"We'll see"
He said lazily, his words conveyed the obvious lack of care for her words of warning, he had no plans on doing any of that.
His blasé attitude sparked a flame of anger within her heart, he was really making things difficult for no reason.
"Arthur, I'm serious!"
Her voice came out as a small shout unintentionally and she quickly covered her mouth, surprised by her own blunder. She only wanted him to take this conversation a bit more seriously instead of waving it off.
She can't have her husband being ridiculed by all the men he meets for being weak behind his back. Especially not when he's far stronger than most men in the kingdom
"I'm serious too"
Arthur never felt like the type to push his ideas and beliefs onto others, it was easier to simply avoid people who had ideas he considered problematic, however in this particular instance, he felt the need to be firm.
He wasn't about to sit there and let his wife be treated like a second-class citizen just because it's the norm, especially not in her own home.
Esme stood up and gave him a glare, it wasn't one that showed malicious intent but one that showed disappointment, like a parent disappointed in their child but has no idea how to deal with them.
"Your eyes become quite vibrant when you glare like that, they're beautiful"
He threw the compliment, in hopes of extinguishing her anger and it was really effective. Her frown had softened almost immediately but she did her best to maintain it, so it didn't show.
"I was making breakfast"
She huffed and stormed off to the kitchen her cheeks flushed just a tiny bit red. Arthur let out a small chuckle once more, as he thought of complimenting her a bit more.
"Anyway please wake up Darren, I don't think it's healthy to let him sleep that long"
Arthur stood up and stretched a bit, before following Esme's instructions and made his way to the guest room door.
"So are we still set to visit the neighbors or do we just trust those two to get the statements?"
"I don't think we should trust those two, we'll still need to have a face-to-face talk with our neighbors"
As far as Esme was concerned, the original plan hadn't changed, the involvement of Wolfram and Luke was more like an addition to the original plan rather than a change, although now it was likely they didn't need to worry about Bulat having a powerful noble behind him.
"Fair enough"
Arthur put up no defense against that and shrugged his shoulders just as he arrived before the guest room door.
"Wake Up!"
Much like a police man, he began knocking on the door with enough force to startle anyone inside.
"Don't be so rough, I'm sure he was tired"
Esme chastised from within the kitchen, Darren seemed like a nice enough person who just happened to be stuck in unfavorable circumstances.
"He'll live"
Arthur waved away her concerns however his knocking became a bit more gentle. In all honesty, he did not particularly feel enthusiastic about having a guest like Darren in his home, however for the time being he was going to tolerate it.
With a few more knocks, Darren was awake, Esme immediately instructed him to get a bath and suggested that Arthur give him some spare clothes
Several minutes later, the three were sitting in the living room, enjoying breakfast.
"So Darren, how old are you?"
Esme began the conversation, her eyes finding the young man wearing Arthur's clothes that looked a bit too big for him. Darren was shorter than both her and Arthur, he was unhealthily lean for his height.
"16 ma'am"
Esme quirked her brow, he was a lot younger than she initially thought, only three years younger than herself.
"You're a lot younger than I thought, have you always lived in the slums?"
"Yes, I was born there ma'am."
The young man answered without looking up from his bowl of porridge, continuously eating and only stopping to speak.
"Please don't call me ma'am, I'm not much older than you…"
Esme felt bad for the young man, while she could understand living somewhere you didn't like, she couldn't truly say she related to him because compared to him her life was several times better.
The two continued to converse, Esme asking more questions about the slums and what it was like to live there, or if there were other people like Darren who wanted an escape.
Darren was forthcoming, answering her questions the best way he knew how.
However while that conversation was carried on, Arthur was mentally vacant, his mind focused elsewhere entirely.
He couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that had made its way into the pits of his stomach, an unsettling feeling that forced his body to tense, his muscles becoming taut.
The cause of this unsettling feeling deep in his guts was the steady pulse of magic that reached his senses, like an alarm left to ring ceaselessly because the person who set it was too much of a heavy sleeper.
It was as loud or as jarring to the senses however Arthur was used to the routine of readily opening it up the moment he received a quest, and thus it was difficult to ignore it for so long.
He was certain it was just the guild confirming his request to have all the available volumes of the Monster encyclopedia, even so he couldn't shake the feeling in his stomach.
To him, the pulse of the Quest log meant urgent business that needed to be resolved just as urgently.
"Husband, is something the matter? You seem distracted"
Esme called out, having noticed that Arthur did not seem to be present, plus she had a question for him.
"Oh nothing, just thinking"
"About what?"
"It's nothing serious, anyway what were we talking about?"
He decided that what had him worried was not worth mentioning and shifted the conversation.
"Well, I was wondering if it would be possible to have Darren work for us, once this whole matter with Bulat is resolved. After all, we've barely begun hiring any guards or maids since we arrived."
Esme reminded, it has been an entire week since they arrived yet they have yet to dedicate time to hiring any staff, help around the house, and to guard it. The way things have been, has forced them to prioritize other things.
"He'll have to prove he's trustworthy, but other than that I have no problem with that idea"
Hearing Arthur's words, Esme gave Darren a kind smile, that promised the young that things were going to change for him in the future.
However Darren himself couldn't find it in him to return it, he could only offer hollow words of gratitude.
These were the same people he stole from, not long ago, yet here they were trying to help him.
He wondered if it would be better to inform them that he was the thief who stole Esme's necklace
'No'
Unfortunately, that idea was quickly stamped out of his mind, losing this opportunity over a fleeting sense of guilt would be stupid.
Darren was resolved to keep that knowledge to himself.
'Besides it's not like I can get it back, it's gone, no use feeling guilty over that'
Not to mention it was just a piece of jewelry, the couple can buy another one anytime they feel it necessary, and that is how Darren convinced his heart to be free of guilt
...
A/N: A bit short but I feel this is the right stopping point, complicated end to Darren's life as a thief.