Murphy stood in place, his thoughts churning like a tidal wave.
He had originally thought "the Court" might refer to an envoy from the Church Court, Baron Duval’s liege Duke Douglas, or perhaps even a special emissary from the Royal Capital.
But he never would have imagined it ant Roton Knight.
No! Or rather, it didn’t just refer to Roton Knight, but to a group of people—a group who genuinely cared about the cause of Baron Duval’s death.
People like Bishop Alberto, Kelvin, and Roton.
As for the others, like Viscount Hans, Sylvan, and the other people from the Church Court, they couldn’t care less how the Baron had actually died.
So, as long as those who cared about the Baron’s death and held significant influence were dead, then Option Two would be considered complete.
’What if Roton had escaped to the Rosenia Kingdom?’
’If I hadn’t killed him here, would Option Two still have been completed?’
’It probably would have. The investigation must have a ti limit; it couldn’t possibly last until Roton Knight died of old age.’
Of course, with an insufficient sample size, Murphy couldn’t be sure. He only knew that he had received the reward.
But at the sa ti, a doubt arose in his mind. ’It seems like this ti, unlike the first four, I didn’t have to give it my absolute all.’
Murphy thought back carefully. The first trial had indeed required his full effort, and in the fourth Illusion Realm, not fighting desperately would have ant death.
’But what about the second and third tis?’
’Were there better solutions?’
’For example, in the second trial, I didn’t need to flee in such a panic. After all, it was later proven that the Activated Armor primarily targeted Knights’ Attendants and Knights, having nothing to do with Grooms.’
’In the third, perhaps I could have lured wild beasts to deal with Tommy Han.’
Just as he had previously considered—collecting side quests to simplify the main one—was the difficulty of this option lower because he had completed a side quest?
’So where did I complete the side quest?’
’Was it choosing to stay at the Black Wood Forest Outpost?’
’Or choosing to go out on patrol?’
Murphy had no way of knowing.
But he clearly realized that Option Two was far more complex than he had imagined.
’Should I try Option One?’
The thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
However, Murphy quickly dismissed the idea.
’Option One in the first trial was simply impossible to complete with my physical condition at the ti.’
’Option One in the second trial—entering that so-called Pill Room, which I now know was the room where the Knight’s Secret dicine was stored—would have been certain death with my strength back then.’
’Gaining Tommy Han’s approval in the third trial would also have been extrely difficult.’
Therefore, he naturally didn’t dare to choose Option One for the fourth and fifth trials.
’If sothing went wrong, there would be no second chances.’
Murphy looked at Roton’s body again, thinking, ’Since you’re dead, I guess I’m no longer a citizen of the Iron-blooded Velt Kingdom.’
He began to search Roton’s body carefully and finally found a tightly wrapped item. It was a small, oil-soaked leather pouch embroidered with the Duval Clan’s crest in silver thread. The opening was sealed with an exquisite Silver Button. The entire thing was only the size of his palm, yet it exuded a faint, herbal scent.
"This is?"
Murphy found it very familiar. Wasn’t that exactly what was used to wrap the Knight’s Secret dicine?
He had secretly watched the followers take the Secret dicine on more than one occasion, and they always took it out of pouches just like this one.
Besides this, he also found sixteen Henry Gold Coins and a number of Silver Coins.
He decided against taking the armor. The Knight’s Sword could be kept, but he wouldn’t take it right now.
...
After letting Nature deal with Roton’s body, Murphy returned to the Black Wood Forest Outpost.
Observing the Black Wood Forest Outpost from a distance, he discovered that, contrary to his expectation of Sylvan’s n arriving, the outpost was calm and peaceful, with nothing out of the ordinary.
So, Murphy went back.
On his way, he ran into Allen, who looked him up and down. "Haven’t seen you all day. Where have you been?"
Murphy dusted off his clothes. "It was too boring at the outpost, so I snuck out to hunt so ga."
Allen grinned. "Just what I’d expect from soone Master Arthur has his eye on. So audacious, unlike , who’s always so cautious. Did you catch anything?"
Murphy sighed. "I’ve been tending horses for too long; my skills have gotten rusty. I didn’t catch a thing. And you, cautious? As if I don’t know you sneak out too."
Allen chuckled. "Well, it’s rare to get a day off. Had to go out and relax a bit."
Murphy and Allen were Upper-class Grooms, assigned to their respective Knights’ Attendants. They weren’t part of the sa system as the outpost’s soldiers, who tended to turn a blind eye to their movents.
Afterward, Murphy secretly tested the Knight’s Secret dicine on the outpost’s nags. With his current knowledge from [Horse Trainer: Ascending the Hall and Entering the Room], he could analyze even the slightest harmful ingredient with a very small dose.
He discovered that the Knight’s Secret dicine he had taken from Roton did indeed have the effect of promoting blood circulation and replenishing Energy.
It was probably real Knight’s Secret dicine.
Even if it were fake, it likely didn’t contain any ingredients harmful to the human body.
Of course, the dicine’s effect on the nags wasn’t significant, probably because the Knight’s Secret dicine required a special Knight’s Breathing Technique to be fully digested. When horses consud it directly, much of it couldn’t be absorbed and would be expelled through their digestive systems.
Murphy thought for a mont and decided to take it himself.
To be honest, he already knew the Knight’s Breathing Technique; he had learned it by eavesdropping with his keen sense of hearing.
He compared it to what he had learned from [Breathing and Guiding] and found this breathing technique to be incredibly crude. Yet, it still had a miraculous effect.
Or rather, the miracle wasn’t the technique itself, but the Knight’s Secret dicine. The Knight’s Breathing Technique was rely a tool for absorbing it.
Practicing the Knight’s Breathing Technique alone was certainly far less effective than using the Knight’s Secret dicine. The results were hundreds, even thousands, of tis weaker than when taking the dicine. Just like Lawson—once he stopped taking it, he made almost no progress.
It was precisely for this reason that the Knight’s Secret dicine was the most important controlled substance in the Baron’s Domain. Only the Baron could handle it. After the Baron fell gravely ill, Roton took charge. Even Kelvin, before he inherited the title of Baron, didn’t have full authority over it.
Perhaps this was also why the secrecy surrounding the Knight’s Breathing Technique was not very high, allowing Murphy to eavesdrop on it so easily.
Murphy hadn’t tried to steal any before because he had planned to complete Option Two safely first, so he hadn’t wanted to create any extra complications.
To be honest, he had been curious about the effects of this dicine for a long ti.
However, Murphy still didn’t plan to take it at the outpost.
First, unlike at the Baron’s Castle, he didn’t have a private room at the outpost. It was easy enough to secretly feed the Knight’s Secret dicine to the horses, but secretly practicing the breathing technique after taking the dicine himself would be too easy to expose.
Second, he wanted to observe how the outpost changed after Roton had fled there.
But by the next day, nothing much had changed at the outpost.
At this point, Murphy realized that the situation at the Baron’s Castle had probably changed again, causing Sylvan to give up his pursuit of Roton.
’Don’t tell Sylvan was taken down?’
’If I were Viscount Hans, I probably wouldn’t pass up the chance to control a useless person like Sylvan.’
As Murphy thought of this, an extrely bold idea suddenly ford in his mind. But before that, he needed to test the effects of the Knight’s Secret dicine before making a decision.
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