With the second floor serving as one giant balcony, we have a clear view of the area below us, not that that would be much of a help, considering there are only two people roaming around at this hour. But still, the dancing silhouette of the vegetation below alongside the rustling sound it made brings with it a kind of pace in this otherwise heart-pumping situation.
That's what anyone would've thought, anyway. But for a certain blonde traveler, it is anything but.
"You are seriously going to get us caught."
"Relax, Yuu, I know what I'm doing." With her hands behind her back, Lumine continues exploring in a carefree manner, dismissing my concern as she skips around like she owns the place. "Besides, the only reason I can be like this is thanks to you." She slightly raises one of her legs, pointing at the sole of her feet. "Think of it as me complimenting your immaculate control."
"I'd much prefer a simple praise." Slightly opening one of the sliding doors, I took a quick peek before closing it. Nothing eye-catching so far. "It's a lot less heart attack-inducing."
"You're a puppet, it's not like you have a heart. In a literal sense, of course."
"Nope. My point still stands though."
After meandering through the majority of the upper area, we finally reached what looks to be where the bedrooms are. Putting an ear against the door, the faint snoring coming from the other side seems to confirm it.
"There are still rooms left over there. Should we split up?"
"Yeah, it'll be faster that way." Lumine nodded, before pointing towards the room in front of us. "I'll take the one on this side, and you'll take the other?"
"Sure."
With that, the two of us split up. While Lumine went inside the aforementioned bedroom, I slid open the door next to it before entering.
With a large wooden table at its center, the room was comparatively light in terms of gaudy decorations and are instead more simple in its design, with multiple bookshelves filled with books and scrolls alongside stacks of documents neatly organized on the table.
However, as if to compensate for the lack of expensive stuff that are usually strewn around, there's a giant self-portrait of a man dressed in all blue, with a facial hair so thick you can probably make a brush out of it, hanging one one side of the wall.
'Looks like a pain in the ass to maintain, my god.'
Ignoring the self-important expression looking down on me from the painting, I walked up to the seat behind the table and opened the sliding window slightly. Immediately, a gust of wind makes its way inside, causing the papers on the table to be blown away as I was greeted by the sight of an empty and dimly lit street alongside the clear view of the house across with the occasional guards patrolling around its walls.
Picking up the fallen papers, I kept the window open just enough to let some light in but not enough for the wind to make a mess of things, and turned my attention towards the newly organized pile of documents on the table.
'Let's see what we have here.'
With the combination of poor lighting and fancy terminologies I don't understand, it took some time for me to comb through the entire document I could find.
'Banquet invitation, revenue report, tax report, receipt from a jewelry store, tax report again, letter from a noble house, announcement letter from the Qixing, and… even more tax reports.'
Putting the papers down, I sat in the wooden armchair and mulled things over.
'I guess hoping for any evidence of their wrongdoing to be left in the open is too much. Since that's the case, the only thing I can do is look around the room a bit more closely.'
With my decision made, I first inspected the table for any hidden compartments, only to find nothing of importance. I also checked the area behind each bookshelves by lifting them away, but was only met with a blank wall. As for the scrolls in the bookshelves themselves? Nothing.
That leaves the comically large painting of the head of the house.
'Surely, it wouldn't be so obvious, right?'
Carefully lifting the painting, I was (not) surprised to find a safe hidden behind said painting, sitting snugly in a perfectly sized hole.
'Opening it by force… seems like a bad idea.'
Deciding to leave the cracking to Lumine, I made one final round around the room, making sure everything is just like how it was, minus the painting, before leaving the study and making my way to the next one.
The next several rooms are more of the same as the ones downstairs: full of decorations with not a sign of what we're looking for.
There were a couple of bedrooms like the first one we found, but they're empty and after a quick and thorough search, I ended up not finding anything.
Once all the unexplored rooms have been checked, I make my way back towards the side Lumine was in, only to find her still in the same bedroom, currently hunched over on the couple sleeping on the large bed.
"...what in the fuck are you doing?"
Turning her head towards me, she made a shushing gesture before continuing on whatever it is she's doing.
Holding back the forming headache, I made my way towards the blonde traveler while making sure the two of us were covered with a barrier.
As I got closer, I eventually was able to make out what she's holding. Currently, on one of Lumine's hands, is a small container filled with something. Liquid, judging by the slight sloshing sound. While the other is holding a medium-sized paint brush that's currently moving about the face of the man I saw in the painting,
"Making a mess of his face? Really? What is this, a sleepover?"
Despite the fact that I spoke in a regular tone of voice, she didn't seem startled by it. Whether that's because of her trust in me or her being too preoccupied to even notice, I couldn't tell.
"By the time I'm done, it might just be a masterpiece." She boasted, as her hand continued to move in a broad stroke. "What do you think his reaction would be when he wakes up to find his precious beard red?"
"Were you perhaps hoping that he'll do something to the House of Hong when he wakes up looking like that?"
"It crossed my mind, but I don't think he's stupid enough to be like that." Not looking bothered by the prospect, Lumine shrugged her shoulders. "But in the case that he did? Wouldn't that be funny?"
"It's not like we'll be there to see it, but whatever floats your boat, I guess."
Sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder just what she has experienced in her travels. Is her impression of the typical noble families that bad, or is she just that much of a child at heart and finds this type of thing amusing?
'"A child at heart, huh. Not like I'm one to talk.'
"In any case, have you found anything?"
"Yep." Inspecting the man's face a bit closer, Lumine nodded in satisfaction before putting the paintbrush away, pulling out a much smaller one as she moved towards his wife. Or mistress, you never know. "It's right there by the table, you can read it if you want. I'll come over once I'm done."
"Sure. Oh, and I found a safe in his study, by the way. Might want to hurry up and give that one a crack."
"Well, well. Can't have it waiting anymore than it should now, do we?" Letting out a whistle, Lumine's previously relaxed movement suddenly became much more hurried. "Sorry lady, guess you can't experience the full treatment this time around."
Shaking my head at her antics, I walked over towards the table she pointed to and took a seat next to it before grabbing what looked like a letter.
'Sent from one Bellinor. Probably that Fontaine guy.'
Minus all the pleasantries, the letter basically boils down to this:
Apparently, since Bellinor's request to make use of his parents connection to this house was denied for unknown reason, he resorted to simply 'borrowing' the house's influence in Liyue in exchange for a stake at his parents company, which is something he can offer apparently, considering he's the heir to the company's proverbial throne, or so he writes.
And apparently, considering the situation Yun Jin found herself in, having a share in one of the most successful companies that deals in alternative energy sources is enough of a sway for the head of the house. Though the amount of times this guy emphasizes the word 'most successful' does put some doubt on the authenticity of his claims.
'Not that I care that much anyway.'
On top of that, he also offered an upfront payment of Mora numbering in the millions. The cherry on top for what already seems like a terribly one-sided deal.
All for the sake of having the director of the most successful opera house in Liyue dancing on the palm of his hands. Is there ever an occasion where such a transaction would ever be worth it, I wonder?
'Then again, who am I to question the obsession of a lovestruck idiot?'
As yet another attempt at persuading the head of the house, it seems that Bellinor flat out stated that, should the House of Lan decline, he would extend the offer to a different prominent noble house, though the slight jab in his words makes it clear which house he has in mind.
'Stoking the fire of rivalry, huh. Considering the bad blood between the two, the last thing the House of Lan wants is for their enemy to get a leg up over them in terms of anything.
'Yun Jin said that both houses are involved, so I wonder if Bellinor ended up writing a similar letter to the House of Hong?
'But if that's the case, isn't he taking a big risk? Manipulating two noble households to do his bidding like that… my guy's waving around a double-edged sword like it's nothing. What if he ended up stabbing himself in the heart?'
Before I could sink myself deeper into this nonsense, I suddenly felt a hand shaking my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"You done?"
Hearing the familiar voice of the blonde traveler, I looked up from the letter in my hands only to see her smiling expression, the paint container and the brush already stored in another fabric of reality.
"Yup. Are you?" I replied, throwing all the speculations to the back of my mind as I neatly folded the letter.
"Mhm." Giving one final glance to the sleeping couple, Lumine offered her hand to me. "Let's go."
Taking her hand, I let myself get pulled up before the two of us exited the bedroom towards the study that I visited previously.
"So what do you think?" Lumine asked as we walked down the balcony.
"It's a mess, is what it is." I sighed. "Can't believe that guy is willing to offer that much for a single girl."
"Without context, that actually doesn't sound too bad." Lumine remarked with a thoughtful hum.
"And how about with context?"
"That would make him a creep of the highest order. A downright criminal even."
"Sounds about right."
Once we arrived and entered the study, Lumine wasted no time and immediately made her way towards the square-shaped hole in the wall and began sticking her ear into the safe as she slowly rotated one of the three dials attached to it.
While she's busy cracking the code, I sat in the wooden armchair, once again opening a crack in the window as I gazed at the house across while my mind wandered.
'So far, things seem to be going according to plan. Hopefully that'll be the case by the end of it.
'I would've preferred if we could get a day off, but since the Rite of Descension is today, there's not much I can do about it. Hopefully, it'll start in the evening. At least let me get some shut eye.'
Letting out a tired yawn, I rested my hand by the window's frame and began to hum a song as I waited for Lumine to finish.
After a while, the sound of a click coming from behind me caused me to stop and turn around.
"Jackpot." With an excited grin on her face, Lumine wasted no time opening the safe.
Walking over towards the blonde traveler, I peeked over her head to get a good look at the contents of the safe.
"Jackpot indeed."
Other than a few stamped documents and a single bounded scroll, the safe was filled to the brim with gemstones of all colors, reflecting the meager amount of light in the room as it glimmered, tempting anyone that caught sight of it to take it all away.
And boy does it work like a charm.
In an instant, the gemstones were gone, safely stored away in the hands of our resident traveler. While I would normally offer some kind of rebuke, this time around, I couldn't even be bothered to. At this point, the combined total of our loot is probably enough for us to live comfortably for a very long time.
There's one problem though.
"How are we even going to sell all these things?"
"It's simple, Yuu." After giving the scroll a read, Lumine handed it over to me. "There's always a market for stolen goods in every large city. We just have to find ourselves a good fencer."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Taking the scroll from her, I proceeded to read the entire thing.
"You just have to ask the right questions to the right people." She said mysteriously. "Just leave it to me, I'll find a way."
"I'll leave you to it then."
"What's this?" Lumine let out a forced gasp as her expression morphed into one of surprise. "Not only do you not disagree, or even say a few choice words for that matter, but is that a hint of excitement I hear in your voice? Who are you and what have you done to my Yuu?"
"Get off my case, princess." Once I read everything written down on that scroll, I carefully rolled it up again, making sure that it didn't get damaged. One more thing to add to the evidence bucket. "I don't recall ever disagreeing in this whole thing in the first place."
"Well you certainly don't sound too enthused about it."
"I just don't want to have to deal with the aftermath should you ever fuck up one of your 'outdoor activities.'"
"Trust me, I won't. I have a lot of experience in this kind of thing." She said, as she puffs up her chest proudly. "But hey, it's nice to know that I have a boyfriend that's very supportive of one of my passions."
Rubbing the bridge of my nose in exasperation, I closed the safe and put everything the way it was before grabbing her hand and dragged her out of the room towards our next destination.
"Well, well. Someone's excited to line their pocket with more Mora."
"Just… shut up. For once in your life."
"Maybe if you ask nicely…."
Letting out a tired sigh, I led the blonde traveler towards the direction we came from. "Let's just get this night over with."
Exiting through the kitchen, we avoided the patrolling guards and hopped over the walls towards an empty alleyway, making sure that everything we took weren't somehow misplaced.
After that, we quickly made our way towards the mansion across the street, using the exact same method of entry as the ones we used before. Works surprisingly well, all things considered. And things were made even easier once we're inside, considering the overall layout is a near perfect copy of its blue counterpart.
The two of us quickly got to work, carefully maneuvering the still awake servants as we did the same thing we did before. And by the end of it, we walked out with more evidence while leaving the noble house with a lot less riches and a souvenir in the form of a facial makeover for the owners.
As we walked through the deserted alleyways of Liyue Harbor, taking the long way around back just in case, I can finally rest easy knowing that we managed to pull things off without a hitch.
"It's finally over. I can't wait to hit the sack already." Stretching my tired limbs, I let out a sigh of relief.
"What? Come on, you can't just go to sleep like that!" With a harsh whisper, Lumine suddenly stopped and grabbed me by the shoulders. "After pulling off such a successful job like that, don't you think it's only fitting for us to celebrate?"
"And sleeping is my way of celebrating."
"Come on!" She whined. "This is the perfect occasion for us to crack open the barrel! It's been left to rot for god knows how long and I'm not about to let it sit around collecting dust! I'm even following all those stupid rules you set up!"
"Okay, first of all, it's not stupid, it's there to make sure nothing bad happens." Releasing myself from her surprisingly tight hold, I pulled down the messed up hood as we continued our walk. "Second of all, it's currently very early in the morning, so I'd say that the 'no day drinking' part is in effect."
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Fine, two can play at that game." Letting out an annoyed huff, Lumine continued. "The word 'day' in the term 'day drinking' refers to daytime, which, by definition, refers to a timeframe ranging from sunrise to sunset, therefore somewhere around six in the morning until six in the evening.
"Following that definition, we're currently somewhere around… two in the morning or so, hence we're currently within the timeframe known as nighttime. Which means any alcohol consumption during this time can not be classified as day drinking. Since that's the case, I am well within my rights to consume alcohol as I wish the moment we returned.
"Furthermore," even as we crossed towards another alleyway, she continued her long winded rant in a low voice, "rule three states that you should always be present whenever I drink. And since I would be doing so, you're stuck on observation duty until I'm done. Which means no sleeping for you. So, in conclusion–"
The manic glare she directed at me makes me a bit uncomfortable.
"Get. Fucked. I'm drowning myself in alcohol and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Finished with her piece, Lumine took several deep breaths as she leaned herself against the wall, her eyes still focused on me. In the meantime, I was still reeling from the fact that I just got utterly destroyed by facts and logic.
"Anything you wish to say?"
"Uh…."
Seeing the look on her face, it's clear that saying anything that doesn't equate to a yes would be a very bad idea.
"...your wish is my command?"
"That's what I thought."
With a huff, she turned away and began walking in front of me, leading the way as I silently followed behind her, all while lamenting the fact that sleep is now something so far out of reach.
'Then again, perhaps not having to wake up to a burning pile of wood that is Xinyan's house is not such a bad trade off after all.'
At least, that's how I convinced myself as I trudged on through the gaps between the buildings of Morax's beloved harbor.