This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

"Why do you want me to use the princess's golden emblem? Is there something you need my personal guard to do?" Helen looked at the Abyss curiously. She was unfamiliar with dark magicians and, of course, had no way of knowing what the Abyss was thinking.

Abis untied a pouch from his waist and took out a small white bead. "I need your personal guard to distribute this to the common people in the city, by household. Of course, not to make them eat it. Just throw it in a corner of a room. Your personal guard must ensure that at least one-tenth of the households in the city receive it. I've already thought of a name for it: a newly developed rat-repelling device that can effectively reduce the appearance of rats—and it does have a certain rat-repelling effect."

“I refuse,” Helen replied immediately. “You’re asking me to gamble with the safety of the 700,000 people in Golden Griffin City. I can’t allow a dark mage to casually deploy these things on such a large scale in the city.”

“I can guarantee that this thing will not cause any harm to your people, and may even be beneficial to them.” Abyss solemnly extended his hand. “I, Abyss Bellator, swear to the Nine Gods that I will never use this bead, directly or indirectly, to do anything that endangers the safety of the people.”

Swearing an oath with one's real name has strong binding force, and Helen knew this rule, but she was still uneasy.

"Is Abyss Bellator your real name?" she asked, frowning.

"Flora, cast a True Name spell on me." Abyss wasn't in a hurry and beckoned to Flora.

Flora nodded and softly recited a prayer. Soon, several glowing characters appeared on the Abyss's body, slowly rising and disappearing into the air.

The True Name Spell is a common divine spell. Its purpose is to verify a person's true name after they have sworn an oath. If they swore an oath using a false name, there will be no reaction. However, if they swore an oath using their true name, a string of magical text will appear. This is the "Holy Word," a special language used by the Vatican to write scriptures, draft official documents, and perform prayer spells. Its meaning is "the oath is valid."

Helen was relieved, but she still pressed on, "So what exactly are you planning to do?"

“I need your personal guard to use their authority to get the people to cooperate and build a protective magic circle,” Abyss said earnestly. “I’m not lying, but this is all I can reveal.”

“…Okay!” Helen bit her lower lip and thought for a moment before answering.

Normally, she would never have agreed to the Abyss's request; no one could order a princess to use her personal guard as laborers. But now it was different. Helen desperately wanted to use this money to prove that her ideas were indeed beneficial to the empire and the people. Yesterday's defeat made her yearn for success more intensely than ever before. After yesterday's sense of powerlessness, the Abyss seemed like her lifeline.

“Then I’ll start helping you.” Abyss put the bead back in his pocket, placed the pocket on the table, and clapped his hands. “Come on out, friends.”

P.S.: My wrist is very sore, so my typing is slow. Please understand.

It hurts so much! I can't type anymore if this keeps up.

I'm going to slack off... Oh, I haven't slacked off yet, there'll be another update in a bit.

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Nobles' Little Secrets

As soon as Abyss finished speaking, several wisps of smoke appeared out of thin air, swirling around him and Helen. With faint whooshing and whispering sounds, several figures slowly condensed from the smoke, kneeling respectfully on one knee before Abyss and Helen.

Helen was startled by the sudden appearance of these people, and she instinctively grabbed Abyss's hand: "Who are they?"

Abyss glanced at his hand, which Helen was holding, then at Leona's unfriendly expression and Flora's hesitant expression, and calmly withdrew his hand, replying, "You should recognize some of them. They're all on our side now. Take a good look around. Don't be nervous."

Helen scrutinized the faces of the men with some skepticism. When she saw one of the older faces, she paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "General Jik?"

“Your Highness, this old minister is here,” the old man known as General Jike replied immediately. His voice seemed to come through a long pipe, carrying a deep echo.

"You...you didn't die last year?" Helen had barely uttered those words when she remembered that the boy sitting next to her with slightly cold hands seemed to be a necromancer who dealt with the dead.

“I have indeed passed away. It was Lord Abyss who summoned me. Now I serve Lord Abyss and also Your Highness.” General Zeke solemnly bowed his head and said calmly, “I and the others will work with Your Highness in the next few days to help you achieve your wish.”

"Why are you summoning these dead?" Helen looked at Abyss's face with a complicated expression. "You don't mean to manipulate the undead to fight for me, do you? I don't want that..."

“Of course it’s not about fighting. I won’t order the undead to kill people randomly.” Abyss shook his head. “These few are just representatives of the ghosts I summoned today. There are about a hundred more who haven’t appeared yet. All of them will do their part to help you achieve your goal.”

Helen tilted her head; she still didn't understand.

Leona and Flora, who were playing cards nearby, didn't interrupt at this time. They had accompanied the Abyss to the city since sunrise and had been busy all morning. At first, they didn't understand why the Abyss suddenly wanted to summon so many ghosts in the city. The Abyss told them that he planned to help Princess Helen.

They didn't understand it at the time, but now they understand it perfectly.

"Do you know one of the biggest advantages that ghosts have over the living?" Abyss asked mysteriously, pointing to the ghosts kneeling in a neat row in front of him and Helen. "That is that many ghosts know information that the living do not know, or cannot know."

"Intelligence? What kind of intelligence?" Helen blinked her beautiful eyes.

“These ghosts are either victims or trusted subordinates of certain nobles. They have dirt on almost all the nobles and ministers of Golden Griffin City—of course, there are also a few who are truly virtuous and have no scandals, but such people are a very small minority,” Abyss laughed. “If you use this dirt to threaten a few important figures, the scales of victory will quickly tip in your favor.”

Helen hesitated, "Isn't this a bit despicable...?"

“If you’re using their safety, their families as leverage to threaten them, that’s certainly despicable,” Abis said lazily, taking a sip of his drink. “But I think if you’re just threatening them with revealing the truth, it’s not really despicable. It’s more like… well, fate. Every cause has its effect, and their retribution is me. Mr. Zeke, you can tell the princess your own story.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” General Jike replied immediately. “May I ask about my own situation? Does Your Highness recall my son, Bet?”

“General Beth succeeded you as general after your death and is now a very influential figure in the court.” Helen nodded.

“Succession to my position is no easy task. I have five sons, and if Beth wants to stand out from his brothers and become my successor, he must establish sufficient military achievements to prove his strength.” General Jike’s tone became heavy. “Five years ago, in our war with the Kingdom of Osi, my sons all led their own armies to the front lines. Among them, Beth achieved the best results, killing countless enemies. Therefore, after the war, I recommended him to His Majesty as my successor, and the Emperor, after consulting with the Empress Dowager, gladly agreed.”

Helen adjusted her posture slightly. She realized that some major news was about to break.

“But last year, the year I died, I discovered from some details that Bet’s war achievements were actually fabricated, and the subsequent investigation confirmed my suspicions.” General Zeke frowned. “In the Kingdom of Osi, he not only killed enemy soldiers, but also slaughtered a large number of the elderly, women and children to make up the numbers. The Imperial Army has a discipline of not killing civilians who do not resist, but in order to gain war achievements, he manipulated things to cover up his crimes, cheated the truth, and even deceived me.”

"This!?" Helen covered her mouth.

War is cruel, and people always die, but the Western Empire's army had an inviolable bottom line: never kill the unarmed, never kill the elderly, children, or women, and never kill prisoners who offered no resistance. General Beth's actions defied all moral principles and were utterly immoral, yet he became a general because of it.

"After I discovered this, I decided to revoke his inheritance. I found him, reprimanded him, and told him he was forbidden from joining the army. That very night, this rebellious son somehow found a plague mage who cursed me when he came to see me. I was caught off guard and immediately fell seriously ill and lost consciousness. I died not long after." General Jike recounted these events as if telling someone else's story, but Helen could tell that this calmness only came after extreme disappointment.

"Is this information useful enough?" Abyss asked with a smile. "Almost every one of my hundred or so undead friends has a story like this to tell. If you were to listen to them all, it would take quite a while. The nobles of the Western Empire are not all fools, but most of them are not as upright as they appear on the surface. They have many weaknesses in their pursuit of fame and fortune, but those who hold these weaknesses are all dead."

"General Beth, praised for his bravery and skill in battle, turned out to be this kind of person..." Helen's expression turned sad. "I...I used to admire him..."

"Are these incriminating facts enough to get them on your side?" Abis smiled. "And after you've used them, if some of them really don't meet your standards, you can replace them, like General Beth."

“This old minister recommends my third son, Leonard. If we disregard the fabricated military achievements, he is the bravest and most resourceful of my sons. Most importantly, he is devoted to serving his country and upholds the virtues of chivalry,” General Zeke echoed.

“You…you truly are a dark sorcerer…” Helen stared blankly at the Abyss.

A sense of tension, excitement, and an inescapable sense of mission filled Helen's heart, making it pound.

Chapter Fifty: The Princess's First Time

For the first eighteen years of Princess Helen's life, constant learning occupied an absolutely dominant place. She learned various arts and cultural knowledge, the most standard court etiquette, and all sorts of interpersonal skills. The purpose of this education was also very clear: to make her a perfect wife coveted by the nobles of the entire continent, so that she could later be used as one of the most valuable diplomatic bargaining chips to exchange for benefits or peace.

She had never been exposed to the skills of competing with others. As a noble princess of the Western Empire, she didn't even need to think about how to compete with other beauties for the emperor's favor in the harem, because no one was more beautiful or more talented than her.

Therefore, her skills in poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, chess, and other arts are now unmatched by most noblewomen, and her understanding of various cultures is even comparable to that of some young scholars. However, when faced with yesterday's situation, she was like an ignorant commoner girl, unable to come up with any solution.

The Abyss, however, pointed her in a direction when she was almost completely disheartened. She never imagined that her allies for her first major undertaking would be a group of people who were already dead.

"This isn't a conspiracy, this isn't a conspiracy," she silently repeated to herself as she stepped down from the princess's magnificent carriage.

Indeed, the Abyss wasn't one for intrigue. He had compiled a thorough investigation into the corruption of all the nobles in Golden Griffin City and given it to Helen, so she could legitimately demand their support. The Abyss told her that since she believed what she was about to do was better than the nobles' foolish and selfish ideas, she should just do it openly. Helen was deeply impressed by the Abyss's decisive nature.

"Your Highness, we have arrived at General Beth's residence," the servant reported respectfully, while two accompanying guards stood tall beside the carriage.

Princess Helen now possesses evidence of illegal activities from twenty influential nobles. The remaining evidence has been compiled into a book by Abyss's undead under his command, sealed away, and safely hidden in the princess's own residence.

In return, she ordered her personal guard to distribute the beads provided by the Abyss to the city's residents within three days. The rat infestation in Golden Griffin City was indeed quite severe, and the people, hearing that these things could reduce the frequency of rat appearances, were very willing to receive them. They didn't even need the personal guard to knock on doors; they would run out to collect them themselves, so the distribution process went relatively smoothly.

After doing all this, Helen dressed herself up, put on a gorgeous gown befitting a princess, and first extended a request to General Beth to come and visit. After receiving a response, she went directly to General Beth's residence by carriage.

General Beth was already standing at the gate of the mansion. When he saw Princess Helen get out of the carriage, he greeted her warmly: "Your Highness, my dear princess, your presence is a great honor to my humble abode. I have ordered the servants to prepare the finest tea and refreshments, and we are just waiting for you to come and chat with me."

Princess Helen's strict etiquette training kept her expression elegant and reserved, concealing her nervousness. She smiled slightly, nodded gently to General Beth, and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, General Beth. I very much hope to have a talk with you."

General Beth smiled and welcomed the princess into his mansion, but inwardly he was muttering to himself.

Why would a princess need to meet with a subject in a private capacity? Especially this naive Princess Helen, who might be seeking my assistance.

That was absolutely impossible. General Beth himself desperately wanted the money used for his own army. Beth's exact title was Grand General, meaning a general with the highest power below the emperor. There were three generals in the Western Empire who held this title, and none of them were incompetent; they were constantly vying for power. If Beth could use the large sum of money embezzled by the Empress Dowager to build his own army, making it the emperor's most capable force, it would likely keep the other two Grand Generals in line for a long time. At that point, things like revitalizing their families and enriching themselves would be irrelevant.

To use that money to please a princess who is merely beautiful? That's utterly absurd. Beth also enjoys women, but not to the point of giving up such an important opportunity to please a mere illusion.

Surrounded by servants and guards, Helen and General Beth entered the most luxurious building in the general's mansion and entered the magnificent drawing room. Delicious refreshments were already laid out on the table, and servants, having prepared tea in ornate silverware as the princess entered, waited respectfully. The aroma of the tea wafted from the pot; it was a spiced tea popular in the upper echelons of the Western Empire, made with the finest tea leaves imported from the elven kingdoms. It was a clear sign of great respect for the princess.

“Your Highness, please have a seat.” General Beth personally pushed a chair towards Helen so that she could sit down gracefully.

“General Bate, please have a seat.” Helen said politely, and after watching General Bate sit down in the seat opposite her, she continued, “General, I am here to seek cooperation with you.”

"Oh? What kind of cooperation does Your Highness want?" Bette thought disdainfully, but her face remained enthusiastic.

"There seem to be too many servants in the reception room. It would be great if we had a quieter environment. What do you think, General Beth?" Helen glanced at the servants and guards around her and said politely.

General Beth smiled, looked at Helen for a moment, and then waved his hand: "Everyone, step back. I want to discuss this with Her Highness the Princess alone."

The servants and guards all acknowledged and left the room. After they had all left, General Beth shrugged: "Alright, now no one can hear our conversation."

“I want your support. I want to use the money confiscated from the Empress Dowager to hire physicians and alchemists to establish a Royal Medical Association to develop new drugs for the entire empire,” Princess Helen said bluntly.

"This...this is probably not possible. As the princess knows, we soldiers value the lives of our men very much, so..."

"Excuse me for interrupting you, but I have a condition that you cannot refuse," Princess Helen said, looking into Beth's eyes and trying to remain calm.

"Oh? This?" Bette was clearly intrigued, leaning forward slightly as he asked, "What does the princess mean by...?"

“Some things your father, General Jik, left behind are related to your previous battles in the Kingdom of Ossi,” Helen said.

General Bate's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Chapter Fifty-One: Could he be a novice?

Helen was somewhat prepared, but her heart still skipped a beat when she saw the murderous aura emanating from General Beth. The fireplace in the reception room burned with fine firewood, making the room warm, and a few beads of sweat trickled from the tip of Helen's nose.

“My father left so suddenly. I don’t know what he left behind. Could Your Highness please tell me?” Beth’s eyes were like a venomous snake, fixed on Helen’s face. General Beth had thick black hair and a shallow sword scar on the bridge of his nose. Although he was only in his thirties, his long experience on the battlefield had given him a natural aura. His appearance and his eyes matched, giving people a great sense of oppression.

"Regarding your military achievements... I think I don't need to say more, do I?" Helen knew that if she yielded and showed fear at this moment, she would only put herself in a more disadvantageous position, so she mustered her courage and revealed a threatening expression. "However, I have good news, which is that only I know about this matter at the moment."

Bate knew very well that he had indeed had the urge to kill for a moment.

In this reception room, he pierced the princess's beautiful chest with a single sword stroke, sealing this secret forever within her lips. Because this secret should never be known. The soldiers who carried out the mission years ago had long been used as cannon fodder, none of them returning alive after the war. Even the plague mage he had commissioned had been swiftly and cleanly disposed of. Furthermore, he had eliminated any intermediaries who might have leaked information, making his operation virtually flawless.

Back then, his father only became suspicious after accidentally seeing a small section of records his son had inadvertently left behind, and deduced the truth based on his understanding of him. He decisively executed the old man who should have long ago relinquished his position. Did he have another trick up his sleeve?

“Your Highness…you surprise me.” General Beth said to Helen with a stiff smile, “You weren’t like this before.”

“People change,” Helen said. “General Bate, would my offer be enough to make you my ally?”

“I did not do it,” General Bet said firmly. “My military achievements are all genuine. You cannot make such a claim without providing evidence. Your Highness, although you are of noble status, you cannot falsely accuse a loyal subject without any proof.”

He certainly couldn't just admit to his past. If he did, he would be stripped of his official position and title, banished from Golden Griffin City, and forever reduced to a toiler in the fields. Moreover, if the emperor believed he had deceived him, he might even lose his head!