Unfortunately, this phantom thief seemed to be quite skilled. Several times, he entered and exited noble houses, either only being discovered after the fact, or even if discovered beforehand, he still managed to escape.
Thanks to this, this matter had become a big deal in the Empire, making the citizens increasingly curious about this phantom thief, leading to many exaggerated rumors.
“Because the phantom thief always steals inexpensive items, many people speculate that his target isn’t money or treasures, but some unknown secret treasure.”
“Some even say that he’s a righteous thief, deliberately stealing from nobles with bad reputations to punish them.”
“Some even say that the phantom thief’s target isn’t money, but people.”
“Because of this, some bards are even planning to write romantic stories about this phantom thief.”
“Therefore, this matter has become quite a big deal in the Imperial Capital.”
Lucy’s explanation made Shien ponder.
He was only interested in one thing.
“Could this phantom thief be Diere?”
Shien murmured.
“I don’t know.” Lucy said, “However, it’s not impossible.”
Then, the question was,
“That girl suddenly becoming a phantom thief, stealing things from the nobles in the Imperial Capital, what is she trying to do?”
Shien couldn’t understand.
“How would I know?” Lucy said with exasperation. “You only told me about this after Diere left. How could I possibly know what she’s planning to do?”
Speaking of this, Lucy was angry.
Knowing that someone in the Imperial Capital was threatening Diere’s safety, Shien actually let her go alone. This was really inappropriate.
If possible, she really wanted to lecture Shien about this.
But she also knew that this was Diere’s own decision.
And since it was Diere’s decision, it was probably difficult to stop her.
Lucy naturally knew how stubborn and headstrong Diere was.
Fortunately, Shien still knew to send someone to watch over Diere. Otherwise, Lucy would have intervened herself.
Therefore, Lucy still said with some annoyance, “Didn’t you say she went to the Empire to look for something? Perhaps that thing is in those noble houses?”
…That wasn’t impossible.
At least, Shien didn’t believe that Diere would do anything meaningless.
“Then she should be fine now, right?”
Shien was only concerned about this.
Lucy answered quickly.
“Currently, this phantom thief hasn’t been caught by anyone, and no one has been able to find any clues related to him.” Lucy shrugged. “Therefore, if this phantom thief is Diere, then she hasn’t encountered any trouble yet.”
The premise was that this phantom thief was Diere.
Shien was somewhat relieved.
“If that girl is the phantom thief, then I have to praise her.” Shien said, “Being able to freely enter and exit the houses of various nobles in the Imperial Capital, treating their guards like they’re nothing, and not being caught, I didn’t expect her to be so capable.”
With Diere’s strength, moving freely in a capital city like that of the Empire was quite difficult.
But she did it.
This made Shien admire her.
“You might find it interesting, but if Master finds out about this, it might be troublesome.”
Lucy sighed.
The only daughter of the Elvenbein family actually went to their rival country’s capital to be a thief. If Aldia found out, it was hard to imagine his reaction.
The Elvenbein family would definitely be furious.
This was a disgrace to their noble knight lineage.
Moreover, if this matter was exposed, the Empire would definitely demand an explanation from the Kingdom, and the Elvenbein family would be in big trouble.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Shien.
Shien was only concerned about Diere’s safety.
And since Diere was doing better than expected, the rest had nothing to do with him.
Shien nodded.
“It’s good that she’s fine. I’ll wait for her for another half a month.”
Half of the one-month period Shien had agreed with Diere had passed.
If Diere didn’t return by then, Shien would fulfill his promise and go to the Empire.
At that time, Harvis would also go with him.
Lucy seemed to guess Shien’s thoughts.
“You said you would take me out to play. You’re not planning to take me to the Imperial Capital, are you?”
Lucy was very suspicious.
“Are you sure it’s for fun, not to cause trouble?”
Lucy felt that this trip wouldn’t be just for fun, but something much more exciting, and potentially dangerous.
Especially for her, as the Kingdom’s treasure, going to the Empire’s capital would be risky.
Shien also knew that taking Lucy to the Imperial Capital wouldn’t be for fun, but for causing trouble.
“Let me think about it.” Shien said, “Anyway, there’s still half a month left. I’ll take you out to have some fun first, then we can go to the Empire.”
Lucy finally smiled.
“You promised.” Lucy said quickly, “Don’t lie to me. If you dare to lie to me, I’ll…”
“You’ll do what?” Shien looked at Lucy, a playful smirk on his face. “Break off the engagement? Do you dare?”
Lucy wilted.
Did she dare?
Of course, she didn’t.
Breaking off the engagement would be worse than death.
Lucy felt indignant.
Always threatening her with breaking off the engagement, was it that fun?
If he had the guts, they could just get married first, right?