Three days after Sophie Carter's maid entered prison, some of Sophie Carter's fans were still demonstrating outside, but their numbers had clearly dwindled significantly. After another day, the demonstrators disappeared completely. The guards at Rose Iron Prison weren't particularly surprised by this; those fans causing trouble due to Sophie Carter's recuperation were mostly just looking for an outlet.
Once the demonstrations ceased, there was basically nothing particularly noteworthy about this maid—except for the ridiculously large sum of money in her account.
Then, Aiden received a report from Block Two.
"According to the documents provided by finance, the money was transferred via bank. We asked the bank to assist with the investigation, and they provided the remitting account information," the chief guard of Block Two presented a report. "It's not from any registered family member. Honestly... it doesn't seem to have any connection to this maid."
"Money from a stranger? What does the maid herself say?" Aiden asked.
"She claims it's a friend of her father's who owed their family a large debt and happened to repay it just as she was entering prison. Her family asked the person to deposit the money into her commissary account."
"And what's the situation with her father?"
"According to the inmate's registered personal information, her father died five years ago."
"A lie she doesn't even care about being seen through," Aiden casually tossed the file aside. "Makes sense. If she cared, she wouldn't have put such a large sum on her account for us to see."
"And there's one more thing. This inmate's popularity in prison is growing steadily..." the chief guard continued reporting. "It seems a bit... excessive."
"Excessive how? She's only been here three days and nights, has she already formed a gang?" Aiden asked casually.
"Pretty much, actually," the chief guard replied seriously.
"Hm?" Aiden didn't quite understand. "Is she handing out money directly in prison?"
"Not really... You could go see for yourself at the main exercise yard this afternoon. She might continue her 'performance' from yesterday," the chief guard answered.
"Performance?" Aiden was even more puzzled.
"During recreation time these past two days, she's been on the yard telling Sophie Carter's gossip like a stand-up comedian, attracting large crowds to listen," the chief guard replied.
"Weren't there not many Sophie Carter fans among the inmates? Why would they be interested in gossip about a star they barely know?"
"Well... I can't quite put my finger on it," the chief guard seemed unsure how to describe it. "Anyway, you'll know when you see it yourself."
So, in the afternoon, Aiden went to the main exercise yard of the regular blocks.
The regular blocks' yard was much larger than the Core Block's, serving as a shared recreation area for the three regular blocks in batches.
However, in terms of security level, the regular blocks' yard was much more relaxed. There were no magic-sealing wards covering it. The inner boundary wasn't lined with arm-thick iron bars but wire mesh fencing. The guard towers were also reduced to two.
Aiden occasionally inspected the regular blocks, just less frequently. Inmates there were still criminals but remained within the "ordinary people" category, appearing as meek as sheep compared to the Core Block crowd. He frequented the Core Block because often, only he could maintain control there.
He didn't enter the main yard directly from the block like the guards on duty but came to the prison's outdoor area, looking into the yard through the wire mesh fence at the edge.
At this time, inmates from Blocks Two and Three had already been released onto the yard for activities.
Aiden scanned briefly and quickly located Inmate 1562—Sophie Carter's maid, Susan Finger.
Finding her wasn't difficult because she was incredibly conspicuous.
She stood on a bench near the wire mesh fence, surrounded by over a dozen inmates, while Susan chattered nonstop:
"...You might think it's not right for me to talk so much about Miss Carter's private matters. Actually, after I found out certain things, she did tell me never to tell anyone else. She even threatened me, 'Susan, if you say certain things, I'll absolutely deny them, and then it'll become slander on your part.' Then I asked, 'Miss Carter, what would be the consequence then?' And she earnestly said, 'It means you'll only be able to tell other inmates in prison'." Susan spread her hands. "Honestly, I didn't really want to say it, but listen, she insisted I say it here! I've never heard such a strange request in my life!"
The surrounding inmates burst out laughing.
Susan continued: "I often run into reporters asking if Miss Carter has a man, if she's having secret rendezvous in her private residence. But I thought definitely not, because the only man I've seen in the house is the butler. So I answered, 'Sorry, the only man I know she's involved with is actually the butler.' Then, I don't know why, those reporters suddenly started cheering like they'd won the lottery."
Another wave of laughter erupted from the inmates.
"Then I thought again, realized I missed someone, and added, 'Oh, actually, there's also a gardener.' And then they actually started applauding."
This time, the inmates laughed while starting to clap.
"Later, somehow, Miss Carter started getting angry whenever she saw the newspaper... Sigh, I really don't know what happened. I think if I knew how to read, maybe I could have comforted her. Of course, I did wonder if it was related to what I told the reporters, so I found her and tried asking, 'Miss Carter, could you talk to me about the men you're involved with...' And she immediately widened her eyes and said, 'How did you know?'"
Scattered laughter emerged from the inmates.
"Then after a second, she asked again, 'But which one are you talking about exactly? Please give me a hint'," Susan continued.
The inmates burst into roaring laughter.
Aiden stood in the distance, arms crossed, listening for a while. He turned his head to observe the nearest guard on duty inside the yard—that guard was actually listening with interest too.
As stand-up comedy, it was acceptable. Mainly, Susan Finger standing on the bench was inexplicably attention-grabbing.
But Aiden felt it shouldn't be interesting enough to captivate even the guards, making them forget their duties.
In a place like this, guards generally wouldn't allow too many inmates to congregate. Crowds obstruct lines of sight, making it difficult to see what's happening inside or if someone is up to something.
Vaguely, Aiden felt a sense of familiar, indescribable dissonance—the last time he felt this way was during a Witch Coven meeting when he overlooked Qimora, who had been present.
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