The moment Viktor saw the golden wheat stalk, Vega, perched on his shoulder, also stopped moving as it sensed a familiar aura. Its single eye stared fixedly at the golden artifact. "Viktor, this is quite a treasure," the crow whispered in his ear, yet Viktor's expression remained unchanged. Seeing Viktor's calm demeanor, Count Laurien held up the golden wheat stalk and said with a smile, "Please rest assured, Councilor Viktor. This is absolutely genuine." Not like the fake ones hanging in the outer fields, nor the divine artifacts made by believers that only last for a year. This was a true divine object. As long as it existed, it would ensure bountiful harvests in the domain's farms year after year. Viktor observed this and said coolly, "Count Laurien. What exactly do you mean by this?" Hearing Viktor's words, Count Laurien placed the wheat stalk on the table. Then, as if relieved of a great burden, he spoke to Viktor: "Because I allowed the followers of the Goddess of Abundance to stay in my domain and spread their teachings. These pitifully few believers gave me what they claim to be the last divine artifact left by their goddess." Although the kingdom didn't prohibit the spread of church and divine faiths, most lords wouldn't allow these believers to settle in their domains. After all, doing so would largely diminish their governing authority over their territories. If everyone worshipped deities, who would still care about a mere lord? Count Laurien was one of the few lords who allowed churches to settle and spread their teachings. Just as he said, these believers were truly pitiful. The entire Church of the Goddess of Abundance had fewer than two thousand faithful members. They even had to sell divine artifacts left by their goddess to maintain the church's existence. If this continued, once this generation passed away, the teachings of the Goddess of Abundance would likely be completely forgotten from this world. Viktor was well aware of this. Due to the successive disappearance of gods, only the last Goddess of Justice remained in the world. At that time, most divine believers thought their gods had abandoned them. So more people turned to worship the Goddess of Justice. Only a few still persisted in their now virtually extinct divine sects. Although in the end, even the Goddess of Justice became disappointed with humanity and chose to leave, her church remained dominant, spawning countless zealous believers. Compared to the followers of the Goddess of Justice, all other divine believers combined couldn't match even one-tenth of her followers. At this moment, Count Laurien bowed deeply to Viktor. "Having both you and Princess Aurelianne visit the Kingdom of Kante is my only chance. I know the Mage Council is competing with the Justice Church for divine legitimacy, so you might need this. I just ask for your help." Given the Mage Council's principles... Viktor's expression remained calm, but in the next moment, his gaze fell on the wheat stalk. Magical power flowed out, wrapping around the golden wheat stalk. The next second, the wheat stalk seemed to be crushed and enveloped by the magical power, transforming into points of golden starlight that gradually disappeared. Seeing the wheat stalk vanish into thin air, Count Laurien breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Viktor had accepted this gift. And this meant Viktor had agreed to his request. Sure enough, after a while, Viktor raised his head and looked at Count Laurien again. "I can consider it, but I want you to tell me. Since Pricis has become a ghost, why do you still prevent her from meeting her mother?" "Because..." Before Laurien could finish, Viktor interrupted him: "Tell me the truth." Viktor's obsidian-like bright eyes flickered with profound light, as if he had already seen through everything: "You can't deceive my eyes." Count Laurien silently gazed for a moment, took a deep breath, and finally spoke: "I..." The next morning, dawn gradually reddened the horizon, its light spilling over the broad avenues of the Kingdom of Kante and the carriages traveling within them. Aurelianne woke up alongside Gwen in the morning. Somehow, she had fallen asleep in Gwen's bed last night. She recalled waiting in Viktor's room for him to return. She had sat on the bed, waiting and waiting, until she'd fallen asleep. Thus, she ended up spending the night with Gwen. Although Gwen showed no reaction when they woke up, Aurelianne felt somewhat embarrassed. Along with the embarrassment came a sense of security. After all, sleeping with Gwen meant she didn't have to worry about the mansion being haunted. And... thinking back on it, Aurelianne found it quite enjoyable. She remembered Gwen's natural fragrance, like white roses in full bloom. No wonder so many people were fond of her. However, she owed Vanilla an apology. The poor cat-girl had been terrified in the morning, thinking Aurelianne had been taken by ghosts, and her eyes were still red and swollen. When they met up with the convoy in the morning, Aurelianne had to spend quite some time comforting her. After a night's sleep, Aurelianne had recovered some of her spirit. Having discussed today's arrangements with Count Laurien, they were scheduled to visit the King of Kante. When she returned, she saw Viktor by the carriage, casually playing with a golden wheat stalk in his hand. Aurelianne drew closer, asking curiously, "Teacher, is that a gift from Count Laurien?" Viktor nodded, his expression as impassive as ever. "Mm, you could say that." He placed the wheat stalk on his shoulder, passing it to Vega. The crow took the golden wheat stalk in its beak, holding it carefully. Then, Viktor turned to look at Aurelianne: "Are you still afraid?" Hearing this, Aurelianne's body trembled slightly, reminded of yesterday's encounter with Pricis. Although Viktor had explained Count Laurien's tragic circumstances and why Pricis's ghost haunted the mansion, she still felt uncomfortable around such undead beings. She really wasn't good at dealing with these lifeless things. "I see," Viktor said, and spoke no more. Today, Count Laurien wouldn't be riding in the same carriage with them, as he needed to lead the way from the front. The convoy began moving with the rising sun. The carriages traveled over the cobblestone road, wheels making crisp sounds alongside the horse hooves, while bells tinkled inside the carriages. The sun lingered long in the sky, but urged on by the star-studded night, it eventually set behind the western mountains. Until nightfall... This was the royal city of the Kingdom of Kante. It stood like a sharp iron arm, with three massive stone pillars supporting an enormous complex of buildings, the huge royal city completely covered in steel. As people set foot on this land, an atmosphere of solemnity immediately seized their hearts. Tall steel structures with windows of varying depths emitted phosphorescent light, while ravine-like sharp protrusions were scattered around the entire castle. The three massive stone pillars rose simultaneously, forcefully supporting the enormous castle. As soon as the convoy entered, the sounds reaching everyone's ears changed. The crisp carriage wheel sounds echoed into deep, rhythmic tones. At the entrance to the royal city, countless soldiers in heavy armor had long been waiting. They stood firm as iron, smoke curling from their mouths, clad in black iron armor, taking heavy steps as they escorted the convoy deep into the castle. Even passersby stopped to watch the procession led by the luxurious convoy. Under the gaze of the crowd, the convoy rolled over the neat stone-brick road, arriving before the dark steel castle. On both sides of the castle stood two rows of ministers wearing lead-colored robes, respectfully waiting in place for the carriages' arrival. They all wore varying numbers of star badges on their chests. Each star represented one noble rank. Two-star and three-star viscounts and counts stood at the end of the line, while the few four-star marquises stood at the front of the formation, their expressions solemn and respectful. Everyone wore various styles of swords at their waists, emanating the coldness of steel. As the carriages gradually came to a stop before the castle, Count Laurien stepped down first from the front carriage. As soon as he alighted, he went to the carriage behind and respectfully helped its two occupants descend. Viktor, wearing his black coat, stepped down first. His cold demeanor perfectly matched the heaviness of the surroundings. Then he turned and extended his hand toward the carriage compartment. From within, a jade-like hand rested in Viktor's. With Viktor's steady support, Aurelianne emerged gracefully from the carriage compartment and elegantly stepped down. Behind them, twelve distinguished diplomatic ministers also descended from the following carriages. The Empire's delegation was complete. As for the Kingdom's side... At some point, the gazes of the nobles in the surrounding formation suddenly turned toward the black castle's main gate. There, beneath the black castle gates, walked out an elderly man leaning on an ornate cane. With each of his steady steps, the bottom of his cane touched the stone-brick road, producing clear and weighty echoes. This elderly man looked almost indistinguishable from other nobles in his lead-colored robe, his slightly bent back revealing the traces of age. However, the light flickering in his sharp and profound eyes seemed capable of perceiving everything, making one feel as though no secrets could be hidden from him. On his chest, five golden star badges appeared understated yet noble. At this point, even the Empire's diplomatic ministers realized. In the entire kingdom, only one person wore five stars. At this moment, everyone's attention fell on this Grand Duke. The noble aura he emanated made his hunched figure seem shrouded in a mysterious light, appearing both awe-inspiring and unreachable. He gave a slight bow to the arriving visitors. Then, his gaze fell upon Aurelianne and Viktor. Follow current novels on novel fire.net "Our honored guests from afar." His voice was deep as if penetrating to the heart, its meaning unfathomable. "We have been awaiting you." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /BZDXG - Unlock a HUGE stash of advance chapters now! Dive deeper into the story ahead of everyone else!