An Offer of Amnesty

An hour later.

Joshua arrived in the castle's dining hall and sat down at a long table laden with all sorts of food.

It was hard to imagine that a castle inhabited primarily by undead creatures would have so many fresh ingredients.

Joshua poked at the roast meat in front of him with a fork, feeling as if a few maggots were crawling inside. After all, a Zombie Servant standing beside Joshua had rotting meat hanging off him.

Ciri, sitting next to Joshua, was less particular. She had lost too much energy and needed to replenish it quickly, so she unceremoniously began to eat the delicacies on the table.

"Your Highness, a toast to you."

The Bone Duke raised the Goblet in his hand, its crystal-clear liquid swaying like blood. Of course, it was Red Wine. After the Bone Duke drank it down, Joshua watched as the Red Wine leaked from his lower jawbone and dripped onto the table.

Could a skeleton truly taste anything when drinking?

"Duke, if you have something to say, please say it directly."

Joshua saw through the Bone Duke's intentions. He wouldn't have hosted such a grand banquet for him just because of his status.

"Then I won't be polite, Your Highness... I hope to obtain the Music Score for the piece you just played."

The Bone Duke put down his Glass Cup, the Soul Fire in his eye sockets flickering. His tone was no longer as calm as before, his desire evident.

"I can, but... there are conditions."

Joshua had come with this bargaining chip in mind. From the Third Prince's memories, this Duke was obsessively devoted to music to an extreme degree. Rumor had it that he had even helped a human destroy a small country just to get information about an ancient Music Score.

Setting aside whether Liches had such evil means of prying into memories through souls, this rumor alone revealed the Bone Duke's obsession with music.

He himself lacked the creative cells for music. What cells would a skeleton have?

And through this encounter, Joshua understood why the Bone Duke was so obsessed with music: it was because of that peculiar Piano!

"If I'm not mistaken, Duke, you can't taste anything when you drink, can you?"

Joshua glanced at the drops of Red Wine on the table. Drinking like this wouldn't allow him to taste anything. Skeletons had no Taste Buds, no Touch, and no hearing.

The Bone Duke's way of perceiving the outside world was the Soul Fire flickering in his eye sockets; it was both his eyes and his ears.

"Your Highness has seen through it? That's right. In the hundreds of years since I became a Lich, I have gained unparalleled power, but I have almost forgotten the taste of my beloved Red Wine."

The Bone Duke poured himself another glass of wine into his empty cup. He looked at the swaying liquid in the cup. If he had skin on his face now, he would surely have a self-mocking smile.

"Only that Piano... my old friend, can make me recall the feelings I had as a human. Even the Coldness of being frozen by Frost and Snow is much better than the Void of this boneless body with no sensation!"

After speaking, the Bone Duke placed the wine glass back on the table, his Soul Fire turning to Joshua once more.

"And that piece you played! It made me feel the sunshine again! Oh heavens... I had almost forgotten what it felt like to sit in the sun. It was truly wonderful..."

The Bone Duke leaned back in his chair, a hint of weariness in his voice.

Power was truly intoxicating. He had sacrificed his own life to gain supreme power... At first, he was indeed lost in the unparalleled might, reveling in the thrill of controlling life and death.

But once the novelty of power wore off, what else could the Bone Duke feel?

This powerful body felt no fatigue, so he couldn't enjoy the comfort of sleep. It was impervious to heat, so he could no longer feel the warmth of the sun.

Having lost his tongue, he had almost forgotten the delicious taste of roasted meat.

If it weren't for that piano, which allowed him to regain some human senses through playing, he might have gone mad from this body long ago!

It could be said that the Bone Duke had gained everything, yet lost everything.

"Your Highness, speak... My little tricks of manipulating souls are useless against you Chaos Demons, so I accept your deal. What must I pay to obtain the music score for that piece?"

This time, the Bone Duke desperately wished to play the "Canon" that Joshua had just performed.

He yearned to feel the warmth of the sun again.

"You don't need to pay anything."

Joshua shook his head. The Bone Duke could offer him many things: treasures, money, powerful Undead Servants, but these were all too superficial! Joshua was far more greedy than he appeared...

"I want you to pledge allegiance to me!"

Joshua uttered this sentence word by word, with an extremely serious and sincere tone.

The Bone Duke fell silent for a few seconds upon hearing Joshua's words, then let out a piercing laugh.

"I heard the Third Prince gave up his claim to the throne, and I thought you weren't interested in power. I didn't expect you were just hiding your true intentions."

The Bone Duke quickly misinterpreted Joshua's intentions. Coming all this way specifically to recruit him at this time could only mean he was preparing for the Imperial Power Struggle in two years. With the help of one of the Four Dukes, even a useless Third Prince would have a chance to contend.

"No, I'm truly not interested in the Throne. Governing a country is too troublesome. I'm not recruiting you as 'one of the Four Dukes' or the 'Lich Lord,' but as a 'Performer' and a 'Musician'," Joshua said.

"A Performer?" The Bone Duke was indeed filled with interest in music, because music made him truly feel alive.

"That's right, Duke. Are you content to play alone in this desolate place? Your performances are truly excellent and shouldn't be buried here! More people should hear your playing, thousands upon thousands, in a theater," Joshua said.

"This is also the treatment that the music scores I know deserve. Believe me, I possess works from countless Music Masters of various countries. These works shouldn't decay in a place like this; they should be heard by more people! And I believe that having them ascend to the world's stage under your performance, Duke, is a suitable choice."

There were so many classic pieces of music from Earth. To spread them in this world, Joshua needed an excellent Musician, proficient in various instruments. Wasn't this Bone Duke the best candidate?

"You mean... there isn't just one music score of that caliber?" Now it was the Bone Duke's turn to be surprised.

"More than one. These are works from Music Masters from a very distant place, another country."

Regarding Earth, Joshua could only use vague concepts like "a very distant place."

The Soul Fire in the Bone Duke's eye sockets flickered rapidly a few more times, and then a dark box and a tattered contract floated out of thin air.

The dark box contained a powerful corrosive force. Joshua knew what it was without even asking – the lifeblood of liches.

"A contract. I give you one-quarter of my soul, and you play all your music scores for me. I won't disappoint the masters you speak of," the Bone Duke said.

Three souls and seven spirits. The soul was indivisible. Having one-quarter of a soul was equivalent to obtaining half of the Bone Duke's life.

Damn it... this lich is truly a madman, willing to risk his life just to regain his human Perception.

But living alone in a dark room with no light, no food, and no water for thousands of years, life would surely be worse than death, right?

Joshua guessed the Bone Duke was living such a life.

"Of course, I accept."

There were no issues with the contract either. After all, it was written in the name of Chaos. Joshua's Perception of this kind of magic was far more acute than his!

A drop of blood seeped from Joshua's fingertip and floated before the contract. Immediately, a large amount of dark, transparent mist overflowed from the black box and surged into Joshua's drop of blood.

The blood solidified into a jewel-like black item, fell into Joshua's palm, and melted. Finally, a strange mark appeared on Joshua's palm.

With this mark, Joshua felt a faint connection forming with the surrounding undead creatures.

"To the future Music Master Shu Luoni Ka... wait a moment."

Joshua also learned the Bone Duke's true name and was slightly stunned. Shu Luoni Ka... doesn't that name sound like it belongs to a woman?

She let out another piercing laugh and simply raised the glass full of wine in her hand.

"Cheers," said the lich lady named Shu Luoni Ka.