TAPGB - Chapter 108
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
"By the way, Lucian, have you received any information from Javier recently?"
I, who was enjoying happiness in Lucian's arms, asked Lucian if something occurred to him. Lucian tilted his head and then shook it on.
"Yes? Then please call Javier. Why? Have you found out anything about my brother?"
"No, that's not true, but I've been gathering information recently to find the past. But no matter how much I searched through the records of the first Emperor, there was no mention of the witch Arya."
"What does that have to do with Javier?"
Caesar tilted his head.
"I thought he might know something about the temple. Why did he say that there is a temple in the basement of the mansion where offerings are made once every 10 years? From what I've seen, it seems like it's been like that for quite some time. And maybe the reason they wanted to make a sacrifice was because of me."
"Oh, definitely."
"There were such circumstances."
Lucian and Caesar shook their heads, saying it made sense.
"I heard that Javier has gained some trust now, so wouldn't he have been able to get information about the mansion?"
"Hmm. I'll contact Javier about that."
"Oh, and there's something else I want you to do."
Even as I opened my mouth, I hesitated for a moment. Lucian was just puzzled by the sudden change in atmosphere.
"Actually, I haven't been able to tell you this whole time."
What I revealed to Lucian was an incident when priests, including Javier, broke into the basement of the mansion when he was 10 years old.
And that story was also the reason the two fought on Lucian's 18th birthday.
"I thought Caesar and I would have something to do with the imperial family. So maybe... The temple had a collusion with the imperial family and disposed of you, Lucian."
I looked at Lucian's thoughts. He had a slightly stiff expression as if he was quite surprised.
I and Caesar looked at each other.
"Continue... Keep talking."
Lucian remained calm and listened to me.
As a result, I was able to strengthen my mind and reveal the whole truth.
"All the humans who stayed in the mansion disappeared overnight when the cycle of '-7 years' reached. And somehow I thought they were dead. When the humans in the mansion disappeared when the temple guys came to the mansion, and when they came up from the basement to find you. I thought they would do you as much harm as they did the other humans."
"So... Those priests were dead."
Lucian never imagined that such a truth would be hidden in the secret that had been hidden for so long.
"Leah, I know why you couldn't tell me."
"Sorry. You were very disappointed, weren't you?"
As I looked sullen, Lucian shook his head with a faint smile.
"No. It's because you're afraid I'll get hurt. Thank you. If I had known the truth back then, I would have had a falling out with Leopold."
18 years old. Even if they are old enough to have a coming-of-age ceremony, they are still just immature children. Now that she is 23, he can see how young he was back then.
"But, Lucian. I'm not sure if it was intentional that you were sent to the mansion."
Lucian looked back at Caesar's next words.
"If they had been planning on killing you, they would have done it right after you were born rather than using such a cumbersome method."
"..."
"It's already been more than 50 years since humans stayed in the mansion before you. It remains even after generations have changed two or three times."
"Yes. I agree with Caesar on this one. It was the Emperor who sent you to the mansion, so please ask. What were they thinking when they sent you there?"
"Is this also necessary for your past, Leah?"
"Maybe. I think we need to conduct a multifaceted investigation because there are many different interests involved."
Lucian thought for a moment and then opened his eyes.
"Okay. I'll do as you say. I will let you know as soon as I find out something, so Leah, please investigate the people who stayed in her mansion."
"How?"
"They say it seems like they were exiled to a mansion. And the mansion is the property of the imperial palace. Then how did those people come to live in the mansion? They obviously committed a big crime and were sent there instead of prison. Do you remember what year they came?"
"Yes, I remember it clearly."
"Then I will ask Harry to find records about the prisoners and trials at the time and send them to me. If you look at that, you'll be able to get a rough idea of the answer."
"Thank you, Lucian. Thanks to you, we can investigate quickly."
"I should do whatever I can to help and.."
Lucian pursed his lips and smiled softly at me and Caesar.
"Thank you for protecting me for so long."
I and Caesar's eyes widened, and then we looked at each other and smiled. Then Caesar hugged Lucian at the same time.
"Boy! I'm definitely your older brother, so isn't it natural! You are special to us."
"Lucian, it's natural to protect you."
Lucian's nose twitched for a moment as he felt the warm body temperature and their love. But he didn't cry.
Instead, he responded with a smile and hugged the witch and dragon he loved the most.
***
Screams erupted from the palace where the Emperor and his wife were staying.
"You're breaking off your engagement! Does that make any sense?"
The situation in the library had calmed down to some extent, but the real fight began now.
Lucian decided to break off his engagement to Lilith and tried to deal with the backlash.
However, Empress Serena's backlash was stronger than expected.
Lucian frowned and looked at her, unable to control his anger.
Even though she said harsh things, she only called me by his name and hesitated. But what does that reaction mean now?
"I didn't mean to ask for your permission. This is a notice."
"No matter how much you are the Emperor, do you think you can handle the affairs of the imperial family arbitrarily?! More than anything, this happened entirely because it was your fault!"
Lucian's eyebrows twitched when he saw that she was overly excited rather than repulsed.
"Lilith, that child must have suffered so much! Don't you feel sorry for that kid? The marriage has been postponed indefinitely, and it's obvious that she's anxious because a woman appears out of nowhere!"
"Then what should I have done? By marrying my brother's fiancee, are you saying I should have taken that woman?"
"Lucian!"
"You know that I can't be a double! A person who knows this better than anyone else is now appealing to sympathy?!"
"Then you should have behaved properly! Since you are Leopold's double, every single thing you do is directly related to Leopold's reputation. How dare you bring a woman into the imperial palace?!"
"..."
When Lucian paused, unable to continue speaking. Serena realized that she had made a mistake.
Isn't this literally treating Lucian as nothing more than Leopold's stand-in?
Lucian's eyes wavered for a moment, but then his face hardened coldly.
Now he knows how the Princess gained access to the imperial library.
"Are you doing it?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"I let people know that Leah was in the imperial library, and I deliberately subdued security so that the Princess could enter the library. Isn't this all planned by Your Majesty?"
The night the library incident occurred. As Lucian investigated Lilith's helpers, he became convinced that there was another helper within the imperial family.
Even if the servants may be tempted by money, the imperial palace guards select knights who are only loyal to the imperial family, including Dio. But they fall for the trick of just a Princess?
It would be more reasonable to have another helper within the imperial family.
In fact, he received information that the knight in question had previously served as Serena's escort knight.
And now, Serena defended Lilith by overreacting, which was noticeably different from before. There was no other way to explain her actions now other than that she helped Lilith.
"Do you know what you just did?"
Serena clenched her fists as she heard a low, life-threatening sound.
"Something big could have happened to Leah. She is the person I love. I later left everything to my older brother, and when I was free, I said she was the kind of woman I wanted to start a family with. But now... You put my woman in danger."
"Nothing happened! And Lilith isn't that vicious. She just said she wanted to talk at least once, so for a moment...Ah!"
Serena, who was hastily making excuses, covered her mouth. Lucian, could not hide his disappointment. Serena didn't know what to do when she saw her second son sighing deeply with a stiff face.
"It's done. If I talk any longer, my mouth will hurt."
"Lucian!"
"No matter what Your Majesty says. I will break off the engagement. Know that."
Serena was quite shocked when she saw Lucian not even listening to what she was saying. She chewed her lip and then turned around.
"Still, you won't be able to break off the engagement as you wish. If I don't understand the child who will succeed me, who will?"
"Yes, let's do whatever we want."
When the cool gaze returned, Serena's eyes turned red and she hurried out of the room. The door closed and a heavy silence filled the room.
"Ha... Are you planning to break off the engagement?"
Ruber, who had observed the situation in silence until now, opened his mouth.
Unlike Serena, Ruber looked calm the whole time. Lucian looked at him for a moment and then took a seat across from him.
"The Princess knows my identity."
Ruber's hand trembled.
"She clearly knew who I was, but she urged me to get married and approached my woman. This is for me, but it's also for my fallen brother."
Ruber's eyes shook as if he was in quite a big shock. Lucian sighed when he saw that.
"Yes, you won't believe it. You don't have to believe it. But, I actually..."
"No, I believe it."
Lucian froze at Ruber's next words.
"After listening to you, I understand why Duke Sevans behaved so strangely."
"Duke Sevans... What do you mean?"
"Yes, the marriage story that came up during your succession ceremony to the throne was actually not agreed upon in advance. It was just that one day, the Duke brought up the topic of marriage with an urgent look on his face."
'They were planning to get married sooner or later anyway. I think we should do it a little earlier. Considering the period of engagement, it's not that strange.'
"I was suspicious of him bringing up the topic of marriage even though he knew your identity, but I heard later that the Princess had been fasting for a week. If she doesn't go ahead with the marriage, she will starve to death like this. Perhaps the Duke said that to save his daughter."
"Her......"
Lucian never imagined something like that would happen. At that time, he just didn't like the fact that Lilith pushed him to get married even after knowing his identity.
"Even using such a petty method..."
When Lucian thought of Leopold lying down, his blood rushed to his stomach. Seeing Lucian shaking with anger, Ruber opened his mouth.
"Why are we talking about it now when we wouldn't have argued if we had said it a long time ago?"
If he had said this before arguing with Serena, Serena wouldn't have been so angry and the two wouldn't have had a big fight.
Lucian pursed his lips and then smiled.
"Would you believe me if I told you? She is a person who loves the Princess more than her children."
Although his tone was sarcastic, Ruber calmly looked at Lucian.
"Yes, that's considerate of you."
"...No"
But, Serena would not have been easily convinced.
"You might get seriously hurt."
Serena is very affectionate. The reason she helped Lilith may have been because she empathized with her emotions.
However, Serena would be heartbroken if she found out that the child she cared for and helped so much ended up leaving behind her first son, who had been her long-time fiancé, and clinging to her second son.
Lucian knew that well, so he deliberately didn't say it in front of Serena.
'....I thought she just hated me, but it turned out that wasn't the case.'
"I said definitely no. I just didn't want things to get complicated."
It was quite funny that he was on guard like a wild cat when his true intentions were already revealed. When Ruber stopped laughing, Lucian frowned at him as if he was offended.
"Like you said, maybe it would be better to break off the engagement. Even though she knew everything, by choosing you over Leopold, that child has already crossed a river that he should not have crossed. I will convince Serena."
Lucian looked at Ruber in silence.
The sight of his father believing and following his words without any doubt was very unfamiliar to Lucian.
Comments
Post a Comment