Mother's Keepsake

The market had grown more crowded, and Mel Carlo began looking for a fat target.

It was not as though there were no opportunities, but stealing money from those at the bottom was hardly worthwhile. They worked all day just to fill their stomachs.

Besides, how much money could the poor possibly have?

His eyes carefully assessed every passerby in the market before finally settling on a finely dressed little girl, accompanied by a female guard in armor.

With the appearance of a Doll, she poked her curly golden-haired head toward the stalls, seemingly wishing she could buy everything in sight. Beside her stood the female guard, with neat short brown hair.

"I want this! Buy it!" Doll held a purse in one hand and pointed at the pastries in the stall with the other.

"Wrap this up," the female guard told the shopkeeper before asking the Doll whose hand she held, "miss, is there anything else you want?"

"Not for now." Doll shook her head, wanting to keep looking around.

What they did not know was that Mel Carlo had already slowly approached them. His clothes were rather tattered, and he wore no shoes. Looking like that made it difficult to lower his presence; the moment he appeared, he could easily arouse suspicion.

So he had to remain as calm as possible and walk over as if nothing was wrong. He would have only one chance to strike.

It had been years since he had stolen like this. Now that he was returning to his old trade, his heart still pounded rapidly.

"Phew..." He struck in an instant.

The female guard seemed to sense something, but the moment she warily turned around, Mel Carlo had already vanished into the crowd.

She hurriedly pulled Miss into her arms and scanned the surroundings vigilantly. Meanwhile, after entering an alley, Mel Carlo began sprinting away. After committing a crime, he had to leave the scene as quickly as possible. Only then would he feel safe.

"Miss, are you all right?" the female guard asked with concern, holding Doll in her arms.

Doll merely shook her head. But when she raised her hand, she realized that the purse she had been holding was gone.

"It's gone... My purse is gone. Mother left it to me..." Doll began to cry.

That purse was something very important to her, the only keepsake Mother had left behind.

The female guard became even more certain that her instincts had been right. Someone had indeed approached them just now and stolen miss's purse.

She swiftly calmed down and softly reassured Doll, "Miss, don't be sad. We'll get the purse back."

"Okay." Doll sniffled and stopped crying.

Activate skill [Scout].

In an instant, everything around her became clear in her eyes, and she quickly locked onto a trail fleeing at high speed.

The female guard carried miss and chased after it.

Mel Carlo, who was swiftly making his way through the alley, also stopped. It was not that he did not want to run, but that he truly could not run any farther. This body had not eaten in a long time. His stomach had begun to ache, and his limbs felt weak.

He had already completely adapted to this small body, including its frailty and weakness. It was plagued by all kinds of negative conditions.

One hand clutched his stomach while the other weakly braced against the steps beside him.

After running that far, he should be safe by now, right?

But before he could fully relax, an angry roar came from in front of him.

The female guard stood before him with Doll in her arms. "Filthy rat! Hand over miss's purse!"

Mel Carlo calmly raised his head. He was somewhat surprised, but that surprise quickly faded. After all, this world might have a setting similar to a game. It was not impossible that the female guard before him possessed some kind of tracking skill.

But he would not admit it so easily, nor would he hand over the purse. Anyone who had stolen something knew what would happen if they were caught. Even if he handed it over, he would not escape a vicious beating.

"What are you talking about? What purse?" Mel Carlo put on a puzzled expression. His acting seemed thoroughly honed; nothing could be seen on the surface.

"Don't play dumb with me. Do I have to chop off your filthy hand before you'll take out the purse?" The female guard's expression turned furious. She had never imagined that someone would dare steal miss's belongings right under her nose.

"But I really don't know what you're talking about."

Before Mel Carlo could continue speaking, the female guard had already set Doll down. "Miss, wait here. I'll get your purse back right away."

A powerful arm slammed Mel Carlo to the ground, and she began searching him for the purse.

The female guard had tracked him all the way here and had not seen any other traces. The purse had to still be on this brat; there was no way he could have hidden it.

Once she found it, she would definitely chop off one of the brat's hands and let him know whom he should not provoke.

But after a violent search, she found no trace of the purse. Mel Carlo's clothes had been stripped and searched from top to bottom. These tattered hemp garments could not hide anything at all.

Could I really have been mistaken? But there had only been one fleeing trail at the scene. If he had not stolen anything, why had this boy hurried away?

Mel Carlo had, of course, stolen it. But he had already placed the purse in the System space, which was why the female guard could not find anything.

"Did you hide the purse somewhere? I couldn't have seen wrong. It could only have been you! Hand over the purse now, or I'll chop off one of your hands!" The female guard drew her blade and berated Mel Carlo in a stern voice.

Normally, a child like this would obediently hand over whatever he had stolen after being threatened a little. That was exactly what the female guard intended.

At least until the suspicion surrounding this boy was cleared, she would not believe that she had wronged him.

"I really don't know what you're talking about! Please let me go!" Mel Carlo lay on the ground, but his mouth did not stop moving. He could not admit it, and he would never admit it.

The money in the purse should be enough to let him live comfortably for a while. He could use it to deal with the gang's exploitation and begin preparing to escape this city.

The female guard slowly raised her blade. Even while lying on the ground, Mel Carlo could feel the chill radiating from its edge.

She's not really going to chop down with it, is she? Someone could die!

Mel Carlo maintained his disguise. In a situation like this, taking even one step back would mean utter ruin.

In the end, the blade fell and struck the ground beside him.

The female guard slowly stood up, a trace of doubt arising in her heart about her own judgment. Perhaps she really had been mistaken.

"I'm sorry, Miss."

"No, that was... Sob..." Doll's words gradually caught in her throat, and she finally burst into tears.

Mel Carlo slowly climbed to his feet.

Crying would not make him return the purse. The female guard had just been ready to chop off a little thief's hand.

The crying stirred his heart slightly, but since he had chosen this path, he could not waver in the slightest. Whether it was good or bad, failing to hold firm to his convictions would only make things worse for himself.

As for the purse, a young lady from a wealthy family could simply get a new one. It was not as if she would starve to death.

Watching the mistress and servant walk away, Mel Carlo turned and left without any hesitation. He would not soften his heart over a few words like that.

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