Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Protagonist is a Villain
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Aira threw herself into Karl's arms, sneering inwardly at the guard's stupidity once again. The insane idea of robbing the estate belonging to the family of the previous hero's companions and then living it up in the capital? No wonder he was still just a lowly guard with judgment like that. Aira planned to snatch the money and run as far away as possible.
Karl's role had effectively ended the moment he wrote that letter of recommendation for her to work as a manor maid. The only reason Aira hadn't ditched him yet was because if he ratted her out, they were both finished.
After that, Aira threw herself into maid duties every single day. She rose at 6 a.m. sharp and even patrolled for half an hour in the dead of night, leaving her body in ruins—but the thought of swallowing the lord's wealth whole perked her right up. Peta Lucius was loaded, after all. He'd surely forgive her if she just took a little share. Imagining Lucius chuckling helplessly even after she emptied his vault brought a grin to her face unbidden.
Maid work was grueling. But this score was the biggest she'd ever chased. Nail this one, and she could live like a queen. Rich, doing whatever she pleased whenever she pleased.
And opportunity came knocking sooner than she expected.
One day, Robin—who'd been pondering in front of the warehouse—singled her out and called her over. Without a hint of suspicion, he unlocked the warehouse door and pointed to a piece of furniture inside.
"Mind helping me move this?"
"Yes, of course."
Aira had no idea why he was asking her instead of one of the male servants, but she stepped inside and pushed the furniture along. As she did, she scoped out the surroundings. The warehouse held a decent haul of what looked like pricey antiques.
At the center stood a massive jar studded with gems, surrounded by all sorts of jewelry on display. In Aira's expert opinion, she could sweep all that jewelry into the jar, haul it off, and clean the place out neat as you please.
Dump it all in, shake off Karl by saying she'd sell it at a fence, then ditch the goods and vanish solo. Done and dusted. Aira could already feel the fat stacks of cash, her lips twitching into a smile. To hide it from Robin, she gritted her teeth and hoisted the desk.
Surprisingly light for its size, even Aira could manage it with ease.
Once they dragged the desk out of the warehouse, Robin explained apologetically.
"Thanks for the help. We needed to swap out the desk in the Knight Captain's office, but I didn't want it getting damaged on the warehouse ledge."
"I see."
Robin locked the door again. Aira didn't miss the password still plainly visible on the padlock. No need to wait for accounting duties anymore. Robbing the warehouse in one go would pay way better than siphoning funds bit by bit. Perfect timing too—her night patrol was tomorrow dawn, and Karl was off that day.
Truth be told, Aira was growing sick of this damn maid grind. Karl was showing signs of panic over his gambling debts every day, so he'd jump at the chance if she pitched it.
But contrary to her expectations, when Aira suggested hitting the warehouse, Karl looked deeply uneasy—the most timid and hesitant she'd ever seen him.
"What's wrong?"
"The stuff in there... it's probably the old lord's relics."
"So?"
"You blind to how touchy Lord Lucius is about that? He complains about the estate being broke all the time but never touches those things. To him, they're worth more than the whole manor."
"What's the point of hoarding it? If we put it to good use, his old man would be smiling down from heaven, right?"
"Hey, think this through. Screw this up, and we're all dead meat."
"Listen, Karl. This is our shot—biggest one yet. Tomorrow at 3 a.m., I'm on third-floor patrol, and you're off, remember? I'll unlock the warehouse, pass you the goods, hand off to the next shift saying all clear, and no one knows a thing."
"Still..."
"First time I saw that warehouse open while working here. Never even seen the lord check it. Dust everywhere inside, those poor jewels buried in it. Safe to say he doesn't even know what's in there, yeah?"
"Fine. You win."
Karl finally caved to Aira's persuasion. She was convinced her plan was foolproof. Talk about luck—his shift got adjusted to overlap her dawn patrol. Who'd have thought fortune would side with her like this? It almost felt like someone was watching her every move, egging her on to steal.
At the appointed time, Aira confirmed the lord was asleep and opened the door to let Karl in. Patrols on the first and second floors were other maids' duties, but sneaking a lover into the dorms at dawn was commonplace, so the patrolling maid just shushed her quietly and moved on.
Aira grinned and led Karl upstairs. The patrol maid did a perfunctory lap down the hall before ducking into a room. Everyone knew no thief would bother with this shoebox of a lord's manor anyway—no real patrol needed.
Aira took Karl's hand and headed to the third floor. No security on the warehouse at all. Bigger estates had magic wards on each one, but Aira hadn't seen so much as a trace of magic in this dump—let alone a mage.
She crept forward on tiptoe. The warehouse padlock gleamed like new in the moonlight. Relying on it, Aira punched in the code. Click—it sprang open with a loud clank.
Hearts pounding like they'd stop, the two locked eyes, then glanced at the lord's door. No reaction—he must be out cold. Aira exhaled sharply and slowly removed the padlock.
Then she eased the warehouse door open. Through the crack, that opulent jar came into view, surrounded by dazzling jewels. Aira and Karl's eyes gleamed with greed as they pried it wider. Before it was even fully open, Karl shoved his way inside. And—
Clang!
A hefty mace hurtled at Karl's face. Before the startled man could react, a clean crack echoed, and he flew into the opposite wall. The lord—swinging like a cleanup batter—emerged from the warehouse with a satisfied grin.
Aira barely grasped the situation before rushing to Karl's side to check him. Tongue lolling, body twitching—he looked done for. Thinking fast, she blurted,
"H-he blackmailed me into—"
"Bullshit, Aira."
Lucius reared back the mace, then thought better and booted her head instead. A heavy thud, and Aira crumpled unconscious. Only then did Lucius rouse Robin, who was dozing in the warehouse corner.
"Robin. Wake up."
"Wha—huh? My lord! The thieves? What happened?"
"Over there."
Lucius pointed to Karl twitching on the floor like a dying fish and Aira clutching her head, sprawled out. Karl had rolled his eyes back, foaming at the mouth with a shit-eating grin. Aira's face was planted in the floorboards, her plump rear sticking up invitingly.
"My lord, this guy's smiling."
"Leave him be. Probably having a nice dream."
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Name: Karl Job: Guard Level: 12 Stats * Stats deactivated due to current negative trait. Traits Idiot Recently suffered major head trauma. Until this trait fades, all stat and trait effects are nullified. Time until trait release: * This trait does not release. Checking the sprawled Karl's status, I nodded. Putting on a pitying face and offering a quick prayer seemed to ease my conscience a bit. I'd worried he might die, but I'd left him in a fate worse than death instead.
"Robin."
"Yes, my lord."
"I'll interrogate Aira. Lock Karl up downstairs."
"Understood."
Robin grabbed the floored Karl's legs and dragged him off. Karl kept giggling like an idiot the whole way—what a happy camper. Robin paid zero attention to his condition, so every stair ledge bashed Karl's head into the floor.
Thud! Thud!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Karl's trait 'Idiot' has been strengthened. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Karl's trait 'Idiot' has been strengthened. At this rate, who'd even be left by the time he hit the ground floor? I decided to forget about Karl's fate entirely. No need to worry about some gambling degenerate who betrayed his lord.
I hoisted Aira over my shoulder and carried her to my room. She usually handled morning greetings anyway. With her knocked out here, no one would interrupt my leisurely morning.
This shut-in zealot lord had made the room's window tiny as hell—lock the door, and she had zero escape routes. Built with imprisonment in mind from the start?
I started inspecting the unconscious Aira's face from every angle. Cute features, with faint freckles dotting her cheeks. Longer lashes than expected, droopy eyes giving her an innocent vibe. And those ample breasts strained even against the baggy maid uniform.
I lightly slapped her cheeks to rouse her. Just to check, I pulled up her status window—thankfully, no 'Idiot' trait, just 'Status: Unconscious' next to her name.
About a minute left on the knockout, so I laid her on the bed and waited in a chair. Watching her like that felt oddly like gazing at a dying girlfriend on her deathbed.
"Eek!"
Was she trying to scare me? Aira jolted awake with a start, scanned the room, then shrank back, trembling.
"You're up?"
"My room. You've been here plenty."
"R-right... y-yeah, but..."
Aira was shivering hard. I couldn't stop grinning at the sight. Her laid out on the bed. Sealed room. Alone with a lord who could squash her like a bug. Perfect setup to crush her psychologically.
Aira was just a small-time con artist, not some master thief. This alone would terrify her plenty.