It turned out that during the silence earlier, Yuto had not been sitting around doing nothing.

He had summoned shiny,

Even in the dungeon’s weak torchlight, he looked handsome as ever.

Yuto scoffed and shook his head.

Shiny moved without a sound. Calmly stepping in front of Yuto, he drew a thin sword and sliced through the chains around Yuto’s wrists with frightening precision.

The metal restraints separated cleanly.

Afterward, Shiny simply melted back into the shadows near the cell entrance, hidden carefully from the guards outside.

Then Yuto had started shouting.

And now the trap had finally sprung.

The guard struggled violently in panic as Shiny’s hand remained locked around the back of his collar like an iron vice. The sudden ambush had shattered whatever confidence he had earlier.

His lantern swung wildly before slipping from his grasp entirely.

It hit the stone floor with a loud crash.

Shadows flickered violently across the dungeon walls.

"What the—?!"

The guard tried reaching for the sword at his waist, but Shiny moved faster.

With one smooth motion, he drew his blade and pressed the cold edge directly against the guard’s throat.

The struggling stopped instantly.

The prisoner sharing Yuto’s cell stared with wide eyes.

"...Where the hell did he come from?"

Yuto gave a small nod toward Shiny.

"Don’t shout," he warned coldly. "Or I can’t guarantee your life."

The dungeon fell silent.

For a brief second, the guard froze completely.

His breathing became uneven.

Sweat dripped down the side of his face as the sword edge lightly pressed against his skin.

Yuto could practically see the panic racing through his head.

Good.

Fear made people predictable.

Unfortunately, it also made them stupid.

The guard’s eyes suddenly widened with desperate determination.

Then he inhaled sharply and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"The killer’s escaping! Help! HELP!"

Yuto stared at him in disbelief.

Then he groaned loudly.

"Seriously?"

The shout echoed violently through the underground halls.

The thief cursed under his breath.

"Well, there goes subtlety."

Yuto clicked his tongue in irritation.

So much for a clean escape.

Without wasting another second, he stepped forward and grabbed the guard roughly by the front of his armor.

The man barely had time to react.

Yuto slammed his face directly into the iron bars. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

CLANG.

The sound rang through the corridor like a struck bell.

The guard’s scream cut off instantly.

Blood splattered lightly across the metal as his body went limp.

For a second, only silence remained.

Then the unconscious guard slowly slid down the bars and collapsed onto the stone floor.

Blood dripped steadily from his forehead.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Yuto flexed his sore fingers and grimaced.

"That was annoying."

Yuto and Shiny quickly searched through the unconscious guard’s pockets while the thief watched impatiently

"Hurry up," the man whispered urgently. "Unless your plan involves dying in this hallway."

Yuto ignored him and continued patting down the guard’s belt.

The guard carried far too much useless junk.

A small flask.

A few copper coins.

Half-eaten dried meat.

Yuto paused briefly at the food.

"...You know what? I actually am hungry."

"Focus!" the thief hissed.

"Right."

The distant sound of shouting echoed deeper through the dungeon corridors. Guards were definitely coming now.

Yuto searched another pocket and finally felt cold metal brush against his fingers.

His eyes lit up immediately.

"Yes!" he whispered triumphantly.

He pulled out a heavy ring of iron keys and quickly moved toward the dungeon gate. His hands worked fast despite the lingering ache in his wrists from the restraints.

After two failed attempts and one muttered curse, the lock finally clicked open.

The iron gate creaked loudly as Yuto pushed it aside.

Fresh air drifted faintly from the corridor beyond.

Freedom.

Well... slightly less imprisonment, at least.

Yuto immediately stepped outside the cell, ready to move.

Then the thief’s voice stopped him.

"Are you forgetting something?"

Yuto blinked and looked back.

"What?"

The man stared at him with complete disbelief.

"Free me too, idiot."

"Oh."

For a second, Yuto genuinely had no response.

Then he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Right. That."

He gestured lazily toward the locked cell.

"Shiny, get him out."

Without a word, Shiny stepped forward to the man. The dim torchlight reflected briefly off his sword before he crouched beside the lock.

A quiet metallic click echoed a second later.

The thief blinked.

The cell door swung open smoothly.

The thief stared at the unlocked gate for a moment before stepping outside carefully like a man rediscovering freedom for the first time in years.

Then he stretched both arms dramatically and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Ah... that feels nice."

The thief rolled his shoulders before glancing toward the corridor.

"Now come on. Unless you want to become corpses before sunrise."

That seemed reasonable.

The three of them quickly moved through the estate corridors while distant alarms and shouting gradually spread behind them.

The thief led the way confidently.

At least, he looked confident.

Yuto honestly couldn’t tell if the man genuinely knew where he was going or was simply walking fast enough to appear trustworthy.

The estate itself was massive.

Far larger than Yuto realized.

They passed through narrow servant hallways hidden behind decorative walls, dusty storage passages stacked with old furniture, coal rooms blackened with soot, and cramped maintenance corridors barely wide enough for one person.

The deeper they moved through the estate, the more maze-like it became.

Rich people really did enjoy building unnecessarily complicated houses.

Several times they narrowly avoided being caught.

Once, the thief suddenly grabbed Yuto by the collar and yanked him behind a pile of wooden crates just as two servants walked nearby carrying folded linens.

"...Did you hear something earlier?" one servant asked casually.

"Probably another drunk."

"Again?"

"Dungeon duty rots the brain."

The voices slowly faded away.

Yuto quietly exhaled.

His heart was pounding so loudly he was convinced everyone nearby could hear it.

Beside him, the thief looked perfectly relaxed.

Shiny remained completely expressionless.

A little later, they were forced to flatten themselves behind hanging laundry sheets while armored guards rushed through a nearby corridor.

Boots thundered across the stone floor before finally disappearing into the distance.

Yuto swallowed quietly.

This was becoming far too close.

Eventually, after several more twisting corridors and hidden passages, the thief suddenly slowed down.

Then he stopped completely inside a narrow stone hallway.

"...Huh."

Yuto immediately frowned.

That was not a reassuring sound.

"What do you mean ’huh’?"

The thief scratched the side of his head sheepishly.

"I think I made a wrong turn somewhere."

Silence.

Yuto stared at him in complete disbelief.

"You what?"

"In my defense, all hallways look the same."

"You said you knew the route."

"I said I mostly knew the route."

"That’s not the same thing at all!"

Before the thief could defend himself further—

CLANG.

A loud bell suddenly rang throughout the estate.

Then another.

And another.

The sound echoed through every corridor like thunder.

Yuto froze.

The thief grimaced.

Far away, voices immediately erupted into chaos.

"The prisoners escaped!"

"Seal the exits!"

"Move!"

The alarm had been raised.