Chapter 67: Planting The Evidence
Creak!
Roderic slowly pushed a wooden window open.
He quickly glanced inside with squinted eyes.
Only after a few seconds passed in silence did he finally pull himself through the opening.
As Roderic quietly stepped onto the ground, a quiet breath left his mouth.
’Good,’ he thought. ’Breaking in undetected is step one.’
He paused for a moment, eyes narrowing.
’Now I just have to remain undetected.’
For the second time tonight, Roderic found himself standing inside a building he had absolutely no business being in.
Unlike Wayfarer, however, this place wasn’t empty.
Victor’s best friend was sleeping somewhere upstairs.
Roderic could occasionally hear the faint snores sounding out above him.
That alone made this the riskiest part of his plan.
’Just put the money somewhere believable and get the hell out.’
Fortunately, finding the house hadn’t been particularly difficult.
Roderic had followed the man earlier that afternoon after he left Wayfarer, allowing him to discover exactly where he lived.
And thankfully, one of the windows hadn’t been particularly difficult to open.
’Like I said,’ he thought. ’No merchant would hide their fortune at home.’
’Normal people, on the other hand...’
He quickly turned his attention toward the room he stood in.
It was dark and completely silent, with only the faint moonlight coming through the window allowing him to make out the furniture around him.
’’Let’s move.’’
Roderic carefully began making his way through the room.
His eyes moved across every cabinet, drawer, and piece of furniture he passed.
’It’s all too obvious...’
He continued into the next room.
There, he found several cupboards alongside an open wooden chest filled with clothes.
’No, that’s not it either.’
For the next several minutes, Roderic quietly searched through the first floor.
Yet every place he found had the same problem.
They were simply too normal.
If Victor came here looking for his stolen money, finding several bags of gold sitting inside a kitchen cabinet would hardly be convincing.
’It needs to be somewhere more personal.’
’Think. If I were to steal a bag of money from my best friend and had to hide it inside my house, where would I put it?’
Roderic eventually returned to the room he had entered through.
By now, there was really only one place left to search.
His gaze slowly moved toward the staircase as he continued hearing snoring echoing out from above.
’Of course...’
Undeniably, it was the best place to hide a bag of money.
His expression gradually started to darken.
’Just fucking perfect,’ he cursed. ’After doing all this, I better get Victor under me!’
Keeping one hand against the sack to stop it from moving too much, Roderic slowly began climbing.
Thankfully, he reached the second floor without any problems.
There were only three doors along the hallway, and the snoring made it rather easy to figure out which one belonged to Victor’s best friend.
Roderic slowly pushed the door open and peeked inside.
The man was fast asleep in his bed.
’Seems like he’s a deep sleeper,’ he thought, almost chuckling to himself.
Without another thought, Roderic scanned the room, instantly spotting several good hiding places.
A wardrobe filled with clothes stood against one wall, while a desk and large wooden chest occupied the other side of the room.
’Much better.’
His gaze locked onto the wardrobe itself.
More specifically, the large pile of clothes filling its bottom compartment.
’That’ll definitely do the job.’
Roderic tiptoed toward the wardrobe and crouched in front of it.
He carefully moved several pieces of clothing aside before removing the sack from his shoulder.
Clink!
His entire body immediately froze.
’Fuck.’
Roderic quickly tightened his grip on the sack, stopping the coins inside from moving any further.
His eyes shot toward the bed as prayers ran through his mind.
The man shifted slightly beneath his blanket, causing Roderic’s heart to jump.
But after a few seconds, the snoring simply continued.
’Way too fucking close!’
Roderic carefully placed the sack of coins down in the corner.
Then, one by one, he placed stacks of clothes on top of it until Victor’s fortune was hidden away.
’Good,’ he thought, standing up. ’If this doesn’t do the job, I don’t know anymore.’
Roderic glanced around one more time before tiptoeing his way out of the room.
A minute later, he climbed back through the same window and quietly closed it behind him.
Only after putting some distance between himself and the house did Roderic finally relax.
He glanced back once before pulling his hood further over his face.
’Tomorrow will be a funny day,’ he thought, grinning wildly. ’I wonder how you’ll like your friend after this, Victor.’
From the break-in to the planting... Roderic had been careful not to reveal a single strange sign.
He hadn’t broken any locks or doors despite it being the easier option.
And now, everything was finally in place.
Not a single bit of him felt bad for Victor’s best friend either.
The man was going to betray Victor regardless.
Why not make it a little earlier if it benefited him?
Roderic let out a deep sigh as he glanced up at the sky.
’’What a fucking night,’’ he muttered. ’’I’ve really got to be careful that I don’t make this a habit, though.’’
He let out another chuckle before shaking his head.
With how exhilarating the breaking in and stealing had been, it certainly was very easy to become addicted.
With that thought, Roderic disappeared into the dark streets of Ravenport.
By the time he returned to the inn, most of the city had already gone quiet.
Edmund and the two knights had long since retired to their rooms, allowing Roderic to slip back inside without having to answer any annoying questions.
He quickly changed out of the dark clothes and collapsed onto his bed.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, a familiar screen appeared in front of him.
[Main Quest 2 Completed!]
[Reward: Golden Appraisal Eye + 20,000 Throne Coins]
[Would you like to receive your rewards now?]
[Yes / No]
Roderic stared at it for a moment before pressing No once again.
’Tomorrow...’ he thought, closing his eyes.
The screen disappeared, and within minutes, Roderic finally fell asleep.