It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Rami, the Greatsword Temple Knight, said softly:

“Roy, I’ll call you that. I’m a good friend of your father, Lord Jess Tulumbel.”

“So it’s Uncle Rami. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you had this relationship with my father.” Roy stood up in surprise.

A hint of surprise flashed in Reid's eyes: "You're Mr. Rami?"

"Red, it's been a long time." Rami, the Greatsword Temple Knight, removed his helmet, revealing wild, light golden hair. Coupled with his resolute and determined face, he gave the impression of facing a lion head-on. He smiled at Red and nodded in greeting.

Roy looked at Red, who quickly explained, "Young Master Roy, Mr. Rami was Lord's good friend when he was young. The two of them fought together in the Imperial War. After the war ended, Lord accepted the Imperial reward, and Mr. Rami is said to have joined the Temple."

"More than 20 years have passed. The changes are too great. If Mr. Rami hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have recognized him."

“It has indeed been a long time.” Rami sighed, turning his gaze to Roy, his tone gradually lowering: “Roy, do you know why we’ve come here this time?”

Before Roy could reply, he continued, "Three days ago, someone provided the Temple of the Lafa Province with evidence of the Ice Witch's presence in Blackrock Territory, and pointed out that Roy Tulumber, the son of the Lord of Blackrock Territory, was in cahoots with the Ice Witch."

"The temple is taking this very seriously and immediately dispatched Divine Punishment Knights to Blackrock Territory to investigate."

"I am the captain of the Fourth Divine Punishment Squad of His Highness the Cathedral God of Rafa Province, so I accepted this mission."

“Uncle Rami…” Upon hearing this, Roy frowned, wanting to say something, but Rami raised his hand to stop Roy from speaking, and continued, “The source of this information is unknown. The person who provided the information is extremely cautious. We cannot find out its origin from the material of the letter paper or the mailing method.”

“The temple receives many similar intelligence reports every year, some true and some false, but such caution is very rare, making it hard not to suspect that this was a premeditated act.”

"That would be fine if it were just that, but the timing of this message is too clever."

Rami’s voice was low, carrying a deep-seated worry: “About four days ago, I received a message from your father. He told me that he was going to do something he had to do, and that his life or death was uncertain. Therefore, he had applied to the Imperial Council to pass on the title of Lord to you, his legitimate heir.”

"I received this letter three days after it was sent. Today is the seventh day since the letter was sent. Given the efficiency of the Imperial Council, the appointment of you as a lord and Lord of Blackrock should be on its way and should arrive around tomorrow."

“Roy, do you know that in the temple’s mission execution process, the target is the nobleman himself, and the nobleman’s son is a completely different case.”

"The former is a noble status recognized by the empire. Even if they are suspected of having ties with witches, it is handled by the empire's court. As a group of people with a shared interest, nobles usually try to downplay the issue and let it go. In the end, the punishment that falls on the nobles may only be a small amount of money."

"As for the latter, the temple has the right to deal with it directly."

"In other words, the person who provided this information about the witch timed it perfectly. Today, you are merely the son of a lord, but tomorrow, you will be a true lord."

Chapter 10 Taking advantage of the situation

Inside the reception hall, the atmosphere became unusually heavy the moment Rami stopped speaking.

Even Red, who knew little about fighting other than physical violence, could sense the danger involved.

The person behind providing information about the witch to the Cathedral Temple in Rafa Province is so malicious that they undoubtedly want to kill Roy.

To the temple, anyone or any force that has any connection with the Wandering Witch is a heretic.

Every witch must be controlled by the temple!

There is only one fate for heretics: to be burned at the stake and reduced to ashes.

If the Templar Knight who came today were not Lord Blackrock's former friend, but any other Templar Knight, Roy's best fate would be to be tied up and thrown into the Temple's Divine Punishment Prison.

They never even received the appointment for succession to the title from the Imperial Council.

The relationship between Lord Blackrock and Temple Knight Rami was so close that even Red, Lord Blackrock's squire, had almost forgotten it, let alone anyone else.

In other words, if it weren't for this secret information that was almost impossible for others to know, Roy would have certainly died.

The person behind this meticulously planned scheme likely also has ways to deal with Roy, who has been sent to the Divine Punishment Prison.

The intricacies of the situation were enough to terrify Reid, but what concerned him even more was what Rami had said about the "life-or-death" task that the Lord was forced to undertake: "Mr. Rami, do you know what the Lord is doing?"

Rami shook his head, his voice heavy with sorrow: "I don't know. In the letter, Jess wrote 'Don't come looking for me' three times. And I also learned through the temple's secret channels that Jess completely disappeared seven days ago, after sending me the letter."

Upon hearing this, Reid fell silent.

Although he had absolute faith in Lord, even Lord himself said this time that "life and death are uncertain." It was conceivable that he must be doing something extremely dangerous, and he didn't even want his friends and family to know what he was going to do, for fear of being implicated.

Suppressing his worries about Lord Reid for the time being, Reid turned to look at Roy beside him.

Lord Roy's situation is certainly precarious, but at least he has the strength of a Silver Knight to rely on, so he still has room to maneuver. But Roy... although he showed unprecedented knightly talent this morning, he still hasn't had enough time to train. Although he has begun to absorb magical particles, he will definitely not be a match for a formal knight in a real fight.

After all, what determines a knight's strength, besides physical fitness, is the quality of equipment, weapon mastery, combat experience, and so on.

But what he saw made Red pause for a moment.

Contrary to expectations of panic or fear, Roy appeared remarkably calm.

As a Bronze Knight, Red can judge whether a person's behavior is genuine or not by observing subtle facial expressions, unless the other person is a true master of facial expressions.

In his view, Roy was truly calm and composed, without a trace of panic.

Red could see this, and Rami, who was sitting opposite him and was even stronger, could naturally see it as well.

Rami greatly admired Jess's composure in the face of crisis: "Jess has a good son."

"Uncle Rami, besides the letters, did my father leave you any other useful information?" Roy asked Rami in a deep voice.

The Lord of Blackrock did not immediately inform his son about the succession to the title. Instead, he sent a message to his old friend, the Templar Knight Rami. It is conceivable that the Lord of Blackrock had already foreseen his and Roy's predicament at that time.

In this situation, if Lord Blackrock had anything he wanted to tell or inform him, he would certainly do so through the Temple Knight Rami, a channel that Lord Blackrock considered "safe."

“Yes.” Rami nodded and took out a brass key from his pocket: “When he sent me the message, your father also sent me a key. The letter instructed me to give this key to you. With this key, you can enter the family treasure room, where there are things he left for you.”

Taking the brass-colored key from Rami, Roy felt its slightly heavy weight and realized that the key was made of an extraordinary material.

As for the family treasure room that Rami mentioned.

Roy had already searched this place a few days ago in search of "magical items," but apart from some gold, silver, and gems, there was nothing of value. Now it seems there must be some hidden places he hasn't found yet.

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. I should probably be leaving now. I'll let you know as soon as I hear any news about your father." Rami nodded to Roy and was about to get up and leave.

Just then, Roy suddenly spoke up: "Uncle Rami, please wait a moment..."

Hearing the offer to stay, Rami paused slightly, then saw Roy wink at him: "You haven't even started your mission yet. If you go back like this, won't that disappoint some people?"

Upon hearing this, Rami immediately understood, and his eyes brightened as he looked at Roy: "Good lad! It seems the Turenbell family won't decline in your hands!"

……

A dozen minutes later, news that Roy Tulumber, son of the Blackrock Lord, was being escorted to the Divine Punishment Prison by two Divine Punishment Knights spread like wildfire throughout Blackrock Territory.

The specific reason is unknown, but the person who made the move was a divine punishment knight from the temple. Anyone with a little knowledge could guess that it was related to the wandering witch.

After all, Roy is the son of a lord. Apart from witches, any other matters, even if he commits a crime, are handled by the Imperial Court of Justice, not the temple.

From the moment Roy was led out of the lord's mansion to the moment he was put into the sealed prison van, the entire process was witnessed by dozens or even hundreds of Blackrock Territory residents. If asked by others, these residents could even accurately describe how Blackrock Territory Knight Commander Red was trembling with anger, and how Roy looked so disheveled.

This shows that the matter is true.

Roy's arrest caused a huge uproar throughout Blackrock Territory. After all, the Turenbell family, as the lord family of Blackrock Territory, was not particularly good to its people, but it wasn't bad either. At least it could keep its people alive, which was considered very good compared to other border lord families.

Just ten minutes after this incident, on the edge of Blackrock Territory, in an ordinary little house, a furtive figure released a large number of carrier pigeons, and then disappeared into the shadows of the eaves.

……

On a bright, moonlit night in a small border town like Blackstone Territory, it was pitch black except near the lord's mansion. The people were mostly asleep after sunset, as life was already difficult for them, and no one would waste kerosene to light lamps at night unless there was something urgent to attend to.

Under the cover of night, the two figures blended perfectly into the shadows and entered the lord's mansion unnoticed by anyone.

The dim light of the kerosene lamp illuminated Roy and Rami's faces.

"Thank you for your help, Uncle Rami."

Roy gave a slight bow to Rami beside him to express his gratitude.

“Not at all.” Rami shook his head, looking at Roy with satisfaction, as if looking at an outstanding junior: “It’s just a small matter.”

“The bait has been laid; now, we just need to wait for the person behind the scenes to take the bait.” Roy smiled, looking up at the deep night sky, its dense blackness like a spider web spread across Blackstone Territory, waiting for the unsuspecting prey to enter.

Chapter 11 The Hidden Place Inside the Treasure Chamber

After sending Roy back to the lord's manor, Rami returned to the escort caravan.

A short absence is fine, but if the absence is too long, it might arouse suspicion from those behind the scenes.

Roy and Rami's "show" was, of course, intended to draw out the person behind the scenes.

To ensure the realism of the effect, Roy even personally entered the prison van and followed it out of the city during the day.

Of course, he didn't waste this time either, practicing "breathing" and condensing his internal fighting spirit inside the closed prison van.

Throughout the day, he gained an additional 160 strands of battle qi, bringing his total to 166 strands, in addition to the original 6 strands.

Bronze tier progress 16.6%!

I have to say, witches are the best!

The magic absorbed from the white-haired, silver-eyed witch Ais and the fox-eared witch Elena continuously nourished Roy's physique during this time, making his body stronger and more robust.

As night fell, Rami led him quickly back to the lord's manor.

The speed of a Silver Knight is much faster than that of a slow prison cart. Moreover, Rami is not an ordinary Silver Knight, but the captain of the Divine Punishment Knights, a Silver Three-Star Knight.

As for the servant in the prison cart at this moment, who was about the same size as Roy, he had already been arranged to be a servant.

Have the servants change into Roy's clothes, mess up his hair, and cover his face so that from a distance it's impossible to tell the real from the fake.

As for close-up observation?

With two temple knights by his side, who would dare to go up and cause trouble?

The net is ready; now it's just a matter of the hunter patiently waiting.

……

The lord's mansion, the treasure room.

Roy arrived alone with a kerosene lamp. The dim light was not enough to fully illuminate the room, but fortunately, his physical condition was now comparable to that of a seasoned knight, and his eyesight had improved considerably, so it wasn't a big problem.

Three days ago, Roy had entered this place to search for "magical items," but he didn't find anything of value at the time. The brass key that Rami handed to him proved that this treasure room clearly contained a "hidden place" that he had overlooked during his last search.

This time, he must find it!

By the light of the kerosene lamp, Roy scanned the treasure room inch by inch, not missing a single corner.

The treasure room wasn't large, only about 100 square meters. It mainly contained gold and silver valuables, primarily copper coins, followed by silver coins, with even fewer gold coins. There were also a dozen or so sets of metal armor and weapons hanging on shelves, making it easy to search.

Half an hour later, Roy, who had searched the entire treasure room again from top to bottom, fell into a state of "questioning life".

This time he was absolutely certain that he hadn't missed a single place, but he didn't find any "hidden place" at all.