It felt so good to be close to the witch!

As members of the temple, the fact that the temple knight Rami and his squire Al were helping Roy "abuse his power" was already a huge favor. If the two of them were to intervene further, they would be committing a taboo.

The relationship between the temple and the empire is inherently delicate, and as knights of divine punishment, Rami and his companion need to be even more careful about their words and actions.

Just as Roy was about to close his eyes and begin his meditation, he suddenly felt the shadows in the room under the moonlight distort and shift. Then, a slender figure gradually solidified and appeared in his eyes.

A long white dress with crimson accents, delicate skin, snow-white hair, and eyes that reflect silver starlight—she looked like an elf emerging from the snow.

—Ais, the Ice Witch.

Why is she here?

A look of astonishment flashed across Roy's eyes.

Before he could even stand up, the Ice Witch Ais, who had appeared there, moved gracefully to his side and sniffed him lightly with her beautiful nose.

"The aura of other witches..."

The cold, emotionless voice made Roy's heart skip a beat, and for some reason, he felt a pang of guilt.

But Roy quickly realized what was happening.

What is he feeling guilty about? What does he have to feel guilty about?

His relationship with the Ice Witch Ais was merely one of cooperation!

Thinking this, Roy's courage immediately grew. He looked at the ice-and-snow girl beside him and said in a low voice, "You're really bold. The Divine Punishment Knights from the temple just left during the day. Also, how did you know I was here?"

"I heard from the residents that you were captured by the Divine Punishment Knight," Ais stated expressionlessly.

“I originally planned to go and rescue you tonight, but after nightfall, the location I set on you returned to Blackrock Territory, so I came to check on you first.”

"..." After hearing Ais's words, Roy fell silent.

Although he was somewhat moved by Ais's willingness to attack the prison cart guarded by the Temple's Divine Punishment Knights in order to save him, what exactly is this "positioning" you've placed on me?!

Even when he entered a state of heightened awareness using the breathing technique, Roy didn't notice anything amiss with himself. Clearly, the difference in strength between the two was too great, and the Ice Witch's methods were beyond his current comprehension.

He couldn't win a fight, and he couldn't blame anyone else. What could Roy do? What could he possibly do?

He sighed helplessly: "This morning, a Templar Knight suddenly visited and told me that someone had provided the Cathedral Temple in Rafa Province with sufficient evidence to prove that the Ice Witch was lurking in Blackrock Territory, and pointed out that Roy, the son of the Lord of Blackrock Territory, was colluding with the Ice Witch."

Ais frowned slightly, understanding the implication in Roy's words. She shook her head: "I didn't do it."

"The reason Elena and I came to Blackrock Territory is because we accidentally obtained a magical item called 'Control Doll,' which can be controlled by implanting a mark in the heart of a target."

"At that time, I was not far from losing control. For Elena's future, I decided to find a noble son who was easy to control, preferably one who could inherit the title immediately, so that I could hide in him."

“Four days ago, we intercepted a secret intelligence outside the black market: Lord Blackstone has gone missing, and the title is about to pass to his son, Roy Tulumber.”

"Blackrock Territory is remote, and it's just a change of lordship, so the commotion it will cause will be minimal. It's our best choice."

"So after Elena and I discussed it, we decided to choose you as our target."

"You know what happened after that."

"This is the cause and effect of everything."

Believe it or not, it's up to you.

After speaking, the Ice Witch vanished from Roy's sight, leaving behind only an ordinary-looking envelope and a cold voice:

"This intelligence suddenly appeared on the black market at noon today."

Looking at the empty room, Roy pursed his lips, picked up the envelope, and opened it.

There was a letter and a photograph inside the envelope.

The letter contained very little, just a single line:

"Roy Tulumber, son of Lord Blackrock, possesses a high-purity magic crystal!"

The photo shows a person with a build and appearance extremely similar to Roy, standing sideways in a corner of a building under the cover of night, holding a deep purple crystal.

Because of the shooting distance and angle, the side profile of the figure is not visible, but the outline of the building is exactly the same as the lord's mansion in Blackstone Territory.

Looking at the contents of the letter and the photograph in front of him, Roy smiled slightly.

The fish, hidden beneath the surface, finally couldn't resist taking the bait.

Chapter 17 Testing

Roy didn't know much about the "black market," only that it was a special place that provided services to people who mingled in the gray area.

In reality, there are many "black markets" and they are widely distributed. A seemingly ordinary small shop may be one of the branches of a black market, but without the correct way to identify it, you would not recognize it even if you were standing right in front of it.

The message left by the Ice Witch Ais made Roy realize that the person behind the scenes was about to take action.

The claim that "Roy has high-purity magic crystals" is nothing but a fabricated false rumor.

The magic crystal mentioned in the message is a magical crystal formed in a natural environment, and it is a very precious treasure.

Its effect is to help knights speed up their training. It is said that after witches consume it, they can not only quickly replenish their consumed magic power, but also further enhance their strength.

Of course, these are just rumors, especially the latter.

For witches, an increase in power means an increase in the degree of corruption. Even if a magic crystal is placed in front of a witch, it is hard to say how many witches will choose to use it.

To prove the authenticity of the message, the person who spread it also attached a photo.

It must be said that the person in the photo bears a striking resemblance to Roy from behind, and with the blurred lighting and the clear background of the Blackrock Lord's mansion, the photo is quite credible for those who don't know or are unfamiliar with Roy.

According to Roy, there are two possible motives for the person behind this rumor:

Firstly, according to the people behind the scenes, the Ice Witch desperately needs magic crystals, which can enhance her strength, even if it exacerbates the pollution and leads to loss of control.

From Ais's account, Roy learned about her and Elena's experiences before and after arriving in Blackrock Territory. Whether it was the "cursed doll" they unexpectedly obtained at the beginning or the secret messages they intercepted later, it was full of coincidences and felt like it was arranged in advance, leading them to Blackrock Territory step by step.

Further speculation suggests that the person behind the scenes who could arrange a magical item like the "cursed doll" might have left some hidden agenda, or that the item itself might have some kind of serious side effects after use. If Elena were to encounter any accidents while using the "cursed doll" and require even stronger magic to save her, would her companion, the Ice Witch Ais, stand idly by?

Desperate to improve her strength, Ais, upon learning of the existence of the "Magic Crystal," will likely take a desperate gamble and launch a surprise attack on the Divine Punishment Knight's prison wagon, even if she cannot confirm the authenticity of the information.

From an outsider's perspective, Roy, the son of the Black Market Lord, was arrested on suspicion of colluding with a witch. During the transport, a witch appeared and stormed the convoy. Wouldn't this further confirm that Roy was indeed colluding with a witch?

If Roy's speculation is true, then the person behind it all is far too terrifying.

Step by step, like a chess player, he forced both witches and Roy into a deadly situation without revealing himself in the slightest.

Unfortunately, no matter how cunning the people behind the scenes were, they could never have guessed that Roy Tulumbel, the son of Lord Blackrock, would be "replaced" by someone with the same name from another world, nor could they have foreseen the existence of the [Original Sin Cube].

In other words, the person behind the scenes is currently unaware that the "cursed doll" has been destroyed and absorbed by the [Original Sin Magic], nor is he aware of the situation of the Ice Witch and the Fox-Eared Witch.

The second possibility is that the person behind the scenes knows that in addition to the Ice Witch, there are other wandering witches not far from Blackrock Territory!

For those behind the scenes, regardless of whether the witch who attacked the Divine Punishment Knights' convoy was the Ice Witch, the mere appearance of a witch would further confirm Roy's collusion with the witch.

As a result, with the temple's interference, Roy's title and appointment as lord will become indefinitely postponed, or even canceled altogether.

Judging from the shrewdness displayed by the person behind the scenes, Roy felt that both speculations were likely to occur simultaneously.

Now, things are gradually becoming clearer.

In Roy's view, the person behind the scenes had been meticulously planning everything. The ultimate target was not actually him, nor the two witches. They were merely incidental in the process of the other party achieving their goal. The ultimate target was Blackrock Territory!

Lord Blackrock relinquished his title and disappeared. His son, Roy, was branded a heretic for conspiring with a wandering witch and was disqualified from inheriting the title and lordship. Thus, Blackrock became a very special unclaimed territory.

Such territories are either reclaimed by the empire or annexed by neighboring lords through "legitimate and legal means."

This greatly narrows down the range of possible identities of those behind the scenes.

Inside the room, Roy was deep in thought.

He had seen the map of the empire in Lord Blackrock's study and had a general impression of it.

His kingdom, called the Radiant Empire, is a land where divine and royal power coexist. It occupies 80% of the northern part of the continent, while the remaining 20% ​​consists of kingdoms and duchies.

To the south of the continent lies the powerful Kolei Empire, a truly peculiar nation with highly advanced steam technology, and whose knights are quite different from those of the Glorious Empire.

In recent years, the Radiant Empire and the Kolei Empire have frequently clashed at their borders.

Blackrock Territory is a small territory located near the border between the two great empires, under the jurisdiction of the border duke family, Soros.

In reality, Blackrock Territory was a small part of the territory that Duke Soros had carved out from his own domain, thanks to the original owner's father's outstanding military achievements under the Duke during the Imperial War more than a decade ago.

Surrounding Blackstone Territory are four territories, located to the southeast, northwest, and southwest: Sand Territory, Iron Mountain Territory, White Bear Territory, and Green Field Territory.

Roy knew little about these four territories; the only information he had was what he had seen in the study. As for the original owner's memories, there was no such information at all.

But it doesn't matter, he doesn't know, but someone else does.

Having lived in Blackrock Territory for over a decade, Red must be very familiar with the surrounding area.

Thinking of this, Roy disregarded the late hour, got up, pushed open the door, and called over Red, who was studying breathing techniques in the corner not far away.

"Young Master Roy, what is it?"

Upon entering Roy's room, Red asked with some confusion.

Roy organized his thoughts and recounted the information he had obtained from the Ice Witch Ais, combined with his speculations, to Red. He didn't elaborate on the source of the information, only saying that it was obtained through special channels, and then asked:

"Uncle Red, do you know much about Sand Collar, Iron Mountain Collar, White Bear Collar, and Green Field Collar?"

-

(New author, new book, please vote! And feel free to leave comments, dear readers!)

Chapter 18 The Witch in the Shadows

"These four territories..."

After hearing Roy's guess, Red's eyes first flashed with worry, and then with murderous intent.

Any entity that attempts to harm the Tulumbel family must be eliminated!

Of course, the prerequisite is to find this "rat in the shadows".

After a moment's recollection, Reid began to recount his knowledge of the four territories.

The eastern Sand Territory is a relatively barren territory with little arable land. Its main income comes from selling river sand and fishing. The lord is Lord Horner.

Further south, closer to the border, lies Iron Mountain Territory. As the name suggests, this territory contains large iron ore veins, and its mining and foundry industries are quite developed. The lord of this territory is Lord Denham.

The western part of the White Bear Territory has vast dense forests where white bears and various wild beasts often roam in winter, making it very dangerous. However, the fur of these white bears is highly sought after by nobles, which has attracted a large number of hunters to settle here. The lord is Lord Prutt.

As for the Greenfield Territory to the north, it has a large area of ​​arable land and abundant grain production, and its lord is Lord Ramsay.