Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Wayne looked at the father in front of him.

Without any formalities, he nodded solemnly: "Earl Durham, with your and your wife's words, I feel reassured. However, before we take any action, there are a few things that require your cooperation."

Count Durham immediately replied, "Please speak, sir."

"First, from this moment on, no matter who asks, even if it's a member of the Cardinals of the Holy See who comes to your door in person, you and your wife must insist that Miss Servy is not a witch. She is just a normal noblewoman with ordinary magical talent, studying and living in the capital. This point must be firmly maintained, without any wavering."

The Count and Lady Laura exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously: "Understood. We will stick to this point."

Wayne held up a second finger: "Secondly, once public opinion builds up in the next few days, you need to unite with several other families who have suffered similar fates and speak out together. You should lead the effort, with several families jointly submitting a petition to the court demanding the release of the investigation process and evidence chain in the disappearance case. This requires you to personally write letters to the other families, indicating that we have inside contacts to help escalate the situation. Once you all stand together, my room for maneuver will be significantly larger."

Upon hearing this, the Earl nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation: "Very well. I will write the letter today and send it to you personally. I will absolutely not use the official post stations and will ensure that the news does not leak out."

Wayne nodded: "Okay, that's settled then. I'll send someone to inform you of the subsequent action plan at the appropriate time. Until then, please remain silent and do not leak any information."

The Earl bowed solemnly to Wayne: "Understood. I entrust everything to Your Excellency."

After Wayne and Emily left.

The Countess stood on the porch, gazing in the direction the carriage had gone, her hands gripping the hem of her dress tightly. She finally couldn't hold back any longer and whispered, "My lord... can they really handle it? That's St. George's Cathedral, Cardinal Carosso's territory. He's just a young man who's only been back in the capital for a few days, and I heard his Black Order only has a handful of men..."

The Earl of Durham did not answer immediately.

He gazed at the street corner where the carriage had disappeared, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "That young man not only has the support of Her Majesty the Queen, but his teacher is also Cardinal Cecil, a leading figure of the reformists."

He paused, his voice turning somber: "He was able to kill a fifth-tier knight when he was only at the fourth tier. As soon as he returned to the capital, he obtained a decree personally signed by the Queen, placing the authority of the Black Order above that of the Holy Knights. Today, he dared to come to my Durham family's door alone and say, 'I can save your daughter,' so it must not be just empty talk."

The count turned to his wife and said, "Since he's put it this way, we'll trust him. All we can do is carry out his instructions. The rest is up to that young man."

After hearing her husband's words, Mrs. Laura slowly loosened her grip on the hem of her dress. She nodded gently and did not ask any further questions.

The carriage turned a corner at the street corner and drove away from the streets of the Earl of Durham's mansion. Inside the carriage, Emily turned her gaze from the window to Wayne.

"Sir, shall we head straight back to our residence now?"

Wayne leaned against the carriage wall and shook his head: "No. I need to go to the medicinal herb market in the southern part of the capital first; I need to buy some things."

"What should I buy?"

"Medicinal herbs for advanced techniques."

Emily was stunned for a moment, then sat up straight in surprise: "Sir, you're breaking through?! Late stage of the fourth tier?"

"Hmm. The foundation I've built up over the past few days is almost complete, and with the insights I've gained from recent battles and healing, the bottleneck has started to loosen. If I can concoct a suitable auxiliary magic potion, I should be able to break through smoothly."

Emily's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, and she almost blurted out, "I want to go too!"

Wayne turned his head, looked at her eager expression, and refused without hesitation: "You're too dishonest. You'd better go back and stay put."

Emily's face instantly fell, and she leaned against the carriage wall, her tone filled with obvious dissatisfaction and grievance: "Sir, you're so biased! Why can they all get it but I can't? I've been looking for you for so many days, and you haven't said a word... I can't wait any longer..."

Wayne couldn't help but chuckle at her coquettish expression. He reached out and pinched her cheeks. "Alright, alright, I'll take you, I'll take you. Don't feel bad."

Emily's face was distorted from his pinching, but upon hearing "I'll take you," her eyes still curved into crescents, and she mumbled, "That's more like it..."

Wayne was thinking about how to plan tomorrow's actions when his gaze inadvertently swept over Emily beside him.

The panel popped up.

[Emily's Current Emotion]

Status: Very happy.

Reason: I'm happy when I'm with you.

[Note: She misses Tilulu a little and doesn't know when she'll be able to come.]

[Note: Due to their physical constitution, witches have an extremely low fertility rate in some respects.]

Wayne's gaze lingered on the panel for a moment, then he casually looked away.

"By the way, you've now broken through to the fourth tier. Have you awakened any new abilities?"

Emily snapped out of her daze, a glimmer of light appearing in her eyes: "Yes, it's awakened, Shadow Clone."

Wayne's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Could you elaborate?"

"It can split off a clone from the shadows that is almost identical to my main body, and it can last for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. The clone can act independently and can also perform some simple tasks according to my preset instructions."

Upon hearing this description, several scenarios in which this ability could be used flashed through Wayne's mind. His gaze shifted slightly, and he was about to speak instinctively.

Emily clearly caught his subtle change in expression; her eyes lit up, and she leaned forward slightly. "Sir, do you perhaps intend to...?"

Wayne didn't follow her expectations; instead, he raised a finger and said, "You're overthinking it. You're definitely overthinking it."

Emily's expression visibly fell.

"Oh...I see."

Emily quickly changed the subject.

"Mr. Wayne, what kind of potion are you here at the potion market to prepare?"

Wayne nodded: "We're preparing to concoct auxiliary potions for breaking through to the late fourth tier. Also, the money we brought back from Frosttown is almost running out. We'll also see if we can develop a potion-making side business to earn some extra money. The Black Order is just starting out, and we need money for everything. The money we've saved up so far simply won't be enough to support us."

Emily nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to remember something: "What about breaking through to the fifth rank? Do you need a magic potion to reach the fifth rank?"

Wayne thought for a moment and answered her seriously.

"The breakthrough to the fifth rank doesn't primarily involve potions. Potions are more for tempering the physical body and laying the foundation for the breakthrough. The most crucial element in truly crossing that threshold is the tempering of one's mental strength."

He paused, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"I've heard there's a decent mental tempering tower near the mage tower, about ten miles from the capital. If I'm preparing to break through to the fifth rank, I definitely want to go check it out."