I crouched in the shadows, listening intently as the voices inside the room became clearer. Two men, clearly working for the Black Fox, were deep in conversation. The first one sounded anxious, his tone sharp and jittery.

"Did you make sure to do the calculations right?"

The other one responded, clearly annoyed. "Yes, I did. I told you, stop worrying."

The anxious one wasn't satisfied. "You know the boss will have our heads if you mess that up."

There was a pause before the second man replied, this time with less irritation. "Where's the boss anyway?"

"He went to the count's castle hours ago... should be back soon."

'Interesting... the Black Fox went to see the count?'

The conversation shifted, taking on a more casual tone. The second man sighed. "I see... man, the stress is killing me. Wanna go eat something?"

The first guy didn't seem too keen on the idea. "You know we're in an important time, right?"

"Yeah, but that's why I need to relax a bit. I'm going crazy... don't tell me you're not feeling the same."

There was a moment of silence, then a heavy sigh from the first man. "Fine, just for a while."

I heard footsteps approaching the door. I quickly pressed myself further into the shadows, hiding behind a nearby column. The door creaked open, and I watched as the two men stepped out, clearly eager to leave for their impromptu break.

As they walked away, I waited for the sound of their footsteps to fade completely before stepping out of my hiding spot.

I entered the room quietly after the two men left, taking a moment to appreciate the décor. 'Fancy,' I thought, eyeing the plush sofas and polished tables scattered around. The art on the walls was a little much for my taste.

Making sure no one was coming, I quickly started searching through the room. My eyes caught a small bag of coins in a drawer. I grabbed it and checked the contents, only to be thoroughly disappointed. '19 silver coins? Really?'.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I saw a fancy knife painted by gold although i could kill anyone without any weapons it wont hurt to be extra carefull so i take it.

I scanned the room again, my eyes landing on another door. 'Locked?' Aura could easily get me through, but that'd be a dead giveaway that someone had broken in. I'd rather avoid that if I could.

Just as I was about to decide what to do, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway, i quickly darted behind one of the fancy sofas, keeping low and silent.

The man from earlier walked in, not even glancing my way as he approached the locked door. He pulled out a key, unlocked it, and entered. 'Well, thanks for that'

I thought, smirking to myself. Without hesitation, I followed him inside, moving quietly as possible.

As soon as I was close enough, I grabbed him from behind and, with a swift motion, slit his throat. The man gurgled briefly, then went limp in my arms. I dragged his body to the large bed in the corner of the room and shoved him underneath. 'That should keep him out of sight for a while.'

Just as I was about to search the room further, I heard more footsteps approaching, i looked at the bed underneath and joined the corspe quickly.

"I hope everything went well with the count, boss," a voice echoed into the room. I could hear the footsteps getting closer.

"Yes, somehow I was able to get us a better deal with the count," the cold voice replied.

"That's great, boss."

The boss, clearly the one in charge, let out a chuckle, but his tone turned colder. "That old man is asking for more and more lately... isn't he afraid the capital folks will realize what's happening? Or I guess they don't care much, as long as he doesn't stir up trouble. Maybe I should lower the cut for the people again... although we already give that old man 60% of our profits."

The leader laughed, a sound that was anything but friendly. "They call me a fox, but I'm still nothing compared to that old man. He's really found a smart way to avoid taxes from the royal hands."

Suddenly, it all clicked for me. 'So this is Count Verkas' way of dodging taxes.' The pieces fit perfectly now. Nobles typically tax the commoners anywhere from 10 to 20 percent, depending on the region, and half of that goes straight to the royal coffers. Nobles may squeeze their people, but they're squeezed just as hard by the royals. But Verkas ?, he had found a brilliant workaround. By using this gang as a middleman, he could collect additional "protection money" from the commoners without ever appearing involved. The gang kept the streets under control, and the count kept his hands clean.

'Impressive. Better not let my grandmother hear about this—she'd jump at the chance to pull something similar.' Not that it would work in Blackwood territory, but it was a clever trick.

As I mulled over the brilliance of it all, I heard the boss speak again. "By the way, where's Markos? I told him to leave the last cut calculations in my room…"

'Oh…' I glanced at the body of poor Markos, tucked away under the bed beside me.

"I don't know, boss," the other man responded, his voice tense. "I'll go find him right away."

"You do that," the leader said.

I heard the door close and felt a small wave of relief wash over me. 'Great, now it's just me and the black fox.' I debated my options, but killing him might bring unwanted heat from Count Verkas. Besides, the door was closed, and it would take some work to get out unnoticed.

The leader's footsteps echoed around the room, and after a moment, I felt him sit on the bed. His legs dangled down, just inches from my face. 'Great,' I thought, suppressing a groan. Then I heard a faint whispering, the soft murmur of numbers. 'Is he counting his money?' A small clink confirmed it—a couple of golden coins fell from his grasp, one rolling dangerously close to me.

I hesitated for a moment but quickly snatched the coin and slipped it into my pocket, all without making a sound. 'Thanks for the tip.'

The man, completely unaware, began collecting his fallen coins. When he was done, he stood and started counting them again, pacing slightly.

I hoped that this guy wasn't great at math but I had no such luck. His counting faltered, and I could almost hear his confusion. Then, slowly, he bent down and peered under the bed.

For a split second, our eyes met.