After letting his chaotic thoughts run their course, Ackster's head finally cleared up a little. It was enough for him to sharpen his senses and hear that the commotion outside on the training grounds was dying down.
Although the only way to guarantee that The Hero wouldn't be watching anymore would be to wait until the fake Ackster had reentered the house, Ackster couldn't wait until then.
The knights, most likely surprised by the fake Ackster's sudden inspection of the training grounds and the estate, would be on high alert as soon as they got back in position. And unintentionally or not, they would keep a constant watch over the window to Ackster's room in case he would try and make a run for it.
Even with his experience from the last couple of nights, Ackster wouldn't be able to flee through that kind of security net.
Ackster had to find the timing where The Hero probably wasn't around anymore – he didn't even dare hope that The Hero wasn't around, to begin with – but before the guards were back in position.
And that moment was now.
When he tuned his ears, Ackster could faintly hear the ruckus caused by his doppelganger losing volume. It either meant that someone like Andrea had shown up to check on how things were going, or Mikhail had told Ackster to get back to his room instead of disturbing everyone this late at night. It could also be because the Doppelganger Slime had run out of things to say and do without making the whole thing way too suspicious.
Whatever the case, it didn't change what Ackster had to do, and he opened the window while slowly peeking his head out.
Since the original Ackster wouldn't turn off the lights in his room if he were to do something like what the Doppelganger Slime is doing, Ackster couldn't do that either. And his eyes, used to the light, had a hard time adjusting to the darkness, especially with the light still glowing from behind him like a halo.
His shadow would have been suspicious if anyone had been there to see it. Thankfully, the few guards remaining on the lawn had their attention on the surroundings or in the direction of the training grounds.
But Ackster couldn't dally. He quickly crept out the window, closing it behind himself, and dropped to the ground after making sure there wasn't any dirt left on the wall or windowsill, his bare feet not making a single sound as he crouched down on the grass.
His eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and he could make out the silhouettes of the guards spread out on the lawn. Carefully checking their positions and the directions they were facing, Ackster snuck across the estate.
He made it all the way to the last bush before the wall without being discovered. And he was confident he could make it across the wall without any of the guards noticing him as long as he watched his timing. But he wasn't worried about the guards.
If The Hero were watching, he would be doing it from outside the estate, and he might have moved to watch the fake Ackster strut around on the training grounds and might have missed Ackster leaving his room. But that was two 'mights' more than Ackster liked.
A third one – that The Hero wouldn't notice him leaving the estate, even while watching the Doppelganger Slime – wasn't something Ackster would bet on. It wasn't something he could bet on.
But he also couldn't wait in front of the wall for the rest of the night. He had an appointment to keep. Having to wait so long before leaving the estate was already making him cut it close. The only thing that gave Ackster security that he wouldn't be late was the fact that he didn't know the exact time. But that also meant the window might be smaller than he thought.
Eventually, Ackster forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down to watch the guards' movements through the bush. He could already hear more guards returning. He had to move. If he didn't move now, it would be too late, and his death would be set in stone.
Ackster to risk The Hero still watching since it was the only route where he could possibly live.
Without hesitating any longer, Ackster turned around and, with one footstep on the wall, crossed it and entered the treeline separating the Phileam Estate from Degrest city.
Ackster waited several minutes, still as a rock, after he landed. If The Hero were still around and had noticed his escape, it would only take a moment for The Hero to dispose of him.
It was still possible The Hero wouldn't want to kill Ackster so close to the estate since it might look like he assassinated and brought out Ackster's corpse just to taunt the Phileam House.
But The Hero wouldn't do something so useless to a family that had yet to show any hints of becoming his enemies. And at this point, there were too many witnesses that could confirm that there was an Ackster on the training grounds, so if The Hero killed the real Ackster, there still wouldn't be any societal or political backlash.
Ackster sighed and relaxed his tense body after those minutes passed. He wouldn't die yet, it seemed.
Ackster still didn't let go of his anxiety completely. He probably wouldn't be able to do that until he left the city, at least, which was why he was going to do that now.
So, while making sure that no one had noticed his escape, Ackster completed his disguise and escape by dirtying his hair and hiding his tracks.
One would have to look carefully to notice the tracks Ackster had left in the treeline, but it wasn't impossible that a certain someone with especially keen eyes would notice it and grow suspicious tomorrow. So, Ackster used what meager skills he had to make sure his footsteps weren't noticeable.
After that, he left for the northern city gate, disguised as someone down and out on their luck. The dirt hid his hair color well enough, and it would hopefully obscure his features just as well so that no one recognized him.