeling, her lover was smiling softly.
'Then... This is our...'
'I won't be able to come often, but I think I can use the villa sometimes when I want to relax.'
She was impressed for a while, but then she felt something strange.
Is he using it as a vacation home? Wouldn't he suggest making this a house instead of a vacation home?
'It's sudden, but my brother has decided to hand over the throne to me.'
'What?! Leon?'
She looked at him with strange eyes for a moment, but the shocking words that followed turned everything upside down.
'Yes, he said he was very tired and wanted to rest comfortably now. He said he was going on a long trip.'
'Leon said that...'
She was so enterprising and greedy that she didn't even know she was thinking like that.
If she knew he was having a hard time, she would have helped him. Does Carcerin know about this?
'My brother has made a big decision to hand over the throne to me, so I need to do my best.'
'Are you going to be okay?'
'Is there anything that's not okay? This is what my brother did too.'
She flinch.
Another strange answer. Answers that seemed like they would never come out of his mouth kept coming out. It's like something Leon would do, not him...
Thud-!
For a moment, her heart sank.
She flinched back and looked at her lover in front of her with horror in her eyes.
'What's the matter? Are you sick?'
'You... Who are you?'
'What are you talking about. Of course your lovely...'
'Leon! You are Leon! Yes?!'
The man who smiled softly and kindly like a lover suddenly stopped. Soon he smiled and slowly opened his eyes.
His golden eyes were filled with greed. It was a feeling that her lover would never harbor.
'... How did know? I didn't think I would be caught even if it was you.'
They even used black magic to change his appearance, but he never thought he would get caught so quickly.
Leon muttered,
'This wasn't planned.'
However, the woman was so shocked that the accident did not work properly.
Leon was imitating her lover. And it wasn't just a joke, he really acted like he was in love with her and was going to start a new family.
Suddenly, his real lover came to mind.
'Where's Odell?! Why are you imitating Odell!'
'... Arya, I am Odell in front of you.'
'Leon! I'm not in the mood to mess around right now!'
''I'm not in the mood to play around either. Why are you looking for the real Odell when I'm willing to bandon myself and imitate Odell?'
'What is that...'
'Arya, the witch I love."
She got goosebumps and my chicken meat burned a little.
Now... What did he say just now?
'Why did you choose him and not me?'
Leon's eyes widened and he held Arya's shoulder tightly.
The eyes, stained with obsession, greed, and distorted love, felt sticky all over her body. Just looking at Arya gave me goosebumps.
'Let go of this! Why are you doing this! I am...!'
'You will be my future bride.'
'That's crazy! How can you say such a thing! What kind of person is Odell to you?'
It shouldn't be like this. This should never happen.
Leon is Odell's one and only...
'How can a brother covet his brother's woman!'
Because he's Odell's older brother. However, as if her struggles did not seem to make much of a difference, Leon just looked down at the woman with indifferent eyes without any sense of guilt.
'I was first.'
'... What?'
'I liked you first. Not fucking OdeII! I liked you first! But you two didn't even know how I felt and just sat there talking about how comfortable you were!'
'What is that...'
'Where is Odell? Well? Take a look. Because you won't be able to meet each other anymore in this world.'
Arya's purple eyes gradually grew larger and were colored with astonishment, but soon degenerated into deep despair and fear.
'What did you do to Odell!!!!!
Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Purple mana began to flow out of Arya's body and run wild. It was the desperate struggle of a witch who lost her beloved lover. Leon looked at Arya in silence as not only the basement but the entire mansion shook.
His golden eyes were a little, just a little sad. But for a moment, he calmly opened his mouth, as if he had anticipated Arya's reaction.
'Arya, I will give you a chance to choose. First, will you accept my offer, make me your husband, and stay with me for the rest of your life? Oh, if you want, I can erase your memories and allow you to treat me as Odelll.'
'Leon!'
'Second, will you be sealed like this until you change your mind? If you accept me, I will release the seal at any time.'
Crash!
She heard someone hurriedly coming down, and before she knew it, the basement was filled with warlocks. Then, with Leon in the lead, he cast black magic.
A high-dimensional magic circle, probably pre-installed, was created and entangled Arya's entire body.
She quickly tried to destroy the magic circle but was embarrassed when it didn't work out as easily as she thought. Eventually, she discovers familiar traces in the magic circle.
'Carcerin! How could you betray me...!'
Carcerine was the only being who could create high-level magic that she could not break.
Arya could not maintain her reason as she thought that Carcerine, following Leon, had betrayed her and killed Odel.
Arya screamed and cursed Leon, shedding bloody tears.
7th year of the imperial calendar.
It was a sorrow that occurred 300 years ago and is not recorded in history.
Flash!
I slowly closed my eyes.
I looked around dreamily. I checked my watch and it was around 11 am. The current season is... .
[... Is it summer?]
It was refreshing to call it spring, the sun was too bright, and the characteristic sounds of summer insects could be heard everywhere.
As I went out the front door, I saw a lawn that had become overgrown due to lack of maintenance. Looking at the length the grass had grown, it didn't seem like a long time had passed.
[I guess it's about one season.]
Since my last memory was of the end of winter, approximately three months have passed.
[Letter, didn't I receive the letter?]
I headed to the front door, recalling the most important memories that lay aside. There was a small nightstand next to the entrance.
When delivering Lucian's letter to Dio, I had previously instructed him to leave it here.
I looked at the nightstand with anticipation, but there was nothing on it except white dust.
My eyes, which had been sparkling with hope, suddenly lost their shine. I fiddled with my nightstand as if I had some lingering feelings.
[The last letter... It was last summer.]
Has it already been a year?
Winter is over and early summer has arrived, so this year is the 330th year of the imperial calendar.
It has already been five years since Lucian left the mansion and entered the imperial family.
For the first two years, we maintained a good relationship, exchanging letters several times a month.
However, Dio's visits gradually decreased, and before the last letter was cut off, contact became less frequent, to the point where I received a letter approximately once every two to three months.
The letter only formally stated that he was getting along well and did not contain any other information.
It's like he has nothing to say but he has no choice but to write.
I was vaguely aware that I had become part of the past because of Lucian, but I couldn't help but feel a pang in my heart when I was confirmed dead like this.
No, even though I couldn't feel the pain, it felt like my heart was aching.
[Lucian, how are you?]
But I don't blame him. In a way, isn't this a natural thing?
After living in the imperial family, experiencing the wider world, and meeting many people, he realized that he no longer needed to be obsessed with things like myself.
[It's something I've been hoping for so long.]
Living in reality without being captured by ghosts. That's what I wanted from Lucian.
So I don't blame him. He would rather forget me and live a normal life like everyone else.
[But, Lucian... I want to see your face one last time.]
I looked down at my hands.
Originally, it was a transparent ghost hand that could be seen from the other side, but it was much more transparent than before, and the shape of the hand was irregular as if it had disappeared altogether.
[Am I really going to disappear like this?]
I'm dying now. No, I'm disappearing from this world.
The first time I felt something strange was three years ago when the 7-year cycle came around.
At that time, my mind and body were unstable for about another month, but my memory stopped for about half a day and I returned to my normal daily life.
Caesar told me to rest assured that the temple and imperial family would not be able to do anything wrong since he had already taken care of it before.
Since Lucian wasn't here anyway, there wasn't any danger, and I thought there wouldn't be any problem since I would just lose my mind for half a day and then it would come back to normal.
However, since that day three years ago, my body has blurred intermittently, and the incidents of losing my mind like now increased. At first, I only lost consciousness for a few hours, like when the '-7' year cycle came around.
However, the period gradually increased and now I have been losing my mind for almost three months.
My own words are slowly coming to me.
Maybe the next time I lose my mind, I might disappear from this world forever.
Having lived for over 300 years, I have no regrets in this life. I just want to see Lucian right before I disappear.
[I never know when I might disappear, so it would be a good idea to be prepared.]
I have to say goodbye to Caesar and write a letter to Lucian in case he comes looking for me.
I moved to decorate my final moments.
On the nightstand where I stayed was a picture of Lucian from his childhood. Unlike other places where white dust settled, his picture frame was clean without a speck of dust.
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