The moment he saw the golden wheat, Vega on Viktor's shoulder suddenly stopped moving, as if it had sensed a familiar aura.
Its single eye stared straight at the golden wheat.
"Viktor, this is a good thing."
The crow's voice came from beside his ear, yet Viktor's expression did not change at all.
Seeing Viktor's calm face, Count Laurien held the golden wheat and said with a smile, "Please rest assured, Councilor Viktor."
"This is absolutely genuine."
It was not the fake things hanging in farmland outside, nor the divine power creations made by believers that could only be used for one year.
This was a true divine object.
As long as it existed, it could guarantee that the farms in the territory would be fertile every year.
Seeing this, Viktor said calmly, "Count Laurien."
"What do you mean by this?"
Hearing Viktor's words, Count Laurien placed the wheat on the table.
Then, as if a great burden had been lifted from him, he spoke to Viktor.
"Because I allowed the followers of the Goddess of Abundance to stay in my territory and spread the teachings of their goddess."
"These pitiful believers, whose numbers are so few, gave me what is said to be the last divine relic left by their goddess."
Although the kingdom did not forbid the spread of churches and faith in gods, ordinary lords generally would not allow these believers to settle within their territories.
After all, doing so would weaken their authority over the land to a large extent.
If everyone went to worship the gods, who would still care about a lord?
But Count Laurien was one of the few lords who allowed a church to enter his territory and spread its teachings.
Just as he said, these believers were truly pitiful.
In the entire Church of the Goddess of Abundance, the total number of believers was barely two thousand.
They even had to rely on selling divine power creations left behind by their goddess in order to sustain the church's daily life.
If things continued like this, once this group of people also passed away, the teachings of the Goddess of Abundance would likely be completely forgotten in the world.
Viktor knew this very well.
Because as the gods gradually disappeared, only the final Goddess of Justice remained in the world.
At that time, most believers of the other gods believed that their gods had abandoned them.
So more and more people turned to worship the Goddess of Justice.
Only a small number of people continued to persist in their nearly nonexistent faiths.
Although in the end even the Goddess of Justice grew disappointed in humanity and chose to leave.
Her church, however, became overwhelmingly dominant, and countless fanatical believers were born from it.
Compared to the believers of the Goddess of Justice, even if all followers of the other gods were combined, they would not amount to one tenth of them.
At this moment, Count Laurien bowed deeply toward Viktor.
"To be able to wait until both you and Princess Aurelian arrived in the Kingdom of Cant at the same time is already my only opportunity."
"I know the Mage Council is competing with the Church of Justice over the orthodoxy of the gods, so you might need this."
"I only ask that you help me."
Given the moral stance of the Mage Council.
Viktor's face remained calm, but the next moment his gaze fell on the wheat.
Magic power flowed out and wrapped around the golden wheat.
The next second, the wheat seemed to be crushed and enveloped by magic, turning into tiny golden sparks that gradually disappeared.
Seeing the wheat vanish out of thin air, Count Laurien let out a breath of relief.
He knew Viktor had accepted the gift.
And that 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 you need to tell me something."
"Since Priscis has already become a wandering soul, why do you still refuse to let her meet her mother?"
"Because…"
Before Laurien could finish speaking, Viktor interrupted him.
"Tell the truth."
Viktor's bright obsidian-like eyes flickered with a deep light, as if he had already seen through everything.
"In front of me, you can't fake it."
Count Laurien stared silently for a moment. He took a deep breath and finally spoke.
"I…"
———
Early the next morning, the dawn at the edge of the sky gradually dyed the horizon red, spreading across the wide roads of the Kingdom of Cant and the carriages traveling along them.
That morning, Aurelian woke up together with Gwen.
She didn't know what had happened. Last night she had somehow fallen asleep directly on Teacher Gwen's bed.
She recalled the night before. She had been waiting in Viktor's room for Teacher Viktor to return.
But as Aurelian sat on the bed waiting, she eventually fell asleep while waiting.
So she ended up spending the night sleeping beside Teacher Gwen.
Although when she woke up, Teacher Gwen didn't show any particular reaction.
Aurelian still felt a little embarrassed.
Yet beneath that embarrassment was also a sense of reassurance.
After all, sleeping beside Teacher Gwen meant she didn't need to worry about ghosts appearing in the mansion.
And…
Thinking back on it now, Aurelian actually found it quite pleasant.
She still remembered that Teacher Gwen had a fragrant scent.
It felt like a natural body fragrance, like the smell of white roses.
No wonder so many people liked her.
But she would have to apologize to Vanilla.
That poor little catgirl had thought she had been taken away by a ghost when she woke up in the morning, and she was so frightened she almost lost her mind.
When they gathered with the convoy that morning, her eyes were even a little swollen from crying.
Because of that, Aurelian spent quite a while comforting her.
After a full night's sleep, Aurelian had recovered some of her energy.
After discussing today's arrangements with Count Laurien, they would be going to visit the king of the Kingdom of Cant.
When she came back, she saw Viktor standing beside the carriage, holding a golden wheat stalk in his hand and casually playing with it.
Aurelian couldn't help walking a little closer and asked curiously, "Teacher, is that the gift Count Laurien gave you?"
Viktor nodded, his expression as indifferent as ever.
"Yes, you could say that."
He placed the wheat onto his shoulder and handed it to Vega.
The crow caught the golden wheat with its beak and held it there.
Only then did Viktor turn his head and look at Aurelian.
"Are you still afraid now?"
Hearing this, Aurelian's body trembled slightly as she couldn't help recalling Priscis from yesterday.
Even though Teacher Viktor had explained Count Laurien's tragic experience and why Priscis existed in the mansion as a wandering soul.
She still felt uncomfortable around such undead beings.
She simply wasn't good at dealing with things that had no life.
"I see."
Viktor said just that and spoke no further.
Today, Count Laurien would not ride in the same carriage with them.
Because he needed to lead the way at the front.
The convoy gradually moved forward as the sunlight rose.
The carriage rolled over the cobblestone road, the wheels and horseshoes producing crisp sounds, while bells rang lightly inside the carriage.
The sun lingered in the sky for a long time, but under the urging of the starlit night, it eventually sank toward the western mountains.
Until night quietly arrived.
———
[Mitao Royal City]
That was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Cant.
It looked like a sharp iron arm. Three enormous stone pillars supported a vast complex of buildings, and the huge royal city was entirely covered in steel.
When people stepped onto this land, a chilling and solemn atmosphere surged straight into their hearts.
The towering steel structures glowed faintly through windows of varying sizes, while sharp protrusions like enormous ravines spread around the entire castle.
Those three giant stone pillars rose high, lifting the massive castle upward.
As soon as the convoy entered, the sounds reaching everyone's ears changed slightly.
The crisp noise of carriage wheels echoed into a deep and rhythmic tone.
When they arrived at the entrance of the royal city, countless soldiers clad in heavy armor were already waiting.
They stood as firm as iron and stone, their breath steaming in the air, wearing black iron armor and marching with heavy footsteps as they guided the convoy deeper into the castle.
Even passersby stopped when they saw the carriage, watching the procession led by the luxurious convoy.
Under the gaze of the crowd, the convoy rolled across the neatly laid stone roads and arrived before the dark steel castle.
On both sides of the castle stood two rows of ministers wearing lead-gray robes, waiting respectfully for the carriage to arrive.
Each of them wore star-shaped badges on their chests, in varying numbers.
Every star represented a rank of nobility.
Two-star and three-star viscounts and counts stood at the back of the formation, while the few four-star marquises stood at the very front with solemn expressions.
At each person's waist hung various long swords, radiating the cold indifference of steel.
The carriage slowly stopped before the castle.
The door of the front carriage opened, and Count Laurien stepped out first.
The moment he got down, he walked to the carriage behind and respectfully invited the two people inside to come out.
Viktor, wearing a black windbreaker, stepped out first.
His cold aura perfectly matched the heavy atmosphere around him.
Then he turned around and extended his hand toward the carriage.
From inside the carriage, a jade-like hand rested on Viktor's hand.
With the support of Viktor's steady grip, Aurelian lightly stepped out of the carriage and gracefully descended.
After them, twelve distinguished diplomatic ministers also stepped down from the carriages behind.
All of the empire's representatives had arrived.
As for the kingdom's side.
At some unknown moment, among the surrounding rows, the nobles suddenly turned their gazes toward the gate of the black castle.
Under the dark castle gate, an old man holding a luxurious cane slowly walked out.
With each steady step he took, the bottom of his cane struck the stone road, producing clear and weighty echoes.
At first glance, this old man looked no different from the other nobles. Beneath his lead-gray robe, his slightly bent back showed the marks of time.
However, the sharp and profound light shining in his eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything, making people feel that no secret could be hidden from him.
On his chest were five golden star badges.
Low-key, yet noble.
At that moment, even the empire's diplomatic ministers realized something.
In the entire kingdom, there was only one person who wore five stars.
The legendary duke of the kingdom.
Feistan Barlow.
At this moment, everyone's gaze fell upon the grand duke.
The noble aura radiating from him made his hunched figure seem wrapped in a layer of mysterious brilliance, making him both awe-inspiring and distant.
He slightly bowed toward the arriving guests.
Then his gaze fell upon Aurelian and Viktor.
"Honored guests who have come from afar..."
His voice was deep and piercing, making it impossible to discern its true meaning.
"We have been waiting for you for quite some time."