(Raymus POV)
We followed the thieves and mercenaries' directions until we made it to Sylvia's estate. By the time we made it, the sun was beginning to rise. Tatsumi, Lubbock and I perched ourselves on the edge of a rooftop just to look at the highly decorated manor. There were at least one or two guards posted at each entrance just like at the prison.
"So are we going to have to kill the guards and sneak in again?" Tatsumi asked.
"That may not be necessary." I said spotting something near the rooftop. With my Eagle Vision, it was easier to see that one of the windows was not like the other. "There's an open window on the north side. We can sneak in that way. Lubbock, can you string us a bridge to walk across?"
"Have you met me?" Lubbock replied showing off his Teigu.
The three of us headed to the north side where Lubbock shot out his threads. Once they connected, he tightened them until they looked like a bridge. Once I checked if it was sturdy enough, I proceeded to walk through with the others behind me.
Once we made it across, we jumped through the open window one at a time and found ourselves in what appeared to be a study. The walls were covered in books and there were a couple of desks with papers laying on them.
"Well, we're inside." Lubbock said. "Now what?"
"Hold on a moment." I said before activating my Eagle Sense again.
I turned my attention down and saw several red figured in the levels below. But there was one that caught by eye. Unlike the other figures, this one was blue. I blinked my eyes again to regain my original vision.
"I found Violet. She's three levels down on the east side." I told Tatsumi and Lubbock.
"And how do you know that?" Lubbock asked.
"His Eagle Sense, remember?" Tatsumi answered.
"Oh. Right. How come you can see stuff like that but the rest of us can't?" Lubbock asked me.
I merely shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. But for now, let's just…"
I stopped when my eyes caught something on the desk right next to me. There was a closed envelope laying facedown, but it was the seal that got my attention. The red wax which kept it closed had a very specific stamp that I recognized right then and there.
"This cross." I described it. "It's the symbol of the Templars."
"You mean woman's a Templar?" Tatsumi asked.
"It would appear so. It looks like it arrived just today. Perhaps she was planning to read it later." I took the liberty of breaking the seal, opening the envelope, and pulling out the letter inside. I unfolded it and read it aloud to the others.
"Dear Sylvia,
You have done our order a great service in your efficient method of tearing down the underground organization. The whores are in massive debt, the mercenaries are under our control, and the thieves are falling apart. We'll have the streets under our control in no time. For now, enjoy your rewards and await further instruction.
May the Father of Understanding Guide us.
H"
"Must be from the Prime Minister." Lubbock said.
"Must be." I agreed before tucking the letter in my pocket. "Well, if Silvia's a Templar, then it's our duty, Tatsumi, to see her eliminated."
"So here's the plan." Lubbock said. "I go and rescue Violet, and you two go and kill Silvia."
"I think I'll handle Silvia on my own." I said. "No offense, Bullock, but I don't trust you to be alone with a girl who is held prisoner."
"Ouch. Where is the trust?" Lubbock asked innocently.
"I'll make sure he doesn't try any shifty." Tatsumi said.
I nodded and allowed them to leave the study. I activated my Eagle Sense again to scan for my target. Strangely enough, no one remotely resembled a gold silhouette.
"Hmm. She must not be home right now." I surmised. "She can't have gone far."
I exited through the same open window I came in through. Thankfully, Lubbock's thread bridge was still there. I walked it across to the next building. I activated my Eagle Sense one more time and moved from one rooftop to the next.
After a minute of searching, I finally found my target. Her gold silhouette was talking to a red one in the middle of a secluded alley. I stood at the edge and bent down to overlook their her conversation.
Silvia was a beautiful woman with a pale face, a red dress, and long, black hair. You could hardly tell she was a banker. The man she was speaking to was a tall man with gray hair. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye.
"What?! Tell me you're joking!"
"I'm afraid not, Ms. Silvia. Dorun is dead. And worse, Mammot has escaped."
"Dorun was equipped with a Teigu that made him into a juggernaut! And Mammot had enough shackles to hold a danger beast! How could this possibly happen?!"
"We believe that Mammot had help."
The sound of a slap echoed in the alley. It even made me shudder just hearing it.
"You're an imbecile, Dyer! For all we know, he and his street rat friends might be planning something! Get out of my sight!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The informant's footsteps were heard until they went faint.
Silvia sighed. "This just got completely out of hand. It's time to make sure they never recover from this. I'll take that bitch in my chambers for one last session before finally killing her."
I already heard more than I needed to hear. I finally shut her up by dropping on top of her and lunging the blade into her chest.
"Your days of scamming people are over!"
Silvia coughed out a bit of blood. "Who are you to judge me?"
"Someone has to. You tricked Mammot into being imprisoned, you stole Violet for your own pleasure, and you left the Thieves Guild to rot."
"That's why you're doing this? For street rats, prostitutes, and thugs? They're criminals. It's my civic duty to use my power to keep them under control."
"Who's the real criminal? You're the one who lets others suffer and call it peace. And worst of all, you enjoy it."
"Well, good luck getting by without me." Silvia let out her last breath before losing all life in my arms.
"Let no one fall victim to your blind justice. Rest in peace."
After killing Silvia, I quickly made my way back to her home. I made it just in time. Tatsumi and Lubbock made it out with a young woman behind them. She wore a gray, dirty nightgown, but the rest of her was easy to recognize from Rob's picture.
"I take it this is Violet?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"This is her all right." Lubbock said. That's when I noticed his face. His left cheek had a shade of red color in the shape of a hand.
"What happened to you?" I asked.
"It's Lubbock. Take a wild guess." Tatsumi said.
"Hey!" Lubbock said in protest.
"What about Silvia?" Violet asked.
"We don't have to worry about her anymore." I informed everyone. "I killed her myself."
"You did?" Silvia gasped giving me a sultry smile. "Well, you certainly did the entire country a favor." She approached me and gave me a surprising kiss on my cheek.
"What?!" Lubbock gasped. "Why does he get her lips on his cheek and I got her hand on mine?"
"You know why." Tatsumi said.
"Well, shall we return to the Thieves' Guild?" I asked.
"Let's." Violet said.
Suffice to say, the reunion between the Underground's leaders was quite wholesome to see. Mammot couldn't help but give Violet a big hug to welcome her back. Rob then guided her to a room where she can change in private. She returned out with her signature red dress and fishnet stockings.
"The girls are back!" Violet declared.
"We're all back." Rob added. "And we owe it all to Raymus, Tatsumi, and Lubbock."
"Raise your glasses, everybody!" Mammot ordered. He and everyone else grabbed the handles of their mugs and held them as high as they could toward the three of us.
"Let's not celebrate just yet." I said easing everyone down. "Don't get me wrong. I am glad we did the right thing by helping you all, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't have a few strings attached."
"Ah, yeah. The Vita job." Rob said. "Well, we're grateful for all your help. So for that, we'll help. You have the sticky fingers of the Thieves Guild."
"You have the arms of the Mercenary Army." Mammot added.
"And you have the assets of the Courtesan Club." Violet said.
"Great." I said thankfully. "We can all rest tonight, but tomorrow, we meet again to discuss our plan for getting to Vita."
After a few more moments of partying, I left for the inn with Tatsumi and Lubbock. On the way out, Violet's courtesans offered to spend the night with me as a reward for freeing their leader, but I informed them that I needed a full night's sleep for the big heist, but I'd take them up on their offer after.
That night, I drifted off with the master plan floating around in my head. I dreamt of it succeeded and my blade lodged into Vita's throat. When I woke up, I knew I wouldn't rest again until that collector was no longer of this world.
