The Warden of Sexy Witches

Chapter 328: Chapter 328 Veronica’s Concern_1

Hearing the knock, Aiden rose quickly, deftly took away the sealed bottle of wine and stashed it, then glanced at Sophie—who had by then replaced her presence with that of "Inmate 1562."

After confirming there were no issues, Aiden called out to the door, "Come in."

Veronica pushed open the door and stepped into the office; she paused slightly upon seeing Inmate 1562 sitting in the chair but soon redirected her attention to her superior.

"What’s the matter?" Aiden asked Veronica.

"Sir, just now... there was a conflict in the yard. It almost came to blows," she reported.

"They didn’t actually start fighting?"

"No, but it was quite a heated argument..."

"Just a verbal dispute? Isn’t that a common occurrence?"

If inmates really had come to blows, it was indeed necessary for her to report to him. But for common quarrels, they generally only required some reprimand and education, which the prison guards on-site could handle themselves.

As for the inmates in the core area, the occasional spat was unsurprising.

"The key point is, there were four different groups, a total of eleven inmates on different parts of the yard starting arguments almost simultaneously. The officers on duty were nearly overwhelmed. In the end, I arrived at the scene and stopped them," continued Veronica. "Do you think it’s possible... someone deliberately orchestrated this?"

Aiden vaguely realized what might have happened and asked, "Did you ask them the reasons for their disputes?"

"Well, it was all trivial matters—usually just a few harsh words to each other’s faces or disregarding someone when speaking," Veronica shook her head, "It sounded... like excuses."

Aiden sighed, "Perhaps they’re not just excuses..."

"Huh?" Veronica didn’t understand.

He had already realized the reason for the sudden onset of disputes among the inmates—it was because when he had written "no lying" into the Wordless Code, he hadn’t altered the domain setting of the Wordless Code.

That meant, during the few minutes he was talking to Sophie Carter, the "no lying" rule affected everyone in the prison.

Many fragile interpersonal relationships could quickly collapse without superficial pleasantries. That’s just how the inmates in the core area were—a few words could quickly escalate to verbal and physical altercations.

It looked like he needed to pay more attention to the peripheral effects the Wordless Code might have when using it in the future...

"Anyway, I’ve got it under control. Don’t worry about it," Aiden waved dismissively. "Rather than that, go tell Flandre to move this inmate to a cell in the core area, then come back. I need to talk to you about something."

Veronica gave Inmate 1562—Sophie—a brief look and received an elegant smile in response.

"Understood." Eventually, Veronica complied without any questions.

Shortly after she had passed on the orders, Flandre’s people took Inmate 1562 away to process the transfer.

Then, Veronica returned to the office and tentatively inquired, "Sir, was there something particular with that inmate, or did she commit some offense?"

When an inmate from the general area was suddenly transferred to the core area, there were typically only two reasons. Either the inmate displayed previously undetected dangerous tendencies during surveillance, necessitating containment in the core area, or their conduct in the general area was so egregious that they needed to be sent to the core area to be straightened out.

"It’s a bit of both. First, she indeed has a special ability, and secondly, she caused me some trouble." Aiden answered succinctly. "Simply put, she can replace her appearance with anyone else’s... and she can do it irrespective of the domain’s effects."

"There’s such an ability?" Veronica was taken aback, but she always had unwavering trust in Aiden’s words, and she quickly accepted this, "So... what do we do?"

"Put a marker shackle on her and keep a close watch. Assign her to cleaning duties within the core area when she’s out for work, and unless there’s a special circumstance, she isn’t to leave her cell! Any move from the cell must be approved by me," Aiden instructed. "If the person wearing the marker shackle suddenly changes into someone else, take them into custody and notify me, just like that."

"Isn’t that treatment a bit..." Veronica hesitated to say.

"Yes, she’s to be treated with the same level of restrictions as ’Madman Halo,’" Aiden nodded. "If she protests, tell her it’s ’the best way to ensure her safety,’ and that these are my exact words. Her ability is to remain classified for now. I’ll inform those who need to know. You don’t need to discuss it with anyone else."

Veronica felt a twinge of sympathy for this inmate. Most inmates enjoyed some degree of freedom during afternoon recreation and evening activities, remaining in a cramped solitary cell wasn’t much better than solitary confinement.

Compared to that, "Madman Halo" might have had it slightly better since Halo, at least, didn’t have to work.

"Understood," Veronica saluted in response. Before leaving, she hesitated for a moment, "Sir..."

"What is it?"

"This may be none of my business, but have you... encountered any trouble?" Veronica carefully broached the subject.

"Are you referring to that inmate just now? Not really, her ability does need monitoring but isn’t quite a bother yet..." Aiden replied offhandedly.

Sophie Carter claimed she had no intention to harm him and did not plan to cause trouble in prison—these were all truths spoken under the influence of the Wordless Code, which Aiden believed could be trusted for the time being. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Although she was imprisoned under a fabricated charge, exposing her through the Wordless Code wasn’t particularly meaningful—the theft was fictitious, but tricking the law enforcement with a false case was enough to land her in prison, and since she was her own victim, her sentence would probably be even shorter.

So it was better to let this woman stay in prison under his control.

"The Smile Balance," an intelligence organization, seemed quite real, and for him, who aimed to take down Mr. Bloodcoat while simultaneously freeing himself from the Goddess’s control, it definitely held value. Although the price they demanded was exorbitant, as long as Sophie Carter was in prison, he’d have the chance to extract information directly from her—in fact, he already had some ideas about it.

For now, Sophie Carter wasn’t a problem for him; she was a potential source of information. Before she became a hot potato, he would indulge her desire to stay in prison.

However, Veronica shook her head, "I am not talking about that inmate. I’ve just noticed that you seem to spend more time in thought lately... and sometimes you look rather unwell. Have you come across some particularly difficult issue?"