1 Austin

In the dimly lit cell with its damp floor and moldy-smelling straw mattresses, Austin, pushed in by the dungeon guard, showed no discomfort. Whistling casually, he even started to hum a rather vulgar ditty with relish.

"Ladies of Oni City, my beautiful angels! The stars tonight are so brilliant, my heart is burning hot like red-hot iron, please don't reject me..."

But before Austin could finish his song, a rough shout came from a corner of the cell:

"Enough, stop singing, Austin! Listening to you is torture, like a duck's croak—disgusting! If you dare to continue, I, Rett, swear I will pull out your tongue and crush it!"

Rett? Hearing this name, Austin also got a shock, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. By the flickering light of the torches in the dungeon corridor, he finally made out the burly figure sitting in the corner.

Scarred face, triangular eyes, bushy beard—it was indeed the notorious ruffian Rett from Oni City! Austin quickly said:

"So it's Brother Rett! I didn't expect to meet you here, my apologies for not recognizing you earlier, I've offended you, I hope you can forgive me this time!"

"Hmph! Get to the other side!" Rett seemed satisfied with Austin's attitude, nodding to indicate that Austin should stay on the other side of the cell, while he took the only pile of straw for himself.

Austin was just an inconspicuous small-time crook from Oni City; he dared not disobey and promptly scurried to one side to squat down. The fact that Rett knew his name was enough for him to boast about later.

Who was Rett? He was the illegitimate son of the second child of Oni City's lord, born without a noble surname, yet he had noble blood, being directly related to the Harney family, the city lord's lineage. At least when the old city lord was still alive and his father was the second heir to the Harney family, he had no problem bullying the commoners and flirting with the ladies in Oni City.

Thinking of this, Austin suddenly became curious about what kind of trouble could have landed such a powerful figure as Rett in jail. It was said that he was on good terms with the local constable.

It definitely wasn't a minor matter! Austin speculated in his mind. But curious as he was, Austin didn't dare ask Rett about it. Having been a small-time crook for many years, he understood well the importance of 'timing.' Now was not the time to gauge Rett's mood; speaking out of turn could easily lead to a beating.

Thus, in a situation where neither dared to speak nor was in the mood to interact, the cell fell silent.

After what seemed like a long time, or at least two replacements of the torches in the dungeon corridor, just when Austin was about to go mad with boredom, Rett finally broke the silence:

"What did you get locked up for this time?"

His question immediately perked Austin up, and he hurriedly replied:

"This time I was unlucky in choosing my target. I set my sights on a merchant who looked like an outsider to steal from, but it turned out he was very alert and quite skilled. Before I could even touch his purse, he caught me and then dragged me straight to Constable John."

As he spoke, Austin let out a bitter laugh, his face showing a hint of helplessness.

"Normally, it wouldn't be much of an issue; after all, I hadn't actually gotten the purse into my hands, and the outsider couldn't find anyone willing to testify. If it were usual, Old John would just scold me and let me go. But I was unlucky—the constable must have had a bad day somewhere, as his face was dark and clouded. After the outsider finished speaking, he had me locked up without even giving me a chance to defend myself!"

"Ah, what bad luck!" Austin sighed heavily, looking utterly dejected after his story.

Rett listened to Austin's words without immediately responding. Just when Austin thought he might have accidentally offended the man, Rett finally spoke again:

"Haven't you heard about the Harney family losing something these past few days? As the constable, having something like this happen, it's already good that he wasn't removed from his post; how could his mood be good?"

Harney? Isn't that the city lord's family surname? The city lord's family was robbed? Austin immediately realized that something major had happened in Oni City, but he was also filled with doubt, as someone who usually had access to plenty of news, not to have heard anything about it seemed strange.

"It seems they've done a good job of covering it up; the news hasn't spread out yet." Rett answered Austin's unasked question from the look on his face.

"That, Brother Rett, does this matter have anything to do with you?" Austin wasn't stupid; connecting Rett's identity as the illegitimate son of the city lord's family and the fact that he was now in jail, he reached a startling conclusion.

"I wouldn't dare," Rett said with a self-deprecating smile, his expression somewhat forlorn.

Illegitimate children are always an awkward existence, often sent away at birth. He was considered lucky because his mother was favored and he was allowed to stay in the castle. But an illegitimate child is still an illegitimate child; aside from enduring disdain on a daily basis, whenever something bad happened, suspicion would fall on him.

Clearly, without any evidence pointing to himself, he was locked up by the still-furious city lord simply because someone casually mentioned: Could it be Rett? His hands have always been less than clean! Austin, although not clear about the intricacies of the nobles in the castle, was incensed to hear that Rett was innocent and cursed out loud: "Pah, they're all nobles, and they're all dogsons of bitches! They just know how to wrong the good people!"

"Good people?" Rett was amused by this comment, and the corners of his mouth began to twitch, "Austin, do you think someone like me could be called a good person? If you listed my crimes, I'd probably be eligible for a hanging sentence."

"But you're innocent in this matter!" Austin cleverly avoided answering directly; although he could list a string of Rett's 'glorious deeds' without thinking, was this the right time to speak openly?

"Innocent? Forget it, as long as the thing is found and I can get out of this damned cell, it's fine!"

Seeing that Rett had no interest in continuing the conversation, Austin wisely kept his mouth shut. Although he was full of curiosity and wanted to continue asking questions—like what exactly did the city lord lose? Is it something very valuable? Do they have any leads on the thief?

But he never expected that the answers to these questions would not come from his current cellmate Rett, and that he, a small-time crook at the bottom of Oni City's social hierarchy, would also be drawn into the theft incident...