The Nightfall Palace was gorgeous. Of all the counties and smaller fiefs Claud had been to, this was the most beautiful palace he had seen so far. The traditional castle motif had been touched up in ways that only connoisseurs like him would appreciate. Four walls around the main palace, with towers at the corners…and of course, a needlessly huge garden that flanked the path leading up to the main palace.

He hadn’t paid a visit to the count’s palace yet, purely on the basis that Nightfall was the ruler of the city he currently resided in. That was the only thing preventing him from targeting the count.

Guards, each of them wearing ornate pieces of armour, stood around the palace battlements. These walls were fortress walls, which seemed like overkill when it came to protecting a palace, but who was he to decide how others spent money? Besides, constructing such thick walls would only benefit the people who built them…somehow, anyway.

The master thief did not harbour any delusions about how manual labourers were being exploited, however.

“It’s huge,” Lily muttered. “I’ve seen it before, but it’s a different story up close.”

“Of all the counts in Grandis, Nightfall’s palace is probably the largest or the second largest,” Schwarz replied. “Of course, this is nothing compared to the dukedoms, let alone the sovereignties. But this is as good as it gets…most people can’t even get close to a dukedom’s palace at all.”

Claud glanced at the guards standing around the fortress walls, before discreetly shifting his vision to the innocent-looking men and women loitering around the place. He could tell that there were multiple disguised guards of the count sitting and chatting around the general area; they were probably there to assist if they saw suspicious individuals.

In fact, he had the feeling that the invitation Schwarz had was just for show; their entry had been cleared long ago.

“You sound like you’ve been to a dukedom’s palace before,” Claud replied.

“Other than my first visit here, which was a nerve-wracking experience…well, I did go to the Schwa Palace before, as a Profiteer. Back then, I was a junior member, but thanks to my seniors, I was allowed inside,” Schwarz replied. “It’s insane, the amount of security within.”

Claud thought back to his experience at stealing from Duke Istrel’s treasury. Duke Istrel had multiple treasuries, but Claud had targeted the one near Pletsville because it was the least guarded. As for why Crown was sitting there happily…maybe the Duke wanted to protect it by drawing more attention to his other treasuries? Either way, it belonged to him now.

“Security, eh?” Claud mused out loud. “What kind of security does a dukedom’s palace have?”

“Guards everywhere, for one. Not patrols. Guards literally everywhere,” Schwarz replied. “Other than that, I also spotted automatons making rounds. They can see what normal eyes cannot.”

Claud nodded. He knew very well what those automatons were. Automatons were the reason why his theft had been detected; he was a second too slow in trying to refresh his Presence Nullification when it wore off at the high point of his heist. If the automaton hadn’t been there, the second in which he was exposed wouldn’t have done anything to him.

However, automatons were more vigilant, more aware, than their human counterparts. That momentary, passing exposure was more than enough for the alarms to be raised, and everything turned crazy from there. Most of the guards there, at the time, were mages, as well as devotees of the White God.

It was unlikely for Count Nightfall to have such people as regular guards, though. His guards here, however, were clearly an elite bunch; they were probably top mercenaries that were hired by the count on a long-term basis.

“Automatons?” Lily asked. “What are these things?”

“Um, they’re mechanical lives. Created by the Coloured Gods in their war against the Six Gods of Virtue. In recognition of their service, on the day of the Coloured Gods’ apotheosis, a decree to treat automatons as humans was handed down.” Schwarz paused. “One might argue that they’re treated better than most humans. Anyway, they’re tireless labourers that are as intelligent as most humans.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Intelligent, eh?” Claud didn’t get the feeling that the automaton that had exposed him was all that intelligent, though.

“Something wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

“Right,” said Lily, “how are automatons made?”

“My breadth of knowledge is wide, but it’s not so deep that I would know how they’re made,” Schwarz replied. “Alright, you two should keep quiet. We’re near the palace gates now. Look sharp!”

The guards standing beside the gates nodded at the three of them as they drew close. Up close, Claud could tell that the ornate armour they were wearing was actually more luxurious than his initial impression. Judging from the visible amounts of velvety-smooth padding underneath the metal, it was clear that these suits of armour were meant for practical, long-term use.

“Sirs, madam, your invitation, please.”

“Here you go,” Schwarz replied, passing the invite over.

The guard didn’t even look at it before he waved them in, reinforcing Claud’s belief that their arrival had been long accounted for. Walking through the lavish gate that was as tall as a regular inn, the trio entered the palace compounds.

Flowers of all kinds danced in the windless garden. Oddly enough, all these different plants were planted in the same huge lawn. Nobles — or normal people — usually planted the same flower in any given lawn, so this mess was rather eye-catching. The scene was somewhat evocative, and as Claud continued to look at it, he began to think of Licencia.

“What a weird lawn,” Claud muttered. “No sense of arrangement whatsoever.”

“You’ll need to look down from a height if you are to appreciate the art drawn within it,” Schwarz replied.

“Art?” Claud looked at the lawn once more. The chaotic lawn didn’t seem too different from the City of Trades, considering that both things looked like a chaotic mess.

“Where do we go now?” Lily asked. “Shouldn’t there be a guide?”

“Is a guide really needed when there’s only one path?” Schwarz asked. “And this is not my first time here.”

“Philosophical,” Claud commented lightly. “But you are a bartender, after all. There’s a reason why everyone calls you master.”

“Master of philosophy, that’s me.” Schwarz chuckled. “I’m not that old, though. Just the oldest of the Moon Lords.”

“Still a child compared to the count, however.”

“Everyone in Licencia’s going to be a kid if their age is compared to the count,” Schwarz replied. “He looks young, but he’s been here longer than everyone’s lifespan added together.”

“That adds up to around a century or so. He’s been the ruler of Licencia for this long?” Lily asked.

Claud thought about the many urban legends the city had about their ruler. “Not that long, I think. Maybe fifty years? I’m not sure.”

“Sixty-one,” Schwarz replied. “But enough that boring stuff. This lawn looks great. It’s a new style from last year — if you look down from a height, it forms a nice piece of art.”

“Is that so?” Lily asked.

“Yeah. You usually need a fairly large lawn to create such a piece of art, so we can’t have one in Moon Mansion. I was a bit disappointed when we couldn’t have one, since Claud has a really odd fixation with domes.”

“They’re the most intruder-proof structure,” Claud replied. “Isn’t it good that vision is one-way in Moon Mansion? We get to look out, but no one looks in! That’s a stroke of genius, even if I do say so myself.”

“Only because I forked out more gold,” Schwarz replied, irritated. “If not, we’ll be wearing little Moons around our necks and wandering around in darkness. And don’t even get me started on the other artefacts needed to”

“Well, you guys were the ones who took up the Moons theme really happily, so…”

His words trailed off as they drew up to the palace. Men and women flanked the gold-rimmed double doors, each of them dressed to the nines. To its left was a small, private garden, one with a small gazebo at the centre. Apparently, that gazebo was where Count Nightfall met with the others last time, but for some reason, the venue had changed.

In the middle of the steps leading up to the doors stood an ordinary man, but no one could deny his importance. There was an awesome air radiating off his average frame, drawing the attention of all who saw him.

Claud’s eyes drifted over to Count Nightfall, who was wearing a simple black top. It lacked the formal trappings of his subordinates standing beside him, but for some reason, the master thief found his current style of dress very fitting and formal.

“Sir Schwarz, members of the Moon Lords, I bid everyone welcome and extend my offer of hospitality and safe passage.” He inclined his head slightly, a faint smile on his face. “You will be pleased to know that news about your fellows at Nachtville has come in. The murderer has been neutralised, thank the Moons.”

The smile on his face faded slightly. “Examining the murderer, however, has revealed certain…problems. For us all, us rulers of Licencia. To that end, I have called you here, Sir Schwarz, in order to prepare you for what might just come.”

“What do you mean?” the bartender asked, confused.

“Dark clouds on the horizon. Seemingly deranged men move with an insane unity, seeking to destabilise the world as we know it,” Count Nightfall replied. “Disturbing ill-wishers have crawled out of the woodwork, linked by a singular purpose.”

He shook his head. “Follow. I shall disclose the results of our investigation inside the palace.”

Turning on his heel, he raised a hand and entered the depths of the palace. Claud looked at Schwarz, who had visited the palace before, and followed his lead in silence.