Chapter 21:


    <b>Inmate 4001</b>


    evening, in the warden''s office.


    "Ah, I see..." After listening to Aiden''s ount, Veronica lowered her head and said, "It seems the chances of a retrial are quite slim for now."


    Once again she was brought to the warden''s office to talk with Aiden, and listened as he exined the current situation.


    "At least for now, I can''t think of any way to break this deadlock," Aiden sighed.


    Veronica fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, she let out a breath as if finding some peace within herself, then forced a smile and said,


    "It''s alright, Warden. You''ve done your best. I''vee to terms with it. I''m an orphan, without family or friends, so there''s not much for me to hold on to. Meeting a kind-hearted warden like you in my final moments is already a good thing."


    Aidan furrowed his brow and stared at Veronica for a while, then suddenly remarked, "you just have been here for a few days and already gone a bit daft?"


    "Huh?" Veronica was bewildered.


    "No, I mean, how can you possibly take this situation lightly? Being wrongly used and sent to the gallows, how could you not seek vengeance? You must have those responsible for this to pay, even if it means haunting them from beyond the grave!" Aidan red at her.


    "At the very least, prepare yourself for filing a retrial application, even if tomorrow was the day of the punishment!"


    Once he waspletely certain of Veronica''s innocence, he was determined to help clear her name.


    Having devoted two lifetimes to being a prison guard, he still had some feelings for his profession. The duty of a prison guard was to manage and rehabilitate criminals, and having an innocent person endure punishment was as unbearable as swallowing a fly for him.


    Furthermore, today this antagonist had the audacity to mock him, trampling over his dignity. Anyone with a bit of temper would absolutely not stand for it.


    "But..." Veronica was stunned by this unpredictable man, momentarily forgetting her destion. "You said you couldn''t think of a way. Even if we don''t give up, what can we do?"


    "Just because I can''t think of a way, doesn''t mean others can''t," Aiden sped his hands together. "I know a ''person'' who might know what to do... Since you''re at a loss too, I''ll have to try asking her for help."


    "Who?" Veronica blinked.


    Aiden nced at her. "It''s a secret."


    "You... You''re not saying this to me just because you''re afraid I mightmit suicide in prison, are you?" Veronica looked at Aiden with suspicion. "Please, don''t give me false hope only to leave me in despair again. This kind of thing... not many people can bear it."


    "I''m just telling the truth, and let me tell you first. I have no obligation to take care of your feeling


    I''ve done my best to help you. This is your fight. Regardless of the oue, sticking it out to the end is your duty,"


    Aiden said as he stood up and put on his hat. "Go back to your room now. I''m going to meet that person. We don''t have much time to waste."


    After assigning a prison guard under hismand to escort Veronica out, Aiden made sure the corridor was clear on all sides, then returned to his office and removed a painting from the wall, revealing a safe embedded in the wall.


    This safe was used to store some of the more confidential documents in the prison, and only the warden had the authority to open it. Aiden only used it asionally.


    However, this time, Aiden didn''t intend to open this safe.


    He took out three different keys, inserted them into a row of keyholes, and turned them.


    Then he began to operate thebination lock on the safe, entering a password that waspletely different from the usual one.


    A click sounded, and the safe silently slid to one side, revealing a hidden passage below. Inside the passage was a spiral staircase leading down to the dark depths of the underground.


    Aiden took back the key, scrambled thebination lock, and rece the hanging painting. Then he took attern on the shelf, lit it and walked into the secret passage.


    As he Descending into the secret passage, Aiden casually pulled a lever on the staircase wall, causing the floor tiles to slide back into ce, sealing the entrance


    Aiden holding antern, continued down. The underground space dominated by darkness, was quiet and still. Only the echo of his footsteps reverberated here, as if there were another transparent figure following him.


    Finally, arrived at the bottom, a huge dark room with nothing except for a door can be seen.


    A massive cell door, crafted from mithril, upied an entire wall.


    It was adorned with various defensive measures, and inscribed with several kinds of forbidden runes.


    All of these were offensive runes, meant to detect the moment a prisoner inside broke containment. They were designed topletely destroy the said prisoner and this underground space, burying her along with this dungeon.


    This dungeon was located directly below the warden''s office. Frankly, Aiden had serious doubts about the rationality of this design.


    Even though the higher-ups at the Inquisition Bureau emphasized to him that this ce''s foundation and the dungeon itself were reinforced just as much, that even if the dungeon exploded, the prison above would be fine. Aiden was still worried that one day when he sitting, doing some work like usual, suddenly there''s a loud noise and huge explosion sting his ass.


    What''s more, he believed that these so-called forbidden techniques most likely wouldn''t be enough to kill that woman.


    The mere existence of the prisoner locked inside was already a taboo in itself.


    He undid the locks on the door one by one, and finally, he pricked his finger and smeared the blood into a groove on the door—a door that only he had the authority to open in this prison.


    With the sound of gear turning, the door made of mithril openedyer byyer, and the strongest Cell of the rose prison finally appeared.


    The entire cell was made of mithril just like the door. The woman with floor-length hair was bound to the execution frame at the end of the cell. Strange-shaped long nails pierced her palms, the tops of her feet, and the joints of her hands and feet. She tilted her head, eyes tightly shut, and appearing serene as if she were a lifeless corpse.


    The moment Aiden stepped into the cell, the slumbering woman slowly opened her eyes.


    "Good evening, Inmate 4001," Aidan greeted her expressionlessly.


    "You''ve finallye to see me again, my dear warden."


    Inmate 4001 smiled at him, her silver-gray eyes reflecting the figure of Aiden holding thentern.