Surprise

After the drinks and conversations, Ingram made his way back home. As he walked, he was greeted by a rather dull silence, as most of the villagers had already turned in for the night.

Upon reaching the house, he saw Rosella sitting in front.

She had a tired expression on her face but immediately she saw him, she stood up and smiled.

Ingram returned a smile of his own as he went forward and kissed her.

"Rosey, you didn't have to wait for me... don't you know that you need enough rest because of the baby?"

She just shook her head, "How can I sleep when my husband isn't home? Besides, it's alright. Nothing will happen to the baby."

"Haa... alright alright. Let's head inside. I'm already tired and need to sleep."

Rosella just nodded in response as they went inside. She herself needed some sleep and was surprised she held on this long.

…

Inside their room.

It didn't take long for Rosella to sleep off. In fact immediately she undressed and laid down, she passed out.

However, the same could not be said for Ingram.

He had pretended to sleep before she did and immediately after she slept, he slowly opened his eyes.

His sights landed on her sleeping figure and without warning he pulled her hair.

The force behind his pull was neither strong nor weak. It was just enough to cause some slight pain which would normally wake a person who just fell asleep not long ago.

"Alright, the drug has already kicked in."

The drug in particular was something that acted almost like a tranquilizer. However, in its case, it didn't cause one to sleep but rather only activated once the person fell asleep.

During that state, no matter what happened, the person would never wake up. Even if you stabbed them or tortured them.

This was just one of the basic medicines that Rina had taught him. It wasn't a healing medicine so she didn't see any substantial worth in it.

"Landers and his wife should be asleep by now. The effects of the drug last for just three hours but that's enough time for me."

Without wasting any more time, he made his way out of his house and towards the entrance of the village where Landers' house was located.

...

As he got closer, he turned his head and looked up at the watchtower but there was no guard in sight.

Seeing this, he smiled and continued walking.

"I hope you enjoy your time in the toilet."

During the festival, he had "jokingly" gotten the information about who would be on guard duty tonight from Landers.

Once he got what he needed, he waited for some time just towards the end of the festival before he poured an extremely potent laxative drug he prepared into the man's wine.

The drug took about two hours to kick in so he was absolutely sure that the night guard would be unavailable.

He finally reached Landers' house but didn't rush to open his door. Instead, he went to the window to check if they were fast asleep.

The snores and grunts coming from the room gave him the assurance he needed so he went back to the entrance.

The door itself wasn't locked. Only the warehouses where grains were stored were properly secured.

Placing his right hand on the surface of the door and his left near the edge, he leaned in with his body and pushed it open in one go.

The door creaked a little but using his left hand, he held it in place.

A common mistake some burglars made was to slowly open a door. If one were unlucky, then just the creaking sound would alert the residents.

He had learnt from that and although Landers and his wife were under the effect of the drug, he still had the neighbours to consider.

After all, the drug he prepared wasn't enough to go round. If put in small quantities, it would just reduce its effect and ruin his plans.

After entering the house, he went straight to their bedroom.

Inside, the couple were fast asleep. Both their children had married so he didn't have to worry about other people living with them.

He carefully searched the room and after a while he finally found what he was looking for.

"There you are."

Slowly, he stretched his hand and raised a squarish compartment on the wooden floor. Inside were two brown pouches with one of them much bigger than the other.

He first opened the larger pouch and was greeted by a huge quantity of copper coins which brought a small smile to his face. He removed the large pouch and kept it on the floor board and proceeded to open the second one.

Inside the second pouch were also coins but much smaller in quantity compared to the first.

"Well, extra coins are always welcome."

He took out the smaller pouch as well and closed the compartment. Glancing at Landers who was still fast asleep he just shook his head and then left the room.

...

Once he was outside, he slowly closed the door. Fortunately, it didn't creak as much as when it opened.

He directed his sights at the watchtower and the guard still wasn't there. Seeing this he just withdrew his gaze and went in the direction of his house.

However, he didn't go in immediately and just went straight to the hut to pick up his hoe after which he went towards the location of his farm.

Eventually reaching his farm, he uprooted a plant from its roots. The hole wasn't to his satisfaction so he used the hoe and dug a little deeper.

Once he was done, he buried both pouches inside and covered them up, after which he placed the plant right back on top.

He made sure that nothing seemed off and irregular and once he was done he left the farm. Before keeping the tool back inside the hut, he cleaned it and washed his hands.

After ensuring that everything was perfect, he went back to his room and laid down.

'Tomorrow should be fun.'

That was his last thought as he slowly closed his eyes.

…

The Next Day.

All the villagers gathered together at the central square with various bags containing all sorts of grains lined up neatly.

However, unlike yesterday where the atmosphere was joyous, there was a sombre expression on all their faces.

In front of them was a black carriage and several wooden carts.

A fat man with a bald head stared angrily at a couple who were kneeling with their heads hung low.

"So you're trying to tell me that you suddenly woke up and couldn't find it???"

The bald figure shouted angrily and slapped the man.

"Who do you think you're lying to? Do you seriously want me to believe that they just up and vanished? Are you a Magic Caster hmm? Do you know how to cast vanishing spells now?"

The man kneeling on the floor was tongue-tied. He truly couldn't answer that question. He was sure that he kept it there two days ago.

He never tried checking for it because he was confident that the coins would still be there. After all, he had always kept it there safely.

He turned his house upside down in search of it but to no avail. Eventually, he accepted that it just wasn't there.

He didn't want to believe it but someone most likely stole the coins.

So his plan was to just accept any punishment he received and after the Tax Collector leaves, he would gather everyone and conduct a thorough search.

Not hearing any reply from him, the Tax Collector slapped him again.

"Did you not hear my question?... Or are you suddenly deaf?? Tell me right now, are you a Magic Caster?"

With a red handprint on his face, he opened his mouth and spoke:

"No S—"

"—Yes, exactly!!! The answer is no!! You're just a stupid village chief and those coins were your responsibility. Now, because of you everyone will have to suffer the consequences."

"Ah, pleas—"

He slapped him again and spat on the floor.

"—Did I give you permission to speak?... Unless I say so, you will shut that dirty mouth of yours."

The Tax Collector shifted his gaze back to the villagers and surveyed them, his eyes shining in a cold light.

"Due to the ineptitude of your village chief, you all will receive a collective punishment. Now, I want you all to gather the rest of the harvest and bring them here this instant. Also, this includes your coins as well."

After he spoke, all their expressions changed. Telling them to bring their remaining harvest was akin to sentencing them to death, after all harvest season was over.

All they had now was what they would use to survive from now till the next harvest season.

However, the man didn't care about their thoughts. He himself also had to report back to the Local Lord.

This was the best solution for him.

The good news was that besides the missing coins, the harvest proceeds were still plentiful so at least the Local Lord would be somewhat satisfied.

In truth, the coins weren't too important. After all this wasn't the only village he collected taxes from, however his share would only reduce once he gave his reports.

This concerned his own money so he had to make an example of them.

He looked back at Landers.

"As for you, since you're the main person at fault, your punishment will be higher. I remember you have two daughters? Where are they?—oh before that."

His gaze shifted to Landers' wife, Heni.

'Hmm, she doesn't seem that bad. I guess I'll have to include her as well. Three should be enough or else I'll receive a scolding from Lord Herris.'

"You." He pointed at her. "Get up and come here."

Landers seemed to catch on to what was going on and almost protested but was met with a heavy fist on his face from one of the guards accompanying the Tax Collector.

"You want to challenge my authority?... This is what happens when you fail your duties. This should be a lesson and next time, you should guard what doesn't belong to you with your life."

After speaking, he just ignored Landers and asked his guard to drag Heni to him. However, he also realised that Landers' two daughters hadn't stepped out to which he flashed a cold smile.

"It seems my words are really falling on deaf ears here."

He called two of his guards to hold Landers in place as he placed four rings on each of his right fingers.

After he was done, he shaped his palm into a fist and was just about to land a straight punch on Landers face before two loud yells erupted from the crowd.

Two women in their early twenties rushed out of the crowd frantically and joined Landers. The Tax Collector studied them carefully and nodded in satisfaction.

Meanwhile Ingram quietly observed the man's expressions and mannerisms. Rosella's hands were trembling as she squeezed his hand tightly; however, his sights never departed from the man.

'As expected, there are repercussions. But... I certainly did not expect this.'

Although he somewhat expected this outcome, the lustful personality of the Tax Collector caught him a little by surprise.

The Tax Collector didn't try to hide it and even a child could guess what he would do to those three women.

He quickly made calculations in his mind and arrived at a possible way to profit even more from this situation even after he arrived in the city.

'Well.. Mister Tax Collector, it seems we have a lot to talk about.'