TAPGB - Chapter 79
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
Lucian, Caesar, and Age each surrounded the jewels and raised all their mana.
"If there is even the slightest delay, you will fail, so keep your wits about you."
Age's words made both of them nervous. The most important thing to break the current seal is to lift the seal within the jewel and lift the barrier surrounding the entire basement.
As soon as Age entered the basement, he noticed a subtle barrier.
Although this barrier does not use physical force, it is constructed so that nothing but a soul, like Leah, can approach it.
That's why Leah couldn't come down to the basement, and she still didn't know that she had a body.
The soul has a habit of returning to its body anyway, so if these two seals and barriers are released, Leah will be able to regain her original body.
But the problem is that other souls may also covet Leah's body.
Since Leah is the spirit of this place, there are not many souls nearby, but many souls will gather in an instant upon noticing the energy of the soulless body.
To prevent this unfortunate event, both barriers must be lifted at the same time so that Leah can quickly enter the body.
Under Age's command, the lifting of the seal began.
Although he had been told in advance, Caesar was momentarily dumbfounded when he saw the mind-bogglingly difficult magic technique.
"Caesar! Get your mind straight!"
Hearing Age's yelling, Caesar suddenly came to his senses and focused again.
"Everyone, now!"
At Age's signal, the seal was broken at the same time.
The jewels cracked little by little, and the mansion shook violently. It was a vibration that wouldn't be surprising even if it collapsed right away.
But none of the three were shaken.
Rather, they showed great concentration and focused on breaking the seal.
Knock-knock-paaaat!
Finally, the jewel surrounding Leah broke, and a bright light came out.
"... I can finally feel at ease."
At that time, a strange voice sounded in Lucian and Caesar's ears.
'This voice...'
It was a voice that both Caesar and Lucian were familiar with. For Lucian, it was the voice he heard when he first opened this door. For Caesar, it was the voice of a ghost who had taken over his body in the past.
It was clear that the voice was familiar, but it was not friendly. But why?
Tears flowed from both of their eyes.
"Take care of her..."
The voice slowly faded away, and the light gradually faded. Before long, Leah's eyes, which had been closed, began to flash, showing off her brilliant purple eyes.
***
1 minute before the seal is released.
I barely reached the basement door and waited for Caesar to bring Lucian. But suddenly the mansion shook as if there had been an earthquake.
[What is this...!]
Just as I was wondering if the vibration was caused by the two people fighting, a sharp pain rushed through my entire body.
My body, which had disappeared up to her shoulders, returned to its original state. But I couldn't help but feel the excitement of getting my body back.
[Ahh! Wow!]
It hurts. So painful.
Why do I feel pain?
Since I'm a ghost, I can't feel pain.
This was almost a hundred times the pain I felt when I tried to force myself to leave the mansion.
It was a pain that felt like someone was stabbing me with an iron skewer, splitting each molecule from my toes to the top of my head.
[Aaaah!]
As I screamed, nearby glass and ceramics shattered and the surrounding area began to dent.
My eyes fluttered and I felt my vision slowly fading away.
For a moment, the intense pain came, and for a moment, everything around me was in a pure white space, as if it had all been a dream.
I looked around to see that the pain had gone away and my body was fine.
"Arya."
At that time, a deep voice was heard from behind.
When I turned my head, a man with long red hair was standing tall.
[Who....]
"... It took too long, right?"
I was about to ask again who it was, but for a moment, my heart sank and my vision began to blur.
[What? Why am I crying...]
Now that I think about it, my hands are not transparent. I touch my cheek as if it were my own body, and tears flow freely.
[You are... Who on earth are you?]
The man across from me smiled faintly.
"The one who loves you. The one who wishes you happiness. Also... The one who gave you an indelible wound."
Those were meaningful words. But for some reason, hearing the answer made me feel at ease as if it was the answer I had wanted for a long time.
".... It's not over yet. As long as that guy remains in the world, our fight is not over."
[Fight? What on earth is that....]
"Now once. I will be your strength just one last time. So please forgive me?"
His apology, so earnest that it took my breath away, touched my heart deeply.
I don't know why a person whose face I don't even know is apologizing to me, but I had an answer to give him.
[... I have never hated you.]
The other person opened his eyes wide and then smiled brightly.
"I will protect you until the end. You can wake up now with peace of mind."
[Now, wait a minute...!]
A bright light emanated from behind the other person. Feeling like I was being pulled into the light, I disappeared.
Flash-
I reflexively opened my eyes. But for a moment, my eyes hurt so much from the bright light.
"Ahh....! It hurts...!"
I reflexively covered my eyes with both hands and squeezed them. But for a moment, another pain encroached on .e
"Huh... Huh... Huh... !"
Breathing... I can't breathe.
It was painful as unfamiliar sensations suddenly flooded my entire body.
Especially since I couldn't breathe, I was afraid that I would suffocate to death at any moment.
Having lived as a ghost for over 3 00 years, I did not know how to breathe. Because as long as I was a ghost, I could live without breathing.
"Huh! Ugh!... Sigh!"
Even though I kept trying to take a deep breath, I couldn't reach my lungs and was panting.
I grabbed my neck and struggled with a pale face.
Between the blurred vision and the bright light, three figures were caught moving busily.
"Please... Please someone..."
I stretched out my hand as if I were holding on to a rope. Someone grabbed my hand and lifted me up from where I was lying down.
Soon, I felt a warm sensation on the back of my neck and a soft touch to my lips.
It seemed like he was trying to help me breathe. After a few kisses, I felt a little easier to breathe.
My blurry vision cleared up a lot, and I regained some sense of consciousness.
The person who kissed me was Lucian.
"Leah, follow me slowly. Huuuuu Ahh."
“Huuu-Aah-”
After following Lucian, I was now able to breathe stably.
Still, my chest hurt, perhaps because the attack was so sudden.
“Leah...”
As I was pressing my chest and breathing lightly. I made eye contact with Lucian, who was looking at me with worried eyes.
I reflexively reached out to his face.
Lucian was touched even though he was not covered in mana. That's not all.
"Does this mean it's warm?"
I felt an unfamiliar sensation in my fingers. Not only body temperature but also touch, smell, sight, hearing, etc. When I was a ghost, I felt many things vividly that I could not feel at all.
"Leah, are you okay?"
This time, Caesar approached from the right.
I grabbed Lucian and Caesar's hands and placed them on my cheeks.
"It's warm..."
Lucian and Caesar pursued their Iower lips and tried hard to hold back their tears. They felt sorry for me who was only moved by the body temperature alone.
At that time, my eyes went dark.
"What... Why am I like this..."
"Leah? What's the matter! What's the matter...!"
"My eyes keep closing..."
My eyelids became heavy and my head couldn't turn properly. Moreover, the two people's voices seemed increasingly distant.
'Is it really possible for me to die like this...'
I had to say something, but I couldn't speak.
My hand lost its strength and fell down.
At that moment, I thought that Lucian and Caesar's hearts were also falling into that abyss.
"Leah! Wake up!"
"Shit! This can't be happening! Leah..."
As the two people panicked and shook my body, Age, who had been watching, came forward.
"Leave her alone, you'll wake up the sleeping person."
"... She's sleeping?"
"Yes, her heart is beating normally, and her breathing is shallow but clear."
Only then did Lucian and Caesar realize that I had fallen asleep.
Perhaps because it was the first time that I had been pushed around, I seemed not to know that I was sleepy.
"Ha, really... I'm scaring the dragon."
Caesar relaxed and sat down in his seat, and Lucian also breathed a sigh of relief.
As they were quiet, Lucian could hear Leah's heartbeat softly but clearly.
"Soft, warm...”
Lucian closed his eyes tightly and held Leah in his arms even more.
How long has he been looking forward to this?
He's afraid that he might fail to break the seal, he's afraid that Leah's soul won't come in properly, he's afraid that he'll lose her forever....
All the anxieties he had stored away in a corner of his mind were blown away by just her body heat.
"Umm..."
Lea rustled and snuggled deeper into Lucian's arms. Lucian found it incredibly adorable and kissed her briefly on the forehead.
"... What are you going to do with Leah now?"
Caesar's voice awakened Lucian's spirit. His eyes had lost much of the hostility compared to the beginning, but they were still sunken low.
"If you knew how Leah waited for you, you would never be able to show your face in front of her."
"... I know."
"You know? Ha, indeed. That bastard hasn't sent a letter for over a year? Leah will forgive you quickly because she is weak towards you, but not me."
If Lucian was not careful, Caesar seemed ready to steal Leah away. But Lucian thought his anger was somewhat justified.
"Leah.... I will take her to the imperial palace. I plan to take her and give her as much as she has done for me, no, even more."
"You're taking her there to repay her?"
"Of course, I have no intention of just returning the favor. Caesar, I think you forgot. Leah is my bride."
Lucian knows how much Caesar cares for and loves himself and Lia.
"Are you upset that I'm taking my bride away?"
But regardless of that, if Caesar takes Leah away from him, he has no intention of just sitting there silently.
Seeing the golden eyes that had become gloomy, Caesar felt more discouraged than angry.
"You are quite foolish too. Leah definitely thinks you've mated with a human female."
"I've never written in a letter that I'm dating a woman? Even though we never dated in the first place."
Caesar was dumbfounded when Lucian looked like he had no idea why he had made such a mistake.
"Why would you do that? Even if you sent a letter, you sent it away. And since you hadn't visited Leah for over a year, she thought it was time for you to forget about her and start over."
Lucian, who was momentarily speechless, pursed his lips and looked down at Leah who was fast asleep.
"I will never forget Leah, not even for a moment."
"If you can't even talk."
Even if Caesar is sarcastic, he can't help it. Right now, there is no way to let his true feelings be known.
"I have to check on Leah's condition, so I'll just go up."
Lucian easily picked up Lia and Ieft in the basement. Caesar looked at his back and was momentarily dumbfounded.
"When did he grow up like that?"
For a dragon, five years is the time that passes by in one nap, but he realized that time passes differently for humans.
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