Chapter 49: The Little Secrets of Nobles
As Abyss finished speaking, wisps of smoke materialized beside him and Helen. Accompanied by faint whispers and rustling sounds, several figures gradually condensed from the smoke, kneeling respectfully before them.
Helen was startled by the sudden appearance of these figures. She instinctively grabbed Abyss’s hand. “Who are they?”
Abyss glanced at his hand held by Helen, then at Leona’s disapproving expression and Flora’s hesitant demeanor. He subtly withdrew his hand and replied, “You might recognize some of them. They’re all on our side now. Take a closer look, there’s no need to be nervous.”
Helen scrutinized their faces, her eyes widening in recognition as she saw an older face. “General Gick?” she exclaimed in surprise.
“Your Highness, at your service,” the old man, addressed as General Gick, responded immediately. His voice echoed as if coming from a long tunnel.
“You… Didn’t you pass away last year?” As soon as Helen spoke, she remembered that the boy sitting beside her, his hand slightly cold, was a necromancer who specialized in dealing with the dead.
“Indeed, I passed away. It was Master Abyss who summoned me. Now I serve both Master Abyss and Your Highness,” General Gick said calmly, his head bowed respectfully. “I and the others will assist Your Highness in your plan these next few days and help you achieve your goals.”
“Why did you summon these deceased?” Helen asked, looking at Abyss with a complicated expression. “You’re not planning to use them to fight for me, are you? I don’t want…”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t order the undead to kill indiscriminately,” Abyss shook his head. “These are just representatives of the ghosts I summoned today. There are about a hundred more who aren’t present. They will all contribute to fulfilling your plan.”
Helen tilted her head, still confused.
Leona and Flora, playing cards nearby, didn’t interrupt. They had accompanied Abyss into the city at dawn and had been busy all morning. Initially, they didn’t understand why Abyss had suddenly summoned so many ghosts in the city. He had only told them that he planned to help Princess Helen, and she would help him in return.
They didn’t understand the specifics at the time, but now it was crystal clear.
“Do you know one major advantage ghosts have over the living?” Abyss asked, gesturing dramatically towards the ghosts kneeling in a neat row before him and Helen. “Many ghosts know things that the living don’t, or aren’t supposed to know.”
“Information? What kind of information?” Helen asked, her beautiful eyes wide with curiosity.
“These ghosts are either victims of murder or trusted subordinates of certain nobles. They hold incriminating evidence against almost every noble and minister in Golden Griffin City—of course, there are a few who are truly virtuous and have no skeletons in their closet, but such individuals are rare,” Abyss said with a smile. “If you use this evidence to threaten a few key figures, the balance of power will quickly shift in your favor.”
Helen hesitated. “Isn’t that a bit… underhanded?”
“If you were threatening their safety or their families, it would be considered underhanded,” Abyss said, taking a sip of his drink. “But I believe using the truth as leverage isn’t necessarily underhanded. It’s more like… hmm, destiny. Every action has consequences. I am their retribution. General Gick, perhaps you could share your story with the princess.”
“Of course,” General Gick replied immediately. “Your Highness, take my own case, for instance. Do you recall my son, Bert?”
“General Bert succeeded you after your passing. He’s a prominent figure in the court now,” Helen nodded.
“Inheriting my position wasn’t easy. I have five sons. For Bert to stand out among his brothers and become my successor, he needed to prove himself with significant military achievements,” General Gick said, his tone somber. “During the war with the Kingdom of Ossi five years ago, all my sons led their troops on the front lines. Bert had the most impressive record, slaying countless enemies. Therefore, after the war, I recommended him as my successor to His Majesty, and the Emperor, after consulting with the Empress Dowager, readily agreed.”
Helen shifted in her seat, sensing that a bombshell was about to drop.
“But last year, the year I passed away, I noticed some discrepancies in Bert’s achievements and suspected they were fabricated. My subsequent investigation confirmed my suspicions,” General Gick said, his brow furrowed. “He didn’t just kill enemy soldiers in Ossi. He massacred countless elderly, women, and children to inflate his numbers. The Imperial Army has a strict code against harming unarmed civilians, but he disregarded it for personal gain, covering up his crimes, deceiving everyone, even me.”
“What?!” Helen gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
War was cruel, and lives were inevitably lost, but the Western Empire’s army had an inviolable rule: never harm unarmed civilians, never kill the elderly, children, women, or surrendering prisoners. General Bert’s actions were unconscionable, yet he had become a general through them.
“After discovering this, I decided to revoke his inheritance and confronted him, reprimanding him and forbidding him from ever serving in the military again. But that ungrateful son, that same night, somehow found a plague mage and cursed me during our meeting. I was caught off guard, immediately fell ill, and soon succumbed to the disease,” General Gick recounted, his voice devoid of emotion, a calmness born of profound disappointment.
“Is this information useful enough?” Abyss asked with a smile. “My hundred or so ghost friends, almost all of them have similar stories to tell. If you want to hear them all, it’ll take quite a while. The nobles of the Western Empire aren’t all fools, but most of them aren’t as righteous as they appear. In their pursuit of fame and fortune, they’ve committed many misdeeds, but the only ones who hold the evidence are the dead.”
“General Bert, praised for his bravery and skill, is actually this kind of person…” Helen said, her expression pained. “I… I used to admire him…”
“Is this evidence enough to sway them to your side?” Abyss asked with a smile. “And after you’ve used them, if you find some of them truly morally reprehensible, you can always replace them. Like General Bert, for example.”
“I recommend my third son, Reynard. If we disregard the fabricated achievements, he’s the most capable and resourceful of my sons. And most importantly, he’s patriotic and upholds the knightly virtues,” General Gick added.
“You… You’re truly a black magic user…” Helen stared at Abyss, speechless.
A mix of nervousness, excitement, and a sense of unavoidable responsibility filled her heart, making it pound in her chest.
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