TAPGB - Chapter 80

 TAPGB - Chapter 80

The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride

"I still don't like it. He doesn't have the cuteness he had when he was young, and he's s just a show-off."

Caesar, who had not yet let go of his anger towards Lucian, muttered and glared at the basement stairs.

However, Caesar soon looked away and looked into the secret room that he had not been able to see at first.

"... I had no idea a place like this existed."

No matter how much he looked, he couldn't find any traces of magic.

"If Lucian could break the spell, I should have been able to break it too."

If that were the case, wouldn't Leah have been able to live as a human a long time ago?

Caesar felt very little regret.

"Anyway, Age..."

While he was feeling sentimental for a moment, Caesar did not forget that the beautiful white dragon also had business to attend to.

"You! Why are you with Lucian? You said you had some business to do with the system... !"

"Is there any reason why I should tell you my every move?"

"Not really, but at least you could have given me a hint! It seems like Lucian knows very well that I'm a friend!"

Age, who had been examining the jewel, stopped and turned back.

When Age frowned and glared, Caesar flinched for a moment.

"Yeah, since I said it, it went well. You've been talking about me to humans?"

Among the numerous races, humans are the race that should not be trusted the most. Therefore, it is common for dragons not to reveal their identities no matter how close they are to humans.

However, not only did Caesar reveal his own identity, he also revealed Age's identity...

"Eh, a-! I didn't say your name directly!"

"You told him that the Northern Duke family is related to me."

"Well, that's..."

"Caesar, you know that even if I beat you up, you won't have anything to say, right? I could gather all the dragons right now and punish you."

"..."

Because of his guilt, Caesar just kept his mouth shut and rolled his e /yes.

"At least it was beneficial to me to join hands with Lucian, so I stayed quiet... Why didn't the bastard who stabbed me say something? Would you say it if it were you, yo immature idiot!"

"Ahh! Argh! it hurts! My, I was wrong!"

Caesar, whose ear was caught by Age, cried and begged for forgiveness.

Age, whose fever was bubbling up, sighed and calmed his stomach. 

"If you know what your crime is, keep your mouth shut."

"Yes."

Seeing him finally becoming obedient, Age let go of Caesar's ears.

Caesar rubbed his ears and looked at him.

Age was examining the jewel, and as if he had completed his business, he was putting the jewel into his sub-space. His expression was rather serious, so Caesar snooped around.

"Come to think of it... You said it was important to the dragons, but what on earth is this?"

As Age glanced sharply, Caesar slowly walked away from him.

"Why, why...! You can ask! At most, it would be nothing more than a sealing stone....!"

"Ha, it's not your fault that you don't know this, but how can a bastard named Lord Candidate be so ignorant?"

"Age, don't swear in secret."

Age looked pitiful for a moment before picking up the broken jewel.

"This is a dragon heart."

Caesar's eyes widened. It was the moment when the seal stone that had lost its value was instantly transformed into something noble.

"This, this, this, this is Dragon Heart? Leah was inside! I've never heard of a dragon heart being used in a sealing stone?!"

Dragon Heart.

It is by far the most precious of the many precious items left behind by a dragon when it dies, and its value cannot be put on an immeasurable price as it contains the essence of the dragon's life and pure mana.

That's why there are many people aiming for the Dragon Heart, and absurd rumors are spreading that those who possess it can rule the world.

However, the dragon heart is strictly the property of the dragon and is a legacy left behind upon death.

Therefore, the rule is that dragon hearts usually go to the dragon's family.

"There are not as many opportunities to see Dragon Heart as you might think. This is because it can only be seen when the owner of the Dragon Heart shows it directly or when a fellow dragon dies. So it's not unreasonable that you don't know." 

"... Oh my God."

Not only was Caesar dumbfounded, it felt like he had been hit on the head.

"Dragon Heart contains the unique power of that dragon. It may be hard to notice now, but you will gradually find out later."

"I see.... uh? Then do you know whose Dragon Heart this is?" 

Age kept his mouth shut. Judging by the expression on his face, he seems to know his identity.

"... I'll let you know later when I'm sure."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"I feel like I'm missing something very important. Unless we figure this out, we won't be able to return the Dragon Heart to his family."

Seeing his troubled expression, Caesar stopped questioning him.

Soon, after helping Age put the Dragon Heart into subspace, he went up the stairs.

"Lucian took Leah, so what should we do now?"

Caesar was afraid that they might break up without seeing Leah, so he hurriedly turned away the elders and came.

Lucian won't come, won't Leah be revived as a human, won't he meet Age here?

A lot happened in less than an hour.

He's glad he didn't leave Leah like this forever... For some reason, Caesar felt lonely.

"... I should go home."

Caesar, who had come up from the basement and was looking around the mansion, turned around with strangely slumped shoulders. Age caught him like that.

"Where are you going?"

"I should go home."

"Weren't you going together too? Where are you going? Where is the imperial palace? I'm sure Lucian will try to take you too."

Caesar suddenly realized the cause of his loneliness.

He hoped that Lucian would care about him. No, rather, it would be closer to the loneliness he felt when Lucian and Leah left his side all at once.

Caesar pursed his lips and then said, 

"Hmph!" 

And he turned his head.

"Damn, that kid is going to take me away. Didn't you see it a little while ago? He threatened me that he wouldn't forgive me if I took Leah away!"

"Isn't that the same for you too?"

"Oh, I don't know! In the first place, that guy must have completely forgotten about me and gone back to the imperial family by now, right?"

Hmph tsk tsk-

Age's eyes narrowed. In his eyes, all he could see was Caesar complaining,

"Oh, shut up and follow me." 

"Let go of this!"

Age grabbed Caesar by the back of his neck and dragged him away.

Although Caesar resisted, it wasn't enough to escape Age's hand. Age let out a laugh as he saw Caesar slowly relax his body. Sure enough, Lucian was standing outside the fence with the knights.

"Why are you coming out so late? I have to return to the imperial palace quickly."

"...Are you waiting for me?" 

Lucian tilted his head when Caesar absentmindedly pointed at himself.

"Then who am I waiting for, not you? Let's go quickly. I need to check on Leah's condition."

The tone of voice is as if it is natural for us to accompany each other. Caesar wrinkled his nose at the fact that he hadn't forgotten him.

Age, who didn't want to see Caesar's sparkling eyes, was disgusted and walked away from him. At that time, Something caught his eye. Eiji used magic to bring back what

"I will see Leah!"

"Don't wake her up for no reason, just stay calm."

"How dare a 23-year-old lump of blood give orders to someone?"

"I understand, I understand."

"Your Majesty, Caesar."

The two, who were arguing about getting on the carriage, stopped when Age called and turned to look at him. In the eyes of others, Age politely observed the etiquette between the military and ministers.

"I guess it's a letter for two people?"

Ag handed out a letter to each of the two people.

What he discovered was the last letter, farewell, and will of sorts that Leah had prepared after intuiting her words.

The two took a carriage and looked closely at the letter Leah had written to them as they traveled to the imperial palace.

Caesar touched Leah's head and complained, asking why she left such a useless letter, but Lucian couldn't bear it.

For 300 years, in this colorless place where I repeated the same routine every day and no one recognized me, I encountered hope called you.

The 10 years I spent with you are the happiest moments in my life, more than the 300 or so years I lived my whole life.

That phrase was a section that showed how much Leah cared for and loved him.

On the other hand, it was also a saying that she never once got angry at the endless wait or resented him for not coming to find her.

Lucian's throat was clogged and he couldn't say anything.

How on earth did Leah feel when she wrote this?

Lucian closed his eyes tightly as he looked at Leah with Caesar across from him.

***

"Uhm-"

I opened my bleary eyes. 

"Here is..."

What I saw in front of me was a canopy decorated on a bed. As I looked around more, I saw an unfamiliar but extravagant room. 

I stood up in confusion as I saw the space for the first time.

"Ugh... My waist..."

A subtle pain arose in my lower back. Not only that, it was uncomfortable because my mouth was sticky as if I had a drought.

After holding onto my waist for a moment, I realized a new fact.

"Why do I feel this way?"

Let alone pain, I have never felt such a minor sensation or discomfort.

Only then did I realize that my hands were not transparent, objects did not pass through them, and that they had substance?

I touch the skin and feel the soft texture of the bed. Best of all, I can crush my face!

"What on earth is this...?!..ah."

After screaming for a moment, I realized what had happened before I woke up.

I thought I was going to die because I was in such great pain, but I woke up with a new body in Lucian's arms.

"So does that mean I have become a real person?"

I got goosebumps. Rather than cheering or excitement, fear surged through my body.

"Is this really Lucian...!" 

Suddenly-!

Just as I was scratching my head, someone opened the door and came in. I made eye contact with the person coming inside.

"Oh! Mmm! Ububb!"

"Caesar?"

Caesar, who had a mouth full of skewers, was unable to swallow all his food and pointed his finger at me. Soon, he barely swallowed his food and ran to me.

"Leaaah! You're awake!"

"Huh!"

Unable to overcome the sudden weight that came upon me, I was forced to lie down on the bed.

"You, you bastard, why are you so heavy......!"

"Huh? Oh right. Are you human now? I forgot."

Caesar said he was so happy that he laughed like a mischievous person. It was only then that I realized that I could touch Caesar.

Caesar watched me fiddling with his own head with curious eyes. Soon, my hand moved from Caesar's head to his face. 

And then-

“Aaaah!”

"You bastard! I told you to stop Lucian, but what did you do?"

"Ugh! It hurts! it hurts!"

I pulled Caesar's cheek with all my strength.

I sent him into the basement to stop Lucian, but what if they conspired together to turn me into a human?

"You! Do you know what you did?! You killed a poor person! Thank you so much for saying I live as a human. If you thought I would do that, you were wrong, you bastard!"

"Gyaggyaggya! It's not like that! Hey, listen to me first!"

"Why not! OK! Today you die, and Lucian dies too! I will die too! What do these bastards think of human life?"

"It's not like that!"

Caesar, who had his head torn off, hurriedly took out a mirror from subspace and held it in front of my face.

"What a face! What a face! Do you think this will relieve my anger?!"

"Look closely! It's your face!"

"What kind of face is my face! Where did this guy get his medicine... huh?"

I, who had been emitting a spark of anger for a moment, closed my eyes.

What was reflected in the mirror was my face, which I had drawn and drawn over and over again. My face that I was able to complete with feedback from Lucian and Caesar.

However, the face reflected in the mirror was incomparably more elegant and beautiful than the ones I had sketched.

The hand holding onto Caesar lost strength.

"....So, are you saying it's really me?”

The purple eyes reflected in the mirror wavered aimlessly.

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