Free Web NovelChapter 404: Chapter 404 Division of Labor_1
Late that night, in the infirmary of the Rose Iron Prison Core Zone, Sera sat on the hospital bed somewhat embarrassed while speaking to Aiden, who had come to visit, "I’m sorry for troubling you, Warden."
"Ordinary prisoners don’t get the privilege of a personal visit from me," Aiden said with a smile. "Honestly, when I heard you were sent here because of dizziness and stomach pain, I thought something serious was about to happen."
"The doctor said there are no signs of poisoning; it should just be a common cold. I feel much better after taking the medicine. I should recover by tomorrow, so just let me go back to my own cell," Sera said.
"Are you stupid?" Asenna, who stood beside Aiden, spoke up, "The beds in the infirmary are much more comfortable than the ones in the cells. So many people want to fake an illness to sleep here and don’t get the chance. I definitely don’t want to catch something from you in the room."
"But you can’t be too far from her. You should sleep here tonight as well," Aiden said, looking at Asenna.
"Then I’ll find a bed a bit farther away from her," Asenna said.
"Not too far," Aiden reminded.
"The prisoners over there... are they also feeling unwell?" Sera noticed two prisoners on the beds to the right, wrapped in blankets and asleep.
"With hundreds of prisoners in a block, do you think the infirmary ever has a day when it’s empty?" Aiden saw the concern in Sera’s eyes. "Don’t worry, we have someone on guard here, and Asenna will ensure your safety."
"If you snore too loudly and get beaten up, not only will I not stop it, I might even help," Asenna said with an expressionless face.
Sera couldn’t discern whether the other party was joking or serious and could only quietly respond with a soft "Oh."
Just then, the door to the infirmary opened, and Meiruki, under Veronica’s surveillance, walked out from inside.
"Warden, the task you assigned has been completed," Meiruki reported respectfully to Aiden.
Aiden looked at Veronica, who nodded gently, signaling that she hadn’t detected Meiruki doing anything suspicious.
Inviting Meiruki over was to safely medicate Halo. After the sedative took effect, there was essentially no worry of her waking up within three days. During this period, Aiden could focus on the current events.
"You’ve worked hard; go back to your cell," Aiden waved her off.
Veronica took Meiruki out.
"Who’s lying in the inner room?" Asenna asked casually.
"It’s Halo. She’s had another mental incident. I had Meiruki come over to medicate her to calm her down, so she doesn’t get agitated. Tonight, none of you are allowed in there, or it’s solitary confinement," Aiden explained briefly. "Lights-out time has passed. Go to sleep now."
Asenna and Sera lay down on their hospital beds, and Aiden left the infirmary. The gas lamp in the infirmary dimmed slightly, the on-duty doctor entered the dispensary, and only one female prison guard sat at the door on duty.
Sera lay in bed and breathed a sigh of relief internally. When symptoms began to manifest after dinner, the immediate thought that sprung to her mind was that she had been poisoned—after all, her life was currently being watched. Fortunately, the guards had taken her to the infirmary and found it to be a false alarm.
It wasn’t surprising that she had suddenly fallen ill. Since learning from the Warden that Heinz had come to the city, no new information had come forth, and Sera felt as though she had entered a state of continuous anxiety. She could barely eat and tossed and turned in bed without sleep.
Fortunately, sleep came quickly that day. Perhaps it was the effect of the cold medicine, or perhaps it was due to the exhaustion accumulated over the past two days. Not long after lying down, Sera’s eyes drifted shut in a daze.
Before her consciousness completely faded, she thought of the advice Asenna had given her earlier.
"Why don’t you consider breaking the situation yourself? Since you have the blood of a princess, you could actively fight for the throne. If your man is willing to help you, you shouldn’t be so easily turned into a political puppet," Asenna had suggested. freewebnovel.cσ๓
In conclusion, Asenna left a meaningful statement, "Who says it’s only heroes and princes who can wield swords? And who decides that a princess can only be the prize locked in a high tower?"
Envy-worthy courage... pity she was herself a coward.
Just avoiding the shadows of the political world had taken all her strength, and now, to actively step into this treacherous world... She was completely unprepared mentally.
In an ideal world, this path could indeed give her a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation, to win the future she desired—It was impossible to say she wasn’t tempted.
But she was more afraid that she might have to face an even more hopeless truth: when she mustered the courage to take this risk, the ever-calculating Heinz might not be willing to gamble with her and would still insist on standing by the King.
To be a puppet for the opposition in the cold political world and to be at odds with a former lover was truly worse than death itself.
Her consciousness slowly sinking, Sera finally stopped thinking and drifted into a deep sleep.
The prison guard at the door suddenly stood up to salute, and Aiden, who had left, reappeared at the doorway.
"Time to work, ladies," Aiden said softly as he walked into the infirmary, closing the door behind him.
Asenna and Presia both got up from under their covers, but another bed with someone lying in it remained still.
"Fille?" Aiden called out again.
Aiden approached and pulled back Fille’s blanket, shaking her by the shoulders.
Fille then opened her eyes, looked directly at Aiden, and awkwardly smiled, "Ah haha..."
"What are you up to?" Aiden frowned.
"Screen saver kicked in, I couldn’t help falling asleep," Fille said, tapping her head and sticking out her tongue, "Eheh!"
Aiden, Asenna, and Presia all looked at her blankly, creating an awkward silence.
After a long while, Aiden slapped Fille’s forehead: "Stop fooling around, get to work!"
"She really is asleep, isn’t she?" Fille asked, looking over at the bed where Sera lay.
"Sleeping pills plus my hypnotism, you could slap her right now and she wouldn’t wake up," Presia said.
The reason for Sera’s discomfort was the medication in her food that caused symptoms, and what the prison medic "prescribed" her in the infirmary was not just the antidote, but also a sleeping pill.
"Really?" Fille lifted a hand eagerly towards Sera.
"You looking to get slapped?" Aiden warned her coldly from behind.
"Just joking," Fille pouted. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Finish up early and we can all go to sleep!" Aiden whispered, "We’ll do everything according to the script we agreed on before, work together. Fille is responsible for creating the dreamscape, Presia for laying down the hypnotic suggestions, and Asenna for summoning the evil spirits, enhancing the nightmare’s influence."
"Ugh, nightmares aren’t my forte, I don’t like it... I’m more used to making the kind of dreams that bring people joy." Fille tilted her head, "How about a dream where she’s ’happily together’ with her old flame? When she wakes up, she’ll do anything to be with him—"
Before she could finish, Aiden slapped the back of her head without expression.
