Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System-Chapter 46: Wizard Apprentice (2)

The sun was setting. By the haystacks next to the stables, the grooms continued their daily chatter after finishing their work.

"Remember back at the castle, how Annie from the laundry room was always stuffing smoked meat into ’Lord Murphy’s’ saddlebags?"

Allen said, lowering his voice.

"It wasn’t just Annie! Lisa from the bakery used to secretly put her special bread in his travel pack."

Duan immediately chimed in.

Old John also laughed and said, "But the one who put in the most effort had to be Mary, the cook’s daughter. I saw it with my own eyes several times. She always made sure ’Lord Murphy’s’ meals were especially generous."

Just then, a local groom interjected, "I heard that back at the castle, some girls would deliberately take the long way around just to get a glimpse of ’Lord Murphy.’ Now that’s the kind of charm a real man should have!"

Another local groom chimed in, "A man ought to be like ’Lord Murphy’—promoted to Upper-class Groom in just three years, earning Lord Kelvin’s favor, and making all the girls swoon."

Murphy had heard enough. He quickly cut them off. "Please, stop calling me ’Lord.’ I’m just a groom. Besides, I’ve told those girls to stop many times and asked them not to do that anymore."

He had to admit, they were probably good girls by anyone else’s standards, but unfortunately, they just weren’t his type.

’I just want to raise my horses in peace and complete Option Two.’

’I don’t want these pointless distractions.’

Allen roared with laughter. "It’s that indifferent act of yours that gets the girls all fired up! If you just accepted their advances, they’d lose interest."

Duan added with a laugh, "Exactly. The more you push them away, the more they think you’re one of a kind. If you ask me, you should take a page from our book. When we became Upper-class Grooms in our younger days, we’d gladly accept the attention from any girl we fancied."

Just then, Murphy’s ears twitched. He faintly heard the sound of approaching hoofbeats in the distance.

A moment later, a groom closer to the edge of the stables also heard the noise. "Quiet down," he urged in a low voice. "Someone’s coming."

The group fell silent at once, only to see Lawson approaching, leading a packhorse.

The grooms immediately greeted him in respectful unison, "Lord Lawson."

A local groom hurried forward and deftly took the reins from Lawson’s hand.

Lawson’s face remained grim, his cold gaze sweeping over Murphy—the very same look he’d given him when he left that morning.

However, Murphy’s keen senses picked up on something strange.

Although the Lawson before him looked the same as always, his entire demeanor had subtly changed.

Murphy couldn’t put his finger on what was different, but he felt an inexplicable sense of dissonance from Lawson.

After Lawson had left the stables, Murphy found himself staring at the main gate, an unconscious frown creasing his brow.

He stayed that way until a nearby groom called out to him, "Murphy, what are you spacing out for?"

Murphy snapped out of it. "It’s nothing," he said. "I was just thinking that Red Leaf’s horseshoes have been wearing down unusually fast. I was wondering if I should adjust his feed to include more nutrients for strengthening hooves."

Hearing this, Old John remarked with a sigh, "No wonder you made it to Upper-class Groom in just three years. You’re even thinking about raising horses on your break."

The grooms’ conversation quickly picked up again, the topic shifting to women—who was the prettiest, and what kind of beauty was best.

Allen said enthusiastically, "If you ask me, the most beautiful one has to be Sofia. Her features are just perfect."

Duan immediately shot back, "What kind of taste is that? Is she prettier than Mary, who’s so fond of Murphy? She’s just like a young Anli... back then, Anli was—"

Murphy pretended to listen to their idle chatter, but his thoughts were still on Lawson.

’My intuition is never wrong,’ he thought. ’Something is definitely different about Lawson.’

"Murphy, what do you think?"

Allen asked.

Murphy gave a noncommittal answer. He was more certain than ever. ’At the first sign of trouble, I’m running for the forest.’

...

Lawson crossed the outpost’s courtyard.

Luca, a follower who was polishing his longsword, looked up and greeted him. "Back from patrol?"

Lawson said, "Just got back. I discovered the wolf pack in the southern woods has been very active recently. We’ll need to send out an extra patrol team tomorrow."

Luca lowered his head again, resuming the maintenance of his Knight’s Sword. "You’re the captain. It’s your call."

Just then, Arthur walked over from the direction of the bathhouse, fresh from a bath, water still dripping from the ends of his hair.

Despite his deep resentment toward the older follower who had replaced him as Red Leaf’s master, Lawson maintained a veneer of courtesy, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment.

Arthur nodded back in acknowledgment. But then, as if remembering something, he stopped and said in a gentle tone, "Lawson, you’re still young. You have a long road ahead of you. I myself was twenty-four before I was promoted from a common soldier to a Knight’s Attendant."

"You became a follower at fifteen and are only eighteen now. A temporary setback is nothing to worry about."

Lawson sneered inwardly at his words. ’If you hadn’t gotten lucky and earned merit in that border war nine years ago, you’d still be nothing but a common soldier.’

Nevertheless, Lawson put on a receptive expression. "You’re right, Lord Arthur. I will take your lesson to heart."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries about the day’s patrols, and the atmosphere was quite amicable.

Only then did Lawson return to his private room on the second floor of the outpost.

As the door closed behind him, the figure of Roger materialized silently from the shadows in the corner.

The young Wizard Apprentice threw back his hood, his face appearing exceptionally pale in the light of the oil lamp.

Lawson immediately spun around and dropped to one knee, his eyes filled with devotion. "My Lord, your faithful servant awaits your command."

A fervent heat surged through Lawson as he looked at the mysterious, powerful master before him.

’Arthur, that common soldier who got promoted by sheer luck. Murphy, that groom who only knows how to kiss up to the nobility. And Kelvin, the man who took everything from me.’

’These mortals could never understand the power Lord Roger possesses—a power great enough to change fate itself.’

Roger walked to the window, observing the outpost through a crack. A satisfied smile played on his lips as he thought to himself.

’By controlling the leaders of these two outposts, I’ve essentially placed the sharpest eyes and ears on this border.’

He turned to look at Lawson, the spectral glow of [Control Human] flickering in his eyes.

’The Vilt People are increasing their patrols, and the Rosenia People are adding more sentries... If anyone from the Shepherd Headquarter District or the Church Court shows up, I’ll be the first to know.’

The young Wizard Apprentice walked to the desk. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

’Two years. Just give me two more years. By then, these foolish mortals...’

He was suddenly wracked by a violent coughing fit. He quickly pulled a small vial from his black robes and downed the green potion inside.

Once his breathing steadied, he said to Lawson, "Maintain your current demeanor. Don’t arouse any suspicion."

Lawson replied deferentially, "As you command."

Then, Roger’s figure gradually faded, becoming transparent before vanishing from the room completely.