As Barney approached, Flower's smile suddenly disappeared.
He raised his palm and placed it on Barney's shoulder.
Barney only felt an overwhelming force coming from his shoulder, and, caught off-guard, he fell heavily to his knees.
Bang!!
"Ah!"
His knees collided with the hard wooden floor, emitting a dull sound.
He felt as if his knees had shattered. He couldn't help but cry out in pain!
He looked up, bewildered, gazing at Flower as if questioning why?
The surrounding apprentices also jumped, but afterward, they all smiled.
Regina was the one who took the most pleasure in his misfortune.
Barney was a real scoundrel; it wasn't that he had a poor reputation, rather he had none at all.
Turning back, Flower settled into his recliner again, watching Barney as he slowly began to speak,
"Last night, where were you?"
"I was on duty..." Barney started to respond automatically about his night duty of the previous night.
But he quickly realized, since Flower was asking, that Flower must have known he hadn't been on duty.
"...Why didn't you go on duty?" Flower continued.
'Didn't go on duty... Didn't Colin take over for me?' A trace of confusion flashed in Barney's eyes.
Flower did not wait for his response, continuing to speak on his own,
"Last night, at 79 Tulip Street, a woman and her twelve maids were all brutally murdered and their hearts were gouged out.
It wasn't until the early hours that the guards discovered something was amiss..."
Flower paused slightly, then asked,
"Barney, did you know?
...That woman's house is only twenty meters away from the watchtower."
As Flower leisurely spoke, Barney's face turned increasingly pale, sweat continually beading on his forehead.
His heartbeat thundered, as if standing by the edge of an unfathomable cliff, making Barney feel a wave of weakness.
Flower leaned back in his chair, quietly watching him, waiting for an answer.
"I, I..." Nervousness rendered Barney momentarily speechless.
But the next moment, as if grasping at straws, he cried out urgently,
"Mr. Flower! Last night, last night it wasn't my turn for duty! Yes!... It wasn't my night, it was Colin's turn!"
As if to bolster his argument's credibility, he suddenly turned, staring at Colin with a resentful gaze, and bellowed accusingly,
"Why didn't you go on duty last night?!"
Flower raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze towards Colin.
With this new twist, the apprentices also looked on with interest at both Colin and Barney.
"On duty? What night duty?" Colin, feigning confusion, said, "Barney, what are you talking about? I don't know."
As Barney looked at Colin's innocent expression, he faltered, then said,
"I clearly instructed you to be on duty last Saturday night..."
"Sorry, Barney! ...I really can't understand what you're saying," Colin waved his hand and raised his voice to interrupt.
"If you mean to say that you once came to ask me to cover your duty... then let me ask, did I agree?"
"Everyone's duty schedule," he pointed at the notice board on the wall close by, "is clearly written there. My duty night is every Friday. And last night was Saturday..."
He spread his hands and shook his head.
Out of frustration, Barney blurted out furiously,
"I am the deputy captain. I gave you an order, and you had to follow it, you insubordinate fool!"
"Hahaha!" Regina suddenly burst into laughter from the side.
"Oh, respected Deputy Captain Barney..." her tone was full of mockery.
"Hahahaha!" The other Apprentices around also burst into laughter.
"They really think they're something."
"Yeah, Deputy Captain, so impressive!"
Upon closer inspection, those who spoke out had been transferred from the mountain Patrol Team.
They weren't afraid of displeasing Flower, their understanding of him was much deeper than Barney's.
"I follow the commands of Lord Flower," Colin responded with a slight smile in a timely manner.
"Enough," Flower said flatly.
He had already figured out the cause and effects of the incident.
He was not concerned about the conflict between Barney and Colin, nor did he care whether or not Barney had sought Colin to take over his duty shift or by what means Colin had been made to cover for him.
All he knew was that, according to his rules, Barney was supposed to be on duty last night.
And yet, no one had been on duty last night.
No matter the reasons or causes... from his perspective, it was all Barney's fault.
Barney wasn't wrong to seek someone to cover his shift; he was wrong not to make sure the cover was successful.
Especially at such a critical time...
Especially when the murderer's method was similar to those filthy vermin...
Perhaps... if someone had been on duty last night, they might have caught their trail...
Flower sighed inwardly, this thought further soured his mood and led him to decide to punish Barney severely, to set an example for others.
He swept his gaze over the crowd impatiently and asked,
"I have emphasized to you all the importance of being on duty at night, haven't I?"
"Yes, Lord Flower," the group hesitated for a moment, then replied in unison.
"Good," Flower nodded.
"Remember that, Barney is your lesson!"
"Lord Flower...I," Barney felt a surge of foreboding and his face turned pale.
"Barney..." Flower said gravely, "you are dismissed from the Patrol Team!"
"Furthermore, go back to the mountain and accept your punishment, mine in the Magic Stone Mine for a year."
Barney felt a chill in his heart, his face gradually turning ashen.
He hadn't anticipated that missing just one night's duty would bring such severe punishment...
Mining in the Magic Stone Mine, digging through Magic Stone Veins, brought a strange, energy-rich disease from the vast primitive Magic Power, and ordinary people couldn't survive there for a day without dying from mutation.
Wizards could resist, but as an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, it would not be easy for him; it was undoubtedly a grueling task.
But, that was bearable, what he truly couldn't accept was being kicked out of the Patrol Team.
With the Lap School's well-established structure also came rigidity; only by advancing in Rank could he climb higher, yet he lacked the Talent.
Thus, he was stuck in a vicious cycle, no Talent to advance, no way to climb higher; no way to climb higher, no access to more resources to advance; unable to advance...
Therefore, he had exerted an enormous effort to be transferred to this newly established Patrol Team, just to make a name for himself, just for more chances to climb higher!
But now... everything was ruined.
"Yes, Lord Flower," he answered quietly.
Although no one else spoke, he felt as if everyone's gaze was like thorns on his back.
His heart was filled with mixed emotions, wishing he could flee this place immediately.
Yet gradually, an image formed in his mind.
"Colin..."
As this image appeared, the complex feelings in his heart boiled down to anger, intense anger!!
So, under the surprised gaze of everyone, he slowly stood up.
Barney turned around, staring at Colin,
took off the triangular Silver Badge he wore on his chest, and threw it at him.