Free Web NovelChapter 380: Chapter 380 Transfer to the Core Area_1
"Do you know who sent the letter?" Aiden asked. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"I..." Sera hesitated for a moment before answering the question, "I can’t be sure, as the letter was typed."
"Since Earl Hofman personally appeared in Silvertown to pursue you, he must have followed you to Silvertown, right?" Aiden inquired.
"I don’t know." Sera slightly turned her face away, her tone somewhat unfriendly. Aiden sensed that she seemed to harbor some resentment. "At the secret police, he was the only one who knew where I lived. They didn’t catch me in Silvertown, so it’s not necessarily for him to carry out the rest personally. After all, as the head of the secret police, he must have other matters to attend to in the country."
Aiden actually agreed that, objectively speaking, the likelihood of Earl Hofman personally showing up in Silvertown was not high. The highest official of an independent police department held a very high position, and Hofman also possessed a noble title. Engaging in high-risk tasks like assassination abroad did not require his direct involvement. It was one thing to talk about Silvertown, which was relatively close to Gistas, but Silvertown, located in the central region of the autonomous state...
However, unlikely didn’t mean impossible. Now that Sera had turned herself in to the prison, if there wasn’t a highly skilled frontline commander among the secret police dispatched to the autonomous state, the assassination mission would hardly be able to proceed. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Moreover, if this was arranged by Melissa, the probability of Earl Hofman appearing in Silvertown would probably be a hundred percent.
After thinking for a moment, Aiden spoke up, "How much do you know about the Royal Secret Police? Do you think they would send someone to infiltrate the prison to kill you?"
After pondering, Sera shook her head, "Not very familiar... But sending an assassin into the prison, I think that should be possible because they have sent many people after me and are very patient. Investing so heavily, I imagine they would resort to any means necessary."
"I think the same," Aiden nodded, "At this point, it’s also difficult for you to leave the prison temporarily. So, why not make your situation here public?"
"Public!?" Sera’s eyes widened.
"The King wants you dead because those opposing him want to use you. If we make your situation public, those who want to exploit you will try to keep you safe, then it would be more—"
"I don’t want to be a pawn in a political game!" Sera didn’t wait for him to finish analyzing and firmly slammed the table, "Being pushed forward as a pawn only gets one deeper involved, and even if I survive the present, I will still be targeted later, living every day in fear. What’s the point?"
Aiden thought to himself that not wanting to be a pawn was a common human sentiment.
"Alright, alright. Don’t get worked up. I actually don’t want more forces to start paying attention to my small prison," Aiden waved his hand, "So, just to be safe, I’ll transfer you to the core area. It might take a day to process the paperwork. Although that place is full of dangerous criminals, the supervisory level is also the most secure. I will arrange for a trustworthy prisoner to live with you, which should prevent other inmates from messing with you."
On hearing this, Sera’s eyes widened slightly, "Are you intending to protect me?"
"What else?" Aiden gave her a glance, "A prisoner dying in jail, and upon investigation, it turns out to be a murder, do you know how much trouble that brings to the prison guards?"
"I believe they wouldn’t mind bribing a high-ranking officer of the prison. You surely haven’t considered..." Sera eyed Aiden suspiciously.
"Unfortunately, I don’t really lack money," Aiden shrugged, "If you die, and it gets out that you were a princess of Gistas, people would suspect me whether I’ve done something wrong or not, and I don’t want that bad luck. What’s wrong, aren’t you willing to have someone want to protect you?"
He did have an interest in obtaining the "punishment" divine word controlled by Earl Hofman, but if it meant making a deal that went against his conscience, he was not very willing. Already a pawn manipulated by the goddess of conspiracy, forced into a confrontation with Mr. Blood Robe and close to the authority of "Order," he was resistant to this compelled path to godhood, especially if it meant twisting himself to achieve it... That would be too uninteresting.
Rather than that, he much preferred to catch Earl Hofman, give him a thorough beating, and force the divine word out of him at gunpoint, which suited his style far more.
Sera froze upon hearing his words. Her flight had begun with betrayal by someone close to her, followed by abandonment at the hands of hired guards, driving her to the desperate leap into prison. By now, she scarcely dared trust others easily, yet the attitude displayed by this warden revived a flicker of hope within her.
After a long hesitation, she spoke, "I don’t know if I should trust you, but since you’ve said as much, I’ll thank you for now."
"Thank me if you live, Sera. We’ll settle the score later for using my prison as a refuge. For now, tell me something useful," Aiden paused before continuing, "like... matters concerning Earl Hofman?"
Aiden was quite certain that Sera Rekhsia’s relationship with Earl Hofman was not so straightforward. Perhaps valuable intelligence could be unearthed from her stories.
...
Two days later, in the Undercity of Silvertown, at the Purple Balsam Inn.
The room’s doors and windows were shut tight, the window curtains sealed the windows shut, and only a small fraction of the afternoon sunlight penetrated the room. In this dark, oppressive closed space, Heinz sat beside a small table, listening to a subordinate’s report.
"We inquired among the inmates in three of the common blocks and finally confirmed that the target is in the first ward. However, when we investigated further, we found that the situation had changed. It’s said that last night, the target was reassigned to a new room. We’re not sure if she’s just been moved to another room or to a different cell block," the reporting subordinate bowed respectfully.
"Moved to a new room?" Heinz frowned deeply.
Had the prison management noticed something amiss?
Was it Aiden Galahad?
It wouldn’t be surprising. Reports said Sera had caused quite an uproar at the Court of Judgment on purpose to get imprisoned; such unusual behavior would likely draw the prison management’s attention. If Sera were willing to speak out, they might already know the whole story.
"Please grant us a little more time; we will definitely clarify everything," the subordinate bowed deeper in entreaty.
"Of course, we need to clarify. However..." Heinz replied, "this time start the investigation directly from the core area of that prison and see if the target has moved to a room there."
The subordinate looked up in surprise, then bowed his head again. "Understood!"
After the subordinate had left, Heinz sat in the dimly lit room alone, staring at the bed, not bothering to draw the curtains.
According to previous investigations by his subordinates, Sera had once taken shelter at this very inn.
With just a moment’s imagining, he felt as if he could see the girl curled up on the bed, hugging her legs, her form shrinking helplessly.
He closed his eyes, trying to divert his thoughts so that the image which had appeared in his imagination would vanish.
But he failed.
