The Warden of the Witches Chapter 206

Chapter 206 - Aftermath Work

That same night, Aiden hurried back to Silver City to handle a series of concluding tasks.

He met up with Priscilla, who had switched bodies with Father bales, and had her switch their bodies back. Then he escorted Father bales, handing him over to the inquisition as the main culprit in the " Bountiful Mother cult " case.

It was unknown to the public that the real controller of the Bountiful Mother cult was Sister nawei, and now there was no evidence to prove it. Information about the Divine word was top secret, even within the inquisition. As for the power of "inheritance" related to the "reproduction" authority, no one knew about it, making it impossible to use as court evidence.

Aiden demanded that the priest take responsibility for the crime of organizing the cult voluntarily—Father bales had no other choice. The only other main culprit he could confess to was his deceased biological mother, the former leader of the cult. Even if he honestly confessed that Sister nawei, who appeared to be his daughter, was the actual leader of the cult, the inquisition would never accept it.

While the Bountiful Mother cult was a terrorist organization with political subversion objectives in the Empire and Gistas, it was only considered a radical cult in the autonomous state, which is a neutral territory. Illegal business operations for profit, dabbling in black magic, violent resistance against the law… these charges seemed severe but were relatively minor compared to other cults on the purging list.

Aiden devised a scenario for the priest to turn himself in. Coupled with the fact that he had been transformed into a chimera by the former cult leader, making him a victim himself, it was unlikely that he would be extradited to the Empire or Gistas as a political prisoner. At four meters tall, the chimera could only be contained in a few prisons, and the Thorn Prison in Silver City was the most suitable place for him.

Aiden anticipated that Father bales was unlikely to be sentenced to death. However, he estimated that bales would likely spend the rest of his life in the Thorn Prison. Even if there was a chance for a reduced sentence and release, it would probably be far in the future.

As for Sister Nawei' death, Aiden attributed it to the Witches gathering. The original body of Sister nawei, along with most of the combat nuns, died at the entrance of the abandoned mine tunnel. At that time, they were fighting against three grand witches from the gathering.

By the time Aiden and Veronica finished handling the aftermath and returned to the Rose Prison, dawn was already breaking.

After sending Dailey and Priscilla back to their respective cells, Aiden and Veronica finally sat down to catch their breath in the office.

"So tired, this feels more exhausting than the times we used to raid bandits," Veronica said, while stretching her arms on the guest sofa.

"You seem to be in much better shape than I am," Aiden looking at her and said with a smile.

To avoid being pursued by the gathering, they had returned immediately after dealing with the cult and then spent nearly an entire night handling the aftermath. Over the past two days, they had slept for less than five hours in total.

In comparison, Aiden felt that Veronica looked much better than he did when he saw his own reflection in the mirror. After all, Veronica was a physically resilient werewolf and also younger.

Once past twenty-five, physical stamina still had the potential to improve, but staying up all night was increasingly challenging. Thinking about this, Aiden couldn't help but feel a bit envious.

"This mission counts as an external assignment in collaboration with the inquisition. After we complete it today, I'll give you an additional three days of paid leave. You can arrange it as you see fit. As for the bonus, I'll give it to you once we receive it from the inquisition. You can go home and rest today. You've worked hard," Aiden said to Veronica.

"Yay!" Veronica clenched her fist in excitement, clearly very happy.

Aiden could only smile helplessly at her reaction. After such a strenuous mission, he also wanted to grant himself some paid leave. However, the affairs of the prison likely wouldn't allow it. He planned to catch some sleep in the office before dawn fully broke.

Veronica stood up but didn't immediately leave the office. Instead, she stared at Aiden, looking as if she wanted to say something but was hesitating.

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked when he saw she hadn't left.

"Uh..." Veronica battled with herself for a while, took a deep breath, and then looked straight at Aiden. "Sir, since we completed the mission successfully, should we... go out for a drink tonight?"

As soon as she said it, she felt the blood rush to her face, making it feel a bit warm.

But she couldn't worry about whether she was blushing or not; her mind was filled with the fact that she had finally said it.

Aiden was momentarily stunned before responding, "Actually, I'm not much of a drinker..."

Veronica's expression froze.

But Aiden quickly added, "Having a meal together sounds good, though. This mission went so smoothly thanks to your suggestions. I should treat you to dinner as a thank you."

Veronica's face lit up immediately. "Sure!"

After arranging a time and place with Veronica, Aiden watched her leave the office, almost instinctively scratching his brow.

An invitation from a female subordinate...

In his previous life, he had had his share of romantic experiences. He could see Veronica's reactions and knew she had some affection for him. However, he felt he was past the age where such things made his heart flutter.

In his view, Veronica's affection was just a budding feeling, far from needing a direct response from him.

Besides, he had more pressing matters concerning his life to deal with...

Aiden glanced at the box on his desk. It contained the relics they had retrieved from the grand witches. Using those, he could contact Abigail immediately.

During the entire journey back, he hadn't touched the relics to prevent Abigail from forcibly summoning him. He needed to be fully prepared before negotiating with the gathering.

After Sitting silently in the office for a long time, Aiden finally spoke softly, "qimora, you're here, aren't you?"

After a few seconds of silence and an inadvertent blink, Aiden suddenly noticed a woman standing in the corner of the office.

She hadn't appeared out of nowhere; she had been there all along, it just that her presence so minimal that no one had noticed.

Qimora had infiltrated the prison long ago and had been waiting in the office for some time.

"Today's outfit looks a bit plain," Aiden remarked with a smile.

"I rushed over and didn't have time to change," qimora replied, sitting down on the guest chair and looking directly at Aiden. Unlike her previous visits, her expression was much more serious this time. "The Warden guessed I'd be here."

"Ah, I took all the spoils, so I figured you guys would come here to protest," Aiden replied calmly.