Thief Marigold

7.

“Let’s check something first, Marigold.”

“Yes, benefactor. What should I do?”

“As you can see, I have a honey candy in my hand right now.”

“Looks delicious!”

“I’m going to hide this in my sleeve. What comes to your mind?”

“Just one bite, please! I’ll just suck on it once and give it back!”

“Take it once if you want.”

Lancel watched Marigold, waiting for her hand to move.

It was to find out how good Marigold’s thieving skills were, taught by the Thief Master.

Spot-!

‘……!’

Taking advantage of the moment Marigold’s hand blurred, he quickly grabbed her wrist.

“Heuk!”

“Got you, you little thief.”

“Save me! Ah, no, how did you know?”

“……”

Marigold was bewildered.

“I’ve never been caught head-on before……”

Lancel admired Marigold’s hand. It was already almost inside his sleeve.

If he had been a little late, it would have almost touched.

“Eat it.”

“Oop!”

‘How much stealing has she been doing?’

Lancel began to grasp Marigold’s talents as a thief one by one.

“Catch!”

“Yes!”

“Fetch!”

“Woof!”

“Hide!”

“Erasing my presence is my specialty.”

“Cry!”

“Uwaaaah!”

“Go to Hesti and get a snack!”

“Yes! Huh? This is just a chore……”

“Lie down!”

“Yes!”

“Wash your hands when you’re done eating!”

“Yes sir!”

==========

—Imperial Calendar 816, September 15th. Weather: occasionally cloudy.

—Marigold has trained in thievery. Pickpocketing (Advanced 55%), Lockpicking (Advanced 19%), Dagger Art (Intermediate 11%), Stealth (Intermediate 32%), Concealment (Intermediate 12%), Skinning (Beginner 86%), Paralysis Poison (Beginner 7%), Throwing (Intermediate 29%), Rat Training (Intermediate 38%), Acting (Intermediate 5%), Begging (Intermediate 12%) proficiency increased.

※Part-time job interview list updated. Thief, Ninja, Assassin, Labyrinth Explorer, Covert Operations Unit, Secret Police, Snake Charmer, Undercover Scout, Elite Thug, Elite Beggar, Slave Chaser, Actor, Magic Performer, Shoe Maker, Trap Maker, Poison Needle Maker have been newly added.

==========

‘Terrifying.’

Watching Marigold train three mice to weave around her body, Lancel couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.

Marigold’s proficiency was too high.

Too high.

The Thief Master’s role as a teacher was a factor, but reaching that level at the age of fifteen was purely talent.

‘What kind of life did she live to have such diverse mastery?’

To Lancel’s question, Marigold replied.

“It wasn’t anything special. My teacher and his friends were all good people. I learned little by little from them. They’ve all passed away now, though.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

Lancel stared at the three mice piled on Marigold’s head like glutinous rice cakes before finally getting up.

Anyway, it worked out well.

“Mary, listen carefully. Steal everything the theater needs. You know there’s only a week left until the next performance, right?”

“Yes! But is it okay for me to go back to stealing……! I was going to wash my hands and live a good life……!”

“Who on earth told you to waste such talent?”

“……Lancel did……”

—Earn money honestly. You little thief.

Ah.

That’s right.

Lancel naturally changed the subject.

“Don’t think stealing is always bad, Mary. There are righteous thieves in this world, you know.”

“Righteous thieves?”

“Yes, righteous thieves.”

Lancel put his hand on Marigold’s shoulder and met her eyes.

“Rodnis Capital is full of people who have amassed wealth through blood and sin. It’s okay to pick their pockets. God would even want it. You wouldn’t even make a dent if you stole a little.”

“……”

Marigold clenched her fists as if she had remembered something at those words.

“You’re right, Lancel. I’ve realized it. All the wealth and possessions in this world actually belong to the Creator. Taking it from the hands of bad people and temporarily relocating it near me can’t be a sin.”

“Ah, you’ve opened your eyes, Mary. Come to the Thieves’ Guild.”

One corner of Lancel’s mouth curled up.

“Let’s go. A night stroll.”

“I’ll follow you to hell, Lancel.”

8.

—————————

[Fallen Noble Lady Simulation]

Create a schedule for the 3rd week of September.

Mon – Infiltrate the loan shark’s mansion.

Tue – Infiltrate the illegal slave trader’s mansion.

Wed – Infiltrate the pleasure district’s brothel.

Thu – Purchase performance props. (Location: Capital Auction House).

Fri – Performance practice. (Location: Baron Ibil Shen’s mansion).

Sat – Performance practice. (Location: Baron Ibil Shen’s mansion).

Sun – Theater performance. (Location: Capital Central Theater).

※This theft is permitted by God! Faith, Stamina, Sensitivity, Charm, Sexiness UP!

—————————

It was the time when Marigold was climbing over the fence in the early morning when everyone was asleep.

Not even a slight noise could be heard from the movement of running through the garden full of grass in a low posture.

Lancel followed Marigold, one step behind. In terms of stealth, her skills were far more plausible than his.

The sight of her moving on all fours, sweeping the floor while fluttering her black Robe, looked like just a slightly larger cat if you didn’t look closely.

“Lancel, this way.”

“The roof?”

“Yes, we’re going down from the roof. These people usually keep their safes near their bedrooms.”

“Such expertise.”

Lancel blankly watched Marigold using a hook and rope to descend upside down.

It looked like a spider crawling down a string.

A short whistle. It was right after that that three mice quickly hid inside the mansion from Marigold’s body.

From now on, the mice would search every corner of the house, find the direction of the safe, and observe people’s reactions.

‘Did they find it?’

How long had it been since Marigold wriggled over the window?

“Lancel. I found it, this.”

“Shh.”

She reappeared, carrying a heavy treasure chest whole.

‘She’s a thief through and through. She is a real thief, though.’

Marigold’s expression looked urgent as she returned to the roof.

“Run. Lancel!”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“There was a trap device under the safe!”

As if to prove those words, a loud alarm went off.

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

“A thief broke in!”

“Catch them! They couldn’t have gone far! Catch them now!”

Oh dear.

Lancel turned around as soon as he received the box from Marigold.

“Did they see us?”

“They couldn’t have seen our faces! Heuk, heuk!”

It was only after running for a long time, shaking off the pursuit, that they returned to the mansion.

“Hwaaak!”

Marigold’s expression, who had collapsed from exhaustion, was very excited.

“Hehe, hehehe……Lancel, the thrill is amazing. It’s the first time I’ve ever robbed such a big rich man’s house.”

“……”

“Ehehehehe.”

She’s got a serious case, Marigold.

“Whose house shall we rob next, Lancel?”

.

.

.

“Lancel. Where on earth did you get all this stolen goods?”

“It’s not like the Thief Master to wonder about the source of the goods.”

“……You are right.”

The Thief Guild Master, who had been called to the mansion, was astonished at the sight of the stolen goods piled up.

Silver coins and Gold coins, as well as silk, silverware, jewelry, and ornaments were scattered everywhere without distinction.

It was the result of Marigold and Lancel diligently robbing the wealthy people of the Imperial Capital for the past week.

“Can you dispose of it?”

“It’s difficult to do it all at once. We have no choice but to change it by slowly smuggling it out.”

“That’s enough.”

From the beginning, money wasn’t the only purpose.

“However, Lancel. If you keep stealing this much……”

“Don’t worry. I know it well.”

Lancel chuckled.

“The knights of the Imperial Capital can’t stay still if I’ve made this much trouble.”

In the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, countless Wise ones starved to death every day, and every time they passed through dark alleyways, unknown corpses rotted away, but the Imperial Capital Knights, who were only busy being polite, saying, ‘People die anyway.’

They will slowly start to move their heavy bodies.

They will be willing to form a search party to protect the wealth of the wealthy.

“Mary. Let’s live quietly for the time being. This should be enough to run the theater for a while. Got it?”

“Are we washing our hands?!”

“There’s a time for everything.”

“I understand. Quietly for the time being……”

Marigold nodded.

“Stealing is good, but my dream is to be an actress. Now that it’s come to this, I’m just going to turn my life around with acting, Lancel!”

Yes.

In two days, Marigold will become an actress again.

It was the first performance after changing the name from the Rogi Theater to the ‘Dante Theater.’

“Ah, if this love is a curse, I will go to hell!”

Although the script was still a cheap, third-rate melodrama, and it was just a theater that had been barely patched together by gathering the actors who had scattered here and there back to the mansion.

“Mary, you’re playing a male role?”

“Yes. I’m playing the rival knight in this story. I’m the lead, the lead!”

“You’ve made it?”

“Hehe, wait and see when I become famous later. I’ll spread the word everywhere that it’s all thanks to Lancel that I’ve become so successful.”

It was made up of only young women, so much so that even the male roles were played by women dressed as men, so it was somewhat clumsy.

“Lisanne! I accuse you of your sins. Lisanne!”

As time went by, it was turning into a pretty good feeling.

“Wow, you guys are working hard today.”

Even Baron Ibil Shen, who was initially very upset, now seemed quite satisfied.

“At first, I thought Lancel was doing something strange again! But now that I see it, it’s quite lively and good. It feels like my mansion is full of life.”

“I’m glad then.”

He no longer complained about using his mansion as the theater’s practice space and dormitory without permission.

.

.

.

Performance day.

“The Dante Theater cannot perform at the Central Theater. If you want to, do it somewhere in the marketplace.”

==========

—Imperial Calendar 816, August 22nd. Weather: Cloudy.

—Marigold’s theater has failed to perform!

==========

“I told you I was going to be kicked out soon, didn’t I?”

At Duchess Ox’s words, Lancel scratched his chin for a moment. Come to think of it, he seemed to have heard it. He just didn’t know it was today.

“Even if you changed the name, the essence is still the Rogi Theater, so it’s only natural that you’re being kicked out. Didn’t you know that? Lancel.”

Behind him, Marigold and the actors of the Dante Theater, who were very disappointed, could be seen.

They were sitting down with blank faces, unable to say a word.

“If you’re disappointed, Lancel, you can try raising them again from the beginning. If you can get recognized as a good theater, you can perform at the Central Theater again.”

“……I’ll think about it.”

Duchess Ox smiled.

“I have a good eye for people, Lancel. You can be a good theater owner. Use my name as a patron. If you restore my tarnished reputation, I might give you a good reward.”

“……What kind of reward?”

“Lancel, I heard you don’t have anyone to marry yet, right?”

Ah.

That’s a bit……

“The thought of being gossiped about behind my back as a woman who couldn’t even raise a theater and got kicked out already makes my teeth grind. Lancel, don’t miss the opportunity I’m giving you.”

Duchess Ox said that and disappeared.

Central Theater.

It was a stage that Marigold had to be on in order to become the ‘Prima Donna Marigold of the Theater.’

Taking first place there was the condition for the ending.

‘Hmm.’

Lancel looked at Marigold.

She looked completely lost.

9.

==========

—Imperial Calendar 816, August 23rd. Weather: Cloudy.

—Marigold’s Karma has decreased.

—The current Karma Point is ‘14.’

==========

‘……?’

In the dark dawn, Lancel opened his eyes at the unexpected alarm.