"So, whose holiday home is this?" Lily asked.
Claud looked at the mansion and the garden compound, which seemed a tad neglected. There was only one person manning the front gates, and that person looked very sleepy to him. This was the perfect place for Lily's training as an apprentice thief.
"It's a baronet's family home…a baronet whose name is quite familiar for the two of us," Claud replied.
"Hmm." Lily tilted her head. "Who?"
"Baronet Nacht," Claud replied. "This is his holiday home."
"Nachtville's administrator…" Lily shook her head. "Right, Risti and Dia was done with solving the murders there, right? What's keeping them? They should be back by now, but…"
"They probably needed to give testimony and things like that," said Claud, who was more knowledgeable about icky issues like solving murders and whatnot. "Something as big as this odd skill probably drew the attention of the Association and the various nobles."
"Makes sense, but I really want to find someone to test my new sweets on," Lily replied.
"The one that you let me try some time ago?" Claud asked, looking around at the mansion. There was only one guard sitting down at a small booth in the front gate, and that guard in question had a vacant look in his eyes, as if he was ruminating on the meaning of life.
Claud couldn't blame him either. Granted, that fellow probably had a fairly nice title, as the Chief Guard of Baronet Nacht's summer home, but there was no progression from there forward. That fellow was at the peak of his life...but it didn't look like much to him.
"Yeah," Lily replied, unaware of his thoughts. "I tried to make it so that it doesn't leave behind that sticky aftertaste."
"Well, I don't mind having another one to try," Claud replied, his eyes still on the guard.
"Really?" Lily asked. "Alright! I'll make a packet of them for you, then!"
Claud wanted to say that a packet was too much, but her eager face was more than enough to stop him from saying so. Therefore, he settled by starting on a quiet analysis on how one should plan an incursion into private territory, a short lesson that lasted for around five minutes.
It was the basics, but the one thing about breaking into private property was that one's skills played a huge part in enabling the process. Muscleheads like Dia, whose skills are all tied to violently eviscerating an enemy, would face problems in doing just about anything else. Therefore, after mastering the basics, one's path in the art of breaking in would be unique to a point. Not everyone could do the same as Claud, just as how he wouldn't be able to use the means of other colleagues in the same field.
"You make it sound very simple, though." Lily tilted her head. "What happened to the practical lessons I'm supposed to be having? You just tossed four words at me and explained what they meant."
"Practice makes perfect," Claud replied. "Caution, calmness, care and courage. These four words are the art of infiltration distilled. Keep them in your heart as you infiltrate your target location and you will rarely fail."
"Why rarely?" Lily asked.
"You can't control the last factor that can make or make a heist," Claud replied. "The Moons. If you're lucky, you could block out all four words and still succeed, but if you're truly unlucky, even the strictest of adherence won't save you."
"So it boils down to luck?"
"Yeah, luck." Claud thought about his own experience, back when he was robbing a certain treasury, and shook his head. Who knew that a small box, placed out of the way, would be so heavily protected? And why would Duke Istrel—
Claud shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Sometimes, you just get unlucky. Learning to cut losses or to abort an expedition is the only way you might be able to stay alive."
"Something wrong?" Lily asked. "You seemed distracted just now."
"Oh, I was thinking about the poor guard there. He's the only guard here…and there's no way he can improve his position, since he's the chief guard of this place," Claud replied. "One might say that he's at the peak of his life, but it's a rather sad peak."
"Only from your point of view, though," Lily replied. "He might be content with his life. Maybe he makes enough for his family to live comfortably. It's just a mundane life; by no means is it a sad or laughable one. Maybe it's because you've been exposed to more things, but I don't think that gives you the right to be arrogant about it."
"Arrogant?" Claud thought about her words.
"Yes. Isn't that just plain old arrogance?" Lily asked. "Pride. Conceit. Snobbery. Whatever you want to call it. Didn't think you were that kind of person, though, considering how we first met."
"Looks like I changed quite a bit over the past few months," Claud muttered, before slapping himself twice. The sharp sounds drew not just Lily's attention, but also that of the guard, and the master thief immediately made a break for it. It was fine to embarrass himself in front of his friends, but another to do so in front of a stranger.
"Wait, I didn't mean to—"
Claud held up his hand, silencing her. "You're right. I…it's just that recent events have changed me more than I thought possible."
"Recent events?" Lily asked, tilting her head.
"No, nothing much. Just some…personal issues, that's all," Claud replied. "Sorry."
He didn't want to elaborate any deeper on that issue, but Claud knew that he had hit upon the right answer. How could he remain the same after taking out the Tri-Head Snake? Somewhere deep inside, Claud knew that he regarded himself as someone extraordinary, incomparable to the average person on the street.
A dangerous mindset, if nothing else. Rodrio had proven that even vanillas could pose a threat to mana-users; if he continued to assume this mindset on his heists and in daily living, Claud could foresee a day in which he died to his carelessness and arrogance.
The false reputation heaped upon him had definitely worsened his mental state too. Other than pressure, there was this sense of…smugness, a smugness that he had no right to enjoy.
Yet, it was there to stay.
"I understand," said Lily. "You did help me to get rid of an entire family of corrupt nobles, after all."
It was unsettling to see how Lily referred to her family with such a distant term of address, especially just to console Claud. The master thief felt bad at that thought, but he didn't know what to say. No matter how impassive Lily looked right now, any mention of family had to sting…all the moreso if she brought it up herself.
"It's a really big undertaking," Lily continued. "It's natural that you'll have an inflated opinion of yourself after all this — I also sometimes think that I can crush more noble families with the same tactics."
She smiled, but Claud could spot the tiniest of sorrows hidden in her expression. He didn't know if it was just his imagination or not, but thinking about one's departed family would always be painful, no matter how one's relations were like with them in life.
He was intimate with that fact, after all.
"Don't worry about me," Claud forced out. "Anyway, now that the guard's somewhat awake, entering this place should pose a moderate challenge to you. Go in, check the place out, and then come out. Make sure not to leave any traces."
"Now?" Lily asked, her eyes wide.
"Fifteen minutes to make some preparations, and then enter," Claud replied, waving his hands lazily. "One guard, no notable traps, and the guard himself is sleepy. Go in, observe the interior, and then come back out. Report to me what you see afterwards."
"O-okay." Lily nodded.
"Off you go. I'll head to some high point and watch your progress from there," Claud replied. "Remember to prioritise safety at all times. If you think you need to flee, do so, and then tell me why you wanted to flee afterwards."
Shooing Lily away, Claud climbed up a nearby tree and hid himself in the branches. Under the cover of leaves, only the observant would notice his presence, but he didn't really care if they did notice or not. After all, he wasn't doing anything illegal.
Well, other than training and watching someone conduct a crime.
That said, there was nothing of value in this mansion. Baronet Nachtville didn't leave anything of value behind here, since he probably expected thieves to drop by or something. It was a pity, no matter how Claud looked at it, and to add insult to injury, he even had a guard here.
As for why there was a guard in the first place…who knew?
Keeping an eye on the small piece of land, Claud waited for Lily to make her move.