Chapter 6:Thief

"Milady!" Maria shouted anxiously. "It's been stolen!"

Morrigan raised an eyebrow at the panting Maria. "What was stolen?"

Maria caught her breath and then spoke after calming down. "The dress—the dress was stolen!"

Morrigan's expression remained indifferent. She wasn't concerned about the stolen dress. Such matters didn't bother her.

"Does Amelia have an explanation?" Morrigan asked. She had heard of Amelia's reputation. There had been attempts to steal before, but they were all unsuccessful.

"Maybe I can offer you a clue, Milady." Maria screamed as Thomas suddenly appeared behind her. "When did you get behind me!?"

Thomas chuckled. "I like little surprises, darling."

"Darling!?!" Maria blushed, avoiding Thomas's handsome face. Seeing this, Thomas chuckled again. "Shy, are we?"

Thomas studied Maria; though she didn't have a mature figure, she exuded a sweet air of maturity.

Maria shifted shyly. "Pervert."

Yet, a small smile crept onto her lips.

"Stop flirting in front of me." Maria snapped back to reality at Morrigan's warning and blushed. "I'm sorry, Milady."

"Thomas, who do you think the thief might be?" Thomas adjusted his glasses and looked at Morrigan. "I have an old acquaintance, a master thief."

"He recently visited Velorya," Thomas said. "Though it's been a long time since we last met."

Morrigan's eyes twitched. "Just tell me who the thief is."

Thomas coughed and continued. "Rurik, a short-haired, brown-eyed thief, under sixteen."

Morrigan narrowed her eyes. She despised thieves who stole from others. "Tell me more about this Rurik."

Thomas nodded. "Rurik usually steals from nobles he considers evil and cruel, and then gives what he steals to common people."

Morrigan's expression softened. "Retrieve my dress from this thief named Rurik."

"Trust me, Milady." Thomas bowed, and as he was about to leave, he heard Morrigan's final words. "If possible, don't kill him."

Thomas chuckled. "As you wish."

"I'm hungry," Morrigan looked at Maria. "The food is ready, Milady."

Morrigan looked momentarily surprised. Seeing this, Maria felt foolish for not explaining the arrival of new servants earlier. "The Duke's new servants and attendants have arrived, Milady."

Morrigan nodded. "I hope they are competent."

Maria smiled. "Don't worry, Milady. They are all professionals."

Morrigan nodded and went downstairs.

"So, it's Rurik," Jack said. Rurik wasn't one of the characters you could romance in the game.

Rurik, who had grown up in an orphanage with Alice, had developed a deep hatred for the nobility.

He started stealing at age 11, joined the Thieves' Guild at 13, and by 16, he had become a top-tier thief.

"Actually, despite having a good backstory as an MC, he wasn't one of the main male leads due to his ordinary appearance."

Jack chuckled. Stealing Morrigan's dress was going to ruin Rurik's life. "In the otome game, he was killed by Morrigan. I wonder if the same will happen here?"

"I'm curious to see what Thomas will do..." Despite his appearance, Thomas was a ruthless and cruel man. Getting rid of him wasn't an easy task.

"I need some chips." Jack leaned back after grabbing some chips from his stash of snacks and activated the tracking camera, a newly discovered feature of the mod.

As the camera followed Thomas, Jack switched to cinematic mode and leaned back, watching it like a movie.

******

"I haven't visited the Thieves' Guild in a long time." Thomas moved through the forest faster than the speed of sound, leaving a trail of dust behind him. "I have until Monday to find Rurik's location."

Morrigan was set to leave today, planning to reach the capital by around nine at the latest. The Academy's opening was scheduled for Monday.

Thomas increased his speed. Even though the Thieves' Guild wasn't a large guild, its leaders were well-hidden.

The location of the guild changed every month. The only way to find out where the guild's headquarters was, was to capture one of its members.

"Thieves usually operate in high-crime areas." Thomas immediately thought of a crime-ridden city. "Blackwall..."

Blackwall was ruled by Darius Blackthorn, a count who was actually a crime lord.

The city harbored every type of criminal organization. It was a major hub for various crimes including drug trafficking, alcohol smuggling, arms dealing, bribery, and theft.

Darius was also clever and powerful enough to deny even the Church entry into his city. The Church couldn't do anything to Darius in Blackwall.

"I'll be there in three hours." Blackwall was a city on the border of the Sacred Maryam Kingdom, making it difficult to access. Due to mountains and dangerous paths, Blackwall was well-protected from many threats.

Thomas bent slightly and crouched for a moment, channeling the Mana produced by his soul into his legs.

A grin spread across Thomas's face as he suddenly launched forward, cracking the ground beneath him.

As his feet touched the ground, even the surface couldn't withstand the force and cracked.

Thomas ran at a speed exceeding the speed of sound, gracefully maneuvering around the trees in his path and channeling more Mana into his legs.

The veins in his legs became pronounced as he crouched and leaped, creating even larger cracks in the ground than before.

With a kick into the air, Thomas continued forward with a calm expression. At this speed, he could surpass mountains and reach Blackwall in no time.

___

As the sun was setting, Thomas arrived in Blackwall. Despite covering hundreds of kilometers, he didn't even break a sweat.

"It still smells as filthy as ever." Thomas grimaced at the stench of urine that reached his nose. As he moved through the city, he observed the dire conditions of its inhabitants.

The back alleys were filled with drug dealers. The streets were dirty and broken. The people's faces were pale and lifeless, and the women were emaciated from hunger.

Despite this, Thomas paid them no mind. He soon found the place he was looking for. A naked woman answered the door. "Is the Golden Tooth here?"

Ignoring the question, the woman, clearly drunk, looked at Thomas's clean and handsome face and giggled. "Darling, why the rush? Let's have some fun."

Before she could flirt any further, an angry voice came from inside. "What are you doing? Who's there?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Shut your damned mouth, toothless bastard!"

The man who emerged from inside was a dwarf, most of his teeth missing, with the remaining ones being golden.

The man who had been shouting at the woman froze when he saw Thomas. Thomas chuckled and waved. "Long time no see, Fred."

Fred snapped out of his surprise and immediately shook his head, his previous arrogance gone. "Indeed, it's been a long time, Thomas."

Golden-Tooth Fred was a former master of the Thieves' Guild. Despite his retirement, he still had connections. "Get out of here, woman."

Fred looked at the woman beside him and dismissed her. The woman, infuriated, spat in Fred's face. "Stupid dwarf!"

After the woman left in anger, Fred wiped the spit off his face as if nothing had happened. "Ah, these women!"

Thomas laughed and looked into Fred's eyes. "I need you to find someone for me, Fred."

Fred, hearing this, looked down, his face saddened. "I'm not the man I used to be, Thomas."

Despite this, Thomas stared at Fred. The meaning was clear—this wasn't a request.

"Do you know where Rurik is?" Fred shook his head, displaying a proud expression. "I care for him like a son. He's a good kid."

Thomas smiled. "Rurik stole something from Milady. She wants compensation."

Fred's proud expression gradually faded, and he recoiled in fear. "Thomas, don't harm Rurik. He hasn't done anything wrong."

Thomas, entertained by Fred's fearful expression, said, "Don't worry, Milady has spared him. I won't kill him."

Fred let out a sigh of relief. "I was so scared you were going to kill him."

"But you must tell me where Rurik is," Thomas narrowed his eyes. He wasn't joking.

Fred avoided looking into Thomas's violet eyes and looked down in fear, Thomas's immense Mana pressing down on him.

Eventually, Fred gave in. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you!"

Thomas regained his mocking expression and laughed. "Good, at least you're still a smart man, Fred."

******

"This seems to be the place Fred described." Fred had revealed the location of Rurik's hideout. Rurik was staying in a cemetery within Velorya.

"Really clever, that kid." Thomas walked slowly towards the cemetery, the sparkle in his eyes growing brighter with each step.

The pure Mana in his eyes created a pleasing appearance, and soon, Thomas smiled as if he had seen something intriguing. "A good hiding spot, Rurik."

"Thomas, it's been a long time." Rurik leaped from a tree and landed calmly on the ground. Though his face was calm, his hand trembled with tension.

Thomas glanced at the dress in Rurik's hand. "To steal from Milady. You must be quite brave, Rurik."

Rurik looked at Thomas nervously. "I'm sorry, Thomas, but I didn't know. I won't make such a mistake again."

Thomas chuckled. "Give me the dress. Consider yourself lucky that Milady spared you."

Rurik nodded and handed over the dress. Thomas took it, and Rurik scratched his head, showing a bashful expression. "If we're done, I'll be going."

"Wait a moment." Thomas's sharp voice made Rurik shiver.

"Which hand did you use to touch Milady's dress?" Thomas's violet eyes made Rurik freeze in place. His body trembled with fear.

Rurik raised his right hand, but the moment he did, he could no longer feel it.

"My hand…!" Blood streamed from his severed arm as Rurik screamed. He cried out in pain. "It hurts! You said you wouldn't do anything to me!"

Thomas looked at Rurik with disdain. "Milady said she wouldn't kill you, not that she wouldn't make you suffer."

As Rurik continued to scream, Thomas's cold violet eyes were the last thing he saw.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, Rurik." For a moment, Rurik came to his senses, immediately sweating and waking up. He touched his arm and took a deep breath. "My arm—my arm was severed..."

Rurik, still looking at Thomas in fear, had just witnessed his own death. Rurik wept with joy when he learned that his arm had not been cut off.

"Next time, you won't escape so unscathed, Rurik," Thomas said, and then vanished in an instant.

Rurik could only pray that he was safe for now.