In the castle’s dining hall, candlelight danced across the silverware.
The long table was laden with roast pheasant, lamb stew, cream of mushroom soup, and freshly baked black bread, along with a dish of local wild berry jam.
After the servants served the final dish, Murphy gave a slight wave, dismissing them.
The dining hall door closed softly, leaving only the brother and sister behind.
Only a day after giving birth, Aurora was already able to get out of bed and walk around freely.
Now, three days later, her recovery was even more remarkable. Her complexion was rosy, her steps were light, and her every movent betrayed none of the weakness of a woman who had just given birth.
This was no miracle, but a matter of course.
Being able to withstand Murphy’s physique ant Aurora had, of course, undergone rigorous Cultivation of the Knight’s Breathing Technique.
This Cultivation not only strengthened her physique but also gave her regenerative abilities far surpassing those of an ordinary person.
At that mont, Aurora wore a long, pale blue silk dress, its collar and cuffs embroidered with delicate silver thread patterns.
Her long golden hair was swept into an elegant bun, secured by a silver hairpin inlaid with a Moonlight Stone.
White stockings clung to her slender calves, and she wore a pair of soft deerskin ankle boots.
She looked as though she had returned to the bloom of her youth, showing no trace of having just given birth.
Murphy picked up a piece of chicken breast and placed it on Aurora’s plate. "Eat more. You just gave birth; you need the nourishnt."
Aurora, however, shook her head. She stood and walked gracefully over to Murphy, settling softly onto his lap. "I want you to feed , brother," she cooed.
"Still such a child." Murphy chuckled helplessly.
"But I am a child," Aurora declared, pressing her face against Murphy’s chest.
In a noble family such as this, Aurora didn’t have to raise the child herself.
Wet nurses and Maids were responsible for nursing and childcare; she only had to visit the child whenever she missed them.
Although she loved her child deeply, it was clear that the baby had been more of an accident.
Murphy picked up a silver spoon, scooped up so creamy mushroom soup, and, after blowing on it gently, brought it to Aurora’s lips.
Aurora took a small sip, then requested a taste of the roast pheasant, and then pointed to the lamb stew, basking in her brother’s devoted attention.
"How is your Cultivation with the Knight’s Breathing Technique progressing?" Murphy asked as he continued to feed her. "When will you be able to break through and beco an Official Knight?"
"It’ll be a while," Aurora said, swallowing the food in her mouth. "At least two more years."
Yes, Aurora did indeed have the ability to break through to the rank of Official Knight.
This wasn’t because of any special treatnt from Murphy, but a standard that any Lord was required to et.
In this world, all Lords had to be Knights—it was an unavoidable necessity.
As for the reason, that ca down to the source of the Knight’s Secret dicine.
They ca from a special institution known as the Holy Hall Pharmacy.
This institution was affiliated with the Church Court, yet operated with a vague independence, its sole responsibility to manage the supply of Knight’s Secret dicine for all territories under the Church’s faith.
The Holy Hall Pharmacy distributed Knight’s Secret dicine based on the size of a territory and enforced a strict policy on purchase limits.
A Baron’s Domain had a quota of only ten. Any amount beyond that required paying exorbitant fees, and the more one purchased, the higher the unit price beca.
This was the main reason Murphy only trained ten Knight’s Attendants—he simply couldn’t afford more.
In addition to the Knight’s Secret dicine, the Holy Hall Pharmacy also provided a special type of Knight’s Aid dicine.
The purpose of this dicine was to protect the ridians and reduce damage when one consud the Knight’s Secret dicine, and there was even a special dicine to aid in the breakthrough to beco an Official Knight.
Naturally, these precious aid dicines were also subject to purchase limits; likewise, the more one bought, the higher the unit price.
The Knight’s Aid dicine was one thing—a Baron’s Domain had a fixed quota for it. But as for the special dicine that aided the breakthrough to Official Knight, a quota for one was only allocated if the domain had no Knights.
In contrast, the Douglas Duke Domain clearly had many more quota slots.
This was why the forr Baron had been so eager to curry favor with Othilia when she arrived.
Moreover, the Douglas Duke Domain even had special quota slots for acquiring dicines related to Great Knights.
Before Murphy had assud full control, this Aid dicine had been kept by the Forr Lady Baron, and was, of course, being saved for Aurora.
Later, after Murphy broke through to the Qi Refining Realm, he no longer needed the aid of these dicines.
Murphy had always found the policies of the Holy Hall Pharmacy to be rather odd.
This quota system, precise down to each individual territory, was not at all what one would expect from a ruling power.
If the Noble Council and the Church Court controlled this channel, they would have long ago used the dicine quotas to control the various Lords. The Holy Hall Pharmacy, however, showed no such ambition.
But considering that various Supernatural Powers existed in this world, perhaps a deeper purpose was indeed hidden behind it all.
"Two years isn’t that long," Murphy said, scooping another spoonful of wild berry jam and spreading it lightly on a piece of black bread. "Just focus on steady Cultivation. No need to rush."
This ti, however, Aurora shook her head and pouted charmingly.
Murphy smiled knowingly. He ate the piece of bread slathered in wild berry jam himself, then covered Aurora’s mouth with his.
...
In the dead of night, Leon’s figure beca a flitting shadow, darting rapidly through corners untouched by the moonlight as wind and snow raged around him.
The biting wind whipped snowflakes at him, yet an invisible force around his body caused them to slide away, leaving no trace of moisture.
When he glimpsed the distant silhouette of Duval Castle, appearing and disappearing in the blizzard, a smirk crept across his lips.
As a Wizard Apprentice specializing in infiltrating territories to gather intelligence, Leon was the master of a unique technique: the Shadow Escape Technique.
This Magic allowed him to rge perfectly with shadows, making it difficult for even the most vigilant Great Knight to detect his presence.
What was even rarer was that during an expedition, he had happened upon an Ancient Witchcraft Artifact: the Shadow Ring.
This treasure from a bygone era greatly enhanced the effects of his Stealth Magic. In the entire Old Realm, Wizard Apprentices who possessed such Ancient Witchcraft Artifacts were few and far between.
However, his years of experience with infiltration had taught Leon to be cautious.
When on a mission, he never did anything superfluous.
He was always especially careful when approaching a Lord’s residence, the Lord himself, or his family mbers.
To be fair, there was a reason for his caution. Once, while sneaking into a noble lady’s bedchamber in the Rosenia Kingdom, he had overlooked a hidden Blessing of Truth at the local Lord’s Mansion. He was marked and nearly hunted down and killed by the Bishop of the Shepherd Headquarter District.
That experience had taught him that in the Old Realm, where the power of the God of Truth was omnipresent, the slightest oversight could be fatal.
What’s more, this was a critical ti. To ensure his smooth journey to the New Realm in two years, he absolutely could not be exposed at such a crucial mont.
And then there was Baron Duval, a notorious coward who would run to the Church Court at the first sign of danger. This made Leon even more hesitant to act recklessly.
However, on his way to the Black Wood Forest Outpost, he analyzed the information from his Detection Magic and was delighted to discover that there were truly no traces of any Church Court blessings inside the Baron’s Castle.
This discovery imdiately got Leon’s mind working.
He recalled Aurora, the future heir of Duval Castle, whom he had previously glimpsed from afar.
Even though she had been heavily pregnant at the ti, her stunning beauty was impossible to hide.
At this thought, Leon felt a flush of heat.
’Noblewon really are in a league of their own,’ he thought to himself. ’Those commoner girls are either ugly as sin or reek of filth. How could they ever compare to these pampered young ladies? With her strength as a Knight’s Attendant, she must have completely recovered from childbirth by now. She might even be more alluring than before...’
Under the moonlight, a glint of greed flashed in his eyes. Unable to suppress his inner craving any longer, with a light tap of his foot, his entire form slipped silently into the shadows of the Baron’s Castle like a ghost.
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