CHAPTER 330: HE GAVE TOO MUCH

Hearing Viktor's words, Count Laurien's face darkened.

"I didn't expect Mr. Viktor to know about this so soon after arriving in the kingdom."

Count Laurien's voice was filled with bitterness as he let out a soft sigh, his expression showing helplessness.

Within the Kanter Kingdom, Count Laurien's tragic circumstances were no longer a secret. Whether nobles of high status or commoners of simple virtue, everyone knew his painful story.

His wife had gone mad, and his daughter was dead.

What made it even more tragic was that his deceased daughter was killed by his insane wife. Pricis's mother had killed her with her own hands.

Because his wife had descended into madness, Count Laurien imprisoned her in a hidden room in the castle and posted warning signs forbidding entry, to prevent her from escaping and harming the people in his domain. He set up extremely powerful magical barriers around the room to prevent his deranged wife from breaking free.

After taking these measures, the Count fell into boundless despair. Having to restrain his own wife was like tearing open his own deep wounds, causing him unbearable pain.

However, despite making such a painful decision, Count Laurien had not given up on his wife. He personally took charge of her daily food supplies and seasonal clothing changes. Only this Count, with his powerful abilities, could avoid being killed by his deranged wife.

His deep devotion became widely known among the common people. It made many understand that Count Laurien was an extremely devoted husband. Even though his wife had gone mad, he still personally cared for her. This unwavering attitude deeply moved people.

Thus, Count Laurien came to be known as the "Rose-Embracing Count of Deep Love."

In his family, there was also a daughter. His daughter was very beautiful, sensible and well-behaved. Those who had seen her were generous with their praise, sincerely complimenting Pricis's perfection. Count Laurien also felt comforted to have such a daughter. He regarded his daughter as his most noble pride, even more precious than his noble title.

Count Laurien cared for his deranged wife day after day with utmost attention. But even the tightest security has its gaps.

One day, he had to attend a banquet that required the presence of various local lords. Being away all day, he didn't realize what a terrible price this absence would cost him.

That night, when he returned home and searched every room, he couldn't find Pricis anywhere. Finally, he pushed open that sealed door, along with his shattered dreams.

What met his eyes was the scene of his daughter disemboweled. The corpse's eyes were wide open, limbs hanging on the floor as if twisted off, arranged in a grotesquely broken position on the blood-stained carpet. The food his daughter had brought for her mother was scattered everywhere, like her final kindness and care brutally torn apart by a loved one.

Seventeen-year-old Pricis's life was forever frozen at that age.

A daughter, a wife. Fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come alone. These tragic circumstances all befell Count Laurien. Both were his beloved ones. Count Laurien couldn't give up either of them.

In extreme anguish, he sought help from the most respected Grand Duke of the Kanter Kingdom.

At this point, Count Laurien asked Viktor: "Mr. Viktor, as a mage, are you familiar with the profession of Necromancer?"

Viktor sat up slightly straighter and looked at Count Laurien, speaking in a calm voice. "Continue."

Seeming to find Viktor's reaction natural, Count Laurien continued without much change in expression. "Grand Duke Balo was the kingdom's last Necromancer."

The mages of the Kanter Kingdom generally had a peculiar trait. They disliked following conventions and practicing elemental magic, preferring instead to specialize in unusual fields and explore alternative paths. This resulted in very few powerful elemental mages appearing within the kingdom.

The kingdom warrior Chur that Viktor had previously encountered wanted to practice powerful black magic through player sacrifices, according to his backstory. The 'Evil Knight' shield that could reflect attacks, obtained from him, was equipment Chur had created through black magic.

Additionally, with warriors being more numerous in the kingdom, mages' status in the Kanter Kingdom was extremely suppressed.

In this country where mages were so rare, however, in the Kanter Kingdom's history, there appeared a group of mages who had mastered black magic. Led by Grand Duke Balo of the Kanter Kingdom, Necromancers emerged.

They could control corpses and departed souls, or directly summon spirits buried in the earth to fight for them. More powerful Necromancers could even invade human souls, directly annihilating enemies on a spiritual level.

But ultimately, all these belonged to branches of black magic. The evil nature of black magic was rarely recognized by orthodox mages and naturally wouldn't be acknowledged by the world's largest mage organization - the Mage Council. Manipulating corpses and spirits was simply a desecration of the dead.

So righteous mages naturally couldn't tolerate these mages who represented evil. But the power of Necromancers was also something ordinary mages couldn't match. Moreover, the Necromancers were backed by a massive country like the Kanter Kingdom.

The Council could only condemn the Necromancers' actions; beyond that, they had no better way to deal with these mages.

But gradually, unnoticed, as time passed, those Necromancers who had followed the Grand Duke of Kanter gradually disappeared. The only known living Necromancer was Grand Duke Balo of the Kanter Kingdom. He became the world's last Necromancer.

Even so, Grand Duke Balo publicly announced he would never again use this 'harmful' black magic.

Necromancers gradually disappeared from history, and many years have passed since then.

Viktor relaxed his body, leaning back slightly against the sofa's backrest.

Duke Festan, Festan Balo. He was a legend in the Kanter Kingdom, and also Princess Aurelianne's grandfather. Viktor naturally knew.

In the mid-game, mage players would unlock a new branch profession - Necromancer. To change to this profession, one needed to find the corresponding profession instructor. That is, Grand Duke Festan Balo.

However, becoming a Necromancer had extremely strict conditions.

As for what those conditions were...

Just as Viktor was lost in memories, Count Laurien spoke: "To save Pricis, I gave the Grand Duke ownership of my domain. Just so he would use necromancy again to resurrect my daughter."

Necromancers could bring back the souls of the dead to reality, and even use methods to resurrect departed spirits. Count Laurien knew this, which was why he wanted to seek help from Grand Duke Balo to resurrect his daughter.

But the Grand Duke had promised he would never again use necromancy to disturb those who had passed on to their eternal rest. So he only used ordinary black magic to keep Pricis's spirit in the mansion.

He only did this much, but the Count was already very grateful. However, consequently, Pricis couldn't take a single step outside the mansion. Moreover, she could only remember things from before she was seventeen. Her body was frozen at age seventeen, so she had no memory of being killed by her mother.

Count Laurien warned her not to look for her mother, not to let strangers see her body. Because she was a spirit, she had no legs, and she would frighten people. Even Pricis herself knew these things, so she always complied.

Except for one thing she couldn't do.

She loved her mother too much, and even though her mother had gone mad, she still thought her father had deliberately imprisoned her mother. She feared her mother would end her life in loneliness, and constantly wanted to break in to rescue her mother.

But her mother's room was sealed off by the Grand Duke's magic, and no one except Laurien could enter. So she wanted to ask a powerful mage to break through that barrier.

"As you've guessed, I deliberately let Pricis know you were a powerful mage, which is why she went to find you," Count Laurien raised his head, looking at Viktor with an extremely serious gaze. "This way, I would have reason to ask for your help."

Viktor narrowed his eyes, clasped his hands together with his elbows resting on his knees, looking at Count Laurien: "So, you want Princess Aurelianne to plead on your behalf."

Hearing Viktor's words, Count Laurien nodded in acknowledgment. Her Highness Aurelianne was Grand Duke Balo's granddaughter. With such a family connection, he hoped to have Aurelianne intercede for him, to get Grand Duke Balo to use his long-sealed necromancy.

"I hope the Grand Duke can resurrect Pricis. She should continue her life, not wander the mansion as a spirit day after day."

Viktor smiled and continued: "Then you should be looking for Aurelianne, not me. I have no connection to your Grand Duke."

Count Laurien seemed to have anticipated Viktor would say this. So he stood up, reached into his clothes as if searching for something. Finally, he extended his hand and opened it.

A golden light burst forth from his hand, illuminating the vast hall brilliantly. In Count Laurien's hand was a golden ear of wheat emanating light. Even the surrounding air seemed to become extremely fragrant due to the wheat's golden glow.

"Please accept this, Councilor Kravina."

Viktor raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at the golden wheat ear. Because at this moment, the name of this item appeared in Viktor's view.

[Goddess of Abundance's Wheat Ear]