Roger continued to stand beside Pepis with a glass in hand, playing the role of a young alchemist who had come with the Vice President to see the world. He occasionally took a sip of wine, his gaze sweeping across the hall with quiet calculation.
When Pepis was pulled aside by another old acquaintance for some small talk, Roger gave him a polite nod and began to stroll through the hall at a leisurely pace.
He would occasionally stop to admire the oil paintings on the walls or pick up a few pastries from the dining tables, observing his surroundings with the curious eyes of a young man attending a noble gathering for the first time.
Unknowingly, he had drifted near the brown-haired man. He stopped in front of an oil painting depicting a naval battle, his eyes fixed on a sinking warship in the image while his ears captured every word from the nearby group.
“Lord Augus, that theater troupe you sponsored last time performed three consecutive shows in the royal capital, and every single one was sold out,” a young noble in a deep blue silk suit said, holding his glass with a flattering tone.
The brown-haired man, addressed as “Lord Augus,” smiled. Roger used the glass frame of the oil painting to observe the man’s profile, confirming that his face perfectly matched the mysterious man from the dense forest.
After finishing his conversation with the minor nobles, Count Augus excused himself and began to walk slowly through the hall, glass in hand.
Whenever a conversation in a circle hit a lull, he would step in for a few words of small talk, revitalizing the atmosphere.
In the vast banquet hall, he was the only host receiving the guests.
This seemed to suggest that Augus was a bachelor.
However, usually, nobles of his age would have entered into political marriages long ago.
Roger continued to wander the hall, eavesdropping on the snippets of gossip from the surrounding guests.
“I heard his wife passed away a few years ago and left no heirs, but he still hasn’t remarried,” one man dressed as a noble said in a lowered voice.
“Can you imagine? His title is quite significant among the King’s direct vassals, and he has so many industries under his name, yet he doesn’t even have an heir.”
“It’s a foolish decision. No marriage alliances with other families and no heirs—isn’t that just telling everyone he’s a piece of fat waiting to be carved up? Once he dies, who inherits his title? Who gets the property?”
“Maybe he has other plans. A man like him, who has stood firm in the royal capital for so many years, couldn’t possibly have neglected his future affairs.”
“I heard he adopted a child from a distant relative, though I don’t know if it’s true.”
Roger silently noted this information. At the same time, he activated Scout’s Eye, and the structure of the mansion began to unfold in his mind.
While keeping track of Augus’s position at all times, he began to carefully observe every floor of the mansion.
There were at least five or six rooms on the second floor. From his top-down view, he could see that one was a study, and across from it was a bedroom. At the end of the corridor were two more rooms with their doors tightly shut.
A servant passed by carrying a tray. Roger placed his empty wine glass on it and casually asked for the direction of the restroom.
The servant pointed toward the corridor outside the side door of the banquet hall. He offered his thanks and then naturally stepped out through the side exit.
As he crossed the corridor, he confirmed no one was nearby and headed straight for the staircase leading to the second floor.
There were no guards at the landing. It seemed Augus was either very confident in his mansion’s security or didn't want guests to feel it was heavily guarded.
Sconces hung on the walls of the second-floor corridor, their candlelight casting flickering shadows on the carpet.
Roger quickly arrived at the door of the study. He first carefully inspected the door panel and frame to ensure no magic was applied before summoning the Arcane Hand to grip the handle.
The Arcane Hand applied a bit of force, but the handle didn't budge. Roger didn't force the lock; instead, he opened the system shop and typed a keyword into the search bar: Lockpicking.
A holographic interface soon appeared:
【Name: Lockpicking
Description: Uses a trace amount of mana to penetrate the lock cylinder, opening mechanical locks without leaving any traces. The higher the level, the more complex the lock structures it can handle, but it is ineffective against locks with magical reinforcement or extraordinary properties.
Level Cap: Lv5
Learning Requirement: Magic Lv1
Exchange Points: 500】
“Points -500, balance 5,500.”
The Rune Ring emitted a faint white light as mana seeped into the lock cylinder through the keyhole. A few seconds later, an extremely faint click echoed from inside the mechanism.
The Arcane Hand turned the handle again, and this time, the door opened.
Roger slipped into the study and gently closed the door behind him without making a sound. The study was pitch black; he didn't light a lamp, instead relying on the moonlight filtering through the window and the top-down perspective of Scout’s Eye to observe the room’s layout.
Several open books and documents were piled on the desk. The bookshelf against the wall was filled with elegantly bound tomes, and a low cabinet on the other side was locked. He walked to the desk and used the Arcane Hand to pull open the drawers one by one, trying to be as silent as possible.
The first few drawers contained routine documents like manor expense accounts and copies of land deeds. He placed these documents back in their original positions, taking care not to leave any traces of them being moved.
Then he moved to the locked low cabinets. After confirming the lock also lacked magical protection, he used Lockpicking once more.
The lock cylinder gave a crisp click. He used the Arcane Hand to remove the copper lock, set it aside gently, and then opened the cabinet doors.
Several stacks of documents were neatly arranged inside. At the very top was a leather-bound booklet. Roger manipulated the Arcane Hand to take the booklet out and flipped open the cover.
A dense list of names entered his vision.
It was a roster.
Each page recorded the names, genders, and identities of everyone in Count Augus’s social circle, along with the date of their first attendance at a gathering. The timeframe spanned from half a year ago until last month. Some names were circled in red ink.
He flipped through a few pages quickly and soon saw Pepis’s name.
The Vice President of the Alchemist Association had first attended a gathering four months ago, and his name was also circled in red.
“What exactly is the significance of these red circles...”
Pepis was the Vice President of the Alchemist Association and held considerable influence in the alchemical circles of the royal capital, controlling numerous material channels and professional knowledge.
If Augus was looking for candidates worth recruiting into his fold, then Pepis perfectly fit the criteria.
Among the other circled names, every single one seemed to be a prominent figure in their respective fields without exception.
Roger pulled out paper and a pen from his system inventory. Using the faint moonlight from the window, he transcribed the names as quickly as possible.
After copying all the names, he returned the roster to its original place. He relocked the copper lock with the Arcane Hand, ensuring every item was restored to the position it was in when he entered.
Roger was about to leave the study to continue his search in the bedroom across the hall when Scout’s Eye caught a new movement.
In the banquet hall, Pepis was looking around as if searching for someone.
At the same time, two servants carrying buckets and rags had come up to the second floor and begun wiping dust from the sconces and window frames along the corridor. Their path would take them right past the study door.
Roger manipulated the Arcane Hand to silently unlock the door from the inside, then slipped out of the study. He bypassed the servants’ path and returned to the banquet hall the way he came. He first blended into the crowd before appropriately entering Pepis’s line of sight.
Pepis waved to him from a distance, and Roger naturally returned to the other man’s social circle.
“You mentioned before that you wanted to meet some people who sell medicinal ingredients.” Pepis smiled at him and pointed to the men dressed as merchants beside him, then continued:
“These gentlemen are material suppliers for the royal capital. Their sources cover several counties. I thought I’d take this chance to introduce them to you; they might be able to help you out.”
Roger greeted the merchants one by one, giving the name “Gerald,” and then engaged in casual small talk about the current market prices for ingredients.
As he heard the merchants’ names, he quickly recalled the contents of the roster in his mind.
None of their names were on it.
At least for now, they hadn't been included in Augus’s list of key interests.
However, to avoid being tracked back, he didn't easily reveal his address to these people.
After the conversation, Roger stopped initiating talk and continued to stand beside Pepis, listening as he chatted with the merchants.
After a while, Roger found another opening and continued to wander the banquet hall.
At this time, Count Augus was still maintaining his social duties, chatting and laughing with wave after wave of guests, seemingly unaware that his study had just been infiltrated.
In the top-down view of Scout’s Eye, the two servants who had gone upstairs were cleaning the corridor.
Before long, one of them pushed open the study door and went inside to wipe the dust off the desk and bookshelves, while the other followed with a bucket to mop the floor.
Roger withdrew his attention, thinking that he probably didn't need to worry about leaving footprints or signs of tampering anymore.
He walked slowly to the other side of the hall with his glass, pretending to seriously admire a mural on the wall.
The image depicted a grand ancient battle. Knights clad in golden armor were charging toward a dark mass of enemy ranks. At the very front, the grandmaster of the knight order held aloft a longsword burning with golden flames, with tattered banners being trampled under the horses’ hooves.
“This mural tells of the heroic deeds of Knight Clarence, the Grandmaster of the Golden Lion Knight Order, during the Battle of Blossel a hundred years ago, when he led his army against a Rakard Empire force several times their size.”
Just then, a clear voice came from beside him.
Roger turned his head, and a beautiful young girl dressed in a gown entered his view. He couldn't help but look at her a few more times, his gaze lingering on the girl’s snowy-white neck for a long moment.
I wonder how many slashes that neck could take.
That thought flashed by and was quickly suppressed by Roger. Ever since transmigrating to this world, the infiltration and moles of the cultists had made him somewhat paranoid.
It was like reading too many AI-generated articles; as soon as you saw flowery descriptions, you instinctively suspected it was written by an AI.
“It seems you’re a history expert.” Roger began to converse with her in a casual tone. “Coincidentally, I’m also very interested in history. Could you tell me more about the history of the Battle of Blossel?”
The girl smiled and began to explain the origins and development of the battle to Roger.
Although Roger didn't listen to a single word, his gaze occasionally scanned her collar and cuffs.
There was nothing resembling a cultist mark.
From appearances, she was just an ordinary young girl attending the gathering.
Roger timely withdrew his gaze so she wouldn't notice. Once the girl finished explaining the outcome of the battle, he spoke up and asked:
“May I ask your name?”
“My name is Liz.”
The girl withdrew her gaze from the mural and turned to look at him, the smile still on her face.
Rate on N.U.
