The last rays of the sun were about to set. Arsh and Herman were waiting in front of the carriage for Walter.
"You know, there's no one better than him when it comes to getting in and out of places... otherwise, I wouldn't have called him. How long have we been waiting?" Herman said.
"I think it's been about twenty minutes," Arsh replied.
While they were waiting for Walter, Herman told him what he knew about the thief and explained the plan. He was called that because no one had ever seen him, and he never left a single trace. They only realized they'd been robbed when they found the safes open and empty. To make matters worse for the police, he only targeted manors in wealthy districts.
However, there was a possibility that he had been involved in other cases as well. They didn't know if he had ever been involved in thefts in other parts of the city. No incident had occurred that caught anyone's attention. The problem was that even though the residents of these wealthy areas had their own private guards, no one had managed to find a single trace of the thief.
For now, all Herman wants that Arsh and Walter to join one of the police patrol units assigned to those neighborhoods. If luck was on their side, Arsh might get a chance to catch a glimpse of the thief's face, or Walter could track him down quickly.
So all Arsh had to do was wait. If they were lucky, they might run into the thief. But since no one had managed to do so so far, that seemed unlikely. Still, if he could find even a trace of the thief, he wondered whether he could push the limits of his siuni—even without seeing the man's face.
Herman also gave Arsh a badge. "This badge shows that you are working with the police, even if you aren't one of them," he said.
When Walter finally arrived at the door, he continued to grumble about having other plans he didn't want to miss. Though he already ready and had the same badge Herman had given him pinned to his jacket.
After traveling for a while in the carriage, Arsh noticed that the neighborhood they had came was familiar. This was the same neighborhood he had visited with Bera last week. Soon, they stopped in front of a park. There were four police officers waiting for them.
"These friends will be with you on patrol today. They are quite skilled at tracking," Herman said, getting straight to the point without even a greeting.
"Accompany them on patrol. It's fine even if you don't run into anything. The thief's patterns are unpredictable. So far, he hasn't gone beyond Goldenhill, Oldcastle, and the Olly District. That means even if he acts, it could be in other districts as well... Now then, I have to go. See you later," he said. Then he got back into the carriage and left.
'That was quick,' he thought. Herman was probably in a hurry to get home.
Arsh realized he didn't know the name of the neighbourhood they were in. He wanted to ask Walter, but he had already started chatting with one of the police officers. The officers approached Walter and shook his hand; they looked quite familiar with each other.
"We haven't seen you in a long time, Walter. Where have you been?"
"I took a bit of a break," Walter replied, shaking hands with each of them.
"Let me introduce you to my new friend. He's the one who's really skilled at tracking," he added, pushing Arsh slightly forward.
"Hello. Arsh Godwin," Arsh introduced himself.
After the brief introductions, they started their patrol, which lasted until midnight.
"Don't robberies usually happen closer to dawn? Why are we stopping now? I'm glad I can go home, but why?" Walter asked before everyone went their own way.
"This guy likes to move while the streets are still crowded—while everyone is at home and awake. All the thefts he's carried out so far were between late afternoon and midnight... So, since nothing happens after midnight, we leave the rest to the night watchmen," one of the officers said.
After everyone dispersed, Walter and Arsh tried to find a carriage to return home.
"I don't know why, but I don't have a good feeling about this... I guess I'm going to miss my nightlife for a while," Walter murmured to himself on the way home.
Then, more than a week later, Arsh realized that Walter's intuition that night was right.
…
"There is a party at Miss Belowich's house today. Our dear thief has almost always shown up on days when there are parties like this. There is a high chance he will make a move today. The police chief has already warned Miss Belowich's staff. This means the security measures are tighter compared to other cases. Besides you, two other patrol teams will be in the neighborhood. You are going to blend into the Belowich party," Herman said as he said as he handed out waiter uniforms to Arsh, Walter, and the other officers.
"The Belowich family is already aware of your presence. They will recognize you by the stripes on your ties. Therefore, you will be able to move around freely once the party begins."
After everyone took turns changing in the carriage, they arrived in front of the Belowich manor. The lights of the manor illuminated the entire street. Carriages belonging to various families were dropping off guests in front of the house one by one.
They entered through the gate used by the staff, guided by a security guard.
"There are a lot of waiters, so just blend in. Everyone working here tonight has been carefully selected, so no one will be suspicious," said the man escorting them to the kitchen.
As he said, they all blended in with the other waiters. Carrying trays filled with appetizers and drinks, they headed to the main hall where the guests were being hosted. According to the plan, everyone would disperse in pairs to different floors after the host's speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please! Allow me to present Miss Belowich!" a man shouted, drawing everyone's attention to a balcony overlooking the hall. Amidst the applause, a woman approached the edge of the balcony with graceful movements and greeted the guests below.
She was a woman in her late sixties or early seventies, with white hair that still held a few stray black strands here and there. She looked tall and thin for a woman, wearing a navy blue dress that shimmered as she moved. She had a stern appearance.
After waiting for the applause to die down, she began the speech that the guests in the room had been waiting for.
"Dear guests, today is the anniversary of the day our kingdom's story of transforming into a world-spanning civilization began. Exactly thirty years ago, the decision was made to present our civilization to the barbarian nations. What a beautiful coincidence that today is also my 95th birthday..."
As soon as the woman started speaking, Arsh stopped listening, thinking it was all just nonsense.
"Who is this woman?" he leaned toward Walter and whispered.
"Miss Belowich," Walter said, staring with a dazed look at the drinks on his tray.
"...I know that. But who is she? What makes her so important? And how can she be ninety-five?"
"Oh, so that's what you mean. It's strange to meet someone who doesn't recognize her name, but I forgot you're not from Symran. She's a relative of the royal family—the late queen's sister. And people say she simply stopped aging after she hit her sixties."
Arsh looked at the woman once more. Although her hair had turned white, her face looked at least twenty years younger than it should have. He thought of the elderly women in his own village; they clearly had nothing in common with the woman standing before him.
"I guess money and a comfortable life can actually keep you young," Arsh said to himself.
The woman's speech continued in a similar tone. Arsh found himself thinking that he'd actually prefer it if this woman did get robbed. Nevertheless, he had made a promise to Herman. For now, he would continue the patrol.
When the speech finally ended, everyone began to chat, dance, and eat. Arsh and Walter left their trays behind and slipped out of the main hall.