Plan and Escape (2)

Everyone, including the guards outside the district's gate, was taken aback by the number of pizzas delivered. They quickly recovered and didn't say much about it because, after all, they were just guards, and talking about nobles was out of their league.

Arren just tried one slice of each flavor of pizza before tossing them all and giving them to the servants. Nothing was thrown away, and his appetite was also satisfied. He would order take-out from then on, but not every day or all the time.

Then he goes on to order items online as well. At first, he only orders a couple of items of clothing. In the next few days, he also started ordering in bulk. He would add anything that looked good or interesting to his carts. Then, day by day, it grew to the point where he no longer counted his orders anymore.

Even his father noticed him buying online in a manic state. The Duke just let him go, thinking Arren was bored at home and was venting his frustrations by shopping online. His actions appeared to be harmless, and no one gave them much thought. Just like that, a week passed by again. Arren was grounded for nearly three weeks.

Arren stood on his balcony, looking down at everything. His room was on the third floor of the mansion. From where he was, he could easily see everything. The sun was obscured by clouds as the wind blew fiercely. Even though it was afternoon, the sky was somewhat gloomy and dark. It was obvious from a single glance that it was going to rain.

But Arren seemed unconcerned about the weather or the possibility of rain. His eyes had a small glint and a smile on them, and his mood appeared to be better than usual. He waited, thinking to himself, "Ah, even heaven might be helping me this time."

He exited his room. His movements were slow and quiet. The noise level was nearly non-existent. The third floor almost didn't have a life as Arren was the only one on the entire floor. No servants would go in there unless they had a cleaning schedule. In any case, the mansion was always clean.

Because the lights had not yet turned on, the entire area was pitch black, with only the lights from outside providing illumination. Arren always thought the house was too big for just the two of them. The guest rooms were only occupied during the holidays when some of their relatives came to visit.

The House of Katz, or the Duke Katz Household, included some branch families in addition to the two of them. They were the cousins, and some were quite far removed already but had made considerable contributions to the family, so they still attained the family name.

While the main ones were only the two of them, members of the Katz family lived in the Duke's domain. It was similar to a fief in ancient times, but the difference was that while it was the Duke's territory, it was only to govern and supervise, and the Emperor retained authority and ownership.

The fief system was long since demolished after the Present Empire was established. The first Emperor saw this system as a particularly unstable factor in the ruler's power. As a result, fiefdom was abolished, and nobles were only assigned to govern their respective territories. While their power had been stripped at some levels, their power over ordinary people had not been diminished.

Arren had visited that area a few times for vacation, but he had never stayed for more than a month. The family's prestige was high there, so he couldn't enjoy walking around as everyone was respectful to him or bootlicking at him. He wasn't used to being surrounded by people who worshiped him or were wary of offending him. In that place, he was constantly reminded of how different his status was from that of ordinary people; he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it, but the novelty would wear off.

He never encountered any servants and went down to the second floor quietly. This time, Arren looked around and confirmed that no one else was on the floor with him. His father was no longer in the house, and what he was about to do was steal... he meant to bring his phone back. His father didn't want to give his phone back, so he would just take it himself.

The floor was just as quiet as any other. Arren was on his way to his father's study. He suspected his father had only hidden his phone there. The floor didn't have any guards or surveillance cameras. They weren't necessary. The pheromones sensor that was attached to the door or walls of any forbidden or important rooms would detect them.

Even scent blockers and inhibitors could not fool or escape these devices. It would sound an alarm if any unidentified or suspicious people forced open the doors or walked into these rooms. Each pheromone of each individual was different and could be distinguished as even betas while weak have their scents as well. It was more effective than fingerprints.

Those sensors served as trigger alarm mechanisms in his father's study as well. Arren's pheromone was registered in every corner of the mansion's alarm, so he didn't have to worry about this. As he got closer, his steps quickened, but he became even more cautious. His plan would not have worked without his phone.

No one was in the area when he arrived, as he had expected. He held his breath as he opened the door and entered successfully. The study was spacious. There was also a mini-library inside, and his father's table was in the center, with side drawers on either side. The curtains were closed, so he needed to open the lights to see anything in the room.

Arren didn't look around and went straight to the side drawers. He was pressed for time and needed to find it as soon as possible. He hoped the drawers weren't locked, or else he'd be fucked. He cursed in relief when he could easily open it just fine.

Some drawers contained only items he didn't bother to open. Arren froze for a few moments as he opened the middle drawer. Then he cursed, "Fuck!" as he finally saw his phone.

It was just there, possibly thrown by his father, and he didn't bother looking any further. He quickly lifted and opened it.

Arren sighed with relief when he saw that the battery was still at 30%, more than enough for a day if he used it sparingly. He entered his password and it opened; there were lights indicating messages and phone calls, but he did not read them and instead searched for a call from an unknown number. He quickly noticed it; fortunately, it was the only unknown number that called, or he would have needed to confirm who was who.

Fuck, finally! The phone number of Mister Royal Investigator. He was overjoyed for a brief moment before realizing he needed to leave the study right away. He sorted out everything and made sure he closed all the drawers. He walks out with a phone in his hand after turning off the lights. His actions were swift, and he was soon back in his room.

The real challenge would begin this time.

Not long after, a call was made from the guard house at the entrance of the district to inform them that the deliveries were now outside. It was three full truckloads of items, and they needed to escort them inside because it would be inconvenient to load them again onto new trucks, so they might as well let the delivery men in. Arren could see two black cars exiting the estate and assumed they were the ones bringing the deliveries with three trucks.

He simply clicked his tongue and watched them until they were out of sight. The show was starting, and now he needed to get ready himself. He wasn't sure about this plan, but he had no choice but to go ahead with it. It was up to fate whether he would succeed or not, and all he needed to do now was get ready as soon as possible.

He didn't pack anything else because it would be too obvious, and he didn't want to give himself away. All he needed was his phone and his wallet. Arren opened this wallet, he discovered that it contained only a small amount of cash and nothing else. It couldn't be helped; he rarely used cash but his cards instead. But if he used his cards outside when he successfully sneaked out, it would be a stupid move and his location would be traced instantly. After that, who knows what punishment his father would give him? He was sure that his actions would be strictly monitored then. So, this was his only chance.

He shrugged after counting the cash; well at least it was better than nothing. It could be used for a one-time fare in a taxi. He would think about his next actions when he gets there. Now that he had his phone and wallet, he was more than set.

But before that, he went through his closet and put on a black shirt. If his memory wasn't playing tricks on him, he recalled that the standard uniform of those delivery men was a black shirt with a small symbol on the chest. He paired it with white jeans as well. And of course, he reached out for the cap and looked at it as he smiled, a cap was necessary. He might love his blue hair, but it was kind of awkward sometimes, and people would easily find him in the crowd, especially at this time.

Arren approached the mirror and examined himself. Because he was always at home, his white skin became somewhat pale these days, but it wasn't a big deal because... He looked out the window; the rain had just begun to fall. The rain increased the likelihood of his plan succeeding. The heavy rain would obscure his tracks, and with all the deliveries to disembark, no one would notice him.

It wasn't that the guards were careless, but rather that they were extremely vigilant, which he was taking advantage of. They would observe these delivery men and no one would check even if Arren went out or… mixed himself with the crowd.

He won't forget to put on a scent blocker, which was obviously necessary. He also recalls something and decides to bring a face mask with him. He walks out of his room after he has completed his preparations and ensured that everything is in order.