Chapter 48: How to Use a Princess
“Why are you crying? It’s a good thing I put up a barrier, otherwise people would think I was bullying you.”
The shameless necromancer even feigned a surprised expression. He tucked the notebook back into his breast pocket and reached out to Helen, who flinched and retreated.
“I… I’m an Imperial Princess! You can’t insult me like this!” Princess Helen said, her face flushed, but her eyes firm in refusal. “I will never submit to your desires!”
“Ugh… Come on, it’s really nothing. I just need to borrow them for a bit. You won’t lose anything,” Abyss explained nonchalantly. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Borrow them! Not a big deal!” Helen had never been so humiliated. She could no longer maintain her princessly composure, tears streaming down her face, ruining her carefully applied makeup. “What do you take me for?!”
“The princess of the Western Empire, of course. I know exactly who you are, that’s why I came to you,” Abyss said.
“You’re shameless! You’re despicable! You black magic users, can’t you accumulate some virtue? Taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable position…”
“Don’t say that. There’s really no need to cry. You’ve ruined your makeup. How am I supposed to accumulate virtue…” Abyss, who had just made an incredibly shameless statement, now looked innocent, spreading his hands. “It’s just a small favor. It’ll take a day at most, a few hours at least.”
“Don’t you already have her?!” Helen suddenly pointed at Flora, who was sitting at another table, engrossed in her newly acquired card game. The accusation startled Flora, making her flinch.
“She can do it too, but I’d prefer a better, more natural process… And you’re the ideal candidate here in Golden Griffin City…”
“I’d rather die!” Helen said resolutely, clutching her chest protectively. “I’d rather die than suffer such humiliation at your hands!”
“There’s no need for you to die. Besides, the dead and the living are the same to me…”
“Can you two just explain what’s going on?” Leona, who had been watching from the side, couldn’t take it anymore. She glanced at them impatiently. “He’s talking about your Princess Insignia, the one you wear around your neck. You can use it to summon your personal guard.”
“Eh?” Helen, who had been ready to fight Abyss to the death, was stunned.
“Yeah, did you misunderstand something?” Abyss asked, scratching his head. “If so, I apologize… But I’m still a bit curious…”
“Don’t ask!” Leona glared at Abyss.
Helen finally calmed down. The Princess Insignia was a special accessory given to princesses, made of gold, mithril, and cat’s eye gemstone, with intricate magic circles engraved within. It was a tradition of the Mynian Empire. In the old Empire, the Emperor’s children were allowed to have a personal guard of up to a hundred soldiers. A princess’s guard was typically an all-female unit, directly under her command, responsible for her safety and possessing certain authority. As long as they didn’t violate the law or engage in political activities, they could command civilians to cooperate with their duties. After the Mynian Empire split, both the Western and Eastern Empires retained this system.
Although Helen held no official position or power, as a princess, she had her own personal guard of fifty soldiers. They were very loyal, but since Helen had no tasks for them, they spent their days training in their barracks, rarely venturing out on missions. If Helen activated the magic circle in her Insignia with her mana, her guard would receive the signal, locate her position, and rush to her side as quickly as possible, awaiting her orders.
“Why do you need my Princess Insignia? Do you need my guard to do something for you?” Helen asked Abyss, puzzled. Unfamiliar with necromancers, she couldn’t fathom his intentions.
Abyss untied a pouch from his waist and took out a small white bead. “I need your guard to distribute this to the commoners in the city, one per household. Of course, they don’t need to eat it. They just need to leave it in a corner of their house. Your guard needs to ensure that at least one-tenth of the households in the city receive this bead. I’ve already thought of a good reason. It’s a newly developed rodent repellent that can effectively reduce the rat population—and it actually does have some repellent effect.”
“I refuse,” Helen immediately replied. “You’re asking me to gamble with the safety of seven hundred thousand citizens in Golden Griffin City. I can’t allow a necromancer to casually distribute these things on a large scale.”
“I can guarantee that this bead poses no harm to your people. In fact, it’s beneficial to them,” Abyss said solemnly, extending his hand. “I, Abyss Belator, swear to the Nine Gods that I will never use this bead to directly or indirectly harm anyone.”
Oaths sworn with one’s true name were binding, and Helen knew this rule, but she was still apprehensive.
“Is Abyss Belator your true name?” she asked, frowning.
“Flora, cast a True Name spell on me,” Abyss said, not showing any impatience, beckoning to Flora.
Flora nodded and chanted a prayer softly. Soon, several glowing characters appeared on Abyss’s body, slowly rising and vanishing into the air.
The True Name spell was a common Divine Art used to verify a person’s true name after they took an oath. If they had used a false name, there would be no reaction. If they had used their true name, a string of magical characters would appear—written in “Holy Script,” the special language used by the Church for scriptures, official documents, and Divine Arts prayers. The meaning of the characters was “Oath Valid.”
Helen was finally relieved, but she still asked, “Then what exactly are you planning to do?”
“I need your guard to use their authority to ensure the cooperation of the people in constructing a protective magic circle,” Abyss said seriously. “I’m not lying, but I can’t reveal any more than that.”
“…Alright!” Helen said after a moment of thought, biting her lip.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have agreed to Abyss’s request. No one could order a princess to use her personal guard as laborers. But things were different now. Helen desperately wanted to use this money to prove that her idea was truly beneficial to the Empire and its people. Yesterday’s failure had made her crave success more than ever. After feeling so powerless, Abyss seemed like a lifeline.
“Then I’ll start helping you too,” Abyss said, putting the pouch of beads back on the table and clapping his hands. “Come out, my friends.”
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