Success

Fuck, where did this thing come from? Scared the shit out of me... A dog this big should be chained up with links as thick as a fist... The dog doesn't know any better, and neither does its owner... Any dog without a leash should be treated as a stray... It's so fat. It would make a delicious stew... One thought after another surfaced in Lorry's mind.

Just then, the large golden retriever visibly shuddered.

An almost human look of hurt appeared in her round eyes. With a whimper, she tucked her tail between her legs and ran out of the garden without looking back.

Lucky you ran fast... Lorry gave a low snort and resumed what he had been doing.

Once he returned the Shadow Ring to his pocket, he found that the irritation in his heart vanished, along with the malicious thoughts that had been steadily building up.

Lorry was just about to move on when he suddenly froze.

While wearing the Shadow Ring, he had needed to focus all his attention on suppressing the negative effects of its instigation, leaving him little capacity to think.

Now that he thought back on it, that golden retriever seemed rather unusual.

She seemed able to read my thoughts... Wait, could she be Susie, the Spectator dog Miss Justice keeps?

That makes sense. The Hall Family is also among the Loen Kingdom's foremost noble families. As their young lady, she certainly qualifies to attend this ball...

I remember a scene in the original novel where Miss Justice spotted the disguised Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilingus at a ball Duke Negan held. She warned Earl Hall and Klein, the Fool, in advance, successfully thwarting the first assassination attempt on Duke Negan...

Could this be that very ball?

With his ability to think restored, Lorry finally caught on. After carefully piecing together the information, he was all but certain his guess was correct.

"If that's the case..." he murmured, a gleam of cunning flashing in his eyes.

Lorry reined in his wandering thoughts and stopped pursuing that line of reasoning.

For now, he had something more important to do.

He took a deep breath and hid behind a cluster of flowers, carefully examining his surroundings. Once he confirmed that no one was around, he quietly approached the study.

The Loen Kingdom was not Intis.

Few people came to the garden at night to admire the scenery or do anything strange.

As such, it did not take Lorry long to reach the garden exit closest to Duke Negan's study.

There was another round archway, with another pair of armed guards.

Repeating his earlier trick, he used the Shadow Ring's ability to merge with shadows to evade the guards' notice once again, silently appearing outside the garden.

I don't even know those two guards' names, yet I actually wanted to kill them earlier... The Shadow Ring's Beyonder effects are certainly powerful, but its negative effects are just as strong...

Even the slightest darkness in your heart gets magnified without limit under its influence... This constant instigation really is impossible to guard against...

Lorry removed the Shadow Ring and felt his murderous intent rapidly fade, leaving an emptiness like the aftermath of intense excitement. He could not help reflecting inwardly.

"Power inevitably comes at a price. That's the fundamental theme of this world."

He took several deep breaths, suppressing the irritation caused by wearing the Shadow Ring, then continued toward Duke Negan's study through the shadows.

After that, he used the Shadow Ring to evade several more patrols.

Fifteen minutes later.

Lorry successfully reached Duke Negan's study.

Unlike the enormous garden, which contained nothing valuable.

Duke Negan's study was heavily guarded. Besides the constantly patrolling armed guards, two Beyonder guards stood right outside it.

Lorry had no means of reconnaissance or divination and could not determine their exact strength, but his spiritual intuition kept warning him:

These two Beyonders were stronger than Saul, the Hunter!

At least Sequence 8, most likely Sequence 7. I can't rule out an even higher Sequence... But I'm here to steal things, not fight...

The corners of Lorry's mouth lifted slightly in a sly smile, certainty gleaming in his eyes. Hidden in the shadows, he remained motionless for a long time, quietly waiting for his chance to act.

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept toward Duke Negan's mansion from the distant sky.

In a corner, amusement appeared in Lorry's eyes as he reached for the Shadow Ring in his pocket. At the same time, intense spiritual fluctuations made the expressions of both Beyonder guards change drastically.

"It's coming from the banquet hall!"

Shocked and alarmed, they looked at each other and spoke almost simultaneously. Instinctively, they stepped outside to try to figure out what had happened.

"It seems to be His Excellency the Cardinal of the Church of Storms. With him here, the duke's safety is assured, whatever happens."

"We only need to fulfill our own duties," one of them told his companion.

The other nodded in agreement.

A minute later, they returned to their previous positions, standing straight as they diligently guarded the study of the duke they served.

The banquet hall.

A large golden retriever took advantage of the confusion to find her owner.

Audrey, Miss Justice, was a Spectator. She had just learned from her father, Earl Hall, that Qilingus had been killed. Suspecting that Mr. Fool's blessed had acted, she felt proud of the Tarot Club's strength as she smiled at her somewhat flustered pet.

The golden retriever had just come in from outside and knew no one was nearby. She vibrated the air and asked urgently, "I just sensed an extremely dangerous power."

"Audrey, are you all right?"

With an elegant smile, Audrey replied in a light, cheerful voice:

"Of course. I have a god's protection."

Knowing that her owner and her family were all devout believers in the Evernight Goddess, the golden retriever thought nothing more of it. She simply sat down on the floor, still shaken.

Noticing something unusual about the golden retriever, Audrey could not help asking:

"Susie, you seem frightened?"

"Yes. I met a very scary man in the garden. He... he wanted to eat me." The golden retriever nodded vigorously, deep fear seemingly still lingering in her eyes.

Inside Duke Negan's study.

It was pitch-black, illuminated only by a little crimson moonlight.

That posed no difficulty for Lorry, however. Having consumed an excessive amount of the Marauder potion, he could clearly make out even tiny objects in the darkness.

Even a mosquito's leg.

More than a dozen documents lay scattered across the broad mahogany desk. Lorry leafed through them silently, swiftly searching for the three he needed.

"Parliamentary

Property Restrictions on Elections"-found it... Duke Negan doesn't seem too keen on more merchants winning seats... I've also found "Government Personnel Reform"... Wait, isn't this the Civil Service Examination Klein proposed...?

And "Raising Workers' Wages." That's all of them. Time to retreat...

He stuffed the three documents inside his clothes and strode toward the window.

"Goodbye-"

Lorry sat astride the windowsill and looked back with a silent smile.

The powerful had their games to play, and the little people had their own missions.

Judging roughly by the time, Qilingus should have turned into a Beyonder characteristic by now, right? That incident has drawn almost everyone's attention.

Meanwhile, in an unnoticed corner, no one outside those in the know had any idea that he had carried out a theft in the study of a duke who wielded real power in the kingdom!

The whole process had gone remarkably smoothly.

And he had even worked out the first acting principle for a Marauder!