[He's self-employed and bored.]

I find the best way to acclimate to a new environment is to thoroughly explore and catalog it. That includes the area around the castle, whether the Mistress would approve or not.

[Besides, all he's doing is making sketches and the like. He's not here to assassinate anyone and considering the high volume of assassins they really shouldn't bother sparing any time for him. It's not efficient, you see.]

If I spent all my time in the village doing nothing I think I'd lose my mind.