Crow leaned back on the palm of his free hand as John confirmed that he could tell him everything he needed to know. He was glad to hear that the knight had gotten so much information. Knowing where the rooms were as well as which jewelry belonged to which nobleman, it was going to be much easier for him to put everything back where it came from. All that was left was to return it all without getting caught by a night guard—a simple enough task for the former thief.

As John went on to explain that all the noblemen had rooms in the same wing, the viceroy nodded thoughtfully. It may have been a convenient move for Fischbach to take jewelry from his neighbors, but it made the job of putting them all back convenient as well. He listened carefully as the knight described who owned each piece of jewelry, studying them all individually in his hand to better memorize the information as it was recited to him. Fortunately, because there weren’t very many items, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to remember whom they belonged to.

He paid just as close attention to John’s description of where the other two rooms were. It was a bit disappointing to find out that all three noblemen were located on the left side of the wing—the side without exterior-facing windows—but he knew he could manage. He would just have to be a bit more careful when he made his way to their corridor during the night.

“I can,” Crow smiled confidently when John questioned if he still thought he could handle the task.

The older knight grunted in response. “You may be living here now, but the guards aren’t going to let you just walk about freely in the middle of the night. I’d like to know what sort of plan you have to get past them, Lockton.”

“You don’t trust me?” 

“You’ve been caught here before.”

“[i]Once[/i],” Crow groaned irritably. “Once, once, once. Gods, how long are you people going to hold that over my head? I’ve only been caught one time. I know what I’m doing, and I’m not going to let it happen again.”

“So, what is your plan?” John asked again

The viceroy rolled his eyes, tempted not to answer the question out of petty spite. However, in the end, his good sense won out, and he relented. “It’s easy to get past guards when there are none,” he said vaguely as he put the jewelry back inside his tunic pocket. The knight may have convinced him to talk, but that didn’t mean he was going to explain everything without making him wait a little.

“There are guards throughout this entire castle,” John snorted.

“Not everywhere,” Crow smirked. “There is one place they never watch.”

There was a brief pause before John seemed to realize the viceroy was waiting for him to respond. “And where would that be?” he asked dryly.

Crow’s smirk widened to a grin, and he leaned back to tap the wall behind him. “The archers only watch the courtyard,” he finally explained. “The battlements they perch on jut over the wall, which creates a blind spot beneath them. Since these men are all in the wing just below mine, I can climb down from my window and enter through whatever bed chamber is underneath. None of the guards will be able to see me.”

He leaned forward again to rest his forearms on his knees. “All I have to do after that is distract the guards posted in their wing—if there are any—long enough to put everything back and climb back out the way I came in. It’ll be easy.”