Thief Marigold

3.

“You little thief! How much did you steal, huh?”

“Only three silver coins…”

“Only? Only?”

“Eek!”

Leaving behind the scene of Marigold being manhandled by the guards while tightly bound, Lancel put his arm around the guard captain’s shoulder.

“Hey, you know who I am, right?”

“Of course, I do. Aren’t you Lancel Dante of the Dante Family?”

It seems worthwhile to have made acquaintances with the guards while wandering around the Imperial Capital.

“That little kid behind you, she’s someone I know, so just give her butt a few taps and let her go.”

“Hey, we can’t do that, Lancel.”

“……?”

“Baron Pellon was furious and told us to hang her immediately if she was caught. You know Baron Pellon’s personality well, don’t you, Lancel?”

“…Don’t tell me she picked that man’s pocket.”

“Yes, she got caught red-handed.”

Baron Pellon was a well-known loan shark in the Imperial Capital.

“He only said to hang her, but he didn’t say how to hang her, right?”

“Yes?”

“In short, all you have to do is hang her, right? Isn’t that right?”

Lancel said, handing him a few silver coins.

It was just wordplay, but if he used Lancel’s name, the guard captain would have a reason to say something.

The Dante Family was far grander than a mere loan shark baron.

“Hang the thief!”

“Hiyah!”

That day, Marigold was hung in the middle of the town square in her underwear.

“What’s that sister doing?”

“She stole something. You shouldn’t be like that.”

Lancel said, dismissing all the kids who were watching.

Marigold’s buttocks, hanging in the pillory with hollow, dead eyes, were already bright red.

24 hours in the pillory.

Ten lashes on the buttocks.

That was the punishment Marigold received.

==========

—Imperial Calendar 816, September 12. Weather: Clear.

—Marigold was left bound in an embarrassing position for a whole day. She pays a harsh price for her theft. She’s ruined for marriage now.

※But isn’t it fortunate that she saved her life? Sex appeal, Faith UP!! Morality, Elegance, Condition Down.

==========

Chirp, chirp!

The birds sitting all over Marigold’s body fluttered their wings and flew away.

A guard appeared, yawning.

“Release the prisoner.”

“Ugh!”

Marigold, released, collapsed to the ground, her legs giving way.

Lancel, who had been sleeping on a pile of straw in a nearby wagon, also opened his eyes at that moment.

“Mary.”

“……”

Marigold looked up at Lancel with a dead look on her face. A hint of curiosity could be seen in her blank eyes.

A mysterious noble man who suddenly appeared, negotiated with the guards, and guarded the area all day long.

In this playthrough, Lancel’s existence, whom she was meeting for the first time, was quite curious to her.

“An ensemble kid who worked at the theater, right?”

“D-Do you know me?”

“Here.”

“Hoo!”

Marigold hurriedly began to put on the clothes that had been thrown at her face.

It was the beginning of a chilly autumn, and she had been in her underwear for a day.

“Come on. Let’s get some food.”

“W-Wait, let’s go together, ugh!”

Lancel turned around and took the lead. Marigold, who got up on her wobbly legs, followed him, staggering.

4.

Clatter, clatter.

“I didn’t think there would still be such a kind person in the Imperial Capital full of cold people… munch, munch…”

“Are you going to choke if you eat so fast?”

Lancel only sipped his beer, watching Marigold devour meat, bread, honey, and cheese like crazy.

The colorful string bracelet tied around her wrist caught his eye.

“Where did you get that?”

Marigold swallowed the food quickly and held up her hand to show it in detail.

“This? My master gave it to me when I was young. He told me to pass it on to my disciple when I found one… Ah.”

When Lancel grabbed Marigold’s hand and examined it closely, her face flushed slightly.

With meat grease all over her mouth.

‘Thief?’

Thief.

Thieves in this world were truly complex beings.

It was easy to think that thieves were only those who sneaked in at night to steal valuables or pickpocketed in the marketplace.

Some of them formed organizations called Guilds and flaunted their influence.

There were also those who worked as trap experts in expeditions or wars.

There were even so-called ‘privateer thieves’ who legally stole with the permission of the imperial family, royal family, or lord.

“Was your master a thief too?”

“Well, he said he was the most famous thief on the continent. He was such a boastful person, so I don’t know if it’s true…”

Marigold blinked her eyes, subtly pulling away her hand that Lancel was holding.

‘Maybe that’s true?’

Marigold’s bracelet looked familiar.

Among the many types of thieves, it was the bracelet of the most special being… a ‘Thief Master’.

Like its name, it was the highest reputation and position that could be reached through thievery.

“He was a thief, but he was still a good person. When I was young, all my money was stolen, and he found it again.”

“Ah…!”

Lancel opened his mouth.

‘Such luck?’

A Thief Master suddenly appeared in front of Marigold, who was destined to wander the streets and starve to death.

So that’s what it was. The capricious generosity of a great thief saved this girl.

You were lucky, Marigold.

“Thanks to that, I learned how to steal, and I use it to earn a little bit of living expenses… ahem.”

…Or not?

The experience of being helped by a thief led Marigold down the path of thievery.

‘Is that a good thing…?’

It’s ambiguous.

Anyway, a thief is a thief.

Bad is bad.

Even this time, she almost died, didn’t she?

‘Hmm.’

The game guide came to Lancel’s mind.

==========

[Game Guide]

-The list of obtainable endings has been updated!

1.

Thief Master Marigold. -A Rank-

2.

Righteous Thief Marigold.

3.

Marigold, Dew of the Gallows.

4.

Labyrinth Explorer Marigold.

5.

Just a Petty Thief Marigold.

6.

???.

-Unacquired achievements have been discovered.

1.

Shall we steal even the imperial family’s treasure? -S Rank-

2.

What about obtaining the Temple’s sacred object? -S Rank-

3.

Master of the Thieves’ Guild.

4.

Steal the chastity of the young noble Lancel Dante.

5.

???

※It’s not stealing, it’s just temporarily moving the location of the item near my body, okay?

==========

‘Why steal that again?’

While Lancel was dumbfounded.

“Still, I’m trying to refrain from stealing as much as possible. It’s hard to resist the urge sometimes, but I’m somehow restraining myself… I am. Yes. It could go wrong again like yesterday…”

“You’re completely addicted to Kleptomaniac. You little thief.”

“O-Oh, it’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding. My hands really moved on their own. I even confessed that it was a mistake as soon as I stole it without me knowing! But that miser… no, that nobleman was so excited, asking if that was all I stole… sob.”

“Even I would be suspicious.”

“It’s unfair! I’m really desperately trying to suppress it! I’m living while barely enduring it!”

Marigold was shaking her hands and even her eyes were trembling as if she was suppressing a bad habit. She was no different from an addict.

Lancel clicked his tongue quietly.

‘I thought so.’

In the game Fallen Noble Lady Simulation, ‘Kleptomaniac’ was treated as one of the status ailments.

==========

Status Ailment ‘Kleptomaniac’: Active ‘Naughty Hands’ occurs intermittently. Marigold steals nearby objects without even realizing it.

==========

A status ailment where you steal things without even realizing it. Looking at Marigold, it was already severe.

‘Is that the fate of a thief?’

Marigold suddenly sparkled her eyes at Lancel, who was clicking his tongue.

“Above all, I have a dream. I can’t live as a thief for the rest of my life.”

“A dream?”

“Yes!”

“What kind of dream?”

“Well, of course, it’s to be the main character in the theater! You said you knew I worked at the theater, Lancel!”

Marigold, who had been holding the fruit, put it down and put her hands together.

Her emerald eyes were almost radiating light.

“Touching stories! The prima donna of the theater! Music and songs! Dance and drama! Instruments and arpeggios! Beautiful performance dresses! Stories of love, adventure, and destiny!”

The bustling scenery of the inn was, for a moment, transformed into a theater within Marigold.

“Even if I’m of humble status, I can be anything in the theater. A noble, a rich person, an Administrator, a clergyman, a knight, a magician. Isn’t that the best?”

‘You’ve actually done it all, haven’t you?’

Lancel swallowed those words.

“I love the theater. I want to go on stage as the main character. It’s a space of endless freedom. Isn’t that really the best!”

“Calm down.”

“It’s the best!”

The empire was lenient in many ways when it came to cultural activities.

As long as they didn’t insult the imperial family, any story was allowed, and they didn’t particularly interfere.

Marigold was talking about that now.

“I want to shine. Like the main character of the play I saw when I was young, following my master…”

“That’s a more normal dream than I thought. Even though you’re a petty thief.”

“Ugh.”

“Even though you’re a petty thief who almost became dew of the gallows.”

“T-The thief will retire someday. Only if I can make a living with the money I earn from the theater. I only get three copper coins a month, so I can’t even afford food right now.”

“Don’t steal and earn money honestly. You little thief.”

Marigold muttered, avoiding his gaze.

“…Benefactor…”

Her gaze was fixed on Lancel.

Benefactor, a nostalgic title.

It was a little embarrassing, though.

“…Actually, even now, sometimes, when I close my eyes, I think of stories. Stories that happen between a handsome knight and me…”

Lancel, who was bringing the beer glass to his mouth, felt a subtle warmth lingering in her eyes.

“I believe in fate.”

“……?”

That day.

Lancel took Marigold to the theater dormitory and left immediately.

When he returned home, he took off his coat and suddenly saw something that had fallen to the floor.

“Lancel, here. You dropped it.”

“Thank you, Hesti.”

What Hesti handed him was a piece of paper.

—Please come to see the play.

—I’m going to join the noble’s theater soon, so please come to see it now!

—To my benefactor, Mary of the Rogi Theater.

‘When did she put this in?’

Lancel was stunned for a moment, holding the paper that had entered his arms without him even noticing.

The disciple of the Thief Master, Marigold.

Her hand skills seemed to have already reached the top level among thieves.

“Anyway.”

Lancel recalled the owner of the Rogi Theater that Marigold had mentioned.

‘He ate my sponsorship money and wiped his mouth, huh?’

It was clear since Marigold was in rags.

Lancel immediately prepared to go out again.

“Hesti, contact the master of the Thieves’ Guild.”

“Understood, young master.”

.

.

.

“The Rogi Theater is not a theater, Lancel.”

And Lancel heard unexpected words from the master of the Thieves’ Guild.

“Then what is it?”

“It’s… a trading company.”

“A trading company?”

“Yes. They buy and sell people.”

“……”

Lancel’s mind went blank for a moment at the next words.

“All the children there are slaves. They are merchandise. They will be sold when the time comes. They will know that they were slaves when that time comes.”