Exiting Malaki's house, Morgana made her way towards the middle class area of town towards a property dealer. Now as previously mentioned Morgana had enough money to live comfortablely for a year without any new income, however once combined the total sum was actually quite a lot if spent all at once, and that was exactly what Morgana planned to do.

Entering the property dealer Morgana changed her demeanor from a calm and confident young lady to a meek and sweet little girl. Approaching the front desk Morgana stared at the elderly man in charge "Um excuse me?" the man looked up at her "Yes, what is it girl?" he asked impatiently Morgana looked around as if trying to be secretive before putting her mouth to the old man's ear "My master is looking to by some property discretely." 

The old man sighed in didaproval assuming it was just another noble sending his servant to help acquire a house for their new mistress. Ignoring his personal opinion the old man immediately put on a business face "of course, come this way." getting of his chair the old man led Morgana to a smaller room in the back "Now, where does your master want this house to be located?" 

Morgana gave an uncertain smile "he said in the slums." this gave the man a pause 

"Are you certain that's what he wanted?" Morgana nodded "positive." the old man sat for a moment in curious silence, obviously the purpose the property was meant to serve was far more complicated than he had originally thought. 

"Ok," said the man shaking himself out of his thoughts, much to Morgana's amusement, "I have three suitable properties available the first is a cottage of modest size on the outskirts of the slums, it's close to the borders of the magical beast forest but is also equipped with protection runes against such creatures." the man withdrew a picture of a small picturesque cottage that didn't quite manage to hide the view of the slums in the background.

Morgana shook her head, it didn't match the purpose she had in mind for the house, the old man seeing this nodded and brought out a second picture "The second one is an old manor in the center of the slums, it is however perfectly safe and surrounded by high walls. Though it may have fallen into disrepair over time." 

Morgana stared at the picture of the tall and gothic Manor surrounded by an iron fence and allowed a slow smile to spread to her face. "Perfect, no need to see the rest, this is exactly what my master wanted." the old man looked at her doubtfully "Are you sure?" Morgana nodded and quickly checked the price at the bottom of the picture, it would cost three-quarters of her money. 

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Morgana smiled she had never planned on being idol anyway and money was always easy to find for a thief of her caliber. Withdrawring the money from her bag Morgana paid for the property and collected the key from the old man, smiling thankfully Morgana exited the shop and immediately made her as towards the slums, picking a few pockets as she went. 

By the time she made it to the manor she had replenished about an eighth of her original funds as well as viewing the slums poverty first hand, although it was harsh Morgana ignored the beggars and thief's she passed. Afterall she wasn't a hero, and though she had basic compassion she would only look after herself and those that were useful to her, besides no one had helped her when she was suffering.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts Morgana ignored the curious gazes that arose around her as she opened the tall iron gates and entered her new residence. Immediately shutting the gates behind her Morgana took out a small hidden knife and made a small cut on her hand, walking up to the gates Morgana carved two protection runes and wiped her blood on them.

Runes were a common thing in this world and though most were temporary and only used short term or for fighting some runes, if the caster had enough power and focus, could be carved into objects or even tattooed onto skin to be made permanent, which was exactly what Morgana had just done. 

By using the iron fence as a medium and wiping her blood on the runes she had created a spell that would kill anyone who entered the property without her adding their blood to the runes. Of course this only applied inside the property, merely touching the fence would do nothing. This not only provided protection but gave Morgana the element of surprise as not many would expect such a young girl to have such power that she could create a permanent rune. 

Morgana let out a blood chilling smile, now that she had a residence and contact with the criminal underworld it was time to get started.