「Four days later, at Baron Duval’s Castle.」
"Uncle Roton."
Sylvan’s face was pale. He gave a slight bow. Today, he wore a deep red Knight’s formal attire, embroidered with the Duval Clan’s crest—a pattern of mountains and rivers.
His voice was gentle. "Now that Kelvin is dead, it’s ti you fulfilled your oath and returned your loyalty to the Duval Clan, just as you did three years ago, isn’t it?"
Roton was leaning against a simple cot, his armor still stained with dried blood. A crude bandage was wrapped around his left shoulder, and his face was as pale as paper.
He struggled to lift his head, his eyes filled with worry. "Sylvan, was it truly wise to bring in outsiders like Viscount Hans? You are harming the Duval Clan’s interests."
Sylvan gracefully adjusted his collar, a faint smile playing on his lips. "The Duval Clan is mine. What aning does a Duval Clan without have?"
"But you were a mber of the Duval Clan before..." Roton’s voice was laced with exhaustion.
"That was different!" Sylvan cut him off, his gaze turning icy. "Back then, the Duval Clan belonged to that bastard, Kelvin."
Roton heaved a deep sigh and lowered his head in silence.
Sylvan took a step forward, his voice still gentle. "Uncle Roton, it is ti to fulfill your oath. You’re the one who told my mother, ’I am fulfilling my oath to the Duval Clan. The survival of the domain is more important than personal feelings. Please consider the bigger picture.’ Are you going to forsake that oath now?"
Roton fell into a long silence. Finally, he looked up, his gaze firm. "I will fulfill my oath. I will also help you drive out those outsiders. I only hope that this ti, you will truly cherish the Duval Clan as your own."
"Of course," Sylvan nodded elegantly. "It’s mine. Naturally, I don’t want to see it damaged."
But then, Sylvan’s tone shifted abruptly, his face twisting into a hideous snarl. "But I don’t trust you!"
He roared, "This so-called ’loyalty’ of yours! When the ti cos, who knows if you won’t betray again for the sake of the Duval Clan! Just like you betrayed for that bastard Kelvin three years ago!"
The color drained from Roton’s face. "What do you an by that!"
"It ans I want you dead!" Sylvan roared malevolently. "n!"
The door was thrown open, and a group of fully ard soldiers stord in.
Roton knew the leader all too well—it was a Knight under the command of Viscount Hans.
...
Murphy patrolled the woods near the Black Wood Forest Outpost at a slow pace.
Ever since returning to the outpost five days ago, he and Allen, as Upper-class Grooms assigned to serve the followers, didn’t actually have much work to do.
The regular soldiers at the outpost wouldn’t order them around casually either, which left Murphy with a great deal of free ti.
Using this leisure ti, Murphy often slipped out of the outpost to patrol the surrounding woods.
Although he was quite confident in his perceptive abilities, discovering a potential threat in advance was far better than waiting for danger to descend on the outpost before making a panicked escape.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
A fly the size of a soybean flew over. Murphy casually broke off a twig and scattered it with a light flick.
In a clearing ahead, more flies were gathered in a swarm, each as large as a soybean. The air was thick with a nauseating, rotten stench.
’How disgusting,’ Murphy muttered, frowning.
He had observed from a distance and found a male corpse that emitted an aura similar to that of a Witch.
Strangely, in a forest teeming with wild beasts, the corpse should not have remained so intact. It seed as though the local animals were unwilling to approach it, which instead gave maggots a pri opportunity to multiply.
Murphy, of course, had no intention of touching anything on the body. He simply observed it from afar before leaving.
In contrast, not far away, the bodies of Bishop Alberto and his Assistant Priests remained in pristine condition.
There were no signs of animal bites, nor any trace of decay.
Murphy noticed that two nearby corpses, clearly not belonging to the Church Court personnel, had been dragged away by beasts, leaving only a few bones behind. Only the bodies of the Church Court mbers were untouched, which he found quite remarkable.
Based on these clues, Murphy pieced together the truth of what had happened that day.
Bishop Alberto and the male Wizard had perished together.
But what he couldn’t understand was why Bishop Alberto had been so foolish.
He recalled five years ago in the Twilight Mountain Range, when the Bishop was hunting down a Witch. He had specifically requested troops from the Baron, leading to heavy losses for the Baron’s Domain.
Yet now, he had chosen a situation that was practically a one-on-one duel. It was truly baffling.
Although he couldn’t comprehend the Bishop’s decision, Murphy was very clear on the current situation.
The Church Court was a powerful organization. As for these Witches and... male Witches? He decided it was better to call them Warlocks.
These Witches and Warlocks were primary targets for the Church Court’s extermination campaigns.
The Warlock’s side would most likely not dare to co for revenge after one of their own had died.
But the Church Court was different. They would undoubtedly launch a rigorous investigation.
It seed the "Court" he needed to deal with was the impending arrival of the Church Court’s forces.
That would indeed be tricky.
No one knew what sort of thods the Church Court had at its disposal.
He had managed to slip by five years ago, probably because using their special thods ca at a cost, and it wasn’t worth it to conduct a deep interrogation on a common Groom.
But this ti was different. The death of a Bishop was enough to make the Church Court use its supernatural ans at any cost.
And Murphy did indeed carry the aura of Black Light. Unlike his previous self, who was an ordinary, law-abiding citizen, this ant he would very likely fail the Church Court’s inspection.
’Should I just run for it?’
After all, safely achieving "Option Two" required his own proactive effort; it wasn’t as simple as just waiting for the Church Court to arrive and passing their inspection with a Disguise.
It was like playing a ga—if you didn’t complete a key side quest, you might not be able to clear the main story.
Murphy was reluctant to give up just like that. Besides, he was also very curious about the reward: what kind of ability was [Thousand-Faced Illusion "Initial Glimpse"]?
Without realizing it, Murphy had patrolled his way deep into the forest.
Just then, he heard a faint sound from up ahead.
If he wasn’t mistaken, that was the sound of a person!
’Could it be soldiers from the Rosenia Kingdom’s outpost, or from the Black Wood Forest Outpost?’
’No!’
Murphy twitched his nose. He caught the scent of blood drifting on the air, mixed with the faint sll of dicinal herbs. It was soone who was seriously injured—very seriously.
’But who would co to the border at a ti like this?’
Murphy imdiately held his breath. He moved like a shadow through the woods, each step avoiding the dry twigs and fallen leaves on the ground as he crept closer under the cover of the dense shrubs.
Through the tangled branches, he saw a figure covered in blood leaning against the roots of a tree. It was a figure he knew very well.
It was Roton Knight!
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