************************************** The Present **************************************

A violent coughing fit by someone in the gathering rudely pulled Theodore from his reminiscence. Theodore racked his brains to think of the person who would be coughing like this. It had to be a senior, which was evident from the way he coughed. He did have a few potential suspects in mind, but could not confirm his hypothesis since he did not get any further clues.

From the surrounding whispers, it was apparent that someone was taking the initiative to kick-start the eulogy. A man was walking towards the podium. He was not too tall, around 5 feet 6 inches, and had the appearance of a scholar. His relatively pale skin was telltale of the fact that the person does not go out into the sunlight too often. The priest moved to the left side, giving the man ample room at the center of the stage. Once the man seemed comfortable there, he looked gathering and started addressing it "Thank you all for coming here. It means a lot to me. For those of you who may not know, my name is Ernest, and I am Theodore's step-father. We were not able to interact often, like a normal parent and child would, as I being a professor at the Camilton mage academy was engrossed in research. Theodore was the same in this regard, always putting his energy into books. Now that I think about it, his fascination with books might have been to get my attention. After saving him from the bandits that killed his parents, I was all that he had. I was never able to tell Theodore how much I love him and how proud I am of him. The saddest part is, I will never get the chance to do it now." Ernest's voice started breaking.

People finally seemed to be a little moved by Ernest's words. But Theodore was not buying any of it 'I do have to admit, he does know how to put on a good sob. If not for my extensive experience in this field, I would be convinced as well. I can quite literally count the number of interactions I had with that man since my adoption. But from his words, it seems that I have already occupied an important place in his heart. I must to so cute and lovable.' Theodore joked to himself.

But his words triggered some more memories that Theodore had not visited in quite a long time.

************************************** 6 years ago **************************************

It had been two years since the boy started following the man. The man went by the name of Robert, his profession being a full-time conman, although the boy was doubtful that it was his real name. He got to know that the boy's name was Timmy, a common name that is slapped on a child when the parents are too lazy to think of a good one. As the man had promised, he had been teaching Timmy the tricks of the trade.

They were always on the move, never staying at a single place for more than a month. One of the biggest secrets of the trade as Robert put it, was the ability to let go when the going was good. It would be quite tempting to revel in the success and forget that a con is only temporary. The more the time spent on a con, the higher was the probability of getting caught. The idea is to make a quick profit, then move on to the next project.

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Timmy was around ten years old now. Although he was initially a bit annoyed in getting duped by Robert to accept him as his mentor, he was quite happy at present. To Timmy, who never really knew the feeling of having loved ones, Robert was family.

Almost immediately after Timmy joined Robert, he was taught how to read and write. As per Robert, the ability to read and write is fundamental in the skillset of any self-respecting conman. Without knowing how to read and write, a lot of easy to pull-off cons will become impossible. Another reason is that people let their guard down near educated people, as they implicitly believe that such people will not stoop to trickery. Timmy was quite happy with the arrangements as well. He found reading very enjoyable and derived a lot of satisfaction from it.

But out of everything, the most valuable thing that Timmy got was a beginner level 'introduction to magic' book. Although anyone who had access to magic would not spare a second glance at this book, to a commoner who would usually never get a glimpse of it, it was nothing short of a treasure. Robert would proudly recount one of his greatest heists in which he was able to sack this book. Even though Robert tried his best, he was unable to sense mana, which was the most basic requirement to become a mage.

As per the book, people who had the potential to be a powerful mage should be able to sense mana around them in a matter of hours by following the procedure. But Timmy took more than two days to accomplish it. That would mean that he had but the weakest of affinity to mana, and would not be able to be an accomplished mage with his talent.

The apparent lack of talent did not deter Timmy at all. With one year of hard work, he was able to get the hang of the most basic spell - flash, a simple spell that produces light. Although the achievement is nothing noteworthy, the will to keep on practicing without any guidance was commendable. A big part was due to the encouragement of Robert. He had already drawn up a lot of ideas on how to apply it to con people.

Hence, one of the most common routines of the duo was the angry apprentice and the kind and benevolent master. The apprentice gets angry and starts conjuring up a mighty spell. Just when the divine light accumulates, and the apprentice is about to unleash his wrath, the benevolent master intervenes. He effortlessly interrupts the powerful spell reducing it to only flashes of light. He then chastises the young apprentice and guides him along the path of understanding and empathy. The apprentice realizes his folly and apologizes for his rash behavior. The now safe targets of his wrath feel grateful to the master and would offer money and a room to stay for the night. The master would politely refuse the money but would accept the offer to stay overnight. This was almost a sure-fire way to secure free lodging for the duo. This was even their trump card while facing bandits and robbers. But in this case, they did not have any qualms of accepting the money offered by the thieves.

Robert and Timmy had secured a room for the night by putting on their play. Robert, who seemed to have been in deep thought for hours suddenly woke up from his stupor and told Timmy, who was on the bed and waving his leg in the air "Hey kid. I found the perfect targets for our next mission. It's a wealthy merchant-cum-Noble named Milton who bought himself a low-tier Nobility, a Baronage, and he would be traveling to the neighboring kingdom of Alnarda with his only son. He does not have any other relatives, and his wife passed away during childbirth. They are transporting a lot of wealth with them during the journey so that they would have the necessary funds to kick-start their business. They will be having many caravans to transport everyone. We will hitch a ride on one of them. Near the border of Alnarda, they will be confronted by a dozen bandits. Then we would come out and disburse the bandits by displaying your magic. Then the thankful Milton would offer some compensation for our help, which we would reluctantly accept, just to make him feel better."

From Robert's continuous rant, Timmy realized that his master has started fantasizing. The mischievous grin that involuntarily comes out always gives him away. He knew that it is easier to just yes and stop prevent hours of blabber. Timmy said "Sure, it sounds like a plan. When do we head out?"

Robert replied "Tomorrow."

Timmy asked in a confused voice "Don't we have to prepare? One day seems too short to do anything."

To which Robert replied "Kid, just trust me. I have prepared everything beforehand. You just have to follow my lead and we might just make a killing this time."

Timmy knew that arguing with Robert was useless once he makes up his mind. So he just nodded to show his consent. He soon fell asleep, completely unaware of the danger that awaits him the next day.